Back to the Basics

Conversations on French food will be on hold for a week. Its back to the basics-getting ready for Thanksgiving. Check out these cute easy turkey Oreos

The photo below is the turkey cookie made in a kindergarten class.  The Oreo cookie is opened and canned chocolate frosting is used to secure the candy corn and a malted milk ball. 

This is a great kid friendly recipe site with lots of creative ideas.
http://www.thepartyanimal-blog.org/

Wild Rice Cornbread Stuffing

Cook’s note: This stuffing can be made a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. You may need more than 3 cups of chicken broth to have mixture moist right before baking.

Ingredients:

• 1 TB.Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3/4 lb. Italian sweet sausage (casing removed)
• 2 cups cooked wild rice 
• 3 ribs of celery chopped fine
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 cups chicken broth (use low sodium-low fat)
• 1 box of cornbread cooked in an 8 inch square pan
• 4 slices of whole wheat bread cut in cubes
• 1 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
• ¾ cup toasted pecans
• 2-3 TB.dried parsley flakes
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 TB fresh chopped sage or 1 tsp. dried sage
• ½ tsp. dried thyme

Directions:

• Bake cornbread according to directions on box. Cool then crumble and place on a cookie sheet to dry out overnight
• Do the same for the whole wheat bread crumbs to dry out
• Sauté in a fry pan with olive oil onions, celery and garlic-cook 5-7 minutes
• Add sausage and cook till browned 5-7 minutes
• In a large pot bring chicken broth to boil, add thyme, sage,parsley, onion, celery sausage, cooked wild rice and garlic. 
• Add cubed bread and cornbread. Mix well
• Season with salt and pepper
• Fold in pecans and cranberries
• Place in a greased casserole and bake @ 350 for 35 minutes covered

Claude Monet

In France, the traditional Aperitif is a ritual. French people like to sip fruit juice or an alcohol drink before dinner. A light snack is traditionally served. As tradition goes guests clink glasses and offer a toast during the Aperitif. Sante is the cheer often used.

This is a picture of the Aperitif we had several times on our trip called Kir cassis. It is made with creme de cassis and dry white wine or some other light bodied red wine like a Rose. It was named after Felix Kir, the mayor of Dijon. He was known for serving this drink to his guests.
How To Make Kir cassis
1/3 oz. creme de cassis
3 oz. dry white wine or champagne or a light bodied red wine like a Rose
In a wine glass pour creme de cassis then pour wine over it and serves one

_____________________________________________

It would be appropriate today to have this drink in honor of Claude Monet's birthday.  

Claude Monet 

November 14,1840-December 5, 1926

Monet was the founder of French Impressionist style of painting. His works focused on landscape scenes and his favorite flower, the water lily. 

The Woman in the Green Dress

This painting brought Monet recognition in 1866. It was one of the many works featuring his first wife Camille Doncieux.

These two paintings are two of his most famous on display at the Musee d' Orsay in Paris. 

Au revoir

It is not possible to do Paris well in just a few days but we tried our best.  You just need to be willing to forgo a bit of sleep to pack it all in :) 
A late Fall morning walk through the Luxembourg Gardens was a wonderful way to start the day. Keep in mind that the design of the gardens is perfect for children. You can find a playground, a zip line, a puppet theater and...oh, how Parisians love their carousels. We saw them in every town.

Sometimes they are musicless but always turn and spin with grace. What I found intriguing was the game children play while riding the horses. If you are on the outside horse you hold a small baton or stick in your hand. The attendant unhooks a pear shaped wooden egg and slips little tin rings into the egg. As children race around they try to spear the rings dangling from the egg onto their batons. As the carousel picks up speed it gets tricky for the child to catch a ring on their stick. There is no reward for being able to spear the rings on the stick just the satisfaction of accomplishing it. 

Love Locks

Now can you guess why all these padlocks are hooked to the fence? It seems in Paris there is a custom of attaching padlocks to bridge railings, fences or other public fixtures as a way for couples to pledge their undying love. Lovers attach a padlock engraved with their names or initials or dates on it and then the key is thrown into the river. Most couples throw away their key, but as stories go some hang on to it as keepsakes for their children. It was quite the scene to see padlocks filling up the fences all across the Pont des Arts Bridge. This custom has its link to a 2006 novel Ho Voglia di Te (I Want You), by Italian author Federico Moccia. All along the street near bridge padlocks were for sale. 

Even though Paris has the nickname City of Lights one could add City of Steps. After a metro ride with a transfer there were over 100 steps to get out of the subway to reach the Montmarte (Mountain of the Martyrs) area and then over some 400 steps to reach the Sacre Coeur, a Byzantine looking church. While this 130 year old church was impressive so were the Sunday crowds listening to an impromptu concert.

Imagine trying to have your wedding pictures taken on the steps near the entrance of the church. 

View looking down from the church.

We definitely needed an espresso fix at one of the many, many cafes bordering the streets before heading back to the hotel. At least going down steps is easier and faster.

 Au revoir or Salut

P.S. Some French recipes acquired along the way will be coming soon. I need to figure out how to convert the ingredients to our American measuring standards.
Hope you enjoyed hanging on to our shirttails as we cruised starting at the Cote d Azur (blue coast area) to Provence on to Burgundy then to Paris.  

