Travel another way

Everybody has made plans by now: whether they will spend Christmas with Auntie Paulette or with Mom and Dad, with friends or strangers, whether they will celebrate this special day in a  cold snowy resort of the Alps or in a family home by the Mediterranean Sea, they are set.

Four great feasts  will take place during the French  holiday:  one on Christmas Eve , one on Christmas  Day, one on New Year’s Eve and one on New Year’s Day ! You can imagine that it will be  a big challenge for all French livers !!!!

On Christmas Eve, or Réveillon de Noël, people generally meet with their family and first have an apéritif: Champagne and a lot of appetizers. Then, around 9pm, they start to eat and some of them leave the table just before midnight to go to the local midnight mass. Most french people are not observant catholic but they go to church to perpetuate the tradition They go to bed  around 1am, and still have to get up early for the next day lunch that will start around 12pm and end around 4pm, all these dinners being formal seated dinners of course.

On New Year’s Eve, it starts all over again, but a lot of people choose to gather with friends or  join a huge party with unknown people in a restaurant or a club.  Dinner is followed by a long dancing party. People stay up late, until around 3 pm and often show up with sleepy eyes or a hangover  for the next day lunch, that will start again around 12pm.

By now, everybody has  planned what food will be served and what wine will perfectly match these special meals. So let’s find out what is on the grocery list for these 4 important meals.

Even though the late dinners are slightly smaller than the luncheons (which last about 4 hours), all these 4 meals consist of one per category of  the following traditional dishes:

• Oysters on the shell / Seafood / Foie gras / snails / smoked salmon
• Lobster  / scallop gratin / calf sweetbreads / bouchées à la reine 
• Roast Capon / Beef Roast / goose / turkey / boudin blanc with trufles
• green beans / mushrooms / chesnut / a potato dish
• A huge cheese board
• the Yule log (the traditional pastry or ice cream shaped in a log)

If you live near L.A., you can also celebrate Christmas the French way. Check this restaurant menu , and if you do not look at the restaurant opening hours, you could think it is in France  http://www.lepetitchateau.org/events.html#

Picture credits:

1. Capon from http://www.foodavenue.fr/

2. Snails from Valerie, our chef on the tours to France with French Escapade

3. Yule log from http://venezmangerchezlaura.centerblog.net/5.html

Dijon is world famous for one thing: its mustard. But the last jars are about to be made in this town located  150 miles southeast of Paris, in the heart of Burgundy.

Amora-Maille mustard, the biggest brand in France, has been making mustard since 1900, but has announced the closure of 3 of its Dijon factories by the end of the year.

Even though Dijon was already known for its mustard in the 14th century, it became really famous  when in 1856, Jean Naigeon  started to make the celebrated yellow paste   using vinegar instead of the usual verjuice from grapes. It then became  easier to preserve.

In the late 19th century, Maurice Grey and  later Pierre Poupon (Grey Poupon! Got it!) initiated the first industrialization of the product, which had been family made until then. In1937, an edict established  that Dijon mustard had to be made a certain way and  to follow a very strict process. Unfortunately it never received a A.O.C. label which would have prevented this product to be make anywhere else but in Dijon.

In the last decade, mustards seeds started to be  imported from Canada and the prices for this staple ingredient have recently increased tremendously, up to 144%. Since it was bought by Unilever in 2000, the Amora-Maille Dijon factory has not been very prosperous.

The board of the company has consequently decided to concentrate its production in its Chevigny factory, in a Dijon suburb. However, the employees are now fearing that the board of directors  should decide to take another step, and move  its production to Turkey or Poland as it has previously happened for other brands.

A facebook group  has been created to campaign against the closures at the following address (it is in French, sorry, but you can still check it)                                                       http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34241799860

So let’s keep our fingers crossed so that we could enjoy  Maille mustard for years and years. You know it is my favourite one! (See previous post from August 4, 2008.)

Here are some useful links:

• how to make a simple vinaigrette with Dijon mustard:

http://www.metacafe.com/w/1106206/

• The  complete history of Dijon Mustard :

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/wiencis/mustard_story.html

From Valerie’s corner

If you think of a typical French menu, you may picture creamy dishes, heavy cream pastries, butter sauce and cheese-flavored gratin all over your plate.

So can French cuisine be light?

Yes, it can because there is not one French way to cook, but different ways. The main difference is based on a geographical divide which can be drawn from the Northwest part of France to the Southeast.

