Happy New Decade!

Bonne Année 2010!
Wishing you big smiles aplenty for the new decade!

A beautiful, bountiful Christmas!

Noël 2009, c'est fini!
I will keep a vivid memory of the cheerful carols we sang on Christmas Eve, and of the very gourmet/gourmand Christmas that we spent with our loved ones.
Just for the sake of sharing the joy, here is a sample of what was on our menu for this year's Christmas potluck dinner at home:

***Appetizers***
I'll give you just one that is typical to my hometown:
-Lyons hot sausage with truffles and pistachios, also called "cervelas truffé et pistaché" .
(see picture above)
I was so happy when I received some from my parents in France that I had to serve this special dish for my Canadian Christmas. I served the sausages sliced, and halved topped with a cloud of homemade chutney (date & apricot winter chutney).

Different types of Lyons sausages

Traditionally the hot sausage or 'cervelas' is served with steamed potatoes, or on a bed of lentils (so typical to the cuisine lyonaise). It can also be served in a brioche, it is then called saucisson brioché. Any option is equally tasty!

***The pièce de résistance***
- A 7-kg smoked turkey (a big mama turkey!) with a side of roasted vegetables (chestnuts, butternut squash, small potatoes, rosemary, paprika, onions and garlic), and cranberry sauce.

I'd like to report the fact that, on Christmas Day, I turned a vegetarian into a carnivore with that turkey. Incr-edible!

***Desserts***
-Chocolate Log
-Schwowebredle
-Gingerbread Cake
All 3 from Simone Morgenthaler's Alsatian cookbook-

-Crème Jaune à la Vanille ( a sort of custard cream)
-Chocolate Truffles ( stuffed with roasted almonds!)
-Christmas Shortbread Cookies

It was my first Christmas as a married woman, and I had a beautiful, bountiful Christmas sharing with my in-laws, here in Canada. I felt like a child offering my homemade Christmas presents: orange marmalade, chutney, Christmas cookies and truffles, all wrapped up in hand-made gift bags. But I also felt the intense joy of receiving in front of so many generous earthly presents! I enjoyed every moment before, during and after the party. Perhaps like me, you too enjoyed that special moment when, once the guests have left, all snug in your slippers, you start to clean the place a bit, shove the colourful wrapping papers in the recycling bin, pack and store the leftovers in the fridge, and eventually pause in awe in front of all these wonderful memories and gifts that you collected over the day (See post on my other blog Christine Rochet-Jacob) !
One of the greatest gifts that we received came from my mother-in-law who is a great supporter of my culinary experiments. Ohlala! Quelle folie! She offered my husband and I a master Vita-Mix juicer-blender! Look at the beast...

I have read the instructions, and gone through the DVD with the Getting Started recipes. I feel ready to try my first Vita-Mix juices in a couple of days, i.e on New Year's Day. Fresh juice will sure help us cleanse the body from all the toxins accumulated over the holiday season, and start the new decade with a lot of vitamins and a lot of bravado! Yes. Let's get ready for a healthy detoxifying diet come January!
Now before we part, allow me to leave you for this year 2009 on a double-bill happy note!
For your viewing pleasure, I recommend you watch...

A Chef in Love (Les mille et une recettes du cuisinier amoureux)

Dir: Nana Dzhordzadze/Cast: Pierre Richard, Nino Kirtadze, Timur Kamkhadze, Micheline Presle, Jean-Yves Gautier/ Language: French and Russian with English Subtitles/ 1996/ 100 mins

This film tastes like a fairy tale about a bigger-than-life French tenor/gigolo/Chef. The title character of A Chef In Love is indeed a Frenchman with equal passions for his restaurant and his lover.
As cinematic banquets go, I enjoyed A Chef in Love ( I love Pierre Richard, and Micheline Presle, whom we hardly see, unfortunately...) but I must confess it left me somehow unsatisfied as parts of the plot was left unresolved. It tickled my appetite but...- je suis restée sur ma faim!
I therefore went for an extra serving of ''Babette's Feast''(Ahhhh!Ohhh!Wow!), and invite you to do the same!

Babette's Feast

Savour the last moments of 2009!

Merry Christmas! ** Joyeux Noël!

Running short of cookies in the jar?
Here is an easy and quick way to fix it with Nigella's good tips!

Wishing you a very merry Christmas!

"This Xmas, let us give each other a hand!" - Season's greetings by Cédric Roulliat

Now, don't forget to also check out my other blog, Christine Rochet-Jacob. You will find another gift under the Christmas tree...

Tea time with Laura Calder

Recently, I met Laura Calder, a vibrant author turned chef and expert in French cuisine after several years spent in France (Paris, and Burgundy). For our second meeting, she had kindly invited me to her place for tea. I was not expecting anything in particular, but two elements I thought I would find at Laura's place were elegance and humour. I was not disappointed! What a treat for the eye, ...and the mouth! She is a real pleasure to share anecdotes and deeper reflections with. She is obviously knowledgeable in the cooking field but she is also effervescent and reaches out to many a subject that catches her attention, and on this point we really get on well...

Check out her shows and browse her recipes on the Food Network, you won't regret it!


