Asian Honey BBQ Tilapia

Ingredients:

• 8 oz canned crushed pineapple in juice
• 1/3 cup onion(s)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/8 cup white wine
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 small jalapeno pepper(s)
• 1 clove garlic clove(s)
• 24 oz raw tilapia

Instructions: Preheat oven to 450°F.  Chop onion, garlic and jalapeno. Combine all ingredients except tilapia. Put fish in 9 X 13-inch glass dish. Pour sauce over fish. Roast 12 minutes. Serve hot!

…which is why I was exceedingly happy to go to the Marché aux Puces!  Marché aux Puces is one of the leading flea markets in Paris.  Kelsey, Chrissy and I were a bit concerned at first, for all we saw were creepy vendors selling bootleg designer bags & glasses, weird hats, and bizarre shoes.  We walked through the first set, somewhat amused, and eventually found ourselves among a huge section of beautiful antiques stores.  We ooh-ed and ahh-ed at this and that, marveled at some of the crazy prices, and discussed what we would be buying if we had an endless budget.

We eventually happened upon un magasin d’affiches (a poster store), which had old fashion magazines, maps from around the world, and other pretty Parisian images.  I was drawn to the map section, and ended up finding a beautiful, pastel-shaded map that depicted France in 1789.  I was incredibly excited about it, and knew that I simply had to buy it, get it mounted & framed, and hang it on my wall next year, so that I always have a little piece of Paris with me.

After an hour and a half of walking around, we stopped in a café called Le Voltaire for some café crème (espresso with milk) and warmth.  Realizing we were hungry, we finished up our coffees pretty quickly and went to a nearby crêpe stand, where I bought a sugar & cinnamon one.

We were pretty tired by this point, so we left the flea market and went back to our respective apartments.  I only got a few hours of sleep because I went out last night.  We actually didn’t end up going to the stock market bar (long story), but we went to the Moose again to celebrate a girl from BC’s 21st birthday.  I’m still obsessed with that bar; the cute Australian bartender was giving us free drinks every once in a while, which was a good treat.

Anyways, Kelsey and I decided to make some dinner this evening.  We went to two grocery stores, Carrefour and Monoprix, to pick up what we needed for a nice little feast.  We made a whole roast chicken, green beans with pine nuts, and Kelsey made the most delicious noodle kugel!  The chicken was quite an experience; it was my first time sticking my hand in a bird (woohoo!), and it turned out to be not nearly as gross as I thought and also ten times more delicious than a regular chicken leg or breast.  We used a Martha Stewart recipe, which called for lemon, garlic, some type of herb (we used herbes de provence), butter, salt & pepper.  Everything was just absolutely delicious.

I’m starting to get excited for tonight, too; Simone, Kelsey, Melanie and I have tickets to the Sciences Po rugby gala, and the boys rugby team from Columbia University will be visiting, too.  WOO, have to get ready!

So, last night was pretty fun!  A few friends came over here for a couple of drinks, and then we walked to The Frog & Princess, a bar which has quickly worn out its welcome.  It was so crowded you could barely move, let alone get to the bar to buy an overpriced beer.  If I’m going to be buying such expensive beer, I would rather do it with some breathing room.  We were looking to meet up with a few friends, but since we didn’t seem them in the sweaty throng of people, we left and went to a nice Irish pub around the corner, called O’Neil.  It was much less crowded, the drinks were a euro or two cheaper, and we managed to snag the VIP table up in a loft area (we’re kind of a big deal).  We were all pretty tired when the bar closed, so we just decided to head back to my apartment and hang out a bit before crashing.  I think we set the record for the number of people sleeping here (who don’t live here): 5!  We’ll have to see if we can top it at some point.

Anyways, the next morning, we all woke up pretty late and talked over a couple of cups of coffee.  The topic of conversation turned to American diner food…pancakes, burgers, milkshakes and fries.  After about ten minutes of discussing this, we were all drooling and trying to figure out how we could get our hands on some greasy, American goodness.  Fortunately (for all of our sakes), one of us remembered a place that our friend Marina had told us about, called “Breakfast in America.”  The whole restaurant is  owned by an American and is based on the idea of the traditional American diner.  Since it was only a 15-minute walk from my apartment, we decided to go for it.

The restaurant was pretty crowded even though it was nearing 1 o’clock.  We ended up having to wait for a solid 40 minutes before we were seated, partly because the group of kids sitting at our future table saw us eying them and their food while we were waiting, thus encouraging them to take their sweet time.  One boy smudged chocolate on another girl’s face.  Cute.  Not.  Another girl was trying to construct an architectural masterpiece with her change.  Go learn to be a real architect.  The other girl was taking pictures of everything with her silly little camera phone.  Stop being a creep.  I wish I were kidding.

