French Ettiquette

The Meal schedule is just slightly different from theone we have in the United states.... Breakfast in France is generally a small affair consisting of croissants with some butter and jam to spread, is usually accompanied by milky coffee or hot chocolate. There is no set time for breakfast in France and it’s not a particularly important meal involving the entire family.Lunch is traditionally the main meal of the day for people in France. Although Lunch is still considered the main meal for many French people living in rural areas, the demands of modern day life in big cities mean that this tradition has been forgotten to a large extent. Most restaurants in France serve lunch from between midday to 2pm and close afterwards until dinner time.

Dinner is for most people in France today is the main meal of the day. French people view dinner as an opportunity for friends and family to spend quality time together in the evenings and can spend up to two hours at the dinner table.  It is considered bad etiquette in France to watch TV while eating dinner.

A typical dinner in France will consist of up to six courses. These include the aperitif, Entre, plate principal, salad, cheese, dessert, fruit, coffee and digestive drink.

 The Meal schedule is:
The aperitif  is a pre dinner drink served with small appetizers while the entre is a first course. The plate principal is the main course and will consist of meat, poultry or fish. This is followed by a salad, selection of cheese, fresh fruit and coffee.

There is no real special etiquette to be observed when eating a French meal. The only main thing that differs between French meal etiquette and that in the US and UK is to do with bread. A French dinner table will always have bread on it. However, it is considered bad etiquette to butter your bread at a meal in France. Instead, people in France use the bread to wipe up the juices left behind at the end of each course. This is because the different courses of a French meal are all served on the same plate (wierd).

Common dishes in France consist of:
Poulet frites (chicken and fries).....Blanquette de veau ....Blanquette de veauBlanquette de veau is a French veal ragout in which neither the veal nor the butter is browned in the cooking process...Coq au vin Coq au vin is a French braise of chicken cooked with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic.... (Rooster in red wine).....Pot au feu (beef stew with mixed vegetables)......Cassoulet Cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat , pork skin and white haricot beans.... (Duck with different sausages served with white beans)....Chicory|Endives (Belgian endive)...Boudin blanc (Delicate flavored sausage similar to bockwurst)... Foie de veau (calf's liver)
Andouillette Andouillette is a coarse-grained tripe sausage made with pork , chitterlings, pepper, wine, onions, and seasonings.
(chitterling sausage)....Foie gras (fatty duck or goose liver).....Mousse au chocolat (chocolate mousse).
AND THAT'S IT FOR FRANCE:( IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED:)

France's Food Culture

It is currently 2300hr which is 11pm in standard time and i just got back from a long day of sight seeing. Today we had an spectatcular day discovering the french food. We actually met a Culinary arts teacher since we have a friend here who's his student.. he taught us alot of great cooking methods. According to him there are 3 types of cooking methods.The Classical French Haute cuisine An important component to this is presentation. The next type is called Cuisine Nouvelle where food are prepared simpler and lighter without heavy sauces at all. This is where food is prepared and cooked fast emphasizing on local seasonal ingredients. Cuisine du Terroir is the third type that focuses on specialties in the region and is a sort of rural in character. There are restaurants catering to each group of customers wanting different types of French cooking. Another thing he taught us is... There are 2 flavor principles and they are butter cream and wine stock... These are used for the most exquisite cusines... And that was my day of fine wine and dining:)

OUR PHOTOGRAPHY

 to the left The lovely little french village issel.Lourve algow <---Chambord castle in paris<----Sainte Chapelle

Wow!

Some of the food americans live for were originated in france! Wine  is the primary export in france as Grand Marnier, Cointreau, Triple Sec, Mandarine Napoleon, Cognac, Armagnac, Crème de Cassis, Pastis, and Chartreuse are typically made there.French people are the second biggest consumers of alcohol! France also houses some of the cheese we americans eat quite alot such as swiss cheese ( the holey kind).

Our First Day in France!!!!!

So today is our first official day in France and i am soo excited to go out and explore what France has to offer. Being that France is in the Western part of Europe and  it's located between Belgium and Spain i would suspect that the country would be rich in culture. Since we are in summer, the climate is currently mild (not too hot nor too cold) which is expected being that France borders the Mediterranean Sea. I'm soo excited to visit all the famous sight especially the Eiffel Tower and the Champes Elysees. But don't worry I would make sure to take plenty of pictures to share my experience to all of you back in the States... Au Revoir mes amis!!!:)

Edible Delights!

 While here, we decided to take a tour of the most famous fine cuisine of  France. Here the dining experience is elegant and quite different from our traditional breakfast lunch and dinner routine.Here ,before you sit down to eat your fed an appetizer, usually Gougères (bite sized cheese puffs made from choux pastry),Rillettes (made from chopped fish, pork, or other meats that have been slowly cooked and seasoned and served spread on pieces of toast) or Tapenade - A puree of black or green olives, capers, and olive oil that is used as a spread for toast.After,your given a starter,  these are typically
Escargots (snails),Truffes (Tasty black mushrooms that sure are expensive),Quenelles (small log shaped dumpling Made from flour, milk, eggs and many times various meats or fish.).Next you are given  the actual main dish, here we chose from Boeuf Bourguignon ( beef cooked in red Burgundy wine with mushrooms and carrots) , Pot au Feu ( slow boiled beef and vegetables),and  Tartiflette ( a hearty dish of potatoes, bacon, white wine and reblochon cheese). Lastly my favorite part,  DESSERT, here in france nothing gets better than this. We had  Eclairs ( log shaped, filled with pastry cream and usually topped with chocolate) ,Tarte Tatin ( An upside down apple tart that was supposedly first made by the legendary Tatin sisters) and Mille feuilles (Several layers of puff pastry, typically filled with pastry cream).

Welcome To FRANCE!!

Weve just arrived here in France. After 8 hours of airline  food and barbra streisand  were finally here! The air is so clean . You can smell the fresh bread and red wine.Ahhhh, Beautiful France.