Southern Fried French

The Baroness on the Blow-up Bed

What is summer like in Burgundy?  Phew!  The busiest time of the year.  Which is why it’s thursday morning and I haven’t even thought about this week’s blog.  Summer here is “chaotic good fun”, as a friend described it the other day.

Et pourquoi, all the chaos? First of all, in the cooler months life is way quieter.  Our friends are often traveling around Europe, or going somewhere to escape the winter chill, returning to home ports, or just sitting by the fire. All that changes when ‘la saison’ arrives in late May, and it reaches its frenzied peak in August.  All of our friends are here, some who live here only in summer, with loads of guests.  And there are endless fun parties and events.

Our friend Dee has been particularly innundated with houseguests, and though she's a hostess extraodinaire, she was a bit intimidated when her sister showed up with a British Baroness. Especially when she had so many guests that La Baronne ended up having to bed down on the blow-up mattress---with great humor and grace, we might add. 

Photos:  Our châtelaine Nicole gears up for a party; and some lunches chez our dear friends.

Here is a partial list of activities this month that we’ve attended:  an art film festival in our village; a moule/frites party for 30 or so at the lovely home of our Dutch friends; a fête for Nicole and Ron’s birthday at the château, for 32;  lunch at a brasserie in a pretty village uniquement pour les femmes, all 19 of us; a lovely party on a wisteria-covered terrace for a dozen friends; and there’s a jazz festival coming up in Cluny.  Our favorite brasserie had a musical evening and our whole crowd went to be serenaded in their garden.  Our Italian neighbors cooked us a feast, and our favorite Dutch/French couple next door had a party for the entire village, (in their barn, since it rained, see photo).  Ron biked for a week with the guys in Germany too.  And so it goes, such is summer life in Burgundy.

Meanwhile, I made a simple lunch for 10 friends this week.  It was hot as the dickens, so I did a salad buffet and we sat at a table on the lawn under the trees.  Which is a very French thing, they so often set tables up in the garden, and there’s nothing better than dining with your bare tootsies in the cool grass. 

In keeping with my lateness and laziness this week, I’ll just pass on my lunch party menu to you. I liked it for this reason:  I never consulted une recette, I just threw it together.  Maybe you have an easy summer menu to share too?  Wishing you lots of lazy lunches in the shade in these waning days of summer. 

 

Lunch for 10 in the garden

The menu:

It's 'Cold Soup Week' on Twitter and so I made chef Robin's White's fabulous Chilled Cantaloupe soup, served in little café cups.  Click on the link for the throw-it-in-the-blender recipe (and for lots lots more)

Haricot Verts Salad  (thin green beans steamed until tender-crisp and mixed with shallots, toasted chopped walnuts, and orange bell peppers, dressed in walnut oil/lemon juice with a touch of dijon mustard) 

Shrimp Salad (tout simple, with chopped shrimp, scallions, celery and mayonnaise)

Deviled Eggs (always a crowd pleaser)

Caprese Salad (summer tomatoes with mozzarella and basil, and some yellow cherry tomatoes, dressed with olive oil and balsamic glaze) 

A bowl of Watermelon, of course, and some delicious French pistachio ice cream.  Happy summer, y'all! 

In the Comments:  more creative ‘cultural hiccups’ keep coming in from 2 weeks ago, I think we’ll need a sequel one of these days!  And we have a pétanque player in our midst, Barbara in Sonoma.  You can see photos of the  Sonoma tournament, plus lots of other gorgeous photos, at http://www.barbarahallsonoma.com/.

Our Readers Blogs:  here is a really sweet blog to visit, Gloria in Connecticut at the Little Red House with the White Porch.   And here's a great southern one, with weekly  menus! Go to  Love Being in My Southern Kitchen.  

Loyal reader Herm Meyer from Arizona is our poet in residence.  He's written a poem for us before.  Here are two of his poems, with beautiful photos: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bvJvwFa6d4J-qrhdUU7YzNSo9BgT_qlxZVeHbV0Jmw4/edit?hl=en_US

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pYGFwCGDe1AN8zzpNjKCY_EW2ssBlGWob6L-1R5-Vu0/edit?hl=en_US

The ‘P’s’ of Summer: ‘Pétanque’ and ‘Pastèque’

I’m on our Village Committee and Saturday was the day our village sponsored the annual pétangue competition for our area.  People come from miles around to compete on the large flat playing field at the top of the village.  As a committee member, I’m pressed into service as one of the ‘barmaids’, serving beer and Orangina, wine and waffles and french fries, at the buvette, between rounds. 

