Bienvenue en France ! (Officially, the French Republic.)
Les chefs
For our hors d'œuvres, we made pissaladière and pâte en croûte.
pissaladière - attractive but unappetizing
The pissaladière was (for my palate) quite an unusual concoction of carmelized onions, anchovies (which I don't care for), and black olives cured in oil. Extremely salty and rather fishy. It was not a hit in our family, but I gifted the rest on Buy Nothing, and our neighbor reportedly enjoyed it quite a bit! Shows to go you.
pâte en croûte
Making the pâte en croûte was a labor of love - over 100 steps in this recipe.
It was also an adventure to find the ingredients, like noix de veau (veal cushion) and pork neck. I object to veal on moral grounds (and had never previously eaten it), but chose to buy it for authenticity's sake. It made me uncomfortable, however, and I wouldn't get it again. I did enjoy my visit to Gartner's Country Meat Market, an excellent local butcher. It reminded me of the many visits my dad and I made to the Madeira meat market when I was growing up.
Unfortunately, no one liked this dish. The pastry crust was good, but the meat filling had an unpleasantly bland/damp mouth feel. I don't know if this was my error, or if it turned out correctly and we just didn't like it. Always the million-dollar question when preparing unfamiliar foods!
For our plat principal (main course), Oma made boeuf bourgignon, which was delicious.
Oma undertook the ultimate pastry challenge - macarons - and they turned out perfectly!! I helped, in a very limited fashion.
macarons with champagne frosting filling (flavored with a champagne reduction)... complètement delicieux
pots de crème au chocolat - very indulgent
fromage - a selection of French cheeses.
Murray’s Brie Fermier
Guilloteau St. Angel
Guilloteau Fromager Affinois avec des Herbes
Murray’s 18-Mois Compte
Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages
Chevalier du Grand Robert Pinot Noir
playing with baby
France is also one of the few countries I have actually visited! A wonderful trip in July 2017, when Noah was living in Lille.
Jambon fromage
La Tour Eiffel
Ma vie Parisienne
When? December 29, 2023
Who cooked? Lauren & Oma
What's for dinner? (Recipe links)
pissaladière, pâte en croûte, beef bourgignon, baguette et beurre, fromage, macarons with champagne frosting filling, pots de crème au chocolat
.png)
France Stats
- Population: 67.97 million (about 1/5 the size of the US)
- GDP: 10th in the world (compared to US #2)
- Life Expectancy: 82.23, 19th in the world (US is a pathetic 59th, at 76.33)
- Founding Date/Age in 2023: 843 / 1180
- Official Language: French
- Rankings:
- Largest indigenous duck meat producer
- Largest exporter of perfume & electricity
- Largest percentage of nuclear energy in total energy production
- Most tourist visits per year
- Largest Exclusive Economic Zone
- Most time zones (12)
No comments:
Post a Comment