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I'm in Paris as some of you are aware. Paris is wonderful. How could it not be? Photos and commentary coming later. But today...well today, I might have had the best meal I've ever eatten. If it wasn't, it was close. Mark and I went to Taillevent for lunch. I don't recall all the wine pairings, but will add them later but for now, enjoy the courses with us.
First. I didn't get a photo of the scrumptous little cheese fritter bites or the bread. Suffice it to say both were amazing. The temperature of the fritters was warm and perfect.
Then came the Gazbacho with mustard ice cream. It had itty bitty little crispy crunchie croutons in it and was chiled to perfection. Next came crab with thinly sliced radishes and a basil lemon sauce. Served at just above room temperature. Note the tiny dots of basil sauce all around the dish. Perfection!
Then came the lobster with a sweet vanilla gelee and mango chutney. Oh my my my. Followed by a wheat berry risotto with tiny chanterelles and some sauce that was divine. Then came a (grilled, baked?) fillet of red snapper with a tomato confit and a stick of mashed potato that was crispy on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside. Off to the side of that was a sprig of dill with a baked (?) leaf of basil.
Next, (es, there's more in the chef's tasting menu) came duck with black cherries roasted on a spear made from a vanilla bean with fresh almonds and more basil garnish, this time it looked like the herb had been put on the plate with an airbrush or something. The sauce had a vanilla edge to it as well, carrying the themes of the seasonal market goodies through the meal. Yes, it was beyond good, beyond great and had moved into an art form worthy of salivation, respect, awe and many "ooo la la la"s.
Next came a shephard's cheese (goat?) heavenly thingie with a cherry topping, fresh baby leaves of argula, dusted with pepper and garnished with a chip/cookie/toast morsel.
Lastly, but certainly no after-thought, came the desserts. First a lychee mousse with raspberry and some wonderful crispy sweet piece on top. Mark's quote after one bite of this was "I've never had anything this good in my life" followed by "I could die now". But there was no need for an early demise, because next there was the three layers of chocolate lovliness to follow. A mousse in the middle, a crispy sweet crust on the bottom and a spun crown of chocolate candy on top. Oh and don't forget a little gold leaf for color!
As if that was not enough, there was a plate of more desserts offered "just in case" which contained a peanut, pistachio nut square, a raspberry macaroon (my first), a cookie crispy bit, a chocolate cup with a wedge of something that looked like an ivory colored chinese sail with green leaves embossed on it but tasted like white chocolate cream with mint and three raspberries in a little tart.
And this doesn't yet talk about the wines...magnifique!
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
I don't really like Jimmy Fallon, but this is just too weird for me not to like. Besides, I can't sleep. But it's funny regardless of the hour. Don't you think? Okay, maybe not. Head Swap!
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
"We inhabit ourselves without valuing ourselves, unable to see that here, now, this very moment is sacred; but once it's gone, its value is incontestable. "
Joyce Carol Oates
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
I haven't done one of these 80's Music Flashback posts in a very long time, but this song came up today in the shuffle and it made me want to see the video.
I'm going to my 25th college reunion this summer and have volunteered to reprieve my former role as a DJ at KRLX campus radio. I had the most eclectic play list imaginable on my Friday night 10 pm to midnight show: Hall & Oates, Rick James, Gordon Lightfoot, the Replacements, Prince, Billy Idol, Cat Stevens, the Gap Band, Elvis Costello, Diana Ross & the Supreme's, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, the Time, Steve Miller, Patrice Rushun...
Oh my, the mix was a mess on paper, but I think it worked on the air. But who knows, that was 1980-81 and no one gave a shit about a "format". Ronald Reagan had been elected President my freshman year and we kids at the college where Paul Wellstone was a ramble-rousing political science professor, just wanted to listen to some good music on a Friday night out there in the corn fields of Northfield Minnesota. It didn't matter one bit that the songs or the artists didn't really fit together and that only a handful of people were listening.
I've not been to one of the reunions yet, but I imagine I'll find that some of us still hold on to that heart of glass.
Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out had a heart of glass
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
Once I had a love and it was divine
Soon found out I was losing my mind
It seemed like the real thing but I was so blind
Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
In between
What I find is pleasing and I'm feeling fine
Love is so confusing there's no peace of mind
If I fear I'm losing you it's just no good
You teasing like you do
Lost inside
Adorable illusion and I cannot hide
I'm the one you're using, please don't push me aside
We could've made it cruising, yeah
Yeah, riding high on love's true bluish light
Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out I had a heart of glass
Soon turned out to be a pain in the ass
Seemed like the real thing only to find
Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
.
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
Question of the Day: Which of your birthday parties was your favorite one?
Submitted by Jack Yan.
Given the unimaginable trauma surprise I got after my last birthday party this past January, I think that this question is better left unanswered.
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
I watched "I'm Not There" on Tivo tonight. Powerful acting by Heath Ledger, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett, plus, it has one of my favorite qualities...amazing eye delighting visuals.
Tonight as I stand inside the rain
Ev'rybody knows
That Baby's got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls.
She takes just like a woman, yes, she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
My dear brother-in-law sent me a sweet card and gift today to speed my recovery.
How could I not like an out of print hardcover book about wine from the illustrator of Hunter S. Thompson books, Ralph Steadman?
Thanks Dan!
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
Seriously, this was the merchandise selection Amazon was suggesting for me tonight.
Between that, listening to Mark this weekend talk about people's my irrational fears about vaccinations and watching TV news off and on all day today blather on about the coming pandemic, I'm starting to think I should have been getting flu shots.
