FdSTL Eleventh Day of Christmas: A French Inspired Christmas Eve Meal

Merry Christmas Eve to all! For the past four Christmases Tony and I have spent Christmas Eve ordering pizza in and watching a Christmas movie. This year we are still eating in and there will still be a holiday movie (I'm thinking The Shop Around the Corner), but we're doing things with a lot more French flair. This morning I got to unwrap an early gift. I tore away the paper to reveal a beautiful cookbook, A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse by Mimi Thorisson. Tony suggested that rather than order our usual pizza, we pick one of Mimi's recipes and give it a go. We chose her potato pie with comté cheese. A recipe from the winter section (her book is organized by seasons), it sounded like the perfect cozy comfort food on this cold Christmas Eve night. As I describe the meal below, you will find 11 French foodie words in celebration of this eleventh day of Christmas. Enjoy!

With a glass of vin rouge close by (I picked up a bottle of La Ferme Julien vin rouge at Trader Joe's), dinner preparations began with a pâte brisée, an unsweetened pastry dough that works well for both sweet and savory dishes... tonight for the savory. While the dough chilled, I started a batch of gougères avec le gruyère (I used a recipe shared by Rebecca of Every Day Parisian). These delectable bites were the perfect amuse-bouche.

les gougères

To finish the potato pie, we filled the pâte brisée with layers of les patates, les oignons, bacon and comté cheese. While our pie baked, we enjoyed a salade de poires avec les canneberges and vinaigre balsamique. I had the pears and cranberries around the house already, which inspired this dish. 

la salade de poires avec les canneberges

 Mimi Thorisson's potato pie with comté cheese

I loved our fun tradition of ordering pizza in, but I think we may have just started a whole new tradition. Creating our beautiful meal from start to finish was such a fun experience and made each bite all the more satisfying. 

*Merci beaucoup to Tony for helping me capture and edit a few photos of our dinner, and for gifting the cookbook that brought this new tradition into being. 

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas.

Joyeux Noël!

Warm wishes from me to you,

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FdSTL Second Day of Christmas: Deux Desserts Délicieux

Happy Friday! For the second day of Christmas, I'm keeping it short but oh so sweet. Today I share deux desserts délicieux, two delectable desserts that are perfect for entertaining this holiday season and all throughout the year. Both recettes are wonderful for lovers of le chocolat, relatively simple to make, and sure to impress! Enjoy and bon weekend. :)

Flourless Chocolate Cake from the Daily Connoisseur (click this link for the recipe)

I discovered this recipe in Jennifer L. Scott's book At Home with Madame Chic and it has become one of my go to desserts. This gâteau is as delicious as it is beautiful. My favorite way to serve is with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or gelato (here is the one I most often use) and a few fresh raspberries. It is a very rich dessert so a little goes along way. Your guests are sure to feel special when you present them with this simple, beautiful plate. 

(click for link to book)

Mousse au Chocolat from the Simply Luxurious Life (click this link for the recipe)

Fellow francophile Shannon Ables of the Simply Luxurious Life blog and the Simple Sophisticate podcast is one of my most trusted sources when it comes to discovering new French inspired recipes to add to my repertoire. I've only made this chocolate mousse once and unfortunately didn't document the occasion, but I remember being giddy with joy that I successfully made something so perfectly light and airy. A classic French dessert, I believe a good mousse au chocolat recipe is a must to have on hand. 

What is your favorite French dessert, chocolatey or not? I would love to know in the comment below!

Enjoy this last weekend before Christmas.

Warm and sweet wishes from me to you,