homemade

thanksgiving in paris!

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hall of mirrors at versailles (galerie des glaces)

hi friends!! happy post-turkey week. i hope you and yours had a great holiday. i am a very lucky lady because my whole family came to paris last week to join me for thanksgiving. what a treat it was!

we ate, laughed, drank good wine, ate some more, and on and on. it was the best. i also finally saw versailles! yes, it has taken me over a year and a couple months to get there but boy was it special. and not crowded! i would definitely recommend heading there in the offseason — no lines, space to take your photos, and easy sitting at the restaurants surrounding the beautiful gardens.

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brunch at l’espadon, ritz hotel paris

while my family was here, we celebrated my big brother rob’s engagement (!! yay rob and megan!), made a very special visit to the ritz hotel for brunch, and checked out a number of cool spots. frenchie bar à vins (where my bestie liz works), the smiths bakery in saint germain, and le progrès in montmartre were some of our favorite places we visited. put them to the top of your list for your next trip!

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thanksgiving shopping at a french produce market

above everything, it was just wonderful to spend the holiday week with my family. my french friends at work and pretty much every french person i bumped into smiled widely at me as i told stories of ordering my turkey (known as dinde in french), and visiting the french markets to pick up thanksgiving ingredients. as we collected our turkey on thanksgiving morning, the butcher wished us “bon thanksgiving!

while i made a homemade apple caramel pie, we picked up pumpkin and pecan pies from the cutest american bakery in paris: stoney clove bakery. they were great! and the pie crust on the pecan pie was particularly flaky and buttery. my favorite type of pie tbh.

*p.s. if you ever plan on spending thanksgiving in paris, i would highly recommend picking up a turkey from boucherie le foll in saint germain. place your order in advance!

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anyways, now that turkey week has come and gone and i’ve successfully eaten multiple portions of leftover turkey soup, i’m in need of something a bit lighter to kick off the week. enter one of my favorite go-to’s, roasted eggplant. i added fresh moroccan medjool dates that i found at the grocery store to this version, as well as toasted hazelnuts, goat cheese, mint, and sumac. quick and straight-forward, this recipe will help you make room for the many, many christmas cookies that are coming your way this holiday season.

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r o a s t e d   e g g p l a n t   w i t h   m e d j o o l   d a t e s,  m i n t,  a n d   g o a t  c h e e s e

fixings

roasted eggplant

one large eggplant, cut in 4

1 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil, the best you can find

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

assembly

1 cup whole hazelnuts, cut in half

1 cup goat cheese

bundle or packet of fresh mint

1 teaspoon sumac and more olive oil for flavoring

directions

roasted eggplant

  1. preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit/180 degrees celsius.
  2. mix all the spices and olive oil together, cover eggplant slices in mixture (skins and flesh!). and finish with drizzling a bit more olive oil on top.
  3. bake eggplant for 20-25 minutes in oven. check halfway through and add a bit more olive oil if the eggplant seems dry.
  4. enjoy! spices in this recipe are quite flexible. some additional ones i like to throw in are thyme, red pepper flakes, and a squeeze of lemon at the end.

assembly

  1. toast halved hazelnuts on medium heat in a fry-pan until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
  2. finely chop mint until it reaches a paste-y texture and consistency, add olive oil and sumac to mint and mix in a side bowl.
  3. pull goat cheese apart into morsels. top roasted eggplant with dates, mint, hazelnuts, and goat cheese. drizzle with olive oil to finish.

post66 // foodstuffs turns 1!

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hi guys and gals! today i’m celebrating something a lil’ special: foodstuffs’ first birthday! it was one year ago today that i launched this blog and i’m feeling quite nostalgic for all the fun i’ve had with it in the past year.

from launch day where i announced my big move to paris (and made some julia child croissants) to explaining french wine and all my incredible travels around europe this year (paris! london! amsterdam! normandy! lille!), this blog has been an incredible platform for me to share, cook, bake, and learn.

to celebrate what a year it’s been, i rounded up my reader’s top ten favorite foodstuffs recipes! and fittingly, the number one spot was narrowly clinched by a great recipe for celebrating, birthday sprinkle cake!


foodstuffs top 10 recipes of all time

  1. birthday sprinkle cake

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what’s more fun than making a cake and tossing sprinkles on it to celebrate? absolutely nothing (especially on your own birthday). inspired by christina tosi of milk bar and molly yeh of funfetti cake-dom, this cake is now a birthday staple in my kitchen. snag the recipe here!

2. dark chocolate chip cookiesIMG_1761

warm chocolate chip cookies are one of life’s best pleasures. amp up your standard recipe with dark chocolate chips and dark brown sugar like i do here for a richer, even tastier cookie. after posting this recipe, i received a lot of texts declaring just how good this recipe truly is. (*heart melts*) snag the recipe here!

3. avocado shrimp rollsfullsizeoutput_cc6

if one recipe could speak summer, this is it. after a big family party with leftover shrimp cocktail, i put the little shrimpies to use as the center of this roll. with easy-to-buy ingredients such as avocado, herbs, and mayo (don’t forget the potato chips!), this recipe is a simple lunch or dinner on a hot summer day. snag the recipe here!

4. homemade bagelsfullsizeoutput_b0c

want a fresh bagel in the morning? do you live in new york city? if you answered yes first and no second, this how-to is for you. and don’t be intimidated! this recipe is fool-proof. snag the recipe here!

5. fairground peanutsVersion 2

candied nuts are one of the best food gifts out there. you’ll see them more in the colder months but don’t underestimate their addictingly crunchy texture that’s perfect for your next dinner party’s aperitif hour. snag the recipe here!

6. saturday pancakes

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a go-to pancake recipe for weekend mornings is pretty necessary in my book. enter my easy pancakes, adapted from a classic martha stewart recipe. you’re ready for the weekend! snag the recipe here!

7. ricotta and tomato tartfullsizeoutput_fb0

tomato season is *almost* upon us so it’s time to get familiar with this recipe and add it to your repertoire. fresh ingredients are key to this dish so make sure you choose wisely at the farmers market or grocery store. snag the recipe here!

8. french crêpesfullsizeoutput_b2c

my crêpe-making skills have come a long way since this first post. maybe it’s time for a reboot? in the meantime, this recipe is a great place to start. and know that you can find the best crêpes in paris at breizh café and the best in france in the brittany region! snag the recipe here!

9. salted butterscotch apple pieIMG_1615

i made my own butterscotch! coupled with an all-butter pie crust and apple fruit compote, you’ve got pie perfection. this recipe also has a latticing how-to for pie decorating so it’s truly worth the read! snag the recipe here!

10. homemade french friesfullsizeoutput_c0d

humans and canines were big fans of this recipe. it’s always refreshing to learn what goes into something you eat at restaurants all the time. and for what it’s worth, french fries are very good in france as well! snag the recipe here!


so what’s next for foodstuffs??

i’m looking forward to more recipe creation in the year to come, much of which will be inspired by all the technical recipes and skills i learned while studying at cordon bleu.

and the kicker is that i’ll be working out of paris! i’ve just accepted a pastry externship at the ritz paris. “thrilled” is an understatement of my feelings right now. much like culinary school, i’ll be blogging about my experience over the next 6 months there. so stay tuned!


and last but not least, in this week’s other stuff:

the absolute cutest pajamas i’ve ever seen

just purchased a couple backdrops from these guys. looking forward to putting them to use!

this just got me. happy belated father’s day💛

oh and i have a new instagram handle! make sure you’re following @catherinekatemargaret