You’ve probably seen pétanque, or boules, being played in some dusty village square in France.  Basically, you throw balls down a lane and try to hit the target jack, and bump other balls out of your way.  Of course everyone has their own beloved set of metal pétanque balls, packed into a little valises.  It’s not an athletic game, there’s very little action and minimal equipment, and the game itself can be nap-inducing to watch 

Look closer, though, at the subtleties, and you might learn something about the French.  The really lovely thing about this game is that anyone can play, and win.  Young and old, male and female, athletic or not, it’s a level playing field.  I watched a family of three generations play, a teen-age granddaughter evenly matched against her 80-something grand-père.  Photo:  lined up for a throw, in perfect form.

At our village competition, groups of two play each other for an hour, then everyone drinks and chats for an hour around the buvette.  It’s a grand French tradition that the losers buy the drinks.  This cycle is repeated three times, and for each round, you are paired with a different team.  So you get to play against friends old and new, bavarder a bit, drink a bit.  On the field, there is high drama when a dispute erupts over ball placement; arguing, grand gesturing, and much carrying-on ensues.  This, I think, is the real point of the game.    Photo:  But is it sport? Note the magnet on a string, which you use so you won't have to bend over to pick up balls.

I won’t take on the French at their game, but my Dutch friend Jacqueline and her husband stepped right up to the plate last year.  “We won a prize!” Jacqueline exclaimed proudly.  “We got the prize for the worst score!”  Her husband was shamed into quitting, but Jacqueline is back this year, expecting to ‘win’ a second time. 

Meanwhile, back at the buvette, I’m struggling with the vast terminology of drinking.  A beer is une biere, un pression, un demi, or une mousse, or even une panaché, which is beer and lemonade. Pastis can also be pastaga. On a hot day they may order a wine that is watered down, called l'eau coloré. Then, there is this bizarre drink:  red or white wine mixed with a splash of limondade.  (even my French friends don't agree on the name/spelling for this one--something like un limé, anyone know?).  How come they don’t teach you all this useful vocabulary in French 101?

Now onto that other ‘P’ word, pastèque.  The French love watermelon, and we can get really beautiful varieties here.  They’ve even warmed up to the seedless ones (though seedless French grapes are still not available, as they’re considered unnatural).  Time for a frozen drink for these last days of summer, so I’ve whipped up an icy watermelon concoction that’s just the thing after a rousing game of pétanque.  Leave out the rum, and it makes a great frozen smoothie for breakfast.  

 

RECIPE:  Pink Pastéque Julep

Makes 2 drinks. Merci to the folks at Happy Healthy Life for the inspiration for this recipe.

Freeze about 3 cups of watermelon, cut up small, in a plastic bag for a couple of hours.  Put  it in a blender with the juice of a lime and a half of a banana (for texture, mostly), and a few leaves of fresh mint.  Add 2 oz. of rum or vodka (add water or orange juice instead for the virgin version).  Pulse and then stir a few times, adding water as needed, repeating until you have the consistency you want.  I like to eat it with a spoon, but you can water it down until it’s drinkable.  Then blend in a little sugar syrup, to taste.

If your watermelon is frozen rock hard, you will need to defrost it a tadin your microwave, unless you’ve got a better blender than mine, which you probably do.     

*sugar syrup:  every southerner will keep a little pitcher of this in the fridge during the summer, to sweeten their ice tea.  Just add boiling water to sugar, in about equal parts, and stir until dissolved.

Francophile Alert!  Sandra Vann, one of our readers, has a super opportunity for you.  She's leading a Woman's Tour of the South of France in September.  Fun, advenerous women wanted. Sound fabulous?  Get the details here: http://www.americansinfrance.net/TravelPlanner/Discover-Southern-France.cfm 

FAVORITE READS & DVD's, summer vacation edition:  French Kiss is a fun little fluff of a film if you haven't seen it.  And for the funniest take on the French ever, you'll want to check out Stephen Clarke's A Year in the Merde.

In the Comments:  Dear Readers, boy did y'all have your own ideas on French 'cultural hiccups'!  Don't miss the list, under last week's post.

And here's a new site for ex-pats I've discovered:  http://www.blogexpat.com/

Unless otherwise attributed, all POSTS, PHOTOS and RECIPES on this blog copyright ©2011 Lynn McBride.  All Rights Reserved. 

Those Little Cultural Hiccups

PHOTO:  Our nearby town of Cluny decided they needed to offer help for those who couldn’t carry their purchases from the Saturday Market to the parking lot.  Did they get a shuttle bus, or maybe a golf cart?  Mais non.  A donkey!

You say tomato, and they say les tomates.  But it’s not only the language that’s unique in a foreign country.

Living in France means doing most everything just a little differently.  Sometimes a lot.  Here, from the amazing to the mundane,  is a very personal list of those quirky little differences that we’ve observed.  Even if you’re a regular visitor, I’ll bet you find something here to surprise you.  And I’m quite sure many of you can add to the list! (These are French vs. American, but I’ve thrown in some of the British ways, with a little help from my friend Dee). 

