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Did everyone find the inauguration as absolutely uplifting and hopeful as we did? There was champagne chez nous, and Gran Marnier soufflés to celebrate. 

So on this happy day, time to share a bit of French joie de vivre. Let's look at the French boites aux lettres, and send a love letter to those quirky little details of life that make French village life so appealing. Even the official letter boxes of the French Poste are a bright, cheery yellow.

I've collected these photos over the years. I'm sending you lots of hope for the coming year, S.W.A. K.!

 

Now about those Gran Marnier soufflés:

RECIPE: Easy Gran Marnier Soufflés

I think of soufflés as complicated affairs that take a while to make, a long time to cook, and then they have to be eaten immediately. It's hard to get that all coordinated. But I found a recipe on the New York Times Cooking site that takes 10 minutes to prepare and 10  minutes to cook. You can pop this out on a week-night and surprise the troops with your cooking acumen. I didn't take a photo, they got scarfed up too quickly. Mine looked like their photo (above), even though my soufflé dishes were twice as big as they specified.  I adjusted it and made it for 2, and used 3 eggs instead of five, but I stuck with the full amount of Gran Marnier, just for good measure. (the recipe below serves 4). But when you serve them, you can dip in  with a spoon and pour in a little more Gran Marnier if you are so inclined.

Serves 4.

• 1 tablespoon soft butter
• ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 eggs, separated
• ⅓ cup grated orange rind
• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Rub the butter on the bottom and sides of four 1-cup souffle dishes. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the insides of the souffle dishes.

Place the egg yolks in a bowl and add 1/2 cup sugar, the orange rind and the Grand Marnier. Beat briskly until well blended.

In a large, deep bowl, preferably copper, beat the egg whites until stiff. Toward the end, beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. (You can use an electric stand mixer, but keep an eye on the egg whites. They should not be too stiff.)

Spoon the egg-yolk mixture into the whites, folding in rapidly. Place equal portions of the mixture in the prepared souffle dishes.

Put the dishes on a baking sheet, and place on the bottom of the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, and serve immediately.

 

In the COMMENTS: Suzanne, I am all over those Mint Julep Bourbon Balls! Michaela, great idea for a French class, makes it fun. Natalia, I love your over-the-fence sing-along idea, you must try again! Francine, on fait le Ban Bourguignon souvent, aux fêtes. La la la! And Jane, yes we are thinking of you and your Brexit woes. We've ditched Trump (well sort of), but I think you are stuck with Brexit. We feel your pain, as our grandkids have British passports, which are now not nearly as useful and valuable as they were.

 

Favorite READS & Views: I'm sure you are watching Bridgerton, isn't everyone? Can anyone recommend the books? Haven't read them. The French Lupin, with the wonderful Omar Sy, is all the rage in France, and you can get it on Netflix. 

My best book find lately is a New York Times best seller called Breath. If you haven't read it, you must! An investigative journalist takes a deep dive into the history and science of breathing. He will convince you that most of us are breathing wrong, with very bad consequences for our health. He's a good story teller too, it's a fascinating read. And, obviously, a timely one.

 

 

 

Comments

[Jane Williamson]

Yes, we settled down to watch with a bottle of Cremant, Pringles, tapenade and toasted pitta breads.
What a wonderful speech.
I loved the remark that the world gave a collective sigh of relief.

[Iain M Cooke]

great pictures, more please!

[Ella]

Bonjour tout le monde,

Salut from a rare rainy day with waves almost "surf-able" sur la Côte d'Azur.

Lynn, your blog is always a delight to read and your book was a huge help as I returned to l'université de Nice for yet another course in the ever-exasperating-- mais plus jolie -- langue française.

Quick question, may one have la recette de soufflée without subscribing to the NYT?

Je vous remercie en avance et bonne fin de semaine,
Ella

[Katherine Harrison-Adcock]

Lynn! Yes, it was uplifting, followed by such a tremendous blitz of leadership in action in the first days. Huzzah for the next four years!

[Libby Wilkie]

Oh, what a truly wonderful day that was! and, combined with my first vaccine the day before, it has been a good week!!! I feel now that anything is possible. We will both have been duly vaccinated by end of February and are actually considering a trip to your hometown. Travel...what's that?

I made a cheese souffle recently and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was! Hadn't made one in years. So I will try this delicious looking one next.

[Paula Hogan]

There are a few remaining neighborhoods in our area that have “des boites aux lettres” attached to the house. Nearly all of them are as creative and charming as those in your photos.

Another charming feature of French buildings are unusual downspouts—usually gargoyles but sometimes other things.

[Francine Martinie Chough]

Hey Lynn
On a fêté l’investiture de Biden avec du foie gras comme se doit. Moins stressée aujourd’hui!
Pas possible de trouver la recette du souffle sur le NYT. Dommage! À propos Grand Marnier prend un “D” à la fin.
Quelle bonne idée les boîtes aux lettres.
Merci.
J’adore Lupin avec Omar Sy. Grand succès aux US aussi!
On a réservé nos vols pour fin août 🤞🤞🤞

[Natalia]

Lynn,SWAK right back to you!
These letter boxes are just tres charmantes! Reminds me of some beautifully written letters and then sent with all good care to the recipients.
And! Oh my goodness! Souffles! Goes straight to my heart!
Quite honestly,I have never met one I didn't like!! And seeing Pierre Franey on a recipe again is like meeting up with an old friend.I have enjoyed his cookbooks through these(now past) years.
I especially like making the souffles in individual dishes instead of one larger one.
A very favorite is my au pif cheese souffle;made pretty much in the way this Grand Marnier beauty is done,with the exception(of course)of using cheese instead of GM and buttering the dish and dusting with grated Compte.Also I used 2 egg yolks,beaten, and 3 egg whites(beaten to soft peaks).Fold together,put in dishes top with more Compte and bake till puffed.(YUM)(sending a picture of mine in a separate email)
Another cookbook of the oldie but keeper variety is Roger Verge's Vegetables in the French Style.Have never had a bad one from there and the pictures are lovely.

[Karen Lewis]

Since the NYT recipe is not in a current issue, we don’t have access to it. I know because I recently changed my subscription to the NYT dropping the cooking section. Can you copy/paste it into an email for us? I would love to try this. And I would like to try the version posted by Natalia in the comments.

I loved all of the mailboxes! They always catch my eye, too.

Thank you!

[Lynn McBride]

Thanks for alerting me to the recipe for the soufflé, which I did not realize is behind a firewall. I've posted it on the blog. Enjoy!---Lynn