Paris Top Ten

In a few weeks' time I'll be in Paris, and I have quite a list of places to see. Some of them I haven't been able to get out of my head since my last trip, so will be happily revisiting, such as Laduree for its gelato colours:

And a picnic on the banks of the Seine is a must:

As is a stroll along the Boulevarde St Michel, or Boul' Miche as it is known:

Then there is the Grand Colbert at 2 Rue Vivienne, a little bistro where the hot chocolate was a meal in itself last time:


I'm going to the Marches des Puces or Flea Markets at Porte de Vanves, just for these fabrics alone:

Not to mention a street market for the chicken with fat dripping down onto the potatoes, or then there's the healthier option of fruit and vegetables:

There are places where I've never been before, such as the store Merci:

Image from Tara Bradford Photography website

I can't wait to visit the Musee des Artes Decoratifs in the Rue de Rivoli:

Image from Musee website.

Then there is the Shakespeare and Company bookstore:

Image from store website

Image from Rough Luxe website

Not forgetting the Fauchon store at Place de la Madeleine, where I might pick up some madeleines or macaroons. There is sugar in these packets:

Image from French Blue

Making Madeleines

In two weeks' time I'm graduating and for my graduation party I've promised to make Madeleines. These are the cakes from Proust's novel In Search of Lost Time, which mentally transport him back to his childhood. Because I've written about them in my thesis, I thought it would be a good idea to make some. At one stage I decided to be lazy and try and buy them. But, unbelievably, no one in Sydney sells Madeleines. So, I bought the tins and had a trial run the other day. The recipe I used is from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat:

Here is the mixture in the tins ready to go in the oven:

The finished product. The beautiful shell shapes look so elegant, and tasted good too:

Here is the recipe:

Proust's Madeleine's from 'How to Eat'by Nigella Lawson

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon clear honey
2 eggs
1/2 cup superfine sugar
Pinch salt
3/4 cup Italian 00 or all-purpose flour
Confectioners' sugar for serving
Mix 6 tablespoons of the butter with the honey. Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl for about 5 minutes with a mixer until it's as thick as mayonnaise. Sprinkle in the flour; I hold a strainer above the egg and sugar mixture, put the flour in it, and shake. Fold in the flour with a wooden spoon and then add the melted butter and the honey. Mix well, but not too vigorously. Leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour, then take out and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Brush the remaining butter over the cavities in the madeleine molds and fill them with the cake mixture. Don't worry about filling the cavities; in the heat of the oven, the mixture will spread before it rises.

Bake 5-10 minutes or until lightly golden on top and golden brown around the edges. Mine seem cooked after about 7 minutes, but not all ovens are the same, so be alert from 5 minutes. Turn out and let cool on a rack, then arrange on a plate and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Now to make one hundred of them for my party - shouldn't be too difficult.