QUINCE RATAFIA

It’s good to be back home after an exciting 10-day trip to Northern Italy (there may be some future blog posts about that…) I’m sitting in a comfy Adirondack chair under my new porch, observing the changing colors of our woods, and sipping a small glass of the quince liqueur I made last year.

I never saw quince sold at my California markets. I think it was almost forgotten in the US until some fifteen years ago when it became fashionable to serve membrillo with Manchego, the Spanish cheese made of ewe milk. The French have their pâte de coing but we mostly serve it as a confection, like other pâtes de fruits. The most common quince product available at supermarkets here is gelée de coing: it’s a superb jelly to top a buttery croissant or to spread over neatly arranged slices of apples on a classic tarte aux pommes.

Maguy’s quince tree

My aunt Maguy planted several fruit trees when she retired at the farm some thirty years ago. We’re now neighbors and I’m always in awe of her fruit harvest. Her cognacier is particularly prolific and produces huge fruits like the one featured on my opening photo: that monster weighed close to 2 lbs! Quince is too astringent to eat raw; it’s also quite hard. Quartering, coring, and slicing quince to make jam or paste requires dedication, a large sharp knife, and a steady hand: my uncle even designed a “quince-cutting” apparatus that bears an uncanny resemblance to a massicot or a small guillotine…

Maguy’s 2018 harvest was huge and she gave me several quinces to play with. I didn’t feel ambitious enough to make jelly but I remembered how all the local farmers always served some kind of home-made liqueur that they called “ratafia.” There never seemed to be a specific recipe and different kinds of fruits could be used; more often than not, it just involves mixing fruits with sugar and alcohol. Perhaps I could make some quince ratafia? Searching the web, I ran across several references to Jane Grigson recipe from her 1971 book Good Things and made just a few adjustments. I liked the idea of simply grating the whole quince instead of peeling, cutting, and coring the tough fruit: I was pretty confident that my Microplane grater could handle the job. However, I stopped short of including the core itself: I thought I could eventually use the steeped quince shreds in a dessert (check the end of the recipe for an idea.) Quince is ready to harvest in October-November: if you’re lucky to spot them at your farmers’ market, pick up a few and make some ratafia: it will be ready for Christmas.

My jars of quince ratafia

Ratafia de Coing
Quince Ratafia

2 large quinces
1 cup granulated sugar
1” knob of ginger, peeled and sliced
1 star anise
Vodka

Thoroughly wash and rub the quinces under warm water to eliminate any fuzz on their skin. With a sharp cheese grater, shred the flesh of the fruits; discard the cores. Pack the shreds in a sterilized 1 quart Mason jar, add sugar, ginger, and star anise. Fill the jar with vodka. Seal the jar and store it in a cool dry place for 6 weeks, shaking occasionally. Taste the liquor after 6 weeks for sweetness; add sugar (or simple syrup) if necessary. To bottle the liqueur, use a fennel lined with a coffee filter.

After discarding the ginger rounds and star anise, transfer the quince shreds in a saucepan, add ½ cup of sugar, and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside and let cool. Use the quince compote to line up a pie pastry and top with apple slices for a tasty quince-apple tart.

Note: if you’re not a fan of star anise, you can substitute a small stick of cinnamon or a vanilla bean.

Quince and apple tart

Vocabulary
La pâte de coing: quince paste
La pâte de fruits: fruit paste
La gelée de coing: quince jelly
La tarte aux pommes: apple tart
Le cognacier: quince tree
Le massicot: paper cutter

DARLING CLEMENTINE

We have always tried to eat in season. My grandparents grew vegetables in their potagers; Mom visited the bi-weekly market and the maraîchers; most of the time I favor the fruits and vegetables available at the Farmers’ markets.

One desirable advantage of living in a rural area is having easy access to produce from the surrounding farmland. In France, we call it circuit court, where intermediaries between producer and consumer are almost eliminated. I truly love being so close to my food sources but our climate is quite different from California, even though we live in southwestern France. For the first time in many years, I didn’t have access to local citrus this past winter. In Modesto, I could pick a Eureka lemon from my own tree to accompany sole meunière, or harvest some sweet Meyer lemons in my in-law’s backyard to candy some zests. And there was always someone bringing a full bag of oranges because they didn’t want them to go to waste.

