The patisserie still makes and sells the well-known baba au rhum, an invention of Monsieur Stohrer. We have never been connoisseurs of dry brioche soaked in as much syrupy rum as it can hold but, really, it’s not that bad. Particularly if you like rum. A fancier version dubbed Ali Baba by Marie’s father, King…
I brought home five pounds of carrots yesterday. Organic carrots. I assume that since plants get much of their life out of the soil, roots absorb more of whatever the earth possesses. More than leaves, for instance. So—organic. To reduce the bad stuff (I hope). But I could be wrong. So, what do I do…
Green peppercorns. If you’ve ever used this ingredient, you probably got it out of a bottle. Soaked in brine. Its taste and aroma irreversibly altered by the long salty bath. I never knew the taste of fresh green peppercorns until I came across them in Paris. Not at one of the supermarchés nor the food…
We didn’t know exactly what to expect in Oaxaca, though we’d been to other parts of Mexico in an earlier trip. But we knew a couple who waxed wistful over Oaxaca’s charms especially “los siete moles,” a label often applied to Oaxaca. We just had to experience the place for ourselves. Mole, as you might…
It’s a long journey from San Francisco to Florence. On our last summer trip, it took a fairly uneventful seventeen hours of flying and waiting at airports. For a month our pied-à-terre was on the Oltrarno, south of the river. About 900 sq. ft. of voluminous dark space with a loft bedroom and two bathrooms,…
Why cook in Paris? After all, you can just pop into a boulangerie, fromagerie, charcuterie, etc. and eat quite well. Or, you can splurge and go to a restaurant. Even when you have an apartment for a few days or so, cooking seems unnecessary. For us, though, who travel with an anthropollogical bent and stay…
