Listen to the audio on NPR
Every French home cook could do a 3____________ which would have taken me years 4____________. I was so 5_______________ that I asked a hostess how she did it. However, hostesses are like the 6__________________ in the sense that they never tell you which is the good stuff and which stuff comes from 7__________. Therefore, I asked my good, 8__________ friend and she introduced me to the all-butter, all-perfect, already 9___________ crust that you buy from the supermarket.
When Martine served the chocolate mousse, I thought it would be my chance to get the recipe but she just gave me a 10____________ and said: Oh, I'm so glad you liked it.
The next day, I called to thank her for dinner. I 11_________________ over the food but I didn't succeed in getting the recipe. Another day she served it again, but I just said miam-miam, which means 12______________. However, when I was leaving and while I was 13_______________ my coat Martine gave me a Nestlé's chocolate bar on whose back was the recipe for the mousse every 14___________ French cook makes. A recipe for something delicious, 15_____________ and elegant, because it's made of three ingredients and you can make it 16___________.
It can be served with 17___________ cream, a 18__________
of maple syrup, some 19_____________ sauce, a 20____________
of nuts, I sometimes put peanut 21____________ on top
of it.
Like my French friends, I 22___________ this desert all the time. However, unlike them, I'll give you my recipe.
You can find that 23._______________ recipe
on our Found Recipes page
at NPR.org.
KEY
1. recipe
2. ended up
3. tart/ tort/ torte crust
tart: /tɑːt/ an open pie filled with
sweet food such as fruit. E.g. a strawberry
tart
torte /ˈtɔːtə/ /tɔːt/ (also tort) a large cake filled with a mixture of cream, chocolate, fruit, etc.
crust: a layer of pastry. E.g. Bake until the crust is golden.
4. to nail to achieve something or do something right, especially in sport. E.g. He nailed a victory in the semi-finals.
5. Awestruck /ˈɔːstrʌk/ feeling very impressed by something. E.g. People were awestruck by the pictures the satellite sent back to Earth.
6. fashionistas
fashionista /ˌfæʃnˈiːstə/ a fashion designer, or a person who is always dressed in a fashionable way.
E.g. A woman who dresses well is often called a "fashionista" .
7. The Gap
The Gap, Inc. commonly known as Gap Inc. or Gap, is an American multinational clothing and accessories retailer.
8. trusty: that you have had a long time and have always been able to rely on. Reliable. E.g. a trusty friend. She spent years touring Europe with her trusty old camera.
9. rolled out
roll something out: to make something flat by pushing something over it. E.g. Roll out the pastry.
10. Gallic shrug
Gallic shrug: raised shoulders; hands held up , palms out; lower lip stuck out; eyebrows raised meaning "It’s not my fault / I don’t know (how that happened)"
Gallic: /ˈɡælɪk/ connected with or considered typical of France or its people. E.g. Gallic charm. He lifted his shoulders in a Gallic shrug.
shrug: an act of raising your shoulders and then dropping them to show that you do not know or care about something. Sp. encogimiento de hombros. E.g. Andy gave a shrug. ‘It doesn't matter.’
11. oohed and ahhed
ooh: /uː/ (exclamation) used for expressing surprise, happiness or pain.
ah: /ɑː/ (exclamation) used to express surprise, pleasure, admiration or sympathy, or when you disagree with somebody. E.g. Ah, there you are! Ah, this coffee is good. Ah well, better luck next time. Ah, but that may not be true.
ooh and ah: (v) utter the exclamations ooh and ah. E.g. visitors oohed and ahhed at the Christmas tree.
12. yum /jʌm/ also yum-yum: used to show that you think something tastes or smells very nice. E.g. We all had some great Australian wines with our dinners - yum!
13. buttoning up
button something (up) to fasten something with buttons. E.g. She hurriedly buttoned (up) her blouse.
14. savvy /ˈsævi/ having practical knowledge and understanding of something; having common sense. E.g. savvy shoppers. More people are cholesterol savvy today than five years ago.
15. foolproof very well designed and easy to use so that it cannot fail and you cannot use it wrongly. Infallible. E.g. This recipe is foolproof—it works every time. No system can ever be completely foolproof.
16. in a flash
in/like a flash : very quickly and suddenly. E.g. The weekend seemed to be over in a flash. The answer came to me like a flash.
17. whipped
whipped cream: cream that has become thicker when it has been stirred quickly (= whipped).
18. drizzle: (in cooking) a thin stream of a liquid ingredient trickled over food. E.g. a drizzle of olive oil.
