Sugar Ghosts

Paris was misty and grey for most of the week (all of it?) and we lost the tip of the Eiffel Tower there for a few days but that just meant it was the perfect weather to get cozy, light some candles, simmer soup and show the kids a classic film. The second week of the school holidays passed by uneventfully with the kids in holiday camp a few days and home with me the other few, the perfect excuse to procrastinate on any work or admin that’s piled up.

The market was bustling as I rounded up the essentials for the week ahead including some last plums and grapes alongside bags of apples and pears, accepting they’re going to be our staples for the foreseeable future. At the butcher I kept it easy with a chicken to roast plus some simple sausages but couldn’t resist some new season scallops at the fishmonger which I ate carpaccio style with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon zest and good salt, alongside whole sea-bream that I quickly roasted with fennel and tomatoes.

Meghan from En Route to Reverie was in town so I snapped up the chance to have coffee with her to find out her top picks (and biggest duds) from this trip. She personally tries out every recommendation she makes (her master list is over 200 pages long) so if you’re coming soon and want to avoid any disappointing dinners or tourist traps then consider contacting her. A walking coffee is my favourite way to catch up with people so we spun around the Jardin du Luxembourg before detouring to my most beloved Christmas decoration store where she walked away with a fragile mille-feuille for her tree.

After a wonderful tour around the 6th arrondissement I spun through Le Bon Marché to see their Christmas set-up which is basically their most recent display of floating Eiffel Towers re-cast in gold which I appreciate as I think it’s one of the best themes they’ve done in years. With no Thanksgiving in the way between now and the end of the year we are moving full steam ahead with the festivities and I’ve started booking every holiday activity we can fit in, thrilled to learn ice-skating in the Grand Palais will return on December 14th after several years on hiatus.

Christmas tours are now live with very select dates (guides being updated also but if you can’t wait access the 2023 one here and then download the newer version when it’s ready) and I’m working on my gift list for 2024 which I’m seeing in a new light following 10 months of my clothing pause (2 to go!) and reviewing my relationship with consumerism. As such I’m focusing more on experiences including a family photoshoot which I’m looking forward to with Marianella of Sur Seine photography. She also has upcoming mini sessions which are almost booked out and you can find details and booking info here.

While debating the pros and cons of raclette (just kidding, there are no cons) with my friend Roxy who writes the useful newsletter What’s Up Paris where she shares her favourite gems around the city, she influenced me to have it for dinner so headed straight to the supermarket for the right potatoes and cheese. When I first moved to Paris and was trying to make some space to integrate my whole life into our little apartment I politely suggested my husband could dispose of the dusty raclette set taking up prime storage space, but luckily he saw reason and it’s now one of my most prized possessions, the distinctive smell of burning dust as it heats up the harbinger of the delicious dinner to come.

Halloween itself passed quietly but we hosted a party for the children and their friends on Sunday afternoon, which was absolute chaos. I’d gone overboard with the invitations so watched helplessly as 20 children raced around the apartment in circles and stuffed themselves with treats (in France we don’t invite the whole class for birthdays, just your child’s closest friends, so we aren’t trained for this!). I also ate at least 15 meringue ghosts, plus cobweb brownies in solidarity and no amount of calming milky tea could balance out the sugar scaries.

After the Halloween party we tried to engage with the small children as little as possible, each interaction like walking a tightrope with their sugar high emotions. I produced a quick dinner of chicken soup (perfect antidote to kilos of sweets) and a frittata a friend thoughtfully brought over, both of which the children immediately rejected in favour of reheated plain pasta and so we called it a day and put them to bed early.

Have a great week,

- Emily

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Cheese we’re eating this week:

• Lingot de Brebis - a raw sheep’s milk cheese shaped into a rectangle (lingot translates to gold bar) with a subtle aroma and creamy interior.

• Galet de Gachons - a subtle and soft raw goat's milk cheese with a light dusting of ash on the rind.

• Raclette - a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese usually made in the Swiss Alps, melted and served on hot potatoes alongside cured hams and cornichons.

The Lingot de Brebis and Galet de Gachons were bought from Fromagerie Saint Vrain at Marché Maubert and there Raclette was from the supermarket.

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Chicken Soup

If you can be bothered to make this after a roast chicken dinner it’s the best.

• 1 chicken carcass

• 2 carrots

• 2 sticks of celery

• 1 onion

• Salt & pepper

• Ginger, honey, lemon (optional).

1. Chop the onion, carrot and celery into smallish pieces and sauté in a little olive oil.

2. Add the chicken plus a tiny pinch of salt, cover with water and very gently simmer (you want occasional bubbles but nothing more) for about 2 hours. Be sure to skim any foam or fat off the top regularly. If you want to add ginger throw in an inch sized piece now and remember to take it out at the end before serving)

3. When it’s done, take out the chicken and strip off any meat left and add it (plus any leftover meat from the roast chicken dinner) back into the pot. Season to taste (a little lemon, honey, salt, pepper, whatever you fancy). If you want to add noodles now’s the time, cook them out just before serving.

Bon appétit!

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Real Life Paris Photo

When you need to film in full sunlight but Paris won’t cooperate.

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What Women Want #3