I was 16 when I tasted my first pain au chocolat.  I had the good fortune to go to a private high school where foreign travel was considered part of the curriculum.  For the French speakers, there was a choice of either a homestay in one city, or the around-the-country bike tour known as SeaCliste (a play on Seattle and bicycliste).  Because I wanted to see as much of the country as I could, I opted for the bike tour.

We got full credit for our three months there which coincided with spring trimester.  We only had to keep a journal in French, speak French the whole time, do the job assigned to us (like be a medic or a mechanic), and complete the trip which, on certain days, was easier said than done.  I will never forget riding my touring bike in the Île de France (the region right around Paris) with a side wind so profound that I was literally blown off my bike several times.  Or spending almost an entire day riding up a snowy mountain road in the Alps only to find that, once we reached the top, someone had made a wrong turn and we had to go right back down again.  Or sleeping in a tent in a supermarket parking lot and being thrilled with the choice because we were under cover from the driving rain.

Of course, I will also never forget feeling the sun on my face for two weeks straight in Corsica.  Or how beautiful it is to take a paddle boat out on Lake Annecy.  Or the kindness of the French people who, all over that amazing country, took pity on the crazy American teenagers in their bike helmets and allowed us to take over their restaurants, homes, and – yes – supermarket parking lots.  And I’ll never forget that first pain au chocolat.

Our starting point for the trip was the medium-sized city of Nantes which is at the easternmost edge of Brittany.  We had a three day homestay with French families but we all met in the town center after getting settled.  One of our group had a French step-father and, since she had spent a fair amount of time in the country, she volunteered to go to the boulangerie to get us some treats.  Always a chocolate lover, I made an immediate dive for the pain au chocolat.  I didn’t know what I was in for, I just could see the chocolate and that was all I needed.

And this is where writing fails me.  How do you describe something so perfect?  The shatter of the pastry and the warmth of the chocolate (because, these many many years later, I still remember the chocolate in that first one was warm), the perfection of the combo…it was an emotional moment for me.  I spent the rest of the trip trying to re-create that initial first bite.  Oh yes, and sampling everything else on offer in each boulangerie that we stopped in which is why I gained 15 pounds, in spite of putting 1500 miles on my bike.

This pain au chocolat is not the one I ate in Nantes.  It is not any of the many I ate throughout France.  But I made it myself and it took about 25 minutes total.  I impressed my children and my husband with this pain au chocolat.  And for now, that’s pretty good.

One Year Ago:  Apple Tartlets with Cinnamon Balsamic Syrup and Butter-Toffee Ice Cream

Petits Pain au Chocolat
Bon Appétit
Makes 24

I couldn’t trust myself with 24 of these things lying around so I halved the recipe and only used one sheet of puff pastry.  I also used one 4 ounce bar of Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate.  I cut each square in half and it seemed to be the perfect size for the pastry square.

2 sheets frozen puff pastry (one 17.3-ounce package, thawed), each sheet cut into 12 squares
1 large egg beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water (for glaze)
4 3.5-ounce bars imported bittersweet or milk chocolate, each cut into six 2×3/4-inch pieces
Sugar

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Brush the top of each puff pastry square with egg glaze.  Place 1 chocolate piece on edge of 1 pastry square.  Roll up dough tightly, enclosing chocolate.  Repeat with remaining pastry and chocolate.  Place pastry rolls on baking sheet, seam side down.  (Can be made 1 day ahead.  Cover pastries with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Cover and refrigerate remaining glaze.)

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Brush tops of pastry rolls with remaining egg glaze.  Sprinkle lightly with sugar.  Bake until pastries are golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

I have lived in France twice for short periods of time. The first time was for three months on a bike, and the second was for a semester in Paris during my junior year of college. The first time I gained 15 pounds because I simply could not get over how delicious the pastries were (or the bread, or the cheese, or the chocolate, etc.) The second time I was much more careful and tried to stick only to the bread and a little cheese. Once in a while, I would allow myself a treat and there was never a question of what that would be.

