When it comes to setting the table for a formal or semi formal dinner party, I prefer the classic look. Here are a few guidelines I go by:

- Use white or light beige table cloth, with an under cloth (I use a white Army blanket or a rubber mat). Do not use brightly colored table cloth such as red, navy or black or even yellow for that matter. Special occasions like Halloween are different, but even then I’d stay with white or pastels

- A little bit of lace (A LITTLE BIT) is great if it fits the mood

- For lunch or dinner with friends and family, you can do without a table cloth, as long as your table is made of a nice material such as rosewood, oak…

- Try to avoid place mats even for breakfasts

- Do not mix bright colors (do not use bright colors unless you absolutely have to because of a theme etc…)

- Avoid nick nacks on your table. It is not a yard sale. All items should have a purpose!

- Make sure the flower arrangements match the rest of the setting both in color and style. Flowers and other plants on your table are where you can freely play with colors (as long as they are natural).

- Flower arrangements should be short enough or high enough so people can see each other at all times

- Never put more than 3 pieces of silverware on each side of the plate at any one time. Vintage silverware is really cool (and really cheap these days; at least in France)

- You can never go wrong with white china. Only use gold or bright colors for the holidays (I avoid them altogether).

- Pattern china is fine as long as it is not for a formal business function. Mixing vintage plates can be a lot of fun too.

- Never, ever use glass or translucent plates. They are just atrocious to look at and show all sorts of finger prints, scratches and smudges

- Candles are a nice touch. They set the mood quite nicely I find

- Use classic shapes for your wine glasses. You can play around with the water glasses. I love the cobalt blue Ritz-Carlton glasses

There are lots of other tips I could give you. As a rule, keep things simple and elegant.

I borrowed most of the pictures below. Please let me know if I should remove one of them. It will be done right away:)

Nous avons tous dans nos villes de France au moins un roi de la pâtisserie. Ses mousses sont plus légères, ses chocolats plus profonds en couleur… Dans notre ville de Libourne, entre Pomerol et la Dordogne, le roi de la pâtisserie s’appelle Jean Lopez. Mais comme une photo vaut mille mots:

In every French city, there is at least one exceptional pastry chef and one very good baker (bread maker). The exceptional pastry chef (pâtissier) makes his mousses lighter and his chocolate eclairs darker… The pastry shop in France, although it sells croissants, specializes in cakes. Croissants, chocolate bread and other danishes are best made by the “boulanger” who also makes the bread. So, if you may find croissants in a pastry shop, you’ll never find bread there. I find that bread makers make the best apple pies, but that’s about it. In Libourne, our town, between Pomerol and the river Dordogne, the king of pastry is Jean Lopez. But since a picture is worth a thousand words:

Have you ever noticed how old people do things? Most of them don’t have much of a choice I guess, but I love how slowly and consciously they do everything.

I find that doing things slowly (when I can) is very therapeutic. Especially cooking. “Joie de vivre” has a lot to do with living in the now (see the Dostoïevski’s story here). It is about being at peace with oneself and the world… or learning to be…

My Grandma passed three years ago. She was a 101. We were picking cherries on the tree together just days before she died. We were doing it slowly… consciously.

I miss her everyday.

Ma meilleure amie, qui n’a jamais grand appétit, m’a laissé hier avec un second homard sur les bras. Je l’ai fini au court bouillon et ce sera homard/mayo pour le dîner. Moi qui voulais des coquillettes et du jambon…:0(

My best friend, who doesn’t eat much, left me yesterday with an extra lobster. I steamed it and will have it for dinner, chilled with mayo. I really wanted Mac & Cheese for dinner though. Oh well, I will make an effort…:0(

(In English wayyyyyy below)

Alors que les premiers au Vendée Globe arrivent ce weekend aux Sables d’Olonne, notre “petit” François est toujours premier sur son 60 pieds MACIF. Je sais qu’il reste encore du chemin et que ce genre d’annonce pourrait lui porter la poisse, mais je ne suis pas superstitieux et je suis bien trop fier pour me taire. Vous excuserez donc cet excès d’optimisme et de fierté déplacée!

Toute la famille sera à l’arrivée samedi. En attendant, tout le monde est pendu à l’ordinateur et vérifie les positions toutes les 4 heures. Jean-Pierre Dick, l’héroïque troisième, ayant carrément perdu la quille de son bateau hier, nous sommes bien conscients qu’après 74 jours de mer, les bateaux et les hommes sont à bout et tout peut arriver. Nous sommes sur les dents (surtout maman)…

Je compte bien faire des tonnes de photos à l’arrivée que je partagerai ici avec vous.

