Tuesday - Visited the Musee d'Orsay and perambulated through the excellent collection of impressionist painting. Afterwards, we took a stroll through the Tulleries Gardens. Then it was home for some cleaning up and preparing for our biggest dinner in Paris at the famous Joël Robuchon's L'Atelier. The wait, we were told, was one hour, but we got there at 8:00pm only to find out that the wait was 2.5 hrs. We went over next door to a hotel and got drinks at a posh hotel, where Diesel spotted a small mouse scurrying across the lobby. Upon being notified of the unwanted patron, the hotel staff seemed quite disgusted. However, after a brief, failed search, they simply gave us as if it wasn't a big deal at all.
At 10:30 we finally sat at the bar (the whole restaurant is all bar seats, with the kitchen in the middle). We did the 9-course tasting menu. I can't remember the names of any of the dishes; all I know is that was really the best meal of my life.
Wednesday - We woke up early for the Louvre. Despite being able to skip all the lines by using our museum pass, we were surrounded, choked in fact, by the large crowed of tourists. Not the art-loving kind, mind you, but the breed that only goes from piece to piece taking pics of themselves with famous works of art and intend to bore their friends with those stupid shots. We met up with Nath after the museum, as she had arrived from Lyon the previous evening. The threatening clouds turned into downpour, and we ran through the streets to find a good neighborhood restaurant--with only 4 days in Paris, we wanted to make the most out of every meal. We picked a small family-owned restaurant, where we ordered steak and frites. That's right. I had RED MEAT. And it was GOOD.
In the evening we had dinner at Marie-Pierre's house. MP is a co-worker of Nath's whom I met while she was traveling through Seattle/Vancouver. Her friend Isabelle, who was traveling with MP was also there.
Thursday - We slept in till 11 and met with Nath for lunch at La Tete de Grouchin or something like that. The food was really good. We then made a stop home and the two decided it was in order to take a nap. I was a bit impatient and wanted to walk around, as we had been lazy all morning. We finally made it out and took a stroll through the streets of Paris.
That night, Nath got a reprieve from us and met up with her friends at a restaurant. We didn't go to far, and went to the restaurant next door (literally), where we enjoyed some hearty Provençal food.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Day 1 in Paris - Secrets and Lies, Let the Gluttony begin
We arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport at 10:30am but after having problems with our shuttle, we didn't get to the apartment that my friend Nathalie had arranged for us to stay in until 1pm.
We were received by Daniele, who lived in the apartment. Nathalie had tried to explain to me the whole housing arrangement, but seeing that all of the exchange was done over IM, it follows that I did not really understand that Nath didn't know this person personally. In fact, Daniele was actually a friend of a friend (Lili) of a friend (Pauline) of Nath's. To conceal the loose connection, I was supposed to say that I did know Pauline, a fact that escaped my attention. I have a feeling I got Nath and Pauline in a bit of trouble, but we tried to be good house guests.
We got cleaned up and Daniele made us some delicious salad, topping it off with bits of goat cheese wrapped in speck, shaved Parmesan and other little French treats that came in jars filled with aromatic olive oil. After that, we took a recovery nap and finally made it out by taking a stroll around the neighborhood. We were by place Pereire, a hip, borderline snooty neighborhood in the 17th arroundissement.
That night, Lili came over and cooked us dinner: shredded duck and mashed potatoes casserole. The dish name sounds much better in French though. A lot off champagne, and wine were consumed that night which led to some jolly moments that night.
We were received by Daniele, who lived in the apartment. Nathalie had tried to explain to me the whole housing arrangement, but seeing that all of the exchange was done over IM, it follows that I did not really understand that Nath didn't know this person personally. In fact, Daniele was actually a friend of a friend (Lili) of a friend (Pauline) of Nath's. To conceal the loose connection, I was supposed to say that I did know Pauline, a fact that escaped my attention. I have a feeling I got Nath and Pauline in a bit of trouble, but we tried to be good house guests.
