10pm in Paris - View from our Window

Notice how light it is ? ....at about 1o:oo o'clock at night. In fact, these photos were taken on the longest day of the year: June 21st. I absolutely love how long and drawn out the nights are at the moment.

Summer in Paris: it's where the evenings take their time, and the days get off to an early start. (The days get an early start....not necessarily the people!) When the sky is clear, and nothing but blue, Paris is as special as we all imagine it to be. Especially if the temperature hovers at a comfortable 20°C (~70°F), as it has been lately. Catch the breeze and enjoy it while you can. Terrasses are in full swing, with some people preferring full sun and others the shade. Parks are packed. Even the perky and peppy dogs are, well, perkier and peppier!

I still can't get used to seeing reflections of sunlight so late into the night because where I come from, dusk hits around 8:30ish and by 10pm, it's totally dark. On second thought, maybe, I can get used to it! Vive la difference!

:/dma

Sushi on the Seine

Thanks to my friend Ayako, I recently started eating maki-sushi regularly...as in more than once a week. I've always loved sushi & I would eat it from time-to-time....just not as regularly as lately. It has all been for a good cause, though: to practice the new sushi-making skills she had so kindly taught me! As we all know, practice makes perfect. I'm still happily practicing this craft! Those around me are happy, too, with all my practice sessions.

Here are some photos of this latest adventure. I think my favorite pictures are those taken on the Quai (quay) of the Seine River, where the sun was setting slowly, boats were passing by, and we had a nice quiet moment together, eating some freshly-made sushi, sipping a nice glass of champagne...and enjoying a summer evening in Paris.

Mis en place

First sushis made!


Vegetarian maki-sushi (cucumber, carrot); Must be Ayako's...it's perfect!

Salmon egg maki-sushi with roasted red pepper, zucchini and carrot

More salmon egg maki-sushi

These are also very, very good with smoked salmon and avocado. Next on my list to try is raw salmon or tuna, if I find a good quality supply. And why not crab meat or shrimp...? It seems as though the possibilities are endless. And if that's not enough reason to love these treats, they taste great, they are light & healthy to eat, and they make a perfect summer meal when you don't want to be turning on the oven. (Very important here in Paris when most apartments are not equipped with air conditioning!) Thanks again, Ayako, for sharing this technique with me. Your generosity is abundant!

Sushi, anyone? ;)

:/dma

Burrata Anyone?

Burrata cheese is so good that I decided it deserved its own post. From yesterday's recipe, you know that I'm a fan. I hope you are able to find Burrata at your local store because this is one cheese worth trying. And I honestly can't see how anyone would NOT love this cheese... It's seriously good.

Here's a link to a definition, if you like: wikipedia burrata (english)

In short, it's an artisinal fresh cheese having a mozzarella-like outside with bits of mozzarella and crème on the inside. It comes from a region in Italy called Puglia....and originally, it was wrapped in a leaf of a tree coming from that region. And the leaf would actually be bright green, proving to everyone and the world that this cheese is so fresh that the leaf hasn't even started to change colors yet! OK, so today they use plastic....tant pis!


Take it out of its packaging & untie it. The shape is very odd, but just set it on its side. It definitely looks better that way. Consider it a "cheese brioche"!

Burrata is best eaten at room temperature and immediately after it's made. And, it's best shared with a few close family & friends, each having a spoon in hand. Placed in the center of the table, everyone can dig into their own little corner of the cheese pouch. And that's when all its rich, buttery, creamy goodness comes seeping out. Take a look at what's inside:



All you really need is a high quality olive oil to drizzle on top. Add a few ripe tomatoes, some sea salt....and you're practically in heaven! Enjoy!



Address:
There are several specialty Italian stores that sell Burrata. There's also a fromagerie located here that is selling it at the moment:

La Fermette de Chloe et Gabriel
86, rue Montorgeuil
75002 Paris
Tél. 01.42.36.70.96
Cost: 23.80€/kg
One Burrata sac (shown above) will weigh ~ 200 - 300 g.

:/dma

Tomato, Orange, Avocado & Burrata Millefeuille

Here's a quick, delicious first course - perfect for this time of the year, BUT ONLY if you can find perfectly ripe tomatoes, oranges and avocados!



The other essential ingredient to the success of this dish is an italian cheese called Burrata. Burrata is a cow-milk based cheese similar to buffalo mozzarella cheese, but with a softer texture and taste. It's in season at the moment, according to my local fromager (cheese monger). Burrata cheese is amazingly delicate and mouth-watering good. I highly recommend you try it, if you are lucky enough to have access to this wonderful cheese.

As it goes, this idea came to mind because of my continued fixation on citrus & avocado pairing. It's loosely based on the Cocktail d'agrumes et Crevettes recipe previously posted (only no shrimp here, and instead, a nice ripe tomato that tastes like ripe tomatoes should). Yum!