I discovered Palmiers in a small town in Normandy about 1/3 of the way into the bike trip. I was 16, homesick, freezing and wet. The first month of our trip was spent in the Loire Valley and Normandy which, in case you are wondering, is not a good place to be biking in late March and early April. We got rained on, snowed on, and hailed on. We did not see the sun once during the entire month. We were sleeping in tents and biking all day. I only took comfort from my friend Jen, the hope of mail at the next homestay, and bakeries.

By this point in the trip, I had established my favorites in the boulangerie. Pain au chocolat was a given, brioche was always welcome when I wanted something more bread-like, a croissant when I wanted something less sweet. Seeing a Normandy is apple country in France, a whole new world of apple pastries opened up to me and I tried every one of them. One day, when I was feeling particularly homesick and wanting a cookie, I opted for a palmier. The charming butterfly shape disguised what a sophisticated treat this was. They are made from puff pastry so the layers upon layers of butter worked into the dough make each bite shatter under your teeth as you enjoy the flakiness of a croissant and the honey sweetness of lots of sugar. They became a true favorite of mine and I asked for them repeatedly during the rest of that bike trip (this contributed to the 15 pounds I gained, in spite of biking 1500 miles).

When I returned to France 3 years later, I asked for them in boulangeries all over Paris. I have gotten them for my boys here in Seattle whenever I see them. And I’ve made them a few times which I highly encourage you to do. You see, there are two ingredients in this recipe. Puff pastry and sugar. That’s it. Of course you can make your own puff pastry but why? Why when there is DuFour out there? Yes, it’s expensive (about $13 for 14 oz.), but when there are only two ingredients, you need to use the very best. I have no problem using Pepperidge Farm (about $4 for 14 oz.) when I am making something savory – when I know the flavor of the pastry is not the star. But if you are going to make these cookies, and you should, use the best. (Update: Thanks to two helpful comments, I can tell you that both Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods carry all-butter puff pastry for less than the DuFour. I will be sure to look for those!)

Palmiers
Adapted from The Martha Steward Living Cookbook – The New Classics
Makes about 20

The only real change I made here is an added step of coating each side of the palmiers in more sugar. Yum!

3/4 cup sugar, plus extra for dipping
14 oz. all butter Puff Pastry

1. Sprink half the sugar on a clean work surface. Place the dough on top, and sprinkle evenly with the remaining sugar.

2. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out the dough into a 9 x 15-inch rectangle 1/8 inch thick, being careful not to press too hard around the edges. Continually coat both sides with sugar.

3. Place the dough so one of the long sides is closest to you. Using your fingers, roll the dough length-wise into a long cylinder, as tightly as possible without stretching it, as you would a roll of wrapping papers, stopping when you reach the middle. Repeat the same rolling procedure with the other long side until you have 2 tight cylinders that meet in the middle. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap; place in the refrigerator to chill at least 1 hour.

4. Unwrap the dough; using a sharp knife, cut the dough crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick slices. Dip each side of each slice into a shallow bowl of sugar. Place the palmiers on an ungreased baking sheet, and firmly flatten with the palm of your hand. Cover with platic wrap; place in the refrigerator 1 hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the palmiers in the oven and bake 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees; continue baking until the pastry is golden brown and well caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven; using a thin spatula, immediately transfer the palmiers to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve shiny side up.

This quality served us well the year we lived in London. We went to Euro-Disney for a conference (and a weekend in Paris), we went to Israel for a week so he could meet with a company his employer was thinking of buying. Oh yes, and he got us to London for a year!

Before we moved back to Seattle, and after he had been recruited to work for another company, he finagled a trip around northern Europe so he could “meet the teams.” If you know my husband, you know that he worked hard on that trip. He never doesn’t work hard. But he also got us to Tallin (Estonia), Stockholm, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Paris in the week and a half after we left London.

