Happy 1st Birthday, Emmett!!

My parents came to stay with us for an 8-day visit, just in time to celebrate Emmett's first birthday. Before they arrived this afternoon, David, Emmett, and I made a short trip to La Maison du Chocolat, one of our favorite chocolate shops. David chose the chocolatier as a topic to research and write about for his Consumer Knowledge class, so we asked for permission to take a few photos and ask questions. The staff was very warm and gracious with our requests. Incidentally, the store was filled with mostly Japanese tourists.

Here are some photos that hopefully convey the warmth and elegance of the store.

After our our visit, we trekked up to the tiny village of Montmartre to go to Pâtisserie Arnaud Larher, recommended personally to me by David Lebovitz.

The little jewelbox of a shop exceeded our expectations... it practically glowed. The storefront is a deep red and warm orange, the interior is the color of warm butter; and the perfectly placed spotlights made the desserts sparkle! Fortunately, we were the only customers in the little shop for a while, so we were able to take our time asking questions and selecting our cakes.

Our intention had been to buy one little cake for Emmett and a bigger one for us 4 adults to share, but after seeing the tremendous varieties of cakes and not being able to make a decision, we decided to buy 5 little cakes instead.

La Maison du Chocolat
Multiple locations in Paris, one in Tokyo, and one in NY

Pâtisserie Arnaud Larher
53 rue Caulaincourt (18th arr.)


For dinner that night, I made a braised beef recipe from one of Patricia Wells' cookbooks that calls for two full bottles of red wine (!!). Emmett had petits pois et cuisse de canard (baby peas and duck leg), spinach, carrots and whole wheat bread.

After dinner, we used video conferencing technology from SightSpeed and thanks to the wonders of technology and the internet, David's parents were not only able to sing Emmett happy birthday from over 5,000 miles away, but they watched him devour his birthday cake, too! Emmett was lucky to have all four grandparents watch him enjoy his first birthday cake -- the Coquelícot -- raspberry genoise, raspberry mousse, red berry gelée enveloped in a white cake.








Thanks to all of you who remembered his birthday! It meant the world to us to receive your warm greetings. What a fortunate baby he is to have so many people who love him.