Christmas in Paris from the US!

Hi there, and happy 2015! So, today I have these amazing Eiffel Tower cookies that I got from the blog Elements of Style. My aunt sent me the link and suggested that I make them, so I did and they turned out fantastic. The process took two days but that was just because I was feeling lazy and wanted to postpone the process, so one one day I made the dough and put it in the fridge and the next I baked and decorated them. You can make them in one but just be sure to make the dough earlier in the morning because you have to put the dough in the fridge for 2 hours and then you can take it out. So, basically what I am saying is plan ahead! 

In the blog, Erin had used silver and black for the decorations of the Eiffel Tower, but I used white and gold for mine. So, you can change up the look a little bit. I also had added wreaths because I made these right around the holidays, but you can just leave them out and they will look just as nice. 

To make the cookies into an Eiffel Tower shape, I used a cookie cutter, which you can find here. Another optional but very helpful tool to have is parchment paper. I always have a little stash in my pantry and it helps a lot!

The Finished Product!

So, without further ado, here is the recipe...

April Showers Bring...

Have you ever read Robert McCloskey's One Morning in Maine? My favorite line of the book is the last line of the book when the two girls, Sal and Jane scream "CLAM CHOWDER FOR LUNCH!" 

Well, instead of Clam Chowder, for me in my best Sal and Jane voice I am screaming FRENCH TOAST FOR DESSERT! 

Who wouldn't love French Toast for dessert? This recipe is easy to make but best for a small crowd as you have to get up in between dinner and dessert to make it. I know right, it is hard to believe that I am giving you a recipe for French Toast. Or even better yet, a recipe for French Toast for dessert. This is a special one though. Read on to find out more about it.  

This is called Pain Perdu and it is a traditional french nursery dessert. Just like the Creme Brulee, this is a french dish. I mean hey, look at the name. The exact translation is lost toast. But I don't think this french toast recipe will ever be lost in my house.  

Have you ever had french toast with almonds? While, this is what this is. With a topping of strawberries, and confectioners sugar. Although the original recipe calls for you to make the "pain perdu" in a skillet pan, I cooked some of mine in a skillet and then switched to a griddle and it worked so much better than a skillet. So, I am telling you definitely use the griddle. It is so much better. 

One reason the griddle is much better is you have to clean out the skillet each time and the skillet gets very hot. You also have to wait like 30 minutes for it to become cool enough, so you can carry it over to the sink . But with the griddle you don't have to wipe down the surface, so you can just keep making them. 


While making this, I noticed a couple of things.

1.) When you soak larger pieces for 4 minutes, they can get very soft. I suggest cutting them in half. It is easier to lift up with a spatula, and is also easier with transporting it to the skillet/griddle. 

2.) Bigger pieces get burnt more easily, again cut them in half. 

3.) 4 minutes can be a lot for pieces to soak, you can soak them for less if need be. 

Another Traditional French Recipe: Aioli

Have you ever heard of Chez Panisse...or better yet read Fanny at Chez Panisse by Alice Walters? Well, dear reader, it is a story about a girl named Fanny (she is real!) and her mother owns the restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.  I SO want to go there. Why isn't my mother like Fanny's mother?  Why don't I get to run back and forth between a restaurant and an open air-market everyday?  Well, the answer is...school. I know lame excuse right? But it's true. I still have my summers free though (Thank goodness!) Instead of a restaurant and open-air market, I have my beach house (with my 16 cousins all living there for the whole summer!) and the supermarket. Not as French as a restaurant and open-air market, but still will do.

Speaking of supermarkets and summer, I am gearing up for my annual job that my cousin and I take on each year. Each week we do the difficult job of grocery shopping for the week for the 16 cousins and aunts and uncles. We buy a ton of food and we are at the store for hours! We spend hundreds of dollars each week.  Yes!  Food is very expensive these days.

Each week, my aunt and my mother make a list of things we will need at the grocery store.  They rotate turns taking us to the store.  We also alternate the side of the store we start on.
For example: week 1, we start on the dairy side (her favorite), and week 2 we start on the fruit and veggies side (my favorite).  At the check out, we have our own procession line.   (We get that much food and fill the carts to the brim!) My aunt passes the food to my cousin, Joanie and she passes it to me. My aunt also helps me line up the groceries in order. I put it on the conveyor-belt. My aunt also helps me line up the groceries in order. Then, we push the 2 and sometimes even 3 carts out to the car.  The best part: we get a treat after doing all that hard work!  And, upon arriving home, we get to watch all our cousins scurry back and forth unloading the food.

So, that brings me to my next topic. What will I use the mayonnaise for?  Well, dear reader, I have it all planned out. In the summer when many good vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, and beans are ripe, I will prepare a big platter of all the summer's best vegetables and in the middle, put the nice creamy mayonnaise.

This recipe took me three tries to make it even remotely edible, so don't be discouraged if it doesn't work out the first time. The main difficulty that you could run into is they mayonnaise frequently breaks.  What does this mean?  It happens when you whisk the oil and egg and they separate and won't stay together.  Check out Luisa Weiss blog, she has a link for saving the aioli (mayonnaise). So, if it does break, try this tip. It helped me a little to save my broken mayonnaise. And then I broke it again! So, then I started back up with a fresh batch and finally, this one worked.  Here is the recipe.