March 2022 Newsletter

It's here!

Since I started this newsletter, it’s been my monthly place to check with you, to say hi, and let you know what’s going on at the moment. And sometimes, where things are going. In the last couple of years, most of us have stopped thinking too much about the future, or the past, and are doing what we can to be and live in the present, which is overwhelming enough.

One “future” thing we (Romain and I) have been thinking about was moving. While stuck inside for a few months in March of 2020, with subsequent restrictions, like many, we got our kicks looking at real estate…

Unlike the fantasies of others, we didn’t want a “big, gross mansion” or “a guest house with its own little kitchen.” (Although, how fun would be it be to hang around with Dan Levy and look at real estate listings?) We wanted outdoor space. Unfortunately, so does everyone else in Paris. Prices jumped and a number of people decided to buy a maison secondaire, a second home in the country, which are relatively reasonable in France. At least in comparison to buying a place in Paris with a terrace, balcony, or jardin.

My own apartment loomed as a place that was larger than life to me. It wasn’t just a place to live; it was the place where I planned to settle in Paris for good. There were a few bumps and bruises along the way; for every delicious jambon-beurre sandwich on a baguette, bloomy, oozing Camembert de Normandie, and basket of fragrant fraises des bois (wild strawberries), there were malfaçons to fix, neighbors to appease, piles of paperwork, plant thieves, and a few things that we regularly find just outside the front door of our building, that I’m too polite to mention here.

Also, the city is turning our neighborhood into a pedestrian zone with our particular street marked as a “meet-up zone,” which sounds an awful lot like a place for les fêtes sauvages (street parties) which I guess can be a good thing, depending on your age group. There were several ones on our street during the first lockdown which prompted visits from les gendarmes, and one morning, a screaming match between neighbors that nearly ended in a fistfight. Neither of those is my cup of thé, but chacun à son goût (to each their own)…

When I changed my online life to focus on my newsletter, that was part of my consolidating and trimming things down, but also opened up some new possibilities. So I guess I’m thinking more about my future than I thought.

In that vein, I’ve been thinking about launching a podcast for the last few years and finally taped my first episode. (Coming soon!) I love the idea of having a chat with someone in the baking business, a spirit producer, winemaker, chocolatier, or another facet of French (or baking) culture. I don’t have a plan for it (it’s that “no future” thing…), so we’ll see where it goes.

And I’ve been able to share my Paris apartment stories with pictures of my current place before, during, and after renovations, and talk about things that I don’t necessarily want to go to the wide (and sometimes wild) net of social media or on my blog.

So as of March 1st, we have the keys to our new place in Paris. I’ve been sharing some of our progress here and there…

The Hunt Continues

The viewing and purchasing process in France is a little more DIY than in the U.S. (buyers in France don’t use agents to find and purchase apartments), and it’s more challenging when you don’t have someone searching or negotiating on your behalf. So you need to be on your toes and be extra careful of pitfalls and making mistakes, especially challenging when everything is in a language that’s not your mother tongue, in addition to other cultural differences.

Ready to…renovate?

So keep your eye out for more newsletter stories. (All subscribers will get some of them, but if you want to get all of them, you can upgrade your newsletter subscription.)

When I’m not madly searching for a stove and an oven, kitchen cabinet knobs, bathroom mirrors, towel bars, a bed (ours was destroyed in the bedroom flood), showerheads, a new sink and faucet, and lamps, I am totally looking forward to spring fruits showing up at the markets. Apples and pears are winding down and citrus still abounds, but I’m ready for strawberries and asparagus (then cherries, apricots, plums, and nectarines!), along with being able to sit outside in cafés now that the weather is milder and the bite of winter is hopefully behind us.

In the meantime, I’ve got a kitchen to renovate, appliances to pick out, a garden to plant (enfin!), new neighbors to charm, and a whole lotta things to sort, pack, give away, or sell.

I’ve never cooked on induction, so I will be learning how to do that. But first, I have to overcome my aversion to digital kitchen appliances. (I like knobs, not touchpads, and dislike an overload of options on appliances that I’ll never use.) So I’ve been reading websites and learning (or trying to learn) what the heck the difference is between Flex induction, Smart Induction, Vario induction, as well as SmartSelect, EasySelect, and DirectControlPlus. If some of them were so smart, you’d think they would just tell you what they do. I also would like someone to explain the difference between a €299 induction stovetop and a €2999 stovetop. Don’t they all just get hot?

