Posts tagged with "French food"

Every picture from last night is of me trying to rescue ce gâteau.

A double video post today! Mais d’abord, I said I’d follow up on le financier que j’ai préparée hier- the financier cake I made yesterday, and for which I translated the recipe.

Sauvegardez vos parades : It was un désastre. When I slid the cake batter into le four (the oven), half the cake stayed on my oven mitts. This was after beating les blancs d’oeuf (the egg whites) in TWO directions (CARDINAL SIN) and before effing up the timing on the oven. In conclusion, financier fail. If you do better, raconte!

Alors, this double video post! There are two videos I want to share with you et il n’y a pas trop de rapport entre les deux. Except that one is a great chanson and the other is si bon!

1. Voici un vidéo sur L’As du Falafel, un restaurant dans le Marais, à Paris. L’As du Falafel is maybe the most singular food experience available in Paris. Moi je suis accro (I’m addicted) et je ne suis pas seule (and I’m not alone) :

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Est-ce que vous avez déjà entendu parler de L’As du Falafel ? Have you already heard of L’As du Falafel ?

2. L’As du Falafel… c’est si bon (it’s so good). As good as…

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Eartha Kitt chantant (singing) « C’est si bon » in 1962. Cette chanson a été écrite en 1947, and Eartha Kitt helped popularize it through her 1953 recording. You might also know it from Louis Armstrong’s English-language recording, or Yves Montand’s version (remember “Un gamin de Paris”?). En tout cas, it’s been jumping through my head all night, et j’espère que vous aimeriez! I hope you’ll like it!

C’est si bon,

De partir n’importe où,

Bras dessus bras dessous,

En chantant des chansons,

C’est si bon,

De se dire des mots doux -

De petit rien du tout -

Mais qui en disent long.

En voyant notre mine ravie

Les passants dans la rue, nous envient

C’est si bon,

De guetter dans ses yeux

Un espoir merveilleux

Qui donne le frisson

C’est si bon

Ces petit’s sensations

ça vaut mieux qu’un million.

C’est tell’ment, tell’ment bon

Voilà C’est bon

Les passants dans la rue

Bras dessus bras dessous

En chantant des chansons

Quel espoir merveilleux

Uummm – C’est bon.

Je cherche un millionnaire

Avec des grands “Cadillac car”

“Mink coats” – Des bijoux

Jusqu’au cou, tu sais?

C’est bon

Cette petit’ sensation

Ou peut-être quelqu’un

avec un petit yacht, no?

Aahhh C’est bon

C’est bon, C’est bon

Vous savez bien que j’attendrai

quelqu’un qui pourrait m’apporter

beaucoup de “loot.”

Ce soir?, Demain?, La semaine prochain ?

N’importe quand.

Uummm – C’est bon – si bon

Il sera très – crazy, no?

Voilà, c’est tell’ment bon !

English Lyrics:

It’s so good,

Just wandering around,

Arm in arm, arm in arm,

And singing songs.

It’s so good,

To whisper sweet words – ,

Little nothings,

But little nothing that can be

said again and again.

Seeing our love-struck expression

The passers-by in the street envy us.

It’s so good,

To see shining in her eyes

A marvelous promise

That sends a shivers up and down my spine.

They’re so good

These little thrills

That are worth more than a million

It’s so very, very good.

It’s Good – Yes, It’s good

The passers-by in the street -

Arm in arm, arm in arm -

Singing songs -

What a marvelous promise

Uummm – It’s good.

I’m looking for a millionaire

With big Cadillac cars

Mink coats – jewels

As big as your fist – you know?

It’s good

This little feeling -

Perhaps someone with a little yacht, no?

Aahhh it’s good -

it’s good – so good-

You know I’m waiting for

someone who can give me

plenty of loot.

Tonight? – Tomorrow?- Next Week?

Dosen’t matter when.

Uummm – It’s so good – so good

It will be very crazy, no?

It’s very good!

(NDLR: Not a translation- there are distinct English lyrics.)

C’est si bon,

De partir n’importe où,

Bras dessus bras dessous,

En chantant des chansons,

C’est si bon,

De se dire des mots doux -

De petit rien du tout -

Mais qui en disent long.

En voyant notre mine ravie

Les passants dans la rue, nous envient

C’est si bon,

De guetter dans ses yeux

Un espoir merveilleux

Qui donne le frisson

C’est si bon

Ces petit’s sensations

ça vaut mieux qu’un million.

C’est tell’ment, tell’ment bon

Voilà C’est bon

Les passants dans la rue

Bras dessus bras dessous

En chantant des chansons

Quel espoir merveilleux

Uummm – C’est bon.

Je cherche un millionnaire

Avec des grands “Cadillac car”

“Mink coats” – Des bijoux

Jusqu’au cou, tu sais?

C’est bon

Cette petit’ sensation

Ou peut-être quelqu’un

avec un petit yacht, no?

Aahhh C’est bon

C’est bon, C’est bon

Vous savez bien que j’attendrai

quelqu’un qui pourrait m’apporter

beaucoup de “loot.”

