Louisa Chu

Steve, yeah right. Just talk about chocolate and you start flopping out the Trimolene/inverted sugar. Good thing I just learned about that the other day so I know what you're talking about. I'll let you explain it to the rest of the class. But viscerally, I really enjoyed what Hevin intended with Ter which was to have a childlike experience of buying a piece of chocolate, furiously tearing it open and taking a big mouthful of smooth and crunchy chocolate flavour and texture. That I got from the mendiant/chocolate bark. Our choice being with caramelised and then cocoa dusted hazelnuts. Not so much so with the boxed chocolates. Too thick of a couverture and too similar of a slightly runny filling. And tastes did not differ enough. Subtle but too subtle. Very nice technically though with very clean feet. And again it's important to note the difference of the French tastes. I was not consciously aware of their preference for pure chocolate as again I've not worked much with it yet and have not yet had chef feedback - their tastes are extremely traditional - so again it is important to have some knowlege in this area to even speak about one's subjective experience. I have not tried Maison du Chocolat or Peltier's chocolates yet but that's on the agenda in the next few weeks - with the other great houses. And Lesley I'll go by there again hopefully tomorrow though they're probably closed on Sunday. There was no shop across the street - I was told there's only the laboratoire. And no frozen macarons either. Though she said they should be getting more patisserie items in there soon. And I was in fact impressed. I loved the interior design, packaging, concept, etc. Nice change from the Laduree-ness of Paris sometimes.

Bux, my pleasure. And magnolia, it's not a santon but a fève. And now of course you're to throw a Candlemas party!

This is a classic recipe we use at Cordon Bleu Paris. Excellent results. If you're in the States use cake flour, in France it's type 45. Lemon zest is an option. MADELEINES 20 pieces Ingredients 4 eggs 170 g sugar 1 pinch salt 10 g honey 5 g baking powder 180 g flour 200 g butter Preheat oven to 170°C, then reduce heat to160°C and bake. Melt butter – no colour - cool to just warm. In medium bowl, whisk eggs. Add sugar and honey then whisk lightly – do not overwork batter. Add flour, salt, baking powder, ½ melted butter then turn with whisk to just mix. Add ½ butter then turn with whisk to just mix. Cover bowl with plastic, chill, rest overnight. Butter molds with softened butter – to maximum nearly filling depressions. Flour, bang off excess. Place smooth, medium tip in pastry bag, fill bag halfway with batter, barely fill molds evenly. Bake on baking sheet, about 7 minutes, golden around with pale point/tête. Unmold immediately by banging onto papered surface, turn immediately to cooling rack with têtes up.

Pink's used to sell their classic chili cheese dogs at a special price on Oscar night - the last was 69 cents for the 69th Oscars - but they've since stopped. Bought sacksful one year for a party at home - great house with entertainment room in the garden - thinking we'd eat all night long but only able to actually eat about two each. Best Oscars party we attended in LA.

Cab, not open yet. The hotel says mid-Feb.

Steve, Mulot's system is common in France. Even the no-name butcher where I go buy chicken wings does the same. But Mulot seems to handle it especially badly. So it's not that I'm not used to the system but usually there's some follow through on the other end - i.e. my chicken wing butcher where someone anticipates my return after the cashier and hands me a bag so I can just get on with my day. I know that spending a day at a patisserie used to be an enjoyable way to indulge in a vacation but now that I live here like most Parisians going to the patisserie is just one of many stops in the day. As for the Hevin chocolates, unlike Cabrales with whom I sampled the chocolates I absolutely adore bitter chocolate - bitter flavours in general for that matter as I think it's our most undervalued basic tastes. I found that the couverture was a bit too thick actually. And the assortment that was suggested to us - a preboxed assortment - as having the best overall representation had very little variety in taste and texture. I have not yet made chocolate so I cannot speak to this in more technical and ideal terms - but I will and very soon. And yes, it's matcha tea on the Aoki pastries. A very interesting idea but unfortunately too subtle in these creations - you cannot taste it all, it just tastes like pastry cream. But yes, I loved the black sesame macaron as it offered an entirely different take - texture and taste - on the classic macaron which is made with ground almonds. Crave-worthy. Chef Aoki by the way was the pastry chef at Millet in the 7th which was mentioned in another thread - and if I had more time I'd helpfully link it but I don't.

