Southern Fried French

An Oxymoron? A Fast French Dinner Party

Photo:  The evening winds down at a friend’s home in Burgundy

Since Burgundy is the wine and food capital of France, dinner parties are not a matter to be taken lightly.  They are great fun but they can be a marathon for the host.  Here’s the deal: It will be a sit down affair.  At the very least there will be a light nibbles, a first course, a main course, a cheese course, and a dessert course.  This is followed by expresso and chocolates.  There are various wines, of course. When you’re done, you’ve used a mountain of plates and platters and all the glasses in the house, maybe twice.

So how’s a cook to cope?  I love to entertain, but I invariably find it takes me most of the day (or maybe two) to pull this all together.  

I’ve learned some tricks along the way to make it plus facile.  My latest:  when we’re really behind in entertaining and we’ve got 6 or 7 couples on the invite list who have been sorely neglected, I divide them into two groups. Then I do one group one day, and the other group the next!  This was Ron’s brilliant idea.   You simply cook twice as much, same menu both days, and the flowers you put out will last the week. I only resort to this when we’re in serious entertaining debt---but haven’t you been there? 

But here's another idea for a fast dinner party.  Last week we were invited to dine at the home of our French friends Mireille and Michel, and Mireille taught me a thing or two with her fabulous menu.  It was quick and easy to put together, and  perfect for a chilly winter day.  She shared her recipes with me--you don’t even need to measure anything.  Merci Mireille, and happy entertaining to all!

 

RECIPES:  Mireille’s Dinner Party, Fast and French 

First course:  Mireille steamed some fresh green asparagus and served them tiède (room temperature) with a vinaigrette on the side.  It was the famous French dressing #1  but with a twist:  she added lots of finely minced cilantro (she used a mincer, but you could pulse it all briefly in a blender), so it was a pretty, fresh green color.  You could also use parsley, or other fresh herbs.

Wine:  a chardonnay such as Saint-Véran or a Pouilly-Fuissé is nice with this.

Main course:  A slow cooked lamb roast with a tian of vegetables (this would work with with a pork or beef roast, too).

For the tian she cut regular baking potatoes into slices about ½” (1.25 cm) thick.  Then, in a heavy stoneware baking dish (like Le Creuset  or Emile Henry), she layered the potatoes with thick sliced tomatoes, thinly sliced onions, rosemary sprigs, and olive oil.  She placed the roast, sized to serve 6, right on top of the veggies and cooked it in a slow oven (350F, 175C), uncovered, for about 2 hours.  (My note:  check your roast and vegetables for doneness after an hour; you can always pop the roast in a separate pan and continue cooking either veggies or roast longer as needed).

To serve she put the veggie dish right on the table, then carved the roast and served it separately.  Dinner done, and delish. 

Wine, for this and the cheese course:  we would choose a red Côtes de Rhône or a Pinor Noir.

Cheese course:  two French cheeses, served with a sliced baguette.

I brought the dessert, which was:  Dori Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies (made ahead, and frozen) served with caramel ice cream and  a garnish of fresh raspberries.

 

As usual, I’m always learning something from the clever French.  And if anyone else has an easy dinner party menu to share, I’m all over it!

 

FAVORITE READS:  Foodies, you'll be interested in a new book by John Baxter called The Perfect Meal: In Search of the Lost Tastes of France.  You can read an interview with the author over at Barbara Redmond's blog, A Woman's Paris.  Barbara says "I couldn't put it down.  It's a wonderful romp from cuisine to cuisine through the French countryside."

Voulez-vous être Parfumée?

Here is something I love in France:  When you go into any shop selling make-up or perfume, before you depart, Madame the sales clerk will always ask, "Voulez-vous être parfumée?" (Do you want to be ‘perfumed’?).  She puffs a cool cloud of scent into the air around you.  You walk out with an invisible aura of rose or honeysuckle, cinnamon or lavender.

Such a beautiful expression, to be parfumé. (An aside:  we may have the only cat in Burgundy who is parfumé on a daily basis.  Domino has a maison secondaire in the neighborhood, where he is as adored as he is chez nous.  His  ‘second mom’, Viviane, like every proper French femme, is very fond of her perfume.  So I know where that little devil Domino has been after an extended absence---he’s been cuddling with Viviane, and he’s parfumé to prove it).   PHOTO:  The rakish Domino, parfumé and ready to party.

The French are of course known for their fabulous perfume houses, and the fields  of flowers grown in Provence to create the scents.  Last spring when we were visiting the charming hilltop town of Eze-Village near Nice, my friend Joan and I spotted a sign that advertised a factory tour of the well-known perfume line, Fragonard.  Which happens to be my favorite, as much for their beautiful packaging as for their gorgeous scents.  We quickly abandoned the guys and off we went. 

We learned about the elite perfumers who construct the fragrances.  Known as ‘Noses’, they train for seven years and can distinquish between thousands of scents.  We smelled a few concentrated scents of various flowers to test our own noses.  We watched them mold the pretty soaps.  We learned about the 3000 year history of perfume and marveled over their collection of antique vases, jars, and pomanders.

 And of course---we were parfumée-ed to our heart’s content!  

