RACLETTE: THE BEST MEAL YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF

Posted on January 20, 2013December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

It is 12 degrees outside as I write this post. The wind is howling and the ground is covered with several inches of snow. Portsmouth, New Hampshire is not in the Alps, the place from which this Swiss dish hails, but the blustery weather makes me long for a roaring fire and one of Switzerland’s storied and traditional meals. Hint: it has a French name. Not fondue...the other Swiss meal with the French name—raclette. In the United States, nearly everyone is familiar with cheese fondue, but v...

“WHERE TO GO IN 2013?” THE NEW YORK TIMES LISTS MARSEILLE AS # 2 DESTINATION

Posted on January 13, 2013December 29, 2015 by Susan Manfull

View of Le Vieux Port in Marseille Photo: David Scott Allen MARSEILLE: “EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE” IN 2013 One of my scariest walks was to the Gare-de-Marseille-Saint-Charles. It was just as dawn was breaking and, having made a couple of wrong turns, the clock was moving uncomfortably close to the departure time of our train. Weighing the remaining minutes and the long distance to the Europcar office, my husband dropped my daughter and me off—along with a lot of lug...

WHAT ARE ALL THOSE FRENCH CHILDREN DOING UNDER THE TABLE?

Posted on January 6, 2013November 27, 2015 by Susan Manfull

All across France today, on January 6th, parents are asking the youngest member of the family to sit under the table as dessert is being served. Pourquoi? Because it is the Day of the Epiphany and the Galette des Rois (the Cake of Kings) is being served."Je ne comprend pas," you say.In France, the Day of the Epiphany--the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas--marks the day that the Three Kings brought their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the manger in Bethlehem where the little Lord...

BONNE ANNÉE, MES AMIS! QUELLES SONT VOS RÉSOLUTIONS POUR LA NOUVELLE ANNÉE?

Posted on January 2, 2013January 3, 2016 by Susan Manfull

It doesn’t matter where you were when 2012 rolled into 2013 or how you welcomed the New Year--quietly or with great fanfare—if you are lucky enough to be alive as another year begins, embrace it. It is a gift. I prefer a quiet New Year’s Eve. Even a little solitude. It gives me a chance to reflect on the past year and plan for another. What worked well? What do I wish I had done differently? How shall I approach the New Year to make the most of it? Inevitably, I put pen to paper and record...

PRESIDENT HOLLANDE REINFORCES FRENCH CONNECTION TO AFRICA WHILE, HERE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, ANOTHER CONNECTION TO AFRICA TAKES PLACE

Posted on November 11, 2012January 4, 2016 by Susan Manfull

The Modern Trobador is back at the keyboard after a brief hiatus to work on a photography exhibition in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I have managed to weave together a post about photographs of Africa in New Hampshire, photographs of Africans in France, French Presidential trips to Africa, and the bestowing of France’s most prestigious award to Liberia’s President, all of which I hope you find interesting (and impressive that I wove it all together, coherently, I hope!). Africa is on my radar th...

PÉTANQUE GOES WELL WITH PASTIS

Posted on July 29, 2012December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

A glass of Pastis next to a scoring tool for pétanqueWe played pétanque, drank pastis, and spoke a little French last weekend. The only sign that we were in Portsmouth, New Hampshire was the Norwegian Maple tree—a poor substitute for the stately Plane tree that is rarely far from any game of pétanque in Provence—but, it didn’t matter. Palm trees could have framed the terrain where the games took place. All eyes were on the players and their boules….well, unless they were on the pastis. C’...

ROSÉ, WHITE, AND BLUE ON BASTILLE DAY

Posted on July 15, 2012December 29, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Superfluous piece of information for the benefit of readers who stumbled upon this blog in a completely unrelated search: Bastille Day, also known as La Fête Nationale or Le Quatorze Juillet, is a French national holiday that marks the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (prison) in 1789 and the symbolic birth of modern France. It is celebrated on July 14th with fantastic pomp and circumstance in France, in many cities around the U.S., and in our home. Yesterday was Bastille Day. I ...

THE STEINS COLLECT: AN EXHIBITION OF MATISSE, PICASSO, AND CEZANNE

Posted on May 26, 2012December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Blue Nude: Memory of Biskra by Henri MatisseThis post coincides with David Scott Allen’s current post (5/26/12) on Cocoa & Lavender. Entitled “When A Brownie Isn’t A Brownie,” David writes about two desserts that may well have been served on Saturday evenings at 27 rue de Fleurus in Paris in the early years of the last century.We had dinner with friends in Manhattan a few weeks ago. The discussion naturally gravitated to what we were doing for the weekend. Somewhere between...

MAY DAY IN FRANCE: PARADES, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND LILY OF THE VALLEY MARK THIS PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Posted on April 30, 2012November 27, 2015 by Susan Manfull

May 1st is La Fêtedu Travail in France. As in many other countries, it is “the worker’s holiday.” It is a very important day, a public holiday in which public offices, post offices, banks, and many private businesses are closed and some public transportation schedules may follow a holiday schedule. Parades and demonstrations to champion workers’ rights typically cause congestion and delays in traffic in metropolitan areas. This May Day will be no exception: demonstrators around the world,...

THE FRENCH LAUNDRY THAT HANGS IN LOURMARIN

Posted on April 21, 2012November 27, 2015 by Susan Manfull

This post coincides with David Scott Allen’s current Cocoa & Lavender post entitled “The Other French Laundry”French laundry conjures up all sorts of images. For my friend and fellow-blogger, David Scott Allen, visions of delectable meals from Thomas Keller’s famous restaurant surface…things like Creamy Maine Lobster Broth and English Pea Soup with White Truffle Oil and Parmesan Crisps. For my friend, Betsy Tabor with whom I have been exchanging gifts, poems, and postcards about l...