LA GRANDE BOUCLE

How my grandfather Albert liked his Tour de France! Every afternoon in July, he would take a break from working in the fields, turn on the radio, and sit down at the kitchen table to listen to the live broadcast. When they finally got TV reception at the farm in the mid-60s, he could actually watch his favorite riders comme en vrai. Jacques Anquetil, Raymond Poulidor, Eddie Merckx were his heroes. Personally, I found the race extremely boring and saw enough close-ups of hairless legs pushing on pedals to last me a lifetime.

I've changed my tune, though. Not because I suddenly developed an appreciation for la petite reine: I just enjoy the scenery. The increased use of helicopters transformed how the race is filmed and won over a new group of spectators: armchair travelers who discover the variety of the French regions without leaving their living room and the 64” flat screen. It’s cheaper than a plane ticket and, if you care at all about the race itself, it gives you a fantastic overall view of the stage leaders, the peloton, and everyone in between. Muscular calves are getting short-changed but I don’t mind that.

Le Tour de France is believed to be the most popular sporting event in the world: where else can millions of fans watch champions compete in the most prestigious bicycle race sans débourser un centime? Just line up along the road; catch goodies thrown from la caravane, arm yourself with a bottle of sunscreen, or an umbrella. The weather can be unpredictable even in the middle of summer.

In July 1997, Rick and I spent a few days at my sister’s apartment right outside of Paris. That third Sunday of the month was the final stage of the Tour and the riders were scheduled to barrel around our corner right after lunch. The guys walked down the street to catch the action and a glimpse of le maillot jaune. It was a hot day. Francoise and I decided to stay in. We turned on the TV, hoping to spot our husbands’ sexy calves. No luck…

Vocabulary
La Grande Boucle: The Great Loop, nickname for the Tour de France
Comme en vrai: in person, lit. like in real (life)
La petite reine: nickname for a bicycle, lit. the little queen
Sans débourser un centime: without spending one cent, free
La caravane: the (publicity) caravan, a procession of advertising floats and vehicles that precede the race and distribute giveaways
Le peloton: the pack
Le maillot jaune: the leader of the race (he wears a yellow jersey)

Official Le Tour de France website

AMERICAN GRAFFITI

Everybody who grew up in Modesto during the 1950s has fond memories of cruising, that adolescent rite of passage immortalized by George Lucas in his 1973 film American Graffiti. Yes, the force is strong in Modesto but car culture is stronger yet! A spontaneous Friday night activity for teenagers anxious to show off their cars and pick up some dates, cruising originally took place on 10th street but had already moved to McHenry Avenue –the “new” main drag– by the time Modesto became my home; instead of a weekly happening, it had morphed into a once-a-year celebration (Graffiti Night) held on Saturday night right after graduation.

I personally never joined the bumper-to-bumper parade: I like to keep a bit of distance from noxious fumes… Rick and I preferred to walk down the street and admire the shiny classic cars and custom hot rods. Besides, the street offered terrific entertainment as well: 50s and 60s music, girls in poodle skirts, cops on horses, the very heavily tattooed guy who showed up with a huge python coiled around his neck year after year.

The City Council banned cruising in 1993 as the event had become too unruly. There were several dark years where Modesto seemed to forget its rich car history. Graffiti Night was finally resurrected into Graffiti Summer: throughout June, car aficionados from all over descend upon Modesto to enjoy several classic and custom car shows, festivals, Hula Hoop contests, and a “regulated” car parade that once again extends to McHenry Avenue. Maybe it’s no longer spontaneous enough for George Lucas; maybe he’d rather keep the memories of his youth intact. The Native Son has attended only once.

I did a double-take last year when I was in Paris: there was a car show right behind the Hôtel de Ville and all vehicles on display were belles américaines, like the legendary Chevys and Fords of American Graffiti, the true stars of the movie. Guess what: George wasn’t there either.

Vocabulary
Les belles américaines: the beautiful American cars (i.e. classics)

P'TIT DEJ'

Rumor has it that the French don’t “do breakfast.” According to another rumor, we pig out on croissants all the time. So, what constitutes a typical petit déjeuner français? It’s true that most French people have a light breakfast at home before heading out to school or to work: a glass of juice, a bowl of café au lait, a tartine or a couple of biscottes with butter and jam; that’s about it. Habits have changed somewhat: a cup of yogurt or some cold cereal might also make an appearance. Croissants are weekend treats, unless… I confess to being a serial croissant eater when I am in France: good ones are impossible to find in Modesto so I make up for it when I find myself in Paris. It’s quite special to start the day at a neighborhood café and watch the regulars interact with the servers while sipping a nice cup of tea or coffee in which I blissfully dunk a long slice of crispy baguette smeared with Brittany butter (the kind with salt crystals); and a perfect croissant, because every day feels like Sunday when I am in Paris…

