Kilograms or ounces? Degrees celsius or fahrenheit? Is there such thing as canned chicken broth here? Cuit means the bacon is cooked, right?
While Paris can charm any foodie into sensory overload with the tastes and smells waiting to be discovered in the local markets, it can drive a home chef mad with frustration when trying to prepare a specific meal. Trying to navigate a world of unknown ingredients and proportions is challenging at the start. Luckily, the sheer seductiveness of fresh produce, robust meats and pungent cheese can drawn the frustrated gourmet out of their dismay. As the aroma of the storefronts sinks into the cobble stoned streets, one can find the inspiration to throw the recipe book to the wind and start cooking from the gut. It's about taste. It's about fragrance. It's about feeling driven to create just by looking at the beautiful ingredients waiting to be picked. How could one not fall in love with food in France? It's an experience all on its own.
To quickly give you an idea of my first real attempt at a gourmet meal in Paris, let's start off at the Marche Moufettard. This outdoor market is open Sunday mornings right up the hill from my apartment next to the Pantheon. The market is more like a festival rather than a simple place to buy fresh groceries. There was music, dancing and little girls running round eating cartons of raspberries as their mothers chased after them. As much as I was customer like everyone else, I felt more like a fly on the wall watching a gorgeous sunday ritual unfold.
The produce was spectacular. Although there were only a few stands, each table was bursting with plump tomatoes, bushels of herbs and the most gigantic strawberries I have ever seen. I ended up with mushrooms, garlic, onions, three different kinds of berries and some thyme.
As I walked back towards my apartment, I stopped at the local butcher from some bacon. The young man joked with me about how little jambon I wanted. In french he suggested, "Why do you not buy some more and have me over for dinner. Works for both of us." As tempting as it was, my menu was set for three ladies that evening and a superfulous amount of bacon would not be necessary.
The next stop was the Fromagerie. I was looking for riccotta cheese to sweet and serve with the berries. Of course, one would wonder why I was set on buying italian cheese when I was in the heart of Paris. Unsurprisingly, the first two fromageries told we they did not have any riccotta and that I should try the Italian specialty store down the way. In an attempt to keep my meal as local and authentic as possible, I asked the fromagier if perhaps she knew a different kind of soft cheese I could sweeten and serve with fruit. Before long, she dipped her hand into a large tub of soft white curds and plopped the contents onto a piece of parchment paper. With a few skillful twists, a signature move of the french store owners, the cheese was bundled and ready to go. My dilema now is that I absolutely loved the cheese and have no idea what is was that she gave me. I'll have to return next sunday for the name of my mystery fromage.
The meal was a success in many ways. I pulled ideas from a 2000 Gourmet magazine special issue on Paris that my Nanny Murphy gifted me for Christmas. It is one of my most prized possessions. My menu included cereal bread from Eric Keiser's boulangerie, a mixed green salad with avocado, tomato, apple and a mustard vinaigrette, chicken marengo, whole wheat pasta with roasted haricoverts in a parsley, garlic and olive oil dressed and for dessert, home made crepes filled with a mystery soft cheese, sweetened slightly with a bit of sugar and bursting with fresh berries. We were filled to the bring by the time our dinner party came to a close. We enjoyed the meal and each other's company so much, it was far past midnight when the last bites were taken. Our meal together was perhaps one of the most memorable nights in Paris so far. Sharing delicious food with close friends is as fulfilling as it gets.
For your viewing pleasure, here are some photographs of how the meal developed. Enjoy!
