I've dropped by Chocolate and Zucchini often to marvel at the exotica of Clotilde's . But only tonight, as a result of a search, did I discover a section of her site devoted to documenting dining out: clotilde's moblog: Resto Archives

She photographs meals as they are served to her in restaurants, and these restaurants are all in Paris.

All of the presentations are appealing. Many portions are tiny. Roasted curried scallops sprawl in giant shells, but there are only three. Some distract from their scarcity with panache, such as the cod with yellow carrots, above. In the chic 6th arrondissemont, they serve pigeon, with muscovado sugar and glazed turnips, below.

My eye stopped on the soup bowl of concentric metal rings, below. If you're going to eat "scrambled egg and sea urchin mousse/soupe," it should come as the center of its universe.

(Which came first, the egg or the urchin?)

But what led me there originally was a search for recipes for pheasant or guinea hen. The family is tired of turkey, and wants an adventure for Christmas dinner. Pheasant came to mind after we had it during our monthly splurge at Chez Pascal this week.

Not greasy like duck, not soft like chicken; more dense, the texture recalling pork loin, with a rich dark flavor of very good chicken. A thick sauce, traditional with pheasant, obscured it a bit, but we thought we could improvise to our own taste.

So far, I've found it's expensive -- about $20 to serve four, but at Christmas you might expect to roast a pair (called a brace, I learned); guinea hen, an alternative, are about $17. But it might not be a bad idea to eat lightly but well.

Both birds are allegedly prepared the same. So far this recipe seems least complicated.

Lex Culinaria suggests brining the bird first, then roasting with garlic, citrus, honey and white wine: Lemon and Garlic Roasted Pheasant:

If you've made either pheasant or guinea hen, I'd love to hear from you.

BonusL Also at Lex, Xmas Baking #1: Cheddar and Cranberry Cookies.

(Come January, I intend to live on soup and stir-fry.)