Our loyal reader Francine Chough moved in the other direction: born and raised near Beaune, she moved to the US 40 years ago. And she has written a cookbook to help Americans de-mystify French cuisine. Francine has kindly agreed to do a guest post for us today, to tell her story. And don't miss her recipe at the end–it's something you can do with those leftover bananas that is a lot more glamorous than banana bread!
Soufflés at The Kitchen Engine
"Your blog was introduced to me by my dearest friend, my soul sister, Eleanor who was quite the Francophile. She passed away in 2019.
Being born in France and having lived in the US for 40 plus years on the West coast, I loved to read your stories about small town life in France.
I grew up in Burgundy 20 kms from Beaune and went to Dijon University. I always loved cooking, eating and entertaining and have always been fascinated by the interest Americans had for French cooking.
I taught family French home cooking classes called “Easy French Cooking” at community colleges then “Regional French Cooking” at the Alliance Française de Portland. I tried to teach easy French home cooking for Americans who were intimidated by French cuisine.
During the pandemic, I had more time to write a cookbook called “Bricks in a Pebble Sauce”. This cookbook tells how food is interconnected with culture, history, geography, family anecdotes. It is not just a cookbook! It tells you about French traditions, sauces, drinks, culture, appetizers, main dishes, cheeses, desserts and more.
The title “Bricks in a Pebble Sauce” is an expression my mom used all the time if we asked her what was on the menu when we got home from school for lunch : “On mange des briques à la sauce cailloux”.
As I was looking for a title, my brother who lives in Vannes, in Brittany, suggested I should use that expression. I was a little worried since the translation of mom’s expression in English is a little intriguing to say the least! So I guess intriguing it is!!"
Francine, your title is intriquing and so are your recipes. Merci beaucoup for sharing with us!
RECIPE: Francine's Bananas Flambée
This recipe is reprinted from the Frenchly blog, where you can learn even more about Francine. She also contributed to an article on how to cut French cheese (yes there are rules!) on this Frenchly post, and she covers it in her book too.
Serves 4
1 to 2 tablespoons of butter
3 to 4 bananas, peeled, cut in half and then lengthwise
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier, Cognac, rum, or other liquor with at least 40% alcohol
Needed:
Paring knife
Frying pan
Matches or lighter
Directions:
In a frying pan, melt butter on medium heat. When it is sizzling, place the cut bananas and sprinkle with sugar.
When they start to caramelize, pour the alcohol and, when warm, light a match and bring it close to the dish so it lights up. Swirl the pan around to burn off all the alcohol.
Serve as is or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!
Tip:
Do not use the kitchen fan when you flambé.
In the COMMENTS: the comments last time were chock full of enthusiastic words about moving to France, many from those who have done so. The expression “life-changing” comes up a couple of times (and mostly in a good way, though Cynthia and Tom give us some reality checks).
My dear friend Belinda, who found me on my blog before she came to France for a year and ended up staying in the Château, left a nice comment and referred us to her memoir of that time, Sixty Steps in the Turret. Don’t miss it if you are thinking of a French adventure.
In the next post, we’ll be discussing the practicalities of moving to France—and for those of you struggling with the details of a move and/or the language, we’ve got two professionals to recommend who can help you every step of the way.
Favorite READS: Susan Crawford has written a major book about climate change that I've started reading, and she's used Charleston as an example of the struggle because it's one of the cities that will be the first to be affected by rising waters. And because poor communities around the world are likely to be left to cope on their own. It's an eye opener. Charleston: Race, Water, and The Coming Storm. On a perkier note, Natalia of course has a good book for us: "Expect A Miracle by Danielle Steele. "Her work is always reliably good, with nice endings, but this one is different from her usual fare– she was given an antique book with blank pages by her grandmother,and she filled it with sayings, quotes, Bible verses (whatever struck her fancy at the time)".
12 thoughts on “A Franco-American Cook to the Rescue”
I loved this issue….and live in Collioure and have written two books, one on bread and one on Italy and as a writer, I ADORED the title of Mme Clough’s book. Can’t wait to get it. I, too, cooked and wrote during Covid…such fun in such an unfun time. Thank you for your newsletter.