Unless you have a serre (or an orangerie like at the château de Versailles…) it is extremely difficult to grow citrus trees in France and expect to harvest anything. The only area where you may see citrus en pleine terre is along the Mediterranean coast, particularly between Nice and Menton: the city close to the Italian border has organized a Fête du Citron for 86 years. During two weeks each February, you can stroll among citrus replica of fantastic animals or famous buildings like Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower or a gigantic Taj Mahal.

Clementines from Corsica

A bit further South, Corsica produces the only clementine in France. The groves are located on the eastern plains of the island. The small fruit is juicy and seedless, with a good balance between sweetness and acidity. The skin is thin and shiny. In 2007, la Clémentine de Corse was granted an Indication Géographique Protégée to recognize its quality and specificity. Among the 70 criteria that producers must respect: the clementines have to be harvested by hand; plucked at maturity with at least two of their leaves attached to the stem; and not be subjected to any treatment that would alter its color.

I’ve enjoyed plenty of delicious clementines during my California years. Are the Corsican ones better? It’s a bit hard to tell unless you eat them side by side but I really like their floral tanginess. They are sold in small wooden crates or in bulk: choosing each fruit topped with a couple of green leaves enables you to appreciate how fresh they are. I mostly eat them out of hand; they yield an eye-opening breakfast juice; and, like other clementines, they make delicate desserts.

Vocabulary
Le potager: vegetable garden
Le maraîcher: an individual who grows and sell his own produce; usually on the outskirt of a city.
Le circuit court: lit. short circuit; short supply channel
La sole Meunière: the classic dish of sole in a butter lemon sauce
La serre: greenhouse
L’orangerie: orangery, a dedicated room or structure where potted trees are moved to protect them from freezing temperatures.
En pleine terre: in the ground, as opposed to grown in pots

TARTELETTE A LA CRÈME DE CLEMENTINE
Tartlets with clementine cream
Makes 8 tartlets

 
1 sheet of pastry (homemade or store-bought)
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 clementines
1 tsp corn starch

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Roll out the pastry; cut out circles the same diameter as the tartlet pans; line the pans with dough rounds. In a salad bowl whisk the eggs, 1/4 cup of sugar, and vanilla extract until pale and creamy. Zest one clementine; juice four of them. Add zest, juice and corn starch to the egg mixture and mix well. Pour into the tartlets and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool. Cut eight slices in the remaining clementines. In a small saucepan, heat half a cup of water and the remaining sugar. As soon as the syrup starts boiling, add the clementine slices and cook until they start caramelizing. Remove from the heat and allow them to cool completely. Drain. Top each tartlet with one slice before serving.

A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS

Things tend to be simpler in rural France. Take Christmas, for instance. I certainly didn’t expect the Christmas illuminations in our area to rival those in Paris but I was a tiny bit underwhelmed at first.

Christmas tree in Payrignac

Payrignac, our village of 700 souls, took the safe route: a good size tree in front of the Saint Agapit church; another one near the war memorial; three deer cutouts (particle board?) strung with lights by the lake; an illuminated Joyeuses Fêtes sign hung on the front of the primary school; an étoile filante of light bulbs decorating the side of the City Hall. Yep, I think that was about it.

Christmas decor in Gourdon. Fail…

Gourdon itself is 4 km away; the third largest city of the département, it boasts (!) a population of 4,500. Apparently, the extensive renovation of the tour de ville made a serious dent in the city budget this year. When we first discovered the huge Christmas Balls hanging by the City Hall, the Post Office and the Tribunal, we figured they had been purchased when Macron was a toddler. Granted they looked a little better at night but, really, whoever thought this was a good idea?

Music kiosk in Gourdon at dusk

On the other hand, the music kiosk and the garden around it received a more appealing treatment. My guess is that the same lights can easily be used again for Bastille Day; let’s just kill two (holiday) birds with one stone.

Un Certain Regard, my favorite boutique for home decor

Good thing the little boutiques on the above-mentioned tour de ville did their part to dress up the streets in a classy way.

En Vie de Femme, a clever name for women jewelry and accessories

Floral shop and the new “upgraded” sidewalks

And, yes, the renovations made the sidewalks larger, more level and less treacherous, especially when strolling at night. Which, incidentally, occurs shortly after 5 pm these days.

Fishnet trees at the supermarket. No tree lots in sight around here.

