Life in France
We’ve just arrived back in France for the summer, and are pleased to see that teenagers have discovered a new form of immolation!
Twenty years ago, when we first moved to Paris, in-line roller blades were all the rage. Every Friday evening, about 10,000 maniacs would parade en masse through the streets, terrorizing pedestrians and fracturing appendages.
No longer. The latest craze is le trottinette, an electric scooter that can effortlessly whizz about at 25 kph. Not only do they traverse the narrow streets with ease, but also sidewalks and escalators, should the whim seize.
Naturally, French authorities have decreed children pass a mandatory competency test where they must simultaneously smoke a cigarette and dial a cellphone while in flight.
Friends ask us how we spend our days in France; do we go to museums and castles?
Hell no, we shop. Every corner has a butcher, a baker and a cheese store, each crammed with some of the most delectable chocolate cake, creamy Brie and mouth-watering steak.
Each morning we set out with our two-wheeled shopping cart (which they rather grandly call un chariot), and diligently inspect every baguette, courgette and tartlet we can find.
The fitness app on my cell phone says I walk an average of 10,000 steps each day, which would help me from swelling to the size of a hippo were it not for the several gallons of rosé, Chablis and Beaujolais I consume daily.
Want to read more about life in France? Check out A Paris Moment, available on Amazon.
Recipe: Croque Monsieur
Doesn’t that look just scrumptious? The name of this recipe literally translates as Mister Crunch, and it is one of France’s favorite lunchtime meals!
Ingredients (makes 4)
5 tsp of butter
8 tsp of butter
¼ cup flower
4 cups whole milk
2 egg yolks
2 tsp salt
½ tsp ground nutmeg
8 slices of ham
8 slices Gruyere cheese
8 slices Bimbo white bread
Directions;
To make the Béchamel sauce;
In a medium saucepan warm 5 tsp of butter over medium heat until melted. Gradually add flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes.
In a separate saucepot, heat 4 cups of milk to simmer. Add to the butter mixture, ½ cup at a time, constantly whisking. Cook 12 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn heat off. Slowly stir in 1 egg yolk at a time. Season with salt and nutmeg.
Heat oven to 300°F.
Assemble the sandwich:
Generously spread four slices of bread with béchamel sauce. Top each with ham and cheese and cover with remaining bread.
Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter and brush both sides of sandwiches. Fry sandwiches in a hot cast iron pan or on a griddle until golden brown.
Top sandwiches with more béchamel sauce and transfer to the oven to continue cooking until cheese bubbles, about 5-10 minutes.
My latest novel now available on Amazon!
Five star review on Amazon:
“A great historical novel!”
The year is 1944. Paris has been under German occupation for four years. The French Resistance knows that an Allied invasion is imminent.
Veronique Grenelle is growing up in an impoverished inner-city neighborhood, scrambling to feed herself and her family.
The Resistance recruits the vivacious young woman to befriend Lieutenant Gunther von Clause, an aide-de-camp to the German Army’s Military Governor. She gradually gains his trust and affection.
James Gallagher, a lieutenant in the US Army’s Military Intelligence unit, frequently parachutes behind enemy lines to deliver funds and instructions to the Resistance. He meets and befriends Veronique, who falls madly in love with the dashing American officer.
D-Day approaches, and Veronique finds herself in a bind; should she pursue her heart or her duty? In the end, her decision will not only determine the fate of Paris, it will reverberate down through her family for generations to come.
TV Series
The Lincoln Lawyer (Season 1)
By Michael Connelly
Streaming on Netflix
Crime author Michael Connelly is internationally renowned for his main character Harry (Hieronymus) Bosch, an LAPD murder detective. But he also has a series dedicated to Mickey Haller, a top-drawer criminal lawyer.
Based on The Brass Verdict, Haller (played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), inherits a front-page murder trial when its original defense attorney is brutally assassinated. The accused is tech billionaire Trevor Elliot, who is charged with murdering his wife and lover in flagrante delicto.
It doesn’t look good for Elliot; he has no alibi, and his hands were covered with gunpowder residue when arrested. Haller, along with his dogged investigator Cisco Wojciechowski, must dig hard to come up with a viable defense.
Filled with lots of side plots and twists and turns to flesh out ten episodes, The Lincoln Lawyer is tremendously entertaining. Word has it that the series has been picked up for a second season; I look forward to it with great anticipation!
