around my french table - and my french cooking

It's been almost two months since I first heard about Dorie Greenspan's cookbook around my french table. When I heard about it, I knew instantly that it was the cookbook I needed while staying here. I just didn't know how to go about getting a copy of it without going home first; I figured if I found it in a bookstore here, it would be translated into French!   I didn't have to test that theory out though, because while I was perusing the US Embassy in Paris website, I found all kinds of cool info for Americans living in France, including a list of English-speaking bookstores.

I found my copy of around my french table at The Red Wheelbarrow, a small bookstore in the Marais.  I went in there looking for Henry Miller, but instead found Dorie Greenspan.  The Red Wheelbarrow ordered the Henry Miller book for me, so I decided I could wait one more week and pick up both books together.

I got all the books last weekend (I added a little Hemingway to the mix!), and have started reading recipes, planning some menus and cooking from it.  If you haven't seen it, this is the book:

It's a fabulous cookbook, with over 300 recipes, lots of photos and instructions designed for any cook.  Since I don't have a lot of small appliances and such, it is nice to see recipes that include "pulse in a food processor (or chop the vegetables by hand using a chef's knife)".  I want to make a lot of desserts, and some pastries and such, but I don't even have a hand mixer.  It was a relief to know that these recipes can be made without a lot of common small applicances  and they will still turn out right!

My first recipe was mozzarella, tomato and strawberry salad

tomatoes, strawberries, basil and olive oil - the bestest combination ever!

What's funny about this salad is that I have put strawberries in a green salad before, but never in an insalata caprese.  As soon as I saw the photo, I knew it would be good, and Dorie Greenspan said something similar about combining tomatoes and strawberries (and that perhaps the idea had something to do with Pierre Hermé) .  Regardless of its origins, this salad was fabulous!  The tomatoes and strawberries in the market are really good right now; fresh and full of flavor.  The olive oil was a wonderful complement to the sweet tomatoes and strawberries,  and the mozzarella di bufala I picked up at the street market was creamy and light.  Basil is my favoritest herb (although I think tarragon is fast becoming a favorite too!), and the combination of all the flavors was like a fiesta in my mouth.

Another fabulous thing about this cookbook is that every page is chock full of interesting hints, tips and related information.  For example, on page 61, following a recipe that calls for crème fraîche, there's a box  with information about crème fraîche.  Ms. Greenspan tells you everything you need to know about it, and if it is difficult to find, how to make your own.

And another very cool thing about this cookbook is that every recipe has an introduction.  Sometimes it is a few sentences, other times it is a few paragraphs.  Every recipe has a story or history or something interesting about it.  And Ms. Greenspan writes all of this in a warm and friendly conversational tone.  Reading this cookbook is almost like chatting with a friend about food!

The main dish I made was café salle pleyel hamburger

"It has the taste of the forbidden, the illicit, --  the subversive, even." - Hèléne Samuel, the creator of this burger

This burger is an American classic, all dressed up in French.  It had an amazing ingredient list that included capers, cornichons, sun-dried tomatoes, tarragon, parsley, parmesan cheese and an onion jam as the only condiment.  This too had a wonderful combination of flavors, a little sweet, a little sour, and some salty parmesan made for a multi-layered taste sensation.  I loved it, Ron liked it (even though he polished off his and the remainder of mine!).  I would definitely make both of these dishes again.

As I was shopping for the ingredients, I pondered what should accompany the burger.  It seemed only natural to include french fries, but I wanted something a little more snazzy.   I haven't mentioned this before, but we have a Picard across the street from us.  Picard is an amazing shop - it is all frozen foods.  I don't know why, but for some reason I had gotten it into my head that Picard sold fish, so I hadn't gone in there before.   After I purchased my dinner ingredients, I popped into Picard and found these wonderful-looking mini gratins de pomme de terre.  That's what you see on the plate behind the burger.  It was indeed quite good; it was light and creamy and went well with the burgers.  I have tried to make a good gratin myself, and so far, my attempts have been less than stellar.  But now, I'm hoping my new friend Dorie Greenspan will walk me through it!

Thrift Parisian Style

My fabulous cousin Kris has a blog,  a thrifty LA life and early in March she challenged her readers to a March Madness Thrift Competition.   I thought it would be fun to try the challenge, Parisian style.

First I had to find where the consignment and thrift shops are in Paris.  

