#David Lebovitz Has Good Advice

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David Lebovitz Has Good Advice

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David Lebovitz Has Good Advice

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David Lebovitz Has Good Advice

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Travel Is Your Worst Enemy. 9 Methods To Defeat It

I wished to discover the town like a local so subsequent, I head to the Farmers Market in the night. Their job duties embody intensive tasting, relationships with farmers and cheesemakers, selecting which cheeses to purchase, understanding how all of the cheeses are made and storing the cheese correctly. A cheesemonger's primary job helps clients select the very best cheese for his or her meal. Cheesemongers manage the cheese department in specialty or artisan food shops. You also want to have the ability to recommend a cheese when a customer asks for advice. They are sent to trouble spots all over the world (typically at the behest of the United Nations) to monitor situations and protect civilians when wanted.

You'll be able to weblog about anything: your personal creations, recipes, favorite restaurants, favorite chefs, greatest places in the world to eat, local fare or particular types of meals. If their employees had easy accessibility to a local airport, the company might have branches in a a lot bigger number of areas. Vani Hari, additionally identified because the controversial blogger The Food Babe, has launched a number of profitable petitions towards firms that she believes have harmful elements in their meals. So how do you make your meals blog stand out from the remaining? If gamescorners.com out of your blog and columns starts to go to your head, you may begin entertaining loopy ideas like our subsequent second profession thought for retirees: politics.

Recipe testers search for issues like that, and extra. A good cheesemonger also needs to supply small tastes of their cheeses to assist their customers make shopping for selections. Profitable meals author David Lebovitz additionally stresses the significance of good photography skills. Essentially the most profitable food bloggers find a distinct segment and stick with it. Quickly enough, you may find yourself with a devoted following. 2. Discover the perfect day to buy airplane tickets. In accordance with studies, Fuchs was motivated by anti-Nazi feelings and an advanced view of how finest to attain postwar equilibrium. The oil industry thrived there, and tens of millions of tons of cargo and munitions were shipped from West Coast ports.

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David Lebovitz Has Good Advice

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Dan Lepard's caramel masterclass

Whether it's a luxurious sauce or chewy after-dinner treat, caramel is a simple luxury. So why not make some at home

It was chocolatier Damian Allsop that gave me the heads up about combining different sugars to get a more intensely flavoured caramel, and after much tweaking in my kitchen this is the formula I've come up with. It's sufficiently variable to suit the playful minds of most Word of Mouth readers.

Ingredients

150g white sugar - regular, caster or unrefined white - plus another 150g white, soft brown, muscovado/molasses sugar 75g unsalted butter (or 50ml oil) 200ml single or double cream, clotted cream, or crème fraîche 75ml golden or corn syrup, black treacle/molasses, honey, malt or maple syrup 1/4 tsp salt

Method

First have your tin ready, and everything measured. Heat the first 150g white sugar with 25ml water in a pan until it turns a rich reddish brown (see gallery.) Then remove the pan from the heat and add the butter or oil. Add the remaining sugar, your choice of syrup, the cream and salt, return to the heat and bring to the boil, watching that it doesn't boil over. The reduce the heat slightly and simmer for about three or four minutes, or till it reaches 113C (235F) for an all-purpose caramel sauce. For a firmer caramel continue to 127C/260F for a soft set and 130C/266F for a firm set. Then remove from the heat and leave for a minute to let the bubbles subside. Swirl the pan gently to remove any remaining bubbles then pour while still hot into the tin, gently scraping it out of the saucepan with a spoon, and leave until cold.

Variations

A few of my favourite combinations (for the proportions above) with tasting notes:

Crème fraîche treacle caramels: white sugar, muscovado/molasses sugar, butter, crème fraîche, black treacle/molasses, salt.

Tasting notes: slight bitterness from the unrefined sugar plus a gentle acidity from the crème fraîche. Amazing as a sauce on ginger ice-cream, good after-dinner as a firm caramel.

Toasted brazil nut and orange caramels: all white sugar, butter, double cream, golden syrup, salt, plus, stirred in gently at the end, the finely grated zest of two oranges and 100g coarsely chopped and oven-roasted brazil nuts.

Tasting notes: rich butter flavour accentuated by the brazil nuts and lightened by the orange to stop the sweetness overpowering it. A magical sauce when poured hot over ripe bananas together with ice-cold cream. Good firm caramels for an afternoon watching a DVD.

Olive oil and black pepper caramels: white sugar, soft dark brown sugar, extra virgin olive oil, water, liquid malt extract, salt plus, stirred in with the water, 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper and 1 tbsp cocoa.

Tasting notes: the malt and chocolate become background flavours as the olive oil and black pepper dominate. Lovely on poached pears, chocolate or black cherry ice-cream, as the chocolate in the sauce becomes more apparent. The firm caramel is perfect with a shot of espresso.

Making caramel has an intense, panicked thrill to it. It's threatening at first, but you'll soon feel a calm respect for the saucepan and its contents. Yes, molten sugar will still be spluttering and plopping with a volcanic fury, but once you replace fear with quiet respect then the measured steps involved in making caramel become much more controllable and subdued.

