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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts

Y is for Yule Log Cake

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Christmas traditions add joy, laughter, sparkle, and continuity to the season. In the list of 26 traditions from A to Z, Y is for Yule Log Cake. No holiday season is complete without delicious signature recipes that represent the holiday.  




is for Yule Log Cake 

The origin of yule log cake stems from burning yule logs that once were part of celebrations of Winter Solstice by pagans. Like many Christmas traditions, burning a yule log first appeared in 17th century German writings. 

From the tradition of burning yule logs, the French created a yule log cake in the shape of a log during the 19th century. Now Bûche de Noël or yule log cake is a Christmas tradition in France. France is renowned for delicious recipes that gain popularity across the world, and Bûche de Noël is now a widespread Christmas tradition not just in France.  

French Country Thanksgiving Table Setting

Tuesday, November 13, 2018


A French Country Thanksgiving table setting sets the stage for a traditional French Country recipe, Coq Au Vin, for you to cook  for your family during the Thanksgiving holidays. 

Welcome to my French-inspired home for ideas for your family to Gather 'Round The Table this Thanksgiving holiday. In this season of thankfulness, I am grateful for Amber at Follow The Yellow Brick Home for hosting a Gather 'Round The Table Blog Hop for 20 of our blogging friends to share ideas for Thanksgiving with all our readers as you prepare for your family's celebration of the holiday. 

If you are coming from Rosemary-Thyme, I so glad you are here. Be sure to see the links to all of the other Gather 'Round The Table ideas for Thanksgiving at the end of the post.  

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Coq Au Vin is a traditional French recipe made using chicken thighs and legs for a new recipe for your family Thanksgiving meal. But, if your family insists on a traditional Thanksgiving meal, you can adapt the Coq Au Vin recipe to use any poultry leftovers for the day after Thanksgiving. 

No dried out leftover turkey sandwiches. Instead the recipe makes a moist sauce great for sopping up with freshly-baked rolls. Serve with a fresh salad, and you have a delicious day-after Thanksgiving meal. 



French Country Thanksgiving Table for Coq Au Vin
A link to a Coq Au Vin recipe is at the end of the post for you if you are game for a hearty meal with a wine-based sauce. 

Holiday Recipe Caramelized Pears

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Holiday Recipe for Caramelized Pears



Food is always the center of any holiday celebration at our house and probably at your house, too. One of our favorite desserts for Thanksgiving and Christmas is caramelized pears served with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. I discovered a recipe for caramelized pears from Williams and Sonoma about eight years ago, made a couple of changes to it, and now caramelized pears are part of our holiday traditions.




Spirea Garden Party ~ French Style

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Spirea 
is an old fashioned plant 
that reminds me of
Victorian houses 
and 
garden parties. 

Welcome to

The Scoop On ... 
Spring Tablescapes 

Enjoy the Spirea Garden Party,
à la French style,
en plein air.

I am excited to be part of

Top This Top That 
Setting for Four 
Botanic Bleu 
Hymns and Verses 
Unexpected Elegance

 for the first day of the 3-day tour.


What better way to spend a warm Spring day 
than having a glass of fresh mint tea 
with a walnut and apple garden salad 
next to the spirea plant in full bloom? 



Folding wooden chairs with worn blue paint 
are perfect for outdoor dining. 
Gracie is hanging out under the table 
hoping for a little treat. 



After the long harsh winter, the spirea bush 
is filled with the most blooms ever on long 
graceful fronds that sway in the wind. 



Pots of ivy and lobelia on the table add 
to the garden party.  



Tall clay pots without the usual wide rim at the top 
are popping up in garden centers and stores.  



Made in Italy in unfired red clay... 
A little Navy #4 Valspar sample paint quickly 
transformed the little pot into a blue one. 



Stainless flatware with a fleur de lis design adds a French touch. 



Standing in a small blue flower pot, the flatware is easy to reach. 



Fresh iced mint tea quickly forms 
condensation on the blue fleur de lis glass. 
A warm 86° tied the high temperature for the date. 



These warm days with fresh green grass, leafy trees, and flowers 
are among the best weather days during the year. 

A strong breeze keeps the weather pleasant, 
but means that some weights are needed 
to keep the linens from blowing away and 
small things from blowing over.  


A vintage brass watering ring anchors the silverware-laden blue pot. 
 A brass sprinkler head in the shape of a watering can  
is hefty enough to hold linens in place. 



Blue and white garden dishes with a new toile design are 
extra special with their contrasting borders 
and extra design details. 
Each piece has fluted edges.



Square (really eight-sided) dinner plates, 
salad plates, and bread plates 
with a floral pattern accented by 
a bird with outstretched wings 
are reminiscent of antique French designs. 
Only we know that these did not come from a 
French flea market. 
HomeGoods is our little secret. 

Round soup/cereal bowls have a surprise in the bottom... 
the little bird ready for flight! 

Dishes... 
Bleu et blanc vaisselle... 
A passion all my life... 
To find unusual shapes, 
with so many details, 
and in so many pieces, 
is a thrill!
The  small square condiment bowls 
  are one of those unusual pieces 
that make a pattern extra special. 



Walnut and apple garden salad is my favorite salad 
anytime of the year and especially for a garden party.  



Feta cheese and raspberry walnut vinaigrette 
add just the right zing! 