Much to my dismay, I discovered that there aren't many.  I researched the topic as best I could, and perhaps the language barrier prevented me from finding a treasure trove of thrift shops.  What I did find was information about flea markets (not the same thing), Designer Depots (definitely NOT the same thing!), and Charity shopping (now we're getting somewhere!).  There are also some "vintage" clothing shops, and I stumbled into one of them near the Pompidou, but there were only a few small racks of clothes and a lot of boots and hats.  Somewhere in my research, I read that thrift shops aren't a big hit here mostly because people wear their clothes until they are worn out.  I don't know if any of this is really true, but I did find that thrift shops are not plentiful here.  

If the challenge was to find never-worn designer clothing for less than half the original retail price, I probably would have had a lot of success shopping at the designer depots.  I wouldn't have been able to get anything for less than $20, that's for sure, but a new bag for 800€ instead of 1200€ is surely a bargain for someone! Definitely not me, and it definitely doesn't fit the parameters of this competition.

So I kept digging and finally I found Emmaus - it is an organization similar to Goodwill (bingo!).  They take donations of clothing and other household items and resell them in boutiques around Paris.  I found several locations, but the information I found on them was dated and I was a little bit worried that I would trek across Paris only to discover the shop was no longer there.  

The other research I needed to do for the challenge was to research runway looks and celebrities to find a look I wanted to mimic.  

Since it is spring in Paris, I thought maybe a review of the current Parisian fashion trends would be a good idea.  I found this video, and although it's a bit long, it was definitely worth watching!

 I learned a few things watching this video:

1. There are probably about 10 styles in that whole video that I could pull off
2. There are no styles in that video that I could afford! 
3. The models all look angry, I think I can pull that off
4. I would need to hang by my heels for about 6 months whilst ingesting only water and celery to obtain the shape of most of those models
5. The spring/summer fashions are SHINY!
6. The designers themselves didn't look nearly as spiffy as their models (yay! that's a look I can go for!)
7. I love Dany Atrache!

While I was definitely inspired by some of the fashions, especially those by Dany Atrache, I will reserve that inspiration for looking for a dress for an upcoming wedding.  I needed inspiration for something I can wear every day, casual sort of stuff that would be in reach of my wallet.  I looked all over the web and then finally, I just looked out my window.   I see French women every day, why not take my cues from them?  So I really started paying attention and what I saw on the warmer days when the overcoats came off was a really nice layered look; a tunic or long blouse topped with a light jacket or sweater; a blazer type jacket, a leather jacket, a trench-style jacket...  It almost doesn't seem to matter, as long as there are layers.  Most of the women wear pants and the pants are all over the map - jeans, skinny jeans, slacks, skinny slacks, with our without boots!  I don't see too many hats, but scarves are a must have accessory.  This is a style I am comfortable with!  And probably the most interesting thing about it is that it looks almost exactly like the style Kris mimicked from Nate Berkus! 

So, I've got a style to look for and a shop to find and I did both!  I found an Emmaus shop about 2 km from our apartment, on our way to meet friends for dinner in the 14eme.  How convenient!  The shop was small and it didn't have a lot to choose from, but here's what I found:

H&M Blazer & Etam Tunic - Emmaus

The blazer was 8€50 and the tunic was 6€50 for a total of 15€, and with the exchange rate that works out to $21.31.  I don't think these are great prices and certainly not as good as the prices folks are finding in the U.S.  Etam and H&M are not upscale stores and I suspect that I got these items at 50-75% off the original price and I have no idea how old they are style-wise.  The blazer and tunic are in good shape, and I do feel good about helping out a charity in the process.

It's kind of hard to take a picture of yourself with a hugemongous camera!

I like the look and think I will fit in with the Parisians this spring!

I am anxious to give thrift shopping a try when I return home, and in the meantime, I will be on the lookout for more and better thrift opportunities in Paris.

The Macaron Challenge

I've been called a lot of things, but trendy isn't one of them.  You would probably never see my name and the words chic, contemporary or cutting-edge used in the same sentence.  I would even go as far as saying that I'm fairly ignorant regarding tony eateries, bars, and shops, and not just in Paris.  Sure, I know some designer names, but I'm constantly learning of new ones through back alleys and social faux pas.  Take Dooney & Bourke for example.  Several years ago I hadn't ever heard of them.  Then Someone* became the proud owner of one of their bags.  Someone showed me their bag and I said , "Nice bag."  Someone was a little bewildered by my less-than-enthusiastic response.  I had no idea that Someone had saved for awhile to purchase this bag.  I had no idea that this bag was special.  I had let Someone down because I wasn't chic, contemporary or cutting-edge and didn't appreciate the awesomeness of her natty Dooney & Bourke.  Nope.  I was clueless.

