Luxury Branding Ideas from Champagne Taittinger by Ruth Paget

Luxury Branding Ideas from Champagne Taittinger by Ruth Paget 

In the book Champagne Taittinger by Claude Taittinger (159 pages), Taittinger shares some of the luxury branding strategies that the historical champagne house has developed to capitalize on their already famous site. 

Some of these branding strategies include: 

-serving state dinners to Queen Elizabeth II and French president Jacques Chirac 

-commemorating château meals for statesmen and visiting businessmen alike with formal printed menus

-renting the headquarters château out for weddings

-hosting harvest dinner “cochelet” overseas to expand export markets 

-researching the family tree and publishing it in the book. 

The family’s roots extend back to the 16th century in Austria where their name was Tetinger. The family moved to Lorraine, which became French along with the family name when Lorraine became part of France. 

-promotes the creation of designer decorated bottles by artists 

-sponsors a culinary prize with winners noted in the book

-the book itself is a promotional item

-(Not in the book, but our family plays trivia games where all answers are Taittinger and the prize is a sip of champagne.) 

It is interesting to note that Champagne Taittinger has successfully used culture to distinguish itself from the many other champagne houses in the Champagne region, including hold family baptisms at the Rheims Cathedral.

This slim volume Champagne by Taittinger by Claude Taittinger records the inventive ways the champagne house has used French culture to market an outstanding product in a region of outstanding products. 

By Ruth Paget

-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany

-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games

-developer of food and beverage knowledge games

-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center

-creator of French travel and culture games

-writer of 1800+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs

-family genealogist - whose work includes mother lines research editing 250 of my grandmother Pennington’s recipes and writing Monterey County Cookbook about my Monterey Peninsula California kitchen

-developer of 9 music theory games

The Strategic Importance of France's Canals by Ruth Paget

The Strategic Importance of France’s Canals by Ruth Paget

I was looking through a French canal boat tour guide from2002 for the Loire Nivernais (Nevers Region) and began researching how the major canals of France connect the country to its surrounding oceans.

These canals are famous with sightseers today and still retain commercial and defensive significance. 

For instance, the Canal de Bourgogne and the Canal de Briaire connect the Seine River and the Rhône River basins via the Saône River creating a continuous North-South waterway across France that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the English Channel. 

(The Canal de Bourgogne also connects to the Yonne River, a tributary of the Seine River at Migennes, which leads to the Saône River at Saint-Jean-de-Cosne and eventually the Rhône River.) 

The Canal de Briaire and the Canal de Loing (built in 1604) connect the Loire River to the Saône River at Saint-Mammès. Once you are on the Saône River, it is easy to navigate to the Rhône River and then go north to the English Channel or south to the Mediterranean Sea. 

In the southwest, the Garonne River flows by Bordeaux and Toulouse. At Toulouse, boats can take the Canal du Midi, also called the Canal de Deux Mers, which ends at the Etang de Thau, a saltwater lagoon next to the Mediterranean port city of Sète. 

The Canal du Midi links the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea without having to go around Spain. (You can also use canals to follow the Garonne River to the Rhône River.) 

Finally, there is 600 miles of networked canals in Brittany in northwest France that link Brittany to the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel. 

These French canals can move produce, wine, and other merchandise throughout France to keep even small village markets like the two I went to with my mother-in-law in St.-Etienne-de-Montluc outside Nantes and Montlouis-sur-Loire outside Tours well-stocked in all seasons. For this reason alone, the canals of France greatly contribute to the comfortable lifestyle of France. 

For tourists, there is the thrill of going through locks and learning about all the little towns along the way. 

Happy vacation planning! 

Note: Chicago could offer canal cruises as well. The Chicago River flows by canal to the Des Plaines River, which flows into the Illinois River and eventually the Mississippi River by Peoria, Illinois.

By Ruth Paget

-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other books 

-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games

-developer of food and beverage knowledge games

-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center

-creator of French travel and culture games

-writer of 1800+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs

-developer of 9 music theory games

Costco’s Quiche Lorraine is a Deep-Dish Quiche! By Ruth Paget

I made Costco’s Quiche Lorraine for lunch today and really liked it -

The quiche was about 3 inches thick and almost reminded me of deep-dish pizza.

