LA MAISON DU CHOCOLAT

My favorite chocolate store! And they now even carry 100% extreme chocolate bar!

As they say chocolate is healthy.  So if you want to lessen your sugar intake, instead of those diet sugar, this is the best way to have a healthy chocolate. I think this is the first time I have seen a chocolate bar with 100% on it.

They Also have hot chocolate. I ordered the dark chocolate:

It can be served with a bit of whipped cream on the side. This is not too sweet.

When available, they do sell hot chocolate mix. Just follow the instructions and you can have your own hot chocolate at home with a warm croissant from your favorite source.  In my case, I have been eating this little chocolate pellets to satisfy my chocolate cravings in tiny portions.  They're so good as is.

The remarkable quality of their ingredients and gifted craftsmanship is what makes their chocolates truly shine.

http://m.singlepage.com/la-maison-du-chocolat-3/map

And of course, they do carry all kinds if too quality gourmet chocolate.  I love them all!

tel:212-265-9404

HOURS:

• Sunday: Noon–6PM
• Monday–Friday: 9:30AM–7PM
• Saturday: 10AM–7PM
• 
  

COGNAC CHEF AT DEGUSTIBUS COOKING CLASS

As a Foodie, I can't resist not to attend this particular class where I can learn the techniques from the Executive Chefs themselves and actually eat the dishes prepared during the class and paired with wines!

Degustibus is held at Macy's 8th floor kitchen area where they hold kitchen demonstrations.

Today, we had Florian V. Hugo, great great grandchild of Victor Hugo. He was also  chef at Alain Ducasse's restaurant in Monte Carlo and Paris.

Now, Chef Florian V. Hugo is partners and Chef at his  own restaurants Cognac on Broadway and West 55th St and at his new restaurant in the Upper  Eastside of New York City's Manhattan called Brasserie Cognac East.

He shares the techniques and recipes of the following dishes we at tonight's class at Degustibus.

Below is the amuse bouche - gougere fromage served with lobster soup in a small glass.

Above was the salmon we torched, served with puréed sauce with dill.

We learned the right technique to sear scallops served with chestnuts, mushrooms with port reduction sauce

This simple fillet mignon has a complex preparation and secret techniques that opened my eyes and learned new tips!

The Floating Island dessert was a new way of making making it. We learned new methods of preparation!

And you know what? I just been discovered where to go for good French food in the city!   His Brasserie is located on Lexington and 70th St in the Upper Eastside of New York City. 

Cognac East

963 Lexington Ave, New York, NY

1-212-249-5100

DOMINIQUE ANSEL French Pastry Shop

This afternoon I discovered a new delight from Dominique Ansel who first introduced us to #Cronuts.

Before that my favorite was Kouignman.

I think I have blogged before that I finally found my favorite Breton pastry Kouignman that only Dominique Ansel makes perfectly like the way I tasted it in Brittany.  And I tasted his Kouignman when he first opened his shop!

And of course you know that he invented the cronuts which are like the Kouignman with filling.

Now comes a very thin brioche with a chocolate cake inside and molten chocolate in the center.  Delightfully warm and not so sweet!

I just went Sept 24, 2014 - and his latest special is cookies and milk.

It's a cookie with vanilla milk inside.  Since I was there ordering my lunch, they announced around 2:15PM that we would get first dins in line for the 3PM serving of milk and cookie.

Unfortunately, I had to be somewhere by 3PM.

Chef Dominique Ansel himself, preparing more delicious creations for you and me!

1. Dominique Ansel Bakery

   189 Spring St, New York, NY 10012
2. (212) 219-2773

http://dominiqueansel.com/

TASTE OF FRANCE

Yes, it's Taste of France in NYC once again.  It's Sunday and in its 2nd day and I finally made it.  It seems a bit more organized than last year.  This is a much better venue.

They have several booths that deal beyond food but I am here for the food.

The lines are decent.  Price for food vary between 9 Marianne's or $9.

Above my turbot over artichokes is being dished out:

And is served with lobster sauce - with actual pieces of lobsters.  Really light and not overdone.

 Above is the Steak Au Poivre.  That's the green peppercorn sauce the French usually have when they do their steak.  This meat is tender and juicy.  It's served with potatoes - first mashed then shaped and deep fried or oven roasted.

She demonstrated an apple tart that had a lightly crisped top of layers of thin dough sprinkled with sugar.  The layer of apples had a little Armagnac.

This was free from the baking demonstration.

With mini shows and cooking demonstrations, Taste of France won't be complete without the Theee Musketeers! 

Maison Kaiser Brunch

I ordered the eggs Parisienne which is a cracked egg in a little pot with cream, mushrooms, house smoked ham and 2 little toasts on top with melted gruyere cheese.

 A bit rich but delicious.

BISTRO PETITE

Our friend recommended this place for us to go to in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  It's a French Bistro whose Chef originates from Vietnam.

Above is the Owner/Chef who chats with patrons. The place is tiny inside with stools along the window.  There were a couple of tables outside so we opted to sit outdoors because it was a hot Spring day.

We were served some grilled artichokes with a special dipping sauce.  A must to try.

We ordered the pot of seafood cooked in a delicious Asian inspired sauce, as shown above.

And the special for the night was pork hock tenderly cooked and served on fettuccine pasta with an incredible Asian/French inspired sauce.

The place is inexpensive and very tiny - but a surprise of BIG FLAVORS come out of that tiny kitchen!

This restaurant is the first stop in Brooklyn if you take the L from Manhattan.  We prefer taking this route as there are more things to pass by at Bedford before or after dinner that are of interest - like the busy stores on Bedford.

