It's about the people, part V

Another year passes, and it's still about the people. It always will be.

So it seems only right that yesterday would be one of the best days I've had in Paris yet. Someone's keeping an eye on me...

I woke up bright and early to finish up forcemeat week (more on that in a later post) and make supremes de volaille farcis, sauce et champignons (stuffed chicken breasts, sauce and mushrooms). Yum! I love this recipe, except for the (you guessed it) turned mushrooms. Later in the day I described it over the phone to my mom, and it seems I've been enlisted to make this upon my return stateside.


We finished class early (thanks to the helpful prodding of Chef Cotte, who likes us to feel the time pressure even when it doesn't exist!) and my classmates and I had a coffee after changing back into street clothes. Sitting with them in the Winter Garden, sipping coffee and comparing notes on the recipe, reminded me that I love being back in school ... I love the camaraderie of it, the constant learning, and the enthusiasm.

I left school and headed across the neighborhood to meet Chris and Carter for lunch at Le Banyan, as lovely the second time as it was the first. Except lovelier, because I had great company with whom to enjoy the food. A couple of new tastes that were delicious? A chicken/lemongrass/coriander sausage, lightly crispy spring rolls, and a spicy homemade ginger tea.

What next in this day-o-fun? A few errands ... a challenging quest to find index cards that, three stores later, ended in success (ever try explaining index cards in a language that's not your own?? les fiches pour ecrir des notes? s'il vous plait??) ... a ten minute review of my options in the laundry aisle of the Monoprix, in an effort to choose a bleach that is most likely to return my whites to, well, white (rather than the veal stock color they seem to have attained in spots) ... and a phone conversation with Mom.

And then it was time to head out to dinner with Adi, to celebrate her completion of the written exam in her intensive pastry course at LCB. I picked Le Timbre, based on the recommendations of a few friends, and Tom Sietsema. And I was enchanted from the moment I walked in the door. As everyone who writes about this place comments, "le timbre" means "the postage stamp", a play on words for the tiny spot that seats only 24 lucky guests. The decor is warm and inviting, with tables so snug that you almost can't help but get to know your neighbors. (More on that later.) The walls are decorated with beautiful black and white photographs, and the tiny one-man kitchen is open to the dining room. Warm decor, black and white photos, and an open kitchen? Yeah, I'm good.

As we settled in, Adi apologized to the server for seeming a bit frazzled, explaining that she had just finished an exam and was still decompressing a bit. "A good meal and wine will help that," the friendly sole server said to us. So true. She brought the menu board over to us and walked away. I began to translate the menu for Adi, since she has the patisserie know-how, but my knowledge of savory food words is better. But as I was translating the first entree, my eyes were already skimming down the menu, and I interrupted myself. "Ooh, I know what I'm getting!" I laughed and went back to describing the entrees, a terrine de campagne, a gazpacho with tomatoes and cilantro, an anchovy tart ... but we both wound up choosing the pea soup, served with lardons and a poached egg. With slices of fresh baguette alongside, this was fantastic. Of course, it's one of my favorite spring/summer dishes so I was unlikely to be unhappy, but the combination of flavors, atmosphere, and company was excellent.

On to the plats. I saw a filet of daurade served with pommes puree that looked phenomenal and almost made me regret my choice; the table next to us was raving about both the boudin noir and the sweetbreads dishes; but we chose pork with fava beans, and duck breast with caramelized shallots. I didn't get a taste of the pork, but it looked delicious, and the fava beans were slightly browned, which I'm sure gave them a great flavor. My duck came out perfectly cooked. And the shallots! I've spent a lot of time in the last four weeks caramelizing onions, and it takes patience to get them perfect. Chef Christopher Wright must be a very patient man, because these were melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and I almost wanted more to spread as a jam on an extra piece of baguette.

If I had one (minor) complaint about our meal, it would be that, for me, Wright's pepper mill might be set to a slightly too coarse grind, as I bit into pieces of pepper in a couple of bites that made the seasoning a little bit off to my taste. But would I return tonight if given the opportunity? Absolutely.

Dessert offerings at Le Timbre are light -- a millefeuille, sauteed cherries topped with creme fraiche, peach compote with shreds of puff pastry, and an English cheese plate (in tribute to the Chef's British heritage). Anyone want to guess which one I had? I do love summer fruit season...

And, in a nice touch, at the end of our meal, our server, who had been pleasantly and efficiently taking care of a room full of patrons, stopped by our table. "Are you more relaxed from your exam," she asked Adi. So kind of her to have remembered, and Adi grinned and responded "absolutely".

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About getting to know your neighbors ... around the time we were served our dessert, the woman sitting next to me leaned over. "How're the desserts," she asked. We told her we gave them two thumbs up, and I think she took that as license to chat. Because all of a sudden, we were her long-lost daughters. "Where are you girls from," she asked us. When she learned we were from different countries, she asked how we knew each other. And when we answered that we were both students at LCB, her eyes lit up. "I spent three months studying at Le Cordon Bleu London a hundred years ago! It was the best experience of my life!" After she got the low-down on what we intend to do with our culinary training, and gave us her two cents (probably more like a full dime) on what she thought we should do, I decided I'd turn the table a little bit. "And where are you from? What brings you to Paris," I asked. And wouldn't you know, she was from northern New Jersey, and in Europe on an annual two week bike trip with her cycling club. Mike was in town earlier in the week for an annual two week bike trip with a cycling group, but I quickly verified that they were not on the same trip. Still, what a small world.

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After finishing our dinner, Adi and I set out on a walk back through the 6th arrondissement -- the weather was beautiful, and we were still chatting about something or other. About fifteen minutes into our walk, Adi turned to me and asked, "what would it take to get you to agree to stop for ice cream?" So clearly a patissier, as one dessert just did not suffice! Of course I obliged (have I ever been known to pass up dessert?) and we set off to find Amorino, a gelateria located throughout France (and Shanghai). Adi had been before, and I had heard good things. After passing a Ben and Jerry's and a Haagen Dazs along the way, we saw a long line snaking out of a storefront, and knew we had found our destination, and, that on the first warm Friday night of the summer, we were not the only ones with this great idea.

But it was worth the wait -- my cone of bacio (chocolate/hazelnut) and lampone (raspberry) was delicious, and in my opinion, tastier than the Berthillon I had a couple of weeks ago! I'll definitely be back to sample some of the other flavors ...

Le Timbre
3, rue Sainte Beuve
Paris 75006
tel: 01 45 49 10 40

Amorino
multiple locations