I don’t usually like to try new recipes when I am having company but I thought I would have a sort of Autumn dinner and, to me, it just isn’t autumnal unless you have a dessert with apples.It turned out to be a huge hit. I found this recipe in the book called On Rue Tatin by a lady named Susan Loomis who lives in France and gives cooking classes there. All of the recipes look good to me and I plan to work my way through them. Her web site is: www.onruetatin.com
This is a dessert for when you want to blow your diet, raise your cholesterol and add inches to your hips but, my, is it good. It calls for adding sugar to the pan after cooking the apples in butter. My apples, for some reason, gave off a lot of liquid and the sugar never carmelized as it said it would in the recipe. I poured off the sugary liquid before I added the egg mixture and baked it and it tasted great but I’m thinking it would be even better with that carmalized taste and next time I will pour off any liquid before sprinkling on the sugar. I used the real vanilla bean which is so good. I didn’t have Calvados but I bet that would make it even better.

Melting Apple Custard (Fondant aux Pommes Vanillees)

3 lbs tart cooking apples, peeled and cored
7 Tbs unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
6 Tbs Calvados (optional)
1 whole vanilla bean, split down middle
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/4 cups double cream

Preheat oven to 425 F, 220 C.
Cut apples in quarters. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. When butter is hot and foamy add the apples and saute them until they are golden all over, about 10 minutes. (This is where I should have emptied all of the juice out of the pan). Add half the sugar and cook until the sugar has carmelized, shaking the pan so the apples and sugar are moving across it and the sugar doesn’t burn. If using Calvados, pour it into the pan and swirl it around, then flame the alcohol in the pan, shaking until the flames die down.
Transfer the apples to a non-reactive dish.
Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean. Whisk together the eggs and egg yolks in a bowl and then whisk in the vanilla seeds. Whisk the remaining sugar and cream until the mixutre is combined. Pour the mixture over the apples, and bake in the center of the oven until the top is golden and puffed, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 20 minutes before serving-if you can wait that long.

The New Store on Champs Elysees

One brand name that is synonimous with luxury is Louis Vuitton. As soon as you see one of their purses on the arm of some lucky women, you recognize it. At the end of the 1800’s, tired of their luggage being copied, they came up with the concept of using the intertwined initials of the founder, L and V. The rest is history, as they say. The original designer, Louis Vuitton, started by making trunks. He hit upon the idea of making trunks that could be stacked, then he came up with locks to keep them safe. After Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, started using them, they became world famous and changed how people traveled. They started those neat trunks that open up and become a closet with a place to hang clothes and drawers in which to fold clothing.
The store on Champs Elysees has been closed a long time undergoing renovation. When I arrived to have a look, there was a long line of people waiting to get in. They only let a certain number in at a time to keep the crowds down. Many in line are either Japanese or Chinese and I understand they are only allowed to buy a limited amount of the bags.
The store itself is breath-taking with one central room upstairs soaring several stories with mirrors reflecting the lighting high above. The wonderful clothing is everywhere and I wished I could afford some of it. The colors of the clothing were wonderful muted autumn tones of browns, eggplant, golds and rusts. The bags, of course, are on display and, had I 1000 Euros to spare, I sure would like to have one. I liked their jewelry as well, especially the watches. There was also a tiny little pendant shaped like a Paris street sign saying “Champs Ellysees” on it with a diamond on each corner. As they say, this was the beginning of luxury that continues today.

This design in metal is all over the store as interior decoration being part of the symbols that now decorate many bags for Louis Vuitton.

Just down the street of George V is the George V Four Seasons Hotel. This luxury hotel is a place I like to enter each time I am in the neighborhood for a look at the flower displays. The florist, an American named Jeff Letham, gets One Million Euros a year just for the flowers used in the hotel. They are always spectacular and it is worth a stop to see them.

Here is a look at some of the flowers in the entry of the hotel.