What Christmas Dishes are served in France?

Question

I need help with a project and I need to find out what foods are served at Christmas time in France.

Answer 1

A first course would be Foie Gras of Goose from Perigord served with thin slices of toast and butter, accompanied by a Sauternes white wine from Bordeaux.
Also fresh seafood such as oysters on the shell, or sea scallops in a parsley and garlic butter sauce, or baked with mushrooms.
The main course could be most anything, a good rack of lamb, or a turbot (fish) A capon stuffed with apples and chestnuts, or a turkey with chestnut stuffing, quail or partridge with foie gras stuffing, all would be acceptable.
Side dishes: a special vegetable is "Cardons" thistle plant in bechamel sauce (only eaten at Christmas in France and Spain that I know of)... It is similar to swiss chard in texture. Also red cabbage (for good luck...don't ask me why). Gratin Dauphinois, a dish of sliced potatoes baked with fresh cream until slightly browned, carrots Vichy (glazed with butter) and any other side dish you can think of...
After this you need a platter of assorted french cheeses (there are over 360 to choose from)...
All this served with an excellent french Baguette bread, and accompanied by the appropriate wines...
Then on to dessert, definitely the Bûche de Nöel, (yule log) cake, although now one finds them made out of ice cream also.
Typical of the christmas season are sweetmeats such as candied chestnuts (MARRONS GLACÉ) and "PAPILLOTES" Chocolate Pralines that have a little paper inside the wrapper with a joke and a famous saying, the papillotes can only be bought in december....
And voilà....
Hope this has helped you out for your project... :-)

Then there is the "GALETTE DES ROIS" for january 6th. (the Epiphany). A special cake with an almond cream filling and a little coin or ceramic figuine, whoever finds it in their portion is crowned king for the day.

Answer 2

The Buche de Noel. I am not sure if that is even remotely spelled correctly. Anyway...it is a desert and is (in English) called the yule log. It is a thin cake spread with icing and rolled into a log shape. Much like a jelly roll. They are many times decorated very elaborately to resemble an actual log. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Take it from a former chef, and specializing in French cuisine, things like Goose, Wild Game, Turkey is not as popular, Brussel sprouts with chestnuts, turnips in mustard sauce, Dauphine Potatos, oysters like previously stated, lobster, smoked salmon, caviar.

The buche de noel is a favorite, sweetmeats, nuts, a type of cookie simialr to shortbread called sable, preserved fruits in liquor and other specialtys that varys from region to region.

Even things like eels, crayfish, hams and in Alsance they have more Germanic types of oods because of there close border area near Germany, it all depneds on the areas and the peoples there.

Answer 4

Here's a few websites that should help you out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9veillon

http://frenchfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa122002a.htm

http://www.terrace.qld.edu.au/academic/lote/french/xmas5.htm

http://www.marvelcreations.com/xmas2.html

Answer 5

I'm just waiting to see what everyone writes.