Southern Fried French

…in which a Charleston girl schooled in the cuisine of shrimp and grits learns how to cook all over again in the French countryside, and in a château, no less.

I live in a castle.  The medieval, fairy tale kind, with turrets and spires and an arch where they pulled up the drawbridge to keep out the bad guys. This was pure serendipity, and it happened when my husband and I retired to France and moved in with a French couple called Nicole and Pierre, for whom the château is a family home.  You can follow our adventures, in living and cooking, at Southern Fried French.

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If you live, and entertain, in France, eventually you must confront that wonderful tradition, dreaded by every novice ex-pat hostess:  The Cheese Course.  Imagine this:  the French have over 500 cheeses, and they know them well.  They discuss their merits endlessly.  And eventually you, the pitifully educated American who was raised on Velveeta, must serve The Cheese Course to The French.

It’s not like I didn’t try to skip right over it.  Once, I had invited Pierre and Nicole to a casual dinner party, and I asked Nicole what she thought about my serving an “American” dinner without a separate plateau de fromage.  “Well”, she said, “the French guests will like to have a little cheese to finish off the red wine….”   It was then I knew I was toast.

And this is just part of the Goat Cheese section!

Here’s the drill:  you go to the supermarket, and there is a cheese isle the length of a soccer  field.  But don’t think you can choose at your leisure.  This is not a self-service operation.  When it’s your turn, Madame stands there impatiently, wielding her imposing cheese knife.  Do I imagine she smiles smugly, assured of my ignorance and inadequate upbringing?  This exercise is not for the faint of heart.

Out of desperation I’ve now developed a system for putting together a lovely plateau de fromage  when I have a dinner party.  Okay so I’m going for shallow beauty here, not depth, but even the French can admire a sumptuous spread.

My first strategy is to pick a pretty tray, which I line with a doily or fresh grape leaves.  Then I select from 3 to 5 cheeses, depending on the size of the crowd.  For this I’ve borrowed the wedding mantra: something old, new, borrowed, and blue.

‘Old’ in an aged cheese, usually a hard cheese, like a Gruyère.  ‘New’ is a fresh cheese,  usually soft;  it could be a goat cheese or a something creamy and wonderfully fattening, like Brillant- Savarin.  For the borrowed category, I steal from another country: some fresh Parmesan or a Manchego.  And any good blue, or Roquefort, will do nicely.

On the platter I put some pretty, fresh fruit.  I roll the goat cheese (made by our neighbor down the road) in fresh herbs or nuts.  Often I add a little pot of honey with walnuts, or some homemade jam.  Then I take a generous handful of toasted pecans and toss them over everything.   I serve it with crusty bread and a good red wine, and voila!  I can pass for a pro.  And the French are right, you know.  No celebratory meal (which in France, is most meals) should be served without a cheese course!

And many thanks to The Daily Basics for inviting me over to the site today.

Bon appétit y’all,
Lynn

Lynn McBride is also the Paris Editor for Traditional Home Magazine and Better Homes & Gardens.  Subscribe to her blog to follow her life in France!