We got cleaned up and Daniele made us some delicious salad, topping it off with bits of goat cheese wrapped in speck, shaved Parmesan and other little French treats that came in jars filled with aromatic olive oil. After that, we took a recovery nap and finally made it out by taking a stroll around the neighborhood. We were by place Pereire, a hip, borderline snooty neighborhood in the 17th arroundissement.
That night, Lili came over and cooked us dinner: shredded duck and mashed potatoes casserole. The dish name sounds much better in French though. A lot off champagne, and wine were consumed that night which led to some jolly moments that night.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
On Our Way to Paris/The Boy Who Wouldn't Shut Up
It finally came! Diesel's and my trip to Paris. Catching the flight was quite stressful, as we had to get up at 5am on Sunday morning and drive down to Seattle from the Baker cabin. You see, our friends Rebeca, Steve and Heidi threw a big party at the cabin to celebrate their 40th, 40th, and 30th bdays, respectively, so on Sat afternoon Diesel and I made the 2.5 hr drive to Baker and, in a ambitious, yet utterly stupid plan, decided to drive back to Seattle at 5 so we could make a 7:30-8am stop at the Danskin triathlon to cheer on our friends Tarah and Regina, who were doing their first tri.
After gett pulled over by a cop but not getting a speeding ticket despite doing 57 on a 35mph road, we cheered Tarah on but missed Regina :(
Back at our apartment, we showered, grabbed our bags and got a ride from my sis to the airport. The flight to Chicago was a lovely flight in business class with a free meal and a separate bathroom from the plebe.
The Chicago to Paris flight, on the other hand was in economy class, which is fine cuz, as you can tell from the previous paragraph, I'm no snob. However, right off the bat this 7-year-old boy who was sitting next to us started talking. Yapping really. It was an ominous sign to a long and sleepless night.
I might exaggerate sometimes, but I kid you not when I tell you that the kid yapped non-stop from the time we took off to the time we landed. It was a 9-hour flight during which 8 hours were spent yapping away and one hour going to the bathroom and walking aimlessly in the forbidden aisles of business class, where he got kicked out of.
Anyhow, curiously enough; his mother, father and sister were all sitting in adjacent seats in the row in front of him. He was the only member of his OWN family that was sitting in the row next to ours. Did his mom KNOW something we didn't???
So as I mentioned and reitterated, the kid's yapping continued through the night, even after the lights went out and most of the passengers went to sleep. It got so bad that Diesel woke up from the little sleep he could get with the sole purpose of shushing the boy. Even after a loud SHHHHH the boy continued yapping--I guess in his defense I have to say that he turned it down a tad. But he did NOT, I repeat, did NOT stop talking.
The next morning breakfast was being served, and the flight attendants went around with the drinks cart. Upon being asked what he wanted, the boy said: "coffee."
COFFEE? COFFEE??? NO WONDER!!!!! The flight attendant was taken aback and had to confirm with the boy's mom that he was allowed to have some. Unfazed, the mother--who let me remind you, was NOT sitting next to her own son--replied with an emphatic "YES."
Judge me if you want, but it just seems unfair to me that a parent would give her already hyperactive kid nature's version of Red Bull and let him go wild on a night flight annoying the hell out of the other passengers (and by "other passengers" I mean ME), when what he really needed was a big dose of ridelin.
All I can say is that after that, French will never again be the language of l'amour et romance; instead, it'll be forever tarnished by the boy that wouldn't shut up.
After gett pulled over by a cop but not getting a speeding ticket despite doing 57 on a 35mph road, we cheered Tarah on but missed Regina :(
Back at our apartment, we showered, grabbed our bags and got a ride from my sis to the airport. The flight to Chicago was a lovely flight in business class with a free meal and a separate bathroom from the plebe.
The Chicago to Paris flight, on the other hand was in economy class, which is fine cuz, as you can tell from the previous paragraph, I'm no snob. However, right off the bat this 7-year-old boy who was sitting next to us started talking. Yapping really. It was an ominous sign to a long and sleepless night.