So, scary, yes. Difficult, no. Time-consuming, no. Expensive, heck no. Caramel is one of the cheapest treats you can concoct in the kitchen, and one of the simple luxuries that's resurfaced at top restaurant menus. Low cost plus high satisfaction equals chef heaven. In the 1980s caramel on a menu was, from what I remember, a simple, dark and bittersweet affair. It might have been caramel ice-cream, perhaps using a Freddy Giradet recipe; the crunch of spun sugar over a peach melba à la Marco; the brutish syrup bathing scorched apples in a classic tarte tatin at Chez Panisse or Alastair Little, or perhaps the brown underbelly of a crème caramel or the delicate upper crust on a brûlée. Beyond that, caramel was viewed by many chefs as just sweetshop stuff, lacking the balls needed for grand dining's testosterone-fuelled kitchens. Well, that's in the past.

Making caramel at home today puts you in good company. Christophe Michalak, the head pastry honcho from the Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, who's spending part of his summer at the Dorchester attempting to raise their afternoon tea patisserie from perfect to sublime, is a caramel convert. I know my choux from my shoes so I can tell you that his religieuse caramel beurre de sel - trading as crisp choux pastry filled with caramel praline and untold calories - is a heavenly wonder you won't see at a church fête. There are subtle techniques that Christophe and other innovative pastry chefs use that can simply and quickly transform what we make at home.

1. Start with the right kit

For anything beyond a simple burnt sugar caramel for, say, a crème caramel, you need to buy a sugar thermometer. Repeat that until you whisper it in your sleep. Don't muck about doing set tests with teaspoons and murky water. Just spend seven odd quid and buy one. If you think that's too expensive, buy one and remember to leave it to someone in your will. It's the quickest, easiest and safest way to make great caramel. But make sure it's heatproof, and that the numbers won't boil off. David Lebovitz, the online guru for all things sweet and an expert on caramel making, told me that you can't solely rely on the manufacturer's label. "I bought a top-end candy thermometer and it melted. It was plastic coated and they said it was silicone. Professional, 25 euros, and it melted." Go for something metal and glass and decidedly old-fashioned.

Also, make sure you have a saucepan with a heavy thick base. I useMeyer Anolon saucepans. That's not a plug: I bought them in the sale and am very happy with them. Try and get a pan that conducts heat evenly; hard anodised aluminium works better than stainless steel.

My advice: as well as the heatproof thermometer and heavy-based saucepan, you'll need kitchen scales and a wooden spoon.

2. Be careful and organised, and stay relaxed

My partner David's mother Rosina was a fairly hardcore marmalade maker well into her 80s, and her frail manoeuvring of her scalding hot saucepan of boiling sugar syrup would panic me. But the pleasure she took making it outweighed any fear in her mind. Caramel involves a much smaller pan of sugar and much less danger than deep frying or marmalade making, but danger is relative and there are steps you should take to stay safe. Clear away any distractions. Don't stick your fingers in, even though it looks inviting. Remove the pan from the heat when adding new ingredients, expect fats and liquids to bubble and spit furiously when added, and stand back till the bubbling subsides. Should a small drop of boiling sugar hit your skin, hold the area immediately under cold running water for a few minutes.

But don't let the fear put you off. I asked Dorie Greenspan about the wall of fear surrounding caramel. "I was petrified of making caramel", she told me, "and I don't think I started making caramel until I started working with Pierre Hermé. Watching him make it I realised that it's much easier than so many of the recipes make it appear. You learn to make it by look and smell, and that's not something a recipe can explain."

My advice: if your caramel is going into a tin or tray, get that set up first and lay a damp cloth underneath it so it doesn't wiggle about when you pour. Have the ingredients measured so you can add them when the time is just right. And stay calm.

3. Start with white sugar

I asked Oriol Balaguer, the Barcelona-based master of chocolate and sugar, about the sugar question, as now even small supermarkets stock a bewildering array of sugars, syrups and substitutes. "I practically always use white sugar (sucrose) to give a pure sweet taste to caramel", says Balaguer, "and though you can and I do use other sugars, syrups or derivatives like fructose and dextrose, I find I almost always prefer sucrose." At first, using white sugar will make gauging the colour of the caramel much easier. But with practice you should be able to try unrefined ('golden') sugar. Damian Allsop, one the most innovative of the new artisan confectioners in the UK, is a fan of unrefined sugar. "Unrefined sugar is a big thing in my kitchen. It has more flavour, and a flavour that's more complex. So you can do what you do with a classical caramel but just experiment with different combinations to get different intensities. I like to substitute a third of the light sugar in a recipe with muscovado for a powerful flavour."

My advice: if you're making a caramel for a tarte tatin or crème caramel, use all refined sugar. If you're making soft caramels or sauces try replacing half the refined white sugar in the recipe with brown sugar (any sort), but only caramelize the white sugar. Then add the remaining brown sugar when you add the butter and cream.

