Food-Filled Valentine's Day: Part Deux

Alas, I have to put a disclaimer here and admit there are no photos of this day. I thought it might be a little obnoxious and I was nervous as it was entering and eating in the homes of complete French strangers. In retrospect, I'm sure it wouldn't have been a big deal. So, sorry everyone!

Okay, so how do I describe the comparison between the country attitude of France as compared to the United States? Well, to start, my first impression of Monsieur's parents was not unlike meeting two more elderly members of my hometown. They were both incredibly warm and down-to-earth. Monsieur's mother kept an eagle's eye on the appetites of the children and me to make sure we had enough to eat. I have never said, "Oh, no, no, no. Thank you! But I've just had so much already! Well, if I don't want to be impolite.....why, yes!" so much in so many different ways ever before. Monsieur's father insisted, "Here, as far as you're concerned Mademoiselle, I'm called Papi. You got that?" and then he gave a smile that I'm sure covered 75% of his face. Between the honest, simple attitude and the lived-in feeling of their big comfortable home in the middle of nowhere, I'd say that country is country whether you're in France or the States.

At this point for dinner after a grandiose lunch, if I were back home, AT MOST I'd have a small veggie salad if anything. But here, that doesn't work .

First, everyone had a small glass of Papi's homemade wine as Monsieur's mother brought out a noodle and broth soup and had the little girls bring out the baguettes. Then there was a carrot salad...or I think it was salad. It was carrots julienne with a sort of homemade mayonnaise dressing, bordered on a platter with hard-boiled eggs. After that...more wine, but at this point I figured out that by then it was okay to decline the wine and just have water. Thank God. Don't get me wrong! It was great wine; interesting, really. It had a smoky and very sweet flavor. I'd never thought of wine ever having a smoky taste but there we go.

The main course was a goose meat paté and green beans in a marinara sauce. Like every french home meal it seems, we then had a huge variety of cheese to eat. Here is where I'd like to point out one of my first lessons here about eating in France. Bread isn't just important, it is as indispensable as silverware. One uses almost always the same plate for every course and bread is used to wipe up and eat one's plate clean. There's no room for finicky eaters here or you're asking for an awkward situation. As for the cheese course, you must ALWAYS eat your cheese on bread. Doing so without is just, well, weird. So have learned to conserve my dinner baguette in order to have as much chèvre as I please without stares and questions. I love chèvre which I'm sure put me in the good book with Monsieur who may love cheese more than anyone I know. The man would be a connoisseur in the States, but I'm coming to find that here he is pretty much the average French man. They love cheese that much.

Then, there was dessert. Dessert is a standard. Not just for dinner, it is also hard to think of a decent lunch without ending it with something sweet adn this dessert was a round after round after round of gaufres with jam and then also a gateau drenched in some type of alcohol served with as much crème anglaise as you could want! Would you prefer vanilla or chocolate crème, because Monsieur's mother saw to that everyone at least tried both.

Finally, I left my stomach to its marathon workout while I slipped mint tea and watch the Swiss and the French kick American butt during the ski events at the Vancouver Oylpimics. "Don't worry," Papi assured me. "This isn't your (meaning the American's) strength anyway. You will always get away with a lot of metals for ice skating and during the Summer Games. Your times of triumph will always be there. In the meantime.....Vive la France!" Honestly, that is how he said it. I couldn't help but laugh and join his cheering when another Frenchman toppled the top scoring American's time. It was just a wonderful and satisfying day and I hope to have more sans the headache and stomachache by bedtime. Oh, well.

Vive la France!