Jessica's Dinner Party

by jessica yoon

recipes

Roland Garros Sandwich aka St. Moret, Cornichon, and Jambon Sandwich

Roland Garros Sandwich | Jessica's Dinner Party

A couple years ago I wrote about being a tennis fan with my sister and going to the US Open.  I’ve since left New York and haven’t been back, but lucky for me I moved across the world only to land in another city that hosts a Grand Slam. Roland Garros, or the French Open, is played on a clay surface, which makes it different from the more familiar hard court surface of the US Open.  My sister and I loved going to the US Open together, so it only made sense that her Euro trip to visit me coincided with Roland Garros (which ended last Sunday).  I had been to the tournament the previous year and remembered how mediocre but expensive the food was so I decided to pack some sandwiches for us.

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La Flute Gana, Comté, and Mont d’Or

When my mom visited way back in November we did a lot food exploring.  We visited a lot of marchés, specialty food shops, and boulangeries. One of the gems we found was a bakery way up in the 20th arrondissement called La Flute Gana.  We had first read about it in a Korean foodie’s essay book on Paris and fell in love with their story and the pain descriptions by the author.

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Cheers to 2011 with Chocolates

It’s been quite an extraordinary year.  Being in Paris and learning patisserie has been like living a dream that I never even dared to dream.  I have so much to be thankful for and even more to look forward to in the next year.  I have no idea what’s to come, where I’m going, or what I’ll be doing, but I’m excited to see how all those answers unfold!

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Speculoos

I recently discovered this speculoos spread that brought me back to my childhood in Korea. The sweet, spice filled flavors reminded me of a simple, rectangular biscuit cookie my mom had stashed in the cupboard for tea and snacks. I never found these biscuits to be particularly special; they were tasty but a bit everyday and mundane. However, now that I’m away from home, spending the holidays without my family for the first time, any flavor, smell, or object that reminds me of the familiar has become special.

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Fromage: Coulommiers

A few days ago I suddenly felt this desperate need to buy a book on fromage.  I really don’t know anything about cheese except that I know I love it.  I love everything from creamy camembert to stinky roquefort and even processed American cheese.  However, there’s so much more I want to know, like how and where it was made, unique characteristics, and different food pairings.  Learning about something makes the experience of getting to know so much better and more memorable.  So I paid a visit to La Librairie Gourmade, a fantastic cookbook shop in the 2nd arrondissement, and got Le Guide des Gourmets: Fromage.  It looks like a great handbook, covering not only French varieties, but also those around Europe and other parts of the world. It has a brief introduction on the history of cheese along with a good discussion of how it is made and the different categories.  The text is in French, so it will take while awhile to get through that part, but at least I’ll develop a strong fromage vocabulary!  So, in conjunction with my new “studies” I’m starting a fromage series on JDP.  Maybe it’ll inspire some of you to try something new or find interesting cheeses in your local area!

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