We are now open as a Christmas Castle rental. This is one of our favourite recipes for Christmas. I found it at epicurious.com. We use Vouvray as it is our local bubbly and to die for. We also use only 3/4 of the butter in the recipe. Pink peppercorns as opposed to black peppercorns are a nice touch too. We save the champagne for the toasts.
Marinated Shrimp with Champagne Beurre Blanc
Some of our Favourite French Easter Tradtions at the Chateau
France, regarded the sacred cradle of Christianity, celebrates Easter with fanfare and vigor. The entire country revels in the Eastertide festivities and shops are gaily decorated in a festive collection of white and dark chocolate rabbits, chickens, bells and fish. Children wake up on the Easter Sunday morning and look in the nests they have placed in their yards or gardens and find Easter eggs in them.
In a marked deviation from Easter festivities elsewhere, Easter celebrations in France incorporate the Easter symbols of bells and fish instead of the traditional bunny. The French Easter fish are called Poisson d'Avril which means "April Fish". The Poisson d'Avril makes his appearance on April 1st as French children delight in playing a kind of 'April Fool's' trick. They stick a paper fish onto the back of as many adults as possible.
This is one of our favourite French Christmas Castle Recipes.
The French prefer to serve a roast goose rather than a turkey on Christmas. After all it is the nation that we can thank for foie gras. This is our favourite recipe for Roast goose. We now rent the chateau out for a weekly rental over the Christmas and New Year holidays fully-catered. Goose is Gordon Ramsay's favourite Christmas roast. Last year we received lots of compliments on our roast goose.
2 rolls (18 ounces each) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
I found this article and thought it really interesting.
"Back in the late 1990s I lived in France. During this time I discovered the mysterious and hilarious art of ’snail hunting’. This article actually won a travel writing competition in The Age - my local newspaper. The story appears below. Lurking in the grass of the lush green hills of the Monts du Forez in Central France is a gastronomic icon.
How much would you pay for your favourite bottle of wine? £50, £100? or may be a $500 for the top wine? One wine connoisseur has just bought what is thought to be the most expensive bottle of white wine in the world at US$100,000 (£55,000): a Château Yquem 1787.
When the grapes for this wine were harvested George Washington was the first President of the United States, the French Revolution was imminent, George III was King of England and James Watt was developing the steam engine. (more…)
In France, Easter is called Paques and Shrove Tuesday is referred to as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. In France, church bells ring joyfully during the year. But the bells stop ringing on the Thursday before Good Friday. They are silent for a few days while people remember the death of Jesus. On Easter Sunday morning, the bells ring out, (more…)
Filo-wrapped crottin de Chavignol
1 crottin de chavignol
1 sheet filo pastry
20g butter melted (more…)
The Loire Valley known as "the Garden of France" is a fertile place where a rich farmland is spread on both sides of the enchanting Loire river. The region became the favourite residence of French Kings from the middle ages to the Renaissance. Little by little, strongholds had become magnificent castles of the Renaissance, which had (more…)
Are you tired of the same old Valentine's Day box of chocolates and dozen long-stemmed red roses and dinners out that make you feel like a gold-fish in a gold-fish bowl. This is the year to do something different, something unique that tells the person you love that you care, and that you took the time to think of something (more…)