There was enough quiche for 8 portions.  Leftovers went into Pyrex containers to be eaten for lunch tomorrow.

Some of my favorite ingredients are in quiche - eggs, cheese, cream, and savory ham.  

We drank a De Tierra Coco red wine from Salinas’s local winery tucked away in Corral de Tierra made famous by John Steinbeck’s novel The Pastures of Heaven.  

If you like quiche, Costco’s deli quiche is a pretty good deal especially on busy event weekends.

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Steak Tourism at Pub's (Growers' Pub) in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Steak Tourism at Pub’s (Growers’ Pub) in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

I try to make every steak meal at Pub’s (Growers’ Pub) in Salinas, California a surf and turf meal when I do what I consider “steak tourism” in a region with 40 pioneering ranch families, whose brands are emblazoned on two walls of the back dining room. 

For starters, I ordered Monterey Bay Fried Calamari that have a delicate flour and corn meal crust. I love dunking these warm morsels in chipotle cream cocktail dipping sauce. This part of my surf and turf meal at Pub’s brings back many happy memories to me of my honeymoon in Barcelona, Spain, using up the last few days of a Eurail Pass vacation of Italy, Spain, and France. 

I prefer seafood to steak, but when I eat steak I like to go to Pub’s for delicious meat at varying sizes and price levels so my husband Laurent can eat items like rack of lamb while I can happily eat the flat iron steak meal. 

The Angus steaks at Pub’s seem to come from two local sources in Monterey County – Corral de Tierra off Highway 68 just outside Salinas and Parkfield located off Highway 101 inland from San Miguel Arcangel. (Parkfield is famous for its spa with horseback riding and café.) 

I like my steak medium rare, which was perfectly cooked with sea salt added as the only needed extra flavoring. For the potato option in this meal, I ordered scalloped potatoes made with delicious aged cheddar cheese. (Scalloped potatoes are a favorite hot dish in Wisconsin where I lived for several years and took family vacations as a child.) 

This steak meal came with a green leaf salad as an appetizer, which I ate with the house-made Thousand Island dressing. The buttered and seasonal vegetables with the steak – steamed broccoli, zucchini, and carrots – were excellent as you would expect from a growers’ pub. 

We brought our own bottle of wine to dinner (purchased at COSTCO) and the reasonable corkage fee of $20 for our Château Carbonnieux Bordeaux. 

This winery was established in the 13th century and has changed hands between a local Benedictine Monastery and bourgeois families of Bordeaux since that time. The Perrin family currently owns it and has instituted sustainable wine making practices, which you can read about on their website.

Château Carbonnieux is also the proud owner of a pecan tree planted by Thomas Jefferson on a 1786 visit to the Châteaux. 

This Bordeaux wine comes from the Graves sub-region of Bordeaux and lies along the Garonne River that flows into the Gironde Estuary that opens out into the Atlantic Ocean. 

I felt like I was drinking history in a glass as I sipped this wine with my steak meal. 

Other diners who want to combine an excellent wine with their steak tourism meal at Pub’s can check out the following stores in town in case you want to bring a wine bottle to go with dinner: 

-COSTCO 

-Star Market 

-BevMo 

For relaxed and delicious steak tourism in Salinas (California), Pub’s (Growers’ Pub) should be a destination on your visit to Salinas and Monterey County. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Suite Francaise - WW II In Small Town France Novel recommended by Ruth Paget

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky recounts the daily terror of living in small town France when Adolf Hitler was expanding his control of Europe.

