Audri-Gras & her experiences with French Cuisine

PARTY IN MY TUMMY

Une chocolatine (Pain au Chocolat)

These chocolate filled croissants are a French staple.  You can buy them in bags (like we do bagels) and eat them for breakfast.  I opt to eat them for a snack because of my morning blood sugar troubles (I can picture everyone rolling their eyes here).  I think they are a good symbol of the French people. They are simple, an understated delicious, and little crisp on the outside. #deepthoughts

La conifture du kiwi

Kiwi Jam! Who would have thunk!  We might have this in the US, but I have never seen it.  My host dad spent a day making kiwi jam from the kiwis in the garden.  It is delightful on a piece of toast with butter!

Fromage et œuf crêpe 

 I got this egg and cheese crêpe when we went to a crêperie for dinner near the chateau in Pau.  I didn't expect the egg to be sunny side up like that, but it was delectable.  Also, I learned crêpes can be made with two different kinds of flour, froment or sarrasin.  I chose Sarassin because it is the traditional flour used for crepes where they  started in the Brittany region.  It is a darker color, while Froment is the lighter color crêpe you typically see in the US. For dessert, I tried a chocolat crêpe and it tasted like melted ghirardelli chocolate.  It came out nice, warm and so rich! My neighbor and I traded crêpes so I ate some of his ice cream crêpes with my chocolate. Talk about a dynamic duo.

Magret de canard fumé

This is smoked duck breast. You cut of the fat (white part) and eat it with your fingers just plain.  I had some smoked by my host father. I enjoyed it much more than the pâté. The skin is a little tough and it is pretty salty, but I would try it again!

    Tartiflette

This is traditional dish for a region of France. It has potatoes and tariflette (reblochon) cheese. It's gooey and delicious.

    Quiche Lorraine

Quiche can be found in the US (with only minimal difficulty-- word of advice don't crave quiche on Sundays).  It is a open-faced pie crust filled with lots of eggs that make a sort of custard base and then cheese, ham, and other ingredients are added. I can't say no to a good quiche!

YUMMY

Macaron au Noisette

A macaroon is a type of small circular cake usually made with ground almonds in France. This Krabby-Patty-like dessert is typically light like meringue, with added coloring, flavoring and flavored filling.   We went to small shop just dedicated to macaroons for one euro a piece. I chose "noisette" (hazelnut) because hazelnut = nutella.  And not to confuse people with a tricky math equation, but my love for nutella  >  my love for myself. Is that too bold? No.  Anyways, I didn't get what the big fuss was all about.  It just tasted like a mini-cake with icing in the middle.

 Clafoutis aux cerises

This dessert is a sort of a cherry mousse.  It has the texture of a mousse, custard, or dare I say…flan! The host mom made this, except she forgot the sugar. Opps! So everyone sprinkled sugar on top to make it edible haha:) The cherries (with pits inside)  were from their garden.

YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T HAVE

    Pâté 

Pâté is a mixture of cooked ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable paste that comes in a can. And if that doesn't sound appetizing then I don't know what does! (not.)  My thoughts: it wasn't terrible, but its not for me.  My host parents reassured me and said that it is an acquired taste.

*To Be Continued

**These photos are from google and not my personal camera, but they closely resembled the foods I had while in France.