Southern Fried French

Your Homework for the New Year

We await them each year with aniticipation: the French chocolate bonbons called Révillon, that start to appear in the stores near Christmastime. We like that they come in bags of mixed chocolat noir flavors: Parline Pur Amandes Feuilleté, Ganache Noir, and so on. But what we like best is this: tucked inside little each glittery wrapped papilllote is an inspirational quote, in French. We have spent many a winter evening with a post-dinner espresso and maybe even a cognac, nibbling on chocolates and working on our translations.

We have tested you in the past on your Révillon quotes, but this is a new year and a new crop. By the way, I used to think the name came from réviellon, which means Christams eve or New Year's Eve festivities, and which seems appropriate. But no, I noticed the name is spelled slightly differently: Révillon, which is just a brand name. In any case, here we go. I hope these inspire you to great things in La Nouvelle Année. Translations at the bottom--no cheating til you've tried!

The many varieties of this Christmas treat.

 

P.S. I regret to tell you that the impressive stack of quotes pictured at the top  took us only a couple of days to produce. Ok maybe one.

 

Tout ce que tu feras sera dérisoire, mais il est essentiel que tu le fasses.

Gandi

Le plaisir de l'habitude est souvent plus doux encore que celui de la nouveauté.

Marcel Proust

Dis-toi d'abord ce que tu veux être, puis fais ce qu'il faut pour le devenir. 

Epicèt ...

Tous les trésors de la terre ne valent pas le bonheur d'être aimé.

Calderon

Le chocolat plonge des êtres par ailleurs normaux dans d'étranges états extatiques.

John West

On n'est jamais puni pour avoir fait mourir de rire.

Proverbe chinois

L'espérance d'une joie est presque égale à la joie.

William Shakespeare

Ecrire, c'est une façon de parler sans étre interrompu.

Jules Renard

Les paroles sages tombent quelquefois dans l'oreille d'un sourd; mais un mot gentil n'est jamais perdu.

Arthur Helps

Les rires éclatent mieux lorsque la nourriture est bonne.

Proverb irlandais

Un compliment vaut un baiser.

Alfred de Musset

Dans la vie tu as deux choix le matin: soit tu te recouches pour poursuivre ton rêve, soit tu te lèves pour le réaliser. 

Anonymous

 

Here's your cheat sheet. Feel free to take issue with my translations:

 

Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is essential that you do it.

The pleasure of habit is often sweeter than that of novelty.

Tell yourself first of all what you want to be, then do what's necessary to become it.

All the treasures of the earth are not worth the happiness of being loved.

Chocolate plunges otherwise normal beings into strange ecstatic states.

One is never punished for making people die of laughter.

The hope of joy is almost equal to the joy itself.

Writing, it's a way of talking without interruption.

Words of wisdom sometimes fall on deaf ears; but a kind word is never lost.

The bursts of laughter are better when the food is good.

A compliment deserves a kiss.

In life, there are two choices every morning: either you go back to sleep to follow your dreams, or you rise to make them happen.

 

And in spite of this year which we'd mostly rather throw in la poubelle, we hope you have a very Merry (and safe!) Christmas celebration and especially a Happy New Year!

 

In the COMMENTS: Lynne, you were so clever to repurpose a garde corps as a headboard. Jane, my goodness, you are a true French cook. Thea, enjoy the island, it makes me sad to think of it. Back someday. Francine, felicitations on your arrival in Arizona. Frankl I hope you make it to France next year, we have so many friends who want to get here. Sandi, happy to help with CharlestonInkandArt on Etsy.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Betina recommends the Etsy shop, the Vagabond Thimbler, for unique and fancy homemade ornaments, and teddy bears in your choice of prints!  And from our authors: Joanne Marquardt has published several memoirs of France, like My Trip Around the Hexagon: Meandering in France. Debbie Woods has a French memoir too, Girl Lost, Found in France.

 

 

Thanksgiving Heresy: Skip the Bird?

It's nearly Thanksgiving, that uniquely American holiday. Friends in France love to get invited to Thanksgiving dinner at our house, so they can see what it's like. 

