Vive la France!

Recently my cousin François sent me this great French cookbook; Secrets gourmands de Provence. All the way from Toulouse, France.

It's one gorgeous book chock full of information about France with great photographs and of course, great recipes.

Lucky for me the book is written in French with the English translation.





Vanessa and Chris were due to come over for dinner so I decided to attempt two of the recipes, which quickly turned into "French night" at our house.




For "French night" you have to set the mood.
I would have liked to set it with something along these lines.....(photos from the book.)







But, *sigh*............... that's not happening. So, I had to make do with what we have:



I did play French music for the evening which helped transport us just a bit.


I chose two recipes from the cookbook; Rosace de melon and Pomme d'amour.
(click to enlarge)



























Their Rosace de melon.


Mine.

I was happy with mine although they don't look quite like the photo. But they were very pretty and tasted great.


















The Pomme d'amour I made tasted great but didn't look anything like their gorgeous photo.



I also made Coq au vin, using free range, organic chicken breasts.


And on the side, fresh French Country Bread from Cafe de Paris.









Also a "mood setter"; a good French wine from the Provence area.






















Pommes Anna was super easy to make. Everyone loved it.






And for dessert; Genoise cake. Yummy! (Délicieux!)





And, as in France, we followed our meal with a cup of espresso.



















Vanessa wanted a Tarot reading after dinner so I brought out the Housewive's Tarot deck which I recently won from Mrs. B. at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom.




Of course I used the "Dinette" layout which "is inspired by a dinner place setting. The heart of the matter is served on a plate, which is formed by your past, present, and future. Your course of action and outcome are represented by the silverware. This reading is best for specific or important questions or issues, and should be performed at the dining table or breakfast counter."

Perfect!


Great reading. Vanessa really enjoyed the new cards. Her outcome card was the Six of Swords - "......with a spark of insight, it looks like you can finally put your troubles behind you. This is a transitory period in your life; you will be moving out of the darkness and into the sunshine. It's time to release all the pent-up anxiety and aggression and make way for happier times." Nice!





And as if the evening wasn't nice enough already, Tootsie put it over the top by venturing into the kitchen - again! Vanessa scooped her right up, and Tootsie received her share of loving.




What could be more authentically French than pet chickens in the house?



Merci beaucoup pour le livre, François!