Ingredients - 8 people

2 ripe avocados
4 vine-ripe tomatoes
2-3 succulent oranges
2 balls of Burratta cheese (approximately 300 g)
fresh basil
salt & pepper
lemon juice
vinaigrette

Steps:

1. Pit the avocado and slice thinly in the horizontal sense. Cover with lemon juice to prevent discoloration.
2. Peel and slice horizontally the tomatoes.
3. Peel and slice horizontally the orange.
4. Remove Burratta from its wrapping and place in a flat container (since once you pierce into it, it will leak all over! Trust me, you're going to want to capture all that rich flavor...by the spoonful!).
5. Make a simple vinaigrette (optional). I didn't use a vinagrette here, and it was absolutely delicious, but I offer that as an idea. You can spoon the vinagrette over the avocado, tomatoes and oranges before assembly.
6. Assemble so that the millefeuille takes the shape of a tomatoe stack. Season each layer before adding the next.
7. Top with a spoonful of Burrata cheese & a slivers of chopped basil. Season with pepper.
8. Add an infused oil such as basil oil or chive oil to the base of the millefeuille. Serve with a baguette.
   

Enjoy!


:/ dma

Whirlwind of activity

Hi everyone. I wanted to say thanks for your interest and for all the 'positive thoughts' you have sent me during my search for a fond de commerce. It's been a tumultuous couple of weeks. I thought I had finally found a good start-up place (which I didn't even have time to write about yet), but as quickly as I stumbled across it, I "lost" it to another guy, faster at the draw by leaving a deposit check. Yes, the fun of real estate. I picked myself up by the bootstraps, continued pondering my current options, and even started to explore others. A week later I couldn't believe it when I received a phone call saying that the shop I had wanted was available after all - due, apparently, to credit problems of the prospective buyer. Perhaps a sign of a tightening banking system? Who knows, but suddenly luck seemed back in my favor!

We're now in the process of finalizing an offer and trying to confirm that the landlord will approve of the changes we'd like to make to the place. (If not, it's back to square one...) Yesterday was an interesting day. I met a kitchen designer and a wine vendor, thanks to our new friend from Chevreuse (more on his restaurant later). This morning I have an appointment with an architect, thanks to another American friend in Paris. Things are moving, hopefully not prematurely. I'll certainly write more about the new place after it's a bit more settled (I'm hoping for the best). For now, I wanted to say, please continue to keep your fingers crossed & send more of your positive thoughts my way, s'il vous plaît!


:/dma

Recent Production

Things have been just a bit hectic lately and I haven't had time to post as many things as I'd like. At least I can share a few photos from the kitchen activities:

Ravioli production: squid ink & egg pasta with tomato filling

Cod filet, gros langoustines, ravioli, ginger froth & fennel -- before & after addition of bouillibase broth

Mini muffins: lemon poppy seed

An "everything" bagel...hits the spot every time!

Tarte au chocolat

Spring's Bounty Salad

Strawberry Gaspacho (sweet-savory)

Bon Appétit!
:/dma

Salon Saint Michel - Promos

The past few weeks have brought on some promotional activity at Salon Saint Michel.

Salon Saint Michel is one beautiful, 19th century Haussmannian-style apartment in the heart of historic Paris. It's privately leased, but it has authorizations for commercial-purpose uses. Therefore, its three beautiful and attaching rooms are available to be rented for small executive board meetings, or private events such as dinners, lunches, cocktails, etc. (from 4 to 32 people for dining and up to 35 people for cocktails). With wrap-around views overlooking the Seine River and Place Saint Michel, it feels very special indeed. It's a true, hidden gem in the city, if ever there was one.

It also contains the office of CCN (Chef Culinary Network), from which owner Michel Cloes operates. Michel and I have been working together, on and off since last November, trying to develop our mutual interests. He has these three beautiful rooms he'd like to rent out and I have a bunch of desire to provide a high-quality food service for his guests when he rents out these rooms.

Michel started up a website: Salon Saint Michel. Check it out to see some really nice pictures of the place. (BTW, I would totally agree with you if you said you've seen better pictures of me! But c'est comme ça (that's the way it goes)!

We've developed some printed promotional materials to explain the service concept and menu ideas. So, in the past couple of weeks, it was time to start opening up the place to prospective clients. And just that was done with an open-house breakfast and cocktail. There is one more breakfast scheduled next week.

I only have a few photos of the breakfast & none of the cocktail, but I can tell you we put a good little effort into these events so far. Over 200 macarons were made (pistachio, lemon and caramel with salted butter), several bottles of champagne were opened, and lots of nibbling and chatting went on. Soon it's time to see if we'll bear any fruit from these labors.

If anyone is interested in using this space, or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Feel free to also contact Olivier (+33) 01.56.81.22.60 - just let him know I sent you!

:/dma