Today let's take a minute to pay tribute to the animals who give their lives for us all year, and it is a sad fact that most of them suffer terribly for our benefit. (If you don't believe it, read what Mark Bittman,one of our foremost American food writers, has to say, here and here, . See if you can still eat industrially raised meat after watching the video).

I can't get away with skipping the bird at my house, I've got to please our carnivorous members, though I'm a vegetarian (I'll be sure to buy a humanely raised bird, though). But I'll be putting a vegetarian main dish on the table as well, which needs to be special, since it's Thanksgiving. And if you've got a big enough family to have a variety of diets, you may be doing the same.

My ideal Thanksgiving consists of a whole bunch of wonderful side dishes. So if you're going vegetarian, forget the tofu turkeys, just make something fabulous! Have you ever noticed, you can fix a big honkin' steak or pork chop, but put a great side with it, and watch what people dig into first. That's the kind of vegetarian dish you want for Thanksgiving. So just make some wonderful new sides and skip the bird, or not.

I'm reminded of this when we go to one of our favorite brasseries  here, Chez Jack. With the main  meat dish they bring a huge steaming casserole for the whole table, a Gratin Dauphinois. Everyone's eyes pop out and they dig in. Even the carnivores at the table often suggest we order ONLY the potatoes on the next visit.

And if you do cook a turkey, please respect the bird by choosing a free-range one and by making use of every bit of it, from carcass to gizzards to drippings--and because those parts can be the best.

 And now, it's time for me to start cooking, and to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

 

RECIPES: Thanksgiving Vegetarian Dishes, to Stand Alone or to Sit by the Turkey

Below, I've listed some ideas  for enticing vegetarian side dishes, with links, that could stand alone as a main dish. Some go well alongside a turkey, some could replace the turkey or be a great main dish another day. Some I've tried, some are on my list to try.  I'd love more contributions, please jump right into the discussion! (photos below are not mine, see links for credits).

Tomato cobbler with cornmeal-cheddar biscuits (pictured, right). Let's start with something really southern. It's possible to get good cherry tomatoes year-round now, and roasting them brings out even more flavor.

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese. No reason not to try this one with pumpkin, too.

Mushroom Mille-feuille with Tomato Coulis. Been meaning to try this one. It's fancy enough to stand alone, and really different. What the French call mille-feuille is what we call a Napoleon, and it means "a thousand layers".

Corn, Cheddar, and Scallion Strata. A make ahead dish, and great for a crowd.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage browned Butter Sauce and Pecans.  A classic combo. This one uses canned pumpkin and wonton wrappers, but if you can find some fresh pumpkin ravioli, it's even easier.

Mushroom and Wild Rice Casserole. Topped with a deep layer of toasted breadcrumbs. Definitley on my to-try list.

Gratin Dauphinois. From Chez Jack.

 

Below, Pumpkin Ravioli, Corn Strata, Mushroom Wild Rice Casserole, and Mushroom Mille-feuille

In the COMMENTS: Yea! It looks like there are many kindred souls out there who prefer an independent café to the Starbucks of the world.Those Pumpkin Spice Lattes are not lowfat either, just ask Natalia! Who, by the way, has a good roasted pumpkin recipe for us. Jan suggests a stuffed pumpkin, a pretty presentation for sure. Robyn, I agree that canned pumpkin has many good uses, as in one of the recipes above. Just wish I could get it in France. Angie, I know, and love, those 5 hour meals! Jan, I know pumpkins as potirons, but I've heard citrouille too. I poked around on some French sites and read that potiron is the edible one, and citrouilles are decorative pumpkins for carving or display, a different variety too tough to eat. Any French folks care to weigh in on this?

FAVORITE READS: This week I met author Jerry Marterer, who lives in Paris part of the year. He wrote a great book about Paris, an insider's travel guide called Paris 201: Uncommon Places in the City of Lights. You can read a review of it in the December issue of France Magazine. Find his book, and his blog, here.

My friend Sandi, always up on the latest books, loved The Bonjour Effect: The Secret Codes of French Conversation Revealed. Sound intriguing.

Jane Webster, who lives in Normandy, has put out a new design book called French House Chic, a glimse inside the beautiful private homes of France. It will be out in May on Amazon.com, but you can get it now on Amazon.fr.