I just don’t think the French are as “fussy” as Americans when it comes to Christmas decorations. Very few people hang lights outside their homes: I’m sure energy costs are a factor. Most folks set up a tree in their house but nobody seems to have issues with purchasing a conifer completely wrapped in netting. My mother-in-law, who always insists on perfect symmetry, would tomber dans les pommes at the mere thought of buying a tree sight unseen. Oh, and an enterprising person could perhaps start a business selling tree skirts. Just saying…

Papillotes! So many choices…

Let’s face it: for the French, Christmas is all about the food. It starts around November 20 when the supermarkets overflow with friandises. Mind you, candies are just as much for adults as for children: marrons glacés, calissons d’Aix, papillotes, candied fruits, nougat, stuffed prunes, etc. compete with an incredibly large selection of chocolates. The boxes were piled above eye level and I felt I was navigating through a maze of delicious sweets.

Hens, capons, and turkeys. Tiny turkeys. Tasty turkeys… These holiday birds average 6-8 pounds.

By mid-December, the pastry aisles were filled with traditional Yule logs and the frozen section with bûches glacées. Smoked salmon, huîtres, scallops, lobster, escargots, and foie gras are perennial favorites for a first course, or second, or third. The plat de résistance always generates lively debates: in the old days, goose used to be very popular in the area but the current bird of choice seems to be capon.

Ho, Ho, Ho! Santa checks out our medieval streets.

Of course, Santa made a few appearances. I first spotted him in the rue du Majou. The trip from the Pôle Nord was so long, he needed to layover and replenish his toy supply in Germany.

An athletic Santa. The Mediterranean diet is really paying off!

I saw him again rope climbing into a window in the old part of town and had to marvel at how fit he looked. We now have the unequivocal proof that duck fat and red wine are good for your health.

All aboard!

Santa and one of his elves also offered rides around town in a classic horse-drawn wagon. I guess the reindeers needed a break.

Rick photobombs the Marché de Noël in Sarlat

I have a love-and-hate relationship with Sarlat: while thoroughly impressed by its architecture, I feel the old town has become too commercial. Nevertheless, we decided to visit the Marché de Noël, the second-largest in Nouvelle-Aquitaine (I imagine Bordeaux takes the top honor.) I made a point of going on a Tuesday afternoon, before school break, hoping it would not be too crowded. It turned out to be a good plan as we were able to cruise through the 70 chalets in record time.

Guernica in Sarlat. Dali’s The Persistence of Memory and works by Miró, Goya, and Velázquez were hung on the sycamores. Well, reproductions..

This year’s theme was Spain: I suppose Christmas is not thematic enough. Some products were made locally (donkey milk soaps, mohair shawls, wooden toys) and a few came from the country-that-shall-not-be-named.

Medieval beer. Some things get better given longer (with apologies to Abbot Ale…)

Vin chaud. It warms you up on a cold afternoon.

Actually, the whole thing seemed to be a good excuse for people to hang out, eat, and enjoy an adult beverage. In addition to empañadas, tapas, chorizo, Serrano ham or churros, one could also order oysters, frog legs, escargots, porcini soup, foie gras burgers, crêpes, waffles, roasted chestnuts, and more delicious foods, to be washed down with wine, medieval beer, or vin chaud. Just a notch above what the food court offers at your local mall.

Christmas decor at Mom’s retirement home

Last weekend, we headed out to Grenade-sur-Garonne to spend Christmas with my sister and her family. We picked up Mom at the retirement home where she is currently staying and I was quite impressed with the way they had decorated the facility, inside and out. She found a present in her room when we drove her back: a lovely collier de perles. I have no idea what Santa brought to the male residents.

I’m using this photo of Moulin de Planiol (a B&B a few miles away) for my Bonne Année cards this year

I hope your Christmas was as delicious as mine. I have to say that it was very, very nice to have unrestricted access to the variety of wonderful food that France produces at this time of the year. As we are leaving 2018 behind, I want to wish you a Happy New Year and thank you for all your encouragement as I transition to living in my native country again. There are many new adventures I want to share with you and I appreciate your following my musings. Let’s toast the new year: I wish 2019 is filled with perfect moments for all of us!