I also recommend that you read her interview with Gremolata for more details.
Now, as she has just moved back to Canada, Toronto in particular (great choice!), she is still sharing her continental expertise in her shows for the Food Network, and working on new projects that take into account her newly regained Canadian lifestyle. But "motus et bouche cousue", her projects are confidential...

Laura is a wonderful hostess, indeed! And to prove it, let me show you the pictures I took at her place while sipping a delicious black tea, regularly shipped by her parents in New Brunswick, and savouring a tasty banana cake. Laura was not too happy with that cake recipe that she had just tested... She actually found it boring - well, even if I see what she means, I still enjoyed it a lot. For a failure, it was quite a success!

On a large windowsill in the living room, white candles, holly and pine boughs are displayed to fill the air with their delicate holiday fragrance.

This decorative deer was offered to her as a joke by a friend, to welcome her back to Canada. I found it very appropriate to the setting!

Beautiful arrangement of roses and a cedar-fragranced candle; even unlit, this candle was exhuming its subtle notes of cedar wood from the table...

I loved this eclectic corner on the couch: there is humour in the quirky cushion, adventure with A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (I am curious, I'll have to ask her for that read!) and high-brow literature with the New Yorker.

In this antique mirror that she had revamped, one can see the reflection of her kitchen, where the magic happens!Ciao, bella Laura. Au revoir, and thank you so much for that beautiful tea time! I enjoyed every minute we shared together. Our next meeting should see us celebrate the new year with a couple of friends.

But I do not forget that she also asked me to take her on a shopping expedition. I will suggest that we invite my husband and his twin brother as style experts to guide us through our journey. That might well be the subject of a new post on my other blog, Christine Rochet-Jacob. To be continued in 2010...

Wishing you all a lot of friendly tea times for the holiday season!

'Tis the Season around the World

Mon cher Coco,

Eh oui...'tis the season! Just like me, I bet you too are finalizing the last preparations for the day, or days, or week of festive gatherings. My husband and I will be hosting this year's family Christmas dinner party, and we expect about 15 people to share their appetite and joy with us! While deciding on the last hors d'oeuvres to insert in my menu, I found this 1960s ad that put a big smile on my face. But, no. It would be too far a stretch from my ideal gourmet banquet...
No frozen banquet dinner for this Xmas! Instead, I am planning to complete my Christmas shopping with the purchase of a very traditional turkey. I saw big healthy birds at Toronto's St Lawrence food Market the other day, and I am going to get one tomorrow - before they all vanish into thin air, so to say.

Bouquets of carrots and roots at Toronto's St Lawrence Market, December 2009. My photo.

But what about you? I wonder where in the world your nearest market can be? Do you have any traditional ritual for Christmas?

Oh, but a wait a minute, talking of Christmas and Markets makes me think of Christmas markets! I will grant you the point that they sometimes can be irritatingly cheesy and overcrowded, but aren't they most of the time a good occasion to share the festive spirit with your loved ones?

Here is a selection of some of the Christmas markets that one can find around the world.

Strasbourg, France: More than 400 years in operation, the Christkindelsmärik is the largest Christmas market in France with a fantastic location on the Place Broglie, in front of Strasbourg Cathedral.

I went twice to this market, and enjoyed the experience to the full, munching on freshly made pretzels or sipping from a cup of mulled wine to defeat the cold. Christmas in Alsace is quite special!

Berlin: Ah, booming Berlin, what a swell swinging city! More than 60 markets are held each year throughout the city, including one in front of Charlottenburg Castle with carriage rides and theme exhibits in the palace that was built in the 17th and 18th centuries.
In the Gendarmenmarkt square, a classic Christmas market is held in December.
Cusco, Peru: Held Christmas Eve on Cusco's spacious Plaza de Armas, the market includes dozens of stalls selling craft items, especially clay nativity scene figurines as well as candies and other delicious edibles...On Christmas day, you can also attend the parade, which starts when the Christmas day mass in the Cathedral ends. The congregation bursts out intermingled with groups of dancers, accompanied by singing, drumming, whistling and chanting. I am most particularly attracted to this Christmas tradition..but my husband is Peruvian, this might explain that.

How would you like to spend Christmas day in Cusco, ancient city of the Incas? Watching a show of colourful dancers in the main square, and get in the festive spirit

Mexico City: Two of the traditional Christmas markets in this vast capital are centrally located. The Grand Bazaar Navideno of the Colonia Del Valle at the Lazaro Cardenas Market sells tree decorations made from tin, papier-mâché and wood as well as candles and figurines of every description. Another good bet is the one mounted around the Coyoacan Market.

Dolls for sale in the Coyoacan market

Chicago: The largest Christmas market in the United-States. Chicago's was inspired by Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt and is located dowtown Daley Plaza. Attracting more than a million visitors every year, the market is dominated by a large illuminated Christmas tree.

Umm, yes...this is in Chicago!

Krakow: Centred in Krakow's Rynek Glowny Square, the holiday market offers oplatek (Nativity-printed wafers), Polish honey cake, amber pieces, Bohemian glass, fur slippers and silver jewellery among other items.
Do you live near one of these markets? Have you ever attended one? Don't hesitate to leave your comments on the subject!

Source for this post: Article by John Fitzgerald, published in The Toronto Star on Thursday, November 19, 2009.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas Market time!