So, what does Dooney and Bourke have to do with Macarons?

Nothing.

But once again, I was clueless to the chic, contemporary and cutting-edge cool factor of macarons to which everyone else seemed tuned in.  It all started when Ron and I met some folks he works with at Ladurée on the Avenue de Champs-Elysées.  For the record, I know the Champs-Elysées is swank.  I know that it is one of the most famous streets in the world and I know that you need more than chump change to have a shop with that address.

As we waited for the other folks to arrive, Ron mentioned that a group from work had dinner at a restaurant nearby and one of the guys took the opportunity to scoot over to Ladurée to buy a treat for his wife before he returned home.  It seems that we have another Dooney and Bourke situation here.  How does Ron's coworker know about this and I don't?

The other folks arrived and after introductions and general small talk, the conversation drifted to Ladurée and macarons.  As I sat there learning about Ladurée's  famous macarons, something was stirring in my gray matter.  I slowly realized that I had indeed been exposed to macarons, but like a lot of people I made the incorrect assumption that my imaginary friends were talking about macaroons and I wasn't paying attention.  Mageline was even making macarons herself, and I was totally clueless to the macaron rage that had escaped France in 2010 and was infiltrating the U.S.

So imagine my surprise, AFTER I had been to Ladurée, to discover that macarons are all over Paris.  While Ladurée became famous in 1930 when his grandson, Pierre Desfontaines ,  came up with the idea of making double-decker macarons; two macaron shells held together with a creamy ganache filling, now patisseries all over Paris were making lighter-than-air cookies and sandwiching them together with dollops of fruity filling.  Still, the intel on the street indicated that Ladurée was the preeminent source for macarons.

So...you know how I've been asking folks to send me on a mission?  I sent myself on one.  I went back to Ladurée and purchased the beginner's pack of those crispy-light, round, double-deckers of goodness with a variety of fillings.

Ladurée on the Avenue de Champs-Elysée

Ladurée is many things if not famous!

Celadon green is their signature color and the style is ooh-la-la Parisian!

The entrance to the Patisserie and Confiserie

 And this is what I got with my purchase:

A posh bag in their signature celadon color adorned with gold and their cherub baker

A posh box inside the posh bag - in a lovely pale lavender adorned with gold

Eight carefully wrapped macarons inside the posh box inside the posh bag

Delicate macarons in eight fabulous flavors!

All for the tiny sum of 17€.

I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised!  The outside/sandwich part isn't hard at all, but it is a little...crisp?  The inside of the macaron is very light and airy and practically melts in your mouth.  They are not too sweet but very tasty and the fillings were delicious!  The eight flavors we tried were raspberry, citron, madagascar chocolate, orange passion, caramel with salted butter (the best!), coffee, violet-blackcurrant (2nd best!) and hazelnut.

I shared this fabulous information with my imaginary friends and aw geez - there's even more I didn't know!  Jan tells me that not only do the Swiss hold the throne in making these delectable delights, but the Sprungli Luxembourgli are world famous...on the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich and are best with Champagne.

As I'm calculating the time and money needed for a little side trip to Zurich, Mageline tells me that Pierre Hermé also makes wondrous macarons and would I please try some and let her know how they compare to Ladurée's?

And Dag tells me she found some amazing macarons at Nicolas Chocolatier in Dublin and she paid 16€ for ten!

Getting to Zurich will be a lot harder than stopping at Pierre Hermé, especially since Pierre was so accommodating by placing one of his shops just up the street from our apartment.  The challenge is on!

Ladurée vs Hermé!

But wait...Who is Pierre Hermé?

He's a pastry chef, he comes from 4 generations of Alsatian bakers and pastry makers, he was an apprentice to Gaston Lenôtre (and I feel all smug because I know who that it is!) and he is known as the King of French Pastry.  Once again, I'm having a Dooney & Bourke moment.  Everything I can find about Pierre Hermé indicates he is famous, well-known, highly regarded, the Picasso of Pastry.  Again, I wonder how it is that I had never heard of Pierre Hermé, all the while feeling the weight of the rock under which I'm living.

