What city is more beautiful than Paris? For as much as I love Manhattan, Paris is far more architecturally interesting. There is an air of elegance and sophistication, of intellectualism and style that seems to weave its way through all things Parisian. We have visited this exciting city many times...sometimes for work, more often just because we love it...so imagine our delight when a treasured friend (and Boardbroad) announced that she and her husband would be visiting Paris at the same time that we were planning to be there! (My redheaded friend and blond me are also known as "Lucy and Ethel" with a history of experiencess not unlike the sitcom we all remember!)
We usually rent an apartment in Paris, and this time was no different, except that this time we shared it with these friends. Our apartmment was on the second floor of a gorgeous, restored building in the Marais, hidden from the street behind high wooden gates.
We usually rent an apartment in Paris, and this time was no different, except that this time we shared it with these friends. Our apartmment was on the second floor of a gorgeous, restored building in the Marais, hidden from the street behind high wooden gates.
My friend had been to Paris when she was a young girl but her husband had never been there before. It was wonderful to enjoy this enchanted city through theiir eyes! The Louvre, D'Orsay, L'Oranngerie...we devoured the banquet of magnificent art they held...when we stood surrounded by Monet's water lilies at L'Orangerie I was actually brought to tears!
We did hit all the tourist sites... but the best times were the unexpected ones...like the day we found a reenactment of the history of Paris...what a fun experience that was! Costumed actors and volunteers took the spectators through the years...
...Could that be Lucy marching off to war with Napoleon's army???
Most often we chose to eat our lunches out and have our dinners in the apartment. I often volunteered to cook, and the shopping was a big part of the experience for me. Sometimes the couples went their own ways... they, off to see sights we had enjoyed many times previously, and we to re-immerse ourseves in favorite haunts such as the Place des Vosges, Sennellier art store, shopping in the Marais, and selecting food to prepare for dinner in little shops along our way. How I loved stopping into a patisserie and selecting from the assortment of mouth-watering desserts, or finding wonderful fresh vegetables in the stalls...carrying my crusty loaf of bread while my husband toted the cloth bag (provided by our apartment's owner) filled with ingredients just purchased at the super marche`. I always found the shop-keepers most respectful of my struggle to use my French and after several days found some willing to attempt their equally limited English with me.
Every morning the two husbands went out to purchase fresh croissants and we enjoyed our coffee with the oven-warm croissants, an assortment of cheeses and fruit. We often had our lunches together and sampled the fare that France is so famous for...
(Escargot)
(Salade)
(Crepe)
(Creme Brule`)
( I know...I know...mostly desserts!!! )
Our apartment was home away from home...we even had people, whom I knew from an internet travel board and were in Paris at the same time, visit us there. Imagine... entertaining guests in your Paris apartment!!!
The memories of this adventure play over in my mind like re-reading a beloved novel or watching a favorite movie again and again. After all, what combination can compare to time with treasured friends and PARIS?
Always in love with French food, my favorite to prepare is Filet de Boeuf en Croute...lots of prep but sooo worth it...serve it to the ooohs and ahhhs of your awed guests and family!
Filet de Boeuf en Croute
Purchase and store 1 whole filet of beef in refrigerator about 2 days
I use already prepared puff pastry sheets that can be purrchased in the supermarket frozen food section
Stuffing (Prepare beforehand)
2 tbsp. butter 2 tbsp. cream
2 shallots minced 2 tbsp. madeira or port wine
1 1/2 lbs minced mushrooms 1 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 tbsp. flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper
Melt butter in hot pan and saute shallots with mushrooms. When mushrooms are cooked and all liquid is cooked away add flour and stir into mushroom/shallot mixture. Lower flame and add rest of ingredients (cream, parsley, wine and salt/pepper) Cook a few minutes to thicken...cool...and refrigerate if it has to stand any length of time.
Puttin' it all together...
Allow filet to stand at room temp for about 1 hour sprinkled with a few tablespoons of red wine, salt and pepper
Roll out puff pastry to a rectangle about 9" x 17"....should be a bit over twice as wide and a little longer than filet. Place rolled out dough on jellyroll pan and refrigerate.
Spread 3 tbsp. butter or olive oil over filet and roast for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Reserve the pan juices for sauce.
45 minutes before serving Take pastry and mushroom stuffing out of fridge. Spread mushroom mixture down center of the pastry.
Place filet, top side down on mushrooms
Fold dough over to enfold meat completely and turn over onto jellyroll pan so that seam is on the bottom. Make a criss-cross design on top with knife (you can make leaves and flowers with puff pastry as a design on the top, too) and brush with beaten egg yolk and water.
Bake at 400 degrees about 30 minutes.
Sauce au Perigord (which I often leave out as this dish is rich enough to stand alone! Pan juices, 1/2 cup red wine and 1 1/2 cups beef broth simmered for 2-3 minutes is just as good!!)
2 tbsp pate`
1 small truffle (minced)
1/2 cup port wine
1 tbsp. corn starch
2 tbsp water
1 1/2 cups beef broth
reserved filet juices
Blend pate` truffles and wine....Mix cornstarch and water in a cup...Cook beef broth with filet juices for about 4 min. Blend all ingredients stirring constantly until sauce gets thickened.
Serve filet on a large platter and spoon sauce over each slice as it is served. Slices should be at least 1/2 " thick or more.
...and below is a truly authentic recipe straight from my friend Maureen (who is French and a really good cook) in her exact words just as she sent it to me...and it is OUTSTANDING!!!!
Gratin Daphinoise
1 small truffle (minced)
1/2 cup port wine
1 tbsp. corn starch
2 tbsp water
1 1/2 cups beef broth
reserved filet juices
Blend pate` truffles and wine....Mix cornstarch and water in a cup...Cook beef broth with filet juices for about 4 min. Blend all ingredients stirring constantly until sauce gets thickened.
Serve filet on a large platter and spoon sauce over each slice as it is served. Slices should be at least 1/2 " thick or more.
...and below is a truly authentic recipe straight from my friend Maureen (who is French and a really good cook) in her exact words just as she sent it to me...and it is OUTSTANDING!!!!
Gratin Daphinoise
3 lbs potatoes such as yukon gold
shredded gruyere, or good swiss tasty cheese
milk
creme fraiche or sour cream
nutmeg, salt ,pepper
thinly slice potaoes, with a cuisinart
in a 2 inch deep pan , pretty large, that can go in the oven, a thick ceramic dish is best
butter the dish
lay one layer of potatoes,salt pepper, nutmeg,shredded cheese, not too much
again and again.
every 3 layers add milk so that it gets to nthe level of the potatoes. (it should not float!) and a bit of creme fraiche.
keep on doing this until you have filled your pan.
on top add mucho cheese,
bake for about 1.5 hours. the top should be brown, the milk should have avaporated, and the potatoes should be well cooked.
IT SHOULD BE DELICIOUUUUUUS
shredded gruyere, or good swiss tasty cheese
milk
creme fraiche or sour cream
nutmeg, salt ,pepper
thinly slice potaoes, with a cuisinart
in a 2 inch deep pan , pretty large, that can go in the oven, a thick ceramic dish is best
butter the dish
lay one layer of potatoes,salt pepper, nutmeg,shredded cheese, not too much
again and again.
every 3 layers add milk so that it gets to nthe level of the potatoes. (it should not float!) and a bit of creme fraiche.
keep on doing this until you have filled your pan.
on top add mucho cheese,
bake for about 1.5 hours. the top should be brown, the milk should have avaporated, and the potatoes should be well cooked.
IT SHOULD BE DELICIOUUUUUUS
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