They eventually got their act together and left, and we were shown inside by a skinny, very American hipster boy.  We hardly had to look at the menu; we knew exactly what we wanted.  All six of us got ginormous cheeseburgers and greasy fries, a few of us got milkshakes, and a couple ordered a side of a pancake.  The boys even ordered Budweiser and NY Cheesecake for dessert.  Our waitress was making fun of how much ketchup we used, and rightfully so; we used almost an entire bottle.  It was as if we were never going to taste the delicious condiment again!  Entirely too full about an hour later, we paid up, each of us in agreement that the food and experience was worth every single centime.

After brunch, Kelsey and I rushed over to BHV, one of the big department stores here in Paris.  We had signed up to take a cooking class!  What were we going to learn to make, you ask?  MACARONS, of course!  It was pretty intimidating at first, because the class was conducted in French.  There were only 8 of us, and it was quite apparent after a couple of minutes that we weren’t fluent in French.  The chef instructor was very nice, however, and spoke a little bit of English, so he was able to help us out and translate key bits of advice and information about the recipes as we went.  Cooking classes are  generally based upon demonstrations, and watching and learning, so it ended up not being much of a problem at all.

We learned how to make three different kinds: vanilla, chocolate, and caramel with butter and salt.  It’s a pretty intense process and involves a lot of random kitchen utensils that I unfortunately don’t have here (or at home), and I don’t think it’s worth buying them while I’m over here.  I’m definitely going to pocket the recipes for my return to Boston, and I’m going to take the city by storm with my crazy macaron-making skills!  At least, I hope I end up with them after some more practice.  I put a picture above and to the right of mine and Kelsey’s macarons, which came out quite pretty, if I do say so myself.  They tasted just as delicious, too.  YUM.

All of this cooking and eating has made me tired though.  I’m off to take a power nap so that I can hopefully muster up the energy to go out later!  Have a good evenin’!

As I emerged from the metro, I was startled to see myself standing next to the Centre Pompidou, which is this big, loopy, and quit ridiculous building that is essentially “inside out.”  As soon as I saw it, I thought to myself, “well, if the rest of this day is terrible, at least I saw this absurd building.”  I made my way down the street, peering inside the bakeries, markets and butcheries.  I eventually arrived at the National Archives, and was taken aback.  It was an absolutely beautiful building, and the architecture was quite impressive.  I was 15 minutes early, so I awkwardly chatted with my professor until two other girls showed up.  By the time 9:45 rolled around, there were about 10 of us (5 were MIA), and our tour guide and her son came to greet us.

She introduced herself…and off she went.  She spoke so quickly that I found it hard to understand anything, except maybe every 17th word.  Which makes it quite difficult to get a general idea of what a person is saying, let alone fully understand.  Regardless, our little group followed her into the archives.  She led us up a staircase and through a door that said Acces Interdit (access prohibited).  I immediately perked up; I was being allowed somewhere that most people weren’t!  As my eyes adjusted to the lighting, I was astonished to find myself standing amidst a very large, cold library.  I looked around, and was excited to find on the book bindings dates prior to the French Revolution in the late 18th century.

As if it wasn’t cool enough seeing books from 1712, our guide led us into another section of the Archives and showed us a large, papyrus scroll dated 700.  Yup, that’s SEVEN HUNDRED.  As in 1,300 years ago.  It was INCREDIBLE to see such a thing preserved.  One of them was addressed to Charlemagne, King of the Franks!  And then, on top of all of this, our guide opened up a set of metal doors…and then another set of even thicker metal doors…and then finally a third set of doors, thicker than the previous two, to reveal the sacred set of French constitutions.  I saw the original constitution of the French republic, King Louis XIV’s signature and all.

After I returned from the Archives, I took a quick power nap.  Since it was so nice out, I decided to go explore the Jardin du Luxembourg, which is a gigantic, beautiful park that’s located 30 seconds from my apartment.  People go to the park to eat, chat, read, relax, and exercise.  I noticed that a lot of people were running, so I’m definitely planning on doing that myself once it gets a bit warmer out.  I can see myself doing some homework there, too…if I ever get into the groove of school again, which at this point, isn’t very likely.

Anyways, so I wandered around for an hour taking pictures and basking in the late-afternoon sun by the fountain in front of the Palais du Luxembourg.  I found myself doing some serious people-watching, as the weather, time and location were all perfect for doing so.  I saw an older man teaching a boy how to maneuver a little, toy sailboat in the fountain with a stick.  I saw a little girl and a little boy feeding breadcrumbs to the pigeons (which actually in my opinion, isn’t the most sanitary thing to let your children do…where was the mother while all of this was happening?!).  I saw adorable older couples walking hand in hand through the lazy shade of the trees.  I also saw an older man sitting in one of a pair of chairs with his arm draped around the other one, as if he was missing someone or something.  Something about the scene was so striking, so captivating, that I decided to take a photo of it (which I’ve inserted to the left).

