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

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

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"The story behind the black hat is that it was originally made for Julien for his birthday party.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.

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.