Bonjour, Ya'll!
I'd like to share a really neat thing I have gotten to do here in Paris: cooking class! I go to a class every other week with my wonderful teacher, Dominique. France is known for it's food (cuisine) of course, so cooking class is a "good thing" as Martha Stewart would say. For most of you who know me, well this sign says it all:
 |
| and here is a picture of my tiny stove...I can stand on my knees and cut these leeks! |
But, when in France, do as the French, so I have to go to cooking class! And, surprise! I really enjoy the cooking. (Not so much the shopping...)
 |
| Dominique Deffis |
We meet at Dominique's wonderful apartment on Victor Hugo in the 16th arrondissement. Most classes, we prepare a main dish and a dessert. I like the way Dominique shows us classic French recipes made easy. I need easy!! We all take turns cutting vegetables, meat or whatever foods we are using, with Dominique guiding us. She also provides the recipes in English and French. This is super helpful for struggling French speakers (cough, cough) who can hand the French recipe to the unsmiling butcher for a meat order. You may remember France uses the metric system, so all the recipes/directions for anything you buy or want to prepare use celsius for the oven and metric measurements for ingredients. Oh, we are so thankful for our computers and smart phones for conversions!! LOL
 |
| meat for beef bourguignon |
 |
| Marisa Tomei & I have matching aprons! |
 |
| mushrooms for our meat pastry--I had no idea they what they were, I thought we were cooking some flowers! ha! |
It's a small group at the class, which is fun and social, in addition to providing a great learning environment. The class is all "hands on", so each person is involved with chopping, cleaning, preparing, stirring or any process we learn.
 |
| Marinading our coq au vin |
 |
| My friend Jeanne-Marie hard at work & Dominique is wearing her usual high heels (!!) |
After we finish cooking, we sit down to a lovely table and eat the food we have prepared. Some days, Dominique prepares the final product in advance, so if we don't finish or the dish needs more time, we can still eat. She also serves the proper wine or champagne with the dishes, which also helps us to learn which wines enhance the food. As is the custom in France, there is also a cheese plate after the meal, which is another thing to learn--which cheeses go with certain wines. (I love that part!) One thing you quickly learn here is that coffee is always served after every meal, so that is our last course.
 |
| Some of Dominique's vintage china |
 |
| Champagne with our salmon last week! |
It's a good day of fun and cooking with the group. We also have the opportunity to ask questions about all things French--so helpful to spend time with someone who understands our new home! Dominique also lived in the Washington, DC area for years, so she knows the ex-pat life and what we are all going through living in a new country. I enjoy our group very much--the other women and Dominique.
Cooking has been so much fun, I brought my in-laws to class when they visited Paris. Howard and Sonia have literally been around the world, so what in the world would we do when they came here? They don't really like doing too many "touristy" things, so we tried cooking class. They really enjoyed it and so did Paul. We made a meat pastry and an orange salad--was a blast. Hey, ya'll know Paul cooks WAY better than me, but even he can learn something new! My family has enjoyed all the new recipes I have tried and I'm starting to feel more confident about cooking.
 |
| Paul & his parents, Howard & Sonia getting the scoop from Dominique |
 |
| Howard learned a new technique for chopping onions |
 |
| Paul works on lunch |
Let me know if you are visiting and want to try a class with Dominique. I'll get you all the info with prices, days and times. We are doing a whole class devoted to French appetizers the first week of March--excited about that one!
Love hearing from my friends back home and around the world! Keep in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram-- There are several buttons on the home page of my blog to follow me or friend me so we can stay connected. My email is texanstakeparis@gmail.com. Bonne Journee!
 |
| This salmon was pretty nifty--you wrap it up in salt & dill for 48 hours in your frig. |
