How to Make a French Family
Page 27
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a ceramic baking or pie dish. Place the cherries in the dish. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt, then fold in the eggs. Add the milk, little by little, using a handheld blender or whisk, mixing the batter until smooth. Set aside for 20 minutes. Pour the batter over the cherries until covered. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Dust the clafoutis with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream and vanilla ice cream.
*Jean-Luc, Isabelle, and most French insist that a clafoutis isn’t a clafoutis unless the pits are kept in the cherries supposedly giving the dish a nuttier flavor. If you decide to pit the cherries, a rebellious friend of mine, Jacqueline, suggests adding 2 tablespoons of almond liqueur and ¼ cup slivered almonds to the batter.
JEAN-LUC’S STRAWBERRY SOUP
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes (to chill in refrigerator)
Serves: 4
Great for: summer, when you’re pressed to come up with a quick dessert
Wine suggestion: Banyuls
•4 cups fresh strawberries, stems removed
•1½ cups crème fraîche or sour cream
•2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•½ cup brown sugar
•Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Pulse, mixing until creamy. Chill in the refrigerator for at least half an hour. Serve in bowls, and garnish with fresh basil leaves.
A CRUMBLE FOR ALL
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35 to 40 minutes
Serves: 6 to 8
Great for: anytime, depending on what fruits are in season
Wine suggestion: Gaillac or Muscat
•1 cup all-purpose flour
•¾ cup brown sugar
•1 teaspoon salt
•1 stick unsalted butter, sliced in chunks and softened
•12 cups apples, peeled and cubed*
•2 tablespoons lemon juice
•1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, powdered ginger, or ground nutmeg
•2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•2 tablespoons rum (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400°F. To make the topping, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, and add the brown sugar and salt. Mix the butter into the flour mixture with your hands until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
In a 9 x 12 ceramic or glass baking dish, place the fruit with the lemon and spice of your choice, adding in the vanilla and rum (if using). Toss until the fruit is well coated. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the fruit. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the topping is firm. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
*Here are some of my favorite fruit combinations, depending on what is in season: apples and pears; apples, currants, blackberries, raspberries, rhubarb, and strawberries; or apples, peaches, kiwi, and apricots. Mix as many fruits as you like, remembering that apples (about 6 to 8 cups) give a nice texture to the dish.
FRUSHI
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 rolls
Great for: Stepmother’s Day!
Wine suggestion: Haut Médoc or St. Emilion
FOR THE RICE:
•2 cups sushi rice
•½ cup rice wine vinegar
•⅛ cup sugar
•⅛ cup mirin
FOR THE FRUSHI ROLL:
•1 pound duck breast
•Freshly ground black pepper
•4 sheets nori
•6 to 8 tablespoons cherry compote (p. 298)
•Pickled ginger
•Soy sauce
In a strainer, rinse the rice until the water runs clear. In a small saucepan, heat the vinegar, sugar, and mirin, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature. Cook the rice with equal parts water to rice. Transfer the rice to large mixing bowl, and pour the vinegar mixture over rice, folding it in until evenly distributed. Cover the bowl with a warm, wet towel. Set aside.
On a cutting board, pepper the duck breast, then slice it into ¼-inch strips. Cover a bamboo sushi mat with plastic film, wrapping it tightly. Cut a quarter of a nori sheet off with a pair of scissors. Take the larger portions of nori and lightly toast each sheet by waving it over a toaster or heating it in a pan. If the nori turns light green, it’s been toasted too long. Set the sheets aside.
In the same pan, cook the strips of duck to your liking, leaving the fat on (for now). Once cooked, move the duck to a cutting board, and set aside. Place 1 nori sheet on the covered bamboo mat, rough side up, and cover with rice. Carefully flip the sheet over on the mat, placing the rice side down. Trim the fat off a few slices of duck, and place them on the edge of the nori closest to you. Place 1 or 2 tablespoons of cherry compote over the duck, then roll! To cut the Frushi, cover the roll in plastic wrap. The first cut should be in the center, moving outward, ending up with 6 pieces. Garnish each roll with a slice of pickled ginger and a cherry from the compote. Serve with soy sauce.
CHERRY COMPOTE
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Makes 1 cup
Great for: Frushi!