Vocabulary
Joyeuses Fêtes: Happy Holidays
L’étoile filante (f): shooting star
Le tour de ville: lit. city tour; in this case, it refers to the boulevard that encircles the medieval town, where the moat used to be.
Le Tribunal: courthouse
Tomber dans les pommes: to faint; lit. to fall into the apples
La friandise: sweet, candy
Le marron glacé: candied chestnut
Le calisson: a specialty from Aix-en-Provence that combines ground almond and candied melon, shaped like a diamond.
La papillote: a specialty from Lyon where a chocolate bouchée is double-wrapped; the first paper wrappper is printed with a quote, the outside wrapper is made of foil with frilly ends.
La bûche glacée: a frozen Yule log, mostly made of ice cream, lighter than the traditional bûche pâtissière.
L’huître (f): oyster
Le plat de résistance: main course (the dish that will allow you to resist until the next meal)
Le Pôle Nord: North Pole
Le vin chaud: warm mulled wine
Le collier de perles: pearl necklace

PURPLE GARLIC

I’m pretty sure I got my first taste of garlic when my grandmother made her famous pommes de terre sarladaises: she sautéed scalloped potatoes with duck fat in her cast-iron Dutch oven, crusted by decades of faithful service. Toward the end of the cooking time, she’d throw in a generous quantity of slivered garlic and a handful of chopped parsley. If we were lucky, golden chanterelles were combined with the potatoes. The whole kitchen smelled of garlic.

Bunches of garlic are hung to dry under la halle in Cadours

She also served a soupe au pain every night where thick slices of country bread soaked in a flavorful garlicky broth. More often than not, it also included vegetables from the garden: cabbage, carrots, dried fava beans… It was a far cry from the elegant potages served in Paris restaurants! When vegetables were not available, farmers would simply make a tourin blanchi, a garlic soup bound with an egg. It truly earned the nickname of soupe du pauvre. It’s simple, rustic, and unexpectedly smooth.

The stalks of this purple garlic are soft enough to be braided

Just a few weeks ago, Rick and I drove to Cadours, a small village of Haute-Garonne, during their annual Fête de l’Ail Violet. It was the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with their AOP purple garlic, witness how it is peeled and braided, and sample some tasty garlic soup.

A peacock entirely made of garlic was awarded First Prize this year.

Another surprise: a contest featuring stunning models completely made of garlic –cloves, skins, stalks– and displayed under the imposing 19th-century brick halle. Not as old as la halle de Grenade but a nice piece of architecture nonetheless.

I can’t even imagine how many hours were spent to recreate the Cadours church in garlic

I confess that I was not familiar with this purple garlic from Cadours: it only earned its Appellation d’Origine Protégée in 2017. But it prompted me to do some research on French varieties of garlic beyond the generic “white” variety.

Quite a trophy!

Three varieties of garlic have been awarded some distinctive protections.

Ail Rose de Lautrec IGP is the most famous one. This high-quality pink garlic is grown in the Tarn near Albi and obtained its Indication Géographique Protégée in 1996. It has a subtle and slightly sweet taste. It is said to keep for a full year.

Ail Violet de Cadours AOP exhibits a notable purple color on the skins. The heads are fairly large. The aroma and flavor assertive. In hot preparations, some sweetness balances its strength. It’s marketed as early as July, before any other French garlic.

Ail Fumé d’Arleux IGP is a pink garlic cultivated in the Hauts de France (the old Nord-Pas de Calais region.) It’s braided then smoked. The process gives the heads a copper color and confers a woody note to the garlic.

A little bit of Franglais…

If you love garlic, you’d probably enjoy going through a blind tasting to compare white, pink and purple garlics: make several frottes where a clove of garlic is rubbed against a piece of toasted country bread. It often served as my grandfather’s lunch when he was a child. The taste differences mostly reveal themselves when the various garlics are used raw. Simmered in a soup, they loose any harshness and become exquisitely smooth.

Tourin blanchi: yummy, rustic garlic soup

TOURIN BLANCHI
Garlic soup
Serves 6

2 Tbsp duck fat
2 heads of garlic, peeled and slivered
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp flour
6 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
6 slices of country-style bread, stale or toasted

Melt the duck fat in a thick-bottom pot and lightly sauté the garlic and onion; do not allow the vegetables to color. Sprinkle the flour, mix well and add the water. Bring to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Separate egg whites and egg yolks into two bowls. Beat the yolks with a fork, add the vinegar, and one Tbsp of soup. Take the pot off the stove, add the egg yolk mixture to the soup, and whisk briskly. Add the whites, mix and whisk thoroughly. Place a slice of bread in each bowl and pour the hot soup over the bread.