I don't know why if this worked for you before why it's not working now. But having said that usually the rule is cold roux/hot liquid or hot roux/cold liquid. Perhaps try that. And I don't know if this will help in your case but a quick fix for a sauce separated from overheating is to re-bind it a little at a time with cold water. Take your sauce off the heat, tip the pot at about a 45 degree angle if possible, drizzle in a little cold water/liquid, whisk gently as it starts to bind, start pulling in the separated sauce into the fixed sauce, repeat as needed until completely reincorporated. I think Suzanne F's pinpointed one of the common problems - too much fat - the other is overheating. Try addressing those two factors. Good luck.

It's the morning of Epiphany Eve - the last of the end of the year feasts in France. We've survived Christmas and New Year's and tonight as most Parisians we'll be gathering once again but this time finish the evening with a Galette des Rois. It's a Cake of Kings made of puff pastry, almond paste filling and a favour hidden within. Traditionally the favours were humble beans but they've evolved and now include various ceramic items from cartoon figurines to an elegant Lilliputian tea set at Laduree - only 12.50 for about 5 or 6 pieces. The one who finds the favour will be blessed with good luck in the new year - as well as wear a crown during the feast and bestow small gifts to other guests. The Ephiphany was the day the three wise men first saw Christ and thus he was revealed to the world. It's the 12th day after Christmas - January 6th - and a fittingly quiet family closure to the excesses of New Year's Eve. Traditionally the cake is made today - the eve - and then eaten tomorrow at tea but most people will celebrate today as it's Sunday. A few of the notable cakes I've seen around town have been at Pierre Herme - who has the classic one of course as well as a second with a bitter chocolate ganache and a third with coconut and morsels of roasted and caramelised pineapple. The classic is the only one available in an individual size - but that and all others are also available for 4, 8 and 12 persons. The individual's offered at only 4.30 - remarkable considering the artistry - plus with all sizes you receive a favour and a crown. I was there Thursday and sampled all of the seasonal and a number of signature items and of the seasonal found the Satine my favourite with a surprising complexity from the lightly caramelised meringue/cream cheese down through refreshing passion fruit to a nicely resistant though whisper thin crust. But it's the much discussed Ispahan that captivated me completely. And at Aoki they have again the naturelle as well as another made with the almond paste and matcha green tea and sweetened red bean - matcha is the powdered Japanese green tea ceremony tea. Both available in individual size, the former 3.50, latter 4.50 - and for 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. Plus they're open tomorrow - normally closed on Monday. I was just at Aoki yesterday, again did a pastry tasting, and would strongly counsel you to try the black sesame macarons as they have a very agreeable toothsomeness. The Galettes des Rois may be available at some patisseries until Mardi Gras. After that, you'll have to wait until next year. Best wishes to you all and your families.

How long is it steamed for, Ed? And does it...gah...still have th-th-th-the skin? Steam until it's done as with other chicken prep - until juices run clear - so many factors. And vividly remember being scolded by my grandfather when at 3 or 4 for methodically eating all the skin off a whole steamed chicken for dinner.

No - my mom crazy was a bad thing. But yes, to the dipping sauce - I was addicted to the stuff. I'd just started working in one of our Vietnamese-Chinese restaurants and for the first time loved cilantro and those flavour combos were what all the cooks added to their own bowls during staff meals. And that pinky goo reminds me of the time when at our chop suey restaurant someone accidentally mistook the egg roll sauce for iced tea. A customer drank a whole tall iced glass full. Said it was the best iced tea he'd ever had.