 

 

Down South, A Rock-Star Chef Surprises

We’re back in Charleston at the moment, which has us obsessing about food. Charleston has proclaimed itself the Foodie Capital of the Universe, and we can’t even keep up with the hot new restaurants, much less just the new ones (90 opened last year). But we soldier on and do our best.  

You know how in France the star chefs are opening up small bistros in addition to their flagship restaurants, to sort of play around a bit?  Well, that’s what the US golden boy chef du jour, Sean Brock of the fine and fancy Husk Restaurant, has done in Charleston. Chef Brock seems to be in every national magazine I pick up these days, showing off those beefy arms, tattooed with intertwining vegetables.

So what sort of casual place did he open? You wouldn’t guess it. It’s a hole-in-the-wall (but stylish) Mexican place with just a few tables, offering tacos ($3 each) and burritos ($8) served up with Tecate beer and margaritas. 

We love Husk, so we decided to try Minero, as he calls his new place. There is always a wait, even on a Monday at 6pm, when we went, so we saddled up to the tiny bar—and never left. We sat down next to a local chef who owns a farm-to-table catering business and who was on a tasting mission. He started passing bites to us (“sharing is caring”, he said), so the three of us together worked our way through most of the menu, served by our cheerful bartender.  Photo above of Minero by Sweet Tea Jubilee.

No normal Mexican joint, this. Brock spent 6 months just learning to make a true Mexican tortilla. He imports three varieties of corn and grinds the corn himself. He makes his own Mexican cheese. I told our bartender that somebody must be back there making tortillas all day; he told me there are in fact three ladies who do nothing but.  Photo right by Jonathon Boncek.

The food is inspired by Mexican street food, meant to be eaten with your fingers, or rather devoured. Silverware is discouraged (it’s kept in a drawer at each table; if you must have it, help yourself). There are piles of paper napkins, though a bib and a washcloth might have been useful.

Despite the authentic tortillas, the food is a Mexican mash-up. Behold this unlikely burrito: it was filled with hoppin’  john, avocado, queso de Oaxaca, and crema. The tortilla that enveloped it was burnished to a crispy shell. There was also a dish improbably labeled “hot dog confit and ham torta”.  Huh? Turns out Brock is riffing on a sandwich of unapologetic excess that he spotted in Mexico City: a split hot dog on a round bun with deli ham. Brock sautés the hot dog in rendered pork fat, hence the confit handle. Then he tops the sandwich with a thick slice of ham, avocado, shredded lettuce, tomato, a vegetable relish, shaved onions, and a chipotle mayo. Dessert was churros, served with a chocolate and chile dipping sauce.  We didn’t have room for the churros—so we’ll be back!

 

RECIPE: New South Collard Greens

Speaking of food from the deep south, I tried a new-fangled collard green recipe this week from that iconic food writer Ruth Reichl, former editor of the deeply missed Gourmet magazine. I tried it because it’s about as different from traditional collard greens as you can get, and because Ruth Reichl is one of my heros. Slow-cooked collards are just about my favorite food, but it’s good to step away from the dog-eared cookbook sometimes.

The collards are chopped into very thin strips (with an ingenious technique that is super quick), briefly sautéed with aromatics, then topped with toasted breadcrumbs, parmesan, and a splash of lemon. They were quite delicious and different. You can find the recipe at Ruth’s blog. I liked them cooked just a minute longer, and we preferred cider vinegar over the lemon juice, but otherwise I followed the recipe. So go on now, make yourself a mess o' modern collard greens!

 

In the COMMENTS:  First of all, for a very thoughtful and thorough post on Charlie Hebdo and the tradition of French satire, go to the blog Recollections of a Vagabonde, written by one of our readers who was raised in Paris.

Well last week's post on French kids and their eating habits certainly generated some interesting comments!  Rebecca, Tammy, and Caterina all share their experience working in schools, so they've seen some picky eaters. Martin gives us the UK perspective. Rhonda and Dottie (a pediatrician) both have some good tips to share on feeding kids. And Betty really did have les bébés who loved boudin!

Bonnie and Natalia have movie recommendations for you.  And many thanks for all the feedback on The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I'm reading it now, what a quirky and fascinating book!

 

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