Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Novembre 2016

November 2016

Oh boy, it is the end of November and the last minute for my November blog. I looked through all my photos for November 2016, all 12 of them! Yikes where has this month gone.


Well first there were the elections in the US. I was disappointed, but I will not make this a political forum.

Then November weather moved in here, foggy, or misty, and /or rainy days. Not the ideal weather to march out and take photos. When the fog is heavy you can not see 100 feet. This week it is sunny, but the temperature has gone down. High of 5 degrees (Celsius that is) the other day. Since it is dry, I have to finish getting the yard ready for winter. Did mow the lawn last week one afternoon when the sun poked out, it really needed to be mowed.

Now I have to move all the planters to a dry place for the winter.

November 11, armistice day is celebrated each year here in France with a ceremony  in most cities or villages, and usually followed by a glass of wine. This year, like other years there was a small parade lead by the city officials, the band, the fire department (in dress uniforms) and then the rest of us (citizens). The parade arrived at the monument ( monument with the names of those that died in the wars- Monument aux Morts) for the ceremony. Our monument has now been listed as historic. I still get a little emotional when the La Marseillaise is played and I realize this is my country too.
Ceremony at the Monument

After the ceremony, the band started up again and led us to the salle (room) in the new building called "Climats de Bourgogne" for a glass of wine and gougères. There were at least 100 people in there, even on this rainy day. 

I had to do some work for the upcoming Gazette that should be published in December. First is to ready the two pages for Flora and Fauna. Those interested submit photos, we meet and pick the final 12 photos (out of 65 this time), and I prepare them for the Gazette (crop and size and lay out for publication with names in french and latin). Flora and Fauna done,   I look up and transcribe about 12 words with definitions of the patois from the Cote D'Or.

We had Thanksgiving on Sunday the 27th of November this year. We had 9 people in all this year.
It was a true fete with all the traditional trimmings. Our round table only holds 6 maximum, so had to add a table. Worked just fine. Conversations were in french and english! Our one guest did not speak french, but the french guests all spoke english, so everything flowed. It was a good time with friends that lasted all afternoon. 
Our table all ready for  the guests
Keith went to Paris for a couple of days to work with a colleague who was a guest researcher/lecturer for a month at the Poly Technique. Other than that he is trying to get in as much bike time as possible. With rain and fog it has been a challenge this month.

Last night (the 29th) I fixed turkey tetrazzini (recipe below). Keith had gone up to our borrowed cave in the Haute Côte on Saturday to get some wine and found some we needed to drink. So we had this bottle with dinner last night.
2009 -so good. See what happens in a good
cave. You do not want a dry place to store wine.
It turned out to be a white chardonnay from Monthelie. It was so very good. Enjoyed every sip. It went well with dinner too.

This leads into the recipe. And the month is almost over! So onto December and Christmas.

Recipe of the Month 

I looked at a few recipes, some too short. Then I happened on the recipe by Emeril Lagasse . I did not get too upset about ingredients I did not have. I did have plenty of leftover turkey! I am sure his recipe is excellent as written, but the dinner I made last night was very good too.
So follow his recipe, or go a little creative.
Here is his recipe with my comments in purple. Also I did not overly fret about quantity, I needed to use up the creme fraiche, so I used what I had.

Turkey Tetrazzini

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers
  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (not this much, just enough to make a rue)
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 pound white button mushrooms, ends trimmed, sliced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (1TBS)
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine (Had none open)
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 3/4 cups heavy cream (I had about 1 cup crème fraiche)
  • 12 ounces wide egg noodles
  • 1 pound cubed or bite-size shredded roast turkey
  • 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley leaves
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1 (5 1/2-ounce) bag potato chips, crushed (left this out entirely)

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (I just added some of these, did not make up the mixture):
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika (added about 1 tsp)
  • 2 tablespoons salt (no additional here other than what I used above)
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder (did not have any)
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper (added about 1 tsp)
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder (did not have any)
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (added  a dash)
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano (added about 1 tsp)
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme (added about 1 tsp)


PREPARATION
  1. Saute the onions and bell peppers in 6 tablespoons butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over high heat until soft, about 4 minutes.(just used oil)
  2.  Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
  3. Add the mushrooms, Essence, and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft and have released their liquid, about 6 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle with the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. (made a rue with some butter and flour and mixed it in)
  5.  Add the wine and chicken stock and cook, stirring, until smooth and thick, about 2 minutes.
  6.  Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil.
  7. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and very flavorful, 15 to 20 minutes. ( this is where I stopped, I added the noodles, stirred and served).
  8. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  9. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the egg noodles until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.
  10. Butter a 9 by 13-inch casserole or baking dish with the remaining tablespoon of butter and set aside.
  11. When the sauce has thickened, add the noodles, turkey, parsley, salt, black pepper, and Parmesan to the skillet and stir until thoroughly combined. Transfer to the prepared casserole and top with the potato chips. Bake uncovered until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.