Once he was done with meetings in Paris, we rented a car and took our time driving south to Provence to meet up with some friends. I will always remember this trip for many different reasons. First, obviously, I got to see cities in Europe that I had never seen which is always thrilling. I was on my way back home to the States which I felt really excited about. I was going to see a part of my beloved France that I had heard so much about but never seen. We were going to witness parts of Llance Armstrong’s historic 6th win of the Tour de France. But perhaps most of all, I was hyper aware of the baby growing in my belly.

Right before we left London, I had an ultrasound (at 16 weeks) which told us that we were going to have a boy. The incredible joy I felt seeing that little fully formed person is difficult to describe – if you have witnessed an ultrasound for your baby-to-be, you know what I am talking about. We were beyond thrilled that he was going to be a boy and over the moon to see that he looked healthy. About a week later, once we had gotten to Stockholm, I started to bleed. Of course, it happened on July 4th, so I was unable to reach a doctor back in the States and the Swedish doctor we spoke to just told me to hang in there and if the bleeding increased, to go immediately to a hospital. My first thought when I woke up, the last thought I had before I drifted off to sleep, and every other thought in between was whether or not I was going to lose that precious baby for days. Once we got in touch with our doctor back home, she told me to stay off my feet as much as possible which is difficult in small European cities where you really just need to walk everywhere.

I did notice that when I took it easy, the bleeding stopped. Once I started walking too much, it would pick back up again. So, as much as I enjoyed the travel on that trip, when we finally made it to Provence, I could breathe easy. We were staying at a property where we had a wonderful room with lots of communal living space and a pool. We weren’t near anything except tiny perfect French towns. I pretty much just took it easy for the first few days. As my fear began to subside, I began to explore the paradise that is Provence. I did see Llance Armstrong come through Nimes (although I was sitting on the sidewalk). I did see countless vineyards and walk through the markets of Arles. I also sat in the sun poolside and got lots of sleep.

Once home, I had another ultrasound and everything looked fine with our baby. Just 17 weeks later he was born and showed himself to be perfect.

So what on Earth does all this have to do with lentils?? This incredible dish (one of my absolute favorites – like take it to a desert island favorites) comes from Patricia Wells’ The Provence Cookbook. It is the one cookbook I took with me on our trip there. Not only did I use it to cook lots of delicious food for our friends that week, but I also used it as a reference. Wells details out where the best markets are, where the best pottery is, and profiles some of her favorite farmers. It is an amazing cookbook but also a resource for traveling in her beloved Provence. Because this book really is a love letter to Provence. I cannot open this lovely cookbook with its sunny cover and inviting prose without thinking of my incredible son, now 4 years old. How worried I was! I had no idea that really, as a mother, you just keep worrying…

Lentils with Capers, Walnuts, Walnut Oil, and Mint
Adapted from The Provence Cookbook
Serves 4-6

You could use regular lentils in this recipe, but Le Puy lentils are worth seeking out for their firm texture and density. Toasting the walnuts really brings out their flavor so don’t skip that step. The method of cooking the lentils may seem overly fussy here, but I trust Wells implicitly, so I always follow her advice when making this dish.

2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Sea salt to taste
6 tbsp. walnut oil
1 1/2 cups (8 oz.) French lentils, such as Le Puy
2 cups vegetable stock
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thirds
1 onion, peeled and stuck with a clove
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 capers in vinegar, drained, rinsed, and chopped if large
1 cup fresh mint leaves
Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Place the lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a jar with a screw top (such as a jam jar). Cover and give it a good shake. Add the oil and shake to blend. Taste for seasoning and set aside.

