The Tomato Knife

It all started with the bourru wine I talked about in this post. Thanks to my sister, last weekend we got the chance to visit a seventh-generation, family-owned vineyard in Cour-Cheverny, a small rural town near Blois in the Loire Valley.  After writing about bourru, Sébastien and I were wondering if it was only a [...]

Autumn doesn’t only announce it’s arrival in France with colorful leaves, but with a very unique, very young, and slightly bubbly wine called bourru. Driving on the outskirts of Bordeaux this weekend, I noticed several handwritten signs along the roads.  “Le bourru est arrivé,” wine merchants were announcing, inviting clients to purchase the juice from [...]

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 [...]

Even after a few days back in Paris, I still have vineyards on my mind and can’t help sharing some photos of the twisting vines and beautiful blue grapes. I spent one of my first years in France teaching English in a small town just outside the city of Bordeaux- in other words, surrounded by [...]

On the recommendation of our local wine merchant, we decided to try a dessert wine with some Roquefort. The result: a unique combination of strong, slightly salty cheese and light, aromatic wine. I didn’t think I would be a fan of sweet wine, but am always open to trying something new, especially if it’s a [...]

Welcome to my very first post! I opened the fridge today and realized, yes, I do indeed live in France. At 9 o’clock I wasn’t quite prepared for the whiff of hearty odor that was waiting for me behind the door- a mighty combination of chèvre, brie, Roquefort and Le P’tit Basque swiftly invaded my [...]