Happy Thanksgiving!

While I always wish that I could be home in the States for Thanksgiving, this year's holiday was lovely here in Paris. American friends of ours hosted a dinner at their place, and as you can see, the spread was divine! I contributed macaroni & cheese and a sweet potato casserole, and we all ate to our hearts' content! Luis was particularly thrilled, this being his first Thanksgiving ever. We have a lot to be thankful for, that's for sure. In my case, that includes this blog and the great people that I've "met" through it. Hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

An ode to French gastronomy: Spicy pumpkin flans & chaussons forestiers

Last week, UNESCO declared that French gastronomy (or rather what was termed as "the gastronomic meal of the French" or "le repas gastronomique des Français" in French) would be added to the organization's list of humanity's intangible cultural heritage. Along with 45 other newly added traditions such as Chinese acupuncutre, Colombian marimba music and traditional skills of carpet weaving in different parts of Iran, this means that the French gastronomic meal has been officially recognized as "a social custom aimed at celebrating the most important moments in the lives of individuals and groups," in UNESCO language. As you can imagine, most French people and Francophiles were thrilled with this news last week, as evidenced by the media reaction.

Indian Cranberry Chutney

To say that I miss the United States is a bit of an understatement! Though I’ve lived overseas off and on at different points in my life, the four and a half years that I’ve now been in Paris make this the longest period that I’ve been outside of the States. Overall...it’s been a wonderful experience. There are countless things that I love about living in Paris, in France and in Europe generally, things that I know that I will miss if and when we do go back Stateside at some point. But then are there are so many distinctly “American” things that I, probably like many other American expatriates, feel nostalgic for. Things like baseball and football games (American football, that is!), excellent customer service, hard-to-find food products, particular restaurants and shops and of course wonderful holidays such as the Fourth of July and my favorite of all, Thanksgiving!

One Lovely Blog Award!!!

A huge thanks to Elisabeth of Food and Thrift Finds for giving me this, my very first blog award! Elisabeth is a Florida-based blogger who has some amazing recipes on her site. And I must say that I particularly love her opening quote by Linda Henley: "If God had intended us to follow recipes, He wouldn't have given us grandmothers." Love it!

Now I'm supposed to "pay forward" this award to 15 other bloggers. This is a tough task, considering that there are so many amazing blogs that I have been reading as of late! But I certainly will...stay tuned for that!

Pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki: Pure pleasure, à la japonaise

After Japanese pâtissier Sadaharu Aoki arrived in Paris in 1991, mastered French pastry making techniques through years of training and then opened his first pâtisserie (pastry shop) in the city in 2001 (on the Boulevard de Port-Royal), he caused quite the stir. His rigorous training taught him mastery of all the classics such as petit fours, napoléons, éclairs and macarons, but Aoki's pastries had a decidedly "Asian" touch through his use of traditional Japanese ingredients such as matcha (green tea powder), yozu (a lime-sized citrus fruit), kinako (soybean powder), sesame seeds and a handful of other "exotic" ingredients previously unheard of in the conservative French pastry world. Nine years and three boutiques later (four if you count Lafayette Gourmet), Aoki has conquered Parisian palates with the apparently seamless fusion between Japanese ingredients and French techniques as well as the beauty of the Japanese aesthetic that he brings to his creations.

Happy Diwali!

Diwali (written as Deepavali in Tamil), also known as the “festival of lights”, is a magical holiday. For Hindus, it is the most important occasion of the year. Occurring in October or November (depending on the Hindu lunar calendar), the word Diwali is a derivative of the Sanskrit deepavali, meaning row of lamps. In North India, Diwali is said to commemorate the return of Rama and Sita to their kingdom of Ayodhya after a long exile and the defeat of the demon-king Ravana in Sri Lanka, whereas in South and West India it marks the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon Narakasura. Regardless of region, Diwali symbolizes the triumph of good over evil and is thus considered to be the start of the Hindu new year.

Moroccan Carrot Soup

Friday, November 5 marks this year's Diwali (written as Deepavali in Tamil), the Hindu festival of lights. Deepavali is India's biggest holiday, marked by a whirlwind of parties, sweets, new clothes, firecrackers and other fun. Since it will be our first Deepavali as a married couple (known as the thalai Deepavali in Tamil), we will be doing a big dinner party on Friday chez nous in Paris. You can bet that I'll be writing about that and sharing lots of photos from the evening's festivities, so stay tuned for that!