UPDATE: As of September 2021, the owner has closed this store for good. “Je n’en ai pas besoin, mais…” Those are words I constantly tell myself when I’m at a flea market or brocante (antique or secondhand shop) and come across something that I like (or want). Piles of gorgeous French linens, mortars without (or without) pestles, French jam jars, and no longer loved café…
I’ve gone through several kitchens in my life, lots of pots and pans, various mixers, food processors, blenders and even a number of espresso machines. Kitchen scales? I’ve tried them all. But my one constant is my knives. No matter where I go, or where I move to, my knives come with me. I bought my favorite paring knife back in the early 1980’s and it’s still…
Zut! Just after I walked into La Tuile à Loup, the owner of the shop was presenting a customer with two cassoles that he’d retrieved from his store-room, to choose from. As the customer scrutinized each one, I also was eyeing them both longingly, with the same feeling that you get when you’re at a flea market and someone is holding something that you really,…
When I moved to France, the one thing I made sure to bring along was my bread knife. It’s not that you can’t get bread knives here, but I was particularly attached to mine, having used it for nearly three decades. It was a good value Victorinox at the time, and if you don’t believe that I’ve had it for so many years, I think…
On my last visit to the states, I engaged a bit in the all-American pastime of le shopping. Of course, I wasn’t looking for things made in France (although folks have a tendency to want to direct me to French-inspired bakeries, to buy macarons and croissants…), but I did see what was—and wasn’t, available from my adopted country. Interestingly, I get a fair number of…
Paris is a mecca for cooks, and folks come here from around the world to stock up on French and specialty cookware. Many of the shops are clustered around the Les Halles area, where for many years restaurateurs shopped at the giant market there for produce and other comestibles, as well as professional kitchenware. Although the market is gone, many of those stores exist and…
I can deal with a lousy oven. I can use crummy cookware. And I’ll admit that I can bake a cake in a flimsy pan. But I refuse to use a dull knife. It’s not only that they’re hard to use, but a bad knife is downright unsafe. Some people are terrified of sharp knives when in fact, when used properly, they’re actually safer: Most…
I often cook pasta in not enough water. I wash mushrooms. I don’t grind my own coffee beans. I melt chocolate in a bowl set in, not over, simmering water. I hate soup as a first course. I buy store-brand butter for baking. I try to use as few pots and pans when I cooking as I can. I lift the lid when cooking rice…
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