I've never gotten one.
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
My sister Nancy is cooking for me, waiting on me and making sure that I don't over do it like I did yesterday, so today I resisted the perpetual urge to "do something" and just laid low. I watched two movies from bed, both wonderful little films about quiet lives. Both perfect for being home and taking it easy after being under general anesthesia for a couple of hours and a shorter than expected hospital stay. I highly recommend them both, if you like the quirky little human interest film with wonderful performances.
If you're on Netflix, feel free to add me as your friend to see if we like the same movies.
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
Maybe you all have already seen both these "viral" videos circling the web, but I saw them both for the first time tonight and wanted them in my blog's library. Like this one and this one before it.
Maybe I'm just being a sentiment sap because today I just found out that my baby sister is taking a train all the way here to be with me for two whole weeks while I have and recover from this surgery I've been putting off for nearly two years because of stupid fears.
Maybe it's hormonal.
Maybe there's some pent up emotional sludge still living under the surface (ya, think?!) of my "back-to-normal" facade post the [this is happy] segment of my personal life.
But no matter what the reason, both these articles and videos brought me to tears tonight.
Happy hopeful helpful tears. The kind you get when you see and feel something that strikes a cord of genuine connectedness with other people. And I wanted to share them with anyone who happens to be in the audience or at the train station with me today.
You will want to read this brilliant social commentary by Collette Douglas Home before watching the video of Susan Boyle's first public performance.
If the video doesn't play on Vox, click on it and you'll see it on YouTube.
Then read why Alex Leo thinks this video has the appeal it does, even though it was made to promote a television show.
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
I must be feeling homesick, but where is home? Home is mostly certainly here in California, but most of my family, with the exception of my daughter, live in Minnesota and are having an Easter meal at my sister and brother-in-law's place today in Minneapolis. I have a big dining room table and plenty of room now (especially since emptying my living room of almost all it's furniture). I miss making holiday meals with lots of friends and family.
So I've been cooking this weekend.
On Friday I made a cauliflower, garlic, lemon saffron soup but just tossing things together from the kitchen. It was delicious.
On Friday night, I watched several Mark Bittman "Minimalist" segments on that I download on TiVo and woke up on Saturday inspired to go grocery shopping with an actual list and cook some more. Deborah, Cassie and Laurel were coming over Saturday evening and my aspirations to make several things got the best of me, because I started several things, but never finished anything before they arrived. (At least I had plenty of wine on hand!)
Plus I couldn't find the chickpea flour I needed for the main dish I wanted to make and roasting beets resulted in me not wanting to get my hands red cutting them up for the salad I was planning to make. So we ended up eating the fresh bread and yummy cheese that Laurel brought and I added some hummus and olive spreads and served what remained of the cauliflower soup...and kept pouring wine.
But today I decided to put all the inspiration and shopping to good use and after a trip to Whole Foods for the right flour, made Bittman's "Tortillitas with Shrimp" and a roasted whole chicken with gravy. I didn't get to completing the beet salad recipe, but I did find a pair of rubber gloves so I could peel and slice them up for later in the week. And the house does smell like a home.
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
I'm voraciously reading: stocked up some more titles over the weekend. I think I'm just trying to prove that I don't really need a Kindle after all. I'll wait until it comes out in color.
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
Re-posting courtesy of Sujatin, who, like Pema Chodron, is a wise and inspiring teacher of mindfulness.
The first noble truth says simply that it's part of being human to feel discomfort. We don't even have to call it "suffering" anymore; we don't even have to call it discomfort.
It's simply coming to know the fieriness of fire, the wildness of wind, the turbulence of water, the upheaval of earth, as well as the warmth of fire, the coolness and smoothness of water, the gentleness of the breezes, and the goodness, solidness, and dependability of the earth.
Nothing in its essence is one way or the other. The four elements take on different qualities; they're like magicians. Sometimes they manifest in one form and sometimes in another...
The first noble truth recognizes that we also change like the weather, we ebb and flow like the tides, we wax and wane like the moon.
~ Pema Chodron, Awakening Loving-Kindness
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
Okay, I didn't think I was going to like this. I mean, how do you make the wonderful whimsical "Where The Wild Things Are" into a movie? An non-animated movie?
This is how. Spike Jonze!
I want to see it right now.
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
It was sweet and visually beautiful. And who doesn't love Beatles songs? A cameo by Bono was delightful as well.
I'm such an sucker for idealism combined with romance.
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
I sent these quotes to the team's sales director today as a pick-me-up at the end of a rather tough email about the performance of the national sales team.
I'm not sure if it helped him, but I've been very worried about the economy (who hasn't!) and these quotes ended up soothing my stress level for a moment.
“I'm not afraid of storms, for
I'm learning how to sail my ship.”
-- Louisa May Alcott
“The pessimist complains about
the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”
-- William Arthur Ward
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
What We Want
by Linda Pastan, from Carnival Evening. © W.W. Norton.What we want
is never simple
We move among the things
we thought we want
a face, a room, an open book
and these things bear our names--
now they want us.
But what we want appears
in dreams, wearing disguises.
We fall past,
holding out our arms
and in the morning
our arms ache.
We don't remember the dream,
but the dream remembers us.
It is there all day
as an animal is there
under the table,
as the stars are there
even in full sun
I keep running across or being given these beautiful poems. Giving me a reason to share them here.
Originally posted on patty.vox.com