4. Burnt is closer to what you want

We've put together a guide showing the different stages sugar goes through on its trip through caramel country, from white to black. Talking to different chefs and experts, the general consensus seems to be that the darker the caramel, the better. Once you put the sugar in the pan, with a dash of water to make life easier, the sugar will go through different visible stages. First it forms a white syrup, and then a clear syrup that occasionally has a frost-white crust on the top. It then begins to turn a golden caramel at the edges; swirling the pan as it cooks further will take it to a uniform golden caramel. From this point on it will turn a rich golden caramel, a dark reddish caramel, a darker brown caramel with wisps of smoke, and finally it's burnt black. For chefs like David Lebovitz, it's that dark reddish caramel that you should aim for. "When I worked at Chez Panisse, I was the one in the pastry department that always took it to the edge," says Lebovitz, "Often cookbooks say to cook the sugar until it's smoking, but for me that's not far enough."

For Christophe Michalak, golden is divine. "The caramel from Brittany is for me the best one as they don't cook the sugar too much," he says. "It looks like caramel but it's very soft." But for Balaguer the spellbinding power is in choosing how dark to go. "Sugar has different points of caramelisation, each with a distinctive flavour", he explains, "and combining these opens a world of magical possibilities. You need to decide how you want to use it and what you'll combine it with, and then decide what kind of caramel is best." Apples suit a dark caramel, but dark fruit like fresh figs are best paired with a golden caramel. That's not to say there are strict rules, but strong flavours generally suit a medium caramel, and vice versa.

My advice: if you feel your guests have a sophisticated tastes aim to take the caramel to a reddish to dark brown. If you think they're going to be a bit timid, aim for something between rich golden to dark reddish caramel.

5. The cooking temperature is …

My advice: I don't know. I can give you a guide, but the consistency your caramel sets to will depend on the ingredients. More fat will keep the caramel from turning too hard, but might also make it too soft to cut. Less fat might make the caramel brittle and hard. So if your mixture is rich with cream and butter, cook the caramel to a higher temperature for a firmer set. If it's quite lean, cook it to a lower temperature.

Now the next tip is an odd one. I prefer to measure the temperature in Fahrenheit rather Celsius, as it's easier to read the gradual increase in temperature on my old-fashioned thermometer. No difference on a digital thermometer, but on a glass one Fahrenheit is easier.

For a soft eating caramel, take the temperature to somewhere between 260F to 265F, depending on your recipe.

6. Practice, practice, practice

Don't feel trapped by recipes. You can practice with very simple ingredients and still make something lovely, like the caramel apples in the gallery. I had a few dessert apples in the fruit bowl that had to be used. So I peeled, cored and quartered them, then simply put 75g sugar in a frying pan with a dash of water and heated that continuously till it turned a golden caramel. Then I added 25g butter and the apples, and cooked them gently with about 50ml water until they were almost tender, adding a dribble more water every so often so they stayed moist. At first bits of hard toffee formed but that soon dissolved in the juices from the apples. I had a little brandy in the cupboard so I added a dash, say 25ml, and let it simmer for a minute more. This gave a beautiful, simple caramel butter sauce around tender pieces of apple, and the result looked rich and luxurious even with scoops of not-so-glamorous supermarket ice-cream. You want cheap chic? Caramel apples are it in my book.

So there it is. You should have enough here to whip yourself into a caramel frenzy. Do post any questions and I'll try to answer them, or point you to a site that helps. David Lebovitz's caramel blog is an excellent resource you must check out, but do let us know if you have any sites or tips to help.

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Full text write on https://easy-travel.pw/10-best-chocolate-shops-and-makers-in-paris/france/

10 Best Chocolate Shops and Makers in Paris

01 of 11

High-Grade Bars, Creamy Ganaches, and Perfect Pralines

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As one of the great culinary capitals of the world, Paris counts an honorable roster of artisan chocolate-makers among its residents:  cocoa experts who bring genuine artistic flair to their chocolates and concoct the finest in both traditional and eclectic recipes.

Dark chocolate is a real specialty among French chocolate artisans, as are ganaches: chocolates made with cream, yielding rich, silky, intensely creamy centers.

One word of advice: A surprising number of these chocolate maestros have their flagship boutiques in and nearby the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, making a self-guided tour of the area's best shops entirely possible. Get off at metro St-Germain or Odéon, both on line 4 of the Metro, and get your best chocolate testing tastebuds ready…

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02 of 11

Chocolate Maestro #1: Patrick Roger, Cocoa Iconoclast

Sheila Sund / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

The award-winning and famously quirky chocolate maker Patrick Roger opened a flagship store in the St. Germain neighborhood a few years ago, expanding from his original base is in the south Paris suburb of Sceaux. As good at tradition as he is at innovation, Patrick Roger won the title of best French artisan (meilleur ouvrier) in 2000. He is well-known by food connoisseurs like David Lebovitz for his rochers (featuring a contrast of smooth praline filling and crunchy hazelnut flecks), ganaches, or dark chocolate complemented by flavors like lime or hot pepper. Don't miss his seasonal, and always whimsical, store windows featuring all-chocolate polar bears and other sculptural creations.

