pardon my french

I Heart Valentine's Day

Ever since I was little, I have always loved Valentine's Day. Hearts, red, pink, flowers, candy, cute decorations, sweet cards, cupcakes and parties…all of my favorite things. A broken heart can ruin a lot of things, but I decided it wasn't going to ruin one of my favorite holidays. Food, friends and wine = parfait!

My thoughts had been preoccupied with my meeting with the chef who told me to "just cook," and to have a Sunday the way the French do: go to the market, cook, eat, drink, hang. (I might have added the "hang," but he would have said it if he knew that word in English.)

My friend from school, Anthony, is living here while his husband is back in the states. Since we were both sans dates for Vday, I asked him to be my valentine and he graciously accepted. (Don't worry James, only valid in the 7th arrondissement!). We talked about just cooking and having a relaxed Sunday, and Anthony suggested we start at the gorgeous outdoor market right near his apartment. My fellow Grande Diplome friend, Blanca from Madrid, joined us to help us prepare this feast.

We arrived at the market at noon. Sweet Anthony brought flowers and chocolate for Blanca and I… I mean, c'mon, girls love that stuff! Anthony asked, "so, what are we getting?" Blanca and I shrugged, none of us came with a plan (except Anthony's delicious goat cheese that I am still dreaming about!). We just walked around, picked up what looked good, got inspired...and before long we had our menu:

Roasted chicken with red skin potatoes, carrots, zucchini and mushrooms
Seared ahí tuna
Sauteed Coquille St. Jacques scallops (in season and amazing)
Mashed pumpkin with Comté cheese
Green salad with haricot vert, dried cranberries, tomato and almonds
Duck terrine
Olives, charcuterie, shrimp, cheeses, baguettes
…and a half a case of wine, of course!

Three cooks in my tiny kitchen, and I'm not even sure who did what, but at some point the table was full of food. And, as any good Cordon Bleu student must, we followed the chef's directions: we sat, we ate, we drank, we laughed. Thankfully, Gillian from Dublin and her boyfriend came over to help with the mounds of food!

It was a perfect day. And, I now know why the chef's advice was so important. When you get into the kitchen at school, it's about speed, precision, and completion. Everyone's tense because the chef is looming or yelling at someone. There are good days, but it's definitely not like cooking in your own kitchen, (whisk in one hand wine in the other). Plus, I can't tell you how much food I throw away because even the dishwashers don't want to take home veal stuffed with veal stuffed with pork in a kilo of butter.

I started to forget how much I love to cook. And then St. Valentine brought the heart back. Spending the day cooking, actually enjoying the food and sharing it with friends reminded me why I came here in the first place. That is what I love to do. I won't be number one at graduation, but hey…I'll throw the best party after : )

I heart you all. xoxo