Emily in France 🇫🇷 French Festive Foods

Foie gras and more

I've journeyed back to the U.S. for Christmas, where I’m still digesting a delicious double whammy of seven fishes on the 24th and roast beef with popovers on the 25th. (And bien sûr, a lot of cheese.)

But Christmas dinner in France looks somewhat different.

In France, I’ve found, the focus is less on the presents or the decorations, or even on the movies (despite Le Père Noël est une ordure being a bona fide classic). The focus is on the food, which I find frankly unsurprising: Not only do the French love food, but seeing as they don't have a harvest festival, this is really Thanksgiving and Christmas all rolled up into one. And while it's distinct from our Thanksgiving, French Christmas is generally just as formulaic.

While every French family does things a bit differently, there are a few commonalities here. Things tend to start with luxurious hors d’oeuvres or appetizers: oysters, escargots, smoked salmon, scallops, or foie gras. For the main, I typically see some sort of bird – chicken, turkey, or capon – perhaps stuffed or served with chestnuts, another beloved holiday treat.

Then comes my favorite part – the cheese course, of course! – where once more luxury is the mot d’ordre. Truffled Brillat-Savarin or Brie is a real treat, but you’ll also find ultra-aged Comté such as the Comté de Noël from one of my favorites, Fromagerie Gauthier. This ultra-aged Comté almost has the shattery texture of Parmesan, aged as it is for 36 long months until it’s rich and riddled with tyrosine crystals.

For dessert, you’ll typically dig into a buche de Noël, unless you're from the South, in which case the 13 desserts of Provence are a far more common offering. And in my experience, the last thing you eat (and the perfect finishing touch for such a rich meal) is a single clementine.

Bonnes fêtes !

Cheese of the Week

It may come as a surprise, as you peruse the offerings at your local French fromagerie, to find that some actually offer foreign cheeses – including options from the U.S. Bellavitano Espresso is a rich, creamy cheddar-Parmesan hybrid hailing from Wisconsin. The cheese itself has one of the most irresistible textures, with loads of lovely crystallization throughout the otherwise creamy paste. Rubbed in freshly roasted espresso, it’s got a unique richness that stands out on any cheese shop shelf, whether in France or not!

To discover more of my favorite cheeses, be sure to follow me on Instagram @emily_in_france, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and tune into the Terroir Podcast, where Caroline Conner and I delve into France's cheese, wine, and more one region at a time.

What I’m Eating

A mere 10-minutes' walk from the Musée d'Orsay, Thibault Sombardier is bringing surprisingly stunning food to this luxe hotel restaurant complete with tableside service of a truly exquisite dorade. More on the blog.

What I’m Doing

1. Our next TERRE/MER retreat is on the books! Join us for cooking, ceramics, and yoga overlooking the Mediterranean from April 11 to 14. Book before December 31 to secure your spot – and to take advantage of 10% off.

2. Signups for the next edition of the Nantes Writers’ Workshop are open! In the meantime, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to keep those creative juices a-flowing.

What I'm Writing

1. In my humble opinion, these are the best bistros in Paris right now. For Bonjour Paris.

2. Chef Edward Lee dishes about his favorite Southern food in D.C. For InsideHook.

3. This "mad scientist of American whiskey" shares his favorite SF watering holes. For InsideHook.

What I'm Reading

1. Babel is a soft fantasy romp through 19th century Oxford that posits that translation was what facilitated the cementing of the British empire. The alt-universe UK gets its power from sucking the colonies dry, not just of their material resources, but indeed of their linguistic richness. The rules of the universe are well constructed and established, which makes it easy to simply enjoy wandering through R.F. Kuang’s masterfully created world, witnessing the rise of a rebellion that would topple the false utopia.

2. This think piece that deftly renders the strange sense that has been looming for years – and that struck me first on 9/11: that as humans, we’ve always had to deal with danger and looming uncertainty, but never have we been so aware of all that we do not perceive with our own eyes as now, when the Internet offers us unfettered access to tragedy around the globe. It’s not that the world is necessarily worse, though it may be. It’s that we know it – and we can’t stop knowing it. In the New Yorker.

3. This story charting a new trend that is basically the only kind of party I want to throw or be invited to ever again. In the New York Times.

A bientôt !