Bonjour from my favorite city in the world!
Here's a menu to transport you to Paris, plus my unofficial guide to the city.
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I’m on a special trip to Paris this week! One of my favorite things to do while I’m here is to go to the market for fresh ingredients and cook dinner for friends. I love simple, country French food. The meal always feels fancy, but it’s something you can really cook anywhere. Here is the menu I’m planning for my friend Deborah Davis. I hope this transports you to Paris and your meal is délicieux!!
Chicken with Morels - Note: I make this in advance and reheat it before dinner. That’s my kind of recipe!
Matchstick Potatoes
Cinnamon Elephant Ears
And if you don’t feel like cooking, listen to my “Ina’s Trip to Paris” playlist and have a Raspberry Royale instead!
Ask Ina:
“What would you do if you only had 2-3 days in Paris?”
I’ve received over a hundred emails with variations of this question. It’s impossible to choose!
Paris has changed in the last 10 years, but I still love the places I talk about in Barefoot in Paris. My recommendation for anyone visiting is simple: put on your best pair of walking shoes, grab a baguette, and wander around the city on foot. You never know what delights you might stumble into.
Below is an incomplete list of what I love in Paris, but you can do whatever you want to do!
Poilâne: Handmade artisanal breads. The apple tarts and shortbread are standouts.
Barthélémy: The cheese store. The aroma alone shows the difference between fresh, gutsy French cheese and the pasturized, stabilized (and often blanded-out) cheese we still sell in the U.S.
Café de Flore: Traditional chic café where you can sip a citron pressé (lemonade). The sandwiches are made on Poilâne bread.
Café Varenne: Go for breakfast or lunch and order their delicious omelet with potatoes, bacon, and herbs. Or, you can make my version at home!
Luxembourg Gardens: One of Jeffrey’s favorite things to do in Paris is to have a picnic here.
Marche Raspail: If you’re going to have a picnic at Luxembourg Gardens, you have to do your shopping at Raspail market. Jeffrey and I went there for the first time fifty years ago. It opened up a world of food to me that I didn’t know existed!
E.Dehillerin: One of my first memories of Paris is visiting this famous cookware store. What makes French cookware so irresistible is that it’s made to last a lifetime (and then pass on to your children!). If you can’t go in person, you can order from them online here.
This Week’s Favorites:
The whiskey sour at Le Meurice Hotel in Paris.
Jeffrey and I decided to rewatch the first episode of The Newsroom the other week - somehow we’re already on season 3!
My husband and I went to Le Meurice for Christmas Eve dinner on our honeymoon. He had to eat there because it was the first place in Paris that served food with a fork to eat it. We had a lovely time that lives in my memory, even though my husband is gone.
The Newsroom--season 1, episode 1 should be required for all civics students., plus everyone who votes.