Elle's Kitchen: Crostini

 

Around our American Homestead we love

nothing more than a delicious Mediterranean

style lunch.  And crostini should always be a

part of that lunch.  They are easy, inexpensive,

look great and work perfectly for transporting

food to mouth.

 

 

Take a nice baguette, I use the ones from

Trader Joe's or Panera Bread and slice very

thin, about 1/8  to 3/16 of an inch.

 

 

I use my olive oil sprayer which I find to

be one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.

They are quite inexpensive and you get

to use your own choice or olive oil instead

of a bunch of chemicals. Anyway, place bread

on a baking sheet and give a very quick spray.

Place under the broiler and keep the door open,

it only takes a few minutes.  I like mine to be

 golden and not brown.  Take out, flip and toast

the other side for a minute or so.

 

 

And this was the lovely lunch we enjoyed.

A delicious spinach salad, crostini, a few

cheeses, olives and a couple of tapenades.

My new find ~ the Roasted Red Pepper and

Artichoke Tapenade from where else?  Yep,

Trader Joe's!

 

 

Look at that cheese on the left, it is heaven

on a plate... Mr. Wonderful & Brennan were

heading home from Indiana University after

dropping off the first carload of college stuff

and decided to stop at TJ's.  We live about 40

minutes away from our Trader Joe's so we stop

in when we are in the area.  Wonderful called

and told me told me he picked up a Brie with

mushrooms that they were sampling that day. 

I told him to put it back.

I know the heavenly cheese when I see it but

couldn't remember the name.  I described it to

him but he wasn't finding it.  I told him I'd call

him right back, I called someone and pulled them

out of a Broadway show pre-set to get the name.

Yes, it's that good...

And the name you may wonder?  It is:

Le Delice de Bourgogne!

Don't eat it cold!  Wonderful put it on the ledge

of the back window of the car for the ride home

and it was soft and creamy and... heaven.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Travel Tales: At Home in Paris

#8 Rue des Lombards

When we leave the American Homestead we still like to feel at home.

So, when we travel we try to rent apartments or condos.  We are not happy

in hotels where one must spend most of their time sitting on a bed.

In Paris, that home is located in the 4th arrondissement in the

 Marais District on the right bank.  It is on a quiet street in a very old

area of the city.  It is a section of the city with winding streets

and beautiful old architecture.

The small streets are safe enough that we would allow our kids,

 even when quite young, to go out alone to explore the neighborhood. 

 They would walk the few short blocks to the very modern Pompidou Centre

 and stroll through the shops or people watch near the fountain garden.

Notre Dame cathedral is a few blocks away and each day I

 would walk past it a few times on my way to and from the Metro. 

After a few days, I found myself not even noticing it and made

myself stop and appreciate it each time I went past.

The apartment had beautiful wood floors and wood beams

on the ceiling.  It had a big table that was the center of our experience, 

we made beautiful meals from the little kitchen.

To us, travel is not about always dining out but heading to the

local markets to see what is in season and carrying home a few baguettes

 under your arm.  We like to live like the locals do.

Life in France is so much about bread and sometimes it was so good

we would use it up before the end of our meal but we could send

Brennan out with a few Euros and in minutes he would be back

with warm baguettes.

Every morning my brother and I would sneak out quietly and explore

the deserted streets, taking photos in the early light,

popping into a bar for a cafe au lait and always going to our favorite

boulangerie to buy pain au chocolat, croissants and

of course, the morning baguettes.

Back at home we would open the windows and listen to the bells

ring from the Church of Saint Merry around the corner.

Au Revoir Paris