Saturday, December 30, 2017

Decembre 2017

Grenade _ see below
Happy New Year
2018

Very soon we start another year. It is amazing how fast the years go by.

And resolutions? For me, same as last year, and just maybe I will do it this year.


The grocery store has been filled with chocolate for Christmas. Other Christmas goodies in the grocery store at Christmas; foie gras, oysters, turkey and capons, salmon, special aperitifs, fancy cheese (covered in something to make it festive-( one of my favorites is one covered in dried cranberries),  pain d'éspice (gingerbread), lots of puff pastry treats to heat up and serve, and of course holiday wine, crémant and champagne.

We often go to the Alsace for the Christmas marché (christmas market). We first go to Colmar and stroll through the Christmas booths and check out all the goodies. There are food booths with sausages, cheeses, jams, cookies, honey, waffles, wine, spirits, vin chaud (mulled wine), chocolates, candies....Then artistinal things to buy; Christmas ornaments, santons, lace, scarfs, hats, pottery, candles, knives, jewelry, wooden cutesy things,wooden toys , pictures made with remarkable marquetry, ....

Also the decorations everywhere, a little more like Christmas that I grew up with in Minnesota. Here in Gevrey it is more toned down, although some people now put lights on their houses.

After strolling (flanner) the different Christmas markets , picking up a couple christmas gifts and some Munster artisinal cheese and a chunk of nougat, we drove up to Eguisheim. 
Here are some photos of Colmar.
Now we have seen it all, a Christmas Bar Carousel

Nougat- so many flavors! I would have gone for the
 chocolate-caramel, but
it was Keith's treat, so he picked fruit rouge

The man selling the nougat had cold ears!
Storks are big in the Alsace, they nest there in the summer. I was tempted to buy MT a stork hat for Christmas, you can buy them all over.

More photos;

Now that is a ginger bread house


Canal in Colmar

Old building, panels are all painted


Christmas market booths




Got a photo of Keith even!



Then the 6 km drive to Eguisheim. I took a few photos there too. The market is smaller, but the village is decked out for Christmas.


Christmas decorations galore

Goodies to eat- note the gingerbread men hanging

We spent a lovely evening in Eguisheim . We had finished our wine tasting at Domaine Gruss and  visited with the patrons ( we have been going there for 17 years), we strolled through the marché, and Keith found his Beerwicka (one of the things he looks forward to buying there at Christmas-it is fruit cake), and then we enjoyed a very excellent dinner. Eguisheim is a beautiful village.

The next morning we left Eguisheim with wine in our trunk and smiles and best wishes for the holiday all around. It was a sunny day, so I tried a photo of the The Ballon d'Alsace There are a few named mountains in the Vosges, The Grand Ballon, The Ballon d'Alsace and the Petit Ballon, and probably more.

Ballon d'Alsace- taken from the moving car!

Other than our one night trip, not much for the month of Decemeber. It has been misty and wet here, very little sunshine. I do not like going out in the wet weather, so have not.

The Friday before Christmas we went to the marche in Nuits Saint Georges. There is a butcher there that has great beef, and we wanted some tenderloin for Christmas eve. We bought beef and jambon persillé and some foie gras. Then we bought some brussel sprouts from a vegetable booth. As we started to circle the other booths with cheese, saucisse, oysters, breads,.jam, honey.....etc, when we looked at each other and decided to leave before we bought more food than we could eat! Never go there just before lunch!

During the grey days, I have been working on my photos for the May exposition for the photo club. This year the theme is "Detail". Not a lot of ideas yet, but I have been working on it. Here are a few attempts, including the opening photo above.
Mushroom 1

Grranade N° 2
Another Grenade -N° 3


Mushroom 2

Eolienne

Keith is well but has a bit of cabin fever.He left  for a ride this afternoon. It ise sunny and up to 12° C.  today , can not beat that. I know the US is under an extreme cold spell. Glad I am here.

RECIPE of the MONTH

Meringue Candy

When I make mayonnaise, I have leftover egg whites. So I whip up a batch of meringue candy.

INGREDIENTS
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 egg whites (from large eggs, at room temperature)
  • pinch cream of tartar
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • (last batch I added some crushed dark chocolate, pretty good)

PREPARATION
  1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). 
  2. Butter and flour a baking sheet or use cooking paper
  3. In a glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer. 
  4. Sprinkle in sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whip at medium speed. 
  5. When the mixture becomes stiff and shiny like satin, stop mixing, and transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag. Note this is for fancy candy, I use a teaspoon and drop a teaspoon on the paper
  6. Pipe the meringue out onto the prepared baking sheet using a large round tip or star tip.
  7. Place the meringues. Bake for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the meringues are dry, and can easily be removed from the pan. ...
  8. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature


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