29/12/2015
A golden New Year’s Eve table!

I hope you had a nice Christmas eve, that you’re well rested and above all, that you have eaten lots of amazing food! How about a festive table for New Years Eve ? A table adorned with gold sequins and lights to celebrate 2016 ? Here are some inspirations that will make you dream ! You can find all the sources on my Pinterest board.

DIY from Birds Party / Mason Jars DIY from The Gunny Sack

Well it’s all very well you may say, but where do we find decorations, glitter, and gold plates? Do not worry, I’ve prepared your shopping list, check it out!

1. Chocolate stars – Selfridges – 5,99 £

2. Cake server- Anthropologie – 10,95 £

3. Ace of Spades – Armand de Brignac – 300 €

4. Parrot carafe – Zara Home – 35,00 €

5. Gold forks, spoons and knives – Sostrene Grene – 1,27 €

6. Happy New Year balloons – My Little Day – 43 €

7. Glasses – Fab – 34,80 $

8. Star lamp – Made – 149 €

9. Crackers – Marks and Spencer – 7,50 £

21/12/2015
Chestnut molten lava cakes

Bonne Maman asked me to create a Christmas recipe, and nothing makes me think more about Christmas than chestnuts!It’s a good thing that Bonne Maman has a delicious chestnut jam in their collection. Like most of my recipes, these molen lava cakes are really easy and quick to make, and no need to say that they are absolutely delicious!

The Ingrédients (for 6 mini cakes)

– 165g of Bonne Maman’s chestnut jam

– 65g of butter

– 2 eggs

– 10g flour

– 10g chestnut flour

– 1 pinch of raising powder

The Recipe

Preheat your oven at 210°C.
Mount the egg whites with a pinch of salt.
In a bowl , cut the soft butter into small cubes, then add the chestnut jam. Mix vigorously or beat with an electric whisk.
Then stir in the egg yolks, flour and yeast. Mix well.
Add in the beaten egg whites. Pour into greased cake pans (unless they are made of silicone) and put a teaspoon full of jam on top by pushing slightly (it will fall back to cooking and will become the melting heart !).
Cook for about 15 minutes .

20/12/2015
Christmas wishlist for her

I told you there would be presents for the whole family! Here are some gift ideas for your mom, stepmother, aunt,…

1. Like an invitation to play with spices – Elizabeth Hertzfeld for Y’a pas le feu au lac

2. An artisanal wooden tray – Caroline Gomez

3. A ceramic muffin tray mold – Anthropologie

4. A subscription to Honly, to receive each month a box of exceptional honeys

5. A lovely tea casket – Damman Frères

And I also thought about your sister, niece or girlfriend!

1. A kit to grow her own aromatic herbs – Neoshop

2. A kawaii sandwich kit maker – L’Avant Gardiste

3. A girly mug – Urban Outfitters

5. A Christmas Eat Me sweatshirt – Rad

4. A flower thermos that everyone will want – L’arbre à souhaits

19/12/2015
Christmas wishlist for him

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

14/12/2015
Homemade foie gras with litchis

I was invited by Labeyrie to participate in a foie gras masterclass, where I learned all the techniques to prepare a perfect foie gras. I left with a nice fresh liver, and was eager to cook it. I opened my fridge, I saw fresh lychees that I had just bought, and there it was! For those who might, like me, have a priori on how they force-feed the ducks, well I was quite reassured by the workers who came to talk about their everyday tasks. First, you must know that ducks roam free, in huge meadows. Wild ducks naturally gorge themselves before migrating, they actually fill their stomach in order to keep several days in the air without eating. Obviously we stuff them for the sole purpose of eating that famous foie gras but I did not know that it was basically a natural process. Regarding the feeding, it lasts only a few days: farmers stuff them once in the morning and once in the evening, and it only takes a few seconds. The ducks are even followed by veterinarians who come to see them every day. Then on the D day, the ducks are placed in a very quiet room very with music and light that reassure them. Anyway, at least for me, I was a little relieved to know more about the conditions… Well let us return to our liver. Do not worry, it’s really quite simple to do! Oh, and then I forgot! The dish on which I put the foie gras… I did it myself! Do you like it? Many of you asked me about my small plates, so I’m thinking about opening a small e-shop or do a flash sale of ceramics, would you like that?

The Ingredients

– 1 fresh liver
– a dozen fresh lychees
– a few Sishuan peppercorns
– some mustard seeds
– pepper, coarse salt
– a tablespoon of 4 spices

The Recipe

Cut the liver into two to separate the two lobes. Scrape with a knife if you see red spots.
Take the biggest part, put it flat and remove the main vein in the middle along the entire length with a knife. Remove other veins searching with fingers and digging. Do not worry if everything is crumbling apart, you will reconstitute it afterwards!
Take the small lobe, and remove all the veins that start from the middle. You can help yourself by watching videos like this one for example. Reconstitute the foie gras with all the pieces by packing it well.
Peel the lychees and cut into small pieces. You can either place them in the middle of the liver or on the bottom of the ceramic pot. Add salt and pepper, add the ground spices, you can put all the spices you like!
Bake in water bath in your preheated oven at 120 ℃ for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool by placing weights on top of the foie gras with paper film on top, so that the fat rises to the surface and it is well compacted.
Then leave at least 4 days in the fridge. Remove the foie gras from the terrine, remove the water from the lychees, trim the fat. You can eat it with bread and coarse salt, and shallot jam for example!

Ethical coffee, the biodegradable capsule

The COP21 just ended and I wanted to tell you about a product which I discovered recently and might interest you if you are consumer of coffee. More than 8 billion of capsules per year are sold worldwide, half for Nespresso…that’s more than 40,000 tons of annual waste! While Nespresso has established a subsidiary for recycling their aluminum caps, remains somewhat a significant environmental concern. This is why Jean-Paul Gaillard, former CEO of Nespresso, has decided to launch his own company in 2008. After years of research and legal battles, he was able to develop and commercialize fully biodegradable coffee capsules compatible with the famous Nespresso machines. Capsules are environmentally friendly, from the ethical planting to the capsule made of corn starch and vegetable fibers, and declined in several varieties, some are even labeled organic. Simply place the capsules in your compost (in Switzerland it is very common, everyone was in one in their kitchen, France is really behind in terms of recycling!) and they will decompose in six months time.

Where: in supermarkets or online

How much: from 2,99 to 3,79€ for a pack of 10