Morning Coffee and Cake with Friends
Notes From a Franco-American Kitchen By Marie-Christine Perry There are few American culinary customs I like as much as I do a morning coffee meeting, where friends gather around the accoutrements of a well-made cup, and the table is laden with morning pastries, often brought along by the participants. This is very different from the […]
Crêpes for Mardi Gras
Notes From a French Kitchen by Marie-Christine Perry The holidays are behind us, and after Epiphany and its traditional cake, galette des rois (cake of the kings), the next festive celebration on the French calendar is Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. This is an important day for the French, who make crêpes and beignets that […]
Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce, a Perfect Holiday Dessert
Notes from a French Kitchen by Marie-Christine Perry Summer has ended and with it the garden’s abundance. The dehydrator has been working full-time, drying the last of the summer bounty: thyme, marjoram, basil, sage and tarragon take turns scenting the air, and I have filled countless recycled Bonne Maman jam jars with their fragrant leaves. […]
It’s Black Currant Season Time for Créme de Cassis
Notes from a French Kitchen By Marie-Christine Perry June is the month black currants come into their own, and therefore, for me, crème de cassis making time! I have in the past bought black currants at my local green market in Brooklyn, where the Korean-American farmer was only too glad to keep his little crop for me, […]
Green Spring Trio
Notes From a French Kitchen by Marie-Christine Perry After a long winter, made longer by confinement, to see nature greening around me turns my thoughts to asparagus, peas and artichokes. I already see the first shoots in my asparagus bed, portent of delightful meals, and I regret that the climate here is not propitious to the […]
Simple, Quick Pastas to Please Everyone
Notes from a Franco-Italian Kitchen by Marie-Christine PErry Having to produce three meals a day, particularly in winter, can be tedious, as limited fresh vegetable offerings tax the imagination of the cook who is not thrilled by the cruciferous family. In my case, I am also limited by the likes and dislikes of my two […]
A Bowl of Soup, the Classic Winter Warmer
Notes from a French Kitchen by Marie-Christine Perry One of the joys of winter for me is soup! From fragrant and creamy tomato and basil soup to the classic potato leek; from hearty minestrone to bacon-scented pumpkin; from thick and spicy black bean soup to clear chicken broth with vermicelli, I can cook all different […]
Adventures in Community-Supported Agriculture
Notes From a French Kitchen Text and Photo by Marie-Christine Perry Early last spring, since my partner Cheryl was going to be working from home because of the pandemic and there would be two of us living full-time here in Norfolk, we decided that to make sure we had access to fresh vegetables and fruits, […]
Sourdough Adventures in Confinement
Notes from a French Kitchen By Marie-Christine Perry As strange as it is for Frenchwomen to tackle bread making, seeing as we are never more than a half block away from a great bakery in French towns and even small villages have their own bakers with pain au levain available everywhere, I had dabbled in trying my […]
Springtime Wild Edibles
By Marie-Christine Perry Before our kitchen gardens start brimming with the first fruits and vegetables, we can turn to foraging to have a few options for fresh greens, flowers and roots as we take walks through woods and meadows. Foraging for wild edibles is a great pleasure, but one must exercise caution. The first rule of foraging […]