Suzanne Dunaway
I loved this issue….and live in Collioure and have written two books, one on bread and one on Italy and as a writer, I ADORED the title of Mme Clough’s book. Can’t wait to get it. I, too, cooked and wrote during Covid…such fun in such an unfun time. Thank you for your newsletter.
Suzanne Dunaway
I loved this issue….and live in Collioure and have written two books, one on bread and one on Italy and as a writer, I ADORED the title of Mme Clough’s book. Can’t wait to get it. I, too, cooked and wrote during Covid…such fun in such an unfun time. Thank you for your newsletter.
Suzanne Dunaway
I moved to France by accident when I was 65. I intended to stay a year, it is now 14 and counting. In spite of constant lessons, my French, in particular my comprehension, is lacking, but I’ve managed fine. Well enough that I’m going to apply for French citizenship and believe I can pass the language exam. Unless one has a serious medical issue requiring constant intervention, I think a person would be fine coming here and joining the French system. I do think its important to be near transportation and services, should you need these things.
bonnie in provence formerly of san diego
I moved to France by accident when I was 65. I intended to stay a year, it is now 14 and counting. In spite of constant lessons, my French, in particular my comprehension, is lacking, but I’ve managed fine. Well enough that I’m going to apply for French citizenship and believe I can pass the language exam. Unless one has a serious medical issue requiring constant intervention, I think a person would be fine coming here and joining the French system. I do think its important to be near transportation and services, should you need these things.
bonnie in provence formerly of san diego
I moved to France by accident when I was 65. I intended to stay a year, it is now 14 and counting. In spite of constant lessons, my French, in particular my comprehension, is lacking, but I’ve managed fine. Well enough that I’m going to apply for French citizenship and believe I can pass the language exam. Unless one has a serious medical issue requiring constant intervention, I think a person would be fine coming here and joining the French system. I do think its important to be near transportation and services, should you need these things.
bonnie in provence formerly of san diego
Lynn, thank you so much for this terrific post today!From first word to last, it is inspiring,informative,upbeat,and fun to read–especially with the guest post by Francine(what an awesome lady and what an awesome life she has led!)–her pictures(oh my,the first one sends me off to heaven!)recipes,and,of course(!) such an intriguing name for her book!
MERCI for filling our Friday with smiles!
I have another book suggestion,one which has just two words to perfectly describe it: wonderful(!) and poignant(!!)–“Things I Wish I Told My Mother” by Susan Patterson(wife of James Patterson)
Initially it was the title that piqued my interest(I lost my own mom when I was 20,and she was 52),
but this book not only kept my attention, but surprised me with me an ending I did not expect.
Lynn, thank you so much for this terrific post today!From first word to last, it is inspiring,informative,upbeat,and fun to read–especially with the guest post by Francine(what an awesome lady and what an awesome life she has led!)–her pictures(oh my,the first one sends me off to heaven!)recipes,and,of course(!) such an intriguing name for her book!
MERCI for filling our Friday with smiles!
I have another book suggestion,one which has just two words to perfectly describe it: wonderful(!) and poignant(!!)–“Things I Wish I Told My Mother” by Susan Patterson(wife of James Patterson)
Initially it was the title that piqued my interest(I lost my own mom when I was 20,and she was 52),
but this book not only kept my attention, but surprised me with me an ending I did not expect.
Lynn, thank you so much for this terrific post today!From first word to last, it is inspiring,informative,upbeat,and fun to read–especially with the guest post by Francine(what an awesome lady and what an awesome life she has led!)–her pictures(oh my,the first one sends me off to heaven!)recipes,and,of course(!) such an intriguing name for her book!
MERCI for filling our Friday with smiles!
I have another book suggestion,one which has just two words to perfectly describe it: wonderful(!) and poignant(!!)–“Things I Wish I Told My Mother” by Susan Patterson(wife of James Patterson)
Initially it was the title that piqued my interest(I lost my own mom when I was 20,and she was 52),
but this book not only kept my attention, but surprised me with me an ending I did not expect.
Thank you for inviting me to collaborate on your blog, Lynn. It was an honor! Let see if we can connect with each other this Sept/Oct!
Thank you for inviting me to collaborate on your blog, Lynn. It was an honor! Let see if we can connect with each other this Sept/Oct!
Thank you for inviting me to collaborate on your blog, Lynn. It was an honor! Let see if we can connect with each other this Sept/Oct!