PATRICIA WELLS IN MY KITCHEN

Posted on November 3, 2013December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Okay, Patricia Wells is not really in my kitchen. But her new book, The French Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Lessons from Paris and Provence, has occupied a prominent place in my kitchen since I met its author last week in Darien, Connecticut. Wells made a stop at the Darien Library as part of her cross-country book tour to promote her newest entry in to the category of French cuisine cooking. The event, sponsored by Barrett Bookstore, packed the room with close to 200 people. Mostl...

UPDATE: ANSWERS FROM MARC PERRIN ABOUT “THE CURIOUS CASE OF MIRAVAL’S GRAPES”

Posted on October 16, 2013December 29, 2015 by Susan Manfull

This morning I received an email from Marc Perrin, from Famille Perrin (the well-known multi-generational wine family from Châteauneuf-de-Pape that is now in partnership with Château Miraval). As readers of Sunday’s TMT post (10/13/13) about Miraval’s grapes are aware, I had written to him but had not received a response prior to posting “The Curious Case of Miraval’s Grapes.” For those of you who are curious, I have answers. A little background: Famille Perrin, according to their website, ...

50 YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF ÉDITH PIAF, A TRIBUTE TO HER PACKS NEW YORK’S BEACON THEATRE

Posted on September 22, 2013December 29, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Throughout the concert, there were film clips of Piaf in concert, including on the Ed Sullivan Show Édith Piaf was surely smiling when Thursday night’s vibrant tribute to her life and music opened with a animated duet of La Foule by French singers Nolwenn Leroy and Zaz. La Foule—“The Crowd”—is about the chance encounter of two people in the midst of a festive crowd who, as quickly as they connect, they are separated. So much of Piaf’s life seemed fated for disappointment, but ...

DOMAINE DES VAUDOIS: WINE, OLIVE OIL, AND A LOT OF HISTORY

Posted on May 6, 2013January 15, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Cabrières d’Aigues, home of the Domaine de Vaudois, is not on the typical traveler’s itinerary. It lacks the visible charm of other Luberon villages such as those featured prominently in a Rick Steves’ tour guide or a Peter Mayle novel. In fact, a quick google search for information about this village reveals little more than “a tranquil village in the Luberon” and the distance to neighboring villages, like Cucuron and Ansouis. But, don’t underestimate what you might discover in a morning in thi...

ÉDITH PIAF DIED 50 YEARS AGO BUT HER ICONIC SONGS LIVE ON

Posted on March 3, 2013January 3, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Last weekend brought another snowy Sunday to New England….and to parts of Provence. It snowed unusually hard in the Var where Trobador reader Pamela O’Neill said she had to brush off several centimeters of snow from her car. But the roads were so icy she could not go anywhere. So, what to do? If she were on this side of the Atlantic, we would have asked her to join us…. And what does a small group of Francophiles do in New Hampshire? Ah, mais bien sur, they gather ‘round the piano to listen t...

AMOUR’S JEAN-LOUIS TRINTIGNANT HAILS FROM PROVENCE… AND OTHER AMOUR TIDBITS TO DROP AT TONIGHT’S OSCAR PARTY

Posted on February 24, 2013December 21, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Amour has captured the hearts of movie-buffs, critics, and those that bestow those coveted awards every year. The Austrian film—I know, you thought it was French!—swept France’s César Awards this past Friday evening: Best Film, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. It also received the Palme d’Or award at Cannes this past spring. At tonight’s Academy Awards, this wonderful movie is in contention for five Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role...

11 SHADES OF ROSÉ….MUCH BETTER THAN 50 SHADES OF GREY

Posted on August 6, 2012December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

We opened ten bottles of rosé within 24 hours last week. Good friends David and Mark were visiting their old stomping grounds here in Portsmouth. Since we had enjoyed so many rosés while we were together in Provence in 2008, we made those pink wines, now very trendy, our theme for a tasting. I’ve always been drawn to a good theme, a propensity that no doubt stems from growing up with my mother who had one for every rendezvous, be it birthdays—Huckleberry Hound, Raggedy Ann, The Munsters...

THE STEINS COLLECT: AN EXHIBITION OF MATISSE, PICASSO, AND CEZANNE

Posted on May 26, 2012December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Blue Nude: Memory of Biskra by Henri MatisseThis post coincides with David Scott Allen’s current post (5/26/12) on Cocoa & Lavender. Entitled “When A Brownie Isn’t A Brownie,” David writes about two desserts that may well have been served on Saturday evenings at 27 rue de Fleurus in Paris in the early years of the last century.We had dinner with friends in Manhattan a few weeks ago. The discussion naturally gravitated to what we were doing for the weekend. Somewhere between...

CELEBRATING MY FRENCH ROOTS: BONNE ANNIVERSAIRE GRAMPI!

Posted on March 12, 2012November 27, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Do you ever wonder why you are drawn to France? If you are reading this, I suspect that France tugs at your heart strings, as it does mine. Do you know why? I trace my affection for France to my grandfather, Grampi, whose birthday we are celebrating today. Born in 1906 in Uxbridge, Ontario, he would have been 106 years old. He died in 1997 and I miss him terribly. To mark his birthday, we are drinking Old Fashioneds in his honor, followed by a dinner of lamb shanks, pilaf, green beans, and a bot...

VAN GOGH’S LAST YEAR IN PROVENCE: REFUGE IN AN ASYLUM, STARRY NIGHTS, FIELDS OF WHEAT, AND IRISES

Posted on February 5, 2012January 3, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Vincent van Gogh is on my mind again these days. Those Don McLean lyrics—“Starry, starry night, Paint your palette blue and grey, Look out on a summer's day, With eyes that know the darkness in my soul”—are playing over and over again in my head. (1) I have always loved van Gogh’s artwork—who isn’t moved by the sadness of Old Man in Sorrow, the humility of The Potato Eaters, the swirling shades of blue in Starry Night, or the striking beauty of his Irises—and, as a psychologist, I’ve long bee...