French Coconut Pie with Dark Chocolate Sauce

 

I've been wanting to dedicate a post to Paris for a while now, but just never got around to it. I didn't know what to make, since most of what I ate when I was there was cheese and fruit and more cheese. Then finally it dawned on me: the first night we were there we ate at Le Café du Marché near the Eiffel Tower, and although our dinner was rich and kind of "meh", we split the most delicious coconut pie with the darkest, blackest chocolate sauce I'd ever tasted.

My friend (and then roommate) Christina and I went on a little trip to Paris in September 2011 to celebrate finishing our theses and finally being done with school. As soon as we stepped off the train, I immediately understood what all the fuss was about. Paris is magical. I was swept off my feet.

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Perfect Homemade Bread and Butter

The old idiom "bread and butter," as in "a waiter's tips are his bread and butter," or the means by which you're able to eke out a living, has always kind of confused me. I know what the saying is getting at, bread and butter being staples and all, but then why not say "car loans are a banker's rice and beans" or "terrible movies are Nicholas Cage's onions and potatoes"? The answer, I guess, is that both of those sound really stupid.

For me, bread and butter means something a lot more luxurious. They're a treat when done well. I actually get really excited for the bread and butter part of a meal at a nice restaurant (speaking of which, have any of you had the brioche at the Wildflower here in Edmonton? My brain went blank for like a whole week because of how good that brioche was). Warm, fresh bread with equally fresh, creamy butter is one of the most beautiful things to eat. So simple. So comforting. And making your own feels so good - just a little bit of time and effort produces something you can be really proud of.

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Villandry Salad with Roast Chicken, Green Beans and Beets

 

When I was going to school in London a few years ago, a bunch of us would usually get lunch at a place around the corner from us called Villandry. They had pretty pastries and imported foods and other gifty things, along with a really, really good salad bar. I would get pretty much exactly the same salad every time: arugula with chicken, green beans and beets. I don't know how I managed to gain so much weight in London if I was eating salad all the time (oh wait... it might have been all the junk food I was eating before and after the salad. Delicious British junk food...)

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Brown Sugar Shortbreads with Bailey's Crème

 

Let's call a spade a spade: these are just boozy Girl Guide cookies. I used to be a Girl Guide myself, and I loved it when springtime rolled around because that meant chocolate/vanilla cremes, and the vanilla ones were my favourite. Even though I was supposed to be going door to door selling them, a box or two would inevitably end up getting eaten at home. As an adult, I still get excited when someone at my office brings in a case to sell. 

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