Address: 108, Blvd. St. Germain, 6th arrondissement Metro: St.-Germain-des-Près Tel.: +33 (0)1 43 29 38 42

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Chocolate Maestro #2: La Maison du Chocolat

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Opened in 1977 by Robert Linxe (who was once referred to as a “ganache magician”), La Maison du Chocolat has several stores in Paris, and the house's world-renowned chocolates can also be ordered online. For those of you who aren't crazy about bitter chocolate, this is your shop– La Maison du Chocolat never uses more than 65% cocoa in their confections, to avoid a bitter flavor. World-famous for their ganaches, this shop also specializes in truffles, mendiants (slices of chocolate topped with dried fruit) and bars with fruit or herbal notes.

Address (Flagship Store): 225, rue du Faubourg St. Honoré, 8th arrondissement Metro: Place des Ternes Tel.: +33 (0)1 42 27 39 44

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04 of 11

Paris Chocolate Maestro #3: Michel Chaudun

Olive Titus / Flickr / Public Domain

The former head of La Maison du Chocolat, Michel Chaudun is, hands-down, one of the world's best artisan chocolatiers. Known for his whimsy as much as his mastery of the classics, you can expect to find anything from simple dark or milk bars and truffles to chocolate crafted to look precisely like sausages, couture bags or vintage heels at his flagship shop near Invalides.

Chaudun is also a talented chocolate sculptor– he once cast a chocolate mold out of performance artist Laurent Moriceau, which was then devoured by spectators at the Palais de Tokyo. This shop is simply de rigueur for chocolate lovers.

Address: 149 Rue de l'Université, 7th arrondissement Metro: Invalides Tel.: +33 (0)1 47 53 74 40

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05 of 11

Chocolate Maestro #4: Jean-Paul Hévin

Masutsu / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

Another renowned chocolate artisan is Jean-Paul Hévin, whose chic boutique and upstairs tearoom in the heart of the Rue St Honoré fashion district merits a visit. At the boutique, high-grade solid chocolate bars and beautiful chocolate pastries lie in the counter in addition to a large collection of ganache and whimsical chocolate sculptures. Hévin has a particular talent for using Asian-inspired ingredients such as ginger and green tea. His macarons are also renowned.

In the tearoom, we recommend trying one of Hevin's signature gourmet hot chocolates; and his chocolate cakes are also sublime. See more about Jean-Paul Hévin in our guide to the best hot chocolate in Paris.

Address: 231 Rue Saint Honoré, 1st arrondissement Metro: Tuileries or Pyramides Tel.: +33 (0)1 55 35 35 96

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06 of 11

Chocolate Maestro #5: Michel Cluizel

Richard Bord / Getty Images

Michel Cluizel chocolates have been renowned since the mid-20th century when Michel Cluizel first opened a family-run shop in Normandy. One of the rare chocolatiers to process their own carefully-selected cocoa beans, Cluizel's chocolates are known for their distinct, balanced flavors. At the famous store near the Tuileries Gardens and the St. Honoré fashion district, visitors can indulge in delicious dark or milk bars, each produced from a distinct blend of cocoa beans in Cluizel's chocolaterie. Whole cocoa beans can also be purchased at the shop.

Address: 201, Rue St. Honoré, 1st arrondissement Metro: Tuileries Tel.: +33 (0)1 42 44 11 66

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07 of 11

Chocolate Maestro #6: Christian Constant

zoetnet / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

Christian Constant has two shops in Paris, one close to the Luxemburg Gardens. His chocolate is rated by food critics worldwide as some of the world's finest, and he is particularly applauded for delicacies like raspberry ganaches, chocolate-covered orange peel, chocolates with spicy or herbal notes, or his famous “palet d'or”, confected from fresh cream and dark chocolate. Christian Constant also offers a dazzling selection of cakes, pastries, and five– count 'em, five– decadent varieties of hot chocolate.

Address: 37 rue Assas, 6th arrondissement Metro: St. Placide or Rennes Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 63 15 15

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08 of 11

Chocolate Maestro #7: Joséphine Vannier

Bob / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

This is a lesser-known gem of an artisan chocolate shop nestled in the fashion-conscious Marais district on the right bank. Offering a dizzying array of creations, from chocolate masks, mini-grand pianos and all-chocolate replicas of vintage ads, to classics like crispy nougatine, truffles, or nutty mendiants, the Joséphine Vannier shop is guaranteed to seduce adults and kids. Vannier is also well-known for elaborate and artistically inspired Easter eggs and other creations in chocolate, like this sculptural egg creation dedicated to surrealist Salvador Dali and his famed melting clocks.

Gourmet ice cream is also served here, including a flavor called “Groove”, described on the shop website, cryptically enough, as “pipes of Sri Lanka”. Only a visit will unveil the mystery…

Read more: David Lebovitz asks “Who is Josephine Vannier?”

