Show in france cooks do the marketing american visitor tells of customs Cu and menus of country one of my great pleasures when I 1 to go to paris writes a widely traveled newspaper woman Is to have dinner at the apartment of 0 one of my amerlean american friends who lives at the top ot of a house on a tiny street over on the left bank it Is one of the oldest streets in paris and the house in fact Is I 1 the one in which balzac Is said to have written pany many of his great novels you must give complete directions to the taxi driver or you may miss it by a mile or so and have to return on your tracks after you have climbed tour four flights of stairs you come coma into a cheery living room looking into the tree tops of the gardens of the inner court and on the tower of a lovely old church As you wait for dinner to be announced your appetite Is aroused by alluring odors from the nearby kitchen where the little french mald maid ot of all work Is putting the last touches to the meal which she not only has hag cooked but for which she has marketed amerlean american housewives in paris usually find that it Is an economy to leave the marketing to the cook who buys buya much more thriftily and much better than they can themselves marketing in paris Is done dally daily and in very small mall quantities it Is a matter of moment every article is considered separately more than one shop will be visited in the interest of the best beat and freshest vegetables in the choice of 0 the most tender chicken in the selection ot of the perfect fruit when we sit down at the table a huge brown pot arrives and when its cover Is lifted the intriguing odors give promise of one of those famous soups which we all enjoy so much over there with this we had of course crisp french bread fresh and flavorful then came another brown casserole of chicken surrounded by the tiny potatoes which are typical of france and small onions and baby carrots all brown and crisp on the outside and soft and tender inside we had our choice of red or white wine to add the last touch to this course and then enjoyed watching our hostess mix a perfect salad measuring just the right quantity of oil and vinegar and adding the fresh tarragon and other herbs which give character to the salad it 1 Is by the way only in the homes that one gets great variety in salads unless you count hors hora doeu which invariably contain several variations of salads I 1 have had however all kinds of interesting combinations of piquant foods when I 1 have been fortunate enough to have been invited ia v to share a meal at home with r some io of my french friends in the amerlean american households you will even get your tomatoes skinned the french consider that flavor Is lost by skinning a tomato and while perhaps I 1 imagine it the french tomatoes seem to have particularly tender skins interesting additions to salads are bits of anchovy herring or sardines and raw or cooked mushrooms fresh tarragon and chevell ll which we find it difficult to obtain here are usually present the standard dessert Is cheese served always with french bread rather than with crackers and fruit at this dinner however we were given a special treat of 0 frozen dessert which came from a confectioner famous for his lees ices particularly those of the bombe type As you know the bombe bomb ii la Is a combination of ice and mousse the mousse Is usually flavored with some borne very fine cordial such as curacao or benedec tine this evening small raisins which had been soaked in the cordial were an unusual addition desserts of this sort are practically always purchased from the confectioners confection ers as are the pastries and are not made mad up at home after the sweets came camembert and roquefort Roque efort fott cheese and then american coffee and cor dials in the living room after all there Is nothing like a home meal in france or in any other coun country tryl 1 salado a LAnda lousa t Sto matoes I 1 pimento cup cop cooked aloe 1 clove garlic la in broad I 1 minced onion I 1 tablespoon minced parsley manlay li 14 cup olive oil 1 tablespoons tablespoon tarragon 14 teaspoon malt alt vinegar pepper lettuce skin and quarter tomatoes cut pimiento mix oil vinegar and seasoning add onion and clove of garlic inserted in piece of bread mix carefully with rice and pour over tomatoes and pimiento chill one hour remove garlic and serve with lettuce lettic e kl A bell syndicate berlo |