Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

After getting settled in the apartment, buying supplies from the local grocery store, and resting, we were ready for our night out on the town.  Our reservation at Reed was a good idea.  It was an easy walk, just a block away.

With an open kitchen and just 20 seats,  it was an inviting space.  Catherine Reed’s Laconche stove with its copper pots of simmering sauces made us feel like we had been invited into her personal kitchen.

Because of a staffing issue, this particular Saturday night, found Catherine the only person available to greet guests, serve and cook.  She jokingly said that it would be a “slow” food night; not necessarily in the timing, but in the dishes that were on the menu.  They were slow comfort foods that were simmering away on their own.  The smells of heady wine braised meats and poultry greeted us at the door.

You are looking at one tired and bedraggled gal right now.  Our trip did not get off to a good start.  After boarding our direct flight to Paris in Charlotte we sat on the plane for awhile after our planned departure time.  The captain came on the PA system and said there was a problem with a smoke sensor in the cargo hold and we could not take off until it was fixed or replaced.  We sat on the ground with updates for three hours.  The problem was never resolved and the entire group of passengers had to disembark and walk to another terminal on the other side of the airport and wait 30 minutes to board a substitute plane.  We spent over 4 hours on the ground and another 8 hours in flight.

But we are here and I am in love with the city of light.  Because of the delay in arriving, the person who was supposed to meet us and let us into the apartment could not do so for two hours.  That is why I am sitting at a sidewalk cafe sipping wine with all of our luggage.  The cafe owner was kind enough to store our luggage for us so that we could do a little exploring on rue Cler.  Who says the French are unfriendly?

Before we browsed the shops on the street we fortified ourselves with omelets and salad.  The omelets were absolutely delicious.

The market street has everything from flowers to cheese.  We bought two individual quiches, croissants and fresh strawberries.

In spite of the rocky start, everything is beautiful.  We are resting before our dinner tonight at Reed.  Will continue with my postcard from Paris soon.

I am taking a short blogging break.  We are leaving for France on June 8th and there is much to do before we board the plane.  I am excited about the trip and plan on blogging while we are there.  One of the adventures that I am looking forward to in Paris is a cooking class with Catherine Reed at her restaurant Reed.  She is not as well known as a Patricia Wells or a Dorrie Greenspan, but she and her restaurant are a “hidden gem” that has yet to be discovered.   The information is here.  Reed is just around the corner from our apartment.  We will have our first dinner there on Saturday.  Catherine Reed is French Canadian and her menu is in French and English.  This will ease us into Paris while we are still jet lagged and confused.  The cooking class will be on Tuesday and for a small charge, David will join us for lunch with the results of our endeavor.

The rue Cler market street is just blocks from our apartment.  I plan to spend lots of time here stocking up on cheese, wine, bread and croissants.  Throw in a rotisserie chicken or two and I’m sure we will not go hungry.

Then it is off to Provence for a week.  We will be staying in the village of Isle sur la Sorgue known for its canals, waterwheels and antiques.  We are looking forward to exploring many of the villages in Provence and plan a tour of the Bandol wineries.

Our last week will be spent in Tours in the Loire Valley, home to beautiful chateaux and wineries.  We have French friends there and look forward to seeing them again.

So until later . . . . Au revoir!   A bientot.

David appreciating the selection of food

“Oh the people you’ll meet”.   That is a play on the line from Dr. Seuss’s book The Places You’ll Go.  It is a coming of age book for children that is meant to send them out into the world on their own, ready to face their futures… . But there is another connotation to the phrase.   Some of us who have established ties with friends and family still welcome getting to know new people.  We have found that to be especially true with the blogging community.

Welcome all!

When I heard that Larry ( Big Dude’s Eclectic Ramblings) was having his yearly blogger get together at his lakeside home called Almost Heaven South, I knew that this was the year that we could be there.  Here is Larry welcoming everyone.  His place has always been a special gathering place for bloggers and friends.  This year the major part of the meal was prepared by Katherine of Smoky Mountain Cafe and her husband  A.J.  These native New Orleans transplants, who now live in Tennessee, are experts in making Crawfish and Shrimp boil.

A.J. and Katherine

The cooks are ready for the presentation.  We all appreciated the authentic tastes and demonstrations on how to eat  crawfish.  It was a bountiful presentation.

And here.

Crawfish, shrimp, sausages, potatoes, corn and whole cloves of garlic were strewn across the paper covered tables.  What a feast.  Thank you Katherine and A,J.!

Sam of My Carolina Kitchen made a Bahamian Pea and Rice Salad.  It was a perfect accompaniment to the crawfish boil.

I brought watermelon and pineapple and cream cheese stuffed celery.  The recipe is here.  There were many appetizers and desserts that I did not get a picture of including a medley of delicious nuts from Cathy of Wives with Knives, who could not be there.  Oregon would be a long way to come, but thank you Cathy.  The nuts were delicious.

Here are some of the bloggers in attendance.

Dave of My Year on the Grill and Inspired by eRecipeCards and his wife Jackie came all  the way from Kansas City.  What an honor it was to finally meet them.  Dave’s website eRecipeCards is awesome and Jackie knows how to tell a mean story.  LOL.  In the background you can see David  of Big Daddy Dave and his wife Laurie.  They live close by and are lucky enough to visit Larry and Bev often.

Sam, of My Carolina Kitchen and her husband Meakin were also there.  They go to the event every year and it was good to see them again.  They, along with Meakin’s brother Stuart and his wife Sandy, were staying an extra night so they could cook Larry and Beverly a special dinner.  I hope she blogs about it.

I didn’t get a picture of  Chris ( Nibble Me This ) and his wife Alexis, but I enjoyed talking photography with him.  Go on over to his blog to see some of the attendees sucking mud bugs.  He has some great pictures of the whole event.

Larry makes the best Margaritas and I hope he will blog about them on Big Dude’s Eclectic Ramblings.  Here he is holding the secret ingredient.

Thank you Larry and Beverly for opening your home and dock to all of us.  You are terrific hosts and if you can put up with all of us, we will be there next year.  You are the best!