Trickle: to flow, or to make something flow, slowly in a thin stream.E.g. Tears were trickling down her cheeks. Trickle some oil over the salad.
19. raspberry /ˈrɑːzbəri/ a small dark red soft fruit that grows on bushes. Sp. frambuesa. E.g. raspberry jam.
20. sprinkle a small amount of a substance that is dropped somewhere. E.g. Add a sprinkle of cheese and serve.
21. brittle
peanut brittle: a candy made from nuts and set melted sugar.
brittle: hard but easily broken. E.g. brittle bones/nails.
22. turn to: to go to somebody/ something for help, advice, etc. Sp. recurrir. E.g. She has nobody she can turn to.
23. deceptively easy
likely to make you believe something that is not true. Sp. engañosamente, aparentemente.
to a lesser extent than appears the case: E.g. the idea was deceptively simple (not as simple as it appeared)
to a greater extent than appears the case: E.g. the airy and deceptively spacious lounge (more spacious than it appears)
Note: as in the examples above, the meaning of deceptively is ambiguous in that it can be used in similar contexts to mean both one thing and also its complete opposite. Something that is deceptively easy can be, in fact, easy and is deceptive because it appears difficult. Or a deceptively easy task can also be one that appears easy but is difficult.
crust: a layer of pastry. E.g. Bake until the crust is golden.
4. to nail to achieve something or do something right, especially in sport. E.g. He nailed a victory in the semi-finals.
5. Awestruck /ˈɔːstrʌk/ feeling very impressed by something. E.g. People were awestruck by the pictures the satellite sent back to Earth.
6. fashionistas
fashionista /ˌfæʃnˈiːstə/ a fashion designer, or a person who is always dressed in a fashionable way.
E.g. A woman who dresses well is often called a "fashionista" .
7. The Gap
The Gap, Inc. commonly known as Gap Inc. or Gap, is an American multinational clothing and accessories retailer.
8. trusty: that you have had a long time and have always been able to rely on. Reliable. E.g. a trusty friend. She spent years touring Europe with her trusty old camera.
9. rolled out
roll something out: to make something flat by pushing something over it. E.g. Roll out the pastry.
10. Gallic shrug
Gallic shrug: raised shoulders; hands held up , palms out; lower lip stuck out; eyebrows raised meaning "It’s not my fault / I don’t know (how that happened)"
Gallic: /ˈɡælɪk/ connected with or considered typical of France or its people. E.g. Gallic charm. He lifted his shoulders in a Gallic shrug.
shrug: an act of raising your shoulders and then dropping them to show that you do not know or care about something. Sp. encogimiento de hombros. E.g. Andy gave a shrug. ‘It doesn't matter.’
11. oohed and ahhed
ooh: /uː/ (exclamation) used for expressing surprise, happiness or pain.
ah: /ɑː/ (exclamation) used to express surprise, pleasure, admiration or sympathy, or when you disagree with somebody. E.g. Ah, there you are! Ah, this coffee is good. Ah well, better luck next time. Ah, but that may not be true.
ooh and ah: (v) utter the exclamations ooh and ah. E.g. visitors oohed and ahhed at the Christmas tree.
12. yum /jʌm/ also yum-yum: used to show that you think something tastes or smells very nice. E.g. We all had some great Australian wines with our dinners - yum!
13. buttoning up
button something (up) to fasten something with buttons. E.g. She hurriedly buttoned (up) her blouse.
14. savvy /ˈsævi/ having practical knowledge and understanding of something; having common sense. E.g. savvy shoppers. More people are cholesterol savvy today than five years ago.
15. foolproof very well designed and easy to use so that it cannot fail and you cannot use it wrongly. Infallible. E.g. This recipe is foolproof—it works every time. No system can ever be completely foolproof.
16. in a flash
in/like a flash : very quickly and suddenly. E.g. The weekend seemed to be over in a flash. The answer came to me like a flash.
17. whipped
whipped cream: cream that has become thicker when it has been stirred quickly (= whipped).
18. drizzle: (in cooking) a thin stream of a liquid ingredient trickled over food. E.g. a drizzle of olive oil.
Trickle: to flow, or to make something flow, slowly in a thin stream.E.g. Tears were trickling down her cheeks. Trickle some oil over the salad.
19. raspberry /ˈrɑːzbəri/ a small dark red soft fruit that grows on bushes. Sp. frambuesa. E.g. raspberry jam.
20. sprinkle a small amount of a substance that is dropped somewhere. E.g. Add a sprinkle of cheese and serve.