If that's literal, start here. Wear thin plastic gloves if you can - surgical - slice lengthwise, destem and carefully remove the vein - where the heat lies - and seeds - mistakenly believed to be the heat source. You'll have the flavour of the chili and still some of the heat. If you can't wear gloves just take care to wash your hands well after handling but still don't touch your eyes, mucous membranes/what have you, etc. Try the flavour first to see if you even want to add it to your sauce. Blanche a bit and refresh, taste. If you like it, do the rest and set it aside. Try treating it as you would a zest garnish in an orange sauce. Take your blanched/refreshed chili, add some Grand Marnier or Cointreau to just cover, finish your sauce, drain the chilis and add it to your sauce a few minutes before serving. Or try sizzling the fresh chilis in a bit of butter and then finish your sauce with all including the butter. As far as what kind try the mildest one available in your market - they vary so much seasonally so ask.

Normally nothing too but for a while there I was addicted to dipping just about everything into a mix of lo-so soy, sriracha to taste, lemon to taste, some finely chopped green onion and finely chopped cilantro. Drove my mom crazy - she considered it an insult.

A fellow Cordon Bleu starts his stage - pastry - at Lucas Carton on Monday. Will check in with him - report back from time to time with news from the other side of the plate.

Have not yet found a truly Chinese restaurant - much less a really good one - here in Paris. And yes, I'm looking - desperately - along with a few other Chinese-, Malaysian- and Singaporean-Chinese Cordon Bleu friends. Tried a few in the Chinatown in the 13th - which interestingly to me is called "Chinatown" and not "La Ville de Chine" or something like that in French. The Chinese-Parisians I've met tell me there aren't any good Chinese restaurants here but I just can't accept that. Will check out the Belleville Chinatown soon too. And Bux, you're right that the neighborhood traiteurs are not bad at all - and they're a fascinating breed to me in that they're so different from their American cousins/the chop suey joints where I grew up. For those unfamiliar with them, all the food's premade - fresh throughout the day - displayed on platters in a refrigerated case. You cannot order anything made to order. It's sold by weight - or that French favourite by "menu"/set meals. Pick what you want and how much of it and it's reheated by microwave - which just kills the fried items. And no such thing as a takeout box but a plastic tray heat-film-sealed instead. And the food's pan-Asian - like most of the restaurants - with nems, samosas and lacquered duck, etc. - portions small, overly sweet but served in extremely clean settings - exceptionally clean. I'll keep you posted on my Chinese restaurant quest.

What I meant was does anyone have a recipe for Dumaine's coq au vin?

cabrales, I'm so sorry. Did the chef offer any explanation or excuse? I just don't understand why they just didn't make it for you when you reminded them an entire night before. Were they very busy? Does anyone have the recipe by the way? And are those heart-shaped toasts not familiar to many people? They're a very traditional presentation with slow cooked in sauce foods - pain de mie slices, crusts removed, heart shaped, toasted golden in the oven and then sometimes rubbed with garlic. I'm told they signify soulful regional foods in the grande maisons.

Most places will be open for NYE but it's not business as usual. Their focus will be on la reveillon - the traditional all-night NYE dinner - usually starts late and can go until dawn. But many will now do two seatings - one early evening for the older folks and then the late night one. On days before - now - it's all normal. But on New Year's Day most are closed. Most of the hot spots are booked so it's a matter of finding a place if you haven't done so already. Menus are pretty extravagant sounding everywhere but the quality will vary of course. And prices ridiculous. Even the crappy little cafe above Ecole Militaire is charging about 100 euros per person. We will be celebrating at home with friends. All-we-can-eat oysters, foie gras on toasted pain Poilane, Vacherin Mont d'Or, champagne of course and we think we're going to top off the evening with a drunken attempt at picking the tree full of ripe persimmons we just found at the Champ de Mars.

Is McDonald's that successful in France? I thought I'd read recently that they weren't. I can't say for EuroDisney at all except I think it's odd when I see their billboards around town only in English.