The book costs $8.99 on Kindle today.

https://www.amazon.com/Suite-Francaise-Irene-Nemirovsky-ebook/dp/B000GCFCO6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=RG6MC590741H&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.PFYK36KhfbqPDOTIQsS0e85OKMPJk67Vc0lmtm28E4daNHxnozI6E4DNnfxJU206dM-_9ipWcu0WX0fZhz1Ehe9tiBlBhElhGNwelkSWwyVEqpzII4Gjv3i0eQNzYL8AuxK3kC5nANyTjDjwuIJHLQLYZ9dAcTsL1xLZVb43mu6jtxEjmq_jwecCVnul90kobFJuHregoEbRGDAlQNi_uA.KiYtq9WFZAlsm6JF0qH7sLFuFyefuBIT13-MR-OtHis&dib_tag=se&keywords=suite+francaise+book&qid=1775833229&sprefix=suite+francaise%2Caps%2C242&sr=8-1

Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Birdsong - Love During Wartime in France book - great read by Ruth Paget

A great love story read about love during wartime in World War I France is Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.  

It is $4.99 on Kindle today.. 

Details about the book and purchasing information follow:

https://www.amazon.com/Birdsong-Novel-Love-Vintage-International-ebook/dp/B007M29RJ4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2PYPBL6FFXNCF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.50dd9rHp3PInhCg2TpM8CQiOH3GB62x4fPfG9hoeLSKBU6VnRvb1o3EZRifEZYrOPqhhQb5axJZpElpZyq9BGtc3VkjQApdO1SUp6XERoO-FNBDaLcwQkpGDXYyP3Qm0xOCml17SMSDrD_XJRbMyKynlDcCqlO7lBI1EXxtuCiHnvUNmNipjvbDERBdHt-TsVeark-AjItKOglWM5v5iCw.mzqKYkdnjevlD_cT1KjBdEKruLslTLbJnbefqmN17TE&dib_tag=se&keywords=sebastian+faulks&qid=1775832224&s=digital-text&sprefix=sebastian%2Cdigital-text%2C256&sr=1-1

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

UChicago Press - Creativity in.Chaos Books reposted by Ruth Paget

University of Chicago Press books about creativity in times of chaos and turmoil look interesting.

Francophiles might be especially interested in the notebooks of Albert Camus, winner of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Literature.  The notebooks have been translated into English.

Details on books and purchasing flow:

https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/465/#cv/priority/%5Esmartlabel_promo/19d44887b6b026ba

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

European Beer and Lemonade Drinks Tradition by Ruth Paget

European Beer and Lemonade Drinks Tradition by Ruth Paget 

I first discovered European beer and lemonade drinks when I drank a French panaché at the St.-Nom-de-la-Bretèche Golf Club outside Paris, France. 

I had organized a golf outing for several of the Japanese clients of the firm where I worked. I do not play golf, but I have learned to keep score for many sports after being part of a junior bowling league in Royal Oak, Michigan at the Yorba Linda Lanes. 

This early bowling experience taught me how sports can promote food and beverage sales in local communities. I was very interested in the beer and lemonade combination and so were the Japanese, avid golf players. 

In the 1990s, panaché became available in canned versions in Paris and rivaled Orangina for television advertising ads. I might not have started the trend, but I was there and certainly drank my share of French beer and lemonade when I lived in Paris.

I discovered that Germany also has beer and lemonade drink called radler (or radlermass) when I lived in Stuttgart, Germany. Germans mostly make radler with lemonade, but will sometimes add grapefruit and/or oranges to the citrus mix. 

Back in California, I wondered if the English also have a beer and lemonade tradition. I looked through the internet responses and saw several websites describing a shandy, a beer and lemonade drink that can also be made with carbonated lemonade. 

Recipes for these drinks call for 50% beer (Pilsner or ale) to 50% lemonade. 

My preference among the three is German radler, because you can add many kinds of citrus to the citrus ade and avoid food waste. 

All three beer and lemonade drinks – panaché, radler, and shandy – are easy to prepare summer drinks perfect for a barbecue. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Sustainable Wine Culture Practices in France by Ruth Paget

Sustainable Wine Culture Practices in France by Ruth Paget 

When I lived in France, I was able to witness several sustainable wine culture practices in the Touraine and Bordeaux wine regions. (My husband Laurent’s grandfather was a wine salesman for these regions, who kept several of these traditions alive in his family.)  There is money to be made in all these practices that also create jobs.

