One true thing I know for sure.
Life is never boring in my 'hood.
I arrived home from work on Saturday night to a pastry making lesson.
I might not bake, but I'm always prepared. Kitchen Aid, a scale, parchment paper, baking pans of all shapes and sizes, you want it, I got it. Well except nutmeg, I seem to be out of nutmeg.
Elle found French butter and her sister sent recipes.
We started with pate brisee.
And ended with Quiche Lorraine.
But in between the Saturday night pastry making and the Sunday eating, quell disaster.
Elle dropped the Kitchen Aid on her foot. Do you know how heavy a Kitchen Aid is?
Heavy enough to send her off to the emergency room for 4 stitches.
Sunday afternoon , Elle resumed the lesson.
It was delicious.
Not to be undone by her walking boot she will wear for 8 weeks, she then whipped up a clementine cake.
We did have a Super Bowl party to attend after all.
As I was making my hummus, there was a knock on the door.
My new neighbor's brother was standing there with a towel wrapped around his wrist.
He had just cut his wrist with an exacto knife, another trip to the emergency room and six stitches for him.
There were no accidents at the SB party, though I'm sure Denver fans would disagree.
In the past week Elle has watched her first Grammys, State Of The Union and Super Bowl live.
She has visited an American emergency room, gone to Zumba, and lived through several snow and ice storms.
Gus has also stolen her hair clip and Lucy seems to be perpetually drenched in her perfume.
As for me? I'm being very careful.
Very, very, careful.
Oh no, I'm not sure I can manage the ER part of the story (especially the exacto incident) with the food part. How did you do it live? Stay careful.
ReplyDeleteWell i didn't have to go to the ER either times, I just arranged rides, cause i don't drive.
DeleteTry telling someone with a sliced wrist.
Come in and sit down while I call your sister is the best I could manage.
Tho I did offer tea, with lots of sugar....
Dear god.
OMG! I'm so ready for tulips.
ReplyDeleteYou'll need lots of Zumba with that great cooking ;)
Yes, do be very careful...
I wanna know, how do french women NOT get fat?
DeleteI am truly surprised that Elle’s foot is not broken in multiple pieces! Those mixers weigh a ton. That’s why my stays (permanently) on my kitchen counter except to slide it forward for use. BTW, Smitten Kitchen has a good spinach quiche recipe that is more veg than egg.
ReplyDeleteYour tulips remind me that spring will come…eventually. Kitty seems to be spying on your cooking lesson.
You know I would love a spinach quiche, maybe I'll make the pastry for the next one..
DeleteI don't have room in my kitchen for mine, which is why i hid it in such an accessible place.
Kitty is always spying. Must work for Homeland.
Your weekend sounds horrible Jane, but I am happy to hear Elle and your neighbours brother are both OK now. Your quiche looks good!
ReplyDeleteTake care Jane!
Madelief x
I have a KitchenAid and they are incredibly heavy. Elle must be black and blue but what a trooper to resume the pastry lesson. Your guardian angel looks quite cute :-)
ReplyDeleteShe wasn't going to let the pastry go to waste she said.
DeleteThank god.
I'm sure she is black and blue. the gash is on the top of her foot, where it bends. Ai yi yi.
Two trips to the ER in one weekend is unfathomable!
ReplyDeleteThat said, i love, love, love to make pastry. There is absolutely nothing that makes me more satisfied than that. Glad you enjoyed your lesson. Now, if only it weren't so fattening so i could have it more often. xoxo
I love to watch people make pastry. Some day I hope to achieve the state of satisfaction you feel.
DeleteWell two trips for the block, not for me, I just give solace and find rides.
That thing with French women not getting fat? It is portion size, I'm convinced. And absolutely no snacking. And what dramas chez vous!! Eek - I am pathetic with blood! Xx
ReplyDeleteSo is poor Elle. Luckily one still can look pretty while crying at 22.