We stopped by the Pierre Hermé shop on Sunday, after the Bois de Boulogne, and after all that walking we were ready for a sweet treat.  We almost didn't see the shop, the style of the shop is so completely different than Ladurée's.  

The name of the shop in stone

The contemporary and minimalist style of the shop

Minimalist inside too!

Macarons in the case

This time we got 7 macarons for 16€.  I should also point out that I asked if I could take photos in the shop and the very nice gentleman said, "Yes, but only two photos."  I'm not sure if the number of photos allowed is directly proportional to how many macarons you buy, but I complied!

Here's what we got with our purchase:

A very nice bag; the Hermé signature is a white bag with a leaf cut-out design and side panels with color

Inside the bag is a really cute box with Paris landmarks

Apparently, Pierre Hermé himself is a landmark!

The macarons are very nicely tucked into their box

The box is just a little too big for the 7 macarons

Seven delicate macarons before we snarfed them!

The flavors this time were caramel with salt (a little too salty), chocolate and berry (good),  crème brûlée (yummy!), menthe fraiche (the best!), rose (good and interesting flavors), Mogador Chocolate au Lait and Passion Fruit (a very interesting combination that tasted way better a few seconds after you take the first bite) and Coing and Rose (quince and rose - my second favorite).

These macarons were different from Ladurée - the outsides were about the same but the fillings were richer in both texture and flavor and there was more of it.  Sometimes we would take a bite and filling would squeeze out a bit, so I licked it off like a dripping ice cream cone.  The fillings were fabulous.  

I suppose the biggest difference between the two is the flavors.  Both have seasonal flavors along with their standards, but from what I can tell, Pierre Hermé flavors are a little more unconventional.  And as I was sitting at a café the other day, I saw quite a few people with bags from either Ladurée or Pierre Hermé (surprisingly not both!) so there appears to be room for both in Paris.  And other points across the globe.  Pierre Hermé can be found in Paris, Tokyo and London.  Ladurée can be found in France, England, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Monaco, Switzerland and Turkey.  Sadly, it appears that neither Ladurée or Pierre Hermé has branched out in the westerly direction.

I don't think my Macaron Challenge is finished quite yet.  I want to try macarons from some of the local patisseries, and I'd really like to get to Switzerland and give the Sprungli Luxembourgli a taste test too.  With champagne of course!

So what do you think of the two styles?  Do you prefer the ooh-la-la Parisian style of Ladurée, or the modern, clean and minimalist style of Pierre Hermé?  Feel free to vote via comments below.  It will be interesting to see what you all think!

*P.S. - who is Someone?  I'm not sure.  It might have been my sister, or my Mom or a friend.  I vaguely remember the purse, but I absolutely remember feeling like a dinkus.

Bois de Boulogne - Part I

One of our goals for our time here is to explore Paris from top to bottom. Since we've been here before and have seen all the main sights, we are drawn to places and things we haven't seen. Over the years we've read guide books, pored over maps and searched and researched on-line, so in the back of my brain there is a half-formed list of places to visit that I've seen or heard about, but actually know very little. One such place was the Bois de Boulogne. I don't recall how I learned of its existence - perhaps just from perusing a map, but I knew it was big, it wasn't far, and I wanted to see it, so I looked it up.

As an aside, one of the things that never ceases to amaze me when I start researching things, is the history attached to these places. It boggles my mind, really; and it fascinates me to no end that right here, right now in 2011, I can stand in the same spot as someone did 100 years ago, 300 years ago, 600 years ago and in some cases, nearly 1000 years ago. And even though this sounds like maybe I've been smoking duck feathers, I feel a sort of connection to the past if I stop and think about it. And I want to stop and think about it. I want to try to imagine who was here, why they were here, what they wore, what their life was like. And it makes me wonder if in 1000 years, someone from the future will be standing in the same spot, admiring the same cathedral, or path through the woods and thinking about all those who came before them. It's so strange to think that we are only separated by time and not space. It makes me realize how important it is to preserve the past and present for those in the future.

As I was saying, I did a little research about Bois de Boulogne, and I learned a few things. I'll share them here and put them in a handy dandy list so you can skip the facts and go straight to the photos if you want.