Ce soir?, Demain?, La semaine prochain ?

N’importe quand.

Uummm – C’est bon – si bon

Il sera très – crazy, no?

Voilà, c’est tell’ment bon !

English Lyrics:

It’s so good,

Just wandering around,

Arm in arm, arm in arm,

And singing songs.

It’s so good,

To whisper sweet words – ,

Little nothings,

But little nothing that can be

said again and again.

Seeing our love-struck expression

The passers-by in the street envy us.

It’s so good,

To see shining in her eyes

A marvelous promise

That sends a shivers up and down my spine.

They’re so good

These little thrills

That are worth more than a million

It’s so very, very good.

It’s Good – Yes, It’s good

The passers-by in the street -

Arm in arm, arm in arm -

Singing songs -

What a marvelous promise

Uummm – It’s good.

I’m looking for a millionaire

With big Cadillac cars

Mink coats – jewels

As big as your fist – you know?

It’s good

This little feeling -

Perhaps someone with a little yacht, no?

Aahhh it’s good -

it’s good – so good-

You know I’m waiting for

someone who can give me

plenty of loot.

Tonight? – Tomorrow?- Next Week?

Dosen’t matter when.

Uummm – It’s so good – so good

It will be very crazy, no?

It’s very good!

(NDLR: Not a translation- there are distinct English lyrics.)

Ce soir, j’ai fait des crêpes! (Tonight, I made crêpes !) C’était délicieux. J’aimerais vous donnez une recette (I’d like to give you a recipe) but it’s not the precise measurements that matter.  L’esprit de crêpe (that is a made-up expression) is more important than the crepes themselves! (There’s still a recipe here, quand même.)

J’avais un babysitting (I had a babysitting job) for two great kids, Rose and Timmy. I promised Rose we would make dinner, but we didn’t have time to faire les courses (go shopping). So, what was in le frigo?

Des œufs (eggs), de la farine (flour), du lait (milk) et du beurre (and butter)—bref, des crêpes ! I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to make them before, but you should. Like right now.  Especially if you have une petite fille (a little girl- okay, Rose, a medium girl) to fouiller le frigo (search the fridge) for tasty things to mettre dedans (put inside).

We used un fouet (a whisk) to mix a cup of flour with two eggs, then slowly added du lait and de l’eau. Il faut ajouter pas mal de liquide—you need to add a good bit of liquid, or else you’ll just make pancakes.  Une pincée de sel (a pinch of salt) is a good idea too. Heat une poêle plate (a flat skillet), ajoutez du beurre (add some butter), et versez un peu de pâte (and pour some batter) ! A minute on one side, puis faites-le sauter (then flip it, or literally, « make it jump »). Once it jumps, you can add your fillings, or wait and remplir les crêpes (fill the crepes) all at once.

Rose wanted dessert first, so we made our crepes in this order:

  1. Citron sucre (mon préféré!): Lemon juice and sugar
  2. Pépites de chocolat avec du citron : Chocolate chips with lemon
  3. Pépites de chocolat et banane
  4. Confiture, fait maison : Home-made jam !

Then my sense of responsibility kicked in, and we started to faire des expériences (experiment) with dinner crepes. This is when la fouille (the excavation) came in:

  1. Fromage: cheese
  2. Fromage et tomates cerises: cheese and cherry tomatoes
  3. La spéciale Rose: the Rose special, fromage, tomates cerises et persil frais (cheese, cherry tomatoes and fresh parsley)
  4. Riz et côte de porc : Rice and pork chop
  5. Fromage et œuf : Cheese and egg. Super-classic, you pour the batter for the crepe, let it cook on that side for a minute, flip it, sprinkle cheese, and crack an egg onto it. The egg cooks through the crepe and c’est délicieux! La sauce piquante (hot sauce) adds a lot to this one, although you will make purists cry.

Crepes are the rare food that is both élégant enough for your parents and délicieux enough for your late-night cravings. I once made croissant grilled cheese sandwiches at 4 in the morning, after a night of karaoke and hailstorms in the Southwest. But from now on, que des crêpes (nothing but crepes). If you try it, tell me what you mettre dedans! Bon appétit!

PS Hichem, c’était chouette ton post hier ! Your post yesterday was great ! En revanche, est-ce que tu pourrais expliquer le truc de Lascar ? J’ai pas trop bien compris…  (However,  could you explain the Lascar thing ? I didn’t really get it…) C’était rigolo tout de meme.  :D

Ever since I had a delicious albeit overpriced fondue with a close friend in Le Quartier Latin eleven years ago in Paris, I have been in love with fondues and my fondue pot.