I started getting hungry, so I decided to run to the grocery store to pick up some food.  I was craving shrimp, and I remembered making a pasta dish that was lemony and used white wine and garlic, so I picked up the ingredients I needed to make something along those lines.  Here’s the recipe I ended up using:

Shrimp Lemon Pepper Linguini

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) package linguine pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• salt to taste
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguine, and cook for 9 to 13 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and saute garlic about 1 minute. Mix in chicken broth, wine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is reduced by about 1/2.
3. Mix shrimp, butter, parsley, and basil into the saucepan. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until shrimp is opaque. Stir in the cooked linguine, and continue cooking 2 minutes, until well coated.  Serves 4 people.

It was scrumptious.  But I must be off, the boys and Melanie are here and we’re heading out to the bars!  Bonne soirée!

I also had my second class today, which was a French language class.  I was placed in level 3, which means I have a medium-strong grasp of the language (although at this point I am confident that I most definitely fall in the medium, rather than strong range…).  My professor is an kind, middle-aged man who is  unfortunately a major proponent of oral presentations.  We have to do two of them, ten minutes each, and the two I signed up for happened to be this month on the 16th and 23rd.  I’m not really sure what the topics are at this point, although based on the titles, one will be about how the telling of history changes it and the other will be about ‘Grand Paris’ and city life.  I’m sure I’ll be writing (aka complaining) about them as they draw nearer.

I made another Italian dinner this evening, and it was delicious (if I do say so myself…and I do)!  I have been craving sausage for the past few days, so I finally went out and bought some at Monoprix.  Here’s the recipe I used, because I KNOW you’re just dying for some sausage.

Italian Sausage with Peppers and Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 2 C uncooked, whole-wheat penne
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 links hot sausage, cut into ½ inch thick slices
• 1 red pepper, cut into ½ inch thick squares
• 1 small onion, diced
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can tomato sauce (best with basil, garlic, and oregano)
• ½ t black pepper
• Pre-shredded fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, adding 1 teaspoon olive oil and a pinch of salt for flavor.  Drain pasta, set aside.
2. While pasta cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with 2 teaspoons olive oil.  Add sausage, cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring often.  Add bell pepper and onions, and cook 3 minutes or until hot, stirring often.  Add tomatoes, sauce and black pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Place pasta in a large bowl.  Add sausage mixture and toss.  Top with cheese, if desired.  Serves 4.

As you can see, I served it with a glass of red wine that I purchased today.  I think I’m well on my way to becoming a sommelier…

Moral of the story: tomorrow I will be going to see Bruno, the director for the “premier cycle,” which is the program I am enrolled in.  I will be asking him whether or not there are ANY English lectures open, and BEG him on hands and knees to let me into one of them, even if it’s about why paint dries at the rate it does.  I feel like I’m letting myself down by dropping my French lecture, but the class gave me heart palpitations already and I don’t even have a homework assignment yet.  Oh well, maybe there are some French electives that are less frightening…I have some research to do ASAP.

Also, I received an e-mail from Myriam, our program coordinator, who informed me of upcoming apartment visits.  Tomorrow, I will be visiting what appears to be a beautiful apartment in the 4th arrondisement on rue de Rivoli, which is the fancy shmancy road that the Louvre is located on.  It’s also pretty close to Notre Dame.  So far, so good…at least it’s in a good area, and there are two bedrooms with hopefully two beds each, which means I can have my own bed!  I’ll let you know how it goes, as I have that at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning (aka 10am).

I have also officially embarked upon my journey to become a Parisian chef!  I donned my beautiful Anthropologie apron (courtesy of Nadia…thanks, darlin’!), got out my chaacken (read: chicken) and veggies, and off I went.  I made a Zucchini and Tomato sauté with Chicken, and it was delicious!  I’m going to include the recipe for all of you who’re budding chefs:

Chicken with Squash and Tomato Sauté

Ingredients:

• 2 t olive oil
• 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 small onion, halved and sliced
• ½ t salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• About 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• ¼ t freshly ground black pepper
• 2 T grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 C Ratatouille sauce, or some kind of tomato-based sauce

Instructions: Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken, cook for 2 minutes until it starts to get white.  Add zucchini, onion, and salt; sauté 5 minutes or until crisp tender.  Add garlic, and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add tomato, and cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently.  Stir in pepper, sprinkle with cheese, and serve immediately.  Serves 2.

It was absolutely delicious, super healthy, and really easy to make!  If you’re cooking for many people, you can thicken this up by cooking up some whole wheat pasta and serving the chicken and veggies on top.  I served it with a white wine; I’m no sommelier, but I think you could go either way…it’s a chicken vs. red sauce battle, I suppose.  Feel free to correct me/give me suggestions if I’m wrong, as I’m ready and willing to learn more about wine!  In fact, one of my goals while I’m over here is to become a wine connoisseur…