CHEZ CHLOE

Fresh start

So here I am again- going to make a fresh start and make a go of regular entries!
I'd like to share our first dinner at the café. Last Sat. night we hosted a fundraiser dinner that was a lot of fun!
It was a sit down for only 12 guests, making for a very intimate gathering with friends who helped serve.

Café is open

The café is open and already in our 2nd month. And yes this is why there have been no posts! Business is picking up and we are starting to feel some rhythm in the kitchen and in the front of the house. It's taken up all my time and then some. Loving to cook and owning a restaurant, as I was told more than once, are two different beasts! But when I feel overwhelmed and stressed out and I get in the kitchen, it is all ok!
I will post some new pics of the café very soon. And until there is a sub division of Chez Chloé only writing blog entries, there is only me. So they won't materialize a whole lot but keep checking in every now and again or sign up and you will be notified of new posts.
More soon.

P.S. Tidbit......Try cooking up some kumquats in a little sugar and water and reduce. Wrap a piece of pork with the kumquats up with bacon and fry in a pan. Yum.

cooking class

We did a trial cooking class for Chez Chloé with 2 of my best friends, Loren and Jen. I felt almost guilty spending 5 hours cooking during the day on a Tuesday and having so much fun!
We donned our aprons about 9:30 and looked over the menu for the day....savory goat cheese tarte, chicken breast stuffed with asparagus and topped with wild mushrooms and for dessert , profiteroles w/cinnamon ice cream and spiced caramel sauce. We set off and began first with the dessert.......

pastry & chocolate

So how about a monthly entry? The summer is racing by here and blog posts don't seem to be materializing as much as I think about what to write. But enough with the excuses already......
Here's a few shots from our opening weekend at Chez Chloé, which was almost 2 months ago. I did some salted caramel truffles from the book 'Chocolate' and inverse puff pastry from P. Hermé's chocolate book.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of the finished product in the store but that was because we were so darn busy!!! And they were ate up!

And by the way, is it really wrong to start the morning off with a spoon full of chocolate?

Product

Hi everybody -
Sorry for long delay...... We are back in the U.S.A. on lovely Orcas Island. The weather has been beautiful and the air clean. We are missing Paris but life is sweet here.
I can't say I have been visiting any reknowned restaurants in the last month although Orcas does boast quite a few and as time permits I will revisit them and keep you posted ( really no pun intended!)
My time has been spent setting up "Chez Chloe" kitchen and specialty food store - if you want to check it out- www.chezchloe.com. This has consumed 99% of my energy in the last few weeks with another 50% going to our house and potager garden. Wait a minute that doesn't add up you say.....Just sleep less. Kidding aside - I am also gun ho on getting our garden going again. That's something Paris just can't provide. We do have a great farmer's market going again now - tons of fresh veggies, flowers, organic meats , crafts and ready to eat treats.
No, I can't find fresh rabbit , fois gras, lobsters, cheeses but did I mention how clean the air is........

The River Café - London

Tonight Willie, Chloe and I had the pleasure to dine at the River Café in London. Well, it was a bit of a cab ride from central London – but well worth it. This was the 2nd of my birthday dinners this long weekend. Two big splurges for my 38th year. I rationalized the expenditures by telling myself I probably won’t be in Europe next year on my birthday and we are going back to Orcas next month and when am I going to be in London again, and I won’t have to see the credit card till the end of the month and I can deduct it..etc. etc. Those things are all true and the fact is, we had the chance to eat some really fresh, really fabulous food. And it was fun to eat and enjoy in the company of two of my favorite people in the world!
I didn’t have much of a preconceived idea of the River Café. It was light and airy with a blue theme and on the river Thames. I liked the wood burning stove exposed to the dining room and the layout of the kitchen- one long streamline space that paralleled the dining area. The staff was extremely friendly and attentive – loved the dark curly haired sommelier. If only I had more nerve and was only 28!
But he even offered to take a picture of us – I graciously accepted much to the embarrassment of the younger generation. One standard at both restaurants was the notion of yes you have a res at 7- for 2 hours- Fortunately, both evenings we had the chance to extend, as our table didn’t have another reservation. But it very much made me appreciate the luxery of time. It would not be enjoyable to rush through a meal and even with Chloé, 7 years old, at the table, we easily spent 2 1/2 hours eating. .
So on to our meals....

The Boxwood Café-London

We are in London today on my birthday and I was lucky enough to get a reservation at Gordon Ramsay’s “casual” Boxwood Café this afternoon. We are having dinner at the River Café Monday and hadn’t planned on the Boxwood- it was just fate. His two main restaurants aren’t even open on the weekends. Don’t you love it. We had to take an early res at 6pm, which suited me and the kids perfectly. I can only say “the kids” for three more weeks because Willie will be 18, May 1.Boo hoo. But what the hell, I guess no matter how old you are your parents call you “the kids”!
Anyway, it was a surprise treat for us all. Casual they may call it, but it was plenty fancy for us. Willie really liked the décor and Chloé felt like a grown up. There were actually quite a few children there. They say in their publicity “cater to children”. So it was a really nice atmosphere but not too stuffy. I think it’s a comfortable start for exposing kids to nice restaurants.
Looking over the menu, we decided to go for it by ordering the tasting menu for both Chloé and I.........(this is kinda long...)

chocolate cupcake bit

Just had to throw these in - I made them from a recipe I found at chocylit.blogspot.com. I've since added her to my favorite blogs. I made these for Chloé’s last day at the Lennen School in Paris. I skipped the mint this time but will try it another time. I also just did a chocolate frosting. Oh, and no ganache. Basically, I used her recipe as a base but then whacked in some melted chocolate and no mint essence. But next time the whole nine yards.
They are just decorated with a little pink sugar.

Thioux - Paris 7th

I had a super birthday lunch with you know who- my best buddies, Nadine and Margot. We ate at Thioux, a thai restaurant in the 7th just across from the Seine. I had a birthday dinner here a couple of years ago too I like this place so much! The food is very fresh and the flavors really well combined. One might feel a little intimidated when you walk up to the front door that’s guarded by two men wanting to know if you have a right to be there but they smile once you say you do have a res and a right!
So here’s what we ate....
First - amuse bouche of a little thai style ground beef. Thai basil, peppers and lime....

sushi bit

. Please know, I don't only cook french food. I love ALL food - And I really love sushi. Being in Paris has opened my sushi world in a big way. Honestly, I didn't eat much raw food before coming here at 35. Partly exposure, partly availability of quality food you would want to eat raw.

So I'm just throwing in my beginning attempts at a dragon roll. I had this on the east coast last fall and have been trying to replicate it ever since. I'm almost there. What I had in MA was a roll with avocado, salmon and tuna if I remember correctly with salmon, eel , avocado and mango on the outside. I've been putting a lot of mango in my rolls lately and love it. Then in San Francisco this year at the Fancy Food Show I went to a sushi bar (FYI - good place to eat alone- it's like your having dinner with the sushi guy) and tried to describe what I wanted. He made this AMAZING roll that I had to take a mental photo of - and sketch in my notebook with notes. So this photo my step in the right direction but I'm not there yet