It's neither French or related to Xmas, but a recipe brought back by gf who
travelled in subsaharian Africa, and we all love (the recipe, ah but the gf also)
What is a popular Christmas dinner in France? Genuinely curious.
You can have a long dinner with lots of courses… or a smaller one. It depends
on how stuck you are with tradition, what your means are, and what you prefer:
having a nice evening together or stuff your own self with food while “someone
else” is stuck laboring in the kitchen.
Some traditional staples in metropolitan France:
— entrées: foie gras,
— fish course: smoked salmon, oysters, lobster / crawfish, scallops, snails,
— main course: turkey, capon, or duck, with baked potatoes, chestnuts…,
— dessert: Yule log (bûche), more often ice cream than cake nowadays, truffles
(chocolate), marrons glacés (candied chestnuts)….
And cheeses and fruits and, if you really insist, a few vegetables for a bit
of colour.
And because many have had enough with being stuck in the kitchen, it seems raclette
has become popular. There’s not much preparation, everything is on the table
and everyone takes care of their cheese, eat whatever they want or not.
Raclette: melted cheese on boiled potatoes, accompanied with charcuterie (mostly
ham, boiled/cooked, dry, or smoked) and pickles. The cheese is 1) proper
raclette cheese (raclette, abondance, tomme… or some other cheeses if you’re
adventurous, even cheddar), 2) melted properly (= not micro-waved!).
And there’s the Christmas lunch too….
In Provence (South-East, Côte d’Azur…), they have the “13 desserts,” and everybody
is supposed to eat each one of the 13 after the Xmas mass / after midnight.
There doesn’t seem to be an established list for the 13 but the “pompe à l’huile”
(oily pump, not to be confused with the mechanical part “pompe à huile,” oil
pump) is always there.
Recipe: oil and a bit of floor and sugar fried in oil, baked in oil, and then
plunged in oil so it’s not too dry and sprinkled with sugar and some oil to be
sure the sugar sticks….
Proper French expression to use after the meal: j’ai les dents du fond qui baignent
(my back teeth are swimming).
Happy holiday to those that don’t celebrate Christmas. 🎶
Not sure I’d be here but now making the most of it.
Merry Christmas ! 🎄
Unfortunately, I was forced to stay at home yesterday night because I was sick,
and to protect some people of my family who have a fragile health... So I was
far from my family.
I'm feeling a little better today. My daughter and my girlfriend will be
there this afternoon with me, we'll celebrate Christmas together tonight.
One good thing is that I wasn't forced to wait until midnight to open presents.
Like when I was a child, I've waited after the breakfast this morning and
after that, opened 2 gifts. I wait to open the others 😇
Happy holiday to those that don’t celebrate Christmas. 🎶
Not sure I’d be here but now making the most of it.
Merry Christmas ! 🎄
Unfortunately, I was forced to stay at home yesterday night because I was sick,
and to protect some people of my family who have a fragile health... So I was
far from my family.
I'm feeling a little better today. My daughter and my girlfriend will be
there this afternoon with me, we'll celebrate Christmas together tonight.
One good thing is that I wasn't forced to wait until midnight to open presents.
Like when I was a child, I've waited after the breakfast this morning and
after that, opened 2 gifts. I wait to open the others 😇
Unfortunately, I was forced to stay at home yesterday night because I was sick,
and to protect some people of my family who have a fragile health... So I was
far from my family.
United Kingdom, England
USA, South Carolina
Canada, Ontario
France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Netherlands, Friesland