In the North, the main fat used to cook is butter. Normandy is famous for its grazing cows under apple trees in picturesque fields. Therefore, cows mean butter , and to some extend high fat cheese such as Camembert or Livarot. As a result,  the local cuisine uses butter as the staple fat.  And it is the same for the whole Northern/Esatern areas.

The delicious crêpes from Brittany proudly are famous for their butter content. Parisians love adding a small piece of raw butter on top of their steak (already broiled in butter) and the sweet song of butter frying in their pans is their favourite tune.

In the South, oil is preferred to butter; in salads, people love rape seed oil, walnut oil or olive oil but sunflower oil remains the most common oil for frying.

Besides butter and oil, the  weather conditions also tend to favor the southern regions for healthy eating habits. When it is cold and  rainy, people in the North tend to rely on comfort food. They also maintain a social life by entertaining each other rather than by doing outside activities: having people over mean eating a lot of cakes, pastries and cookies.

In the East (Alsace) or in the Alps and Jura, snowy winter dinners often mean a Sauerkraut dish (cabbage nut always with potatoes and a lot of sausages) or raclette (cheese-based meal) and fondue .

In the South and the West, the weather being much milder, typical menus are composed of more salads, more fruit and more fish than in the Northern regions. Even when eating meat, the traditonal duck and goose meat from Gers  is supposed to be healthier for the heart than other types of meat. Cheeses are often made with goat or ewe milk (Roquefort, Cabecou, Picodon), much lighter in fat.

However, French cuisine is more and more cosmopolitan and these traditional trends are not as defined as in the past. Fashion governs food trends and ingredients and dishes are not attached to one single territory as before.

By the way, I am from the South of France. Can you tell? If you want to taste my cooking, I am the chef on some fo the tours to France organized by French Escapade (the one called la Belle France, taking place in the Alps).

We also organize cooking tours to Provence with several professional chefs.

Our favorite Provence olive oil comes from Le clos des Jeannons in Provence, check their website at http://www.huile-provence.com/angindex.html and the best walnut oil in France, made like in the 19th century is made in Savoie, http://www.moulindechanaz.com/index_En.html

We visit both these places on our tours to France with French Escapade.

Pictures taken on our French Escapade tours and the chef is me.

Photos of the Great Synagogue of Brussels,  posted with the kind authorization of the Jewish Consistory of Belgium  http://www.jewishcom.be/FR/comm_bruxelles.html

As the Jewish community is about to celebrate Hanukkah on Dec.21 all over the world, let’s take some time to visit the Jewish Brussels  .

Jews settled in Belgium between the 13th and 15th centuries., after being expelled from France, England, Spain and Portugal. In the Lowlands, especially in Antwerp, the Jewish community played an important economic and financial role.

When Belgium beame a country in 1831, the new regime recognized judaism as an official religion. By the end of the 19th century, both Sephardic and Ashkenazic jews were well implanted in the country. In 1939, an estimated 65,000 jews lived in Belgium, mainly in Brussels. After WWII, 40,000 had perished under the nazi regime.

Today, the Jewish community is about42,000, the majority living in Brussels and Antwerp. Belgium is the 4th largest community in Europe.

Jewish Landmarks in Brussels:

• The Belgian Jewish Museum http://www.new.mjb-jmb.org/
• The Great Synagogue. Built in 1878, it was not destroyed during WWII. Located 32 rue de la Regence, Brussels
• The Liberal Synagogue (Reform) : many Americans attend services there (96 avenue de Kersbeek, a 20-minute taxi ride from downtown)
• The National Monument to the Jewish Martyrs of Belgium. An  impressive monument with 23, 838 names located in the district of Anderlecht.

            http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/photos/bruss2/bruss203.htm

• The International Jewish Center organizes cultural and religious activities in English .   http://www.ijc.be/ 

Happy Hanukkah to all our Jewish friends!

Skiing all year long in the French Alps

If you love skiing to the point that you also picture your summer vacation  with ski-boots on, there are 2 places you will enjoy in the Alps: Tignes and Les Deux Alpes.

On the Glacier of La Grande Motte, in Tignes, you will be able to slide down the slopes for 20 kilometers, between 2750 m and 3 450m in altitude. Your ski level does not need to be excellent as the slopes are only “blue” and “red” ( which mean average to good levels on the French scale). But remember, skiing will only be enjoyable if you can wake up early; after 1pm, the snow starts to melt and turns into what we call “soup”: i.e. a soft melted snow that is everything but pleasant.

