Saturday, February 25, 2006

Love at First Sight

I am in love, truly, madly, deeply............. I went to the 'Interior Design Show' yesterday. A very nice gentleman from 'Maison la Cornue' introduced me to my new object of desire. She is sleek, shiny and with just the of sparkling metal accent (like most French women she wears the perfect amount of jewelry) I fell madly in love. Her name is CornueFe. She comes with five burners and two ovens and is solid as a rock, I have turned my back on 'Aga' and added this to the dream list. The two ovens open by swinging out sideways like cabinet doors, one could be conventional electric and one either gas with salamander or convection oven. 'Yippee!' The salesman offered me a glossy expensive looking catalogue and price list in a sexy little colour coordinated bag. He then said 'CornueFe' was much more affordable for a modest budget, 'Youpe' (French for Yippee). Without skipping a breath he said, in the $9000 dollar range, I must have fooled him with my 'Longchamp' purse. Yup, as the smile slid away from my face, I thanked him and 'modestly' added 'CornueFe' to my dream list................ I told 'the husband' I would sacrifice the Hermes 'Kelly Bag" off the list for this little baby................ Sadly, he was unmoved by my unselfishness. I did move one step closer to the reality of having one of these lovely creatures in my kitchen, I pasted the picture into the inside of my pantry door. It doesn't cost anything to dream, 'the husband' chuckled, nervously. I told him the one I really wanted starts at $31,000 US prior to taxes and shipping.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Sunday Dinner in Paris

On the occasion of turning 40, yes really, in April me and two great friends (also turning 40) are going to slip away for a week in Paris. Its booked and confirmed and now all we need to do is decide what we want to do. I have found myself as the reluctant tour organizer. I don't really consider myself an organizer, compared to these formidable women one with 5 children and one with 2, I have really only ever had to organize myself. 'The Husband' pretty much does as he is told. What do they want to do and see? It is the first trip to Paris for both, and only my second. This could be disastrous, the blind leading the blind. So, this weekend I have been reading up on sites, museums, shopping and restaurants. I started to search for a restaurant that would be open for dinner on a Sunday Night. With this particular task I was not having a whole lot of luck. But what I did stumble upon was this www.jim-haynes.com. Mr. Haynes an American/Scottish expat hosts a dinner party every Sunday. Very nice your thinking, an intimate gathering for a select few friends? Right? WRONG The dinner is for 50 -100 people and the invitation is posted on his website for anyone. Come one, come all, just phone and then confirm on the Sunday Morning. Added bonus, there are recipes on the site as well, Boeuf Bourguignon any one? Enough for 25 to 100 people (http://www.jim-haynes.com/contact/recipe/recipe2.htmand it looks good too! Complete cookbook coming soon. Well if this guy can organize a really large group of almost complete strangers, I (now have renewed hope)can organize two good friends. From their feedback, they really just want to be able to eat couple of meals, do some shopping, and have some 'me' time in peace. Oh the joys of motherhood.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Valentine's

Have you ever had a love hate relationship? Firmly in the February Blaw's and I am caught in the middle of a bad love triangle. My love triad is with my clothes, food and The Cheese Boutique. The Cheese Boutique, obviously never got the memo regarding , rude staff, lack of service and selection that is the deriguer of retail shopping in Toronto. I love and hate this store all at the same time. If you are looking for cheese, come here. If you are looking for cheese selection, come here If you are looking for cheese education, come here. If you are looking for smug service people who don't care about what they do, don't come here because you won't find it. My love is also based on the fact that, if you are looking for some obscure hard to find ingredient, come here. I was in France, bought a mustard from guy who swore up and down it was made by his wife on a farm down the road, found it again at The Cheese Boutique. The problem is that things you never even knew you needed, wanted or sometimes even knew existed in Canada are also here. And here in lies the hate, they just follow you home. I went in earlier this week to buy Duck Fat. Simple, one ingredient right! ( I am making casoulet this weekend) I walked out with, spices, peppers, real French beans for the casolout, and two fabulous cheeses, the mustard Violet and a great French stick. I had forgotten what I had come for. Went again today to get the duck fat only. Got Duck Fat, Walnut Oil, more French beans......And crap they had Truffles...............They had truffles bigger then my fist. As 'the husband' walked through the door on Friday, he got a truffle for Valentines. Saturday we sauted, filet Mignon and served with a Pechement and Truffle reduction. Yum.