*Making wine vinegar throughout the year 

Unfinished red wine that has become sour can be made into vinegar with the addition of apple cider vinegar. I like how Normandy, which has apples, but no vineyards, is linked to the wine trade through the making of wine vinegar for both red and white wine. 

The following youtube.com video shows the procedure for making red wine vinegar with measures: 

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/u_SOgZWRxcs

*Making Salade à la Tourangelle with wine vinegar 

This is a spring and summer recipe that makes use of the abundant baby greens that grow in the Touraine, the organic cendré chevre goat cheese from the Touraine, tomatoes for which the Touraine is famous, and wine vinegar. 

My recipe for this salad follows: 

https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2025/10/salade-lavtourangelle-in-salinas.html?m=1

*Drinking Marc Eau-de-Vie 

Marc is a French equivalent of Italian grappa. Marc is an eau-de-vie made from grape skins, seeds, and stems that remain after grape juice is crushed out of the grapes at harvest to make wine. 

These leftover items are further crushed to make a bitter eau-de-vie. The most famous marcs in France are Marc de Champagne and Marc de Bourgogne, but technically every winegrowing region could make marc. 

*Gathering and Using Grape Leaves in Several Kinds of Food Dishes 

Once the harvested grapes are crushed and marc is made, grape leaves can be harvested for use in salads, sautéed like spinach, and stuffed with rice and/or meat.

My blog follows on how to work with grape leaves as food: 

https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2025/11/greek-grape-leaf-recipes-reposted-by.html?m=1

*Using Twigs from Pruning for Various Paper Products 

The most immediate use of twigs from pruning is grilling. The twigs from grape vines are supposed to impart a good flavor to grilled meat. Twigs can also be made into paper products like toilet paper, tissue, paper napkins, paper tablecloths, paper towels, writing paper, post-it notes, and paper bags. 

*Eating Boar Stew 

Boars are wild pigs with curled tusks that live in vineyards and eat grapes and leaves. They are considered pests. The French have no qualms about eating one if they capture it. They can make boar stew with chicken, if they have not boars on hand. 

Many variations of boar stew exist, but they usually include some winter root vegetables and maybe mushrooms along with a bottle of red wine in the recipe. 

*Using Old Wine Barrels to Finish Tennessee Whiskey and Kentucky Bourbon 

Old cognac barrels are routinely sold to the US for Tennessee whiskey and Kentucky Bourbon. The seasoned barrels add to the flavor of these beverages. 

*Using Old Wine Barrels as Planters 

Wine barrels cut in half make good planters. If you plant roses in them and place them by vineyards, they can provide early signals of blight and mildew that might affect the fields. 

*Possible Use of Old Barrels to Make Paper Products 

Old Barrels might be able to be made into paper products before using the option of burning them for heat.  

*Using Egg Whites to Clarify Wine at Mouton-Rothschild

https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2015/02/chateau-lafite-rothschild-pauillac.html?m=1

These sustainable wine culture practices in France can be reproduced in the US, especially in California, to make money and create jobs.  Some of these sustainable practices are centuries old, but not fully adopted in all regions where wine is grown.  Adopting them might have the side benefit of helping reduce food insecurity by using grape leaves as food.

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Crepes for Fat Tuesday by Ruth Paget

Crepes for Fat Tuesday by Ruth Paget

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, 47 days before Easter.  Lent, the period of fasting, begins on Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras..

Our family celebrates this holiday with crepes made with extra organic eggs, Guerande flour de sel salt, and cold press extra virgin olive oil.

I have included links for our family’s California Crepe Recipe and the crepe making technique my husband Laurent uses to make crepes in an online exhibit devoted tobChandeleur;

California Crepes Recipe

Crepe Making Technique Online Exhibit

Bonne Fete!

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

French Baguette Bread Hors d'oeuvres Recipes by Ruth Paget

French Baguette Bread Hors d’oeuvres Recipes by Ruth Paget 

One of the reasons the French seem so adamant about eating their white bread baguettes is that they can easily turn them into rounds for toast, topping, and microwaving into hors d’oeuvres or dinners depending on how many hors d’oeuvres are eaten. 