Address: 4, rue du Pas de la Mule, 3rd arrondissement Metro: Bastille Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 54 03 09

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09 of 11

Chocolate Maestro #8: Pierre Hermé

Jun Seita / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

Undoubtedly the world's most celebrated pastry chef, Pierre Hermé has also won accolades for his line of gourmet chocolates. At the main shop in the St-Germain district, chocolate aficionados will find an incomparable selection of chocolate cakes, pastries, and macaroons, as well as unclassifiable confections like the famous “Death by Chocolate”–the name speaks for itself. You can also sample varieties of chocolates sure to stimulate the palate, such as pralines with caramelized sesame seeds or ganaches with orange and balsamic vinegar.

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10 of 11

Chocolate Maestro #9: Patrice Chapon

Reinhardhauke / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Yet another chocolatier whose main shop graces the chic streets around St-Germain and the 6th arrondissement, Chapon is especially prized for its single-origin dark bars. They also sell a tempting variety of pralines, ganaches, and other creations. 

The food writers over at Paris by Mouth especially recommend Chapon's melt-in-your-mouth, single-origin chocolate mousse bar. 

Address (main shop): 69, rue du bac, 6th arrondissement Metro: Rue du Bac Tel.: +33 (0)1 42 22 95 98

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Chocolate Maestro #10: Un dimanche à Paris

Francois Durand/Getty Images

To the delight of chocolate aficionados, a new cocoa-centric concept store opened its doors in Paris in 2011, “Un Dimanche a Paris” (a Sunday in Paris). The brainchild of Pierre Cluizel (son of the aforementioned chocolate maestro Michel), the store has made the St-Germain-des-Prés district even more of a center of gravity for chocolate.

The vast space comprises a boutique offering signature chocolates and bars, macarons and other pastries, foie gras with chocolate, and other gourmet creations; a teahouse and restaurant, chocolate lounge, and atelier where amateur cooks and chocolate makers can attend classes and workshops covering French cuisine, pastry, and more. 

Address: 4-6-8 Cours du Commerce Saint-Andre, 6th arrondissement Metro: Odeon Tel.: +33 (0)1 56 81 18 18

Visit the official website

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This & That: January 19, 2018

Beauty

—Linen Lavender Eye Pillow

The first time I used a lavender eye mask was at the end of a yoga class while in the pose of Savasana. At that point of the class, my body was a puddle of limp muscles and my mind was exhausted. The subtle scent of lavender and the coolness of the pillow took my relaxation to a level of utter momentary bliss. I happened across this particular eye pillow, which is filled not only with lavender but with flax seeds as well, while perusing Etsy for another item and put it on my wishlist immediately. For only $18, a daily or weekly or evening ritual of relaxing with a touch a luxury would certainly be a petit plaisir.

Books

—Advice Not Given: A Guide for Getting Over Yourself by Mark Epstein, M.D.

Released this past Tuesday, psychiatrist Dr. Mark Epstein released his book about understanding and quelling our ego in order to live a life of mindfulness and inner peace. Utilizing the “Eightfold Path, eight areas of self-reflection that Buddhists believe necessary for enlightenment”, Epstein shares tools to master the ego, rather than letting it master us.

—Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love that Lasts by Suzann Pileggi Pawelski MAPP and James O. Pawelski PhD

Also released this past Tuesday, Happy Together strives to offer guidance on four core factors to building a successful, loving relationship: promoting a healthy passion, prioritizing positive emotions, mindfully savoring experiences together, and seeking out strengths in each other. Simply understanding what is important is a step in the right direction, but knowing how to move forward down the right path is how to build what we long for.

—Making Winter: A Hygge Inspired Guide to Surviving the Winter Months by Emma Mitchell

It’s winter here in the states which typically means more time inside. The opportunities while we do have more time inside abound and in Emma Mitchell’s new book (October 2017), she offers 25 creative craft ideas and recipes to offer comfort and enjoyment during this cozy time of year.

Decor

—Food52 Handblown Ice Bucket

One special occasion item that I always seem to need for entertaining, but have yet to purchase, is an ice bucket to chill my wines. Part of the reason I don’t have one yet is because I want one that looks as beautiful as it is functional, and last minute shopping … well, never seems to yield the results I want. Fast forward to today. As I was putting together my post on French Butter Keepers, I came across this handblown ice bucket and immediately took note.

Shopping

—Equipment Lucinda Cashmere V-Neck sweater

The spring 2018 collections will be released soon and the cornflower blue appears to be the trendy hue. However, if the color is complementary for you, it’s not a trend. It’s the best choice year after year after year. Such is the case with cornflower blue for me; a color I have been patiently waiting and searching for for years. Offered in a classic, slightly relaxed v-neck style, Equipment’s cashmere sweater is a quality essential for a winter and early spring capsule wardrobe. And even if this color is not your choice, but you love the style, the good news is there are more colors available. Have a look here.