I might exaggerate sometimes, but I kid you not when I tell you that the kid yapped non-stop from the time we took off to the time we landed. It was a 9-hour flight during which 8 hours were spent yapping away and one hour going to the bathroom and walking aimlessly in the forbidden aisles of business class, where he got kicked out of.
Anyhow, curiously enough; his mother, father and sister were all sitting in adjacent seats in the row in front of him. He was the only member of his OWN family that was sitting in the row next to ours. Did his mom KNOW something we didn't???
So as I mentioned and reitterated, the kid's yapping continued through the night, even after the lights went out and most of the passengers went to sleep. It got so bad that Diesel woke up from the little sleep he could get with the sole purpose of shushing the boy. Even after a loud SHHHHH the boy continued yapping--I guess in his defense I have to say that he turned it down a tad. But he did NOT, I repeat, did NOT stop talking.
The next morning breakfast was being served, and the flight attendants went around with the drinks cart. Upon being asked what he wanted, the boy said: "coffee."
COFFEE? COFFEE??? NO WONDER!!!!! The flight attendant was taken aback and had to confirm with the boy's mom that he was allowed to have some. Unfazed, the mother--who let me remind you, was NOT sitting next to her own son--replied with an emphatic "YES."
Judge me if you want, but it just seems unfair to me that a parent would give her already hyperactive kid nature's version of Red Bull and let him go wild on a night flight annoying the hell out of the other passengers (and by "other passengers" I mean ME), when what he really needed was a big dose of ridelin.
All I can say is that after that, French will never again be the language of l'amour et romance; instead, it'll be forever tarnished by the boy that wouldn't shut up.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Food Project 7-8: Dinner with Charlie
To prevent my brother-in-law from eating yet another sandwich while my sister is traveling for work, we had Charlie over for dinner.
Dinner consisted of some light and fresh Ravioli Caprese. I bought a $5 ravioli stamp at Sur la Table which worked great. The filling was filling and fresh with lots of basil and a hint of lemon zest. For the dough, I had to use a cup of wheat flour (only because we ran out of regular flour), which I think made the dough tougher, less malleable and thus harder to roll into thinner pasta sheets. Next time I'll use all-purpose flour for the whole thing. I served it with FRIED polenta (keeping up with the "light meal" theme) and cherry tomatoes (for redemption).
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Nigella's Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake looked amazing on her show. The cake finished baking at midnight last night, after both Diesel and I had brushed our teeth. It was then that Diesel reminded me that we are both adults, and if we wanted to eat cake in bed after brushing our teeth, we should do it! It tasted really good fresh out of the oven. Today the cake was a lot denser; I prefer it warm and gooey. Not sure this was my fave choc cake...
Dinner consisted of some light and fresh Ravioli Caprese. I bought a $5 ravioli stamp at Sur la Table which worked great. The filling was filling and fresh with lots of basil and a hint of lemon zest. For the dough, I had to use a cup of wheat flour (only because we ran out of regular flour), which I think made the dough tougher, less malleable and thus harder to roll into thinner pasta sheets. Next time I'll use all-purpose flour for the whole thing. I served it with FRIED polenta (keeping up with the "light meal" theme) and cherry tomatoes (for redemption).
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Nigella's Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake looked amazing on her show. The cake finished baking at midnight last night, after both Diesel and I had brushed our teeth. It was then that Diesel reminded me that we are both adults, and if we wanted to eat cake in bed after brushing our teeth, we should do it! It tasted really good fresh out of the oven. Today the cake was a lot denser; I prefer it warm and gooey. Not sure this was my fave choc cake...
Food Project 2-6
So I have not been so good about sticking to my cooking project, but I have indeed tried somed new recipes. Unfortunately, I have not been able to take pics of the final products, as Diesel had the brilliant idea of taking our camera to a RAFTING trip, and consequently brought it back broken.