• Bois de Boulogne is located on the north-west side of Paris in an area that once was a vast oak forest.  In the 13th century, the area was purchased back from monks by Philip Augustus and used as a Royal Hunting Reserve.  Louis XI reforested the area and named it Bois de Boulogne in the 15th century.  Henry IV planted 15,000 mulberry trees hoping to start a local silk industry in the now fenced-in hunting park and in 1852, Napolean III created the park.
• Baron Haussmann was hired to design the park (and that of Bois de Vincennes, the Bois de Boulogne sister park on the south-east side of Paris) in the style of the great parks in London.
• There are 22 miles of foot paths, 4 miles of cycling paths and 18 miles of riding paths
• The upper and lower lakes are man-made - the excavated dirt was used to create Butte Montmartre (who knew!?)
• The park covers an area of 3.3 square miles
• There is an amusement park inside the Bois de Boulogne and at night it is transformed into a red light district

We decided to visit the park on a Sunday afternoon.  After discussing all the various options for getting there, we decided to walk.  Our plan was to walk all the way down Rue de la Convention, cross the Seine at Pont Mirabeau, head in the general direction of Bois de Boulogne, enter the park from the southernmost end and stick to the east side of the park.  We figured at some point we would get tired and from the east side we could leave the park at several spots and hop on the metro.

Pont Mirabeau - it was a very cold and gray day - I wasn't too inspired to take my hands out of my pockets before we reached the Seine!  Oh...and see the Statue of Liberty in the middle of the river?  Ours is bigger! :)

On the other side of Pont Mirabeau - the Seine isn't just fun and games

At Porte Molitor we crossed the Périphérique - the dual ring road that separates the city proper of Paris and its suburbs.  The speed limit is 50 mph and if you can travel at the speed limit (this is rare as it is generally congested!), each loop takes about 26 minutes. 

Crossing the Périphérique - not too busy on a Sunday morning!

As usual, we got a little sidetracked.  Because we ended up one major boulevard south of the Bois de Boulogne entrance, we walked past the Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil, so naturally, instead of walking along the sidewalk past Roland Garros, we thought a walk through the garden would be nicer!

The Palm House

Turns out, this was a really nice garden, again with some history.  The Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil is what is left of the plant nurseries of King Louis XV.  The Palm House was designed by Camille Formigé; it was built between 1895-1898 and it is about 324 feet long and 40 feet wide.  The Auteuil hothouses are still used for indoor plants, collection plants and for plants that decorate offices and public places.

The Palm House with lovely cranes in the background

The Jardin des Poètes is adjacent to the Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil, but we didn't know it at the time.  We thought it was a continuation of the Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil, so we missed the plaques dedicated to French poets in the lawn and the sculptures.  We did see the lovely gate with sculptures on our way out though!

Rwaaarrr!

We also saw the first signs of spring in the Jardin des Poètes:

Buds ready to burst

Crocus

Daffodils

I don't know this shrub but it was covered in fabulous yellow blooms!  Lovely on a gray day and mostly barren flower beds.

I also don't know this one, but this tree was in full bloom!

 We crossed Avenue de la Porte d'Auteuil and wandered into Bois de Boulogne.  After the green and signs of spring in the Poet's Garden, the Bois de Boulogne was a different world.

A wintry scene - leafless tress, few people in the park

We walked along this lane for quite some time and were surrounded by woods on both sides.  It was very quiet and we didn't see many people at all.  We wondered if we were on the right path.  But just around the corner ahead, we met up with civilization.

Men playing Boules

This park is huge and when we reached the Boules area, there were suddenly lots of people; men playing boules, children on bicycles, runners, walkers,  etc.  We continued on toward the east side of the park.  From our map, we knew the lakes were over there somewhere.

A lovely path leading to the lakes

Once in the lakes area, there were a lot more people around; families and people out for a Sunday stroll

Lac Superieur

Lac Superieur

Moi!  There was some construction along the north end of Lac Superieur and we had to cross to Lac Inferieur in a round-about way.  Not sure why Ron had the camera, but he snapped a photo of me to prove I'm really here!

Lac Inferieur

Lac Inferieur with view of Tour Eiffel

Boating on Lac Inferieur

Lac Inferieur has two small islands and from the larger of the two, you can rent boats.  Lots of families were out taking advantage of the nice day (it wasn't raining!).

By the time we walked from the southern entrance to the north end of Lac Inferieur, we were beat.  We made our retreat at Porte Dauphine and headed to the Metro Station on beautiful Avenue Foch.  Again, there were more signs of spring!