Vocabulary

La soupe au pain: bread soup. The broth and vegetables (whole or in chunks) are poured over a slice of bread. In rural areas, la soupe au pain was often meant to be a complete meal.
Le potage: a smoother, more refined soup. The components are cooked down or pureed to produce a creamier texture.
La soupe du pauvre: soup of the poor
La fête: festival
L’ail (f): garlic
Violet: purple
La halle: covered market square
Frotter: to rub

ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS

Here is a French word that comes in handy in summer: la courgette. I think I somewhat “discovered” zucchini when I first came to California some forty years ago. Of course, the slender green vegetable was not unknown in France but, at that time, it fell into the category of regional produce: ubiquitous in Provence, not so much in other areas. My grandfathers, both avid gardeners, never grew zucchini in their potagers and I don’t remember any of their neighbors growing them either. They both lived in the southwestern quadrant of France. At home, my mother loved zucchini; my dad and my sister did not; I was Switzerland… I’ll eat just about anything.

If we wanted to run a popularity contest, zucchini would rank pretty low on the offensive scale. Nevertheless, I was a bit surprised to see how enthusiastic Californians were about this summer vegetable. Zucchini bread? Really? Naturellement, this French girl didn’t think that vegetables belonged in the dessert category. But wait: is bread supposed to be a dessert in these parts? It was all very confusing.

Later on, I realized the reason why Californians devise so many creative preparations for zucchini is because it is such a prolific vegetable: one needs to constantly figure out new ways to use the abundant crop. Or else, you fill your car trunk with bags of zucchini and cajole your coworkers into lightening your load. If your garden is full of zucchini let me give you a bit of advice to nip the problem in the bud, literally: harvest zucchini as they bloom and stuff the blossoms with fresh chèvre instead of allowing the vegetable to reach maturity! These stuffed zucchini blossoms are showy, tasty, and easy to make. Bring them to the next company picnic and everybody will cheer you on for growing courgettes.

They're still so pretty after they're baked!

Zucchini Blossoms stuffed with Goat Cheese
Fleurs de courgettes farcies au fromage de chèvre
Serves 4

2 eggs
4 oz fresh goat cheese
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
6 basil leaves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
12 zucchini blossoms
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Separate the eggs. With a fork, mash the goat cheese and mix in the egg yolks, garlic, basil, and pepper. Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt and fold into the cheese mixture. Carefully open up the zucchini blossoms and fill them with the cheese and egg preparation. Oil an oven-proof dish with 1 Tbsp of olive oil; arrange the stuffed blossoms in the dish and sprinkle with the remaining oil. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Vocabulary

La courgette: zucchini
Le potager: vegetable garden
Naturellement: of course
La chèvre: goat
Le chèvre: goat cheese

FOREVER 29-PART THREE

The final installment of my Joie de Vivre retrospective where I wrap things up after 29 years in business. Catch up on Part One and Part Two. Thanks for the memories!

10/2009 Kitchen Pantry

French classics in the garde-manger. 56 pages. Notable: rillettes and pâtés Hénaff, Amora mayonnaise, Bénédicta sauces, Lapalisse walnut and hazelnut oils, Carte Noire coffee, Lu Paille d’Or and Chamonix Orange, Margaux cherries in Armagnac; St Dalfour giant prunes and luscious figs; Batna, Carambar, and Hollywood gum; Rochers Suchard; Bistro de Paris red-and-black porcelain dishes; Mont St Michel eau de Cologne; Paris folding umbrella.

10/2010 Vintage

I found a spectacular collection of glass objects featuring vintage images of Paris. 56 pages. Notable: Rougié pâtés and foie gras from Québec; Eric Burr prepared lentils; L’Epicurien flower confits; Eiffel Tower salt and pepper shakers; Tintin et Milou mugs; Paris Map neckties.

10/2011 Un express, s’il vous plait

Pillivuyt Brasserie series paired with heart-shaped sugar cubes and Goulibeur shortbread featured on the Martha Stewart Show. 56 pages. Notable: Plantin’s truffle condiments; Eric Burr canned sauces; La Tisanière herbal teas; Ricoré; Abtey La Route des Liqueurs (a.k.a. The Booze Tour;) glass butter dish; five Opinel knives; Paris Puzzle Map; Clairefontaine notebooks.

10/2012 All about Lavender

Even the new French-sized reusable bags feature the star flower of Provence. 56 pages. Notable: Christian Potier sauces in a pouch; Castelas extra-virgin olive oil; La Trinitaine madeleines; Pierre cookies; French cookie cutters; Crème de caramel au beurre salé; CartExpo thermometers.

