limes and lemons – Page 5 – Myfrenchkitchen

It is a crazy time, the end of the year. Whether winter or summer, it is Christmas, gifts, parties, holidays, celebrations…and food. thank goodness it only happens once a year. I have decided to propose a menu over the following 5 days. A series of posts covering “Un Noël à la campagne“. (And non, it is NOT our Christmas menu.) I’ve chosen light food, a little bit more creamy, warm, cold, great French cheese and a showstopper dessert. But don’t fret. Most of the dishes can be made ahead of time and others without fuss or long processes. I hope it inspires you to play around with ideas of your own. The secret to a Christmas dinner is always… keep it simple and small and DON’T WASTE!

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..Apéritif :

..marinated herring and litchi cups and foie gras and mango bites..

..recette..

Pincée de fleur de sel:

Use any other fish you prefer, even tartare de poisson(raw fish).
Cut the litchis on the opposite sides of the stem to make for pretty “lids”.
Use small kiwis instead of litchis and crab meat instead of fish.
Eat with small demitasse spoons.
Keep in fridge until served.
Use ham or other preferred cold meat instead of foie gras.
When using cold beef, add some mustard between the layers.
Use other firm slices of fruit in season instead of mango.
Work on five helpings of each per person to leave room for the rest of the dinner to follow.

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Noël window displays in Paris:

On a cold evening last week in Paris, I grabbed mon chéri and my camera at 23:00 to go snap some images of Lafayette and Printemps, famous for their Noël window displays. Here are somze images and just for that child in you, click on the following images to see the displays in action.. These displays always make me giggle with pleasure!

..vitrine Luis Vuiton..

..ball..Dior- Printemps..

..Dior – Printemps..

..my favorite vitrine!..ice skating – Printemps..it reminds me of myself..on the ice, wrong way up and wondering how to camouflage my embarrassment in the most elegant way!

..at the ball – Printemps..

..la Fayette house..

..table exhibits;.

..Lafayette house vitrine

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The menu will continue tomorrow with the amuse bouche: Two salmon and avocado terrine.
A nice French film for December – Tous les matins du monde with Gèrard Dépardieu ane Anne Brochet. It won the Louis Delluc prize for best film and the César for best music in 1992.
Some links of the window displays:

à demain

Ronelle

A very popular tart/cake/sweetness in our home is this little lime tart…sometimes made with lemon. It has a tartness without being overwhelming sweet or soury, like lemon tarts can sometimes be. It reminds a little of a cheesecake…just perfect for those particular tastebuds.

Suggestions:

Use lemons instead of limes.
Use other biscuits of your choice for the base.
Serve cream on the side or decorate each tartlet with a whipped cram dollop.

*A recipe adapted from Atelier tartes, salé +sucré by Catherine Kluger.

Doesn’t fascination come in so many forms? One of them is the beautiful old crosses(las crotz) standing at the carrefours (crossroads) in France and especially here in the Limousin. I have to admire them every time I pass them, because somehow they grab my sentiments and transport me back to a time when life was so different from how we live it now. Standing in the heart of the countryside all over the Limousin, I can still feel their eternity, hear their stories, their silence, even despite the fact that I now break that calm of the past with the cruel blare of modern transport.

These beacons served once upon a time as road signs. Sometimes elaborate, but most of the time very simple and very often as plain as one huge exceptional stone. After Christianity la croix de chemin took on the shape of a real cross…in wood or carved from the best stone of the region, elaborate, in wrought iron, on pedestals, or freestanding.

Today these crosses are only reminders of what was once a landmark for the peasants, roadsigns and parish, places of pilgrimage. They were also objects of religion and devotion and sometimes commemoration of events, like La croix des femmes, which was created in commemoration on a corner where a blind horse caused the death of two women.

The photos were all taken just around the area, 30 minutes’ drive around our home, Coin Perdu in Correze.

These two crosses stand at the entrance of the village Beaulieu sur Dordogne and the other at the entrance to Puy d’Arnac. It was custom that a cross indicates the beginning and ending of a village.

At the crossroads the crosses also serve during snow periods in winter where the four roads came together. People gathered at these crossroads, mostly for religious ceremonies and blessing of the crop and the land And prayers. They were important landmarks, not only of the land, but also of the lives of the peasants. It is not a strange thing then when we speak of standing at a crossroad in our lives. We should stop frequently and check if we still see our beacon/landmark. Can we still recognize it? Has our direction changed? Maybe it is necessary to change the course of our pilgrimage from time to time. A next landmark will always be there to guide us. Crossroads will always be there. They are timeless. Create your own las crotz. Let it guide you. Let it tell your story.