Jean Blanchard

Dave, The name of the Chicago cheese shop is Pastoral Artisan Cheese at 2945 N. Broadway. They have been featured in Food and Wine as one of the best cheese shops in the states. Thank you so much for the pictures of your home. I'm seriously jealous!. Jean

Dave, Great blog! I will be in Provence and Paris in September so I am particularly enjoying it. The cheeses look wonderful. Chicago now has a very good cheese shop that I travel from the suburbs for an hour to get to. Nothing as good as France, of course, but still better than what was previously available to us. Since I was French in another life and am living vicariously through you, can we see more of your home? Jean Blanchard

We will be landing in Marseille and staying overnight until our home in Gordes is ready. Does anyone have a recommendation for dinner? Jean

Thanks to everyone for all of your wonderful feedback. So far, I have reservations on Sunday at Le Mas Tourteron, Monday at Les Floret, Tuesday at Christian Etienne and Thursday at Chez Serge. I hope that there will be markets for us to visit on those days in the vicinity. That still leaves me three days...so much to see and eat, so little time! Jean

Wow! I hadn't checked this for a few days. Great recommendations. I have reservations at Christian Etienne in Avignon for lunch. Anyone been there? Jean

I just purchased fresh currants from our farmers market. Anybody have any good recipes that I can use them in. Sweet or savory is okay by me. I'm just experimenting.

As the mother of two (now grown) girls. I couldn't agree more with your take on this. Don't we all remember how important it is not to be singled out as the "different" kid when you're that age? There has got to be a better way to get the parents to pay up.

Obviously, I have been seriously deprived. I have to find some of these.

What are Munchos?

This is really interesting and informative. Your kitchen reminds me of mine in that I have a galley kitchen. I think it's great for cooking. As an airline executive, can you tell us how you became so involved in cooking on PBS, etc.? Also, with your work schedule, do you get the opportunity to do much entertaining? Jean

I will be staying in a home I rented in Gordes the end of August into September. We have a car and would like to spend our days exploring nearby towns, going to their outdoor markets and seeing the sights. Although we'll probably do some cooking at home in the evening (got to do something with all of those market purchases), we will be eating lunch out and maybe one or two dinners. Any thoughts on where that should be? Jean

My Irish mother had toast and tea for me every time I was sick or just didn't like the world very much while I was growing up. When she nearly died on us 2 years ago, her first solids (and what she always asked for) were, of course, toast. Thank you for sharing your love of mom and toast. All the best. Jean

Great discussion! As far as cookbooks goes, I have been cooking from The Norman Table by Claude Guermont for years now. Wonderful, simple recipes that, as has been said, are just made with the best ingredients you can find. P.S. You can still buy the cookbook at Amazon.

Made the carrot cake for my husband's birthday. Moist and doesn't have pineapple in it (not his favorite flavor). I think it just replaced the one I usually make him. I've GOT to figure out how to post pictures! I've now made all of the layer cakes and I couldn't tell you which one is best. They're all great.

A trip to Portugal is definitely in the near future. He is very much enjoying his port and sharing with friends after dinner and I'm thinking that I need to pair it with a dessert. We were planning on Spain/Portugal next year anyway but this just adds a new dimension. Thanks to everybody for all of your advice. Jean

I had just the right amount of rhubarb in my backyard to make the rhubarb strawberry crisp. The strawberries at the farmers market were also the best I've had in a very long time. This crisp is really fabulous. It has a layer on the bottom and on top with bits of crystallized ginger for a little spice and interest. I keep having to give some of my baking away so I'm making lots of friends.

Thanks. That's pretty much what I thought. Jean

I'm planning a trip to Paris and the couple we are travelling with read a favorable article about this restaurant. I can't find anything about it here and I was wondering if anyone has an opinion. Jean

So glad you made the cheesecake. I'll trust your opinion and make that next since I'm cooking my way through Dorie's book also. Your dinner looked perfect. Happy Anniversary! Jean

One more congratulations to you Dorie. Well deserved. Can't buy your book anywhere in my neighborhood so I've ordered two from Amazon for my daughters. Jean

Thanks for the report. I've been to Bittersweet several times but its been a while. I've not tried Vanille yet but those macarons are calling my name. Believe it or not, the best ones I've had in the states so far are from a bakery in Columbus, Ohio. I'm planning a trip into the city on Saturday and Vanille will be one of my stops. Hope you enjoyed Chicago. Jean

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I got a Taylor Fladgate and a Bin 27. Once a port is opened, how long does it last? Jean

This is a gift for my husband and he'll want to drink now. He's had some port, dining in restaurants but basically, it's a newly acquired taste. So what would you recommend for someone who is enjoying port but hasn't had much experience with it yet. Thanks for all of your input. jb

I need to buy a decent bottle of port and I'm clueless. In the range of $60.00, can I get something good? Recommendations? Jean

Heading back to Vie for Mother's Day...also have reservations for May 19. Twice in the same week??? Somehow, I don't think I'll be bored. We were there for dinner a couple of weeks ago. Between us, we had the foie gras (my husband's addicted), I had a fish appetizer (Kampala?) sorry, should have written it down, lamb chop with ravioli, bacon wrapped roasted chicken, warm gooey cake, and a chocolate molten cake, both paired with dessert wine. I thought I would explode because I ate every morsel!! How could I not? Can't wait to introduce family and friends to Vie. Sorry, I should have reported on this sooner so that I could be more descriptive but by now, all of you devotees know how wonderful the food is anyway! P.S. I love that he offers not just locally grown vegetables but wine also. I've tried a few by the glass that I never would have had the opportunity to try.