10/2013 Champagne

The French golden age of posters: Pommery Champagne on a tray along with mini pink cookies from Reims. 56 pages. Notable: mushroom-infused wines, an exclusive; Banyuls and champagne vinegar; culinary lavender; fleur de sel from Camargue; langues de chat; La Vosgienne; Bonté vintage tins of hard candies; Le Petit Prince toys and books; Bébé T-shirt and accessories.

10/2014 Brasserie Bleue

Breakfast time with large bowls and toast stamped with the Eiffel Tower. 56 pages. Notable: mackerels in white wine; Alziari olive oil; chocolate Gavottes; Sablés de l’Abbaye in commemorative D-Day tin; linen kitchen towels; Jean Vier cotton bread basket, with a cherry pit cushion to keep the bread warm; Bérard olive wood cutting board; Taylor and Ng French Creatures mugs; Laguiole steak knives, made in France, the real thing.

10-2015 Thieffry

A superb Thieffry linen tablecloth from Northern France serves as the backdrop for the new glass creamer and sugar pot. 56 pages. Notable: Rougié cassoulet; Groix et Nature seafood rillettes; Délices du Lubéron eggplant caviar, aioli, and rouille; St Michel palmiers; La Dunkerquoise waffles; Instants Parisiens chocolate Eiffel Towers; Métro oven mitts; France Map cutting board; Filt filet net bags; Caran d’Ache color pencils because it’s the adult coloring craze.

10-2016 Une Belle Salade

A Pillivuyt porcelain bowl, olive wood salad servers, and ingredients for a superlative vinaigrette. 56 pages. Notable: chicken, beef, and vegetable stock concentrates; sardine fillets; Peronneau regional honeys; St Michel grandes galettes with sea salt; palets Breton in the Citroën tin; François Doucet chocolate raisins with Cognac; Provençal tablecloths; cotton totes with vintage poster images; Savonnerie de Nyons soaps in vintage tins.

10/2017 Le Lapin Agile

The cover of the very last catalog. If you read my book, you know the story behind this reproduction of the famous “agile rabbit” of Montmartre… 56 pages. Notable: the trio of confits for cheese; Francis Miot artisan jams; Sablés in the Mont St-Michel tin; Les Liqueurs de France in dark chocolate bottles; Andrée Jardin bath accessories; Le Chatelard scented soy candles; Eiffel Tower stocking holder; real French bérets!

Vocabulary
Le garde-manger: the larder, pantry
La langue de chat: cat’s tongue (a cookie)

FOREVER 29-PART TWO

Read Forever 29-Part One for a recap of “the early years” of Joie de Vivre.

Continuing with my retrospective of Joie de Vivre, it becomes apparent that this second decade was transformative. The kitchen table operation became a “real” business. The catalog grew from 36 to 56 pages. The website was launched in 1999 and featured rich content like recipes and in-depth product stories. And, as evidenced in my yearly column, I found my voice. I even got on my soapbox once in a while, sharing my thoughts about globalization, the Euro becoming the common currency for (most of) Europe, or the importance of good food whether in school cafeterias or on the Space Station…

10/1999 At Home

Photo shoot at the house and Jeff uses our Italian armoire as a backdrop to highlight our Provençal pottery. 40 pages. Notable: Maison Pébeyre truffle products, Hénaff pâtés, Puget Olive oil, Malongo Grande Réserve coffee, Provence napkins and placemats, Pré de Provence gift soaps. I launch our website, frenchselections.com.

10/2000 Brasserie

Timeless Brasserie series by Pillivuyt is my inspiration this year. 48 pages. Notable: first catalog to offer Fabrique Délices fresh sausages and pâtés by mail. First-boil truffles by Pébeyre; Aromont sauces and stocks; Tarbais beans; Délice de l’Amandier, first gluten-free cake; Côte d’Or chocolate; pastilles Vichy, Anis de Flavigny, and Cachou Lajaunie; La Française hollowed candles; lavender linen water.

10/2001 La Rochère

Glassware by La Rochère, the oldest glassmaking factory in France (since 1475!) 52 pages. Notable: fish soup; Gold medal winner Château Virant extra-virgin olive oil, Guyaux chocolate truffles, Cémoi chocolate cerises, candied fruits.  Also, our famous raclette grill and Digouin vinegar maker. 

