What Government?

First thing Monday I scrambled to find a coffee shop to meet my Australian bother’s exacting standards and struck gold at Café Tranquille where I was welcomed with bouncing puppies and nice staff, plus good coffee. We powered through a last speedy catch-up before hustling around to Gare du Nord in time for his train and I spent the rest of the day lamenting that my family live so spread out around the world.

While near Le Bon Marché I popped in to see the Christmas displays, loving the pink flamingos doing aerobics in their neon leg warmers and the bunnies popping out of windows. In La Grande Épicerie the merchandising team have lent all the way in on the tiktok craze about French butter, with Christmas tree shaped blocks ready for transporting back to the USA, but they’re actually very easy to make yourself with these molds.

On Thursday I packed a little suitcase of books and went over to the American Embassy for their annual Christmas fair. I’m not one for making sales but there’s always lots of friendly faces and it’s so interesting to see the inner workings of another country’s sanctum in France. I had the pleasure of following the Costco ladies through the intense security (at the Australian Embassy you just sort of wave to Alan as you walk in) and was impressed at how sturdy their enormous sheet cake was, going through the x-ray machine with panache. Fate divined that French public schools were largely on strike that day so each book was sold with an obligatory chat about the page “G is for Greve” with accompanying eye roll.

The French government fell this week for the first time since 1962 which wasn’t ideal, but honestly going about general life in the city you’d hardly notice. There’s surely a little more political chaos on the way but there’s something to be said for the French art of understatement, and their wonderful penchant for beautifully worded insults.

On Friday night my husband and I slipped off to the 18th arrondissement to see the divine Tatty Macleod perform her special brand of comedy, poking fun at both the English and the French, where of course we ran into friends in the audience and everyone left wishing she was their bestie. On the way home we managed to get a spot at Chez Ann for some gluten free dumplings which was just the icing on the cake for a perfect evening.

Notre-Dame re-opened which meant a huge security blockade for days beforehand to ensure no hiccups while the dignitaries popped by (I heard Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a standing ovation on arrival). We strolled past on Friday night to have a peek while they were testing the light show which was rather impressive and I’ll be visiting as soon as the new booking system calms down (it might be a while).

On Saturday I whipped the house into shape for our annual Christmas party and got to baking some little treats to round out the table full of store bought items (long gone are the days I used to try and make everything myself). With a fridge full of cold champagne we were ready to host and once we reached critical mass I pulled a try of croque monsieur from the oven, dusted them with freshly grated black truffle and sent the teenagers around for service. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves but it was clear the happiest guest was actually Noisette, who diligently hoovered up even the tiniest crumbs from the floor.

In between all the fun there were the usual things like runny noses, children’s haircuts, endless tidying and of course work. I had some wonderful tours this week and managed to stumble across my own Christmas present at the flea market (my husband breathed a sigh of relief when I informed him) before I ate any chance at profits with my favourite €9(!) gf croissants.

Once everyone was in bed Sunday evening I poured myself a mug of tea, sat in the glow of the tree and watched The Muppet Christmas Carol while eating a pannetone (I think I’m finally beginning to understand the appeal?), the dog on my lap and a cozy blanket pulling everything together.

Have a great week,

- Emily

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Cheese we’re eating this week:

• Vacherin Mont-d'Or - a runny Swiss cheese that’s wrapped in a piece of bark from a spruce tree and sold in a wooden box. It’s a seasonal cheese and only for sale in the colder months.

• Coeur de chévre aux fleurs - exactly as described, a love heart shaped goat’s milk cheese decorated with dried flowers.

• Port Salut - a very mild, semi-soft pasteurised cow's milk cheese with a distinctive orange rind that was originally made by Trappist monks after they returned to France following the French revolution.

All 3 cheeses were from Fromagerie Saint Vrain at Marché Maubert.

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Croque Monsieur

I didn’t make them gluten free for our party but just sub out the flour and bread for gf options if you need.

• 25g flour

• 25g butter (plus way more for frying)

• 120ml milk

• 120ml cream

• Dijon mustard

• Bread

• Ham

• Cheese (emmental, gruyère, comté etc)

• Olive oil

• Salt & pepper

• Truffle (optional)

1. To make your béchamel sauce melt the butter with the flour in a small saucepan and cook it out for about 2 minutes to make your roux.

2. Slowly add some milk and cream plus a pinch of salt and pepper and mix well to get out any lumps. Keep adding and mixing bit by bit until it’s all in (if you add it all in one go you’ll never get the lumps out). Cook it out until it bubbles and is very thick. Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a pinch of nutmeg to your taste.

3. Assemble your sandwich like this: bread, béchamel sauce (spread it on thickly like jam), ham, cheese, bread and shallow fry in a mix of butter and olive oil on both sides.

4. Then spread more béchamel and more cheese on top and grill in the oven quickly.

5. Grate fresh truffle over just before serving.

Bon appétit!

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Real Life Paris Photo

This makes my Christmas decorations look positively demure.