The Tomato Knife

Here’s a French-inspired dish for you, but first let me write an important reminder to myself: there are no outdoor food markets in Paris on Mondays. Not anywhere, ever. And, all the charming food shops lining the street near our apartment are also closed on Mondays, including the fruit shop, the cheese shop, the coffee [...]

One of my favorite French television show is Un dîner presque parfait. I get into it because it’s all about cooking – and trying to create an “almost perfect dinner.” In short, five amateur cooks take turns inviting each other over and making dinner. At the end of each episode (there’s one for every day [...]

Valentine’s weekend, Paris’ most-popular restaurants are packed full of couples, literally cheek to cheek. Reservations are a must and, for the special occasion, most places propose a set menu with entrée, plat and déssert.  As our tradition goes, we hopped on the metro and stepped through the doors of one of the city’s well-liked, yet [...]

We didn’t really know if we were supposed to eat the heads or not! Looking back at our most-recent two days in the Loire Valley, I’m still proud of myself for trying the tiny fish you see in the photo.  Friture de petits poissons was listed as an appetizer on La Croisette’s menu.  We were [...]

Un bar entier is exactly what we asked for on one of our most recent trips to the fish monger. Until then, I had steered clear of anything waiting on ice with eyes and a tail.  Being surrounded by the waves and the sea and all during vacation, it just made sense to dive in [...]

What I learned during vacation: there’s more to vineyards than wine! When we pulled into the empty parking spot under our apartment building last night, our venture home from vacation wasn’t quite finished.  We still had to unload the car.  You have to admit, most of us take a handful of unnecessary things on vacation [...]