10/2002 L’Ardoise

Because today’s specials are still handwritten with white chalk. 52 pages. Notable: Jean de France rosette, the only saucisson that ever was legally (albeit briefly) imported from France; Connétable sardines; La Tisanière herbal teas; Francine crêpe mixes; silver dragées; Le Petit Prince dinnerware; Marius Fabre soap flakes.

10/2003 L’Epi de Provence

Beautiful soap and toiletry collection from southern France. 52 pages. Notable: Fabrique Délices pâtés en croûte; Giraudet pike quenelles in Nantua sauce (JDV was the only US retailer to offer this product;) Artzner goose confit and rillettes from Alsace; cod brandade from Nîmes; Eiffel Tower tabletop; Grand Hôtel flatware; Marius Fabre liquid soap.

10/2004 Le Pain et l’Huile d’Olive

Ready for a dip? The cover features Revol’s porcelain cruets and a bread basket set on the Bistro des Amis linen tablecloth. 52 pages. Notable: Delouis French mayonnaise; Butter galettes in a Quimper tin; Miaou mugs; first French music CDs; four French-inspired doormats, including Je Garde La Maison (dog); pétanque set (bring your own Pastis.)

10/2005 Le Cassoulet

Yes, it’s true: cassoulet is finally here again. 52 pages. Notable: Folies Fromages, great jams to pair with cheese (that’s when that whole trend started…) Not just cassoulet but also foie gras and pâtés from our Canadian cousins; truffle condiments from Les Truffières de Rabasse; Arnaud extra-virgin olive oil from Les Baux; L’Epicurien vegetable confits; chocolate coated orange and lemon zests; silver and gold-plated charms; French music CDs. 

10/2006 Paris Black-and-White

Coffee is served in the striking Paris mug, along with a dark chocolate square by Monbana. 52 pages. Notable: Pérard fish, crab, and lobster soups; Lubéron appetizer spreads; Blessac crème brûlée mix; caramels Dupont d’Isigny; France wooden cheese platter with Laguiole knife; bowls for chat and chien.

10/2007 Absinthe

La Fée Verte is legal again and very trendy; our French absinthe fountain and accessories take us back 150 years. 56 pages. Notable: Fabrique Délices saucisson sec; Connétable vintage sardines and tuna in oil; Espélette pepper; Biofournil par-baked bread; St Dalfour Gourmet-on-the-go salads; Mirabelle jam! Paris Souvenir tidbit dishes; three exclusive T-shirts, including Joie de Vivre and La Deuche.

10/2008 Relax

The Ellesca collection brings aromatherapy into our homes. 56 pages. Notable: Fabrique Délices rosette de Lyon; Blessac dehydrated sauces; Nectar de Bourgogne fruit coulis; boudoirs; fruit cake from Pont-Aven (still mourning this one;) poterie Renault; three more exclusive T-shirt designs, including Merde Happens.

Follow me to Part Three.

Vocabulary

L’ardoise (f): chalkboard
La dragée: the French version of the Jordan almond (thin sugar coating)
Le pâté en croûte: a pâté encased in pastry
La quenelle: a dumpling
Le chat: cat
Le chien: dog
La Fée Verte: the Green Fairy

FOREVER 29-PART ONE

I hope this will not come out as self-indulgence. I spent almost thirty years developing the Joie de Vivre catalog and I loved it. After I announced my retirement, so many customers told me they would be hanging on to their catalogs as souvenirs that I thought it might be fun to go down memory lane. A few (very few) of you will remember what my first catalog looked like. For everybody else, here is the complete JDV retrospective, broken down in three decades.  

10/1989 Premier Numéro

The very first catalog. Photography by Jeff Broome who will shoot the catalog until his death in 2006. 12 pages, duotone. Printed at Valley Color Graphics until they shut down twenty years later. Notable: Fallot mustards, A l’Olivier olive oil, Guinettes cherries, and Valrhona chocolate, all fantastic products that I offered in every single catalog until the last one. I also feature Delpeyrat canned goose foie gras and goose confit! Some people laughed at me when I declared I would be selling foie gras to private individuals…

04/1990 L’Artiste

The first (and last) spring/summer catalog that I published: a money pit. But the cover is still one of the very favorite pictures I took: that painter was sitting on the Pont des Arts in Paris and the Samaritaine department store (top right) was still open. I saw him at that location for a few years; then he was gone; then he was showing his works right outside the St-Germain-des-Prés church in October 2008. Notable: Suavor, a French specialty coffee when Americans were still drinking jus de chaussettes; L’Occitane soaps, waaaay before they decided to open their own retail outlets.

