Note Culinaire, Janvier 9, 2026

Note Culinaire

Audio By Carbonatix

Hello to all my readers out there. We have officially survived the first week of 2026. I hope everyone is holding up well. We were back to all our routines this week. School, dance, tests, etc. and everyone is a little rusty getting back into the swing of things. We’ve been used to staying up late and sleeping in, and I’ve been slowly coming down from all the excitement and intensity of entertaining.

There was so much preparation and work for all the special food I made over the holidays, so this week called for simplicity. We started the week off with my simple Bolognese, and last night I made the recipe I’ll be bringing to you this week—a quick shrimp curry. It calls for just a few ingredients, and is warm and a little spicy— perfect for these cold wintry days. The sauce comes together super quick and the shrimp takes no time to cook. Put the rice on when you start your sauce and you’ll have a meal in 30 minutes… maybe less.

If you’re in the mood to do a little baking, may I suggest these little French butter cookies from cooking icon Dorie Greenspan, called sablés. Sablé means “sandy” in French, and these cookies have a light and crumbly sandy texture. They’re simple to make an impossible to eat only one of…

While I’m making our quick and simple weeknight dinners during these cold winter months, I’ll be dreaming of the time I spent last summer in Italy. Included in this week’s letter is a review of one of our favorite spots that we ate while there. If you need a little escape to warm Italy, I hope you’ll give it a read. And if you’re interested in experiencing Italy in a similar way, click here and take a look at the trip I’ll be hosting with my husband and a few other fantastic people in September 2026. It’s going to be an amazing trip.