DeleteI'm a florist. I have to pretend bleeding doesn't bother me.
Oh good, it's almost Valentines. Another massacre waiting to happen!
I can't wait to make a pate brisee. That looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteHow does one accidentally cut their wrist with an exacto knife?
Right? He was cutting a 10" fiddle leaf fig out of it's plastic pot and when the knife hit the heavy plastic rim it snapped and wedged itself in his wrist.
DeleteHe did have a good sense of humor about it and remained very calm.
I wanted to start shrieking but also remained calm.
Today, so far so good. Knock on wood.
I mean a very large fiddle leaf fig out of a 10" wide pot.
DeleteI can't imagine how she dropped the Kitchen Aid on her foot. Why was she lifting it? Never mind, it was worth it, hmmm just look at the bubbling yummy quiche. Tres magnifique!
ReplyDeleteI keep, make that kept, it on the bottom shelf in the cramped laundry closet, with a drying rack in between the two, she tried to maneuver it around the rack and down, It didn't work, It was a very loud crash. Shudder.
DeleteWhat mixed emotions! Drooling at the pastry making, cringing at the cuts and bangs. (If Elle is going to show you how to make those divine pastel-coloured macaroons then I'm on the next flight over!)
ReplyDeleteThat's how the weekend was here! Drooling, crying, cringing, eating.
DeleteAlmost relieved to go back to work tomorrow.
And she does make the macaroons....book a ticket and let us know your time of arrival!
DeleteOh, HOW I WISH!!!
DeleteThat is a beeeeeauitiful picture of your guardian angel!
ReplyDeleteS
xo
He is one big beautiful boy. Nosy though...
DeleteYou get the best roommates. French women don't get fat because they Marcher touts le temps. And probably portion size is a factor. She's a trooper, Mlle Elle.
ReplyDeleteShe is a trooper. When her friends and family found out, after commiserating, they all wanted to know how the Kitchen Aid was....I think they're pretty indestructible.
DeleteI'm smiling. Baking, and stitches, and all the other oh-so-American experiences for your carefully chosen roommate. Stitches and a boot sound like the lucky end of the encounter with the Kitchenaid. You already know how much I love your kitties.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, I'm surprised no broken bones!
DeleteWelcome to the USA.
Holy cow, never a dull moment for you.
ReplyDelete(I hope you don't have a mandolin.)
I'm interested in the clementine cake (love all things citrus) and I've never made my own hummus. Tips?
I used the smitten kitchen hummus recipe, she riffs on Paula Wolfert's. It's a sure fire winner.
Deletei will get the clementine recipe, It was a lovely, dense, sunny cake.
Well Jane,
ReplyDeletefor us Denver fans, all of last night was one giant trip to the ER! :-(
Kidding aside, hope everyone is OK now. The quiche looks "tres delicieux."
A bientot,
Diane in
Sad But Sunny Denver
Denver must be shrouded in a cloud of sadness.
Deletego get some tulips!
xo
The first time I read this I read "with a towel wrapped around his WAIST" so I was having all kinds of visions of half naked neighbor men and could not understand what he was doing nakey with an Exacto knife. The second read through clarified things but then it wasn't quite as interesting!
ReplyDeleteLove that you are learning to make pastry with a FRench cookbook.
Oh god, and the visual just got worse:-)
DeleteNow I need a translation for the recipes!
And the tulips and kitty are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteSweet Lord what an eventful weekend!
ReplyDeleteSomeone has put that curse on you "May you live in interesting times". Wishing you an uneventful time now, where nothing much happens.....
ReplyDeleteOh my... But at least you are not bored, boredom is the death of the soul, I believe. But I am wondering, how sharp are your knives??
ReplyDeleteYour peeping tom is precious! A nice touch after the horrible accident stories.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh .... and now she has Valentine's Day to contend with. Wow, having just read your post I am incredulous. It is nothing,nothing, nothing like that here. I'll be thinking of you!
ReplyDelete