More Christmas market

This a continuation of a previous post on the Christmas market.

These clay figurines or santons are made in southern France and make up a manger scene (crèche). You can buy Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, kings, cows, (dogs, cats, goats, etc.), as well as people dressed from the different regions of France.

Têtes chocos are glorified chocolate-covered marshmallows, each one with a different flavored marshmallow.

Marzipan figurines--all to be eaten!

Christmas market at around 6:30pm. The large balls are strung across the square.

Neighborhood shops

These are some of the shops we walk past daily, just down from our apartment.

Bakery

Newspaper/magazine shop

Restaurants

A cool store

And so ends our stay. Thanks for following the news from Grenoble.

Last cooking class--French Christmas treats

This last class was all about Christmas treats. So for a change, no chopping of onions, shallots or garlic!

These are French classics: from left to right

mint chocolate truffles (truffes)-chocolate, butter, cream and 1 egg yolk
chocolate covered candied orange peel (orangettes)
coconut chocolate truffles (truffes à la noix de coco)
coconut "mounds", some with chocolate (rochers à la noix de coco)-unsweetened coconut, egg whites and sugar
chocolate covered candied cherries (cérisettes)
walnuts with marzipan (noix déguisées)
some more truffles

I also made caramelized hazelnuts and nougat (both not pictured). I brought home so many treats that I made up two plates to give away and we still have lots to eat!

Christmas odds and ends

Snow has finally come in large quantities on the mountains. This is the view from our bedroom window. Last week we received about 3 days rain in Grenoble, which, to the delight of skiers, is all snow at 2000 meters. Otto and Luc and willing Calvin students did go skiing on Saturday and had a great day.

This past weekend we decided to do a total market meal. Otto and I went to the market, not sure what the menu would be. This is what we came up with:

Pink trout (caught locally), zucchini and tomato and shallots for a sauce with the fish, bread, wine, 2 local cheeses, salad (grown just outside of Grenoble), and spice bread with clementines for dessert.


These are the bags you put your fruits and vegetables in. The bag advertises "Eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day for health and vitality.

Through school, Luc participated in a rock-climbing competition. Although his level didn't win, it was a good challenge. Luc is the the person nearest to the top.

A potluck with the volunteers at L'Echoppe--the food pantry where I volunteered this past semester.

I have seen a number of these dutch-made bikes around the city. Kids are strapped in the front carrier, along with some extra space for groceries, etc. I have also seen this bike with an attachment behind the seat to put a baby carseat!

Chocolate and pastry shops are full of these kind of gifts at this time of year. This is a tray of chocolates and almond-based treats that Otto received from one of the French ladies that housed a Calvin student. Anna loves the colored almond treats in the middle and we all (except Luc) love the chocolate.

Crêperie

Last night we went out to eat in a crêperie with the students. Although crêpes are a specialty of Brittany in north-east France, crêperies are found all over France. Typically the main course is a savory crêpe followed by a dessert crêpe, and all washed down with bubbly cider (containing a small amount of alcohol). This particular restaurant was very generous with its servings!

Otto and Anna ordered a 3-cheese crêpe, which came with a salad on top.

The crêpe is a very large and very thin disk-like pancake; the filling, in this case, cheese, is put on the crêpe; the crêpe is folded on all sides, like an envelope, to make a square, and then placed folded side down on the plate.

I ordered a goat cheese and bacon crêpe. Isabelle a mushroom, shallot and cream crêpe (her filling was on top), and Luc a ham and cheese crêpe.

The savory crêpes are typically made with buckwheat flour, making for a darker crêpe with a nutty, rich flavor.

My dessert crêpe: cooked apples (inside) with a salty caramel sauce on top. Here the crêpe is made with white flour. Before you ask--yes, it was very good.

Anna ordered a plain crêpe with salty caramel sauce and whipping cream.

Otto took a crêpe with chocolate, ice cream and whipping cream. No small portions here!

We could have taken the tram back to our apartment but the 20-minute walk back felt good after a copious dinner.

Odds and ends

About 2 months ago I found a caste iron fondu pot at a second hand shop.

So of course, we have been enjoying fondu--here a cheese fondu. I took the easy route and bought a ready-made cheese fondu package. Next week, though I will make it from scratch--garlic, white wine, kirsch, 3 different cheeses (beaufort, emmental, and comté) and nutmeg.

Isn't this a fun-looking cheese? It comes exactly like this, with all the ruffles. Tête de Moine is a Swiss cheese. Its name, which means "Monk's Head," is derived from its invention and initial production by the monks of an abbey in French-speaking Switzerland (Canton of Bern).

The curls are the result of careful scraping with a knife in order to develop its scented flavors.

Does it taste good? Oh yes!!

Our kids are taking a break from Saturday's homework. We are at the Christmas market, eating small donuts (sugar coated or nutella filled) and sipping hot spiced apple juice. I kept taking pictures of them with their mouths full and so I told them just to hold off on the food and smile . . .

Cooking class # 9--Pâtés and Terrines

For a long time I've wanted to know how to make a pâté or terrine! Today we made 3 different kinds.

Chicken liver pâté (pâté de foie de volaille) resembles a meatloaf, but is always eaten cold, often with some good crusty bread. It consists of a mixture of chicken livers, ground pork, and bacon. The flavor comes from shallots, garlic, herbs, hazelnuts and some brandy. Normally this marinates 24 hours, but since we didn't have that kind of time, we marinated it for 30 minutes and then cooked it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. It has a wonderful flavor and very nice consistency.

Salmon Terrine (terrine de saumon). Terrine simply refers to the name of the container that this is usually made in. Like the pâté, this is a simple recipe: cooked salmon mixed with butter, yogurt, lemon juice and chives . The mixture gets pressed into a loaf pan and chilled 45 minutes in the refrigerator. It is served as a first course with some crusty bread and a bit of mayonnaise (homemade would be really good), or even with some guacamole.

Mango Terrine (terrine de mangue) is a lovely dessert, if you like mango. It can be served with some sorbet and a butter cookie. The technique is to layer in a small loaf pan a puree of mango (made of pureed mango, sugar syrup, finely chopped mint and gelatine to thicken the puree) with thinly sliced mango. The terrine solidifies after 3-4 hours in the refrigerator. This terrine can also be made with strawberries, peaches or apricots.