French Fridays: Bonne année

Cremeux chocolat from La Table des Cordeliers on eatlivetravelwrite.comWe’re wrapping up our two weeks in France and sadly heading home tomorrow 🙁 It’s been an(other) interesting trip – not *quite* a vacation but less and less work needing to be done on the house, so a little bit more free time each time we come. Looking back on the year that was last night as we sipped champagne, we took stock of everything we have done in a year (and from afar) in our little piece of South West France which is now ready to receive guests (interested? Check out the rental site here!).

Last year on New Year’s Eve, we ate roasted Cornish hens and gougères that we made in a toaster oven. This year I made a beautiful meal of roasted squash with hazelnuts, roasted potatoes and a superb roast beef from our local butcher, Chez David. Then we enjoyed mini bûches de Noël (all documented on Instagram, of course!). I used all of the hotplates and the oven and most of our (many!) utensils! No more camping conditions!

Today, we continued what’s become a yearly tradition here in France – New Year’s Day lunch at La Table des Cordeliers.  I wrote about other meals I’ve enjoyed there on this post (it’s always a good bet!) but the lunch on New Year’s Day is something really special. Once again, we were the only non-French guests and the clientele varied from a young family to a group of friends with lots  of grandparents out with their entire families enjoying the first day of the new year. We decided (again) that we love the French tradition of making a little more of January 1st than we typically do at home (mostly it’s just a “recovery” day from the celebrations…) and the meal (as you can see from Instagram) was spectacular…

My favourite course – dessert – did not disappoint. A chocolate mousse encased in a perfectly tempered (the snap! the shine!) chocolate shape served with lime sauce and a stunning coriander sorbet. Unexpected flavour pairings that surprised and delighted. A wonderful way to see in 2016.

On that note, you’ll have seen I don’t tend to do “Best of” posts on the blog. Or even really post about resolutions. So this post is not about looking back on 2015. Or making lists of goals for 2016. But here are some hints of a few things to come to eat. live. travel. write. in 2016:

  • France. Lots more France (see: French Fridays for a starting point)
  • Cooking with kids (the Petits Chefs amongst others)
  • Cookbooks. Reviews and in-depth looks at a couple in particular.
  • Hopefully a few more “off the cuff” posts – shorter pieces about things that inspire me or that I think you ‘ll be interested in.

I’m aiming to surprise and delight, like my dessert did today. Bonne année, readers and bonne santé surtout!

Happy French Friday! Happy 2016!

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