Why home dishes? I believe most people, who read my blogs, have been to a French restaurant in their country and know what French food is like. But what do French people eat at home? Is it as complicated and artistic as what you see at restaurants? The answer is "Yes". I am surprised to know that they make chocolate, ice-cream, sausages, etc. themselves at home. One reason to take all the trouble to make them at home is for the sake of health -- you know what you are eating. The other reason is to enjoy the great fun of making food for yourself and for your family. It is not difficult for me to imagine. I am pretty sure that I would feel a great pleasure if my children enjoyed the meals I make.
I have been invited by a French family for a Saturday dinner at their house together with another two guests. One thing to note is that usually the host says you can come at 7pm, but you are actually expected to be at their house at 7:30pm. Dinner in France usually starts at 8pm. They may provide you some snack (e.g. simple salad) to eat and pre-dinner wine to drink from 7:30-8:00pm and also have some pre-dinner chatting. If you reach too early, they may not know how to handle you. This is quite different from Chinese convention that guests usually reach slightly earlier to help out a bit, such as arranging tables and chairs, or even washing vegetables. In France, the hosts do everything themselves probably because they would like to do things in their way.
Children were put upstairs at 8pm so that hosts and guests can start their meals. The main course at the dinner was roasted lamb together with a glass of red wine. I had been asked beforehand what I do not eat because some people may be allergic to some food. I said, I could eat any meat as long as it is fully cooked. Well, this seems to be a relaxed requirement, but it turns out to make the host's cooking slightly difficult because they usually eat lamb that is half-cooked. It is harder to make it fully cooked and yet tender, timing is very important. Anyway, to respect my eating habit, the lamb was made fully cooked. It was roasted in a small machine in their garden (i.e. open air) with coal burning at the side of the machine. Coal? Yes, coal, because it just tastes better than those roasted in an electric oven. I read from newspaper that some harmful gas is formed when fat burns on coal, so having coal at the side is a smart design. I am not sure what spices have been put on the lamb, it tastes very delicious.
Each person was only served with one slice of lamb. After the main course, I still felt hungry. Well, so did they because there were still many other courses waiting for us. Immediately I was served with cheese and bread. Everybody knows that French people have invented more than 300 kinds of cheese. As a foreign guest, I must try. At home, they eat 5-6 kinds of cheese with bread after the main course. I tried a little bit of each and concluded that they were eatable. Of course, cheese and wine always go together. (A colleague of mine organized a cheese party a few months later. I found out that I could eat any cheese, so I passed the cheese test in France.)
The host made the desert himself as well -- something creamy and sweet in a cup. All dishes have their names, but I am not good at remembering names. Besides the dessert, some home-made chocolate was served, then the post-dinner wine. You may notice that the host is a male because I use the word "him". Yes, the host's wife confirms that her husband does all the cooking and he enjoys doing so. Yes, I myself also enjoy cooking and have a feeling that I am an artist when I happen to cook something nice. After this dinner, I feel I should practise more.
You might ask that, do they learn cooking from their mother? I presume women did all the cooking in the old days. But I found out that each such an artist has a sophisticated cooking book at home, which can be 1000-page thick, very professional. I would really like to buy one myself.
After drinking different kinds of wine and having a lot of interesting chatting and laughing, I started to feel sleepy. But I was told that such dinner (or gathering) usually ends at 2-3am. Because I am not a close friend of the family and also because they are no longer in their early 20s, we ended the dinner earlier, i.e. at 12:00 midnight.
Cinderella went home safely.
I have been invited by a French family for a Saturday dinner at their house together with another two guests. One thing to note is that usually the host says you can come at 7pm, but you are actually expected to be at their house at 7:30pm. Dinner in France usually starts at 8pm. They may provide you some snack (e.g. simple salad) to eat and pre-dinner wine to drink from 7:30-8:00pm and also have some pre-dinner chatting. If you reach too early, they may not know how to handle you. This is quite different from Chinese convention that guests usually reach slightly earlier to help out a bit, such as arranging tables and chairs, or even washing vegetables. In France, the hosts do everything themselves probably because they would like to do things in their way.
Children were put upstairs at 8pm so that hosts and guests can start their meals. The main course at the dinner was roasted lamb together with a glass of red wine. I had been asked beforehand what I do not eat because some people may be allergic to some food. I said, I could eat any meat as long as it is fully cooked. Well, this seems to be a relaxed requirement, but it turns out to make the host's cooking slightly difficult because they usually eat lamb that is half-cooked. It is harder to make it fully cooked and yet tender, timing is very important. Anyway, to respect my eating habit, the lamb was made fully cooked. It was roasted in a small machine in their garden (i.e. open air) with coal burning at the side of the machine. Coal? Yes, coal, because it just tastes better than those roasted in an electric oven. I read from newspaper that some harmful gas is formed when fat burns on coal, so having coal at the side is a smart design. I am not sure what spices have been put on the lamb, it tastes very delicious.
Each person was only served with one slice of lamb. After the main course, I still felt hungry. Well, so did they because there were still many other courses waiting for us. Immediately I was served with cheese and bread. Everybody knows that French people have invented more than 300 kinds of cheese. As a foreign guest, I must try. At home, they eat 5-6 kinds of cheese with bread after the main course. I tried a little bit of each and concluded that they were eatable. Of course, cheese and wine always go together. (A colleague of mine organized a cheese party a few months later. I found out that I could eat any cheese, so I passed the cheese test in France.)
The host made the desert himself as well -- something creamy and sweet in a cup. All dishes have their names, but I am not good at remembering names. Besides the dessert, some home-made chocolate was served, then the post-dinner wine. You may notice that the host is a male because I use the word "him". Yes, the host's wife confirms that her husband does all the cooking and he enjoys doing so. Yes, I myself also enjoy cooking and have a feeling that I am an artist when I happen to cook something nice. After this dinner, I feel I should practise more.
You might ask that, do they learn cooking from their mother? I presume women did all the cooking in the old days. But I found out that each such an artist has a sophisticated cooking book at home, which can be 1000-page thick, very professional. I would really like to buy one myself.
After drinking different kinds of wine and having a lot of interesting chatting and laughing, I started to feel sleepy. But I was told that such dinner (or gathering) usually ends at 2-3am. Because I am not a close friend of the family and also because they are no longer in their early 20s, we ended the dinner earlier, i.e. at 12:00 midnight.
Cinderella went home safely.