•2 cups stemmed and pitted cherries
•2 oranges, juiced
•½ lemon, juiced
•⅛ cup brandy or Cognac
•⅛ cup sugar
Place the cherries in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add the orange and lemon juice, the brandy or Cognac, and the sugar, stirring in evenly. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Remove the cherries with a slotted spoon, place in a bowl, and set aside. Continue to simmer the liquid for another 10 to 15 minutes. Pour the juice over cherries. Let sit to cool until ready to serve. Store in a mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 weeks.
EPILOGUE
Every time somebody learns that I live in France, nine out of ten times they will say, “Oh my God! You are so lucky. I love Paris.”
To which I reply, “I do feel lucky, but…I don’t live in Paris.”
“Where do you live?” they ask, confused. “Provence?”
“Well, by car, I’m seven hours south of Paris,” I explain. “I live in a small town thirteen kilometers outside of Toulouse. Cugnaux. In southwestern France.”
An eyebrow usually lifts. More questions, like “Do you love living in France?” ensue.
Today, my answer is a wholehearted yes. Yes, I do.
My perspective toward life, love, and family has changed. My dreams have changed. And change can be very, very good. In six years of marriage, Jean-Luc and I have had maybe five arguments—mostly due to the frustrations of home renovation projects. Perhaps it is the way in which we communicate. Perhaps it is the way of the bonobo chimps. Whatever the case, we work well together. We’ve had our ups and our downs. It’s called life. Real life. In the end, our family is a true family, and the dynamic is strong. So we must learn to let our hearts soar with the dragonflies and hummingbirds and to focus on the tiny, beautiful things in life. Because when it comes to life and love, there is no such thing as perfect; we must find the beauty in every moment, diving right into every second with no fear or regrets, and go with the flow.
Je vois ma vie en rose.
Toujours, la famille! Et, encore, l’amour.
HOW TO HOST THE
PERFECT BOOK CLUB
Book clubs are a great way to find new reads, to get together with the gals (and/or guys), to have a lively debate over a bottle—or two—of wine, and, in our case here in the south of France, to speak (and read) our mother tongue on a regular basis. My book club has expanded to include twenty members from all corners of the globe, including two French gals, though most meetings cap off at about eight people. We may come from all walks of life, but we share one thing in common: a love for books.
Once a month, one of our members chooses a read, and the rendezvous takes place at her home. The amazing Kri
stin from South Dakota went above and beyond when Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl was the pick. She came up with snacks based on the plot of the book—“She’s Nuts” (nuts), “Olive You, Olive You Not” (olives), and the “Sweetest Revenge” (a dessert). She even made tiny, handwritten signs for all of the treats. So, for How to Make a French Family, that’s what I’m recommending for you to do! Get creative and have some fun! Host a French-themed discussion!
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Music: Play “La Vie en Rose” by Edith Piaf and other well-known French classics.
Wine suggestions: In the summer and spring, choose a nice crisp white or a rosé. In the fall or winter, a hearty red. Mais, French, bien sûr. A bubbly Badoit or Perrier with a wedge of lemon or lime or a refreshing drink like iced tea are great non-alcoholic drink options.
Snacks: Choose something from the recipes included in this book. Tiny quiches are always a hit. Check out page 125, “How to Host a French Dinner Party,” starting with the apéro, for ideas. The only limit is your imagination. I quiche you, or I quiche you not!
Also, every book club (well, mine does) needs discussion questions to keep the conversation on track. Alas, the reading group discussion guide for How to Make a French Family can be found on the following page.
Finally, I’m available for book club meetings via Skype should your group want to ask me questions. Shoot me an email at slverant@gmail.com to set up a date/time. Please be aware of the time change since I live in France. If the timing is impossible, your group can send me questions ahead of time, and I’ll answer them in a YouTube video or via email. Voilà! Voilà!
Happy reading, happy discussions, and bisous from a small town outside of Toulouse.
READING GROUP GUIDE
1. Samantha faces more than a few obstacles when she “leaps” into her new life in southwestern France. Have you ever moved to a new place or lived in a foreign country? What kind of challenges did you face? How did you overcome them?
2. When Samantha is craving a taste of home, she makes a tuna noodle casserole (which doesn’t go over well with the kids). If you were away from home, what food would you crave the most? How do you think you would react if you were faced with picky eaters like Samantha’s stepchildren?
3. Food is a way of life in France, and Samantha prepares meals to communicate her love to her family and friends. How do you convey love to others? Do you cook?
4. Parenthood, as we know, isn’t easy, and Samantha becomes an “instant stepmom” practically overnight. How did her relationship with Max and Elvire change over the course of the book?
