Busy Type-A type day today.<\/p>\n
The error message on the scale didn’t augur well, however. It read, “One leg at a time,” in French no less. (Une jambe par un fois<\/em>, if you don’t believe me.) It must have anticipated my pastry making class later today.<\/p>\n I have adopted a new rule, one guaranteed to keep aggravation to a minimum. I am only going onto my email (at work, not Bberry) once every morning, that’s it. I am trying to see if this way I can wean myself from looking at email altogether. Nah, probably not but there were 83\u00a0messages this morning.<\/p>\n Graham and I discussed perspective,\u00a0a very underrated concept I think. He also suggested I get a sketch pad, go to a caf\u00e9, get a coffee and start sketching. Now there’s an idea.<\/p>\n At the pastry course at\u00a0Caf\u00e9 Len\u00f4tre<\/em>, 10 ave. des Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es,\u00a0Chef des travaux\u00a0<\/em>Laurent Meredieu, showed four women–I think I was the youngest in this class by about 20 years although that may have been my imagination–us how to make\u00a0p\u00e2te \u00e0 choux<\/em>,\u00a0p\u00e2te \u00e0 brioche<\/em>,\u00a0p\u00e2te\u00a0sabl\u00e9e<\/em>,\u00a0p\u00e2te bris\u00e9e\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0p\u00e2te feuillet\u00e9e<\/em>, the last ridiculously hard., the others not so bad. Interestingly, at least in pastry-making, the French measure by weight rather than volume. So, instead of 1 cup of flour, it might be 150 grams, so a scale is essential.<\/p>\n Having sampled what we made,\u00a0maybe this course wasn’t such a good idea. Perhaps fish would have been better. I do know, however, why French pastry tastes sooooo good. IT’S THE BUTTER!!!!! Not a good photo of the\u00a0Chef et moi<\/em>, believe me so I haven’t included. In fact, I think I erased it, one of the other students took it after the class and by then we’d had samples of\u00a0\u00a0chouquettes<\/em>\u00a0(choux\u00a0<\/em>with sprinkled almonds and sugar),\u00a0brioche<\/em>and the like. This after a\u00a0quick lunch at a place I think was called Madrigal (it didn’t seem to have a name) on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es which, at least today, was thronging with people. Ridiculously, there, a pretty tasteless club sandwich and diet Coke was 20 euros!<\/p>\n Later, much later, we went to a hilarious place,\u00a0jammed full of people,\u00a0called L’Entrec\u00f4te, 20, rue St-Benoit, where the only question the server asks is how you like your steak cooked. That’s it, steak,\u00a0frites<\/em>\u00a0and dessert if you want it. It reminded Sandy of the old Ed’s Warehouse where if you wanted roast beef, mashed potatoes and peas, that was the place. It reminded me of a French version of a place called Steak and Burger where the name says it all.<\/p>\n Tried the 1947 Armagnac when we got back. Very mellow.<\/p>\n\n\t\t