Apple Duck Confit at Chez Philippe in Los Gatos, California by Ruth Paget

Apple Duck Confit at Chez Philippe in Los Gatos, California by Ruth Paget 

My family is not going to the Summer Olympics in Paris (2024), but wanted to honor this event and went out for a swanky French dinner at Chez Philippe in Los Gatos, California high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains by San Jose. 

We began our meal with escargots (snails) that swam in delicious melted butter with pungent, freshly crushed garlic from nearby Gilroy and freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley. Snails are purged with white flour to clean their digestive tract, which makes them spongy, popcorn-like balls that easily soak up garlic-butter sauce. I like to soak up the leftover sauce with pieces of bread. 

As my main dish, I ate apple duck confit. Duck has a lot of fat and sautéing it in this fat makes it juicy with melted fat. Bordeaux wine is said to go well with confit. I did not order a glass of it, because the confit came with an applesauce to cut the rich flavor of the duck confit. This is a good dish for a designated driver. 

The apple duck confit also came with potato slices that had been fried in duck fat, making them dense and able to soak up sea salt. Crisp, steamed French green beans rounded out the meal for a refreshing finish. 

In place of dessert, I shared a cheese platter with my husband Laurent. We both love cheese and liked the well-aged cheese chosen for this platter: 

-roquefort from Averyron, France 

-pont l’évêque from Normandy 

-Brie de Meaux from outside Paris 

Eating at Chez Philippe is pleasant, and the restaurant sometimes has live jazz playing at dinnertime. (Check the website for jazz evenings.) 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Parisian Budget Food by Ruth Paget

Parisian Budget Food by Ruth Paget 

The words “Parisian” and “budget” rarely go together, especially when applied to food. However, in the book The Bistros, Brasseries, and Wine Bars of Paris author Daniel Young lists recipe after recipe of bargain meals. 

If you make these recipes at home, they are even more of a deal. Young also chose recipes for dishes that are easy to make with a little organization. I especially like his fish recipes that hide the fish. 

I think the following recipes would go well with either beer or wine: 

-marinated red peppers with anchovies, white wine, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and canned crushed tomatoes 

-tomato toast – a specialty of Barcelona and Catalonia – toast rubbed with garlic and tomato halves that is drizzled with olive oil. Serrano ham can be served on the side. 

-salt cod and avocado brandade dip or spread with cilantro – poach cod and then place it in a blender with avocado, lime juice, and lime zest. Blend and serve with toast or tortilla chips. 

-warm lentil salad made with onions, cloves, carrots, olive oil, and sherry vinegar 

-mackeral croquettes made with poached fish and potatoes that are made into balls and fried 

Other delicious recipes in this book include cream of carrot soup with cumin, pan-fried steaks with mustard-cream sauce, and pipérade – a dip, spread, topping, or main dish made of green and red peppers, tomatoes, olive oil, onions, garlic, Basque piment d’Esplette (this dish is Basque) and scrambled eggs. 

Economical and tasty recipes abound in Bistros, Brasseries, and Wine Bars of Paris by Daniel Young making it a great purchase for home cooks. 

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Glimpses of Austrian Culture by Ruth Paget

Glimpses of Austrian Culture by Ruth Paget 

When I was the vice president of the Young Executive Program of the American Chamber of Commerce in Paris (France), I organized monthly networking cocktail parties for members as one of my duties. 

At one of these networking cocktails, I met Ms. S. who did public relations work for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. I immediately told her that I watched the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s Christmas concert with my French in-laws. 

“That’s a good tradition and an Austrian contribution to building European culture,” Ms. S. answered. 

That comment led to a discussion about all the Habsburg queens of France who had Austrian heritage such as: 

-Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII and mother of Louis XIV 

-Maria-Theresa of Spain, who was a Habsburg and wife of Louis XIV 

-The famous Marie-Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI 

“The Austrian daughters-in-law were not always popular,” Ms. S. noted. 

“The French like Austrian desserts, though,” I said. 

I took this opportunity to note that I had just gotten my first food article published in newspapers in Rhode Island and New Zealand about Catalan food for the upcoming Olympics in Barcelona. I asked Ms. S if there were Austrian food traditions I could write about. 

