I can’t imagine ever referring to myself as ‘retired’. After teaching French cooking for thirty-five years, a sensible woman might welcome the opportunity to literally throw in the towel. Me? I’ve down-sized and am continuing to teach in an apartment kitchen. My motto to ‘keep it simple’’ is no longer an option.
Before you think I’ve lost my mind, let me add: my new kitchen is in Paris. We purchased a place in Montmartre that had what the French call a cuisine americaine: a ten-foot-long bar separated the kitchen and dining area.
That’s now gone. On either side of the sink the appliances in full view. A granite-covered island dominates the room and doubles as dining table and teaching atelier. At the end, an induction cook top set into the granite allows everyone to see what’s cooking and contribute easily from seats around the island.
Limited space forced me to jettison, one by one, the high-tech slaves I’ve depended on for decades: the electric mixer, the food processor even the dishwasher. I did manage to find a rolling cart that adds flexible counter and storage space. Washing dishes has become George’s specialty. Who says old lawyers can’t learn new tricks?
The French make everything they do look effortless. We call it savoir faire; they refer to it as having the “Systeme D”, where ‘D’ stands for se debrouller, the ability to ‘work it out’. For example, there excellent specialty stores to help them entertain. On the short walk from the Metro to our place are bakeries, pastry shops, delis selling pates, a cheese shop and gourmet produce stand. I slow down to admire the beautiful displays. It’s a common practice the French call leche vitrine or ‘window licking’.
When students join me on tours in Montmartre, we shop for seasonal ingredients at local markets. It’s not a contradiction in terms when I tell you we prepare simple four course lunches. We work the ‘Systeme D’.
Once my kitchen was finished, I invited the young French decorator to lunch. While she and our daughter Celia chatted and sipped wine across the island, I prepared this Cauliflower Soup, a updated Escoffier classic.
CRÈME DE BERRY
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons unbleached flour
5 cups milk, heated just to a simmer
1 head of cauliflower, separated into flowerlets
1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Garnish: truffle butter or parsley butter
Directions;
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Make a roux by melting the butter in a casserole, whisking in the flour for a minute, then, off the heat, stirring in hot milk.
Fold in the cauliflower pieces, salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Cover and bake for 20 minutes,
Puree the soup with an immersion blender (the one electric gadget in my kitchen) and season it with sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste.
Garnish: with a generous spoonful of truffle oil, (a System D ingredient from La Grande Epicerie at Bon Marché). A tablespoon of chive butter would make a thoroughly satisfying substitution.