Restaurant Information

tabelog.us

	* Restaurant Name
	Bistro Petit
	* Overall
	★★★☆ ☆
	* Neighborhood / Cuisine
	Williamsburg / French / Korean
	* Street Address
	170 South 3rd St., Brooklyn, NY 11211
	* Phone
	(718) 782-2582

CANTINE PARISIENNE

I had Blackboard Eats coupon for 30% off for Cantine Parisienne that I've been wanting to try.  The coupon was good for the table up to 6 people!

Cafe Parisienne is located inside a hotel by Little Italy bordering SoHo.  It is also called NOLITA area - short for North of Little Italy.

The place is modern, sleek ,with cafe chairs as opposed to old antique French.  The servers we've had so far were both French.  The Chef is French as well.

Dishes we ordered:

Crab Cake with a light cabbage salad and greens served with a tangy sauce.

The cod is well prepared which sits on vegetables served with a delicate sauce with mussels and rice confit.

Delicious Croque Monsieur - Rich but delicious!

I like this restaurant because it reminds me of Paris.  It's casual, it's not pretentious, and the price is reasonable.

Cantine Parisienne

40 Kenmare St. , New York, NY 10012 40.720714 -73.995381 Elizabeth St.  212-966-2740

http://www.yelp.com/biz/cantine-parisienne-new-york#hrid:Krtv_OlUwgxmqqgQ4PYrpQ

LAFAYETTE CAFE BAKERY AND BISTRO

As they always say, something happens for a purpose.

After showing an apartment in the Lower East Side, it was convenient to take the subway to get tickets to a show at The Public Theater on Lafayette Street.  And that's when I stumbled upon Lafayette.  I had heard that the Chinese Brasserie which used to be in that site was going to leave.  And I've read somewhere than Andrew Carmellini was opening a new restaurant in NoHo.  So of course, I hurriedly picked up the ticket and darted to Lafayette for a quick late lunch.

This place is big and bright.  I love the decor.

As you enter, on the right is the Bakery and Pastry shop where you can grab sweets and breads.  In my case, first I ate and then grabbed extra calories to take home.

I sat at one of these smaller tables to have lunch.

The Bakery as you enter

I had a wonderful salad with a delicate dressing.  It's made with frisee, and mache.

My main course which is really an appetizer are 4 large prawns with a nice light dip.

An array of pastries on your way out.

Anyone for a tart?

On the right are canelelle - one of my favorite pastry.

LAFAYETTE

380 Lafayette St
(between 4th St & Great Jones St)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: NoHo

(212) 533-3000

http://lafayetteny.com/

LE MIDI - Greenwich Village new restaurant gem!

Yes! I recently had dinner at Le Midi after they've opened about 2 weeks.  The scaffolding that surrounds it did not make it easy for me to find.  But fortunately I went up the ramp to read the menu posted on the glass window when a lady opened the door to greet me.

Yes! I found the restaurant.  It has a giant screen on the left as you enter with black and white silent movie playing.  The Chef was from Larry Forgione's An American Place.

The menu is striking! It combines Chef Smith's country-French style dishes with Italian and American twists.

Here's what I ordered:

This is a very generous rendition of a Caesar's salad but in small portion (which I like).  He combined it with some frisee (usually Romain lettuce), lots of grated cheese, homemade croutons of lighter bread yet crisp, and chunks of pork lardon or chunky pork bacon - homemade and not cured.





My second course was homemade scrumptious mushroom ravioli with a "to die for" light sauce served with cubes of sweet breads and shaved cheese.

 My stuffed quail came with legs crossed on a light cabbage salad with squash puree.  Inside was....

was a delicious wild rice stuffing with foie gras.  The sauce was perfect.  It had such a French flavor to it.

This is a place I highly recommend.  They present value, flavor, creativity and the price is fair for what it has to offer. I am a cook and I know what it takes to prepare and assemble the dishes I just had.  I appreciate going out to spend a little to treat myself.  The calibre of his food is not as exorbitant as some places that simply add a chandelier, a name, a stuffy maitre'd and uniformed mascots to serve.

What to wear? Casual and trendy.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/le-midi-new-york#hrid:SZSgMlYGwlJz1HC0kyYbBA

http://nyc-delivery.com/food/first-look-at-le-midi-opening-in-greenwich-village/

LE MIDI

Restaurant and Bar

11 E 13th Street

New York, NY

(between University and Fifth Avenue)

1-212-255-8787

FOIE GRAS

Continuing with Le Taste of France, the event last weekend that I attended; I watched the Chef from D'Artagnan demonstrate how to cook foie gras.

There are 3 categories in grading the liver.  They are graded A, B or C.  A, being the best and most perfect of all.  B has imperfection and C is plain liver.

Before foie gras became commercialized, she said that the ducks get to a certain age after a few weeks where their appetite is high.  They could eat non-stop.  Slowly, they would take the ducks at that stage to another pen to eat all day as much as they want.  Therefore, these ducks do not need to be forced fed as they would eat as much if they found food in the wild on their own.

At the event, she demonstrated the many things you could make from a duck.
Please click below to watch the video:

Determining how fat the liver is:

The thighs and legs of the duck are cut up to make duck confit. 

The foie gras is removed from the duck and sliced.
She seasons it with fleur de sel generously on both sides.  Then puts in in a very hot pan to cook for 1 minute or 2 on each side.

This is the liver that came from the duck that she cut up ready to be cooked.



The foie gras (Grade A liver) was cooked in a very hot pan for about 1 minute or so on each side.
Do not over cook it.  These ones used for demonstration were thicker than usual; so it was cooked a little over a minute on each side.

By the way, you need a good pan to cook the foie gras in.  See link.   http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121207726422829649.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foie_gras

For a Short History of Foie Gras:
http://www.artisanfarmers.org/factsaboutfoiegras.html