Will is back in England, visiting family and friends so it’s been just me and the cats for the past few days. I’ve been keeping busy but doing what, I’m not exactly sure.
We thought we might be on our own for New Year’s so decided to make a curry and a pitcher of margaritas. It turns out that Nat and Jill were having Veronique and a friend of her’s over so they invited us to join them. So we went ahead and had Chicken Rogan Josh from a recipe that I found on the Beeb that was good, but not great and mixed up a batch of margaritas. We brought those, along with some champagne, over to the ladies’ place around 9:30 where the party was already in full swing.
They planned to do the traditional Reveillon, which is a big meal held on Xmas and NY eve. You’re meant to go all out and have luxury foods such as oysters, fois gras and of course, champagne. The ladies made their own terrine de fois gras earlier that day and also got some duck breast to have as the main. When we arrived, they hadn’t made it past the champagne, so everyone was pretty merry. They sat down to oysters and fois gras around 10 and although we had eaten only an hour or two earlier, I felt duty bound to consume a few oysters and try the fois gras.
Vero’s friend (whose name I can’t remember) did a tarot reading for both Will and I. Even though I’m a huge skeptic, I must admit they were fairly accurate, at least in some selective ways. Vero doesn’t drink but was smoking a bit, the rest of us were drinking margaritas, wine and more champagne at midnight and beyond. Jill caught a second wind around 2 and was still going strong when we left around 3:30. We were a bit paranoid about driving but Will didn’t drink as much as I and at that time, there wasn’t a single soul on the road so we were home in 5 minutes with no problems. I seem to recall we decided a shot of tequila as a nightcap would be a good idea and I think we passed out around 5.
On Sunday we recovered, watched films and ate leftovers and that was it. Monday was the last day of school holidays and the only time I made it to the pool during that period which is a shame because it’s always empty then. The Beaufils showed up on Monday and invited us over to dinner the next night. We accepted and then Lee and Richard confirmed that we invited to theirs that night so we ended up at the Beafils’ that night instead. They were already cooking for some friends of theirs, a woman that Mauricette has known since she was 18, and a friend of hers who lives near Bordeaux.
As usual, the neighbours put on a most excellent meal, all homemade. We started with aperitifs that were served with parma ham, and fois gras with a twist. They had sliced a duck breast horizontally and filled it with fois gras, then sliced it crosswise and served as rounds. The next course was a vegetable noodle soup and that was followed by the entre, grated carrots and celeriac in a vinaigrette. The main dish was their version of an English Shepherd’s Pie, or at least that’s how I think of it. The base was confit de canard, mixed with ceps and roasted chestnuts, topped with cheesy mashed potatoes and more chestnuts. It was incredibly rich but oh so delicious. Lucien explained how they order the duck directly from the abattoir and make their own confit but I didn’t really understand that much. After the main, we had cheese and salad, followed by dessert, which was fruit salad made from homegrown fruit with just a dash of his feisty plumb eau-de-vie. I had coffee and Lucien mischievously added some to that so I was good and tipsy by the time we left.
Tuesday we went back to Sites for Homes #2 to review the site and return their documents. They are very pleased and will pay us as soon as Will finishes the translation. We were invited to dinner and to stay at Lee and Richard’s that night since Will had an early train from Angouleme the next day. They made a pork and chorizo stew served with couscous and both were excellent as usual. We meant to be sensible and have an early night but after the cheese course, we switched from wine back to vodka and it was 1:30 by the time we went to bed. Will and I got up around 6:30 and after dropping him at the station, I wanted to stop at Super U but I arrived at 8:10 and they don’t open until 9 so I went home and then hit the Simply later that morning for the bare necessities.
I swam on Thursday and it seems that the French are not immune to new year’s resolutions since the pool was far busier than normal. For dinner that night, I decided to make sushi since it’s so hard to get here. To say I was disappointed with my results would be an understatement. I wanted both salmon and tuna, but the latter is seasonal here so had to make do with farm-raised salmon that was rather bland. I bought sushi rice and followed a recipe from a cookbook and although the rice tasted ok, it didn’t really hold together well. The thing that really spoiled it was the wasabi. I have an old tin from the UK and I think it’s well passed it’s best before date. It was bitter instead of fiery and since I put it on the rice as well as in the soy sauce, it’s the thing I tasted most. I also bought miso soup mix and that was fairly tasty so it wasn’t a complete disaster.
My other culinary exploits have gone better, but not much more so. I made beef stew on Friday and it was good, but not great. It’s a good version, but it turns out I wasn’t really in the mood for stew after all. I made fish cakes last night that were also average, and served them with a sesame spinach salad that I would make again with a few tweaks.
The boiler man and his assistant finally came on Friday around 3:30 and stayed until 7:30. They replaced a part and gave it a thorough cleaning but there is still a problem with the hot water so he must order and part and return to install it. Thankfully, we have a separate hot water heater and the boiler itself is fine for heating in the event we need to use it. If the part is in stock, he claims he’ll return this week to install it but I’m not holding my breath.
I’ve done a little research into the app I want to develop and have changed my idea slightly. I think I have an idea of what I want to do and it’s a bit more complicated than originally planned but I feel the extra effort will be worth it. Apart from that, the cats can be a handful to deal with, especially at night. The Smoo needs reassurance that he’s not alone so most nights, he swipes at my feet and then jumps onto my chest. I think Will must usually get this treatment but Smoo is making do with me in his absence. Louis is the same as ever and just likes a lap every now and again, usually at an inconvenient time.
I’m being looked after tonight by Nat and Jill who are making a roast chicken dinner. Jill called yesterday to say that she saw a notice on our expat network about a couple who do a curry night in Mareuil, back near Sharon’s place. She convinced them to do a delivery to Milhac if she could muster up the interest so they’re coming here on Tuesday. Will will have had his fill of curry by the time he returns so I figured I should have some too and also encourage these people to come back once in awhile. I invited Lee and Richard to join me and despite the fact that they’re returning to England the next day, have accepted.
Ok – I best get cleaned up for my dinner with the ladies so I will bid you adieu.