In this week's video I show you the contents of our refrigerator on a typical weeknight. We are a family of four with my husband, my toddler, my baby and me (oh yes, and Gatsby!), so the contents of the fridge reflect all of our likes. For example, my husband loves the Skippy smooth peanut butter and won't have anything else. Same with the Yoplait yogurt... I have a few musts as well.

You'll also notice the Bio-K probiotics I have. I find that since I started drinking this friendly bacteria my digestive health has seriously improved. Also worth noting are our two drawers of vegetables. We receive a vegetable box once a week delivered fresh from our local farm (Farm Fresh To You for those of you in Los Angeles). I love getting creative with ways to cook the seasonal veggies.

At the time of shooting this video there is no meat in the fridge. We usually eat meat (fish, chicken or a roast- a must for my husband!) around three times a week and I try to buy it as fresh as possible.

Another thing to note is I usually prefer to make my own pie crusts but on busy weeknights it is nice to have a pre-prepared one handy for making savory tarts or that strawberry pie...

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This week I would love to know... What's in your fridge?

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Before this week’s post begins check out my video called Clutter-Free Home: Checking the Mail. In the video I share with you my top tip for dealing with mail and paperwork in an orderly manner. If you are unable to see the embedded video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

And now for this week’s post:

The Signature Cake

When I lived in Paris one of the things that greatly impressed me were the homemade desserts we enjoyed on a regular basis. Madame Chic had her arsenal of recipes. Fruit tarts were her specialty- mainly apple in the winter and strawberry in the summer- but she also liked to make crêpes, custards, fruit salads and cake.

Madame Bohemienne had a few dessert recipes she always made as well but my favorite was her flourless chocolate cake. That cake was so moist and delicious… It looked very simple but was a show stopper and the ultimate pièce de résistance at her dinner parties. She told me it was really easy to make and that she didn’t even use a recipe anymore- she had made it so many times the steps and ingredients were engrained in her memory.

Having a signature cake recipe, a simple one that you can make easily and that you can perfect, is a great thing to have.

Since being back in America I have searched high and low for a flourless chocolate cake recipe that rivals that of Madame Bohemienne’s and I have found one that I can now call my own.



This recipe is from the Epicurious website. It’s a delicious recipe and oh so French. The ingredients are very simple, as are the steps (everything is mixed in one bowl- which also cuts down on cleaning time). The ingredients are also common- you will most likely have these things on hand in your home so if you find that you’ve got last minute dinner guests it would be easy to whip one together.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper. Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate. Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with ice cream if desired. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)

The recipe does require a double boiler like mine pictured below.



If you don’t have one of these you can always use a bowl over a pot of barely simmering water and that should work just fine. Also wax paper is imperative to line the bottom of the pan (and don’t forget to butter underneath and on top of the paper. This allows the cake to come out smoothly…) And finally, it’s not in the recipe, but a small sprinkling of confectioners sugar on top is a nice touch.

I would love to know… Do you have a signature cake?

To see the recipe on the Epicurious website, click here.


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I recently got a request from an email subscriber of The Daily Connoisseur asking me what I eat on a typical day. I have a pretty healthy diet and, I believe, have never had a problem with my weight because of this (knock on wood- we’ll see how I do après baby…).

Please keep in mind that because I am pregnant there are a lot of things I’m not having (sushi, sandwiches, coffee, green tea, etc.) that I normally have. Other than the items I’m forbidden to eat while pregnant, I pretty much eat the same things I did before I was pregnant.

Here is my menu for a typical day:

Breakfast:

First thing in the morning I drink a tall glass of warm water with lemon. Then 20 minutes or so later I eat either:

A homemade fruit and yogurt parfait (pictured above). This is my current favorite thing to eat in the morning. It consists of Greek yogurt (Fage is my favorite brand), a sprinkling of flax seeds, a few tablespoons of walnuts, a quarter cup of blueberry muesli and whatever fruit or berries I have on hand.

or

Hot oatmeal with soymilk, chopped bananas, flax seeds, walnuts and honey.

or

One piece of whole grain toast with almond butter and chopped bananas on top and a whole grapefruit on the side.

When I am not pregnant, breakfast is usually accompanied with a cup of green tea. Now, however I just drink a cup of hot water.


Lunch:

Before I was pregnant I usually would eat a sandwich- turkey or chicken with lettuce, tomato, avocado and Swiss or cheddar cheese. (Pregnant women are advised against eating lunch meat, so I have cut this out). Or I would have a California roll or spicy tuna roll from the local sushi restaurant and a cup of miso soup. (Ditto for not being allowed to eat sushi… this has been very hard for me- I love the stuff!)

So now I modify my lunch by usually eating:

A salad. Consisting of greens, chopped broccoli, corn, cheese, dried cranberries, mushrooms and green onions with a small amount of ranch dressing or a vinaigrette.

or

A Mediterranean lunch. Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves- I love these!), hummus and tabbouleh salad.

or

Salmon teriyaki with brown rice



Afternoon snack

Before being pregnant I would usually have a cup of coffee in the afternoon. I have since replaced that with a glass of veggie juice (usually carrot, celery, apple)

For a snack I typically eat:

An apple with peanut or almond butter

or

Whole grain crackers with cheese

or

Hummus with pita bread

or

Baby carrots and celery sticks

or let’s be honest...

