Thursday, May 13, 2010

Au revoir, Mon cher Coco... Bonjour, Christine Rochet-Jacob!


L'Embarquement pour Cythère (détail), par Antoine Watteau.

Dear reader,

My involvement with Mon cher Coco has now come to an end! I have decided to focus my writing on one blog only.

Therefore, if you have enjoyed Mon cher Coco's correspondence, you can keep on following my quest for inspiration on my other blog: Christine Rochet-Jacob.

Yes, the adventure continues on : Christine Rochet-Jacob!

Thank you for your interest and faithful readership.

Christine ***
Rendez-vous sur Hellocoton !

Friday, May 7, 2010

What a houselife! Maison à Bordeaux by Rem Koolhaas, 1998.


Maison à Bordeaux by Rem Koolhaas, 1998. Hope you enjoyed the elevation ;o)

Now here is another video that tells us the story of that very unique house in Bordeaux, France. Follow the guide, you won't regret the tour!
Rendez-vous sur Hellocoton !

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

An Introduction to Scrapbooking...


























End of March, my husband and I decided to start a scrapbook. So we went through piles of magazines* that we had previously discarded for recycling. Here are images from my scrapbook so far...

I am so grateful to Marco for having introduced me to scrap-booking. I've always enjoyed collage and montage, so laying images out in a book is like a revelation to me- an epiphany, really !

What about you?
Do you like scrap-blooking?

*Mainly Vogue (Paris, UK, US), Colors, W, Harper's Bazaar, The Face, and I.D
Rendez-vous sur Hellocoton !

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Easter Revival!



~ Easter is this weekend, yes! Let's get ready to celebrate.
Lamb is the traditional centerpiece for an Easter meal, so if you're looking for recipe inspiration I recommend you go to my compatriot Clotilde Dusoulier, her blog is a constant source of inspiration. You can either consider this braised lamb with flageolet beans (the traditional Easter meal in my family) or this slow-roasted lamb shoulder with rosemary, anchovy and lemon zest.


Photo from Chocolate and Zucchini

The traditional gift in France is a hollow chocolate shell, shaped like an egg, hen, duck, rabbit or bell, and filled with other confections : small pieces of chocolate shaped like fish and called friture (friture literally means something fried, but it is also the name of the tiny fried fish they serve in the South of France and which those little chocolates are meant to represent), praline-filled eggs, tiny eggs filled with liquor, chocolate-covered pieces of nougatine...


This all comes in a characteristic cardboard box with a handle, decorated with Easter-themed illustrations, and which a little girl can recycle in a thousand ways.

Either all religious or partly religious or not religious at all, I wish you all a very happy Easter - Joyeuses Pâques!

Rendez-vous sur Hellocoton !

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Mad Hatter's Anniversary Party at the Red Tea Box!

Yesterday, we invited Tess & Daniel to have tea at the Red Tea Box (it was Tess's birthday!), we ordered 2 bento boxes - the Mad Hatter's (left) and the Indian-flavoured one (right)- to share the joy. It was sheer delight! It tasted like a "happy non-anniversary" party, as those thrown by the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland...The difference being, of course, that we were celebrating Tess's real anniversary.
I was happy to discover, at long last, this legendary place that my husband had described to me so many times. One part restaurant, one part bakery, and one part gift shop, The Red Tea Box is a tranquil little place to spend a memorable afternoon, solo or with friends. It felt like a cosy home! Purr-fect.

696 Queen St W, Toronto, ON, M6J1E7
(416) 203-8882
Rendez-vous sur Hellocoton !

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Of Feathers and Chicks in the Kitchen!

Alejandra Garcia-Paton whisking the eggs! Or the vision of a bird of Paradise twittering in the kitchen. Photo by Cédric Roulliat
Rendez-vous sur Hellocoton !

Monday, March 8, 2010

Hunt Chic Luncheon in Paris









Last October 24th, my dearest American friend in Paris, Frederic Benjamin West (named after his illustrious ancestor), organized a 30th birthday party for his friends and family at the Club de la Chasse et de la Nature in the Marais. It is a bonafide hunt club nestled inside a Mansart Hotel Particulier.


Frederic Benjamin West, Master of the Ceremony.