--American gardeners have green thumbs,  The French have main vertes, green hands (the Brits have green fingers). 

--In the US, we usually number the floors in a building beginning with one.  They start with zero.  so what we call the second floor is their first. The Brits are with the French on this one.

--The  French, and Brits, count on their fingers differently.  Americans face the palm out and start with the index finger, the thumb is number five.  The French face the palm inward and count one with the thumb, two with the index finger, etc.  Photo: two ways to count to two.

--The US and UK flags are red,white, and blue.  The French flag is blue, white, and red.   

--Our terms of endearment are saccharine:  Sugar, Honey, Sweetheart.  Theirs are animal/vegetable/mineral:  mon Lapin (my Rabbit), mon Chou (my cabbage), mon Trésor (my treasure). 

--When Anglos think “happy hour’, we think of starting at 5:00.  It’s gauche in France to start drinking wine or cocktails before 7:00.  

--Though their origins are thought to be Belgian, we call them French fries (chips, in the UK).  The French call them pommes frites (fried potatoes).  They use a fork, we use fingers.

--For traffic violations, in the US we get points added to our license for infractions; zero points is a good thing.  The French start with a set number of points, and subtract down to zero for infractions; zero points means lose your license.

--We pick up our pizza to eat it, with the French it’s a knife and fork all the way.

--The French take a piece of bread and lay it on the tablecloth or table by their plate.  This is perfectly polite.

--After a meal, we drink coffee with dessert.  Coffee here is always taken alone, after dessert.

--In France, no one starts drinking at a party until the last guest arrives.  In the US or UK, you may arrive to find the hosts already sipping a glass of wine.  Photo:  Pierre comtemplates breaking the French rule.

--Corn is a favorite American vegetables.  In France, it’s considered fit for les vaches (cows).  

--A little known, and scary difference:  in the US, a car entering a main road from a side road must always yield.  Not In France. A car on a side road entering from the right with no stop or yield sign always has the right of way---even if it’s on a tiny side road entering a major road with a fast speed limit.

--Social greetings: we are huggers; the Brits are hand-shakers;  The French are kissers. 

At table, Anglos often put their hands in their laps, when not eating.  In France, your hands should always be visible.  Keeps you out of trouble.

Vive les differences!  OK Gang---can you add to the list?

This week’s recipe has no French connection whatsoever, as they don’t do Mexican food generally.  But I included it because we were sitting down to dinner, and I noticed another petite difference, so I snapped the photo.  See how tiny that beer bottle looks?  That’s because it is!  An American beer bottle is at least three times as big, as is a draft beer glass.  A German beer mug must hold 10 times that amount.  Go figure!

 

RECIPE: Ron’s ‘Mexican Mess’ 

This very quick week-day Mexican dinner, which needs no measuring, is one that was a tradition in Ron’s family before we married.  It’s a sort of taco salad, but not done with ground beef. 

• Tortilla chips, lime flavored
• quick taco filling, below
• cheddar cheese, or any mexican cheese blend
• chopped lettuce and tomato
• sliced avocados
• lime juice
• sour cream
• Other possible toppings: pickled or fresh jalapenos, salsa, red onions, chopped scallions, chopped cilantro

Smush the chips a bit and put them in a large, heated pasta bowl.  Spoon the hot filling on top and sprinkle with cheese (at this point run it very quickly under the broiler, if you want it piping hot).  Top with lettuce, tomato, and avocado; add salt and pepper and a squeeze of lime juice.  Top with sour cream, and salsa if desired.  Tuck a slice of that lime into your Corona and you’re good to go. 

Quick taco filling:   Slice up a chicken breast, turkey cutlet, boneless pork chop or a small steak.  (Or use leftover cooked meat if you have some).  Sauté the meat in a skillet with some chopped onions and garlic, in olive oil.  When it’s done liberally sprinkle in some chili pepper and cumin, plus some red pepper flakes if you like, and give it a stir.  Add some beer or water just to cover. Add a large chopped tomato, plus a can of drained red or black beans.  In place of a tomato you can add some salsa or some canned green chiles, and/or canned tomatoes.  Simmer it until most of the water is gone and it thickens, about 15 minutes.  (If you go meatless, as we often do, just use beans. If you happen to have some leftover roasted butternut squash, it's a nice addition).

 In the Comments:  Cynthia at The Daily Basics will do a wine tasting paired with a lobster and clam bake.  Could anything possibly be better than that?  Unless it's red wine with okra and fried chicken, per Jon Henri Bonnard (your name sounds French, Jon, but you must be a southern boy).  Do not miss Mark, Michaela, and Bonnie's interesting discussion on Mondovino.