21. brittle
peanut brittle: a candy made from nuts and set melted sugar.
brittle: hard but easily broken. E.g. brittle bones/nails.
22. turn to: to go to somebody/ something for help, advice, etc. Sp. recurrir. E.g. She has nobody she can turn to.
23. deceptively easy
likely to make you believe something that is not true. Sp. engañosamente, aparentemente.
to a lesser extent than appears the case: E.g. the idea was deceptively simple (not as simple as it appeared)
to a greater extent than appears the case: E.g. the airy and deceptively spacious lounge (more spacious than it appears)
Note: as in the examples above, the meaning of deceptively is ambiguous in that it can be used in similar contexts to mean both one thing and also its complete opposite. Something that is deceptively easy can be, in fact, easy and is deceptive because it appears difficult. Or a deceptively easy task can also be one that appears easy but is difficult.
Transcript
ROBERT
SIEGEL, HOST:
Today's
Found Recipe is perfect for Valentine's Day. It's a story from the City of
Love, Paris.
(SOUNDBITE
OF MUSIC)
SIEGEL:
This is a story about chocolate and it's told by a master of sweet things,
Dorie Greenspan.
DORIE GREENSPAN:
This is a story of a great, a really, really great chocolate mousse that only
takes about three minutes to make.
(LAUGHTER)
GREENSPAN:
But it took me the better part of a year to get the recipe, which is why I
ended up calling it Top Secret Mousse.
(SOUNDBITE
OF MUSIC)
SIEGEL:
That's right: Top Secret Mousse. Dorie Greenspan is the author of "Around
My French Table," and she's lived part time in Paris for 16 years,
learning how the French live and how they eat at home.
GREENSPAN:
It took me years but I came to realize that French hostesses were just like
French fashion plates. They mixed. They matched. They put high and low together
at their dinner parties. Now, I'm going to get to the mousse, I promise. But I
just want to explain this to you because I found it so fascinating.
I noticed
it the first time I started going to dinner parties. It was the tart crust.
Every French home cook could do, would had taken me years to nail. Awestruck, I
asked a hostess how she did it. That's when I discovered that, just like the
fashionistas, hostesses never tell you which is the good stuff and which stuff
comes from The Gap. That's what friends are for, good friends. And so it was my
trusty friend Martine who introduced me to the all-butter, all-perfect, already
rolled out crust that you buy from the supermarket. It's great.
(SOUNDBITE
OF MUSIC)
GREENSPAN:
Well, then came the chocolate mousse, the rich, creamy, dark, dreamy, delicious
chocolate mousse. I had it at a few friends' homes. I was dying to ask about
it. But by then I knew getting an answer was hopeless. So when Martine served
it, I was thrilled. At last, all would be revealed. But it wasn't. I couldn't
believe it. When I asked her about it, she gave me a Gallic shrug and said: Oh,
I'm so glad you liked it.
(SOUNDBITE
OF MUSIC)
GREENSPAN:
The next day, I called to thank her for dinner. I oohed and ahhed over the food
and I asked her for the recipe. And she said: I'll give it to you. But she
didn't. And then she served again. This time I knew better than to say anything
other than miam-miam, sounds like meow-meow, but it's the French equivalent of
yum.
(SOUNDBITE
OF MUSIC)
GREENSPAN:
Then, as I was buttoning up my coat to leave, Martine handed me a small
package, kissed me on both cheeks and gave me what could only be called a Mona
Lisa smile. What she'd given me was a Nestlé's chocolate bar. I was so puzzled
that I could barely get thank-you out of my mouth when she turned the bar over.
There it was: The recipe for the mousse every savvy French cook makes. A back
of the bar recipe for something delicious, foolproof, and so much more elegant
than really has any right to be, because it's made of three ingredients:
chocolate, eggs and salt, you can make it in a flash.
It's
seductive. It can be fancy. It can be plain. You can serve it with whipped
cream, a drizzle of maple syrup, some raspberry sauce, a sprinkle of nuts, I
sometimes put peanut brittle on top of it. Or you can serve it with nothing but
a spoon.
(SOUNDBITE
OF MUSIC)
GREENSPAN:
Like my French friends, this is a desert I turn to all the time. But unlike
some of them, I'll give you my recipe. It's my Valentine's Day present to you.
(SOUNDBITE
OF MUSIC)
GREENSPAN:
And you can find that deceptively easy recipe for chocolate mousse with tips
from Dorie Greenspan on our Found Recipes page at NPR.org.
(SOUNDBITE
OF MUSIC)
MELISSA
BLOCK, HOST:
You're
listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.