Croissant 🥐 Stamp Letter

I’m Giving Thanks today because I finished ✔️ the Paris Letter 💌

Was it Kirra who asked if I would be doing a croissant 🥐 stamp Paris letter?

A Benoit Thanksgiving

Thank you Benoit for thinking of hungry Americains👍🏻 

And for thinking you are serving a Very American traditional dinner. 

And thank you PBers Bonnie and Rob for taking me to divine Benoit at 20, rue St. Martin. 

BENOIT  opened in 1912 by the Petit family. 

Alain Ducasse took it over in 2005 but has maintained all their classic French bistro traditions. 

The special menu says 'Dinde fermier (free-range)something something aux champignons airelles (wild mushrooms) something something' with cranberry sauce and gravy (46€).

Reading it on the menu it didn't sound like that much, so I ordered my fav starter, snails. Big mistake. I am still repenting. Splish splash in the pool 🏊‍♀️

They didn't mention we would get an 'amuse bouche' - a tiny cup of velouté(creamy soup) de panin(a kind of white turnip) with crunchy bits of chestnut in the bottom for contrast.

Why did I eat every snail🐌? If anyone had said to me you will someday move to Paris & eat snails 🐌 2 days in a row I would have socked them silly.

The main course. The stuffing is the squarish block of wild mushrooms 🍄 , plus mystery bits. We got both dark & white turkey 🦃 meat. Très riche. FYI I read somewhere turkey breast/dinde is the most frequently eaten meat in France. The little pan on the left contains an individual escallop of potate douce (sweet potato to you) with plenty of maple syrup (something else the French are mad for - usually Canadian). Just above - a big slab of butter 🧈 from their own fermier. We were told this after the dinner. I wanted to ask for the butter back but was restrained by my companions. On the left a small bowl of cranberry sauce. Fortunately my dear friends from Vermont wanted none, so I ate all of the lingonberry sauce myself. Bear helped out. I passed on the gravy so it balanced out. The 2 whitish strips are turnip again.

The waiter assured us they do not normally serve ‘American-style’ food like this. Does this look American 🇺🇸 to you aside from the gravy boat. Not that I'm complaining, just stating a fact. FYI it was all extremely delish with great service. Benoit gets E for effort. We were hesitant whether to get a dessert.

Their baba au rhum is famous. We settled on 1 order of 3 flavors of home-made ice cream (from their own farmer)as sort of a digestive. They kept bringing us freshly baked madeleines. A little plate of marshmallows, more madeleines and little ganache chocolates. I imagined we would be skipping the usual I-ate-too-much feeling. No way. We needed cranes 🏗️ to get out of there. 

             Oh la la la la la.

Outside a Christmas marché by Tour St. Jacques. 

Crossing my bridge a lovely light show as always. I hope you very much enjoyed your turkey too🎉. 

Please Keep Bear 🐻 in Paris with letters from my Paris Etsy shop. FYI 🐻 is 🏊‍♀️like crazy to work it off today and the rest of the week.

Paris Turkey

Who says there isn't turkey in Paris? 

Just try Le Bon Marché's l'arbre Noel shop on the 2nd floor. Only 15€. A steal for one of these babies.

Most Parisians will be timing their turk-turks with a macaron kitchen timer c/o Monoprix 4,90€

And what will he/she be wearing dans la cusine? Maybe this.

Or this (Mrs. Perfect at the oven).

Driving...

To Grandmere's maison?

Much better to walk. The weather's fine.

Preferably in your Chanel pumpkin sneakers costing about 2 years worth if daily Haribo gummy bears.

There are plenty of pumpkins in Paris. Not to worry.

And you can eat yours inside a Popelino choux (cream puffs) 1,90€.

Want to have your turkey out? I saw this at a restaurant over the bridge.

Or DIY turkey (dinde) at home c/o Fleury Michon for even less.

I had the perfect chaser to a heavy turkey dinner last night c/o Fauchon inside the bulle (bubble) at l'Hotel du Collectionneur 57 rue de Courcelles 75008

A witty Bûche de Noël of lit candles and red Christmas balls called 'Éclat de Lumiere'. (Yes, that's a peonie petal lampshade in Fauchon's signature hot pink).

Inside: passion fruit, mango, white chocolate, creamy milk chocolate mousse, Tahitian vanilla with a caramel and passion fruit lollipop, make for a light, slightly acidic palate cleanser to a heavy meal be it Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

Naturally there was Fauchon bubbly served inside the bulle. Fauchon will do desserts for Afternoon tea in the bulle. I hope to try them.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING PBers !

CHEERS Carolg

How 2 Survive Thanksgiving

We would all love to have Mona Lisa's composure on TG(Thanksgiving). Instead of falling to bits in a panic.

Dr Steve says knitting is the key.

To finding your inner serenity - something the French have known forever.

Not only is knitting responsible for the famous French aura of inner mystery, but it keeps hands busy (out of the fridge) and necks well protected. i.e. Why the French neck is so enwrapped both winter and summer in my opinion.

Now that we've worked out what you should wear to TG dinner.

And what you should not.

Just a reminder to eat your veggies.

And when dessert is served...

Think Limoge pill boxes and abstain if possible.

DO keep your pets off the host's furniture.

Put a bow in your hair and carry on.

BON(NNE) THANKSGIVING!

A French Thanksgiving

 An organically-grown, free-range, antibiotic-free, grass-eating turkey(dinde) in case you were wondering. He will be a guest, not dinner on the table. They'll eat Tofurkey with Sweets and cranberries from VT. This is a French bio-dinner.These folks live at Musée Des Arts Décoratifs, so they can do what they want.BONJOUR THANKSGIVING!

Automne à Paris

Cranberries - bet you thought we owned them.

Nope these were shot in Paris. Imported from Vermont?
Leeks /poireaux are definitely a Frenchie veggie - they own this one.
And marrons/chestnuts. Oui, they own it.

And Soupe de marrons...oui aussi.

Recette de soupe de Potiron/pumpkin- regarde!

Photo from l'Internaut

So here's the Paris Fall story/histoire d'automne.

I was in a Paris mall with French Girl and asked, "what are all those polka-dotted mushroom-like things in the shop windows?"
"It's Fall. Mushrooms are the symbol of Automne - it's when we go picking wild mushrooms in the forest."

Uh huh...Oui.

So do all Parisien shop owners meet at the Mairie/town hall? And do they hand out polka-dotted mushrooms and dryed leaves? I think they do. Every window/vitrine has the same stuff.

Here Jeff de Bruges offers a special automne collection of chocolats
Why don't I see this in New York? 'Cause it's New York. Only in Paris are there seasonal couture-style collections of chocolates and macarons...

Champange is good anytime...non? it's even better with champignon d'Automne/mushrooms.

Fauchon decked their halls with stags and bunnies.

And Fall leaves bien sur.

More gold feuille/leaves.
Macarons in Fall colors-well they look Fallish to me.

Yesterday I passed a restaurant window in my neighborhood decorated with falling leaves. I thought, Eeeep. Fall is almost over. I haven't shown you Paris Fall! Et voila. Well I must go get me some choux de Bruxelles PDQ and make my Thanksgiving dish.

What are YOU making?
BONJOUR AUTOMNE!