Happy Blogday To Me

So It’s Come To This: A Croque-Camille Clip Show

That’s right, folks, today is the first anniversary of the birth of Croque-Camille(the blog, not the woman behind it).  (Incidentally, my actual birthday is only a few days before my blog’s birthday – I haven’t posted yet this week because I went on a birthday trip to Strasbourg with Nick.  It was wonderful to have some time alone together, and we ate really well, too!  Reports are forthcoming, as soon as I manage to sort out my thoughts and pictures.)

To celebrate, I thought I’d list some highlights of the past year, by way of my favorite post from each month.

February 2008:  It was all so new and exciting, still finding my way around Paris, figuring out where to get various “exotic” ingredients, and cooking in the same room where I slept!  This chicken and bok choy stir-fry was simple, cheap, healthy, and tasty.  I should make it more often.

March 2008:  Spring started to peek its head around the corner, and my fava bean and goat cheese pasta was a hit.

April 2008:  We moved into our new (and current) apartment in a new neigborhood.  We had a great time (and still do!) exploring and finding new restaurants, butchers, and Asian markets.  It was in April that we first tried Les Fernandises, which remains a neighborhood favorite.

May 2008: Canalside picnics and breadbaking at home are great, but the best meal I had in May was at the Atelier Robuchon.  (Thanks again, Pete and Erin!)

June 2008:  Clafoutis and crumbles and salads, oh, my!  The cat learned how to catch birds on the roof, and I started working again, finally, but I think we can all agree that the highlight of the month was the Formation Civique.

July 2008:  I got my first blog award, committed my pizza dough recipe to the page, and celebrated Bastille Day in style.  That bacon-onion dip is our go-to recipe whenever we’re having company.  Or have some extra crème fraîche lying around.

August 2008:  After 6 weeks of work, I got a well-earned vacation.  Bulgaria, here we come!

September 2008:  Back to work again, and I start to learn the art of chocolaterie.  At home, we’re a little more lowbrow.

October 2008:  I started my hunt for French craft beers, and Nick brought me a block of Tillamook cheddar from the States, but mostly, this month was about Winter squash.  The pine nut-sage brittle I made to go with a squash crème caramel was out of this world.  Seriously.

November 2008:  We took a weekend to guzzle beer in Lille and did a lot of prep for Thanksgiving, including a bike ride to the market in the first snowfall of the season!  My favorite post, though, has got to be this one, in which Nick takes the sexiest picture ever.  Of a tuna melt.

December 2008:  I cooked up some awesome fresh scallops and met Joël Robuchon.  And then the season hit.  Cold, flu and Christmas season, that is.  What better way to warm your spirits than a steaming mug of Cognac hot chocolate?

January 2009:  Not out of the woods yet, the holiday season continued with galettes des rois aplenty.  I started my tour of regional French cuisine with Auvergne, and wrote my most popular post to date.

It’s been a good year!  Thanks to all of you for reading – it means so much to me that people take time out of their busy days to read my ramblings.  Now, it’s time for me to get cooking.

Originally published on Croque-Camille.

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