Sables, Sables, Sables!

Oh...and lemon tarts!

My favorite is "One of Those." It changes twice a day, so I have to eat a lot to keep up.

Be sure to try a barquette aux marrons (boat shaped tartlette filled with chestnut cream and covered in dark chocolate.

The opera is the ultimate brownie type pastry.

But I'll still always want "Un comme ca" (sorry, forgot the code for c with a cedille).

I always thought palmiers were shaped to represent Princess Leia's hair in Star Wars.

One vote for LaDuree's pain au raisins. Add a steaming pitcher of hot chocolate and I'm in heaven.

Tarte Tartin... the best one ever, was at Aux Charpentiers years ago. We both can still taste it. The carmelized apples literally exploded in our mouths., sprewing so much sweet juice.

You're right Kwren. Palmiers are crispy on the edge and not crunchy towards the middle. I just got carried away with anticipation. Next week I'll do a live taste test just to make sure.

Also, lemon tarts and lemon macaroons. I'm not a chocolate eater, but DH more than eats my share.

Nina

OK, you made me go look up 'sable'... there was a photo - <i>thanks</i>.
http://www.joyofbaking.com/Sables.html

THEN, I was looking up 'barquette aux marrons' and I found THIS:
http://chezharu.sunnyday.jp/beforecake/lesautres.html

I will have dances of sugarplums in my dreams tonight!!

oooh, try as I might, I can't even <i>look</i> at a Tarte Tartin without feeling queasy. I had a very bad experience (of my own doing, let's be very clear) that involved lots of alcohol, lots of food, then more alcohol on rue Rambuteau, followed by a Tarte Tartin. It was in Paris that I discovered that the French are very compassionate with drunken idiots!
But, I digress......

As for other pastries....my faves are anything with almond paste in it. But, RJD....only one new pastry a day??? If I'm traveling with others, we order 2 or 3 at a time and then taste. Too many pastries, so little time!

And let's not forget the famous Mont Blanc at Angelina:meringue, chestnut puree, and whipped cream!

And tiny almond or lemon cakes with a muffin-like texture called &quot;financiers&quot;.
They can resemble miniature loaf cakes.

A few years ago DH, set out on his own from our rented Paris apartment, to procure bread and pastries for our breakfast.

About an hour later he returned with _numerous_ boxes and bags of goodies. He had hit every patisserie and boulongerie (sp) that he passed. I mean every single one.

I have a picture of him sitting at that small kitchen table, proudly displaying his purchases, which covered the entire table. We were afraid to put some away for later, for fear that they might get stale ;-)

Now that really was a breakfast of champions.

Nina

we rented an apt on rue Grenelle this past March. It was on the corner of rue Cler.
There is a patisserie on the corner where we got fresh croissants each morning, and afternoon chocolate croissants. BUT, across the street was La Notre.
Their pastries look like works of art, decorated, you almost find it difficult to bite into them, they are so pretty.
One night, we had a dinner of bites of this and that from the various food stalls along the rue..topped off by various tarts and pastries from La Notre.
I don't even remember which was the best, it just stands out in my mind as one wonderful taste after another.
Next trip - Italy. Let's see what they have in the pastry department LOL

I ate the most delicious, flakiest, yummiest Napoleon Slice I ever had in my whole life at a Pastry shop on the way to Monmortre. It was a small shop where we sat outside eating it at a table.

Underhill, I think you are referring to chouquettes (mini choux pastries), and yes, they are delicious! They usually sell them by weight - I always end up with a huge bag which I think i'm never going to finish but somehow I always manage in the end

Macaron and Macaroon - are these interchangeable terms for the same item, or is there truly a difference?

A <u>macaron</u> is simply made from egg whites, ground almonds and icing sugar, and is often sandwiched together with a spread of buttercream or jam.
A <u>macaroon</u> is a baked confection with a golden-brown crinkled top, a soft chewy texture inside, and a delicate taste of almonds (sometimes w/ coconut)

Melissa if you like almond paste you MUST know &quot;la galette des rois&quot; that we eat as a dessert or for &quot;french 5 o'clock tea&quot; on the first week of january.
we hide a small piece of crockery of different shape (usually a well known character) and the one who finds it become the king (or queen) and chooses his/her king/queen.
children loves that for the fun and adults love it too for the taste!

http://www.2travelandeat.com/France/....des.rois.html (picture, music and recipes)

I'm glad I learnt a new french word here! Napoleon! didn't know it was for naming a millefeuille! with &quot;&eacute;clairs&quot; they are my kids and DH's favourite cakes!
When I was working at the Mercure hotel in Dijon, after my work (around midnight) I used to go to the kitchen to taste the wonderful cakes of the dessert trolley! the best moment of the whole day![-o&lt;
travelnut it is funny because your macaroons are my macarons. Never heard of macaroons in France (we wouldn't know how to say that!);-)

macarons here!
http://www.2travelandeat.com/France/index.html

Oh, Corinne, those two sites are just lovely! Particularly the one with the charming song for your New Year's game. Unfortunately, if I had any hopes of minding my weight on this trip, the pictures of the la Gallete des Rois put paid to that plan.

Since we will only be in Dijon for the one morning, before taking the bus to Pontailler-sur-Saone, where might we find a really nice pattiserie near the Gare? It would be a shame to not take that opportunity to sample French pastries on our first morning in France.

Dick

Hi Dick, I was sure to meet you here! Didn't I send you a map with a little boulangerie-patisserie near Campanile for your &quot;breakfast before breakfast at the hotel&quot; ? ;-)
there is also a patisserie place Darcy n°25), beside the Triumph arc, next to the &quot;Bien Public&quot; our regional newspaper. If the weather is fine I could come by motorcycle, to help you choose and translate on the premises!
and to answer your email question about the weather, we were supposed to have storms today but we had only a few clouds and mostly .

&agrave; bient&ocirc;t
coco

I hate almond flavored anything. I LOVE frosting. I don't know what the name of it is (&quot;ce truc ci&quot; usually did the trick), but we called them &quot;chocolate tits&quot; among ourselves because that's what they looked like. Piled to a high point with chocolate frosting.