Baguettes from a bakery are pretty reasonably price, but if you make your own even for weekend consumption on a regular basis, the savings can be tremendous without sparing flavor or texture. If you are interested in seeing how baguettes can be made at home, I have provided the following link to my daughter Florence Paget’s forays in the kitchen.  The recipe makes 2 to 3 baguettes:

Traditional French Baguette Recipe with Photos and Videos

The seven recipes below require you to cut 12 round slices from one baguette that are about ½-inch wide. Then, the baguette slices are grilled or toasted to make a solid base for your hors d’oeuvres. 

*Baguette slice with melted gruyère cheese rectangle sprinkled with crushed Calabrian red peppercorns. It takes about 45 seconds to 1 minute to melt the cheese in the microwave. You can butter the toast first, if you would like.  

*Baguette slice with melted goat cheese slice studded with halves of black Niçoise olive. It takes about 1 minute to microwave to melt goat cheese. You can drizzle on olive oil on the toast first, if you would like. 

*Baguette slice with shrimp-mayonnaise spread made with Japanese mayonnaise or homemade mayonnaise (1/2 cup) and ¾ to 1 cup cooked shrimp without their shells. Place the mayonnaise and shrimp in a blender and mix to a paste. Spread shrimp paste on baguette rounds and sprinkle with Calabrian crushed red pepper. 

*Baguette slice spread with sour cream with a slice of smoked salmon on top and garnished wit dill. Whipped cream cheese can also be used as a spread. 

*Baguette slice spread with tapenade – a mixture of pitted black olives, capers, crushed garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and parsley. My family does not like tapenade, but this spread is a popular one and is often served with melted goat cheese on top. 

*Baguette slice with a cream cheese and walnut spread that is made by blending the two main ingredients in a blender.  Other nuts can also be used in a spread this way.

*Baguette slice with a cream cheese and black olive spread that is made by blending the two main ingredients in a blender. 

Suggested Beverages: San Pellegrino Sparkling Water, white wines like pinot grigio (pinot gris), sauvignon blanc, and dry Riesling, hard cider like Henry Hot Spurs, and lager beers like Peroni Nastro Azzuro (Official sponsor of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics). 

Suggested Side Salads: Grated carrot salad, lentil salad, and organic greens 

Bon Appétit! 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of Teff: The Global Flour Game

Making Traditional French Baguette Online Exhibit with Florence Paget by RuthbPaget

Making French Traditional Baguette Bread Online Exhibit with Florence Paget by Ruth Paget 

In 1993, the French government decreed that bread that is sold as French traditional baguettes can only contain 4 ingredients in its Décret Pain (93 – 1074): wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast. 

My daughter Florence Paget wanted to bake baguettes as a family heritage project, so we bought organic ingredients and she set to work on the following recipe, which I recorded in step-by-step photos and videos below. 

Traditional French Baguette Bread Recipe 

3 ¼ cup flour 

1 ¼ cup warm water 

2 ¼ teaspoons yeast (1 package active dry yeast) 

2 teaspoons sea salt 

Oven temperature: 480 degrees Fahrenheit 

Baking time: 20 minutes 

Florence first sprinkled yeast on the warm water and mixed it up till it was cloudy and beginning to slightly bubble. 

Florence placed all the flour in a mixing bowl and all the water and blended the dough with a mixer while it was liquid. As the water was absorbed by the flour, she then mixed the dough with her hands. This is a sticky operation. 

At this point, she made the dough into a ball and covered it and placed it in a cool oven to rise. The time for rising will vary depending on the temperature in the room. Dough rising can take between 1 and 2 hours. 

After 2 hours, Florence set out her bread baking pan on the stove and pulled the risen dough out from the oven. Florence turned on the oven to preheat to 480 degrees Fahrenheit and placed a pan of water on the lower rack of the oven that would steam the bread as it cooked to make a crunchy crust. Next, she floured the kitchen counter for kneading the risen dough. (Note: We have a well-seasoned pizza stone in our oven which also helps keep the oven warm when baking other items.) 