PHOTOS:  Top, Delights from Fragonard, with testing strips.  Above left: rows of scents, ready for the Noses to do their magic mixing.  Below: A test for novice noses, and a new line of soaps being packaged for spring.

RECIPE:   A Fragrant Side Dish

While we’re talking of elegant matters, here’s a company side dish that qualifies.  I really like to serve rice as a side dish for guests, but how to cook it perfectly and then dress it up for a dinner party?  Europeans, by the way, often boil their rice like pasta (a technique I have not mastered but will share when I do) instead of cooking it the southern way .  But my friend Darlena taught me yet another way to make rice:  in the oven.  It’s reliable and hassle-free, and when it’s done we’re going to dress it up a bit for our guests.

The Basic Recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups regular brown rice or white rice  
• 2 1/2 cups water or broth
• 2 teaspoons butter
• ½ t. salt

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees (190C).  Place raw rice in an 8” (20 cm) square dish.  Bring water to boil with butter and salt, with pan covered (to keep amount exact).  Pour over rice in dish. Cover tightly with a double layer of foil.  Bake for one hour.  Serves 4 to 6.

Fluffing it up: 

• Darlena serves hers topped with rings of  grilled sweet onions and red peppers.  Delish and pretty, too.
• Add saffron or tumeric to white rice before cooking to make it a pretty yellow color.
• I stir in chives or sliced scallions and toasted pecans just before serving.
• Or stir in some green peas and chopped fresh herbs.
• You may have your own version of mix-ins---any ideas to share?

In the COMMENTS:  Wow!  Don't miss the comments from last week: Lots of strong opinions about French parenting and kids, vs. American. And on the dogs too! We've had everyone from expats to Americans to a French nannie check in.   The author of Bringing Up Bébé has a new book out, by the way, called Bébé Day by Day: 100 Keys to French Parenting.  While French parents and kids are far from perfect, I think Pamela Druckerman sums up very well the cultural differences in an interview this week in the New York Times: "There’s a growing conversation here {in the US} around whether it’s good for kids to be the focus of everything, and the French take it for granted that it’s not." Seeing both cultures as I do, the US has swung a bit too far toward the totally kid-centric family in my opinion.  But let me add that there is no tougher job than parenting, whichever side of the pond you live on!

NEWS:  There's a book giveaway over at Goodreads this week:  they're giving away 5 copies of my step-daughter's book about their around-the-world trip, Sailing to Jessica.  Be sure to sign up!

What IS it with Those Perfect French Kids?

Say what you will about the French, they’ve got the parenting thing down pat.  Even their  dogs are well behaved.  

We noticed it first thing when we started visiting France.  Really you can’t miss it.

French children are incredibly, amazingly, unbelievably well-behaved.  They are not uptight or repressed, they’re simply mature, respectful, calm, and  polite.  There are exceptions of course, but not many.

How DO the French do it?

That’s what American expat  Pamela Druckerman wondered, when she moved to Paris with her young daughter. “Why was it,” she asks, “in the hundreds of hours I'd clocked at French playgrounds, I'd never seen a child (except my own) throw a temper tantrum? Why didn't my French friends ever need to rush off the phone because their kids were demanding something? Why hadn't their living rooms been taken over by teepees and toy kitchens, the way ours had?”  So she researched the reasons and wrote a book about it: Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting. It’s worth reading if you’re a parent, or just an observer of the French, to discover their secrets.

From our own observations, here is what French children are like: 

When they are introduced, they greet you politely and offer a cheek for les bises.

They sit in restaurants quietly.  They join in the adult conversation.  They don't zone out with their Gameboys. They eat what parents eat.  A 'child's plate' is a rarity on French menus; no self-respecting   5-year-old would settle for a hot dog and fries when there is foie gras on the menu.  

They play as exuberantly as other kids, but in public your rarely see them squirm, whine or fuss, or fight with siblings.    

Then there are the teen-agers.  Once  in a small town on an isolated street I encountered a group of about eight ados, as the French call them, all 15 or 16-ish.  They were hanging around outside of the door of a store, sporting dirty jeans and bizarre hairdos in crayon colors.  They were smoking cigarettes and slouching;  they were joking and flirting as teen-agers everywhere do.  Since they were blocking the door, I had to interrupt them.  My American side expected sullen looks,  a mumbled apology at best.  You know that phase, it’s a teen-age thing.  

As I asked to pass through, all talking stopped; they all looked up brightly.  I was met with a chorus, polite and enthusiastic, of “Bonjour Madame!  Ça vas?  Excusons-nous, s’il vous plâit!  The path was cleared, the door was gallantly opened, and they went back to talking.  I still remember my shock.

Now can someone explain to me---how is it that their DOGS are as well behaved at their kids?  Maybe I’ll write a book….

 

 

 

PHOTOS:  French dog, American dog:  Can you guess which is which?

 

 Many of you have been to France--or are French---so what's your take on French kids?

In the COMMENTS:  Virginia of Paris Through My Lens thinks Singapore Slings can be trouble--just ask Jetagain, who had to be carried out of a bar when she discovered them!  We discuss the origins of cherry herring, which Natalia remembers from trips to Scandanavia. And John, we didn't toss down any peanut shells, we were too cheap to spring for a $30 drink!