Television

—Grace & Frankie, season 4 premiere

Not typically a binge watcher, it has been the Grace & Frankie series that provoked me to engage in my first bout of binging – but it was absolutely worth it. Now in their fourth season, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda return as Frankie and Grace, and this season they welcome beloved FRIENDS cast member Lisa Kudrow in a reoccurring role. Kudrow plays Grace’s manucurist of 20 years and well, may potentially come between the stars of the show, or ultimately bring them closer together. We’ll have to watch the season, which premieres today on Netflix, to find out. Have a look at the trailer below.

  ~recipe for Mayan Dark Chocolate Pudding with Salted Caramel Pistachios~

Hello Weekend! So happy to see you. With plans to rest and work, play and read, I am most looking forward to the weekend’s arrival. Last weekend I had the opportunity to see Steven Spielberg’s The Post and must recommend it to you to see as well. In the coming weeks, prior to the Oscars, I look forward to seeing Daniel Day Lewis in Phantom Thread. But this weekend may just be a weekend to snuggle in at home, watch a few episodes of Grace & Frankie, dive further into books that my sleepy eyes didn’t allow me to read too many pages of during this past work week and simply relax.

I hope you have a lovely weekend as well. Oh, and before I forget, I was thrilled to hear The Simple Sophisticate was included in a list of Podcasts Worth Listening To on a new blog Rise Beyond. Alongside two other wonderful podcasts – one from NPR and the other by Arianna Huffington, I felt fortunate to be included with such talented company. Have a look at their post here. And now to the weekend! Below are more than a handful of articles you may enjoy reading, and until Monday, bonne journée!

~Did you see Ina Garten’s new stove in her new New York apartment? Have a look here and begin dream!

~David Lebovitz’s seeded multi-grain crackers would be a good substitute for those of us who love to nibble on crackers purchased at the store.

~This small Norwegian city may have the answers to beating the winter blues

~The power of making the most of our mornings . . . these successful executives share 14 morning rituals they swear by.

~A genius is made not born, and here is one proposition as to how to make it happen.

~The simple secret to happiness is …

~If you work from home, here are 17 Smart Tips for People Who Work from Home

~Check out this simple daily practice enjoyed by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to improve your quality of life and success

~The French and food . . . 13 French Foods You Should Know that Aren’t a Croissant

  ~View past weekly THIS & THAT posts from the Archives here

This & That: January 19, 2018 published first on http://bogouzunshang.tumblr.com/

[reddirtramblings]

All around the house, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Although we Catholics are still technically celebrating the season of Advent, Christmas is right around the corner. Bill and I are throwing a party for some friends tonight. I haven’t had a Christmas party for anyone other than family in years. I’m pretty excited, so I decorated the house with almost everything I own. It’s been a blast to uncover all of my decorations and to pull growing bulbs from the greenhouse.

So far, I have amaryllis, orchids, hyacinths, non-stinky paperwhites and lily of the valley because blooming plants beat the winter blues. Only the amaryllis and orchids are actually blooming. The others are growing and will probably be ready by January’s Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day.

Lit-up 1960s Santa Claus with double-flowering amaryllis and paperwhites. I like to force bulbs indoors.

Our family party will still happen, as it always does, on Christmas Eve.

Shiny old International Silver punchbowl. I’ll dress up the table with a festive tablecloth. I hang my tablecloths in my spare closet to keep them from creasing so badly. My mother-in-law taught me that. I also now buy tablecloths with some polyester. I throw them in the dryer on refresh instead of ironing.

Bill and I found this silver-plated punchbowl at one of our local antique stores in Guthrie. The store is Magnolia and was named years before Chip and Joanna Gaines took their company to the national stage. The punchbowl belonged to a young woman’s grandparents. She didn’t want to polish it so it was languishing. I bought some amazing Wright’s Silver Cream, and Claire and I fixed it up in a jiffy. I’m going to serve Martha Stewart’s eggnog in it. Won’t that be splendid?

[Click on the photos in the galleries to make them larger.]

The Christmas tree is fully loaded and lit. This view is from the kitchen.

The Christmas tree from the front door.

The table behind the sofa has a poinsettia and a Tiffany-style lamp. The framed image says, “Joy.”

Poinsettia and indoor Christmas decor. Poinsettias are probably my favorite Christmas flower with amaryllis (hippeastrum) a close second. Isn’t it interesting that my two favorite holiday flowers are tropicals?

Christmas cactus, amaryllis (Hippeastrum) and paperwhites for natural decor next to the window.

I love poinsettias. My mom made the bowl, below, when I was in high school in the late 70s. It’s one of my favorite things, but I’m taking it to her apartment this week. When I helped her move a couple of months ago, I took her Christmas decorations and put them in a separate place in my closet. I accidentally didn’t get this one to her because it was in a different box. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Ha!

My mom was really talented at ceramics, and I’m grateful I have a Santa and a bell she made. I’ll need to give her bowl back.

Fun Santa pillow I found at Target.

My Mom’s Christmas poinsettia bowl she made in the late 70s.

Silver bell nativity scene a dear friend gifted me. I love polishing the bells and setting them out each year, and I say a little prayer for her family as I do.

Christmas tea set Mom bought me when my children were small.

Santa Claus made by my mom in the 1970s. Isn’t he adorable?