As you can see from the photo, the dough has doubled in size. Florence carefully peeled the ball of dough out onto the floured counter to avoid crushing air bubbles in the dough. She gently kneaded the dough a few times before shaping it into long loaves by cutting the dough in half, shaping it into a rectangle, and rolling up the rectangles into loaves. Do a minimum of dough handling to avoid popping air bubbles. 

Florence stretched the dough loaves out and placed them in the baking dish. She then scored them with a knife into diagonal shapes on one loaf and down the center of the bread on the other. She then covered the loaves to let them rise again. 

When the stove had preheated and the dough loaves had risen, it was time for them to go in the oven on the rack above the steaming water in the pan on the lower rack. 

The bread should be done baking in 20 minutes. It should have the characteristic round patterned bottom as seen in the photo. The thick crust on the bread keeps it fresher for an extra day it seems when you bake baguettes at home. 

The photos and videos below will walk through the baguette baking process that Florence Paget used:

 

Note: French baguette bread hors d’oeuvres serving suggestion follows:

 https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2026/02/french-baguette-hors-doeuvres-recipes.html?m=1

Note: When baguettes become a day old and rather hard, cut them into thick rectangles and use them for dunking in soup.

Note: When baguettes are a day old and become hard, they can be cut into chunks and placed in a food processor to make bread crumbs.  You can add the bread crumbs to pasta or on top of casseroles.

Note: Of course, cubes of day old baguette are used in fondue.  See my blog below for details: 

 https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2026/01/family-fondue-night-for-sustainable.html?m=1

Bon Appétit!

Photos, Videos, and Text By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of Teff: The Global Flour Game

Celebrating French Chandeleur with Crepes Online Exhibit by Ruth Paget

Celebrating French Chandeleur with Crêpes Online Exhibit by Ruth Paget 

When I lived in France, I learned that all French people seem to observe the Catholic holiday of Chandeleur whether or not they are practicing Catholics or not. 

Chandeleur occurs 40 days after Christmas on February 2nd and celebrates the presentation in the temple of Jesus Christ by his parents Mary and Joseph. The temple referred to is not pagan, but a Jewish synagogue. Jesus was born a Jew to Jewish parents. 

Chandeleur marks the beginning of Christ’s life in society and prepares believers for the celebration of Christian Easter in spring. 

The French celebrate Chandeleur with a pile of crêpes that can last several days if wrapped in plastic and kept in the refrigerator. I love the nutrition in crêpes at an economical price. 

The crêpe recipe my family developed for California uses milk, eggs, flour, water, fleur de sel sea salt from Guérande (Brittany, France), and California olive oil. The recipe follows: 

Paget Family California Crêpes Recipe

When your crêpe batter is made, it should be liquid with no lumps. Heat your crêpe pans with olive oil on high. Pour two ladles of crêpe batter into a hot pan and swirl the batter around till it coats the pan with the batter. 

The batter will begin to set so that you can move the crêpre back and forth gently like in the videos below. Carefully flip the crêpe over. You are working with extremely hot oil so you might want to use spatulas and mitts to turn over the crêpe. 

The flipped crêpe has a golden brown color and dry texture. Let the other side cook for 1 to 2 minutes before placing it on a serving plate. 

The French drink hard cider (alcoholic cider) with crêpes. If you prefer sweet cider try Martinelli’s. It pops open like champagne, but has no alcohol. We drink Henry Hot Spurs Cider from Trader Joe’s. 

According to webMD.com, hard cider retains vitamins like Vitamin C and antioxidants in its production. Apple cider is also considered to be a laxative by WebMD.com . 

The typical French additions to crêpes are butter and grated gruyère cheese. Spreadable Laughing Cow is also liked but not traditional in crêpes. 

Dessert crêpes are usually made with jam. Both kinds of crêpes are rolled up and can be heated in a mircrowave. 

The following photos and videos illustrate the process of preparing a French Chandeleur celebration at home with crêpes, cider, and fillings for this February 2nd holiday.

