La Petite Scierie, Paris

Bonjour mes amies! I'm taking you on a little tour to Paris today.

For some odd reason, when I think of Paris, the words 'mais, oui oui, non non!' blurt out of my mouth. Translated, it just means 'But, yes yes, no no,' so I'm not really sure where I got that from. I learned a little bit of French growing up, but I am by no means fluent in the language as you can see.

La Petite Scierie was the first little shop I stumbled upon on my recent trip to Paris. This cute little shop is steps away from the Notre Dame cathedral, and specializes in foie gras.

Notre Dame Cathedral

I know I'm digressing, but look at the gorgeous Gothic detail.

Gothic Detail on Notre Dame Cathedral

The moment you step into their tiny shop, you will be overwhelmed with all there is - despite the size of the place. You will first notice the beautiful 17th century stone wall behind the shop counter. And when you peek around your shoulder, you will see jars and jars of home made foie gras, rillettes, confits, and pickled vegetables.

La Petite Scierie

While I was slowly trying to take it all in, I was warmly greeted by the shop owner who was excited to educate and talk to us about foie gras.

La Petite Scierie

"Before we talk about foie gras, we must first try some!", the owner says. My friend and I were handed a sample of their foie gras along with a small glass of Coteaux du Layon, a sweet white wine from the Loire Valley wine region of France. The foie gras was heavenly! This is no exaggeration. Foie gras has never been the same since this experience.

Foie Gras

Everything sold in the shop is produced on their farm in Pouilly-sur-Loire, and the production of their foie gras is limited. They do not ship any of their products, so you will have to make a trip to the shop if you want to try some.

Here are some more photos from my trip. Sit back, and imagine yourself eating foie gras while sipping some Coteaux du Layon while you enjoy these photos:

La Petite Scierie
60 rue Saint Louis en l’Ile
75004 Paris, France
Telephone: 01 55 42 14 88

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Lemon Curd Bars

The awesome thing about these lemon curd bars are that they are a hit no matter when and what you make them for. I've made these a bunch of times and people love them every time! The fresh lemon flavor combined with the short bread crust is irresistible. Try it for yourself. You won't regret it....well, you may regret going for that second or third helping, but that's not a bad thing in my books ;)

Lemon Curd Bars
(Adapted from Taste and Tell)

Shortbread Crust
- 2 cups of sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 sticks of butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- vegetable oil for greasing

Lemon Curd- 1 cup of fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
- 4 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks (at room temperature)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup of sifted all-purpose flour

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F/175C. Line a 9x13 baking dish with tin foil. Grease the tin foil with vegetable oil.

2. In a bowl, combine the shortbread crust ingredients and mix well until a dough forms. Press the dough evenly and tightly into the baking dish, making sure there are no cracks. Bake for 25 minutes or until slightly golden.

3. While the crust is baking, make the lemon curd. Whisk together the eggs, 2 cups of sugar, and 1/3 cup of flour, adding the sugar and flour a little bit at a time. Once the lemon curd is smooth, whisk in the lemon zest and lemon juice.

4. When the crust is finished baking, remove from oven and pour the lemon curd mixture over top of the crust. Reduce the heat to 300F/150C, and bake the lemon curd for 30-35 minutes, or until it sets.

5. Remove from oven and let it cool in the pan. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, overnight is best. Remove from pan, peel off the tin foil, and slice into even bars. Keep the bars refrigerated until ready to serve. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

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Topkapi Turkish Restaurant, Ottawa

My sister and I hardly agree on anything food related. I like salty, she likes sweet. I love to try everything once, and she has psychological barriers to almost every food texture. It is no different with restaurant choices...she disagrees with almost everything I suggest.

When we decide to go out to dinner together, letting her choose the restaurant is really not a bad thing. We always end up at places I normally would not go to, giving me something new to experience. Our last meal together was at Topkapi, a traditional Turkish restaurant.

For starters, we had the Topkapi Mezeleri appetizer sampler, a plate of cold Turkish style dips and stuffed vine leaves. All the dips were nice and fresh. We really enjoyed this.

Appetizer Sampler

The appetizer plate was served with warm, fluffy Turkish pide bread.

Turkish Pide Bread

Freebs and I split the Karisik Izgara dinner for two, a huge platter of grilled meats. The platter was served with rice, potatoes, and a Turkish salad.

Turkish Salad

The meats in the dinner for two included shish kebap (lamb), shish tavuk (chicken), Kőfte (ground beef) and pirzola (lamb chop). All the meats were nicely grilled, and we were extremely stuffed by the end of it.

Dinner for Two

For dessert, we ordered a kűnefe to share. This is a traditional Turkish dessert made of shredded pastry and soft cheese. The pastry is layered with the cheese, and the entire dish is sweetened with syrup.

Kűnefe

A close up for you to see the cheese/pastry layers.

Kűnefe

Freebs ordered strong Turkish coffee made with finely powdered roast coffee beans to go with dessert. I thought the cup and saucer was beautiful. Love the bright colors.

Turkish Coffee

The meal came with a complimentary cup of Turkish tea. This was a little too sweet for me. I prefer my tea black.

Turkish Tea

The meal also came with complimentary Turkish delight, which was a perfect end to our meal. Sweet but not too sweet. I learned to love Turkish delight while I was in Sydney. For some reason, it is really popular there.

Turkish Delight

They also have belly dancers on Saturday nights. Check out their events page for the schedule.

Topkapi Turkish Restaurant
484 Preston Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 613-230-9221

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Baked Pita Chips

When my in-laws came to visit us in Sydney, they left behind so much pita break, we had no idea how to get rid of it. Our freezer was full of pita bread, and our little apartment size fridge was full of it too.

My hubby being a chip lover, I decided to make pita chips. I took out a bunch of spices, cut an overwhelming amount of pita bread, and made bags and bags of chips.
The recipe below calls for spices that I happened to use that particular day. Go ahead and mix whatever spices your heart desires.

Baked Pita Chips
- Pita Bread
- Cumin
- Garlic powder
- Sea salt
- Smoked paprika
- Cayenne pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F/175C.

2. Using scissors, cut the pita bread in 2x2 inch squares.

3. In a mixing bowl, drizzle a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil over the pita bread. Mix well. Sprinkle cumin, garlic powder, sea salt, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper over top of the pita bread. Mix until spices are evenly distributed.

4. Spread a think layer of the seasoned pita bread on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until crispy.

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