Ms. S. said that her favorite holiday was the Catholic celebration of Advent, the 24 days before Christmas, which is a time for reflection and simple, but good eating. 

During Advent, Austrians do “jause,” coffee breaks with pastries. The Austrians like “Kaffe mit schlag” – coffee with whipped cream on top and a slice of Linzertorte. Linz is a city in western Austria. A linzertorte is a wedge of jam pastry with a lattice-work pie crust topping. 

On Sundays during Advent, Austrians eat wiener schnitzel, a breaded and fried veal cutlet served with lemon. It is accompanies by sliced cucumber salad, potato salad, and French fries. 

I thanked Ms. S. for the information and introduced her to several Young Executive Program members who worked in media. I noted down what she said and added the notes to my “to-do” list at home. The to-do notes have survived several international moves. 

Finally, about 40 years later after this meeting, I am getting the notes written up in the versatile blog format. The food information is still relevant. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is still magnificent and easy to attend now thanks to online ticket ordering. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Reuil-Malmaison Chateau outside Paris (France) - 1 : Napoleon and Josephine's Country Estate by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting the Reuil-Malmaison Château outside Paris (France): Napoleon and Josephine’s Country Estate by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

The Reuil-Malmaison Château belonged to Josephine Beauharnais, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte and Empress of France.

Napoleon liked going to Reuil-Malmaison, because Josephine had more relaxed etiquette at this château than in the Parisian salons.

Josephine was from the West Indies in the Caribbean, which is much hotter than France.  The fashion in this region tended to be lighter – in fabric and in color to deal with the heat.  Light colors reflect the sun rather than absorb it like black clothing. 

Light black garments might have been worn over clothing to do marketing and protect clothing, but generally clothes were not as constricting and hair was kept off the shoulders and neck to keep perspiration down in the West Indies (Caribbean).

Before visiting the Château, my husband Laurent, toddler Florence, and I visited the Parc de Bois-Préau nearby to just see what was in the park.  There was an aristocratic event going on:  a fox hunting dog show.

Five musicians in red waistcoats wandered around and played their circular hunting horns among the crowd.  Florence enjoyed running around the lawns.

We eventually made our way back to the Château and took a guided tour.  Josephine’s home was decorated in First Empire Style – lots of Egyptian motifs bathed in gold.

Florence squirmed during the visit, but I held her hand and stayed in back of the group in case Florence started chattering.  She liked looking at the gold Egyptian busts of the Sphinx on the chairs.

My favorite room was Napoleon’s recreation room, because it looks like the inside of a tent albeit an imperial one with lots of gold tassels.

Josephine’s red velvet bedroom had an octagonal mirror above the bed.  The general color scheme at Reuil-Malmaison is gold and black.  (The color scheme at Versailles is silver and white as a point of contrast.)

After visiting Reuil-Malmaison, we went to Versailles and let Florence splash her hands in the Neptune Fountain.

Then, we walked a kilometer to see Marie-Antoinette’s hamlet where she pretended to be a peasant with her ladies-in-waiting.

Marie-Antoinette’s hamlet is made up of a village of thatched roof farmhouses that gave us many cute photo opportunities for Florence.  Florence especially liked petting the sheep in the children’s zoo.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Visiting the Bagatelle Gardens and the Puteaux Island Pool in Paris (France) by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting the Bagatelle Gardens and the Pûteaux Island Pool in Paris (France) by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

To go to the Bagatelle Gardens, my husband Laurent and I drove down the Avenue Charles de Gaulle to reach the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, known as Etoile on the Métro line Number 1.

There are 12 large avenues that radiate from the Arc de Triomphe that lead to almost all points in France it seems. 

Merging into the traffic circle is hard at the Arc de Triomphe.  Parisians seem to want everyone to take a tourist bus or the Métro to get to downtown Paris.  And, once you are in the circle, Parisian drivers make it difficult to get to your exit, so you have to keep driving around the Arc de Triomphe.  Of course, there is a lot of beeping and swearing in French done, too.