Walnut and Apple Garden Salad Recipe
Spring Mix packaged greens 
Apple slices
English walnuts
Feta cheese
Raspberry walnut vinaigrette
(Paul Newman's is my favorite.) 



Iced mint tea pairs perfectly with the garden salad. 
An overturned flower pot keeps the tea in easy reach. 



French linen kitchen towels serve as table runners 
for the final touch of France in the 
Spirea Garden Party. 

Come back anytime to sit for awhile 
in a blue wooden chair 
and to drink a glass of iced mint tea. 
 
 ~~~~~~~~~~
Porcelain ~ Adelaide Blue & White @ HomeGoods

All information is supplied as a courtesy for my readers 
with no compensation from any source. 
~~~~~~~~~~
If you can spend hours reading 
magazines, catalogs, and design books,  
then you are in for a treat.


Ten bloggers are joining the five hostess bloggers 
for a tour of Spring Tablescapes. 
15 blogs over 3 days

Look at the hostesses! 
Everyone of them has 
style with pizzazz! 

I am so excited that 
Botanic Bleu 
is included.
After partying with me, 
hop, hop, hop on over 
to the other four Spring Tablescapes today. 

Come back on April 23-24 for 
TEN more inspiring Spring tables 
in The Scoop On...Spring Tablescapes.

Tuesday, April 22 Wednesday, April 23 Thursday, April 24

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Please join me at these inspiring sites...
SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Golden Fall Pears

Friday, November 1, 2013

For lunch today I had a 
fresh golden pear, 
the first one for this fall.


As I sliced the pear in two, 
the sight of the half pear with its stem intact 
triggered visions of pear vignettes. 


As I ate the delicious, juicy perfectly ripe pear,
I mulled over how to create vignettes with the remaining pears,
and mulled over thoughts about a family favorite recipe
for baked pears in wine.

The vignette thoughts swirled in my mind with visions of
more than one vignette, thoughts of a series of three vignettes,
each featuring a different stage in the life of the pears in my kitchen.

part one ... 
Beginning with images of pears in a fall vignette table scape
as they sit waiting to be eaten...


Pears paired with a pumpkin...
Pears in a white bowl with a French crown,
shining in the sunlight with an
antique Paris carte postale in the background.


Reminiscent of a still life painting,
perhaps composed by a French painter.


Remembering French Country living is in the details.
Style, grace, presentation even in the smallest things,
in everyday settings, not just for special guests.
Storing fruit in a way that feeds the spirit,
and brings a smile to the hearts of the family.
Joie de vivre... 

part two...
A vignette of the fresh pear being prepared to be eaten.


As I placed the sliced pear on a small floral plate, 
I enjoyed seeing the sliced pear with other 
pears in the background. 


Pears are fall fruits and fit nicely with small white pumpkins, 
another fruit/vegetable harvested in the fall . 

  
Once fresh pears are cut, the fruit darkens quickly,
reminding me also that even uncut pears quickly become overripe
and must be eaten within a day or two.

Which brings to mind more memories of French food.
Meals are prepared with the freshest ingredients,
often bought that morning in the market or
picked fresh from a personal jardin.
Flavorful heritage fruit varieties grown for taste,
not hybridized varieties cultivated for shipping long distances.

part three...
A Warm Carmelized Pears recipe for the remaining pears
creates yet another vignette of pears.


I thought the recipe was in my
Williams and Sonoma Food Made Fast dessert cookbook shown,
but the Pears Poached in Wine recipe in this cookbook is not our favorite.

The recipe I used is adapted from Williams and Sonoma's recipe
Warm Carmelized Pears With Clove Zabaglione.

For the Pears: 
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup sweet Marsala (I used white grape juice.)
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 lemon zest strips, each 3 inches long by 1/2 inch wide
6 Bosc or French Butter pears (I used 3 Bartlett pears)

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Cooking time ~ 30-40 minutes 
❧ Cut the pears into halves, remove the centers, carefully keeping the stem on one half. 
In a small bowl, stir together the cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the Marsala (or grape juice), honey, butter, lemon zest, and the spices. Heat until butter just melts. Remove from heat. Place the pears in a baking dish, hollow side down, and pour the liquid mixture over them. 
❧ Bake the pears, basting occasionally with the liquid in the dish, and turning them over halfway through cooking, until easily pierced with a knife, 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm until served.  


To serve, place pear halves in individual bowls. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream (I use Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla.) Add the liquid to the bowl and spoon a tablespoon or two over the ice cream. The Williams and Sonoma recipe includes directions to make Clove Zabaglione instead of ice cream, but we like the vanilla ice cream.


Nothing says Fall more than Warm Carmelized Pears.

We love this recipe all winter,
including at Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings.

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Please join me at these inspiring sites...
MONDAY

TUESDAY


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French Boulangerie or Patisserie?

Saturday, October 20, 2012


Every town in France, regardless of size, has at least one boulangerie (bakery) that sells freshly baked croissants, baguettes, éclairs, and/or tartes.  To be called a pâtisserie, the bakery must employe a licensed maître pâtissier (master bakery chef) who has completed extensive training and passed a written examination.




The Maison COLLET Boulangerie/Pâtisserie is in Paris.

Notice the two freshly baked baguettes partially wrapped in paper that the customer is hand carrying. That's how baguettes are carried all over France.

The green bag she is carrying contains carefully packaged pastries. Even the smallest shops hand wrap pastries with the same care.