Archive for the ‘French Cooking’ Category

My French “mother-in-law” is coming to lunch tomorrow. Its not often I cook for her, and I am racking my brains and shuffling the recipes to decide what she would enjoy. A tricky one, as she is convinced that the British cannot cook. In fact most of the French I have discussed this topic with are all defiant regarding the cooking skills of expats from across the Channel. They are also very happy to remind us of our “mad cow disease”.

However our French Christmas lunch cooked by “ma-in-law” was not a patch on the seasonal roast turkey & trimmings I used to do at home in the UK. Our festive meal consisted of an old boiler fowl, pressure cooked with tinned chestnuts and what I can only term “artisan potatoes” (no further veg) followed by an uninspiring endive salad and a supermarket frozen dessert…no fun crackers, or flourish of a little garnish.

It is my opinion that the French are too complacent with their vintage crown of “the best cooks in the world”. The majority of local restaurants here in Nice, in the south of France, mainly cater for tourists, the same menu year in year out. If you dare complain – that is it – you are enemy number one. Only once did we return a lukewarm undercooked steak. We could not even decide if it was lamb or pork and at 22 euros… the waiter threw a fit, then returned the same steak – that had just been re-heated in a microwave!

I do understand that there are some amazing restaurants around especially further afield, but we do not have a car and what if the food is not worth the palaver of a trip? For us, we now avoid the local French restaurants, as we have exhausted the few varieties of dishes offered. There is only so many insipid chocolate mousse you can desire.

Now our one restaurant weekly treat is to go to the expat pub for Sunday lunch. They do not have a microwave, everything is served with a bright stimulating variety of fresh veg and the desserts are always an inspiration. Mulled wine trifle, Bailey’s creme brulee and their chocolate mousse is made with Guinness and served in a fun glass to look like half a pint. Naturally my ma-in-law firmly turned down our invitation to join us there!

I admit to generalizing regarding he cooking skills of both nations, but in my view, the French could be a tad more adventurous with their tried and tested, regurgitated traditional recipes.

Thanks for reading

For more info about being a expat in France visit http://www.livinginthesun.info/articles/france/

Also check my blog on all aspects of moving to France here http://livinginthesun.info/france/

I wish you the best of luck.

Liz

Author: Liz Sunny
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

Tags: chocolate mousse, christmas lunch, enemy number one, festive meal, french attitude, french christmas, french mother, frozen dessert, mad cow disease, roast turkey

Are you a wine snob? Perhaps you’ve always wanted to be but never really had the time or the knowledge to know where to begin? No matter where you fall on your wine sensibilities, there is an easier way of getting the best French or Rhone wine to celebrate most any occasion. From the biggest get-togethers to the small intimate moments with the ones you love, taking advantage of specialist wine merchants and the knowledge they have will have you well on your way to enjoying the best wines the way they were meant to be. Here are four express benefits of using a wine merchant for your food and beverage needs:

Matching the perfect French wine to ideal food selections: French or Rhone wine are classy beverages for most any occasion, but they go specifically well with certain foods. Based on taste and texture, the robust flavor of a crisp wine comes out even stronger when matched to the appropriate food combination. But if you are a novice, it can be hard to tell, and you don’t want to doom the experience before you’ve even had the chance to know how best to experience it. That’s where a quality specialist wine merchant comes in handy. Through their expertise and recommendations, you can avoid the trial and error and find a combination that brings out the best in both components.

Sampling new Rhone wine and French selections with convenience: One of the drawbacks or benefits – depending on your point of view and expertise – is that there are many different kinds of French or Rhone wine out there for you to sample. However, doing so can get quite expensive, and it’s not beneficial unless you know what you are getting is a quality selection. Seeking the expertise of quality specialist French wine merchants means that you can often find opportunities to sample new selections with ease and convenience through carefully selected assortments that are made ready for delivery, so you can take advantage from virtually anywhere in the world.

Relying on the experts to hone your French wine tastes and sensibilities: It takes knowledge, care, and respect to enjoy French wine or Rhone wine the way they were intended. It is recommended that if you are new to the game, you rely on the experts you will find through specialist French wine merchants to guide you in developing your tastes and sensibilities. It could keep you from many unpleasant wine-tasting experiences down the road!

Staying on top of news, reviews, deals and offers: Nowadays many specialist French wine merchants keep frequently updated blogs that provide you with the latest in news, reviews, advice, deals, and offers. If you are serious about your wine hobby, you will want to follow along, see what they have to say, and before you know it, your own tastes will start to benefit.

Whether it’s French wine or Rhone wine that has caught your attention, start the new year off right by listening to the experts – specialist French wine merchants, who know how best to appreciate the flavor and the experience.

Learn more about French wine and Rhone wine.

Author: Todd Duan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Smart cooker

Tags: food combination, food selections, french wine, intimate moments, quality specialist, rhone wine, robust flavor, specialist wine, wine merchant, wine merchants