“Long wet winter months in Normandy call for cozy, gatherings with friends,” Cat writes. “Typically, everyone stands around in the kitchen, and I long ago abandoned the idea of encouraging guests to take a comfortable seat in the living room while I finish dinner preparations. I have found that, if not already in the kitchen, guests always migrate back into the warmth and good smells of my favorite space in the house.”
Cat’s bright, airy kitchen, which she designed herself, became the heart of her home. Vaulted ceilings and ancient wooden beams hover above her altar to food, tradition and hospitality, a battery of 19th century copper cookware suspended from the walls. “I used mastering French cuisine and feeding people as my language,” Cat writes of embracing life in her…