Anyhow, here's a list of the recipes I have tried:
Gaucho-Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce - A Tyler Florence recipe. Every Tyler recipe I ever tried has been simple and turned out great, and this was no exception. It's just unfortunate that the hunky chef ever agreed to "create" a dish for TGIFridays. I did a trial run for this with Charlie and Emy, and after the successful attempt, served it at Diesel's b-day.
Corn and Tomato Salad- This was a recipe given to me by my friend Emily. It's a refreshing and original salad and perfect for summer
Tiramisu - I'll count this one as well, as it's been about two years since I last made it. The recipe is Costa's, a real-life, younger Italian mama that I met while doing study abroad in Germany
Pasta Carbonara - I don't eat pork, but ever since Diesel made this classic dish, I've been hooked. It love it as a pre long run meal. I tried to make it myself last Friday, and everything was doing well until the step where I was supposed to toss the hot pasta with the raw egg + cheese mixture. The eggs cooked and turned into omlette, which was quite sad. Looking back, I should have used a regular pot instead of the cast iron pot I used, which holds a lot more heat
Anyhow, here's a list of the recipes I have tried:
Gaucho-Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce - A Tyler Florence recipe. Every Tyler recipe I ever tried has been simple and turned out great, and this was no exception. It's just unfortunate that the hunky chef ever agreed to "create" a dish for TGIFridays. I did a trial run for this with Charlie and Emy, and after the successful attempt, served it at Diesel's b-day.
Corn and Tomato Salad- This was a recipe given to me by my friend Emily. It's a refreshing and original salad and perfect for summer
Tiramisu - I'll count this one as well, as it's been about two years since I last made it. The recipe is Costa's, a real-life, younger Italian mama that I met while doing study abroad in Germany
Pasta Carbonara - I don't eat pork, but ever since Diesel made this classic dish, I've been hooked. It love it as a pre long run meal. I tried to make it myself last Friday, and everything was doing well until the step where I was supposed to toss the hot pasta with the raw egg + cheese mixture. The eggs cooked and turned into omlette, which was quite sad. Looking back, I should have used a regular pot instead of the cast iron pot I used, which holds a lot more heat
Sunday, August 05, 2007
19 Miles Miles and Micky-D's
So I was supposed to run 20 miles this weekend. Instead, I did 19, but it was still a lot. I started pretty late, and despite the (inaccurate) weather report of an overcast day, it was too hot for me by the time I hit mile 5.
Anyhow, after a hard run like that, I decided I was going to celebrate. Since Diesel was going to take me to the Harvest Vine that night, I decided to postpone my reward to the following day (today).
After a hard day of fabulous shopping with my friend Koko, I went after the gold: the McDonald's drive-through window. And then I did something I have NEVER done in my life: I SUPERSIZED. For the fries, really, since I never seem to get enough of those delicious golden treats, especially when I go to the drive-through and eat half of them before I even get home. So yes, it made perfect sense to supersize it. And so I did it. Much to my surprise and rage, I realized that despite being inside a large fries container, the quantity in the box was actually the size of MEDIUM fries. What the heck??!!!
Anyhow, there was no time to whine, as I couldn't let my chicken sandwich or fries get cold. Since McDonald's is SO bad for you (but oh, it tastes SO GOOD), I don't let myself be tempted often, but when I do, I just have to get it right.
At home, I faithfully followed my ritual: I put on my elastic shorts (or pants, depending on the weather), turned on the TV, and guess what? A show called "Big Mac" on CNBC was on. I immediately thought, "Oh great, this Supersize Me-like show" will ruin my happiness," but fortunately, the show did not diss my favorite fast food restaurant.
Anyhow, after a hard run like that, I decided I was going to celebrate. Since Diesel was going to take me to the Harvest Vine that night, I decided to postpone my reward to the following day (today).
