Monday, July 18, 2011

Marche Ave du President Wilson


It was our last day in Paris and there were two things we had not done yet, gone to the Eiffel Tower and visit my high school friend, now living in Paris, Elise Peirce, who also happens to be known as the Cowgirl Chef at www.cowgirlchef.com.


We decided to meet at Marche Ave du President Wilson or President Wilson Market. Elise shops here often because of its high quality of local French grown vegetables. You can see her video about the market at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_ImR7hpnkY



Elise and I strolled down the aisles as she pointed out the cheeses, meats and beautiful heirloom veggies. Prices were high as expected, but so is the quality. We stopped by her favorite goat cheese maker and her gave us a generous sample. We ate a sort of quesadilla-ish calzone like cheese and pesto snack.



I purchased soap while my daughter whined, “you don’t neeeeed any more soap.” How I love soap. It is such a luxurious simple pleasure, that while I don’t need it now, I will certainly use at some point in the future...and it smells nice.



But farther on through the market was the gem, a small crepe stand run by a husband and wife with the best and I do mean the best crepes we had. I had the salted caramel crepe and it was love at first bite. I had tried some salted caramel ice cream a few days earlier, but the sauce...oh the sauce.



I quickly learned that Elise too loved this sauce and had a recipe for it. That is another blog altogether. But I will tell you that this sauce rivals my mother-in-law’s chocolate sauce on Blue Bell vanilla ice cream and that is no easy feat.



Our visit was cut short by the lunch crowd that needed our table at a nearby outdoor café and the fact that Elise is in the middle of writing a cookbook with only six weeks till deadline with a whole lotta recipes to test out and write about.



So, we say goodbye for now and promise to see each other the next time she visits her mom in Texas. And off we go to the Eiffel Tower for a look.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

In Search of the Perfect Madeleine

Spending a week or so in France has introduced me to the Madeleine. It’s not as if I did not know that she existed. I had seen plastic containers on the shelf in Whole Foods. But, it wasn’t until I tasted a homemade Madeleine in France that I decided I must really know her.


While staying with my niece, Dey, in Mercurey, a tiny village in the Burgundy region of France, I decided to whip up a batch with her requisite Madeline pan. We had most of the ingredients and only needed to substitute a lime for the lemon. However, we had only one liquid measure marked in pints and cups that she had just recently bought as she had become frustrated with converting American recipes into European measurements.


I found an American recipe online and began measuring out the ingredients. First the sugar and eggs, vanilla, lime and salt. It wasn’t until the flour that I realized that I had not exactly read the measuring cup properly. I had read the pints for cups and added way too much sugar. Not knowing how to make up for it I said, “what the heck,” and just kept going. I’m not real sure that the butter was exact measurement either, since it called for 10 tablespoons and the French beurre did not have the familiar tablespoons markings on it. So, I just guessed.


Well the first batch came out a bit…well done; maybe the degrees were off in Celsius since the recipe was in Fahrenheit. We cooled the cookies the specified 5 minutes. Stuck in the pan, though I buttered and floured, they came out a bit broken. The second batch in a cooler oven was only a bit less brown and crunchy. Of course, none of this mattered in the end, since they disappeared by early the next morning.


The cookies did not have the soft and moist consistency of their homemade French woman’s counterparts, but I am not discouraged. I’ve already priced a pan online and will have it waiting in the mail for me when I return. Since then, I’ve talked to my Denton high school friend, Ellise Pierce of www.cowgirlchef.com

turned Parisian ex-pat and she promised to send me a fool proof, American measured, Madeleine recipe so I can discover the delightfulness of this truly French cookie.


I can't hardly wait...but it will mean that I have to leave France. And that, will be a sad day all too soon.