21/01/2016
Bistro Paradis

In the heart of the lively 10th arrondissement, the Bistro Paradis just opened its doors, run by the friendly Yoann Dinh. In the kitchen, the chef Alexandre Furtado, who worked among other with Ducasse in London or at the café Constant in Paris, treats us to amazing meals. His dishes are tinted with delicacy and exotic notes, reminiscence of his Brazilian origins, like this tender salmon with combava, ginger and lemongrass. We also revel in the beef ravioli of the day with their crunchy vegetables, or the roasted quail and its smooth gravy sauce. As for desserts, the seductive Belle -Hélène pear is completely regressive, just like the lemon pie with ginger caramel.

Bistro Paradis
55 rue de Paradis
75010 Paris

Lunch menu: 23€
Entrées: 11-16€
Mains: 18-29€
Desserts: 7-8€

19/01/2016
Berries bundt cake

I got a pretty copper cake mold and I was so eager to try a bundt cake in it… And as winter fruits depress me (no choice ! Apple or orange, orange or apple?!), I slipped frozen red berries in it!

The Ingrédients

– 3 eggs
– 100g flour
– 100g buckwheat flour
– 100g sugar
– 50g nut powder
– 50g almond powder
– 100g butter
– 30cl milk or soy milk
– 10g baking powder
– 250g frozen berries

The Recipe

1. Preheat your oven at 180°C (T6)
2. Melt the butter.
3. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar.
4. Add the flours, nut and almond powders, baking powder and the milk.
5. Beat the egg whites and add them slowly.
6. Add the berries in then pour the mixture into a buttered and flour mold.
7. Bake for about 40 minutes (check with a knife).

Mc Donald’s new packaging

McDonald’s is launching its new packaging line. The agency Boxer chose to capitalize on huge colorful letters and the fast-food’s icons, as if the cups, burger boxes and paper bags became mobile billboards. To celebrate this launch, two students from the Miami International University of Art and Design (Pablo Machado and Ricardo Hardouin) staged the new packagings creating fashion accessories such as shoes, hats or backpacks. The good news is that McDonald’s comitted to used up to 100% of recycled materials for their new packaging by 2020.

And if you want to have a look at McDonald’s packagings through the years, click here!

07/01/2016
Twelfth-night pancakes

We are recovering from our gargantuan orgy of food of all kinds during Christmas and Christmas Eve, when we go again with the Twelfth-night pancakes ! But it’s so good, right?

The spatial pancake

Christophe Michalak’s galette allies an almond cream with a mandarin marmelade, in which we’ll find a lucky charm in the form of a…spaceship!
How much: 45€ (6/8 persons)
Where: 16 rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris

The citrus pancake

A pancake like a rice pudding garnished with candied citrus fruits, Pierre Hermé is always original!
How much: 37€ (3/4 persons) and 58€ (6/8 persons)
Where: Online and in shops

The girly one

Inspired by Donkey Skin’s fairy tale, the Fées Patissières‘s galette contains sugared almonds and above all, a beautiful ring Eternamé! But it’s like Willy Wonka’s golden ticket, you have to get lucky to get it!
How much: 18€ (4 persons) and 34€ (8 persons)
Where: 21 Rue Rambuteau, 75004 Paris

The gluten free

The Poilâne pancake innovates with buckwheat flour, apple compote and chocolate!
How much: from 14,90€
Where: exclusively in boutiques

La plus originale

The chef Julien Alvarez at the Peninsula hotel thought of his childhood to create this wild blackberry and pink praline pancake.
How much: 12€ the plate or 39€ the whole pancake to go
Where : Peninsula Hotel

The tasty one

An almond cream filled with a rich salty caramel, tested and approved! La renversante de Dominique Saibron
How much: from 3,30€ a piece to 43,50€ for 10/12 persons
Where: 77, avenue du Général Leclerc 75014 Paris

The movie star

At Hugo et Victor, the pancake was created by Catherine Deneuve and dresses up with caramelized nuts.
How much: 48 euros (6/8 persons)
Where: in the shops Hugo & Victor

02/01/2016
Bistro Urbain

I discovered the Bistro Urbain when it opened 3 years ago, but I went back there again last month to discover the new menu and new chef of this charming typical Parisian bistro, held by the no less friendly Samuel Urbain. At the heart of the vibrant Faubourg Saint-Denis street, the bistro with its orange leather armchairs offers an unbeatable lunch menu : 17 euros only for a starter, main course and dessert of the day. Fresh and seasonal products, generous and delicious dishes, in all simplicity. You can also go back for an afterwork drink with friends and get oysters or a homemade terrine for snacks, or also take some time and sit down for dinner around a nice pot-au-feu or a truffle risotto.

Bistro Urbain
103 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis
75010 Paris
Monday-Friday

Lunch menu: 17 €
Starters: 7-11 €
Mains: 15-22 €
Desserts: 6-8 €

poached egg and trumpets mushrooms

scallops carpaccio and clementines – divine!

soy and honey salmon with creamy polenta

veal liver and potato mash

30/12/2015
Beetroot salmon gravlax

The holidays are not yet finished , and good opportunities to eat either delicacies either! Here is a recipe for your prestigious aperitif. Just buy a fillet of salmon and marinate in a mixture of sugar, salt and with plenty of spices, salmon will cook slowly through the salt.

The Ingredients

– 1kg of fresh salmon
– a bunch of dill
– 10 tablespoons of coarse salt
– 7 tablespoons of sugar
– 2 tablespoons of black pepper
– 2 tablespoons of crushed Sichuan pepper
– 2 tablespoons of crushed pink peppercorns
– 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
– 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
– 1 beetroot (raw is better cooked also works)

La Recette

1. Mix the spices with salt and sugar, cut dill and grated beets.
2. Place a sheet of plastic wrap, place a little mixture and the salmon fillet, cover with mixture.
3. Close the plastic wrap tightly.
4. Place in the fridge for 2-6 days.
5. Before serving, rinse well in fresh water and pat dry with paper towels.
6. You can eat the salmon on small toasts or with potatoes.