The Tomato Knife

Spring has (literally) sprung early in our apartment this year. Meet Fergie, the wild asparagus plant that has been mesmerizing us for a few weeks now. I had a good laugh when I walked in the door from work one evening and saw Sébastien holding a small terracotta pot sporting the most awkward, scrawny, spiky [...]

I love big projects, especially cooking projects- big messy ones where you have long cleaning sessions afterward. I, however, like most, don’t have endless hours each evening to spend concocting unknown dishes (nor do I always have the time to trek through Paris hunting down the various ingredients typically required of such ventures).  That’s why [...]

Our thoroughly amusing find at the farmers’ market this week: a bouquet of cabbage flowers. On the sign, it was simply marked “choux” (the French word for cabbage), but a quick Internet search revealed a couple other potential names in English: flowering kale and ornamental cabbage. I’m still a bit confused about these guys, for [...]

The French verb fondre means to melt. Most of us are familiar with Fondue Savoyarde (bread dipped into a combination of melted cheeses) or even Fondue Bourguignonne (meat dipped into hot oil).  In culinary French, however, the term doesn’t only refer to a swash-buckling meal where you have to fend for yourself. Fondre is also [...]

My favorite season has arrived! Autumn?  You’re thinking.  Almost. Potimarron season. A potimarron is a medium-sized winter squash which looks kind of like a pumpkin and tastes like chestnuts.  Actually, thanks to this site, I just learned that potimarron is a combination of the French word for pumpkin (potiron) and chestnut (marron)- I love that [...]

The only thing that beats traditional basil pesto is its sun-dried cousin. I first made this version on a Thursday evening as a thick sauce over baked salmon.  It worked well because the garlic and tomatoes were flavorful enough to counter balance the naturally strong taste of the fish.  To our delight, we had quite [...]