From the outside, Compagnie Gรฉnรฉrale de Biscuiterie is a low-slung place, resembling a workshop of some sort, rather than a pรขtisserie, located on the way up to Sacrรฉ Cลur, in Montmartre. I made the trek up there to check it out because I was interested in the one thing the low-key place makes: cookies. The French use the word โcookiesโ primarily to refer to chocolateโฆ
Iโve been in San Francisco this week, doing some events โ which is actually an excuse for eating my way around town. San Francisco is a city that seems to reinvent itself every few years. But what thing that keeps going in the same direction is the quality of the food and the ingredients that are available. Iโve spent time withย a French artisan butcher, metโฆ
Sometimes when I write posts for the blog, I write so fast that my mind can barely keep up with my fingers. (Hence the occasional frequent typo.) Ideas fly into my head and I literally have to jump up from my chair and make them. Such was the case with this Dulce de Leche Cheesecake recipe, which combines two of everybodyโs favorite things: cream cheeseโฆ
One fruit thatโs always in season is pineapple, and the spiky beauties really help to brighten up winter, especially when youโve had your fill of apples and pears. I like eating fresh pineapple after a meal because not only is it refreshing, but it has a pleasant acidity that tends to make me feel good about eating it. Although not local (we wish! because thatโฆ
I had a phone interview the other day, and the journalist was so nice and interesting that we ended up talking about a whole bunch of other subjects that we didnโt intend to talk about. Like a good interviewer, she didnโt start off by asking the usual questions, but came up with some original ones, which was a lot more interesting than being asked forโฆ
I just returned from a four-week book tour where I met a lot of people. Everyone was incredibly nice and it was a treat, although because of the nature of the events, it wasnโt possible to spend lots of one-on-one time with anyone โ including myself. However, I tried to answer as many questions as possible. The most frequently asked questions were; โWhere have youโฆ
Here are some clarifications and metric conversions, for recipes in My Paris Kitchen that were omitted from the first printing of the book. These have all been corrected in subsequent editions but if you have a first printing, you should make a note of these: โ The metric conversion for the tahini in the Beet Hummus (page 58), is 90g, and for the Hummus (pageโฆ
Is almond flour the same as almond meal or ground almonds? Yes and no. Ground up almonds go by the names powdered almonds, almond meal, and almond powder. Some say that only blanched (skinless) almonds are used for what is called almond flour or powdered almonds, and almond meal is made from unblanched almonds (made from almonds with the skins on), but Iโve seen groundโฆ
Although thereโs some dispute as to where the croissant was invented, itโs become an iconic symbol of Paris. Or at least of Paris bakeries. The most popular story claims that croissants were invented in Austria, during (or after) a period of conflict with Turkey in the 1600s, whose symbol is a crescent. And people were happy to bite into, and chew, a pastry representing theirโฆ
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