This cookbook has been one pleasant surprise after another. A dear friend sent me this, and I was familiar with Dorie Greenspan and her blog, but I knew her mostly from her baking. When I got this, I figured it would be Parisian cooking, and might be hard to make those French dishes. I could not have been more wrong. This is French food from the countryside, food that peasants and farmers have been eating for centuries. Once I made my first recipe from this book, I was hooked. Far from being stuffy or hard recipes to follow, this has become my go-to cookbook. The first recipe I tackled was Dorie’s Potato Gratin, which is simply cream, sliced potatoes, gruyere cheese and a few spices. I made this for a New Years Eve party at my friend’s farm and it went over like gangbusters. Below is a photo of mine. I added a bit of smoky gouda to it as well, simply because I had it. It was so delicious! I apologize, this photo is not the best, but the contents sure were. You should really check out Around My French Table on amazon.com. You will not regret it. As I make more of the recipes, I’ll post photos.
What I’ve been cooking up!
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Making Changes
Ceiling fans in Texas are just something you have to get used to. When the temperatures to 111 in August, the utility of the thing is more important than aesthetics. However, I’ve made the decision to dispense with them where I can, especially in the living room and dining room and the master bedroom. Two years ago I had the house super insulated with radiant barrier, 18 inches of insulation, and had the underside of my pier and beam home foam insulated. It has made a GREAT difference in utility bills and the temperature of my home.
I decided I would make the change and bought two of these Quoisel chandeliers for the Living and Dining rooms. I have so far, not gotten them installed but it is on the very near agenda. I have to have the living room electrical centered more. I will use the vintage looking table fans to circulate the air. I like their look and they are no so “in-your-face” as the ceiling fans are. I have always despised the ceiling fans in these two rooms, although I chose all white Hunter fans, minimizing the look. I will post photos when I get them hung. My “To-Do” list is quite lengthy of late, but it is a top priority.
Another recent and much coveted addition is the Vintage Paris map I finally gave myself permission to acquire from Restoration Hardware. It’s beast! 7 feet wide and five feet tall. I had wanted this or the Turgot version. This is a later map than the Turgot, as this one is by Letts & Son in the 1860s. My dear friend Donna talked me into treating myself for Christmas. I did, and I’m not sorry. I bought it during their Friends & Family sale and got 20% off. Two things came together at the same time. I had been looking diligently for a vintage Mahogany buffet and were finding them from $500 to $3000 or so. One day, just as an afterthought, really, I looked on Craigslist Dallas, and found “IT”. A couple were redoing a house that had been their in-laws, and this was in the way. They preferred a more contemporary look (At least the wife did. The husband was a little reticent to part with it.) I got the score of the decade and picked it up for $160! It had some issues, but with my woodworking background and refinishing experience, I managed to bring it back to condition with mostly deep cleaning. The top still has a couple of issues, but I plan on having the whole thing refinished next year. I know it’s there, but it doesn’t show because I have objects on it. SO…I was quite happy with the way the buffet and the map turned out.
As you can see I had it dressed for the holidays. The glass hurricanes were filled with the sterling “year” ornaments that George and I collected for 25 years. I wanted to honor them, but not have them on the tree, and I think this was a good solution. This picture does not show them all filled.
I had a really good Christmas season and I used my small table tree for the second year. I was a late converter to artificial trees, but I bought this one from Frontgate and it’s a breeze to put up and take down and being prelit with LED lights, it should last 20 years. For this year’s tree I used all of the favorite ornaments we collected over the years and my mercury glass and Old World and Radko ornaments. I enjoyed using these ornaments and putting the sterling ones in the hurricanes let me use old ones and not the crystal look of the last couple of years. Because of illness at my sister in law’s house I ended up staying home this year at the last minute, but I enjoyed the day. I wasn’t prepared, so my Dad and I ended up eating fast food for Christmas!!! I made up for it the next day with a delicious tenderloin. You can BET, I will never be caught short again like that. I make sure I’ve got plenty in the larder and fridge! We laughed about it that day and enjoyed the day in spite of the meal. Here’s my 2010 tree:
The House…what’s new and current plans.
I have been searching for a pair of unique Blue and White Asian lamp for about 5 years. I did not want the typical round classic “ginger jar” lamp. I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted, but I was willing to wait, and I knew when I found it, I’d know it in an instant. I love serendipity. When you are meant to find someone or something, when you put it out there, it comes to you. Or at least that’s been my experience. So, just when I least expected it, but right after I began to really “thaw” out from my long period of grief, and decided to join the living again, POW! There they were.
A friend wrote me last week, saying “I know you love blue and white…would you be interested in these?” Well, I’LL SAY! I sure would. I got them on Thursday and they have been big hits. My Dad, who notices nothing, commented on them three times. My maid fell in love with them. (Very important that she like what she dusts!) I’m very touched and pleased to have these, which have been in their family for a while. Like my beautiful mahogany secretary desk that was given to me by another friend, I enjoy stewarding over these beautiful things while I am here on this rock, and knowing the story behind them. I love people, their stories and their possessions. I am happy to provide a new home for them.
Other doings: I am collecting fabrics from eBay, fabric stores to have pillows made for my sofa and the window seat in the dining room. Tonight I found a very nice botanical toile fabric by John Wolf. This will be enough to get 4 pillows (fronts). All the backs of the pillows will be the same blue washed denim. I want pillows to be pillows. I’d take suggestions from any of you on whether I should go with down or not. I love and prefer a down pillow on my bed, but I have never had one as a sofa pillow. As I said, these are not just for looks, so I want them to be comfortable. It would take Wesson oil and a shoehorn to fit me onto the window seat, so no causal reading there, but I do use my sofa pillows and the are damned uncomfortable. I don’t know about you, but that’s not where I am in this time of life. If it’s not nice to look at, useful and functional….OUT it’s going. I surely don’t mind plumping very nice (these will be 24″ square) down pillows, but plumping foam “chunk” pillows is a losing proposition.
My friend Joni Webb, the beautiful and talented Interior Designer and owner of the award-winning design blog, Cote de Texas advised me on a few pointers to make my living room pop more, and I am in the process of implementing them. More blue & white porcelain, like the lamps you see above, a few blue & white chinese garden seats, a big dark wood round gateleg table in the corner with more blue & white porcelain, books, (I love her globe collection) and I think a ship’s model in the background… darker walls to make the off white trim show up better. I am currently searching for an old tole lantern to replace the ubiquitous ceiling fan. I will use tabletop vintage style fans. I’m just tired of the ceiling fan. We MUST have fans here in Texas though…air conditioning alone is not enough.
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