2. Place the lentils in a fine mesh sieve and rinse under cold running water. Tranfer them to a large saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat. When the water boils, remove the saucepan from the heat. Transfer the lentils back to the sieve and drain over a sink. Rinse the lentils under cold running water again. Return the lentils to the saucepan, add the stock, season with salt, and bring just to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the carrot and onion. Simmer gently, uncovered, until the lentils are cooked but not mushy. Taste to
make sure. Remove the onion and carrot and discard. If there is still liquid in the pot along with the lentils, drain them once again in the sink.

3. Transer the lentils to a large bowl. Add the walnuts, capers, and a few grinds of pepper. Add the vinaigrette to taste – you may not need all of it. Toss well. Once the lentils have cooled a bit, add the mint and toss again. Can be served warm or room temperature. Keeps 2 days, covered, in the refrigerator.

But last night I went to a memorial service for my lovely friend Sandy and I started to feel like maybe it was a little, I don’t know, frivolous to be talking about stuffing squashes when a beautiful soul like hers is being mourned by many. Then I realized that if anyone would want me to write about something delicious, it would be her. Sandy loved good food and she, as my boss in the promotion department of a radio station many years ago, made me a better writer. Furthermore, the recipe comes from The Paris Cookbook and I know that Sandy loved Paris probably more than any other city. So it is with her in mind that I share this deliciousness.

I bought this wonderful cookbook in the Waterloo train station in London, waiting to get on the train to Paris. When I went to find this recipe the other day, I was momentarily confused because there was no “zucchini” recipes in the index. I then remembered that this particular edition is British so the recipe was listed under “courgettes” which is the French word for zucchini and the term that the Brits use as well. The Paris Cookbook’s author is Patricia Wells and I truly love her recipes. At first glance, many of them don’t look like much because they have few ingredients and simple instructions. Everything I have made from the three of hers that I own has made me re-think my attraction to complicated recipes with crazy ingredients and time-consuming steps. In her hands, simpler really is better.

This recipe is a little more involved than some of her others, but it is by no means complicated. It looks beautiful and the flavor is so complex with mint, curry, and goat cheese. I was able to find these amazing round zucchinis at the farmer’s market but she says you can use regular oblong ones as well. I served these with a Corn Chowder and an Arugula Salad with Watermelon and Walnuts.

Zucchini Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Mint
Adapted from The Paris Cookbook
Serves 8

8 small round zucchini or 8 small oblong ones
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1-2 tsp. curry powder
9oz. fresh goat cheese
Several tablespoons cream or milk
4 tbsp. fresh mint, cut into thin ribbons

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut the top off the zucchinis. With a small spoon, carve out the the pulp of the zucchinis. Chop the pulp. Reserve both the pulp and the zucchinis and set aside.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the zucchinis and the tops and blanch until softened but still firm, about 5 minutes. Transfer the to a bowl of iced water to refresh, firm and help the vegetables keep their color.

4. In a small, heavy-duty frying pan, combine the onions, oil, and a pinch of salt. Sweat, covered, over low heat until soft and cooked through, about 5 minutes. The onions should not brown. Add the zucchini pulp and curry powder to taste and cook until softened, about 5 minutes more. Set aside. You may need to drain if there is a lot of liquid.

5. Mix the goat cheese with the cream in a bowl and stir until smooth. Add cream as needed to achieve a thick liquid consistency.

6. Place the zucchinis side by side in a large gratin dish. Spoon the curry mixture into the zucchinis, filling about 2/3 full. Sprinkle with half the mint. Spoon the cheese mixture over the curry mixture, filling all the way to the top. Sprinkle with the rest of the mint. Place the top on the zucchini.

7. Place in the center of the oven and bake until the zucchini are soft, about 15 minutes. (If you use oblong zucchini, I would cover with foil so they don’t dry out.) Serve warm or at room temperature.

I love anything with potatoes, especially if they are roasted. This is a great way to combine a starch and a green for a two-in-one side dish. I imagine it would be great with meat of all kinds. I served it with a vegetable frittata and cherry tomatoes that I sauteed with garlic and herbs.