For the food, I made David Lebovitz’s spicy pretzel and nut mix, his green olive almond tapenade. I also took a play from his book L’Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home. In France, hosts rely upon good food prepared by locals instead of making everything themselves which is a brilliant idea.

David Lebovitz’s nut-snack mix. The pretzels are gluten free, but you’d never know it. This stuff is like crack.

I bought a wonderful selection of hard and soft cheeses including a lovely brie that I’m going to top with honey, almonds, and amaretto on advice from my friend, Gabi. With it, I’ll serve the best gluten-free crackers, Simple Mills naturally gluten-free seal salt/almond flour crackers. All of Simple Mills’ flavors are great, but because I wanted the cheeses and olive tapenade to shine, I chose the sea salt ones, along with rosemary & sea salt ones. If you ever find their barbecue ones, get them.

My daughter, Megan, is making cherries in the snow, one of the prettiest and easiest Christmas desserts out there. She’ll make the angel food cake gluten-free with Kinnikinnick gluten-free angel food cake mix. Angel food cake is one of the easiest cakes to make gluten free because it is mostly egg whites and sugar.

This is our original nativity scene that I collected over several years when our children were young. Do you remember these?

Fitz and Floyd Santa from our daughter, Ashley, many years ago.

Swarovski crystal poinsettias Bill bought in New York. He fell in love with their sparkle.

My best friend, Aimee, is making gingerbread cookies. Yum. I have See’s almond covered toffee if I don’t eat it all beforehand. There are also sausage balls which I need to figure out how to make gluten-free. If I accomplish it, I’ll try to post the recipe here. We’ll also have a vegetable tray so we’re healthy. Insert laughing here.

Hyacinth bulbs starting to grow. They will smell so good after Christmas.

I’m serving some sparkling wines, iced tea, coffee, Coke and Sprite bottled in Mexico (with real sugar) and of course, eggnog. If anyone else wants to mix a drink, they are welcome to do so. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

What kind of parties are you having in the next few weeks?

This post is part of Carol Michel’s Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Thank you for again hosting Carol. MWAH!

Also, this post does contain a few affiliate links from Amazon to help me pay for disk space to host the blog. I recently had to update hosting, and it does cost me monthly to maintain the space. After ten years of blogging, this little blog has become quite bloated, and I may be too after tonight’s party.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

  A little Christmas Bloom Day Decor All around the house, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Although we Catholics are still technically celebrating the season of Advent, Christmas is right around the corner.

[hardingeriksen22]

Travel Is Your Worst Enemy. 3 Ways To Defeat It

I wished to discover the town like a local so subsequent, I head to the Farmers Market in the night. Their job duties embody intensive tasting, relationships with farmers and cheesemakers, selecting which cheeses to purchase, understanding how all of the cheeses are made and storing the cheese correctly. A cheesemonger's primary job helps clients select the very best cheese for his or her meal. Cheesemongers manage the cheese department in specialty or artisan food shops. You also want to have the ability to recommend a cheese when a customer asks for advice. They are sent to trouble spots all over the world (typically at the behest of the United Nations) to monitor situations and protect civilians when wanted.

You'll be able to weblog about anything: your personal creations, recipes, favorite restaurants, favorite chefs, greatest places in the world to eat, local fare or particular types of meals. If their employees had easy accessibility to a local airport, the company might have branches in a a lot bigger number of areas. Vani Hari, additionally identified because the controversial blogger The Food Babe, has launched a number of profitable petitions towards firms that she believes have harmful elements in their meals. So how do you make your meals blog stand out from the remaining? If gamescorners.com out of your blog and columns starts to go to your head, you may begin entertaining loopy ideas like our subsequent second profession thought for retirees: politics.

Recipe testers search for issues like that, and extra. A good cheesemonger also needs to supply small tastes of their cheeses to assist their customers make shopping for selections. Profitable meals author David Lebovitz additionally stresses the significance of good photography skills. Essentially the most profitable food bloggers find a distinct segment and stick with it. Quickly enough, you may find yourself with a devoted following. 2. Discover the perfect day to buy airplane tickets. In accordance with studies, Fuchs was motivated by anti-Nazi feelings and an advanced view of how finest to attain postwar equilibrium. The oil industry thrived there, and tens of millions of tons of cargo and munitions were shipped from West Coast ports.

[zillowcondo]

This & That: December 8, 2017

Books

—Dollars & Sense: How to Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter by Dr. Dan Ariely and‎ Jeff Kreisler

Sometimes a shift in perspective is what is needed to better understand a concept, and if money is a bit perplexing, perhaps behavioral economist Dan Ariely and financial comedian and writer Jeff Kreisler can shed a new light on how to go about mastering your finances.  Debunking the basic assumptions many hold about money and revealing why sometimes our instincts when it comes to money are wrong, discover how to make better financial choices and make the financial progress you’ve been seeking.