These days, only at home. But so funny that you should ask because I was just telling a friend about the old-school egg rolls we used to make at my uncle's chop suey joint on the Northwest side of Chicago. His secret ingredients included not only the peanut butter - but chicken skin too. He was a man whose favourite work lunch was a huge platter of stirfried chicken butts on rice - out of love and respect we used to save them all for him. I used to love and dread egg roll making days - we usually cleaned the deep fryer oil that day too so it was all the freshly rolled fried in clean oil egg rolls you could eat but after the thousandth one you've rolled who cares. But no more peanut butter or chicken skin - not after tastes and health concerns started changing. No, why - and where? But they gotta be to bok gwai.

Mulot's in the 6th and I completely agree. I think his stuff is generally overly sweet and the fruit tarts I've had just disgustingly overdosed with nappage/glaze. Plus their service is the most psychotically chaotic I've ever seen in a patisserie - when it's crowded you have to fight through the crowd to take a number, wait, order, take the order ticket to the cashier, wait, pay, take your paid-stamped order ticket back to the counter, wait, pick up and finally leave. Insane.

I should footnote that after our Hevin chocolate binge the other afternoon that we later suffered what my sister described as a chocolate hangover.

laura, I have not been to Millet but I will stop in the next time I'm over there - I'm a sucker for good brioche. I made it for the first time recently and it's amazing how rich and buttery is it can be. It's funny that you ask because I just noticed them the other day and remembered a great millet bread that I used to get from a cafe in Chicago. It was a melon shaped loaf of dense bread studded with little round golden seeds. But the bakery's named after Jean Millet - according to Les Pages Jaunes - and not the millet seed. And 43290, maybe you're thinking of another boulangerie/patisserie because Millet's on the other side of Bosquet. There's the really nice artisanal one almost right across the street from Violon or the other one about a block away but towards Bourdonnais. Or maybe it was Millet and your lunch at Violon just skewed your sense of geography. Jean Millet 103 RUE SAINT DOMINIQUE 75007 PARIS 01 45 51 49 80

Is that a specialty? It must be some particularly fatty breed otherwise I can't see the special appeal. Though I can't see them using purebreds because of the expense. Sharpei comes to mind though. My family has a story which some find funny, some sad. My uncle had a dog as a kid and one day while he was away at school they killed the dog and made him for dinner that night. Not funny for a lot of reasons but primarily because they did it out of starvation as it was during the Japanese invasions. My mother always comments now about how my dog looks just like that dog they ate. And I've actually overheard private conversations by the Chinese tourists watching my dog as she digs for rats at the Eiffel tower that she looks like a good dog for eating. I think it's because she has a very full chest and meaty looking legs - she's a blonde shepherd/lab mix. I often joke with her and tell her someday I might want dogchop for dinner. But my brother had it as well when he was a kid in Hong Kong. Says it was tasty but does not remember details. Probably all just a matter of the meat and preparation as with most dishes.

He actually has three locations total - the one in the 7th, the one in the 6th and the third's a full-blown salon de at the following: Jean Paul Hévin 231 RUE SAINT HONORE 75001 PARIS

I had the exponentially great pleasure of finally going to JP's new shop - called Ter I discovered later from the packaging which I'm guessing refers to terroir as he emphasizes regional products, I'll ask next time - and dangerously realizing it's only an 8 minute walk from my home - 5 if I run - as well as meeting cabrales there! Ter's a modern and minimalist, chocolate brown and acid green space with boxed assortments displayed around, and a floating center island filled with cellophane sacs of single serve chocolates, marron glaces and feuilles/chocolate bark. We lingered over every item, finally decided on a boxed assortment and a large sac of caramelised hazelnut dark chocolate bark. Took it back to my place - via nearby Rue Cler, through the Christmas Eve hustle, past an overflowing Davoli - the ham place - and the boucherie next door decorated festively with still well-feathered capons, pheasants and whole pigs. Over tea and hours of conversation we methodically devoured nearly the entire box but agreed that we quite preferred the feuille/bark with its greater variation of texture as it was sprinkled generously with those caramelised hazelnuts rolled in cocoa powder. Will go back to try the patisserie items when they have them - today they only had one choice, an assorted box of macarons - soon.