No-lump batter is necessary.

Fleur de sel is a fine grain sea salt that 
reduces lumps in the batter

American, Swedish, and Crocheted French Kitchen Towel by Laurent's grandmother

The flipped crêpe has a golden cooked sid.

Henry Hot Spurs Hard Cider is similar to apple cider
from Brittany, France

Typical crêpe fillings for a home celebration of Chandeleur.

So easy to eat, but time consuming to prepare.

A little butter and cheese for filling before rolling up the crêpe.

Time to eat!

Bonne Fête de la Chandeleur!!

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and Novgorod War Game Developer

Plexus Polaire French Puppetry Company Reposted by Ruth Paget

French Puppetry Company Plexus Polaire to Perform at the Year of Games at the University of Chicago on January 28, 2026.

Information about tickets for this event follows:

https://events.uchicago.edu/event/258228-plexus-polaire-trust-me-for-a-while

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Steak au Poivre Made by Florence Paget posted by Ruth Paget

Steak au Poivre Made by Florence Paget by Ruth Paget 

Steak au Poivre is a charred steak dish served with a heavy cream based sauce made with shallots and a mixed variety of crushed peppercorns. Steak au Poivre is a simple yet elegant dish that is usually paired with a Bordeaux wine. 

Our family ate this dish with a 2021 Château Giscours from the Margaux region of Bordeaux. (Photo below) 

Serves 4 

 

Ingredients: 

 

-2 (1/2 pound) rib eye steaks that will be cut in half 

-3 tablespoons olive oil 

-1 large shallot, peeled and minced 

-3 tablespoons mixed peppercorns, crushed 

-2 ounces cognac (2 shot glasses) 

-2 tablespoons salted butter 

-3/4 cup heavy cream used to make whipping cream 

Steps: 

1-Brown steak for 7 to 10 minutes per side depending on the doneness desired. 

2-Remove steak from the pan and keep warm. Place time on 10 minutes for steak to rest before cutting it in half. 

3-Add minced shallots to the pan and sauté for 2 minutes. Add crushed peppercorns to the pan and sauté for 1 minute. 

4-Add cognac to the pan. Heat cognac for 1 minute. Remove pan from the stove. Ignite cognac and gently swirl till the flames die down. 

5-Place pan back on heat. Add butter and heavy cream. Stir until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. (It is ok to hold sauce while the steak is resting for 10 minutes.) 

6-Cut the steak in half and serve the au poivre sauce over them. 

Serving Suggestion: Florence Paget served the steak au poivre with mashed potatoes and homemade Yorkshire pudding. Step-by-step photos follow:

 

Et Voilaà!  Bon Appétit!

Photos and Text by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Snacking on French Montelimar Nougat at The Market in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

French Montélimar Nougat at the Market in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget 

During a stop to buy coffee at The Market at Pebble Beach, California, my husband Laurent found Carlier nougat from Montélimar, France on sale. 

Laurent naturally bought some to bring back memories of chewing Montélimar nougat while crawling through holiday traffic jams outside Lyon, France highway tollbooths. 

All the freeways in southern France eventually lead to Lyon and its bouchon, meaning simultaneously wine cork, traffic jam, and Lyonnais bistros in general that are famous for offal (variety meat) tarts and Beaujolais as the house wine. 

To put off the bouchon, drivers buy bags of Montélimar nougat for themselves and all children on board outside Lyon at Montélimar. 

Nougat without anything added to it is a mix of hot sugar and honey that you add whipped egg whites to. Next you fold in sliced nuts and/or candied fruits. Carlier nougat features sliced almonds and pistachios. 

Once all the nougat ingredients are mixed together, it is allowed to cool before being sliced into chewy pieces that can be packaged like the Carlier brand we bought at Pebble Beach. (Picture below) 

To add a little treat to you coffee order at The Market at Pebble Beach, California, you might want to try the Carlier nougat to give your coffee break a slice of French lifestyle on the Pacific Ocean. 