So, I thought I’d share a recipe for Fondue aux trois fromages:

Ingrédients

200 g de gruyère
200 g de fromage à raclette
100 g de mozzarella
1 gousse d’ail émincée
10 cl de lait et 20 cl de vin blanc
1 cuillerée à soupe de fécule de maïs
poivre noir du moulin
muscade râpée

Dice the cheese.  Heat up the milk, all but 4 tablespoons of the wine and the garlic in a caquelon (fondue pot).  Add the diced cheese all while stirring well.  In a separate bowl, mix the corn starch and the remaining white wine.  When the cheese has melted but is not liquid, pour this mixture into the caquelon while continuously whisking.  Simmer until smooth and creamy.  Bring to a boil and let it cook for a few minutes.  Add pepper and nutmeg.  Let the fondue simmer gently over a hot plate in the middle of the table as everyone dips their food into it.

You can dip breadsticks, little pieces of French baguette bread, small baked potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, apples or anything else you can think of in your fondue.

Bon appétit!

A few things happened to me when I lived in France that made me begin to understand one of the major points of French culture – le fromage!  First of all, as a student who had to go out and get her own groceries for lunch, one of my first excursions was to a supermarket and the cheese aisle was about as long as the snacks aisle in the US (not just Roquefort, Camembert and Brie).  I later was told that there are over 1000 different kinds of cheese produced in France.  That’s a lot of cheese!  There are soft cheeses, hard cheeses, blues, goat’s cheeses (chèvre), herbed/garlic (Boursin) cheeses and much, much more.
Fromage

After about six months of living in France, I was invited to a friend’s house for lunch.  After the main course, out came the hostess with a large, round dish with several different cheeses on it.  My friend told me to take some of whichever I liked or to try them all.  So, I grabbed my knife and was just about to cut off the bottom of one of the cheese triangles, when his father waved me off and said, “On ne se coupe pas le fromage comme ça!” (You don’t cut cheese like that!).  After seeing how red I got in the face, he quickly laughed it off and said not to worry and explained to me that you are supposed to cut cheese in a way that everyone gets an equal part.  So instead of left/right (or just hacking the point off), you should cut the wedge from the top to the bottom.  In other words, with the large end of the wedge at the top, you cut a slice off vertically.  He then proceeded to explain the different taste of each of the cheeses and took great pleasure in getting me to try them all and discuss them.  Each different kind of cheese is cut in a different way, but always with the same principle behind the cut- that each person basically gets an equal part and for the cheese not to look demolished as it is served again and again after each meal on the cheese platter.  Custom is to pass the cheese platter around the table with each person carefully cutting a portion from each type of cheese and placing their portions on their own plate to eat them once everyone has been served.  You normally won’t see French people reaching to the center of the table to get more and more cheese.  If someone does want more, they usually take the platter to serve themselves more or ask someone to pass them the platter.
Years later when I again lived in France, a friend of mine would often invite me out to dinner and would always make a point to tell me to close my eyes and savor the cheese served after the meal and tell him if I could taste the grass the cheese-making animals had eaten prior to getting milked.  What???  Can you actually taste the grass in the cheese?  Is this true or is this just exaggerative French people for you again, I remember asking myself.  Needless to say, I never could taste the grass.  It just tasted like cheese to me, albeit delicious.

I was doing a wedding menu (menu mariage) translation today and I came across the word pièce montée, otherwise known as croquembouche.  I have to say that I hadn’t specifically remembered this dessert from the French wedding I attended back in the summer of 2003, but it is all sort of a blur now anyway.  I do remember however how the wedding took place in the city hall; then they held a separate, short ceremony right after that at the local church and then everyone moved on to a château some miles away for the reception and dinner.

The city hall ceremony is required in France as the church and state are strictly separated.  The wedding vows at these ceremonies have been set in stone by the government since Napoleon times.  A typical French wedding often lasts all day with the ceremonies, cocktails, four and five course meals, late night snacks and into the next with a day-after breakfast, a Sunday brunch or even continue on until Sunday lunch.

Just like the wedding I attended, many couples choose to hold their reception at one of France’s many, many beautiful chateaux.  The staffs at these castles prepare everything from the appetizers, to the meal, to the cake, to the photographer and much, much more.   Often times, these events include caricature artists who create and give guests free caricatures, gypsy dancers, magicians, children’s entertainment with babysitters, clowns, fairies and even videos and of course the dance entertainment may be provided by DJs, live orchestras or jazz musicians, just to name a few.  The dancing often begins between the meal courses so guests can work up an appetite for the next course.

Finally, the bride and groom can choose to have a traditional wedding cake or a pièce montée, which is a cream puff pastry that takes the form of a pyramid, basket, horn of plenty or dishes.  Bride and groom figurines are placed on top.  Some of them even feature lighted sparklers.  Tradition goes that the bride is to cut the first piece.  She can be assisted by her groom if she chooses.  The story goes that if this tradition was not kept, the bride would not be able to have children.  Also, it is supposedly bad luck if the figurines fall down.

Pièce montée

Reportedly, Eva Longoria had her pièce montée flown in to her Paris wedding from Los Angeles in first class accompanied by a body guard for just over $15,000.

Have any of you ever been to a French wedding?  We would love for you to share your experiences with us by writing a comment!

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