Dinner for Twenty One

Every morning in France was a new opportunity. A couple of days I headed up the mountains on a ski lift, some days I stayed at the chalet and read, each day I explored a path or part of the town I hadn't seen before. I had only visited La Salle Les Alpes once in the summer of 2013, but I consider myself to have a decent familiarity with the layout. The winter landscape however, altered the views and the offerings. On Christmas Eve, while wandering through the shops, we came across an open air market. Some booths had clothing, some dried meats, but most importantly, some had glorious French cheese.

My thoughts on cheese? The stinkier, the better!

Christmas Eve night ended with half of the group going to church and half playing Perudo, drinking, and overseeing the finishing details of our dinner. Dinner each evening was seriously decadent with multiple courses, all of them handmade. Seating was always a struggle, and you became closely acquainted with those next to you very quickly as twenty one of us were crowded into two tables each day. To be fair, the only rough patch was when you got seated on one of the two benches near the end. Three people were on each bench, requiring everyone to sit, rise, and scoot the bench in at precisely the same time. There was true strategy to this as well, as it had to be two women and one man. You could not disturb the delicate bench balance! We all had chalkboard napkin rings with our names on them to designate our assigned spots.

Champagne and appetizers on Christmas Eve

The last night of our stay, the 26th, was a really special meal. The menu mirrored that of a Thanksgiving dinner, a true luxury for us this year, with the exception of the appetizer. We began with escargot. I consider myself adventurous when it comes to food, I do like stinky cheese after all, but this was something I had not tried before. After a few failed attempts at removing the snail from it's shell, I finally succeeded in retrieving one and it was delicious. They were cooked in an amazing basil sauce, which was remarkable by itself, and the texture was not as odd as I was fearing! 

Dinner was turkey, cabbage, parsnips of varying colors, potatoes, stuffing, and we finished with a chocolate log I would describe as a Swiss roll covered in powdered sugar and pomegranate seeds. Those pomegranate antioxidants really helped balance out the meal. 

The whole week at the chalet had absolutely flown by and was stuffed full of food and new experiences. Tom and I tried to retire at a decent hour, but wanted to enjoy as much time as we could with everyone. We were leaving at 6:30 the next morning and wouldn't be seeing them before we departed! Spending Christmas in France was an absolute dream and made for a fantastic first Christmas together as a married couple.

Have Yourself a Very French Christmas

This holiday season was bound to be different for us. Not only because we are newlyweds and are celebrating our first Thanksgiving and Christmas as a married couple, but also because we planned to stay in Europe and embrace holiday adventures came our way. Thanksgiving was spent in London with extended family, and for Christmas we really lucked out as well. Tom's best friend's family owns a chalet in La Salle Les Alpes, a small town located in the French Alps. We were invited to join them for the week of Christmas and eagerly accepted.

We made the seven hour drive the Saturday before Christmas. The drive itself was extraordinary. We drove along the west side of Germany, through Switzerland, into the notoriously long tunnel in Italy, until we were finally winding our way through the mountains of France. Our friends had arrived just hours before us and we could not wait to see them, the four months we spent apart was too long!

I have been to the town La Salle only once the previous summer. I remembered it well and was looking forward to spending time there with a great group of people. Twenty one people to be precise, family and friends, were staying in the chalet. That alone guaranteed an eventful week. 

Our first evening there was spent relaxing, eating, and catching up. One of the most fun events is everyone getting together to play games after dinner. That night we played a couple of rounds of Perudo, which was helped along by some limoncello, and went to bed around midnight. We awoke somewhat early the next morning since most of the group was going skiing. As I had never been skiing before, I decided to hang back with a friend. I consider our day to be much more relaxing. We enjoyed a Coke on the sun soaked patio of a cafe downtown and meandered through the peaceful streets. It was Sunday so unfortunately all the shops were closed. We made the trek home, had tea on the beautiful patio above, and were finishing lunch of one of my preferred simple French foods (salmon paste on toast with lemon juice) as the others were arriving home.