10/1990 Doisneau

I start working with Graphique de France (posters, cards, calendars) and use one of their images for the cover. 16 pages, duotone. Notable: Clément Faugier marrons glacés and crème de marron, La Perruche sugar cubes, dried green lentils and flageolets beans, herbs of Provence, cornichons, olives niçoises, and Apilco porcelain dishes.

10/1991 The Black One

First and only black cover. 20 pages, 4-color and duotone. In retrospect, a bit over dramatic but it seemed to be a good way to showcase André Renoux’s striking placemats and coasters. Notables: butter galettes and palets from Brittany, Delpeyrat pâtés, dried mushrooms, the famous St Dalfour trio, canned salsifis and flageolets, Emile Henry cookware –before it was on anybody’s radar– and my first curated book selection on France, including Patricia Wells’ Bistro Cooking. Oh, and Le Marché French vegetable seeds imported by Georgeanne Brennan.

10/1992 Belle Epoque

Renoux’s paintings serve as inspiration again. 20 pages, 4-color throughout. Notable: I introduce calissons, nougat, and dragées; Monin syrups, the first syrups to be introduced to the US, a couple of years ahead of the “Italian” ones. Provençal scent diffuser and lavender oil. And the Quo Vadis agendas in French!

10/1993 Cafés

Sensing the Americans’ developing interest in good coffee, I introduced Etienne Knopes collection box: excellent Belgian company. 24 pages. Notable: Bizac cassoulet, foie gras, confit, and pâtés. Escargots and lobster bisque. Savora mustard and grated celery root. First tilleul and verveine herbal teas. Sablés de l’Abbaye, Les Gavottes, stuffed prunes from Château de Born. Enamel signs and first foray into T-shirts. 

10/1994 Les Boîtes

Fabulous tins featuring vintage French posters. 28 pages. Notable: our first Saucisson Sec de Montagne and coarse salt from Guérande (nobody had even given a thought to salt before.) Capitaine Cook’s mackerels in white wine! Savora mustard! Dea harissa! Doucet pâtes de fruits, vacuum-packed chestnuts, madeleine, and charlotte pans. Le Petit Marseillais soaps. Christmas cards in French.

10/1995 Le Canard

I persuaded my friend Claude, CEO of Grimaud Farms, that I could sell fresh Muscovy duck and raw Sonoma Foie Gras to my customers. Six months later, he starts raising pintades and I sell half of his first batch. 32 pages. Notable: in addition to fresh meats, I offer our first selection of French cheeses. I’m also the first US retailer of Gabriel Perroneau’s honeys and pain d’épice. Arnaud specialty olives. Roger & Gallet eau de Cologne (still miss that one.) And I feature Linda Dannenberg’s French Country Diary for the first time! The rest is history…

10/1996 Les Fromages

Expanding on the French cheese offering and Président butter, a long time before it became (relatively) ubiquitous. 32 pages. Notable: marrons glacés from Confiserie du Périgord, madeleines, chicorée Leroux, and crème Mont Blanc. Our first exclusive T-shirts designed by my friend Nancy Liston.

10/1997 Scents of Provence

Cover is inspired by incense holders handmade in Provence. 36 pages. Obviously, some opacity issues with the paper… Notable: Amora mustard, canned coquilles St-Jacques (trust me, they were very tasty,) Mariage Frères teas, Révillon papillotes, praslines Mazet, chocolat Cluizel, and La Mère Poulard cookies. 

10/1998 Bonjour

Great porcelain mugs screened with scenes from Paris. 36 pages. Notable: Grimaud markets confit of duck legs based on my recipe. After Rougié buys Bizac, I switch to their brand for our French duck, goose, and foie gras products. Traou Mad is now my preferred choice for Brittany cookies. First fleur de sel from Guérande, biscottes, Fossier pink cookies, and palmiers. Conserverie de Haute-Provence jams, including gelée de coing and gelée de groseille.

Follow me to Part Two.

Vocabulary
Le premier numéro: first issue
Le jus de chaussette: (lit.) sock juice; weak coffee
La boîte: box, tin
Le canard: duck
La pintade: Guinea hen
Le pain d’épice: French ginger bread loaf
La gelée: jelly
Le coing: quince
La groseille: red currant
La biscotte: similar to Melba toast, often served for breakfast