Monthly Archives: December 2013

Classes in preparing and cooking fatted ducks are available from November through January with free range ducks from local farmers near Eloise and Gildas’ farm in the Dordogne. 

Still today, even more than a Christmas tree, many French families set up a crèche. More or less elaborate, most often with small ceramic “santons” depicting the usual Mary, Joseph and baby jesus…who is always hidden away and taken out to the delight of the little children on christmas eve. The best part of the traditional “crèche provencale” is that it includes not only shepherds guarding their flocks but all the different tradesmen and characters from life the villages of Provence in the early 1800 when the first “santons” where made in Marseille.

Every year now I take out my collection of antique religious books and use them as the decor to suggest the landscape and grotto for my crèche that grows with added “santons” each year. Over the years our grandchildren gave us a santons representing two grandparents sitting on a little bench and a blacksmith at his forge and a friend gave us a wonderful “paysan” and his wife pulling guiding their horse and a cart of hay….

There are of course the three wise men and their camel that arrive on the 6th of January when everyone share the “galette des rois”: depending on what area you live in, it is either a sugar sprinkeled brioche or an “pate feuilleté” filled with almond paste and pastry cream…and always a small favor hidden inside that proclames the finder ROI or REINE for the day…and that goes on all throughout the month of January.

A wonderful day trip from La Forge or an overnight escapade Michel Guérard’s restaurants, hotels and spa at Eugenie les Bain should be on your schedule while you’re visiting us. His famous “cuisine minceur”…or “slim cuisine” is just as tasty and beautiful as it was when he was the first French chef to really become interested and creative with healthy gourmet fare.  He has both a 3 star gastronomical restaurant and a just as wonderful country auberge. We went for the weekend for Bruno’s birthday and tried both restaurants as well as a room at the Couvent des Herbs. Everything is perfection…and can’t say more than that to encourage you to visit yourselves.

http://www.michelguerard.com/table/grande-cuisine

St Lucie’s Day…what better way to invite friends and other B&B colleagues to taste my grandmothers swedish cookies and cakes and to show off Janine’s  beautiful antique linens. The linens where all shown “in situe”:  bed linens in the Chambre Terrasse,  bath linens in the Gironde tile bathroom and the table linens in the dining room…of course.  It was a good way to share the beginning of my Swedish family’s holiday traditions. Normally all the Christmas baking should be finished by Dec 13th but I think  this is the first year that it’s every happened at La Forge ! There was no young St Lucie with a crown of candles on her head as we’d always done in my childhood, but there were lots of candles everywhere and the smell of holiday spices and pine wreaths. Perhaps next year you can plan to be here on December 13th to enjoy this with us.