More crocus!

This is titled Bois de Boulogne Part I because we saw only a fraction of Bois de Boulogne.  We decided to reserve Part II for the spring and visit the west side of the park and the flower gardens when they are planted and blooming.  Stay tuned for Part II!

Époisses de Bourgogne

When I first sent out links to this blog to family and friends, I encouraged them to send us on missions - things they would like to see or know more about.  A friend of mine, Lily (who , by the way, is very lucky!)  asked me if I had tried Époisses de Bourgogne (pronounced ay-pwahze du bore-gunne) cheese as it was one of her favorites when she lived in France many years ago.  Being the cosmopolitan world traveler that I am, I had never even heard of Époisses de Bourgogne.  Thus, a mission was born.  I would seek out and try Époisses de Bourgogne.

I needed to know more about this cheese so I did some research.  What is it exactly and how do I eat it?  Google is my friend (except when I have a French ISP address and it assumes I want all my pages in French), as is Wikipedia (once I googled google and clicked on Google in English) and I found quite a bit of information about Époisses de Bourgogne.  

First, it is commonly referred to as Époisses.  

Second, it is one of the "smelliest" cheeses, second only to Vieux-Boulogne. I feel a disclaimer is in order though - I am not fond of the term "smelly".  I prefer the term aromatic, which means

• fragrant,
• having a strong smell and,
• having a distinctive quality. 

  Époisses is all of those, so I will use the term aromatic.  

Third, it is a cheese made in the village of Époisses, a small town about halfway between Paris and Lyon.

The aromaticity of cheese intrigues me; who decides which cheeses make the top ten list?  Again, more research.  It turns out that researchers at Cranfield University (a British post-grad university with it's own airport!) tested 15 British and French cheeses with their very own noses and determined that Vieux Boulogne was the most aromatic.  That was all well and good, but with the limited information available, I'm guessing the researchers each smelled the 15 different cheeses and then rated them, which required some kind of scale and a little bit of subjectivity.  However, in addition to the blind-folded judges' noses, the researchers also used a bionic nose (an electronic nose with sensors).  Vieux Boulogne was again crowned the winner of the most aromatic cheese (con)test.  So, if Vieux Boulogne is considered the most aromatic cheese by real and bionic noses, and Époisses is considered 2nd to Vieux Boulogne by some noses and 10th by other noses, then I think Époisses really and truly is quite aromatic.

So, armed with this information, I went to my local Fromagerie and looked around and there it was!

Époisses - from Époisses de Bourgogne in a handy dandy round wooden container

I made my purchase and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it's aromaticity could not escape the wooden container.  That's a good thing because I realized after I bought it that if it was going to aromatize the refrigerator, that would not be a good thing.

So what makes Époisses an aromatic cheese?  Apparently it is the rind-washing process that does it.  Époisses is made by heating whole milk to about 85F with coagulation lasting for at least 16 hours.  The curds are then drained in molds and the whey is allowed to run off.  About 48 hours later the cheese is removed, salted and placed on racks to dry.  When the cheese is dry it is moved to a cellar to mature.  During maturation, the cheese is washed up to three times per week with a mixture of water and Pomace brandy, and while being washed the cheese is brushed by hand to spread the bacteria evenly over the surface.  The yeast and fermenting agents create a distinctively aromatic orange-red exterior in about 6 weeks.

My Époisses was wrapped in thin plastic inside the wooden container.  Once opened, it's aromaticity was released!  Notice the orange rind.

My research indicated that I should cut off the top rind to dip into the cheese, 

Époisses - a very light and creamy cheese inside the rind

and spread  it onto slices of a baguette, accompanied by a nice white wine.

Époisses is very soft (aka "runny")

Along with the typical orange rind, the cheese has a salty flavor.  The one we bought had a variety of flavors; first I noticed the salty, then another more pungent flavor developed and finally there was a sweet aftertaste.  It was quite an interesting experience.

Because I had to run over to the boulangerie to get a baguette for our lunch, Ron thought we should have a little something sweet to go with our cheese.

un chocolat et un éclair au café - délicieux!

It was a fun and fabulous lunch.  Thanks Lily, for sending us on this mission!

If you'd like to see photos of something specific or have us try a French food item and review it for you, send us an email or leave a comment here.