A piece of cake or something equally as naughty (today it was a rather large chocolate chip cookie)



Dinner

For dinner I normally eat a protein of some sort with veggies. Typical dinners for me include:

Wild salmon with brown rice and broccoli

or

Roast chicken with potato gratin and sweet corn

or

Steak with roasted potatoes and asparagus

Occasionally I will have whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese.


I also try to drink a lot of water throughout the day and right before I go to bed I drink another tall glass of water.

So there you have it- my typical menu for the day…

I love getting emails from readers and try to answer all requests. Thank you, Julie, for requesting this one!

I would love to know… what does your daily menu consist of?

This past Monday I attended a ladies luncheon at Madame Sportif’s home. I was quite thrilled to accept the invitation because there is nothing I love more than a ladies lunch and I love to meet new people. Also, having viewed the guest list prior to coming I discerned that several of these women were of French and/or international descent- thus adding to my repertoire of fabulous ladies from which to draw inspiration from.

I wore my silk, flowy Rebecca Taylor blouse in graphite (about the only nice article of clothing I have left that still fits me at 6 months pregnant), leggings and my favorite black satin ballet flats with gold trim.

There were six of us in total. Two French ladies, one Dutch lady who had lived in France for 13 years, a Chinese lady, an Iranian lady and me. All of the women were gorgeous- we were like the United Nations of Santa Monica!

Madame Sportif immediately provided us with a refreshment upon arrival- an almond drink comprised of almond syrup, ice and mineral water. It was light and refreshing. Then we all gathered around the table and ate our starter course: baked prunes wrapped in bacon. The main course consisted of lamb chops with ratatouille, followed by a salad with a selection of three cheeses: camembert, brie and Roquefort. And for dessert- a chocolate mousse with strawberries.

I must admit I was slightly nervous to attend the luncheon… after all Madame Sportif was the only lady I actually knew- but they were all very warm and welcoming towards me. We spent nearly three hours at that table, eating the delicious courses provided for us and chatting and talking about the differences between our cultures.

Various topics of conversation included the sacredness of language- where in France it is guarded with lock and key and where in America it is blatantly misused with frequent rapidity; the friendliness of our cultures (they all said how friendly Americans are- how laid back, how familiar), the remarkable fact that the lady from Holland was 6’1’’, with blond hair and the body of a supermodel and ate loads of bread everyday! The French ladies chimed in that they too eat bread on a regular basis (I have always known that bread is not evil- they happily proved me right), and various amusing observations about our husbands (for example, the Iranian lady suspects that her husband pretends to be clueless at cooking so that he never has to do it and can enjoy her culinary endeavors instead).

I had a lovely time. We laughed a lot and I have to say it was marvelous to meet such a diverse group of beautiful, intelligent women.

Madame Sportif and I have already made arrangements for our next social outing. Next time she will come over to my house for another cooking session… which, of course, I will share with you in minute detail…


Pictured above are my beloved ballet flats by London Sole in black satin with gold trim... perfect footwear for a casual ladies lunch!

Yesterday I spent the afternoon cooking with Madame Sportif (my French neighbor). We spent four hours cooking, eating and chatting. I unearthed a wealth of information on how to live Comme les Français and cannot wait to share it with you! In the meantime, I have been poring through my journals and was recalled of a very special dinner party chez Madame Bohemienne that I thought you might enjoy…

One day I received a call from BP saying that Madame Bohemienne had a surprise for us and would I be able to come over for dinner that evening? I was intrigued and could hardly refuse. I took the forty-minute metro ride from the 16th arrondissement to Chez Bohemienne and walked up those ten flights of steps wondering what surprise could possibly await me…

It turned out Madame Bohemienne had just visited Brittany and had brought back with her an entire crate of fresh oysters. I nearly fainted with delight. Now many people do not like oysters. I am not one of those people. I love oysters. Mon Dieu how I love oysters! And I had never seen so many before my eyes as I had in that moment. I eagerly helped BP and her two sons set the table. Oysters were shucked, music was playing, we opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate and we sat down to feast.

Delicious is an inadequate word to describe that meal. The oysters (accompanied with mignonette sauce and big pieces of crusty French bread and real butter) were divine. The champagne bubbles delighted my tongue and left me feeling delirious. Afterward we ended with a delicious slice of Camembert.

It was a simple meal, but one of the best I’ve ever had. I don’t know how many oysters I ate that evening but I felt like a heroin in a Molière play (Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme springs to mind). There was something so wonderful about spoiling ourselves in such a decadent manner... I shall never forget my first oyster dinner party, Comme les Français...


Still Life with Wine Goblet and Oysters by Pieter Claesz is pictured above (dated 1630).