En attendant, j’ai retrouvé une vieille interview de la mère de François, dont un passage en dit long sur son esprit d’aventurier:

“Une fois, quand il avait 6 ans, il est parti en me laissant un mot sur la table : « Je suis parti ».  Quand je me suis aperçue de sa disparition, j’ai pris ma voiture et je me suis mise à sa recherche ! Je l’ai trouvé, marchant « sérieusement », sac au dos, sur la route d’ Angeac à Vibrac. Je l’ai rejoint et je lui ai dit que c’était un peu tôt  pour un voyage seul ! Et comme il était l’heure du goûter, l’aventure s’est terminée à la maison devant un chocolat chaud !

Dans le sac à dos, j’ai retrouvé un couteau Opinel, une fronde, une lampe de poche et un guide de survie « Le manuel du jeune Robinson », dont François possédait toute la série : La forêt, la ville,  les traces d’animaux et la mer !…. Avec cela, on est paré pour l’aventure !”

Allez François! Plus que trois jours!!!

As the two leaders of the Vendée Globe solo yacht race are scheduled to arrive this weekend in Les Sables d’Olonne, my nephew François is still in the leading spot. I know that this kind of announcement could mess with his luck, but I’m not superstitious and I am way too proud to shut up about it. So please excuse the excessive pride and optimism!

The whole family will be meeting him on Saturday when he docks. In the meantime, everyone is stuck to the computer, checking on his position every 4 hours. Jean-Pierre Dick, the heroic third man, having lost the keel of his boat yesterday, we are well aware that after 74 days at sea, the boats and the men are exhausted and anything can happen at the last minute. 

I intend to make tons of photos this weekend. I will of course share the moment with you!

In the meantime, I found an old interview of François’ mother. One anecdote in the interview speaks volumes about François’ taste for adventure:

“Once, when he was 6 years old, he left, leaving me a note on the table:”Mom, I’m gone. “When I realized he had disappeared, I took my car and went looking for him. I found him walking down the main road with a backpack on his back. I drove slowly to his level, lowered the window and I told him that it was a little early for a solo trip around the world! And as it was teatime, the adventure ended at home in front of a hot chocolate!

In the backpack, I found a knife, a slingshot, a flashlight and a survival guide “The young Robinson’s manual”! …. With this, one is truly ready for adventure! “

(In English below)

Je dois être idiot, mais je ne me suis rendu compte que récemment que les légumes d’hiver étaient essentiellement des racines et que ceux d’été poussaient au dessus du sol cherchant la lumière et la chaleur du soleil. Cela a déclenché une crise aigüe de réflexion philosophique dans mon petit cerveau.

C’est vrai que l’hiver est la saison de l’hibernation pour nombre d’animaux qui se réfugient sous terre. Nous mêmes avons besoin de nous ressourcer et de ralentir… En cette saison grise, froide et pluvieuse, nous avons aussi besoin d’aliments qui nous réconfortent. La boucle se referme donc ici, puisque les plat d’hiver, les plats réconfortants, sont souvent à base de racines: soupes de légumes, pot au feu et autres ragoûts délicieux… Le monde est bien fait et le marché, débordant de patates et de navets, reflète mon état d’esprit… Mon état d’hiver:0)

I must be an idiot, but I’ve only realized recently that winter vegetables were essentially  roots when summer vegetables and fruits were growing above the ground, stretching towards the sun. This triggered an acute crisis of philosophical reflection in my little brain.

It is true that winter is the season of hibernation for many animals who take refuge underground. We too need to recharge our batteries and slow down… It is also during these gloomy, cold and rainy few months that we need comfort food the most. It is quite fitting then, that winter dishes, comforting dishes, are often made with roots as their main ingredients: vegetable soups, delicious stews… The farmers’ market, full of potatoes, carrots and turnips, answers my need for comfort food. It also reflects my state of mind… My winter state of mind:0) The market tells me it is OK to slow down; to seek comfort and warmth…

Here are some pictures, so you may forget all the nonsense I just wrote:0)

Dostoevsky in The Idiot writes: ”Beauty will save the world”. Here are a few flowers to forget Winter…

Dostoïevski dans l’Idiot fait dire au prince Michtine : “La beauté sauvera le monde”. Voici quelques fleurs pour oublier l’hiver…

Van Hooten chocolate, fresh croissant, chocolate bread, delicious American blueberries and blueberry jam. French blueberries are much smaller, much darker and very sweet, but you can’t find it this time of year.

Van Hooten coco is 100% pure. This makes the powder very very thin and the taste very bitter. The secret is to mix the powder with powdered sugar 1st (half & half), then add your milk spoon by spoon and form a paste. Otherwise you have tons of bitter disgusting lumps in your coco…

Pas besoin de présenter Doisneau à mes compatriotes. Je passe donc directement à la version Anglaise:0)

Robert Doisneau is, without a doubt, the most famous (and one of the most talented) French photographer of all times (with Henri Cartier-Bresson I guess). He is to the French photographic arts what McCurry, Lange or Arbus are to America’s…

Enough talking! Enjoy this slice of my French Heaven (click on one of the pictures to see the carousel):