Paris, The City of Lights

The vibrancy of this city is infectious. And what better place to be where all the action is at the Moulin Rouge. Since it was a weekend we had to take a 11:00 PM reservation time! The unexpected was the enormous crowds of people out and about and going to the  show. Standing in line for an hour with hundreds of people gave us lots of people watching time. I noted my husband and I were certainly on the older end!!! The young ladies were dressed to the nines with their high heels or boots, leggings or tights and yes the signature color black with the necessary accessory a scarf.  

Thr Moulin Rouge is a cabaret located in Paris. It was founded in 1889 by the Catalaan Joseph Olller and Charles Ziddler. It is located on the Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th District at the foot of Montmartre. Oller and Ziddler's  style and names have been imitated and borrowed by other cabarets around the world. This cabaret was famous introducing  the Cancan dance, a frenzied rhythm done by dancers in what was once termed titillating outfits. The Moulin Rouge was loved by Parisian artists especially by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec who spent a lot of time there. Several of his paintings reflect the era of the Moulin Rouge when it was at its height. 
When you enter the cabaret there are at least a hundred tables. You were seated or shall I say crammed in at the tables for the show. But with ticket admission the reward was a bottle of champagne served in an ice bucket :) The show was fantastic with a variety of entertainment that never once stopped for an intermission. What a unique show experience. Only wish...they had allowed pictures.
The following photos are just a few of the Paris landmarks we either drove or walked by. Not only were the buildings magnificent in size and detail but so were the bridges. There are 36 bridges in city Paris. Each one has some unique stone carving to set it apart from another. 

Napoleon's Bridge spelled with his N initial










Eiffel Tower

Note the windows on bottom section in center of tower. There is a restaurant where dinners start at a minimum 360 euros per person. Just in case you are planning a visit, reservations are required some 6 months ahead.

Orsay Musee on the left houses a variety of French paintings which includes Van Gogh, Renoir, Cezanne and de Toulouse Lautrec.











Several days of walking around Paris have been good for wearing off triple course meals from the ship. So I felt we could justify a patisserie (pastry shop) stop for an apple tart and a chocolate eclair.

Check out the fancy way it is packaged up for the customer.

  

Saving The Best for Last

Window Licking 

The town of Beaune, south of Paris was an unexpected surprise. Each town, city or village we have been to has its own personality and charm.  This town is rich in historical and architectural heritage. Beaune can be considered the capital of Burgundy. It is a beautiful medieval town that is partially walled. Within the town are places of residences, hotels, shops, restaurants and historical points of interest that exudes wine.
Each year in November they have a wine auction. Barrels of wine are auctioned off for charity. Last year 6 million euros were raised.  
It is interesting to note that the stone used in the construction of the Statue of Liberty in New York came from this town.
The first place we visited was Hotel-Dieu. It really is not a hotel but was a hospital for poor people built in 1443 and run by the nuns. 

  Inside courtyard view of colored roof tiles.

I found inside the hotel quite intriguing with beds arranged down long rows. Each bed unit had a curtain that could be drawn and a chair next to it. It did remind somewhat of a confessional in a Catholic Church. When the hospital was at its busiest during the time of the plague each bed housed not one person but two! This photo below shows a sister who would be tending a sick person. The rope hanging down was a way to raise and lower the patient in the bed. The metal piece on the bed was for heating the bed with hot coals. We thought it sounded like a fire hazard.

Our Paris arrival was just in time for Friday rush hour traffic. It was just like you see in the movies a real traffic jam with noisy police car horns. After checking into the hotel we flew and I mean flew off for a boat ride on the Seine. It was a bit misty out but passing by the Eiffel Tower all lit up was truly quite a majestic sight.

The question is can we see all of Paris in only two days? I will let you know how we do.

Macon, France

An Unexpected End of the Line

Today we had good and bad news. The River Soane is very high with all the rain the region has recently had. Boats are unable to go safely under the bridges so all are docked here in Lyons or Macon till river level recedes. But the good news is we took a bus trip to Macon instead and got an extra trip to a Chateau. Tomorrow we take a very long bus ride to Paris for the weekend. Lucky we are leaving Paris before November 16th since there is a city strike scheduled on that day.  
Macon is a city north of Lyons, south of Paris in the Burgundy region.

As you enter the city this is the street across from the river.

Oldest wooden home in the city from the 17th century.

Each town has so many churches after awhile it's hard to remember each one.  The exterior of this one was beautiful. 









The drive to  this chateau was quite lovely. The scenery was very pastoral with rolling hills, grazing animals, vineyards and homes dotting the landscape. 

This is the first time I have ever seen a real chateau that had a moat.

These gardens were all topiary animal shapes. Note the chicken on the left.

As I have mentioned several times before we are more than well fed on this ship. Here are some more amazing presentations. And today I was lucky to get several recipes to try at home from the chef.

whole wheat crepe with a  filling of corn, bell pepper, zucchini tomato cheese

pan fried fillet of fish served with sauteed dill, cucumber, potato

Baked Alaska from last night's farewell dinner. 

Bon appetit
Cruising on the MS Provence (Grand Circle Line) was such an incredible experience. Everyday we were so well taken care of. 
"Salut! or Au revoir"
on to Paris
I am trying to practice my French