Another fantastic end of the day routine is partaking a pre-dinner sauna. This was something I took advantage of more days than not. While the sun was magnificent during the day, the weather turned cold at night and nothing squashes a winter chill like a hot sauna. We ended the day with cocktails, snacks, dinner, and a new game before calling it a night. I was anxious to get to bed at a decent hour, for the following day I would be attending my first skiing lesson.

Weihnachtsmarkt Cuisine

I follow a very routine and healthy diet during the week and only splurge on dishes when we travel. Once the markets opened, however, all hope for maintaining that diet was lost. We live in the Swabian region of Germany. This means our primary local eats are sausages, beer, and wine, all of which are absolutely amazing. While the weather has currently taken a snowy turn, we were unbelievably fortunate to have pleasant weather to the point of being able to spend all day outdoors eating treats and never getting too cold. The glühwein may have had something to do with that as well...

Specialty nut and candy stands were everywhere. The primary German sweet offered were Lebkuchen cookies, or large gingerbread cookies often decorated and written on with icing. They're much like a giant gingerbread Valentine, as they say things like Ich liebe dich, I love you, and Frohe Weihnachten, Merry Christmas. I didn't make the cookie commitment, but I devoured my favorite cinnamon sugar almonds.

The wildcard mind blowing treat were the Wilde Kartoffeln, or wild potatoes. We got ours with a creamy garlic sauce.

My top picks in the tubed meat category were the chili paprika wurst (above) and the käse wurst (cheese sausage). They were served in their own baguettes, because regular buns are not hardcore enough. One thing I adore, and will miss terribly, is the quality of the food. Even the basics like sausage and wedge fries are so fresh and full of flavor. This ensures you leave full, but not full of guilt and fried food shame. The bread is made just hours before and is still warm inside. I never thought I would enjoy meat and carbs so incredibly much. I am mentally planning a return in the near future.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

The Magnificent Mile Lighting Festival went down last night and it was freezing. I am a huge baby when it comes to being cold. You can imagine my joy at the plummeting temperatures as we were volunteering yesterday. Never have I worn so many layers and never have I been so afraid I might lose a toe to frost bite. Thank goodness one of our friends gave me their "serious winter hat" or I may not have survived. However, being a huge Christmas devotee I was in awe of how beautiful Michigan Avenue looked once the parade got going. 

Poor Mario Lopez (wrapped in his red scarf) couldn't handle the cold. He came down twenty minutes before the parade started and was ushered right back up on a golf cart as soon as he completed the route. I don't blame him.

I felt very badly for the people trying to contain this guy! He face planted at one point...

I loved this trolley. I also loved being able to take pictures from the middle of the street. Too cool.

The ABC 7 float was my favorite. 

Sadly, I missed Santa at the very end. My feet were frozen and I tried to escape inside a store to warm up as Santa was passing behind me! Horrible timing. The experience was amazing and really puts me in the Christmas spirit. I will have my decorations up before the end of the week for sure.

Holiday Shopping...On A Wedding Budget

I adore the holidays. I always have, and I really adore the shopping. This year, I am trying to do things a bit differently and abide by my list. I have to stay focused! I always disliked getting or giving random gifts no one really needs. I have a nice pair of gloves, I don't need fifteen other pair with coordinating hats and scarves. Who has the space? These are some items on my list for others this Christmas:

Fiance:

Our presents to each other this year? Wedding bands. The gift that keeps on giving, right? I'm also going to make him a delicious meatloaf dinner. His favorite meal.

Mom:

My mom wanted a new perfume. This one is sultry without being overpowering.

We have this set of Christmas dishes, and last year it was not so subtly hinted we needed a serving platter to go with it.

Brother:

A true Colt's fan, I am looking into a jersey for my brother. Hopefully I can find one for less than $100! And, of course, I will get him a six pack. To him, that is always the perfect gift.

Grandmother:

My grandmother has been collecting cute perfume bottles for years. This one is from Anthro but I am going to keep an eye out for different ones as well.

Friends:

DSW gift cards for my bridesmaids, they have to have something towards their wedding shoes!

Coworkers:

Ahh yes. The dreaded work gift exchange. I will be including this delectable gift set along side a gift card to Target or Starbucks. My skin gets dried out this time of year so I love festive lotions!

Each picture is linked to where you can purchase it if you're interested! What are you getting for your family and friends this year?