SpiceLines

At Goumanyat et Son Royaume, a remarkable Paris spice shop, the wild, earthy
fragranceof Iranian saffron draws Michelin-starred chefs such as Pierre Gagnaire
and Helene Darroze to a distant corner of the Marais.

“A crocodile lurks on an antique Chinese cabinet, perfuming the air with the sultry scent of vanilla. He’s half hidden among glass vials of supple Bourbon vanilla beans, lightly frosted with crystals of pure vanillin. The croc wears a beatific smile—woven of fragrant vanilla pods, he’s an unlikely guardian of this temple of spices.

“In Madagascar crocodiles are considered good luck, so the artists always make them look happy,” explains Jean Marie Thiercelin. I’m chatting with this sixth-generation saffron merchant at his Paris spice boutique, Goumanyat et Son Royaume. Behind steel-rimmed spectacles his blue-green eyes crinkle with laughter. “At night it’s not the crocodile who comes up from the river. It’s thieves who steal the vanilla crop.”

When I was in Paris last March, I spent an enchanting afternoon at Goumanyat, breathing in the spicy scents of vanilla, rose water and the Tasmanian peppercorns. Saffron, though, is the shop’s signature spice: In the current issue of Saveur (December 2007, p. 17), you can capture a few of the highlights in “Nice Threads,” a piece that began with my visit to this remarkable musee des epices. But the totality is ever so much more addictive:

Upstairs at Angelina in Paris, a cup of chocolat Africain.

There are so many things I absolutely, positively can't live without.

An eye-opening cup of Winey Keemun on foggy mornings. A foamy latte, double shot, in a big bowl mid afternoon. And a bittersweet bite of Valrhona Le Noir Amer in the evening.

Oh, yes. Let's not forget salt.

And that's just for starters. When you're addicted, the world is a wondrous oyster, just waiting to be slurped.

Coffee

Spice News: Chasing Rare Coffees; Hunters Who are Megagods
A Welcoming Cup of Coffee, Scented with Cardamom
Veracruz: Great Coffee, If You Can Find It
Dona Elena’s Rich Coffee Flan

B and I have a friend whose wife, beloved in all other ways, casts a gimlet eye upon his consumption of meat.

Naturally there are times—usually after a virtuous supper of steamed fish and vegetables—when he becomes ravenous for a hefty New York strip, encrusted with cracked peppercorns, cooked to a rosy medium rare, running rivulets of bloody juice when cut with a knife. In his dreams.

Now there's a way for our friend to have his beef and eat it too. All it takes is a little guile and a devious, well thought-out plan. Here's my advice:

First, buy the thickest most luscious strip steak your butcher has on offer. Leave it in the car until your spouse is engrossed in something serious, like placing bids on eBay for your Christmas present. Retrieve the meat and unwrap it, then rub it all over with garlic and olive oil. Crack some peppercorns and press them into the meat. Not too many. A coughing fit will blow the whole plan.

This is about as far from grocery store egg nog as you can get.

My great-aunt Gertrude was famous among her friends for making the most potent egg nog. (She was also famous for her wardrobe of head-to-toe, color-coordinated outfits and cat’s eye sunglasses to match, but that is another story.) Her recipe was pure and simple: One egg, one tablespoon of sugar and, being a Southern gal, a jigger of good bourbon. Per serving, of course. Beaten briskly. No nutmeg, no milk, no cream.

According to David A. Embury, egg nog long ago bested the wassail bowl as "the traditional drink of the holiday season.” But how should the nog be made? In The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, he confesses, “There are almost as many battles over Egg Nogs as over Juleps. Should Nog be made liquid, to drink, or solid, to eat? Should the whole egg be used or only the yolk? If the white is used, should it be beaten stiff and folded in? Should cream be used, or milk, or both? If cream is used, should it be whipped? Should the Nog be consumed at once after making or allowed to spend severl days to ripen? What liquor or liquors give the best flavor?”