I’ve felt like a bit of a gypsy lately, moving 3 times in the last year. My new apartment, however, seems to feel a bit more like home. I can walk to so many places. This past Saturday, I grabbed my market basket and walked a couple of blocks down the tree-lined street to a fantastic farmer’s market.

I first started to discover France through her iconic cheeses. Although I’ve loved Roquefort since I was small, I only recently visited the small town of Roquefort where the cheese is made. During my visit, I stopped in to visit Alice Ricard. Alice raises sheep in the area, and her sheep supply milk to a few of the Roquefort makers in the area. As we visited in her small tasting shop, I asked her what her favorite dish with Roquefort was. To my complete surprise, she answered that she loved it with celery!

The Tour de France is one for the record books and so is the culinary journey of the 2010 Tour de French Cuisine. The last few stages include La Gasconnade Gigot, Canneles and the crowning delight Paris-Brest. What a perfect way to end the three weeks. Looking forward to the 2011 Tour.

Do you remember the dish that introduced you to French cuisine? For me and I would guess a lot of us, it was mousse au chocolat—the iconic dessert that sounded so exotic when it rolled out of my mouth for the first time. And it tasted so rich, not too sweet and fairy light in my mouth.  Today, I rarely order mousse for dessert. I prefer to order it in its savory versions whether it’s a small tomato mousse served in a verrine as an amuse-bouche or a veggie mousse or this delicious salmon mousse.

It's the third week of the Tour de France and the 2010 Tour de French Cuisine. Paris is so close the riders can almost see it from the summit of the Col du Tourmalet. First, we need to leave the Alps, fly into the Ardeche and finally to the Pyrenees. Along the way, you can't miss the Cassoulet.

Since I moved to Atlanta I've been living in furnished apartments while looking for a more permanent place. Needless to say, the choice of kitchen utensils is pretty non-existent. In fact, in my current place I don't even have an oven! I will be moving August 1st into a new place and in between looking for a roommate and working, I've been compiling my list of "must-have" kitchen utensils that I will need to "set up house". I've been adding, then subtracting, then adding and lately I've been missing my ice cream maker. This week it's on the "to bring" list but as usual always subject to change.

The second week of the Tour de France and the 2010 Tour de French Cuisine is behind us and as I try to cope with the fact we are halfway through, let's reflect on some of the tasty things we have had. Boeuf a la Bourguignonne, Escargot and Perdreaux aux Fides—oh my.

I'm following Claudine Hemingway Knapp's Tour de French Cuisine series. As the bikers race through France Claudine follows in their wake, highlighting all the culinary treasures they don't have time to try. But we do! Next up is Burgundy. Of course, there is the wine. But Burgundy also has another liquid treasure, cassis. The liqueur is made from the small berries that grow all over the area and are nicknamed "black pearls". This week's recipe, using the wonderful cherries now in season in the US, pays homage to cassis and another iconic drink of Burgundy, Kir.

The first week into the Tour de France and the 2010 Tour de French Cuisine means we have dined on Carbonnade de Boeuf, Biscuit Rose de Reims and Moules Marinière just to name a few, but there are so many more dishes that make this part of the world so wonderful.