After a hard day of fabulous shopping with my friend Koko, I went after the gold: the McDonald's drive-through window. And then I did something I have NEVER done in my life: I SUPERSIZED. For the fries, really, since I never seem to get enough of those delicious golden treats, especially when I go to the drive-through and eat half of them before I even get home. So yes, it made perfect sense to supersize it. And so I did it. Much to my surprise and rage, I realized that despite being inside a large fries container, the quantity in the box was actually the size of MEDIUM fries. What the heck??!!!
Anyhow, there was no time to whine, as I couldn't let my chicken sandwich or fries get cold. Since McDonald's is SO bad for you (but oh, it tastes SO GOOD), I don't let myself be tempted often, but when I do, I just have to get it right.
At home, I faithfully followed my ritual: I put on my elastic shorts (or pants, depending on the weather), turned on the TV, and guess what? A show called "Big Mac" on CNBC was on. I immediately thought, "Oh great, this Supersize Me-like show" will ruin my happiness," but fortunately, the show did not diss my favorite fast food restaurant.
"She Eats Well!"
After a hard 19-miler on Saturday, Diesel took me to one of our favorite restaurants, the Harvest Vine, in Madison Park. It's a very small neighborhood restaurant that serves the most delicious tapas. Diesel and I like to sit at the bar to watch the chefs cook and annoyingly ask questions about what this and that is and how this and that is made.
I got all dressed up even though I was about to crash, but I figured the fabulous meal deserved some serious celebration, and by goodness, I was going to celebrate it with a cute outfit.
We sat at the bar as usual, and the ordering started: perfectly cooked octopus on potatoes (I'm not a fan of octopus, but this was really good) and bonito with braised leeks. Then it got better, much better: pimientos stuffed with blood sausage, eggplant with tomatoes and cheese, suckling pig, spinach with pine nuts and cream sherry. It was during this episode of utter gluttony that the chef turned to Diesel and said: "Wow, she eats well!"
I know it was his way of saying that I was being a pig, but oh well, it was all damn good, and I'll be damned if I had let all that good food go to waste.
I got all dressed up even though I was about to crash, but I figured the fabulous meal deserved some serious celebration, and by goodness, I was going to celebrate it with a cute outfit.
We sat at the bar as usual, and the ordering started: perfectly cooked octopus on potatoes (I'm not a fan of octopus, but this was really good) and bonito with braised leeks. Then it got better, much better: pimientos stuffed with blood sausage, eggplant with tomatoes and cheese, suckling pig, spinach with pine nuts and cream sherry. It was during this episode of utter gluttony that the chef turned to Diesel and said: "Wow, she eats well!"
I know it was his way of saying that I was being a pig, but oh well, it was all damn good, and I'll be damned if I had let all that good food go to waste.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Happy Birthday, Book Club!
Last Monday, "Never 5," my book club, had its third birthday. I can't believe it's been three years already!
We met at Jenny's for some very yummy and elegant hors d'oeuvres and sat out in her balcony--which we later found out is unstable and for that very reason had never been used for a bigger gathering--thanks Jenny, for almost killing us! ;)
We caught up on gossip and the summer, and reminisced about all that we've been through together during the past three years: 2 baby boys and a third coming anytime now (Molly's VERY preggers), a wedding, and three 30th birthdays!
After we finished dinner and discussed last month's book, Kendra got up and said she had to leave. Very strange, but in an odd turn of events, four of the seven girls got up and said "Let's go!" The remaining three of us were clueless, but were dragged by the rest of them, as we were going "somewhere."
We arrived at the Melting Pot, where the four not-yet-30-year-olds had planned a surprise celebration for those of us who had turned 30 this year. It was so comfortable and fun! For our presents, we each got subscriptions to different mags that they girls thought we would like: Molly, the TV/movie junkie got "Entertainment Weekly," crafty A got "Real Simple" and I got "National Geographic Traveler."
How thoughtful and sweet of them! Thanks girls and looking forward to many more years reading and going through life with you.
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