Patisseries... and loved ones on my mind.

Missing Paris today... and my in-laws. 

We spent this past weekend at my mother-in-love's 

cleaning out the last of her furniture

as the house has now sold.

A sad task and the final round

of dividing up her belongings,

deciding who keeps what 

and making the last painful trips to the donation center. 

Remembering their visit to Paris 

at the end of our year of living there,

I couldn't help but think of the bustling little boulangerie/patisserie

that sat just across the street from us on the corner. 

When my In-Love's had tired of trekking through the streets of Paris

or long drives and cathedral and chateau visits in the Loire,

they LOVED sitting on the blue couch in my dining room

staring out the French window

watching the people coming and going

through the doors of the boulangerie.

Something tickled them about the number of people

emerging with baguettes or pretty-ribboned pink boxes 

filled with pastries and chocolates. 

Often there was a line out the door and a dog or two 

also waiting with their owners on the end of a leash. 

My father-in-love had a healthy sweet tooth

and nearly daily made his own trek across the street

to come home with a pink box and his favorite gateau.

He started with the smallest one

and worked his way up to the largest. 

Some days he suggested we skip lunch

and just have gateau.

The sweet little boulangerie on that corner is gone now...

as are my in-laws. 

On that corner now sits a(nother) bank. 

And in my home here in the Pacific Northwest

sit a few items that remind me of my mother-in-love

who just left us this year. 

But in my heart is the sweetness of the memory

of the two of them together, enjoying the view out the window, 

chuckling as they pointed things out to each other while they held hands.

(Photo copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Oh La La! Book Challenge & Walks in Paris

Ok, Premiere things first!

Ms. Lucy over at Enchanted by Josephine

is starting her own book challenge!

The French Historicals Oh-La-La Challenge

runs from January 2010 to December 2010.

I'm getting in on this one!

Will let you know my first challenge choice when I decide what it will be!

And here in Paris, Epiphany is over (January 6th in France)

but the Galettes des Rois just keep on selling!

The Poilane boulangerie just down the street from us

has it's usual lovely display of goodies.

Oh la la, les Brioches!

Those Galettes make me crazy with their almond filling and fluffy crust.

I had my first taste (this visit) last night at my niece's singing recital.

(She was pitch perfect, by the way!)

Speaking of Epiphanies, a friend told us the other day over lunch

that while having her very first raw oyster, she had one. Epiphany, that is.

She asked if I'd experienced that with oysters.

Uh...Non.

I love them cooked on the half shell in the BarB,

then smothered with garlic butter, horseradish and spicy creole herbs.

Says she: 'You mean so you don't taste them?'

Uh...Oui!

At our house, The Ed is the designated chef. Don't get me wrong, I can hold my own.

I just don't excel. And I don't tend to love it. He loves it!

The other day after shopping at our Grenelle outdoor marche,

I came into our tiny kitchen to find that

the chef had done his best to be creative with the space issue.

I must say, Paris makes me want to learn.

And learn to Love it!

One thing about the French,

the packaging is nearly as important as the dish.

And it's the same with gifts.

I learned that many years ago when we began our sojourns to France.

Always when one is invited to another's house, whether it be for dinner or for the weekend,
a gift is in order. And the gift must be
beautifully wrapped!

From the looks of these creatively packaged meats,

I'm thinking I could very well be a
fabulous cook here!
I'll let you know!

Pain Poilane

One of my favorite boulangeries to walk past in Paris' 15th arrondissement is Poilane on Boulevard de Grenelle (pronounced: Pwa-lan). Usually with a line of Parisians gathered to pick up their daily bread or pastry, it is one of two storefront locations of the late Lionel Poilane's dedicated attempt to carry on the family tradition, started by his father, Pierre, in 1932. The front and corner windows are lavishly decorated with ornate furnishings made of, what else? Bread crust.


Over the years, I've witnessed an array of astonishing ensembles looking like ice sculptures of golden dough. Giant flower arrangements, the petals, stems and vase all crafted and baked into varying shades of crusted-honey hues, call to bees and bread patrons alike. Chandeliers, books and dishware are just a few samples of the edible decor that pleasantly shock passersby with what is possible when a little flour yields itself to an artisan's hands. Poilane's alchemists spin yeasty gold out of pixie dust and tap water. During Paris' Fete de la Musique, a music festival held every June 21st when Paris holds its street music festival on the day of the Solstice, Poilane's window displays sing with their own musical instruments.



Unlike many other boulangeries in Paris who flout their patisserie pretties and chocolate delectables in perfectly-lined rows along street-front windows, Lionel opted to keep his daily output to a small assortment of traditional breads, tarts, gateau and punitions (small, thin, butter cookies known as "The Punishment"~the recipe of which can be found in Dorie Greenspan's book Paris Sweets).

My favorite is the simple and plain-looking Gateau Basque (almost like a custard pie with a densely-thick, not-too-sweet center) which I am compelled to buy every time I see it in the window. Ed's favorite is the early morning, tender-yet-flaky brioche to go with his coffee. While their pastry shelves are not lined with the busy colors and shapes of other windows, they always have something you want.

According to Ron Lieber (fastcompany.com), Lionel's motto was, "Do things with intention, not with extension." Lionel's intent, after taking over the business from his father in 1970, apparently became a treasure hunt for THE best traditional French bread (Lieber states that according to Poilane, France's popular baguette actually came out of Austria). Poilane, with some help, interviewed over 10,000 bakers for their 2 francs worth and then created and revitalized what was once the most common bread in France: the dark, round, peasant bread of the region made in the traditional fashion using wood-fired ovens. The original boulangerie started by Pierre is still located on Rue du Cherche-Midi in the Latin Quarter where Lionel kept an office.

While those dark, fat, rounds nearly lost out to the flashier, skinnier, fair-skinned models (who are most often spotted tooling along French sidewalks canoodling in the arms of Parisians busily chewing the baguette's missing tip), Poilane saved the dark, regional manna from heaven. And he found his own patronage. In an interview, Lieber quotes Poilane as stating that one of his most dedicated followers paid him a large sum to keep his children and grandchildren in weekly shipments of bread for the rest of their days.

Next time you are in Paris visiting the Eiffel Tower, walk down to Blvd de Grenelle (3 blocks from the Champs de Mars) and on your way to the Metro (directly between stops Dupleix and Bir Hakeim), stop and marvel on the latest creations gracing the windows. And have a gateau for me!

If you have any trouble finding it, mention one word to any Parisian on the street: Poilane. They will point you in the right direction.

(Sadly, Lionel Poilane died in a helicopter crash in Oct. 2002 in Brittany)

Photographs copyright: Kirsten Steen