I can’t physically be in Paris nearly as often as I’d like, so I love it when I find things that give me that “warm and fuzzy” feeling of being there, even when I’m still sitting at home. Sharon O’Connor has done that for me with her packet of French Cafe music and recipes:

  This was given to me as a gift and it is a boxed set of simple recipes, each from a specific cafe in Paris. They are generally very simple, reflecting the more traditional meals that you can get at most corner cafes. For example, there is one for an Omelette with Fresh Herbs, one for Sole with Lemon Brown Butter and Creamy Mashed Potatoes, and one for a Nicoise Salad. Each recipe is from a particular cafe that she has visited and each card not only describes the recipe, in simple detail that is easy to follow, but also a description of the Cafe it came from. My husband and I made the omelettes using the recipe the other night, and truly, they were delicious! It comes with a CD of cafe music as well, very upbeat and totally French.

We enjoyed that so much that we bought a second collection from her, this time of her Bistro music and recipes:

These recipes are in an actual cookbook, rather than on individual cards, but they look just as easy to follow. I’m looking forward to trying the Steak Frites recipe, for example!. This time the music is instrumental rather than the fun vocals from the first one, so I admit I didn’t care for the music quite as much, but I still found it fun to listen to, especially because they often feature accordion which always reminds me of Paris and the buskers in the metro. I strongly recommend them both!

Enjoy!!!