Once we got to our exit, we drove through the Bois de Boulogne (Boulogne Forest) to reach the Bagatelle Gardens, famous for its roses.

The Maréchal d’Estrées built the Bagatelle Gardens and its pavillon in 1720.  The Bagatelle Gardens were famous for romantic trysts – perhaps after a day’s worth of hunting in the Bois de Boulogne.

The French Revolutionaries spared the Bois de Boulogne while it was razing other buildings and parks.  They probably recognized its therapeutic value after a day of denunciations.

Parisians from the chic Western suburbs and inhabitants from Paris’s 16^th arrondisement treat the Bagatelle Gardens like their own private garden.

You had to pay a small fee to enter the Garden, but air fragrant with roses made you forget that you lived in a big city.

I walked to the Bagatelle Gardens about three times a week when Florence was a baby.  I got my exercise, and Florence got her outing.  The warm sun always made the flowers smell great there. 

You can buy ice cream, sodas, and casseroles in the Garden’s cafés and restaurants.

I used to sometimes eat lunch in the Bagatelle Gardens after going to the pool on the Ile-de-Pûteaux (Pûteaux Island Pool). I went back to the Bagatelle Gardens for lunch to regain my strength and stamina after childbirth. 

Many cities could put together similar “green and recreation” spaces with a little effort in the US, too. 

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Honoring Chartier Restaurant - the French Bankers' Lunch Spot in Paris (France) by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Honoring Chartier Restaurant – the French Bankers’ Lunch Spot in Paris (France) by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

(Note: In the US, a chain like Williams-Sonoma might be able to offer cooking classes to make the dishes listed below.  Or, use French and Italian cookbooks.)

In the 9^th arrondisement in Paris (France), there is a restaurant that caters to the banking and finance industry called Chartier. 

The “tablecloths” are white paper for easy clean-up.  The waiters write up your itemized bill on a corner of the tablecloth and tear it off for payment at the cash register.  Chartier always gives sales receipts.  They mention that they do catering on the receipt.

Most of Chartier’s banker clients come from the higher rent 8^th arrondisement next door.  Chartier can offer less expensive lunch meals, because they are in a less expensive city neighborhood.  Lower rent carries over to less expensive prices charged on meals.

The 9^th is also easy to access with food and drink due to its proximity to several of Hausmann’s “Grands Boulevards.”  These large boulevards lead into the 9^th from the Périphérique or ring road around Paris.  Logistics companies love its location for ease of delivery (no tickets for obstructing sidewalks) and not too much gas used thanks to fewer stoplights.

The rent is high in the 8^th because there are many bank headquarters there as well as apartments owned by aristocrats.

Chartier’s menus are simple, but excellently prepared.  I do not remember all of them, but the book entitled Champagne Uncorked about Krug champagne jarred my memory about meal rotation.

I learned how to make Chartier’s menu offerings at home when I began working part-time once my daughter Florence was born when my family lived in Paris.  I have added to them now that I am back in the US in California.  You can find recipes for most of these items in cookbooks or online.

Drinks:

-gazpacho from Spain, if made traditionally with bread it may qualify as a full protein - grain from flour plus seeds in the vegetables and in the olive oil.  Factcheck needed from Purdue University.

-Thai iced tea

-apple cider

-pear cider

-Vouvray – fruity white from the Loire Valley (located close to Paris via highway and train, including TGV)

-Montlouis – fruity white from the Loire Valley

-Saumur Champigny – light red from the Loire Valley

-Bourgueil – light red from the Loire Valley

-Moretti amber beer from Udine, Italy

-Taittinger Champagne for deals signed and “name days” instead of birthdays for everyone.  (Taittinger is also the brand of the LA Rapper Notorious B.I.G., who was killed in New York I believe – factcheck needed.)

-Champagne Deutz – Not as well known, but very good.  My family served this at my daughter Florence’s baptism party held at the Chateau de la Jonchere at Bougival next to the Seine River outside Paris.