I do know I’m putting my money on a high-quality dishwasher since I did a deep dive into dishwashers. I used to think they were all the same…until I got stuck with the clunker I have now. So I’m looking at higher-end dishwashers to make life easier while working on convincing my other half, and the contractor, that yes, I really do want stainless-steel counters, which last forever. And I hope my optimism lasts just as long - or at least for the next few months - and not for the next few years…

- David

PS: I usually begin writing my newsletter a few days before you receive it, including this one. Most of us are watching the evolving news of the military deployment into Ukraine develop and get worse day by day, as the lives of everyday people are being upended by the invasion of their country. Many would like to stay and continue their lives while hundreds of thousands of others are fleeing for safer places. Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen have been feeding thousands of people hot meals in freezing temperatures daily from makeshift kitchens in cities, towns, and border camps. If you’d like to help, as I am doing, you can make a donation to the WCK:

José Andrés @chefjoseandres

People of the World…Reporting from the Ukraine border! This is one of the places @WCKitchen has hot meals. It is below freezing tonight & I am meeting so many refugees, families who are escaping & don’t know what’s next…We will do our best not to let them down! #ChefsForUkraine

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Links I’m Liking…

Legendary ceramist Edith Heath, whose dinnerware I ate off of for decades, is featured in a museum retrospective. (The Guardian)

Looking forward to this new cookbook, Korean American by Eric Kim, that melds his Korean heritage with his upbringing in America. (Eric Kim)

Who knew Frank Lloyd Wright designed a home on a private island? (Curbed)

Deb churns up my tangy lemon sorbet. (SmittenKitchen)

Maybe the world’s coolest (vintage) bread slicer? (Etsy)

How to tip (or not to tip) in France. (52 Martinis/podcast)

Julia Child biopic mini-series coming to small screens at the end of the month. (People)

The brothers who are still making Dr. Bronner’s “Magic” soap (NYT, unlocked)

Reem Kassis makes the case for the useful illusion of national cuisine. (The Atlantic)

Our own Emily in Paris has a newsletter: A Week in Paris. (The Real Emily in Paris)

French cities tackle the “noise from hell” pollution of motor scooters. (NYT, unlocked)

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Recent Newsletter and Blog Posts

Emily went to Cassis (she travels more than I do!) and wrote up her Top Ten Things to Do in Cassis, which of course included rosé, beach time, and bouillabaisse.

This Celery Root Soup is one of my favorite soupes du jour. In true French style, it’s simple, relies on just a few ingredients, yet tastes great. It’s perfect for dinner with crusty sourdough bread, a wedge of blue cheese, and a bottle of your favorite vin blanc du jour. (It’s also superb with crisp bacon on top, too.)

One of the great things about Pearl balls (post for paid subscribers) is that you don’t need to make dumpling wrappers since they’re “wrapped” and steamed in rice. I learned to make dim sum working in San Francisco, and it’s fun to make your own. You can thrill your guests…and yourself when you lift the cover off your steamer and find yourself with a bounty of these delicious balls in your court.

It never occurred to me to turn pasta into a one-dish dinner, but this Baked orzo with preserved lemons and herbs in Anna Jones’ new book, One Pot, Pan, Planet is proof that you can. It’s meat-free, planet-friendly, and depending on the people you’re feeding, it’s family-friendly too.

White chocolate sorbet. Where do I begin? If I had a cinq centimes for every time someone told me “It’s not chocolate,” I’d be moving to a swanky apartment overlooking the Seine, rather than another fixer-upper. Nope, it’s not dark chocolate, it’s white chocolate, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I love the creamy-smooth, cocoa buttery flavor of white chocolate. This lower-fat sorbet requires no custard-making skills and is especially good paired with its more popular cousin, but it makes a perfect accompaniment to summer berries or the bounty of peaches and nectarines that we all know are just around the corner…

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And in case you need another reason to love avocados, Angie Dickinson made a compelling case for enjoying them back in the 1980s…🥑 - dl

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