Note: The Pebble Beach Market sells Peerless Coffee and Tea Products from Oakland, California.

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Smoked Norwegian Salmon and St. Germain Royale Cocktail Brunch by Ruth Paget

Parisian Vacation Brunch in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget  

For an après-Christmas brunch 2025, my husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I had St. Germain Royale cocktails with smoked Norwegian salmon.  

One of Florence’s Christmas gifts was a 400-page cocktails book, wo we had to let her practice a cocktail on us. She prepared a Veuve Clicquot cocktail with St. Germain liqueur made from flowery, white elder flowers. (Alone elder flowers have high amounts of Vitamin C, an antioxidants.)

I liked the St. Germain Royale cocktail and thought the sweet, effervescent flavor paired well with salty, Norwegian smoked salmon. 

Costco’s Kirkland brand uses farmed salmon from Norway that is smoked in the Netherlands the packaging relates. Laurent and I shared the package meant for four to six as brunch. (Florence had a taste and ate legs from a Costco rotisserie chicken.) 

The smoked salmon was tender and buttery in texture and had a delicate smoky flavor, which is what I like. I love fish in all its preparations including smoked. 

If you are someone who likes smoked fish, the Kirkland Norwegian salmon at Costco would probably be a welcome addition to your New Year’s celebration (price: approximately $24 per package). 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

De Tierra Winery in Salinas, California sells excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wine - shout out by Ruth Paget

De.Tierra Winery in Salinas, California sells excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wine.  These are the two wine grape varietals that also grow in France’s Burgundy region.

We order about two cases per year for delivery to have them on hand for coq au vin, poulet a la moutarde,, and steamed Alaska king crab throughout the year.

They have a tasting room in Carmel for people who would like to sample their wines.

De Tierra’s Website Link

My daughter Florence Paget and I recently snuck a peek at the secluded winery and vineyards in the Corral de Tierra Valley outside town.

De Tierra Winery sits on a hillside off Corral de Tierra Road outside Salinas, California.  California magnolias bloom in the foreground.  Palm trees of varying sizes line the road up to the winery. Text and photo by Ruth Paget.

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Calvados Mushroom Sauce Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Calvados Mushroom Sauce Recipe Created by Ruth Paget 

Note: 

This is my go-to sauce when I lived in Paris, France in the early 1990s was a buttery, mushroom sauce that I made with Calvados, France’s famous apple brandy with the best ones coming from the Pays d’Auge, the A.O.C. region in Normandy. 

This sauce is loosely based on the mushroom sauce for sole Dieppoise.. The ingredients for this sauce were sold by fishmongers in fall at the weekly covered market in the Centre Charras in Courbevoie, a Parisian suburb just across the bridge over the Seine by the La Défense skyscrapers. 

I used this simple sauce on sautéed white fish, sautéed chicken breasts, fried pork chops, pasta, and mashed potatoes. 

For 4 People 

Ingredients: 

-4 tablespoons butter with sea salt 

-2 cups sliced mushrooms 

-1 or 2 shots of Calvados 

-1 cup heavy cream 

-2 tablespoons chopped parsley 

Steps: 

1-Melt butter in a sauté pan. Add mushrooms to the pan and stir over medium-high heat until they render water (about 10 – 15 minutes). 

2-Continue stirring until the water in the pan evaporates. 

3-Add Calvados to the mushrooms and stir 4 to 5 minutes to burn off the alcohol, but leave the flavor.  

4-Add cream to the mushroom mixture and stir till steam rises from the mushrooms. Serve as soon as possible over cooked fish, pork chops, chicken, pasta, or mashed potatoes with parsley sprinkled on top. 

Note:

This recipe can be made with Sicilian Marsala as in chicken Marsala.

Other fortified wines like Marsala can be used including:

Muscat de Rivesaltes - France

Muscat de Samothrace - Greece

Oloroso sherry - Spain

Sweet porto - Portugal

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Amazon Italy is carrying my book Marrying France posted by Ruth Paget

Thank you Amazon Italy for carrying my book Marrying France.  Molto Grazie!

Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France