First of all, thanks to all the newbies who have joined me here recently. Welcome and I hope you enjoy the ride!
For some reason…hmm let me think…there seem to be A LOT of birthdays in September. Christmas season plus…well, you do the math. Admittedly some of the celebrations that I have been lucky enough to attend have been belated ones, but most have been someone’s actual birthday.
And when it comes to parties, even Paris got in on the action. As the city came to grips with the fact that the games really were over, there was one last opportunity for Paris to say “well done!” to all the French athletes, volunteers and organisers that helped make the games such a success. So, last Saturday, Paris threw one last patriotic event full of tricolour smoke bombs over the Arc de Triomphe, the Patrioulle De France performing their fabulous fly over and a DJ set by the Arc which turned the Champs Elysee into a dance floor. And it came complete with a late night light show. The medal winning athletes were awarded the Legion d’Honneur by President Macron and all in all it was quite the party!
Now, although my friends don’t have quite that kind of reach, they do know how to put on a lovely event. Birthday season began with a very civilised dinner. A friend who has recently settled in with her new(ish) beloved hosted a dinner for twelve close friends. I had one last event for the Australian Paralympic committee so couldn’t make it until after the main course. But l was thrilled to be working on that particular event as it meant I was lucky enough to meet a few rather incredible athletes - it was the icing on the cake. My brother is disabled and is, indeed, an advocate for disabled people in Australia so, for me, it was important to be able to meet and spend a few moments with these amazing athletes. Maddie (the lady with her arm around me) went on to win the silver medal in the T54 wheelchair marathon - superstar!
When the event had wrapped up, I finally made it to the birthday dinner. It was so lovely to be able to sit at a table and have proper conversations with close friends. The night continued with the hostess/birthday girl presenting the table with a magnificent pavlova, covered in fresh summer peaches, kiwi fruit and piles of cream.
As a chef, I am often asked to take a peek into someone else’s kitchen and offer assistance, it was no different at this birthday. But on this occasion I contributed just a small amount of curry paste that I had made earlier in the week and very little else, as Birthday Girl had it under control. Speeches were made, a few sentimental tears were shed and then much laughter and joy as we toasted her.
So my contribution was less in the food department and more on the decorative side. I supplied the matching twelve crockery and cutlery sets for the table. I think I might have mentioned my penchant for “brocante-ing” in Normandy. This happy but somewhat cupboard-filling pastime is great when friends want to borrow a few plates but, I must confess, leaves me very nervous when opening said cupboard and my treasures come tumbling out. The phrase that comes to mind is “do I have a problem?”
On the more positive side, my obsession hobby has put me in the position of being able to supply my friends with dinner sets, tablecloths, jugs, napkins, serving dishes, you name it, at the drop of a hat. NB: you can do it too - check out the RealEmilyinParis’s tours of the flea markets. You can find the most amazing souvenirs of your time in France. In addition to three dinner sets, five knife sets, two full cutlery sets, five jugs, 33 napkins, four tablecloths, five sets of crystal glasses, some candelabra, a couple of wine buckets and a stuffed pheasant (truly! And I am only scratching the surface) I recently picked up a most superb cloissoné table centrepiece after an extended search. Isn’t it gorgeous? I love it!
Speaking of the Real Emily, that was another birthday party I had the pleasure to attend. Being a chef herself, Emily had firm ideas about what she would serve. But, me being me, I had even firmer ideas. So what started as me helping Em with some tortillas ended up with me drafting in Chef Tim and serving up seven different salsas, bringing out the hibachi to smoke the tomatoes, whipping up a ceviché and throwing together a guacamole. It was so fun to be able to help!
Work wise, there was yet another party. This was a festive cocktail party, celebrating Australians in France. Over 110 Australians who are lucky enough to call this fabulous city home attended and I of course rolled out the Aussie favourites that included the very famous sausage roll. I shudder to think how many of these I have made but to fail to serve them is to invite anarchy!
This weekend I will travel to Burgundy to help my friend Dan of Crepin21 fame celebrate his 60th birthday. I will be in charge of apero hour, something I am very much looking forward to. I was thinking oysters and, given that I hear there will be lamb on the spit, maybe some Middle Eastern snacks to use up the left overs. Can’t wait!
For Em’s birthday I made a salsa matcha as I was trying to keep everything gluten free. This salsa is fiery and full of texture and relatively easy to make. You can swap out the peanuts for something else, add other seeds if you wish and blitz the lot, if you prefer a smoother salsa. There are hundred of ways to make this. So be creative !
If you can find the right chiles - there are a few Mexican shops here in Paris. The one that I tend to go to is in the 15th and is called Latino Market and it’s so worth the effort. They sometimes have tomatillos too. Normally I have them growing on my rooftop garden but this year, the seeds came up but an army of hungry slugs ate the lot!
Salsa Matcha
12 dried Arbor chiles
1 dried Pasilla chile
100 g tinned chipotle chile
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup raw shelled, unsalted peanuts
2 tbs sesame seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
3 whole garlic cloves
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tbs salt
1 tbs honey
Remove the ends of the chiles then roll them gently to remove and discard the seeds. Over medium heat, add to a large saucepan the vegetable oil, peanuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and peeled garlic cloves. Stir until the peanuts and seeds are golden and the garlic cloves begin to brown (about five minutes). Add the whole chiles and set aside for 10 minutes.
Place half the mix in a blender and add the vinegar, salt and honey. Blitz on high until smooth. Remove from the blender and add the remainder of the mix and stir through. Cool before serving. Keeps well in the refrigerator for at least a couple of weeks, if not longer.
Fun things seen in Paris
Yes I have a pheasant !
Next newsletter will be from Italy, where I am off to to learn how to make cheese (and have sneaky vacation too).
See you in two weeks,
Kathxx
Maybe it’s time to plan my own party?!