I kicked off the week with a visit to my French bank where I was most pleased to learn “it’s not their job to keep documents secure” when it was discovered a document they were supposed to keep secure for me to sign had gone for a wander. The bank staff were shocked to realise I didn’t immediately leave upon hearing their answer AND that I expected them to actually do something about the issue, so there was much grumbling as I inconveniently asked them to perform their duties while I weirdly grinned the whole time thinking “this’ll make a great intro to the newsletter”.
There were a few minutes of sunshine through the endless grey clouds this week and France got a new Prime Minister (the last one was rather unceremoniously dumped after just 90 days) so all in all everyone has reason to feel rather chipper as the holidays approach. Across town lights are twinkling, the boulevards are busy and the scent of mulled wine wafts from street vendors and cafes as people bustle past one another huffing and oh-la-la-ing into the last few weeks of the year.
It’s not often I arrange dinner out and it’s even less common with 2(!) friends so I happily skipped over to Polidor (the food is decent if you order smartly, it’s relatively cheap and the location is great if you’re in the 6th) for a meal with online-now-real-life-friends Landen and Meghan to dissect our recent personal and work roses and thorns. Being self-employed (and with a bunch of jobs that aren’t really related) I don’t often have a chance to talk shop so I relish it when it happens and we dragged the evening out with dessert and a tisane (herbal tea is not called tea and if you suggest it is your waiter will give you a look).
I accompanied my smaller children on an outing to the local town hall for a cheerful holiday film screening and there’s nothing cuter than a little crocodile of tiny Frenchies all holding hands, chattering excitedly. There was nearly a revolution when the movie failed to start on time and disaster when one child vomited all the way down the spiral staircase, but all in all a lovely morning.
It’s a while since I’ve been in a professional kitchen so I was delighted to pop by the Australian Embassy to help put together their annual staff Christmas party with my friend (and head chef there) Kath. She’d already done most of the hard work so all I had to do was make things look pretty and not injure myself in the process, which I managed. Once I’d assembled a towering eton mess, quivering trifle, fluffy pavlova and rich treacle cake and sent them out with the cheese platter we could breathe a sigh of relief at 60 guests fed and happy, wearing their paper crowns and enjoying their Aussie wine.
When I discovered my children had been handed old toy catalogues and some scissors at school to “mood board” their lists to Santa I silently cursed whoever dreamt up that little trap and made sure to get our Official Lists in the post that very evening, in order to lock down the requests and avoid any further confusion. The children are mostly getting second hand gifts this year (thank you Vinted) so I had to do a little diplomatic incentivising to make sure they chose what I’ve already organised and I had stamps at the ready so we could march right on down to post them swiftly on their way.
Someone very lovely sent me their spare tickets to Hôtel de la Marine (the booking system is rather unforgiving if you choose the wrong date/time) so I took my husband on a little spin through as he’d never been. You have to laugh at the irony of strolling through rooms with more gold gilt than Versailles while overlooking Place de la Concorde, where the guillotine was set up (Marc-Antoine Thierry de Ville d'Avray who lived there during the revolution was murdered in prison) and history says the cannons used to fire on the Bastille, plus the crown jewels, were stolen from there. Don’t mess with the French and their bread.
On Saturday morning we collected a rental car and were on the road early to my friends’ gorgeous place in Burgundy where they live in an incredible restored 18th century Orangerie next to a tumbling down chateau and the whole place feels like an idyllic marriage of creativity and country life. The children fed the ducks while Harriet took me over to the local Emmaüs to search for second hand treasure (I came back with a selection of old records, rillette dishes, mugs and a beautiful cornichon jug) then we toasted marshmallows over a bonfire and roasted potatoes in the embers for dinner.
The next morning we took Polly the dog to the woods and she rewarded us by finding fragrant black truffles which we dug out of the dirt. On our return from a long walk we feasted on slow roasted lamb, celeriac puree, cheese, raspberry soufflé and burnt basque cheesecake before bundling back into the car armed with gifts of fresh truffles and a beautiful candle holder made from wood polished in the local river, the smell of bonfire lingering on our coats. It’s the sort of magical place where you immediately consider changing your life and return home inspired and happy. I’ll do a full write up but in case you’re interested you can rent single rooms on Airbnb or the whole place can be rented in various forms (sleeping up to 20) by contacting Dan, the charming owner.
Have a great week,
- Emily
Cheese we’re eating this week:
Selles-sur Cher - a salty, tangy goat-milk cheese from the Loire Valley with an ash coating.
Camembert de Normandie - a raw cow's milk cheese with a soft bloomy rind. It’s protected in France by an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) which means it must come from a specific area.
Comté - a semi-hard cheese made from unpasteurised cow’s milk from the Jura Massif region of France, this one was aged 12 months and also used as a reward for Polly each tine she she found us a truffle.
All 3 cheeses were served by our hosts at Château de Crépan.
Raspberry Souffle
My ramekins (I have 2 different sets) are between 8-9cm wide and about 4cm deep. I usually have a little bit of mix left over and I fill mine right to the top, so you could probably go a bit bigger, fill them only 3/4 of the way and still get 6. Alternatively you can bake it in one big dish and serve at the table family style.
250g frozen raspberries
50g + 30g sugar, plus some for dusting
10g cornflour (cornstarch or maizena)
15g water
4 egg whites
Butter for the ramekins
icing sugar to sprinkle before serving (optional)
Preheat your oven to 180C and put on an apron as raspberry puree tends to stain.
Put the raspberries (I use frozen but fresh in season would be lovely) in a small saucepan with 50g sugar and a splash of water. Heat on medium for a few minutes until the sugar is melted and the raspberries have fallen apart.
While that's cooking, butter the ramekins brushing vertically up the sides, coat with sugar and tap out any excess.
Pass the raspberry mix through a sieve (you can leave the seeds in, I tried it and it's ok but I prefer it without). Make sure to keep sieving even when you think it's done as the puree at the end is the best part. Alternatively use 220g ready made puree – you could try other fruits as well.
Mix the cornflour and water together in a glass (this prevents any cornflour lumps) and tip into the raspberry puree. Heat on medium while continuously stirring gently until you see a volcanic bubble and the mix has visibly thickened. Set aside to cool.
Crack your eggs and beat the whites until just stiff (you can make icecream with the yolks). Add the 30g of sugar little by little as you continue to mix until it's thick and glossy.
Add some of the egg whites into the raspberry mix and stir to loosen. Then tip the raspberry/egg white mixture back into the bowl of egg whites and gently fold it together. A few streaks of egg white are fine but be careful there isn't a puddle of raspberry pure left at the bottom of the bowl.
Fill the ramekins being careful to avoid large pockets of air. Even them with the back of a knife so they're perfectly flat (optional). Run a knife about half a centimetre (1/8 inch) deep all the way around the edge to leave a little line that will help them rise evenly.
Bake in the bottom 3rd of the oven for around 7/8 minutes – until they're well risen and slightly firm to touch on the top. They're supposed to have a tiny bit of uncooked mousse in the middle but it's not necessary (it's called baveuse).
Serve immediately – have your plates, spoons and icing sugar to sprinkle all ready!
Bon appétit!
Real Life Paris Photo
Extreme statue repair.
Liz Truss still holds the record!
Lovely post, a great start to my day! Your title and opening paragraph made me laugh. I’ve learned so much on living in Paris and France through your and David Leibovitz’s writings over the years - merci!