Entertaining in the French Style

by Johnson, Eileen

• ISBN13: 9781423605751
• ISBN10: 1423605756
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-10-15
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith

Summary

Lovers of al things French will delight in these stories and recipes deriving from both the French city and countrysidefrom Paris to Provence to Saignon, a tiny medieval town in the Luberon Mountains. Beautiful photography illustrates the pleasure of a well-laid table, whether an intimate breakfast or a dinner party with friends. Entertaining in the French Style gives readers a glimpse into the everyday lives of French artists, farmers, chefs, and cheesemakers, of regular French couples and families, and the central roles of both food and setting in capturing the nuanced romantic notion of entertaining with French influence.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 7
In the Medieval Town of Saignon Breakfast in Bed	p. 13
Celebrating Moroccan Influence on French Cuisine Luncheon	p. 25
In L'isle Sur La Sorgue, the Antiques Capital of France Garden Lunch	p. 37
In the Countryside near Provence Three-Course Dinner	p. 49
In the Village of Maillane Classic French Breakfast	p. 63
In the Heart of Burgundy Cooking with Flowers	p. 75
In La Perche Dinner and Calvados	p. 89
Quintessentially Paris Dining In a Left Bank New York City Apartment	p. 105
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

WHEN READING ABOUT THE AREA of La Perche in France 115 one often hears the French expression terroir. Terroir can be defined variously as soil or the land, and it is constantly used in relationship to wine, but the word means so much more than that. Terroir is the relationship of food to the land and the people who cultivate the land. It is the animals that graze upon the land, the agriculture, and the integrity of the food grown specifi c to the area. It is the angleof the sun, the accumulation of the rain, and the geographical location that makes up terroir. UNESCO's defi nition of the term is, in part, as follows:

"Terroirs" are vibrant and innovative spaces that defi ne the people who live there and refl ect a marriage between traditions, culture, and the natural environment."