—Kitchen Creativity: Unlocking Culinary Genius with Wisdom, Inspiration and IDeas from the World’s Most Creative Chefs by Karen Page

Sharing the creative strategies top chefs use to do what they do best, Karen Page reveals her “paradigm-shifting guide to inventive cooking (without recipes!) that will inspire you to think, improvise, and cook like the world’s best chefs.” Oh, that is a skill I have always wanted to acquire, and while I have some recipes memorized, the concept of never needing a recipe from the get-go is the ultimate goal. This book is definitely being put on my wishlist.

—The Little Book of Lykke: Secrets of the WOrld’s Happiest People by Meik Wiking

Being released on December 26th, Meik Wiking (the author of The Little Book of Hygge released this past January) released a new book about Lykke (LOO-ka)—pursuing and finding the good that exists in the world around us every day. Sounds like a similar pursuit we have here at TSLL. Intrigued I am.

—Pretty Fun: Creating and Celebrating a Lifetime of Tradition by Kate Hudson

As a follow-up to her book Pretty Happy, actress and now lifestyle guru Kate Hudson shares with readers her “wisdom and advice for living a healthy, strong, and mindful life.” Focused on how to organize gatherings of those you love and making it uniquely your own, thereby, establishing traditions to look forward to, if you’re looking for new recipes and decorating ideas, be sure to take a look.

Cookbooks

—The French Menu Cookbook: The Food and Wine of France–Season by Delicious Season–in Beautifully Composed Menus for American Dining and Entertaining by an American Living in Paris by Richard Olney

Last weekend, I popped into Powell’s and picked up five used French cookbooks, one of which was Richard Olney’s The French Menu Cookbook. The man who wrote in his hillside cottage in Provence brought to American readers the less familiar idea at the time, seasonal cooking. Organized by seasons and offering 3-5 entire menus (from appetizer to dessert), if you are looking for a book to help you pull it all together, this is the cookbook for you. I am absolutely pleased with my purchase.

Film

—Lady Bird

The film to watch when the Oscars are announced in January. Greta Gerwig’s first screenplay and directoral debut has the critics buzzing (the film earned the highest ranking on Rotten Tomatoes surpassing Toy Story 2 as the movie with the most consecutive Fresh reviews and zero Rotten reviews against it). Starring Saoirse Ronan as “Lady Bird” (a name the character gives herself), and supported by Laurie Metcalf who plays her mother, the film depicts a family living in Sacramento, California, and a mother who is trying to keep her family afloat due to her husband’s loss of job and all the while navigating the world with her daughter who is coming of age, opinionated, strong-willed, but deeply passionate and loving, much like Metcalf’s character as she discovers. Have a look at the trailer. I am looking forward to viewing this one.

Shopping

—Joie Alwena Button-Front Trench Coat

An affordable, classic trench coat made well and able to stand the test of time.

Television

—The Crown, 2nd season

Beginning today, the second season of Netflix’s The Crown begins starring Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II. Centered around more of the domestic scenes, the men in Elizabeth’s life will be more prominent as the raising of Charles will be included as well as backstories on Prince Phillip. And good news, did you know that Netflix has invested significantly in this series? In fact, the ideal is to have six total seasons covering six decades of Elizabeth II’s reign. Oh, I most certainly am hopeful their dream is realized. Have a look at the trailer below and enjoy binging or taking it episode by episode; there are ten.

~recipe for Doubly Decadent Chocolate Tart~

Happy holidays. Snow or no snow, it is getting festive in TSLL’s home. Last weekend we picked up the tree (Norman had a few thoughts about the transport situation as was revealed in TSLL’s IG Stories), and the holiday music has been playing just as much as I like it (a lot).

This weekend finds me sitting down to write holiday cards to send to friends and those who I am quite thankful to have in my life as well as putting the finishing touches on the big reveal that will occur next Friday here on the blog. I do hope the holidays are off to a wonderful start for you, and if you happen to have a Francophile or foodie on your shopping list, be sure to enter the giveaway to have a chance to win the Anatomy of a French Meal illustrated print. The winner will be announced on Sunday, and if you happen to not be the lucky winner, the good news is there is a special promo code you can use to save 15% on anything in the shop (many more lovely French illustrated prints are also available – one of which I have framed in my own kitchen).

Now to the weekend! Below are a few articles you may enjoy, and until Monday, bonne journée.

~Simple approaches to your everyday, discover the 5 Ways Mentally Strong People Set Themselves Up for Success

~a simple list of tips for enjoying food during the holidays without the guilt 

~speaking of food, discover James Beard’s thoughts on cheese

~looking for inspiration for traveling often, How to Live Your Fairy Tale Life Through Travel

~if you’re introvert, read this to help make the holidays everything you want to enjoy and balance what may be a bit overwhelming

~Looking for a good book to read over the holidays? NPR just released its list of Best Books of 2017. David Lebovitz’s L’Apart made the cut, and I couldn’t agree more.

~The new year is almost here, so why not let a few things you don’t need go and start the year fresh? Check out Marc & Angel’s 10 Fantasies to Let Go of Before the New Year

This & That: December 8, 2017 published first on http://ift.tt/2pewpEF