Béchamel, The Mother Sauce
Filed Under Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes France, Greece, Italy
I first encountered béchamel sauce, or besciamella in Italian, when I lived in Italy during my university days and was taught by my Italian boyfriend's mother to make lasagna, or "pasta al forno" as it is called there. Yes, lasagna! In Italy lasagna (or lasagne, adopting the plural form), is not piled with ricotta and mozzarella, it is, rather, a delightful concoction of thinly rolled, flat egg noodles sandwiched between… Read
Post
Delicious Berry Clafoutis for National Dessert Day
Filed Under Recipes, Special Occasions France
Today is evidently National Dessert Day, and we'll take any excuse to do a little baking! We have featured tons of desserts in our blog in many different categories, from tarts to cookies, from cakes to custards, from doughnuts to ice cream. But one dessert we have not yet featured is the classic French clafoutis! You sometimes hear it pronounced cla-FOO-dee, but the accent should be (as always in French!)… Read
Post
Recipe for Carrot Ginger Soup with Mint Pistou
Filed Under Kitchen Tips, Recipes France
They say that necessity is the mother of invention, but I would say also that in cooking abundance is the mother of invention! For instance, what to do when your CSA box is full of one type of vegetable? Or when you buy 10 pounds of carrots from your local wholesaler? At our house, this last has translated into a lot of carrot soup, and the most recent batch was… Read
Post
6 Sites Not to Miss in Paris: Culinary Tours of Paris with TIK
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, Travel Videos France
Paris is one of our favorite destinations, and we've written before about our favorite things to see in Paris, as well as about our favorite neighborhoods and favorite memories. Did you know that our Paris culinary tours and cooking vacations are also cultural vacations? Some of the itineraries include tours of local sites, and all of them include free time to explore sites on your own. Plus, we can add… Read
Post
Travel Inspirations: The Lavender of Provence (Plus a Recipe)
Filed Under Destination Features, Recipes France
Every summer tourists flock to Provence to see a sea of beautiful, purple fields ripping in the breeze. The lavender fields of Provence are so famous that most years you need to book well in advance if you want the chance to see these gorgeous blossoms in bloom. This year is of course an exception – if you could get to France (and those of you in Europe can!), you… Read
Post
What Are Crêpes? And a Recipe for Savory Crêpes
Filed Under Food History, Recipes France
What is a crêpe? Many cultures have a form of pancake, and the French are no exception. crêpes are a thin, unleavened, and can be served in a multitude of ways! They originally hail from the Brittany region of France, where they are made of Buckwheat flour. The recipe below, like many others, uses wheat flour, but if you are gluten free, using a buckwheat flour is a great alternative.… Read
Post