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December 2003: Noel in Provence, Buche and French cakes
Christmas: how we celebrated in France
13 Special desserts from Provence
CHRISTMAS, HOW WE CELEBRATED IN FRANCE<
Back in Paris, a typical Christmas meal in our home used to start with foie gras and champagne as aperitif, then oysters on the half shell were served with lemon juice or a vinegar and shallots sauce. The main course featured turkey served with roasted chestnuts and celery root- potato puree. The dessert, la buche (French yule log cake), was a layered genoise patisserie in form of a log, with a decor of meringue shaped mushrooms and a chocolate glaze. It was as beautiful as it was tasty. Aromas could include Grand Marnier, Cointreau or natural vanilla beans. Petits fours (miniature cakes, eclairs and tartelettes) would accompany coffee. The first link shows how to decorate the French Buche de Noel with kids, the next link is the actual buche recipe:
http://www.cstone.net/~bry-back/holidayfun/log.html
http://www.pastrychef.com/htmlpages/recipes/buche_de_noel.html
13 DESSERTS FROM PROVENCE
My old time friend Brigitte Alesinas is from Trets, a small Provencal village. She describes as follows the thirteen typical Provencal desserts of her childhood: Les 4 mendiants - the four beggars - (raisins, dried figs, almonds and nuts, and dried prunes from Brignolles), winter pears and apples, cedrats confits, grapes and quince jams, white and dark nougat, spicy white goat cheese, fougasses, fried bugnes - fritters - , milk galettes with fennel and cumin seeds, served with a spicy cooked wine.
A variation comes from Francoise Parier. She adds: oranges, raisins, dried melon from last September, chocolate truffles, pain brioche (Halla type bread) with olive oil called la Pompette, “Calissons” (delicious candies with almond paste) and disguised fruits (almond stuffed dates)
Alsatian pastries have had a central place for centuries in the Noel festivities. Cakes of all shapes and designs like the Christolle are hand molded and baked flat on a metal sheet. Other ones are shaped like pretzels, in cross, crown or snails, to scare away evil spirits. Other cakes are made with wood molds and have figural shapes, varied small biscuits represent stars, moon, or Christmas.
In the old times (16th c.), St Nicolas was offered pain d’epices. Since that time, the basic ingredients of Christmas cakes have not changed much: eggs, flour, honey and spices. Spices perfume and help digestion: anis, cinnamon, fennel, cloves, mace, cardamom, aniseed. Sugar and butter - which we consider now to be the main ingredients - were added only in the 19th century.
Throughout all of Europe, it was customary to light a log in the fireplace during Christmas eve. In France, it is said that there must be as many logs in the fireplace as there are family members living in the house. This antique tradition comes from the secular celebrations of the winter solstice. They survive in the French countryside. This ritual brings warmth and light to the Veillee (staying awake.) In addition, the wood burned during Christmas Eve is said to be a solemn celebration to the sun. In Provence, the Christmas log (Cossa de Nadau in the Provencal language, or Occitan) was sprinkled with a spiced cooked wine.
And to add to the ambiance around your fireplace, let a French antique clock chime twelve times at midnight. Or complement the atmosphere with an antique French mantel in chestnut. Use it around a fireplace or fix it to a wall and use it as being a display cabinet, with the top as a shelve and the bottom adorned with poinsettias. For example this Parure de Cheminee:
with this mantel:
New additions to the GLOSSARY>
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French antique clock - Morbier or Comtoise:
Morbier clock, also called Comtoise, are typical French country antique clocks. It can be placed either on a wall or in a self-standing wood case. These clocks works were made in the small town of Morbier -hence their name- in the Jura mountains (near Switzerland) whereas its tall wood case would be made locally, in or near its final destination. In the old times, you would have found a Comtoise in the country, whereas a mantel clock did belong more to a 19th century middle class mansion in any French city. Nowadays they blend also with contemporary design. They chime the number of hours at the hour and the hour plus 2 minutes, and one chime at the half hour. For those that hang directly on the wall, without a case, they work eight days if hung at the right height. For good examples of Comtoises see below:
http://www.french-corner-antiques.com/detail.php?iid=89
French antique mantel clocks:
Various exotic materials were used for these fancy clocks: bronze, marble, exotic woods with inlays, crystal, porcelain. They included inserts of mother of pearl or ivory, sometimes even precious stones. Imagine our surprise to find a large collection of antique clocks at the Forbidden City in Beijing, the majority of which were . . . French clocks!
When French antique mantel clocks were made with candelabra, the set was called “Parure de Cheminee”. See our French antique faience clock Parure:
http://www.french-corner-antiques.com/detail.php?iid=12
French antique portico clocks:
Named after the range of columns found in front of antique Roman temples this type of French clocks belong to the French formal styles, what is often referred to as the Louis styles. Open the link below to view the fancy materials, delicate decor, and the columns which hold it all together:
http://www.french-corner-antiques.com/detail.php?iid=85
French antique clock Oeil de Boeuf
This variety of wall clocks is named after the shape of the windows that were first built in Versailles for Louis XIV (reign 1643-1715). I like the playfulness mother of pearls and brass inlays that seem to dance on the wood background, often in darker color. Their chime is made out of a coil; it chimes at the hour the number of hours and once at the half hour:
You can see a more detailed description here:
http://www.french-corner-antiques.com/detail.php?iid=90
Joyeux Noel, Happy Holidays!
Daniele et Guy Veroli
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