francofiled

Ever had a coffee that was too hot to drink? What about one that was too hot to hold? That latter sometimes proves to be the case when we serve it in some cherished French porcelain Mazagran drinking cups. The ones pictured above are part of a set purchased as a gift way back in 1974. They were bought in Vierzon at a weekly fair at which various artisans plied their wares. I haven't been able to trace where exactly they were produced but each carries the mark "Atelier de Tabalou" and I'm wondering if they come from the Limoges area, home to other fine porcelain products. Mazagran refers to both the drinking cup and a type of coffee popular in Algeria. There's a little more detail over at this wikipedia link . One way of cooling the coffee and the cup is to place a long handled spoon in the hot liquid - it dissipates the heat. I find though that if I hold the cup at its base, holding a finger under the rim for stability it's easy enough to manage.  Ni...

From time to time letters and cards arrive from friends in France and its great to see the range of colourful stamps on various themes or commemorations. While usually I store the letters in their envelopes and reread them, from time to time I like to make a little bookmark, un signet  /  un marque-page from the stamps. If it also bears the postmark then it's also a simple reminder of the friend who sent it. And you know friends are like books; the older the nicer. À bientôt.

................ Alex ................ By Pierre LEMAITRE Translated by Frank WYNNE Maclehose Press, 2013 ISBN: 978-0-85705-626-9 This was a real page turner of a book from Pierre LEMAITRE, whose literary talents were recognised through the award of the Prix Goncourt for another of his works - The Great Swindle.  The book was translated from French by Frank WYNNE and published by Maclehose - the same publisher who brought us Karim Miské's Arab Jazz. Alex is the second in a series which features the superbly drawn character of a diminutive Commandant Camille Verhœven (a talented artist himself) and the equally well crafted characters of his team at the Brigade Criminelle in Paris. I've read  Alex  out of sequence but it was nonetheless a great read, recapping aspects of the previous book,  Irè ne  and anticipating the third instalment,  Camille. Look, there are no spoilers here...except to say there are twists and turns tha...

It was a first time visit to Le Pain Quotidien in Kildare Village - and I wondered why I hadn't heard of it before. Of course the initial attraction was the enticing sign in French but a quick look inside was all that was needed to step into the allure of freshly baked breads on artist palette boards and strong flavoursome  coffee served in hand-warming bowls. The concept is Belgian rather than French and I love the story of how originator, Alain Coumont's idea of a traditional bakery was eventually realised, how the name was chosen and how that very first table commune came about. You can read that story here. The place has plenty to offer the vegan diner : Bircher bowls of overnight oats (a favourite in our house), Organic Turmeric eggs with Seaweed and avocado.  For those with a sweet tooth : Raw Nut Cakes of passion fruit and beetroot and the ubiquitous salted caramel - Coupable !   Guilty! Taking up the central area was la table commune - made fr...

Leaving the Queens Film Theatre Belfast today I picked up a very impressive programme for the UK French Film Festival 2017.  Although QFT isn't showing all the films being screened during the festival it is showing seven listed below. The Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the silver jubilee edition of the programme has been extremely well produced and worth keeping as a souvenir reference guide. As a francophile and a francophone it's great to see the number of films showing and the range of cinemas taking part.  The programme contains an at-a-glance guide to what's on and where.  The films are helpfully cross-referenced to blurbs on the content and as well as offering contemporary films, the programme contains several classics. Check out the full listings over at www.frenchfilmfestival.org.uk meanwhile here is the list of seven films showing at QFT: Louis Malle's Le Feu follet - The Fire Within on 25 November Alain Gomis's Félicité on 3...

Speaking engagement.  Talk prepared, car loaded and off to the meeting; brilliant, I'd left plenty of time to find a parking space at the venue and more than enough to offload the selection of French wine and cheeses that were intended for une dégustation that evening. Things don't always go as planned and when I arrived most of the parking spaces were occupied by a single van! There was one space that just might work so if I could just quickly unload the "stuff" for the talk I could squeeze in. Seemed a good idea up to the point when the sickening sound of scraping metal told me it wasn't! ... Thoughts of an expensive evening crossed my mind as I headed to a public carpark about 5 minutes away. There was still just enough time, if I hurried. Got a space okay and opened the back door to retrieve my laptop from the back seat. SMASH! Not the laptop, fortunately, but a bottle of wine I had chosen to accompany one of the cheeses for the tasting. Wine on ...

What strikes me when reading through internet recipes for salade niçoise is the sheer variation of ingredients.  Everyone it seems has a preference. This one prepared by ma conjointe certainly hits the spot. By the time I got around to taking the picture I had already devoured the luscious black olives but still on the plate are the French beans, tomato quarters, potatoes and anchovies.  A lovely vinaigrette was served alongside. Notice too those quarters of hard-boiled egg.  Egg features a lot on those internet recipes but not in my go-to source of French Cookery - Louis Saulnier's Le Répertoire de la Cuisine .   Saulnier had the famous Auguste Escoffier as his mentor and the Répertoire is a quick reference guide to the master's cookery. Interestingly, the Répertoire does not include tuna either although many recipes do. One that I have to hand even states that Escoffier - there's Saulnier's mentor again - calls for tunny fish in oil to be added. It se...