5. Samantha overcomes quite a few fears in the book, including speaking out loud in another language, flambéing, skiing, and scuba diving. What fears have you overcome? What would you do if fear was not holding you back? How do you kick fear to the curb to accomplish what you want to do?
6. Samantha says “dreams change.” Have you ever thought you wanted something only to find out your ideal situation has changed later in life? What was your childhood dream? What are your current dreams and desires?
7. Samantha made the mistake of not reaching out to others when she first landed in France and struggled to find a group of her own. What is the importance of finding a group of people to connect with—separate from your partner’s? Have you ever encountered any difficulties when seeking out new friends? How do you overcome them?
8. Jean-Luc and Samantha travel all over the Pyrénées in southwestern France. What is on your travel bucket list? Where do you want to go? How will you make these plans happen?
9. Life is full of ups and downs, and Jean-Luc and Samantha deal with three consecutive miscarriages, a seedy renter, and the declining health of an aging parent in the time span of one year. Still, they maintain a somewhat positive attitude, even when difficult situations threaten to tear them apart. What do you do to shift your perspective when life hands you lemons? How do you remain communicative in your relationships, no matter how difficult the subject matter is to discuss?
10. Samantha makes it clear that she doesn’t want to live a life filled with regret, and she takes many risks throughout the book. What risks are you happy that you took? What were the stakes, and what was the outcome? Would you take that risk again?
11. How do Samantha’s perspectives toward love, life, and family change by the end of the book?
12. And, finally, what, in your opinion, are the ingredients for making a happy family?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Here’s to Team Seabiscuit!
I’d like to start by thanking Anna Michels, my fabulous editor. Thank you for believing me in the beginning and plucking my first book out of the slush pile. And, thank you for believing in this book too. I’d also like to thank the Sourcebooks team, especially Dominique Raccah, my publisher, copy editors extraordinaire Cassie Gutman and Elizabeth Bagby, and foreign rights maestro Sara Hartman-Seeskin. Thanks to my agent, Jennifer Barclay, for her unwavering support and sage advice. Merci mille fois!
I raise a glass of champagne to my parents, Anne and Tony Platt, and to my two best friends in the entire world, Tracey Biesterfeldt and my sister, Jessica. Cheers to family!
A special shout goes out to my beta readers, Susan Blumberg Kason and Pam Ferderbar. Thanks for cheering me on! I’d also like to thank my Paris Authors’ Group, especially our token male, chef Didier Quémener (a.k.a. DQ Flambé), who gave us his recipe for pâte brisée. And I can’t forget chef Mary O’Leary. This girl has never measured. Thank you for looking over my recipes! Yes, chef! A merci also goes out to Jacqueline White for her lovely additions to the clafoutis recipe. Miam, miam!
A huge and heartfelt thanks goes to the Toulouse Les Chicks—Monique Nayard, Oksana Ritchie, and Trupty Vora. I couldn’t have survived France without your friendships. Love you gals!
Tons of love goes to Jean-Luc’s family, his parents, Marcelle and André, his sisters Isabelle and Muriel, and to their spouses, Richard and Alain, and their children. To my adoptive French parents, Christian and Ghislaine, and to all of Jean-Luc’s friends: Thank you for welcoming me into your family.
As for Jean-Luc, thank you for changing my dreams and filling my world with love. Je t’aime. This book is dedicated to Max and Elvire. Having both of you in my life makes me the happiest woman in the world (especially when you clean your rooms).
I’ve made so many new friends on this journey, and I can’t put into words how much all of these new friendships mean to me. Really, it’s impossible. Can a simple thank-you suffice?
So, thank you for joining me on this family adventure. Now put this book down and go appreciate the tiny, beautiful things in life. Dragonflies. Hummingbirds. Roses. After that, pop open a bottle of bubbly and celebrate your world. I’ll join you for a virtual toast. Merci mille fois!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © Susy Barrat
Samantha Vérant is a travel addict, a self-professed oenophile, and a determined, if occasionally unconventional, French chef. She lives in southwestern France, where she’s able to explore all of her passions. In addition to this memoir, she’s the author of Seven Letters from Paris, the story in which she recounts how she married a sexy French rocket scientist she’d met in 1989 but ignored for twenty years.
For photos and videos of the recipes presented in this book, visit the les recettes tab at www.samanthaverant.com.
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