Tout y était: la famille au complet, de beaux cadeaux et deux repas à vous faire sauter tous les boutons du pentalon…
It was the perfect Christmas. The entire family was there (Christmas in France is strictly family. No friends or wanna be sons in law). The magic was created through a combination of great food, thoughtful presents and lots of kids running around.
My best present was a new top of the line 50mm camera lens that will help me take better pictures for you guys:0)
On the menu:
- Seared foie gras with toasted ginger bread and home made onion jam
- Scallops with warm lentils
- Roast beef with fresh pasta in truffle sauce
- Cheese
- Traditional Christmas cakes
As for wine, there was Château Belair and Clos Fourtet (Premier Grand Crus Classés St Emilion) as well as Grand Corbin Despagne…
MY FRENCH HEAVEN 
Words fail. This is so beautiful.
Thank you dear Brook! It was a wonderful evening:)
The photos are amazing!
Thank you so much!!
Stephane I love your photography, so crisp and clear. which camera do you use?
Thanks! I use a Canon T3
The menu sounds fabulous and the photos are amazing, Stepnane.
Thank you so much! It was really nice indeed:)
Magnifiques photos ! J’aurais aimé faire de même en rapportant mon Noël, sous forme de photo reportage, mais pour une fois on me recevait et j’ai un peu picolé ! 😉 Joyeux Noël !
…et bonne année maintenant:)
Oh please! Torture us some more! That menu looked fabulous! So well done and isnt family the best! Especially kids running around with a sugar high on those Christmas cakes! You should post a recipe or two!
I will post one of those recipes. The one for seared foie gras is already on my blog. Christmas without the kids is not the same, you’re right:) How was your Christmas? Did you have a good time?
Awesome as usual 🙂
Thanks! How was YOUR Christmas? I hope you had a good time!
Yes it was very nice time, I’m finishing a post about it today, so I hope you can read it
Great! I will!
What beautiful photography!
Thanks Casey! How is your husband feeling? I’m sure your delicious rolls are great medicine!! 🙂
I made some more of them so he could take some to work, and in a rush this morning, he left them on the kitchen counter! 😦 He’s feeling a bit better than yesterday, though. 🙂 Thanks for asking!
I agree with the comments above – such beautiful pictures! It sounds like a lovely evening.
Thanks it was:) How was your Christmas? What did you eat? I am always more interested by the menus:)
Your photos are gorgeous, your menu sounds delicious and it seems that you all had a lovely family day – that’s Christmas in a nutshell.
Thanks a lot! I hope you had a great time too!
We certainly did! It was very warm, 30° so we played boules in the back yard and ate our dinner outside. I will never be the boules champion of the world but it was lots of fun.
I bet it was:)
Beautiful pictures. Here, with my family, friends are family. Blood relations is not what made our holidays special nor what makes you family. My mom, who was always already cooking for a large family would allow us and encourage us to invite what we lovingly called “strays”. Friends who had no one to spend the Holiday with. At least for the day/meal they were family! 🙂
In my opinion, your Mom was right! I wish more people in this world were as generous as she was. I remember when I was “a stray” living alone in the States, spending Thanksgiving or Christmas with friends. Here we invite “the strays” on the 25th:)
Here . . . . as I would imagine you know because you lived here, the 25th of December is Christmas. But my family had “Christmas Dinner” whenever it worked for us. My mom is so fabulously flexible about having Christmas Dinner when I can be there. Family is whomever you open your heart, home, and table too. And you had better believe that if I were privy to YOUR table I would expect to be in the will. Such extravagance and pampering (that YOU do at the Holidays) is only for love ones! I can understand the difference! 😉 Yum!
You are welcome at my table anytime!! If I had a restaurant, I would probably forget to make people pay for their meal:) Sharing food IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than the cooking itself and great company, be it family or friends or complete strangers is what people like you and me do it all for:) This is how we make this sometimes very cruel world a beautiful place to be for a few hours…
I have a 1.8 and 1.4. Love them both. I don’t know that I’m ready to spend that kind of money either on a 1.2. I’m very happy with the pictures I get from the two I have.
I agree:)
Superb photos and a scrumptious menu. 🙂
Thanks!!
un vrai noël comme dan les films ! Tres bonnes fêtes et bonne année !
A toi aussi!!
De superbes illustrations comme d’habitude! Je me demandais si “compte” était un lapsus révélateur?!…
Encore bonnes fêtes de fin d’année et @+, Anne.
Merci Anne:)
That cheese reminds me of eating L’edel de Claron (I’m sure I’m butchering the spelling, but you’ll know the cheese I’m talking about) when I lived in NYC and the marketplace that sold it wouldn’t cut it until it was just right, and I would stop in every day to wait for that moment…how I love cheese!
That’s a great story!!!
Foie gras on toasted gingerbread gives me visions of ecstasy!
🙂 🙂
Beautiful photos Stephane! (I love my 50mm too, it’s my favoite lens.) Happy holidays!
What a beautiful holiday! I wish I was in your family. Seriously, I do. Have fun with your new camera!
Thanks Julia! I will:)
Oh ! Un “vrai” camembert ! 😮 Même pas peur… 😉
🙂 🙂
Absolutely beautiful photos. Sounds wonderful, wish I could have been there!
Thanks! How was YOUR Christmas? Do you celebrate it?
Wonderful pictures, wonderful menu. And thanks for the comment on mine, to which of course you contributed in no small way. I envy you the wines; I’ve been through all the ‘new world’ variations but now it’s back to the French almost completely.
Thanks. And good for you!!:)
Your images are amazing…You will so love your new lens. It is my go to for 75% of my photography. Ps..could you share a glass of wine?☺
Laurie
We can share two if you want!:) With cheese!!
I so wish we could…
Get a passport and a plane ticket. It’s easy really:)
It seems impossible that your photos could get any better than they already are! Astounding. But I must admit I love my 50mm.
Thanks! I had a lot of fun trying it out. The only constraint was trying to move around the room to frame subjects properly… I can’t wait to try it at the market…
Superb images as always, Stéphane.
Top of the line 50mm? Did you get an ƒ/1.2?!?
I didn’t see the need for the 1,2 (I’d rather buy a new car:). I got the 1.4:)
Wow your photos look extra fantastic! I got a new camera for christmas, but don’t really know how to use it hahaha! I’m aspiring to take pictures like you!!
Take loads of pictures and remember that light is the most important factor:) Have fun!!
Superbes photos!
Merci, c’est gentil!
Looks like a truly magical Christmas!! Congratulations & happy holidays!!!
Thanks Jeanette! You too!!
Great shots and masterful use of DOF. It would be wonderful if you could recommend a wine or two each week as an enhancement to the site. I took note of the ones you mention and will look for them at the SAQ today. Thanks.
Great idea! I am not as good with wine as most of my friends or family members (they are professionals), but I will try to suggest a few châteaux in the future:)
What beautiful pictures you have taken – it looks like a truely lovely Christmas! The last photo of the cheese was my favourite 🙂 you can’t get good cheese like that in Mexico – please have another slice for me 🙂 Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to you too and happy New Year!!
Stephane – Great photos from evidently a great Christmas dinner. Was that Camembert? My fave!
Yes! Super stinky Camembert!:) There were so many different kinds of cheese on the table, I couldn’t list them all:)