Jill Will Go...

Our last day in Paris. I had been following Paris by Mouth on the web and on Facebook and was tempted to set up a food tour with them. Instead, T and I booked one of their Cheese and Wine Pairing Classes. Who wouldn't want to sample a bunch of French cheese and wine? We arrived to find a table full of cheese - which is always a good thing. We learned all about terroir, volatile cheeses, endangered cheeses, goat digestion, washed rinds,  cheese seasons, and cheese paper. I always knew that the French were very specific about where things came from and what went into their products, but it was interesting to find out exactly how specific they get with the whole terroir thing. It is truly everything. We tasted a young goat cheese that had flavors of rosemary and other herbs. It tasted herb induced, but it wasn't. It was just a direct result of what that particular goat ate and where it grazed. It was amazing if you didn't think too much about the process. Ou

I became wonderfully immersed in John Baxter's books this past summer when I traveled to Ashland, Oregon for the Shakespeare Festival. At first, I was looking for good historical anecdotes about Paris and, of course, food suggestions. But once I finished reading, The Most Beautiful Walk in the World,  I knew I needed more. Turns out there was plenty more to find - including a very interesting non-Paris title: Carnal Knowledge. That particular title has other (ahem) interesting and educational information in it. Baxter is an Australian expat, now married to a French woman. He writes about the food, history and culture of Paris from a unique perspective and is incredibly funny. I thought of the old joke about the American girl, just back from Paris,  praising her French lover’s expertise. “Where else would you find a man who licks your navel?” she asks. “Why is that so great?” her friend says. “My boyfriend does that all the time.” Her companio