And we're still talking pesto!  Lucy tried jalapeno pesto, there's a hot idea.  And Sue, by email, suggests that you top off your jar of pesto with olive oil, to preserve the color; then use the flavored oil later to sear meats.  Quelle bonne idée! 

Favorite Reads:   Y’all may have heard, they do everything a little differently in the South, too!  For example:  check out Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide To Hosting the Perfect Funeral.  Also Maryland reader Sue Wallace recommends a book  called Floating Through France: Life Between Locks on the Canal du Midi , essays by a group of woman writers.  

Tasting Blind, A Painless Education

It is nearly impossible to buy my husband a present, one that will really please him; maybe you know a guy like this too.  But I hit gold on his last birthday, with a gift I made myself in five minutes for a few euros.  Of course it had to do with his favorite subject, wine.

To be ignorant of wine here in Wine World is to be a real no-account.  One of our favorite ways to sharpen our palettes is to have a blind tasting.  This is fun for novices and connoisseurs alike, since there are no right or wrong answers.  

You can have a party based around a  blind tasting, or do as we usually do, which is to pull a sampling of wines  and taste blind, which we do almost every time we have a few guests for dinner.

A serious tasting would involve wines from the same region,  year, and cépage (the grape variety), and one would take notes on various characteristics: the color, the nose, the legs, the flavors, etc.  Of course you would spit the wine out afterwards. We’re not that serious, though, so here is how we do a it:  Ron picks from three to five wines with some common thread.  The idea is to discuss them and then pick a group winner.  He makes a  list, then covers the bottles to hide les étiquettes, the labels. We taste a bottle at a time, discussing the flavors, the nuances, and our preferences.  No spitting--we drink it right up! Then, each guest picks a favorite.  (If you have more than three bottles, you might need to give everyone paper and pencil).  Then we unveil them, and declare the winner.  We continue drinking them for appératifs, then they all go on the table with dinner.   

Now back to that gift.  Ron always taped paper over the bottles when we had a tasting, so I decided he needed something classier.  At the craft store I found some heavy paper  with a ridged back that bent easily.   I glued velcro closures on the inside and added some decorative lettering.  Et voila, instant wine covers to make that wine blind. 

One little story for you:  At Christmas dinner last year, we were a dozen or more chez nous at the château and  we started off the festivities with a champagne tasting. Nicole, our châtelaine, has a special champagne that is her favorite,  so we often serve it at Christmas.  We put one bottle of that in the  blind tasting, curious to see if she could pick it out.  Ron announced that we were only tasting Champagnes, not crémants (crémants are French sparkling wines made just like Champagne but not in that region, so they can’t bear the name. The taste, though, can be quite similar).   

But Ron was naughty and secretly threw a crémant into the mix.  Not only did Nicole correctly identify her favorite Champagne, but both she and Pierre immediately identified the rogue bottle as a crémant, despite being told it was all Champagne--while the rest of our international crowd did not.  Now THAT is impressive.  We’ll never catch up with those  clever French!

 

RON’S CORNER:  “No matter which wine the group chooses as the best, the real winner in our tastings is revealed during dinner--it's the bottle that gets emptied first!”  On his criteria for selecting a group of wines:  “I raid the cave, and see what I can find. Typically you would taste wines from the same variety, year, and appellation.  But you can choose any theme you want. You might taste several random wines that are all the same price, to pick the best value wine, for example. Or choose several wines of the same cépage, but each from a different country."  

 

Favorite Reads, and a grape flick:  If you are at all interested in wine and you haven’t seen it, you must order this film TODAY:  Mondovino, a documentary about the conflicts and conundrums of the making of selling of wine around the world, and how it’s evolving.  Everyone on our side of the pond loved it.  In the cookbook category, wine lovers will want to check out Sid Goldstein’s The Wine Lover's Cookbook: Great Recipes for the Perfect Glass of Wine. 

In the Comments this week:  LOVED all the pesto ideas!  Beth does an arugula and walnut mix, Katherine uses almonds, and Jenny uses sunflower seeds---that’s a new one!  Patricia adds creme fraiche to pesto and pasta, got to try that.  Kristin puts it over salmon, served over grits, a true Southern Girl.  The most interesting idea came from Cynthia M.--check out her creative solution for keeping the green color bright. And welcome to Judy, another Furman alum.

Our Reader's Blogs:  Mark Kane is the groundskeeper at Your Garden Show, a must-see if gardens are your thing; you can find Mark's beautifully written blog posts there, and much more.  At My American Market, Anne-Clair Bocage sells American food to French residents, and also has an interesting newsletter for Francophiles.

Unless otherwise attributed, all POSTS, PHOTOS and RECIPES on this blog copyright ©2011 Lynn McBride.  All Rights Reserved.