Material Girl...

The Meatball Shop cookbook $28. Photo courtesy of NY Mag

Jerusalem Astier de Villate Candle $85. Photo Courtesy of Astier de Villate

Linus bike. Photo courtesy of Linus

Laduree. Photo courtesy of Laduree. No words needed

One word: Givenchy. Photo courtesy of Barneys.com

Make no mistake, I'm a very spiritual person and I completely embrace the Holiday season.
For me it's all about family and traditions. Every year, I watch Love Actually, Home Alone, A Christmas Carol and even Nightmare before Christmas.
I decorate the Christmas tree (in my tropical paradise) and bake (Philsbury) cookies.
I sing out loud Santa Baby and I go window shopping (of course) all over Manhattan.
I support the causes I strongly believe in and I want nothing but peace and love in the world (John Lennon style), not only during this time, but always and forever.

However, it does not hurt to hang a mistletoe...I mean...why not...I've been such a good girl and by the way we have to support this economy! 
Thanks to New York Magazine's Holiday gift guide, I was able to come up with my top 5.

I'm sharing them because maybe you're looking for ideas too for you or your loved ones. PS. If you see my boyfriend, I mean Santa, you can tell him exactly what I want. 

And to you reading this little post, if you feeling merry, I highly recommend to give some love to the neediest and if you can, donate to great organizations such as saveasato.org, unicef.org and/or operationsmile.org. The universe will pay you back with a thousand blessings. Trust me. Yo soy la gerente...




XOXO La Gerente

What happens when you empty your bag...in Paris

 I definitely know where to have a good meal in Paris and If I don't, I ask the locals...
The duck at Les Bouquinistes, the Napoleon Salad at Laduree, the burrata at Costes, the falafel sandwich at L'as du Falafel, the beef bourguignon at La Frégate, the blanquette at Royal Madelaine...I mean...you see, like Shakira says-these hips don't lie...

XOXO, La Gerente

Yo quiero Macaron!

Courtesy of Pierre Hermé

I'm at Montreal at the moment. People speak French. This is the Paris of North America.

Why I haven't seen a single macaron spot around then? Yo quiero macaron!

Sorry, I'm just obsessed with macarons. I think of Pierre Hermé and problems just disappear.

I would love to learn how to make them so I could just stack 'em up but the kitchen and I aren't very good friends and it takes a lot of patience to create the perfect biscuit. The ganache is another story...

Lucky Parisiennes! You have Pierre Hermé's citron and Ladurée's fleur d' orange!

But hey, it's ok, since these babies are impossible to find over here, I just lost 5 imaginary pounds!

www.pierreherme.com
www.laduree.fr


XOXO, Jen La Gerente

The Sweet Journey of Inspiration according to Jesiel Maxan

Courtesy of Jesiel Maxan

In honor of La Bastille, I will dedicate my last blog of the week to Paris and the Puertorisienne living in the city of light  (home to Coco Chanel of course) Jesiel Maxan.

I met Jesiel over dinner, duh, granted. It took me 5 minutes to figure out that everything about her involves food one way or another.

In fact, if she weren't as nice as she is, I would totally hate her for being a size 2. Life is just not fair but you can't hate her for her genes.

I think our story goes back to 2008.


We were in New York at the birthday party of a friend we both have in common, la linda Zama.

We started talking about two things we absolutely love: food and travel. We connected immediately.

I remember Jesiel was curious about my recent trip to Cambodia and Thailand because for a while, she's been cooking Thailand in her head...To make the long story short, not only she ended up going there, but la Maxan decided to extend her vacation against all odds.

We almost loose her to a pad thai but she came back in one piece, only to pack her stuff, say her "see you later alligators" and return--this time, it was official, she decided to stay.

From there, she went to India, China, Israel, France, Bali and God only knows where.
Nothing could stop her. Nothing. We lost track.

But that was so yesterday. Now she lives la vie en rose in Paris, spending most of her time in the kitchen, where she belongs, making us all jealous of her beautiful cakes and macarons. She makes it look so easy...because she's easy, easy like Sunday morning...


I can talk forever about Paris and Jesiel...If you want to follow her delicious recipes, you must know she has a blog: Sweet Journey of Inspiration.

But if you want to get to know Jesiel like I do, please see our Q & A Below.

XOXO Merci. La Gerente

1. The first French dish you mastered: Coquilles Saint-Jacques. They're delicious! Originally from Normandie. It's pretty much sauteed scallops with  mushrooms, wine and butter


2. Where to shop for ingredients? I personally like Saxe-Breteui. It has a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower. Its open every Sunday.  Metro Motte Picqute, Line 8


3. Your perfect french breakfast: a glass of juice, vienoisserie, preserves, yogurt and coffee


4. In your humble opinion who wins the macaron battle? I prefer Pierre Herme because he concentrates more in the flavors of the ganache and its more creative in his selection...However,  Laduree's biscuit is just perfect. I'm happy with any of them. You should also try Café Pouchkine

5. Which is the hardest plate to elaborate for you?  I have to say Coquilles Saint-Jacques. The scallops were literally alive!


6. Where in France is the best place to eat? People say Lyon, but I haven't been there-yet. However, I like Normandie very much.


7. Champaign or wine? Oh la la, this is a hard one...It depends. Voila! 

8. Three places you MUST recommend:  La Marine, Cafe de Flore, Bar Aux Folies...


9. A quick recipe: Baguette with Nutella


10.  Your favorite food blog: The Selby