-Lillet - Sweet cordial from Bordeaux in both white and red

-Cointreau - Sweet orange cordial from Angers

-Tyrconnel Irish whiskey

-Dalmore Single Malt Scottish Whisky

-Johnnie Walker Blended Scotch Whisky

-Bombay Gin

-Tanqueray Gin

-Courvoisier Cognac

-Marc de Champagne or Burgundy to add to espresso, if desired.  This is called a café coretto in Italy.

-Mariage Frères Teas

-Lavazza Coffee for café crème

-Carte Noire for espresso

-Black currant liqueur to make kids with sweet white wine or Kir Royal with champagne

Hors d’oeuvre:

Offer a selection of 3 of the following items while guests wait on the rest of the meal:

-Roquefort with cream spread on toast squares

You can substitute the following cheese selections for Roquefort to make the dish above.  Sometimes your main supplier might be short of supply for any number of reasons, so it is good to have two or more other suppliers that you order from:

-Maytag blue – from US

-Cabrales – from Spain

-Gorgonzola – from Italy

-Carrot Purée made with butter and olive oil to spread on toast squares

-Sliced radishes served on top of buttered toast squares

-Braised red cabbage made with brown sugar with crumbled bacon sprinkled on top

-garlic-butter toast squares

-apple slices with cheddar cubes

-lentil salad made with lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, and chopped Italian parsley.  (Claudia Roden recipe)

-chopped iceberg lettuce, cashews, tangerine slices, and orange-blossom water with lemon juice dressing (Riff on a Paula Wolfert recipe using walnuts instead of cashews)

-cheddar-butter-paprika cheese balls

-smoked salmon, hard-boiled egg slices, and horseradish sauce on toasted pumpernickel squares

(This is great with Moretti beer and maybe Tyrconnel whiskey.)

  

Entrées

A choice of one of the following:

-Seasonal vegetable soup – puréed with cream offered on the side.  Cabbage, by the way, is a little easier to digest, if it is puréed in a soup.

-Greek Village salad with oil and vinegar dressing and two slices of feta cheese

-Plain salad with a choice of blue cheese dressing, Ranch dressing, or balsamic and vinegar dressing

Main Dishes

-Monday

Coq au Vin (Chicken Stewed in red wine with buttered tagliatelle on the side), or

Gratin Dauphinois (from the Jura Mountain area of France – potato casserole made with sliced potatoes, crème fraîche, butter, liquid cream, and grated gruyère on top)

-Tuesday

Seafood Pasta – use an Italian recipe for whatever is freshly caught that day.  If the catch is bad, make gambas al ajillo (Spanish garlic shrimp) with frozen, raw shrimp, or

Gratin Dauphinois

-Wednesday

Roast Chicken with potatoes and puréed spinach on the side made with cream and butter.  You can vary this by making Greek lemon-garlic chicken sometimes, or

Gratin Dauphinois

-Thursday

Boeuf Bourguignon – (Beef stew made with red wine and served with buttered tagliatelle), or

Gratin Dauphinois

-Friday

-Baked Fish (Cod) with sheet-pan, baked potatoes with Italian herbs, chopped garlic, and olive oil, or

-Gratin Dauphinois

Cheese Platter

Offer a selection of 8 different cheeses with a choice of 1 or 2 with two baguette slices.

Vegetarian Options:

There are vegetarian options for a main dish from several world cuisines.  I have listed several below that I like that can be served with bread made with California black olives and olive oil:

-Turkish-Lebanese-Egyptian – Spinach and or Cheese Phyllo Pies

-Thailand – Panang Curry with Vegetables (The curry is made with stewed peppers that can mild or spicy.)

-Greece – Salad buffet Greek Village Salad, Tomato and Onion Salad, and Tzatziki dip for toasted bread

-India – Vegetable curries, saags, and vindaloos

Dessert:

-Fruit Salads with cream on the side

-Fruit or vegetable breads or muffins such as banana bread, zucchini bread, or carrot cake served as a bread or muffin.

-Valrhona chocolate muffins

-Vanilla custard made with cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla beans from Madagascar

Coffee and Digestif Alcohols as Desired

I loved eating at Chartier and have always believed that real food should not be limited to the bankers of France.  

This little spiel is a manifesto in support of the real food movement from Italy.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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