Thanksgiving has come and gone, and unfortunately it went by much too quickly as I didn't even have time to take as many pictures as I'd hoped! So, to tide you over until the next adventure, I've put together a 'potpourri' of recent happenings, including a VIDEO of some fine Alsatian movin' and groovin' (i.e. polka).
La Cuisine: The Kitchen. Look - there's O's laptop, which just so happens to be where I am sitting
at this very moment. Cool. We eat most of our meals here, though when we have visitors (which actually happens about every other day), we move to the dining area...
As seen here! Complete with a piano that is, for the most part, in tune. I'm really honing my Chopsticks skills out here. To the left of the dining area is...
The living room! Not too much to see here - E sleeps on the futon in a sleeping bag. I'm not sure the television works for television purposes, but I do think movies have been watched here.
For now, that ends the tour of the house (that's really all there is on the first floor). I haven't taken a picture yet of our bedroom/office in the basement. But I've got to keep you coming back for more somehow, haven't I?
Here's a lovely dinner spread: foie gras mousse, munster, apple butter, bone marrow... yep, it's a tough life, but somebody's got to do it.
And now, a scarce scattering of Thanksgiving pictures!
Many thanks to Alison for sending me a LOVELY tarte tatin recipe with a creme fraiche crust. Above, I've spread out my peeled/cored/quartered apples in a cast iron-esque pan that had some butter and sugar bubbling away in it.
Then, I cooked down the apples until the sauce became a nice caramel color with a gooey texture.
NOTE: This picture was the SECOND time I attempted to do this - the first time, I turned away from the apples for about 5 minutes and when I turned back, they had completely burned on the bottom. While the top was a tasty mushy appley mess (that went quite well with our home made yogurt for dessert), the bottom was black and sad. Needless to say - KEEP AN EYE ON THE APPLES! Depending on the pan/heat/weather/your astrological sign, they could take anywhere from 20-45 minutes to cook properly.
Ta-Da! After the apples finished, I topped with the home-made creme fraiche crust and put the whole kit and kaboodle in the oven. Of course, we eventually flipped it over and onto a plate and ate the living bejesus out of it! Thanks again, Alison, for the great recipe!
Another baking masterpiece: Walnut Tart. We have at least two walnut trees across the street that give us loads of 'em. Crack 'em, de-nut 'em, chop 'em - add all the good things like butter and brown sugar, and bake! Easy peasy, and G commented that once we finish eating this tart, I am ordered to make another one.
Gobble, gobble - there she is! O did a phenomenal job cooking this bird - stuffed with rosemary garlic butter. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Not pictured but also devoured: my famous mashed potatoes (with caramelized onions), veg medley of green beans, carrots and leeks, leafy salad with mandarin oranges and toasted almonds, O's amazing stuffing - sourdough, walnuts, smoked sausage, onions and apples, and some home-made cranberry sauce. There were also two more desserts (not pictured, damn!) - an apple-walnut bread and an apple butter-pumpkin pie. Grand Slam!
"Les Jeunes Agriculteurs" 2nd Annual Dinner - held in a big convention hall-esque kind of place. Proceeds help out young farmers who are just getting started. Tasty local food, booze, and dancing = a hell of a night!
First course - pork/prune terrine, coleslaw type stuff, and some local cured ham. Oh, and a local Alsatian beer with
Picon!
Then, obviously, you have to digest. The best way to work off a charcuterie-filled stomach? Dancing, of course!
Main course: "Spaetzle maison" (house spaetzle, mmmm) with "Emince de porc eleve en pleine air" (the pork had been raised outside). Carrots. Salad. While the meat was a little over-cooked - who cares? Just sop it up with some spaeztle and gravy and you're good to go. (not pictured - the bottomless glass of Alsatian pinot noir)
There they are! G & E ... E isn't a big fan of the pictures (obvi) but G was happy to ham it up for the camera!
Here's G with his pal, Nicole. I apologize for the blurriness - - did I mention the bottomless glass of pinot noir?
Here we are - O & I, right before I got up to cut a rug (did you know that "cutting a rug" is an actual dance? I did not)...
E & I digesting our food.
Best. Dancer. Ever.
If you look closely, you'll find E & G bustin' a move.
After which, G promptly grabbed ahold of me and started twirling me around the dance floor!
It was exhausting.
Not Pictured - the huge hunk of local munster that occured somewhere in between Best. Dancer. Ever. and E & G's moment on the dance floor.
And finally, dessert - ice cream! The top was a velvety vanilla and the bottom a crisp berry (raspberry, perhaps?). Of course, also not pictured were the copious shots of schnapps we took, followed by a somewhat frightening off-roading experience in the 1980's death trap (Land Rover)... but perhaps those experiences are best remembered in our own heads rather than the brutally honest (and probably slightly embarrassing) story.
In conclusion - life is still grand out here in France. It's been almost a month and we can't believe how fast time has flown by! We are very much looking forward to the Christmas season - the towns and villages all around us are known for their markets and decorations, and we plan on taking more than just one or two day trips to see as much as we can!
Oh, and one final note: the other day, we realized that the name of our blog and the description is all cheese-oriented! We promise to get some pictures taken soon of the cheese process - it is very detailed and one must pay great attention to every step when doing it, so it hasn't been easy to remember to grab the camera during our lessons. I know, I know - no excuses! Just stay tuned, keep your pants on, hold the phone - it'll be well worth the wait. Until then - cyber high-fives all around - we miss you guys!
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