Charlotte Puckette’s Cooking Class in Paris…Tres bien!

Bonsoir mes amis,

And now we are six… with the arrival yesterday of Bernie’s American cousins, Curt and Diane Brewer who live in Macon, GA.  Their plane was early and they were at their lovely hotel, La Pavillon de la Reine, by 6am in the Place des Vosges.  It was so early in the morning that all the lights were off in the huge park, also under the passages and even the front door of the hotel was pitch-black.  The cabbie had a difficult time but finally found someone to let them in.  Amazingly, they were able to check right into their room and get partially settled before Bernie arrived to greet them at 7:30.  They came over to our new apartment for breakfast and a quick visit.

We picked up James and Stephen at the rue St. Paul apartment and dropped them off for a day at the Lourvre on their own, while Diane made her way to Louis Vuitton for her last and final purse (you know that’s right). But not before she also found the Hermes shop and the purchase of a gorgeous shawl!  I am a great shopping voyeur.

Everyone was so tired at day’s end that we opted for an early dinner and bedtime.

Today was our cooking class…all 6 of us and what a hoot!  Absolutely, one of the best things we’ve done in Paris.  Richard Nahem of EyePrefer Paris along with his caterer friend, Charlotte Puckette run a cooking class together.  We met Richard at 9am and went to a very nice weekly market on the Left Bank to purchase some of  our menu items: cheese, bread, figs, raspberries, and rosemary.  A quick tour through the area included a stop at one of the most famous bakeries in Paris, Piolane, home to a bread chandelier and some fabulous apple tarts.

Our lunch menu consisted of :

–Seared Sea Scallops with Orange-Ginger Sauce and Caramelized Endive

–Roasted Duck Breast with Fig Gastrique

–Roasted Potatoes

–Cheeses and bread

–Chocolate Fondant with Creme Anglaise

–Plenty of red and white wine

Charlotte’s apartment is right off Rue Cler in a building that’s at least several hundred years old.  The kitchen is the largest room in her 5-floor flat which has at its center a spiraling staircase.  Really quaint and on so Parisian.  Charlotte is from South Carolina, very approachble and unpretentitious and knows her stuff.  She gave us so much information regarding the ingredients we were using and things like why it’s okay to leave the eggs and milk unrefrigerated out on the counter in France, why one should score the fat on the bottom of the duck breast and how to correctly cut different kinds of cheeses.  I’m not giving away her secrets here!  Spend the money and have this experience.  It’s not cheap but worth every euro. Check her out on www.charlottepuckette.com.

Enjoy the fun photos.  We were a lively group, laughing, chopping, pouring, stirring so there was lots of movement and thus an occassional blur.  I’m sure you will understand.  Notice that I am in layers, some mine, some Charlotte’s including her sweater vest and her apron.  It was FREEZING today in Paris and I made bad choices in my wardrobe and nearly froze to death most of the day.

This was a memory par excellance.

L&B