Now let’s talk seriously: I mean winter ski!

Most French skiing resorts are now open. I personally prefer small typical villages to the huge commercial sking town where hotels are almost skyscrapers and where there is no local atmosphere.

Here is my selection in the French Alps:

• Aussois : Yes, I broke my arm the last time I was there but it is a cute village in the Alps with a family atmosphere and a typical architecture and friendly villagers
• Villard de Lans: many activities are possible there (down hill, country skiing and sleigh) and it is quite close to Grenoble.
• The 3 valleys:  all the  villages of these 3 valleys are linked and represents the biggest ski domain in the world. Les Menuires + Courchevel +Meribel + Val Thorens are the main resorts there. You can ski for days without sliding on the same slope twice! Less cozy, of course.
• Isola 2000 is a nice skiing resort in the Southern Alps. It is nice if you like skiing in warmer places; it is the main resort on the Nice Winter Olympics application for 2018. (I swear I did not use “nice” 3 times on purpose!!!!)
• Finally, if you like luxury and exclusive places, Megève will be your choice. You’ll love it if you do not find outrageous to  spend 10 bucks for a tiny cup of coffee! The view is devine (chalets, glaciers …)

All pictures are from www.free.foto.com

                        On Dec. 8th, Lyon and its area will celebrate Illusmination Day.

It all started over 150 years ago, when people wanted to celebarate the new statue of  Mary ( I know, all these recent posts are Catholic-oriented close to the end of the year, but a lot of festivities have a catholic religious background here, even if most people do not care about it any more) on top of Fourviere Basilica.

Since then, people have put little candles on their windowsills on that evening in Lyon but also in the villages around, as far as 50 km away. Valerie always decorate her house with dozens of candle in La Cote Saint André.

For a few years now, the festivities in Lyon last several days. It will start on Dec. 5th, and ends on the 8th this year. Light artists work all year long to turn the Capital of the Gauls into a light wonderland: historical building are lit and images are also projected on the wall, turning the whole city into a show.

Thousands of visitors are expected and they now come from all over the world. Street artists propose many shows downtown, and even in the cold, the crowd and all the walking will keep you warm!

Photos used with the kind authorization of  the Saint Nicholas Center, Belgium (see link at bottom of post).

Photo 1. Banner from England 2. Postcard from France 3. Postcard from Belgium

Yes, in Belgium, children  open their holiday season gifts on December 6th, which is Saint Nicholas ’s Day. Christmas is more an adult celebration.

On that day, both in Flanders and Wallonia, joyful and colorful parades greet St. Nicholas with bands and banners . Saint Nicholas will appear with his donkey, and  his mate: Zwarte Piet  in Flanders or Père Fouettard in Wallonia.

On St Nick’s Eve, children put their shoes or baskets by the fire places (or beside the door), with some food for the Saint: carrots, turnips and a glass of wine! On the next morning, they will find them filled with treats and toys.

The most traditional treats are Belgian chocolate but also spiced speculoos, the famous Belgian cookies, shaped like the Saint. To learn how to make speculoos, com eon the tour to Belgium we organize with French Escapade.

To know about the story of Saint Nicholas visit the St Nicholas Center at

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38

Photos credits: Alphonse Glaser , CRDP Alsace, France

Christmas in Alsace is magic. This territory that once belongs to Germany (Alsacians still speak a German dialect) has kept strong traditions from their saxon heritage.

In summer, the typical villages are beautiful, but in winter, they turn into magic land postcards.

Christmas festivities start on Nov. 25, on Saint Catherine’s Day. From then on, thirty five Christmas markets will displayed the most delicious treats all over the 7 Alsacian lands. Local delicacies will please the most refined palate: Alsacian foie gras, spice bread, bretele and mulled wine (see recipe in previous post).

December will reach a climax, when kids (some adults do too) open a little treat every day from the Advent calendar (a special calendar with small windows and a treat for each day).

Santa is less popular here than the local legendary characters: christkindel, Hans Trapp and of course, St Nicolas : on St. Nick ’s day, all children in the North of France and Belgium will get their presents (and not on Christmas Day) !

So be Alsacian today and open your first advent treat!