I was treated to a rather exceptional experience this week, granted a private audience with Mona Lisa herself. Usually surrounded by crowds (when the museum moved her to a different wing for the Da Vinci exhibition in 2019 they had to completely update their crowd control and security protocols) it was rather surreal to see her smiling face up close and reflect on her history (more than I can do justice to here). Not to waste time in the empty Louvre I also spun past the crown jewels, waved at the unfinished Michelangelo masterpieces, stood spellbound in front of Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss and craned my neck admiring the ceilings for so long I needed to see an osteopath. But the icing on the cake was a few minutes with Winged Victory of Samothrace in a silent Daru staircase.
A few days later it was another visit to the Louvre, this time rather less glamorous, to deliver an order of books. I descended into a dark tunnel on a very slim footpath and after a game of chicken with a tour bus found the right place and handed over my precious cargo. Noting my arrival on foot the depot manager commented “you must be very passionate about your product” so I showed him a photo of the 100 boxes in my storage room and he promised to get them on the shelves as quickly as possible to help me sell them.
On the regular side of life I taught a soufflé class, macaron class, led my first gluten free tour, arranged passport renewals (always a great excuse to visit my beloved Australian Embassy and
), juggled my actual job, recorded and edited episodes of the new podcast, ran errands and project managed a family of 5. My husband and I agreed that he’d buy the Easter eggs to avoid a repeat of last year’s ridiculous bounty but *surprise* I couldn’t resist…On Friday afternoon we bundled the kids and dog into a rental car to spend the long weekend in the countryside at my in-law’s. There’s an annual brocante in a nearby village so I crafted an excuse to drive past and “conveniently” pop in for some bargain hunting. 1 lampshade (€1), 2 plates to hang on the wall (€15), 2 serving platters (€2), 2 Charles Aznavour records (€2) and a coca-zero (€2) and I was ready to call it a day when I spotted two perfect gifts for friends so snapped those up too. Rural jumble sales are the best kind.
It was a weekend of great food cooked by my in-law’s (he’s in charge of starters and desserts, she does mains) and we celebrated my teenager’s birthday with all her favourite dishes including duck rillettes, roast chicken with sautéed potatoes, a large cheese selection and chocolate cake. While visiting family in the area we were presented with crème renversée, (a creme caramel with or without the caramel) which was so delicious I ate two and asked for the recipe, which turned out to be my husbands grandmother’s.
On Sunday morning the cloches des Pâques rang out and the kids rushed around the garden filling their paniers and then their tummies with chocolate treats. To run off some of the sugar there was a little bike ride where we stopped to rescue a snail and stare at an earthworm for a while, which kept us busy until lunch was ready. After a delightfully tender slow roasted lamb we indulged in a newfound specialty, cheese Easter eggs, which were declared a successful novelty.
Have a great week,
- Emily
Cheese we’re eating this week:
Petits Œufs Tomme de Brebis et Poivre Noir - little easter eggs made from sheep’s milk, decorated with black pepper. A+.
Brillat-Savarin aux truffes - a soft-ripened triple cream cheese made from pasteurised cow’s milk. It has a very creamy texture and a subtle flavour, complimented by the ribbons of truffle running through the centre.
Comté - a semi-hard cheese made from unpasteurised cow’s milk from the Jura Massif region of France, this one was aged 18 months.
All 3 cheeses were from Barthélemy.
Crème Renversée au Caramel
A proper French grandma recipe. Simple yet perfect.
6 eggs
160g sugar
Pinch of salt
1L of milk
1 vanilla bean
200g sugar
500ml water
Set the oven to 200°C and boil a full kettle of water.
If you want to have the caramel layer add 200g sugar with 500ml water to a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved then bring to a boil until it just reaches a lovely caramel colour. Pour into the bottom of the ramekins and let cool a little.
Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a bowl with the pinch of salt.
Bring the milk to a boil with the split vanilla bean.
Add the milk little by little to the egg/sugar mix (don’t add too much at a time or you will scramble the eggs).
Place the ramekins (or you can make it in one larger dish) into a large baking pan to create a bain-marie and fill with the mixture. Pour in the boiled water from the kettle until halfway up the sides.
Cook for 40ish minutes if a larger dish, 20ish minutes if ramekins (until the tops are gently browned and it seems set but still has a good wobble if you shake it.
Leave to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours (take out of the water bath first!). Turn out just before serving (or if that’s too scary just serve in the ramekins/dish).
Bon appétit!
Real Life Paris Photo
They’re still going…
Ahhh, to be in the Louvre all alone...the Winged Samothrace is absolutely glorious. Glad you and your family, including Noisette, had such a lovely Easter weekend.