Tuesday, December 31, 2013

8 AM Paris Dec 31, 2013

If you want to shoot Paris windows you don't have to shlep out late at night.
Go early morning say 7-7:30 am.
It will be pitch black - perfect for shooting sans reflections.
I got off at Concord and waltzed over to Hermés on rue St.Honoré
A tropical grotto theme fill the windows including flamingos and iguana.
Paris streets are gorgeous early morning.
Ladurée is open at 8 AM for croissant seekers.
Büchette Paeva with four red fruits and vanilla mousse came home with me.
Nearby Angelina serves up a not so petit dejeuner starting at 8
Brief encounter with a box of mini petit fours. These did not come back to my mouse hole though they are the perfect size.
 
Nearby jewelry windows reflect...
 
Place Vendome.
 
The morning light is coming in.
Bonjour last day of 2013.
 
Yesterday Georges Marques of Le Bonbon au Palais gave me a cadeau to give to Bear.
Bear is pleased as punch with his new partner.
What shall we call her? Büche? Vanille?
All suggestions are welcome PBers.
To look inside the Laduree büchette
PLEASE visit my Facebook page.
BONNE ANNÉE PBers en avance!

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Kitchen Galerie Bis

Last night I ate an incredible meal with PBers at Kitchen Galerie Bis (or KGB) in the 6th.
Atmosphere is simple, relaxed with the splashes of color from the abstract paintings on the walls and the food on your plate. I told you about eating at KGB's sister up the street (4, rue des Grand Augustin) Ze Kitchen Galerie? I knew it would be a tasting adventure.
Chef William Ledeuil is mad for Asian ingredients. He combs the 13th arrondissement Chinatown markets each morning for the day's fusion menus. So this framed apron from the famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo is spot on.
The menu is a tad confusing and frankly from the descriptions I didn't see a single thing I wanted to eat. Honestly I could have chosen blindfolded but I trust this chef to make me happy. The staff could not have been kinder or more helpful with our choices. I'm glad we each chose different dishes (except for our similar 3 'zors-d'oeurvres).
You can order a 'flight' of firsts/entrees/bites/amuse bouche. Three or four or five. I can easily say they were extraordinary. Starting with a creamy chestnut velouté on the far right. In the middle was something with Basil. That's all I can tell you. And lastly on the left foie gras cru (C is French so she could identify it - READ all about foie gras here) with tiny dollops of Balsamic reduction (I think...) and slivers of tart Granny Smith apple. Are you salivating yet?
S ordered the 'marché' dish - a quail cooked Moroccan style - in a tajine. Our waiter said there would be 'seasonal vegetables' with each dish. Naturally you imagine everyone getting the same dish of puréed something or other.
NO way! Each dish had perfect accompanying vegetables like melt-in-your-mouth baby onions and paper-thin sweets serves with the quail.
C ordered a...Seabream-like fish with tiny clams. Delicious no matter what the H. it was. We shared tastes natch. Really it's the only way to go at KGB.
I ordered grilled squid, something I would normally never order. Go figure. I asked our waiter about the 'Peribleus' (?)crevette.
His response,
"They are the happiest shrimp in the world".
OK...
Well it was OUT OF THIS WORLD delicious and sitting in a pool of black squid ink no less, something I wouldn't normally touch with a barge pole. They hardly needed to wash our dishes last night ;))
Dessert time. C got 'Cappucino Praline, Glace Granduja'. A home run for sure. Light and delicate.
I ordered the 'Soupe Coco, Mangue, Ananas, Passion', all my favorite tropical flavors.
But when I tasted S's dessert, 'Agrumes confits, Crème citron, Jus Clementine-Citronnelle' I must have looked like I had died and gone to heaven. He insisted we trade plates.
I think this dessert is the BEST THING I HAVE EVER TASTED! Intensely acidic and lemony with grapefruit zings. Words simply can't describe this experience. Do consider trying  Kitchen Galerie Bis (or KGB) when in Paris.
C and S ordered a larger than usual portrait in Paris (12" x 16"). They wanted a whole scene with lots going on so we picked the Christmas marche at Saint-Germain.
For some unknown reason S's portrait kept eluding me.
We even met again so I could do a reshoot. I must of done 25-30 head sketches and still...
Perhaps the portrait could have a French Revolutionary feeling...
With S remaining headless!?
At last I got him. Whew et voila.
They are both mad for their darling rescue cats so I added a few hither and thither including C's favorite Marc Jacobs cat Sweatshirt.
Thank you C and S for your patience and a divine dinner at KGB.
xxx CG

Friday, December 27, 2013

What Marie-Antoinette ate for Christmas


Living in France, it's a year since December 25, 2012, everyday is an epiphany. Light bulbs 💡 go off all the time. 

Food windows like this leave me amazed and transfixed.

Some French people (not the marche locavores or bio-crazy) want to eat like Marie-Antoinette.

Maitre chef Antonin Caréme set the bar high for wildly imaginative cuisine both visually and flavor-wise. The tradition continues today.
Guess where I found this extravaganza on Christmas Eve day. Monoprix! It is a good day to shop by the way. There were not so many last-minute crazy shoppers. Most French have been planning this meal since November. It begins at the Salon du Chocolat.

Sumptuous dishes The Royals wouldn't turn their noses up at.
 
These pretty jelled creations are from the town of Vernon close to Giverny, Monet’s home.

An exquisite layered affair spotted in a rue Saint Antoine's vitrine
Back in Paris at none other than MONOPRIX.
Are you planning a banquet? The ex-king of Spain is coming. Where do you go for provisions? MONOP.
I'm painting Chris and Steve's portrait in Paris. They invited me along while they picked up their specially ordered büche at Laduree I didn't say no.
I didn't resist a mini version of their order- Büchette Paeva, four red fruits with almond and vanille creme inside. (8,50€)
They invited me demolish this little puppy. Perfect for 3 bites. No more. That's a smidge of raspberry confiture inside as well as flavoring the outer cake casing.
Marie-Antoinette's OTT style isn't limited to the dinner table. Nail polish ads are just as fabulous. BHV had posters/affiche all over town deconstructing the traditionally elaborate Christmas Büche with a gold-leafed real log topped with meringue mushrooms. A clin d'oeil/wink to French traditions. Yes there are still plenty of buches in Paris until New Years.
But nO day-after-Xmas sales here.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Happy Holiday!

I'm late again!
Dear PBers,
Do have a wonderful holiday
Sending lots of good cheer your way.
And many, many bisous/kisses from Paris.