Vocabulary
Le P'tit dej': short (and familiar) for le petit déjeuner
Le petit déjeuner français: French breakfast
Le café au lait: coffee mixed with milk (usually in about equal proportions)
La tartine: a slice of bread topped with other ingredients
La biscotte: a store-bought bread product similar to Melba toast

THE CAT AND THE POT

Meet Saphir, my sister’s cat. She’s posing next to one of Grandma’s retired toupine. In Southwest France, a toupine is an earthenware pot used to hold duck confit, a regional specialty. Salted duck legs and breasts were gently simmered in duck fat; the meat quarters would then be transferred to a toupine and covered with liquid fat while still hot. As the fat cooled off and hardened, it would create a barrier between the meat and the outside air, and prevent the development of bacteria. The preserved meat could be kept for months in a cellar, without refrigeration.

These confit pots were highly valued and reused year after year. When the outside enamel eventually peeled off, Grandma would fill her toupines with dirt and recycle them as planters. Toupines usually fetch high prices at local vide-greniers.

Vocabulary
La toupine: earthenware pot
Le confit de canard: duck meat cooked and preserved in its own fat
Le vide-grenier: the French equivalent of a garage sale (literally, emptying the attic) but usually organized by the city and grouping individual sellers and professionals.

LES FEVES

A long time ago, the traditional galette des Rois was spiked with a dry bean, hence the name fève. When I was a young girl, the bean had already been replaced by a white porcelain baby Jesus. In the late Sixties, plastic supplanted porcelain and religious icons made way to secular symbols: the sun, a four-leaf clover, etc.

As galette season started to stretch to a whole month instead of a single week, bakers foresaw a new marketing opportunity: if fèves were perceived as collectibles, more cakes would be sold. It started will colorful ceramic santons (the Provençal figurines that populate nativity scenes) and expanded to depictions of cartoon characters, baby animals, classic cars, or even a real gold coin!

Fève collectors are known as fabophiles and often scout vide-greniers to enrich their collection. They can even compare their treasures to the 20,000+ samples exhibited at the Musée de la fève in Blain (Loire-Atlantique.)

Vocabulary
Galette des Rois: traditional cake served for the Epiphany
Vide-grenier: the French equivalent of a garage sale (literally, to empty one’s attic)

EPIPHANY

Each French holiday has its own rhythm, its own traditions and, most importantly, its own dessert. After the Bûche de Noël* for Christmas and the Omelette Norvégienne for New Year’s Eve, we usher in January with the Galette des Rois. Sometimes compared to the Kings cake served in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, the galette is a decidedly different dessert. Imagine a buttery layer of frangipane (creamed almond powder) sandwiched between two flaky disks of puff pastry: at its best, it’s light, not too sweet, and the perfect accompaniment to a chilled glass of Champagne demi-sec.

That’s what the adults in the (dining) room enjoy. Children get more delight out of finding la fève in their slice of galette: before it is baked, a trinket is hidden between the layers of puff pastry; the person who is lucky enough to bite into the fève gets to be crowned king or queen for the day. Traditionally, the youngest child scoots under the dining room table while the galette is cut and calls the name of a recipient before each slice is served. In our house, it was my sister Françoise’s responsibility –and privilege. I grew a bit weary of the whole process when I realized that Mom would INVARIABLY strike the fève when cutting the galette, thereby killing the surprise for everybody around the table. I eventually got my own “epiphany”: I joined my sister under the table so I could be as blissfully ignorant as she was.

Unless you live close to a good French pastry shop, purchasing a galette in the USA is no small feat. However, making one yourself is not necessarily a difficult endeavor, especially if you use store-bought puff pastry. Here is my recipe.

Galette des Rois

Ingredients
2 sheets of puff pastry
½ cup sugar
4 Tbsp of butter, softened
1 ¼ cup almond meal
3 eggs, separated
1 drop almond extract
2 Tbsp of rum
A porcelain fève (or dried bean, or whole almond)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 360º F. Cut two 9" disks into the puff pastry sheets (use a sharp knife and an upturned plate to guide you). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set one disk on top of it. Cream the sugar, almond meal, and butter together. Incorporate 2 eggs, almond extract, and rum. Mix the yolk from the remaining egg with 1 Tbsp of water; with a pastry brush, apply the egg wash at the edges to trace a one-inch ring. Pour the almond cream in the center of the puff pastry disk and spread up to the egg wash ring. Bury the fève into the almond cream. Top with the second disk of puff pastry and press the edges together with your fingers to seal. With the dull side of a small knife, push the edges of the dough inward in eight equidistant places; draw a crisscross or decorative pattern on the top of the galette; brush with the egg wash, making sure not to drip over the sides. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm.

Vocabulaire
La Bûche de Noël: log shaped cake
L’Omelette Norvégienne: baked Alaska
La Galette des Rois: puff pastry cake served for the Epiphany
Demi-sec: extra dry
La fève: a trinket hidden in the galette. Originally, a dried bean.

Read more about les fèves.