Mon Petit Chou Chou

Image: Stacey Bloomfield

My mother struggles with the concept of blogging and can't even pronounce the name of my blog, Mon Petit Chou Chou. For the sake of my mother ( and anyone else who didn't take French!) let me break it down a bit and delve into the etymology and translation of this French phrase as applied to my blog.

It is a term of endearment. It literally translates as "my little cabbage", but is akin to calling someone honey or sweetheart, and used to describe your "favourite", such as a friend. There are some variations. A chou is also a popular type of pastry, so it can commonly be translated as "my little pastry", still an apt descriptor as it refers to something sweet, and who doesn't like pastry? Finally, there is mon petit chou-fleur, which is "my little cauliflower". All very favourable things to say, unless you use mon petit chou in the pejorative sense, applying it to someone who is a teachers pet.

I love the phrase and have been trying to employ its use since I began to study French in school. It's kind of like "zoot alors!", a delightful turn of the tongue, emblazoned in my memory from my first classes. 

So, to summarize, Mon Petit Chou Chou is a sweet term, a nice thing to say to a friend, a mean thing to say about a teacher's pet, and my blog of favourites.  You may have noticed my petit obsession with all things French as well, a personal preference in food, wine and clothing, that inspires many of my posts. One of my freshly set goals for 2011 is to gain more confidence in my French skills and beef up a bit before our next trip this spring (yay!).

Incidentally, it is also the name of a band out of Nurnberg Germany who just released a single called "Headlights".  Fingers crossed they make it big, it would mean a lot of cross traffic for the blog:)

It is also the subject matter of this delightful print I happened upon at the Etsy shop Gingiber (also featured at GingiberSnap) and promptly purchased. It is comforting to know I have a kindred spirit out there who delights in the phrase. Perhaps we studied from the same French book in high school?

Start 2011 with Lamb Kebabs

Unless you are a vegetarian that is. I am a border line vegetarian, but married to an unabashed carnivore. How do we make it work? I try to reach a happy median by cooking my always hungry Greek husband some lamb from time to time. I had never cooked or eaten lamb before meeting him, and now, it is a fact of life in my adopted Greek ways.

Since I force husband to watch Ina Garten's Back to Basics on the Food Network, I figure it is only fair that I cook some of the recipes we see together. After watching the aptly titled episode "Go Greek" (which you really can't go wrong with- hah!), there was an immediate request for all items prepared. I covered the tzatziki here in a previous post. Now, roll up your sleeves for the lamb kebabs.

Ina's recipe makes use of Fage yogurt, mixed with lemon and rosemary as the marinade (I supplemented the marinade with some garlic and oregano of course), a perfect way to use any leftover yogurt from the tzatziki. We added some peppers and mushrooms to the kebabs as well as red onion. Remember to soak your skewers for a bit, lest you have them burn up like ours did!

The recipe is basic, hearty and sure to keep the Greek in your life happy and full. Opa!

What a Delicious 2010

2010 sure was a tasty year. I cooked a lot. Blogged a lot. Took a ton of photos and I'd like to think a long the way really got a chance to work on not only my baking and sauteing, but likewise my photography, writing. I have been able to indulge in a creative process that had been dormant for a few years. My husband has thoroughly enjoyed reaping and eating all the delicious rewards.

I love looking back over all these images and recipes of the last year to recall what inspired me to try something new and what was going on at that moment in our life. I look at the Kir Royale and Mastering the Art of French Cooking and I am back in France (and already planning my next trip there for 2011!). All the fresh flavours of summer bring me instantly to nights eating on our back deck, escaping the heat of our little kitchen after cooking a meal. And finally, all the soups and hearty winter fare get us to where we are now......slowly recovering from my decadent New Year's Eve feast. We had a fabulous evening with over the top food, great champagne and wine and even better close friends and company to ring in the new year.

The last year was fulfilling on so many levels. I can't wait to see what 2011 holds and what new directions the blog and my family will head in.  I know my husband is always hungry for more!

Wishing you a very happy and tasty new year~

A Design on NYE: Re-Think the LBD

Featured Above (from top left):

Milly Beaded Mini Dress $127

Tibi Black Beaded Dress $315

Sass and Bide The Real Thing Dress $580
TopShop Silk Wing Dress $245
All Saints Mekai Dress $205
Loeffler Randall Overlay Dress $189

Stella McCartney Summer Night Dress $653

TopShop Chiffon Fluff Dress $120 
3.1 Phillip Lim Embellished Lace Dress $367 

Rick Owens Leather Trim Dress $522

Hipster Holiday Playlist

Images: Amazon

I hosted the in-laws for Christmas Eve this year. I think it went swimmingly. I'd like to think in part, due to my specially crafted, super hip, holiday play list. I have an unerring affinity for alt-rock and I was looking for a way to combine the ultimate in a "cool" dinner playlist with my classic holiday favourites (I could just listen to Wham, Last Christmas on repeat but husband would simply not indulge).

I also tried to toss in many of my selections from my recent albums of the year post (as seen here). I can't wait to roll the playlist out again this week when we host some friends for New Year's Eve dinner. We initially planned on a champagne and caviar tasting at Stir with friends, but for $175 a person, we all decided it would be money better spent by cleaning out Wholefoods and having an epic, over the top, decadent dinner at our place, resplendent with champagne and oodles of caviar.

What are your plans this New Year's Eve?

Holiday Dinner

John Lennon Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (2010 Digital Remaster)

Arcade Fire We Used To Wait 

Fiest One Evening 

Amy Mann  Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas One More Drifter in the Snow 

Andrew Bird Tenuousness 

Charlotte Gainsbourg Le Chat Du Café Des Artistes 

Karen Elson The Ghost Who Walks 

Vince Guaraldi Trio Christmastime Is Here (Vocal)

Ra Ra Riot Massachusetts 

Air Ce Matin-Là 

Fleet Foxes White Winter Hymnal 

Joni Mitchell River 

Fleetwood Mac Everywhere 

PJ Harvey The Mess We're In 

Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johannson  Relator

Andy Williams It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Jade 

Jeff Buckley Hallelujah 

The National Bloodbuzz Ohio 

Glasvegas A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss) 

Zero 7 Swing

Jose Feliciano Feliz Navidad

Amy Winehouse Tears Dry On Their Own 

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings  I Learned the Hard Way

Waitresses Christmas Wrapping

Zero 7 This Fine Social Scene [Album Version] 

Band Aid Do They Know it's Christmas? Now That's What I Call Christmas!

John Lennon Imagine Imagine 

The Decemberists Oh Valencia The Crane Wife

Matt Costa Cold December

Wham Last Christmas (Single Version)

Beatles Golden Slumbers Abbey Road (Remastered)

Bobby Helms Jingle Bell Rock

Noisettes Never Forget You

Nina Simone Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Bird and the Bee Carol Of The Bells

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Give it Back I Learned The Hard Way 

Stevie Wonder What Christmas Means To Me

Peter Bjorn and John Objects Of My Affection

Sleigh Bells Rill Rill

Death Cab for Cutie Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)