Bienvenue à Paris

So, I would like to first apologise to Lauren for pretending to be a Parisian today and apparently catching her a bit off-guard after just having gotten off the train. In any case, she has safely arrived and Trevor and I have begun to show her life in Paris.

Today, I woke up rather late, I suppose because I could, but also because I wanted to. (Hope that makes sense.) In any case, I got up a few hours before Lauren arrived and made my way to the poissonerie, i.e., the place that specialises in fish. I got three cuts of salmon and though I don't really like fish, they looked pretty tasty, even uncooked! After completing my round of groceries, I headed over to the train station to get Lauren and got there right on time. Heading back to the Argentine stop, we had a bit of lunch (not sure if that was the best idea, bearing in mind the elaborate dinner I was planning) at the brasserie next door to the apartment building. Once back, I commenced the cooking preparations. After Trevor's cooking class day (which also may not have been a good idea, though very tasty, I'm most definitely sure), he joined us for what would be the planned end to our "Tour de Food" run.

For dinner, we had:

*First course: an apératif, with baked red-skin potatoes, topped with raclette (which Lauren told us is made in Grenoble) and prosciutto. I had first had this recipe as a main course in Noisy-le-Roi way back when. What was I thinking serving this as only an hors d'œuvre?
*Second course: pan-seared salmon, with rice and green beans. I must say I was incredibly proud of the salmon for having cooked it for the first time... ever.
*Third course: salad with tomatoes and the two types of salad dressing we have to offer.
*Fourth course: cheese plate of emmental, comté (which we found out Lauren likes, as well), rocquefort, and chèvre, paired off with grapes.
*Fifth course: galette de bonne année from our local (and favourite) boulanger. Lauren got the fève.

Christine dropped by during dinner to drop off another storage unit for food, as well as extra linens (merci mille fois !).

Following dinner, we headed over to the jazz club that Trevor had chosen. There was a really great atmosphere that brought me back to my visit to New Orleans. Perhaps the fact that it was rather zydeco and included a washboard made a bit of a difference, nê?

For tomorrow, I've got some rather touristy things planned for Lauren's visit. Hopefully the weather'll be as great as it was today!