Champagne
to celebrate your 30th year; Santé, dearest BenJ!

I unfortunately could not be there (Memo: I now live in Toronto), so I have decided to invite Benjamin to introduce us to his very unique birthday party: "I had 30 guests with a cocktail, sit down luncheon and afternoon drinks on a sunny Saturday. The attire was Hunt Chic and everyone went full out. Julien (Julien Leydis, stylist extraordinaire, who also designed my head piece for my wedding last September) designed some additional feather head pieces for the occasion. We had a photographer come to capture the moment."


Julien Leydis

The pheasant one is over the top, don't you think?




"The story behind the black hat is that it was originally made for Julien for his birthday party. It has since been passed about, including boat rides on the canal at Versailles, and thus found its way to the Hunt Party."



"Here is the menu for the party. Each table had a different theme with stuffed birds in the centerpiece to correspond: À Courre, Hallali, Renards Fouisseurs and Frayoir."



*Frayoir, Enluminure extraite du Livre de la Chasse par Gaston Phoebus
Note from the Emcee:

-Velouté de potiron (servi en salle a manger dans le légume par le chef)
-Fromages: Fourme d'Ambert, St Maure, St Marcellin, Cantal, Camembert accompagnés d'une salade.

Wines:

Château de Tracy, Pouilly Fume, 2007
Château Branaire Ducru, Saint Julien, 2003
Coudoulet de Beaucastel, Château Neuf du Pape, 2003


Frederic Benjamin West and his guests - what a chic luncheon party that was, my dear!
Thank you for sharing your feast with us.
Rendez-vous sur Hellocoton !

Friday, March 5, 2010

A Man's Recipe



Last night, my husband was on the grill! He put his apron on and started preparing the fish we had just bought. He opened our Cook with Jamie's cookbook, flipped through the pages knowing where to go, and finally displayed it on the book stand, opened at Granddad Ken's crispy grilled trout, with parsley and lemon (on page 242).

Here is a simple and very tasty recipe. Entre nous, we hope you will enjoy this man's recipe as much as we do, and share it with your loved ones (male and female)!

Granddad Ken's crispy grilled trout, with parsley and lemon (by Jamie Oliver)

Ingredients: (serves 2)
2 101/2oz whole trout, scaled and gutted (we had 1 big trout for 2, and it was plenty!)
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A large bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley (we used some curly leaf parsley, as there was no flat leaf at the shop yesterday, but I prefer it with flat leaf parsley), leaves picked and chopped
2 lemons, 1 zested and sliced, 1 halved
A few knobs of butter


Preheat your broiler to full whack. Slash each torut with a knife, about ten times on each side. Each slash should be about 1/4 inch deep. Rub the trout with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavities with plenty of chopped parsley and the lemon slices. Place the fish side by side on a baking rack over a roasting pan.

Put the lemon zest on top of the fish and place the lemon halves on the tray too. Dot the trout with the butter and place it 6 inches (20cm) from the heat. Cook for around 6 minutes on each side until crispy golden.


Squeeze the roasted lemon over the top of the fish and serve with a simple crunchy side salad.



Suggestions: We served it on a bed of freshly steamed asparagus, with a side of mesclun (spring mix salad).

Thank you, Jamie. Thank you, Granddad Ken. Thank you, Marco.
Rendez-vous sur Hellocoton !

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Our Big Night with Timpano!



Daniel and his big baby, aka Il Primo TIMPANO!

Our hosts revelling in an impromptu kitchen dance party!
We did it!
Last Saturday, Feb 20th, Tess & Daniel decked their kitchen with high-flying colours (yellow and white) and invited us to sit at a beautiful table to share the joy. We were to have our Big Night (read related post on my other blog) among friends, making our first timpano. A timpano is like a large drum of Italian deliciousness. Try it with this timpano recipe from Mario Batali, or with that one.
Si, vero.
Our Movie Menu Theme Night, based on Big Night, proved to be incredibile!


Photo taken by Shayne Gray

To learn more about our Timpano night, pay a visit to Cristy's blog, Holyhandbag! She wrote an article about the night with all the mouth-watering details, and savoury pictures.



Now is your turn...
I'd love to hear how your Big Night theme party turns out!
Rendez-vous sur Hellocoton !