My first trip to Paris was a guided EF Tour with students from my school as I had just turned 18. Since then, I have been a total of eight times. I love their fashion, food, music, and even the sound of the ambulances racing by. I have a French inspired home with many mementos from past trips, so it was very easy for me to use what I already had.
Food
I have a few favorite classic French dishes, but I also wanted the making of the meals to be an activity by making the meals together. Our dinner on Friday night was a Croque- Monsieur recipe by Sandra's Easy Cooking with a side of arugula salad. I really enjoyed her version of the bechamel sauce. I added walnuts, goat cheese, and apple slices to spice up the salad . We also made our own vinaigrette.
Desserts for the weekend, of course, needed a French touch. Earlier on Friday, I made Cooking Classy's Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars. I have made these many times before, they are a great easy dessert to make when you have guests over.
Saturday's breakfast was homemade crepes. I always leave the crepe making to my husband because he does a better job at it than I do! Lunch was simple too - a ham baguette with brie cheese. It was simple but so delicious. We didn't want a large breakfast or lunch, as we needed to be hungry for our dinner. Steak and Frites, like they serve at so many French cafes. This time we didn't stick to grocery store beef, we went to Moody's, our local butcher shop for a pound of Bavette Steak. Through Pinterest, I found Dish on Sea's recipe for French Pepper Steak. We don't drink brandy or cognac, so I bought a cheap small bottle found behind the counter at the liquor store. It still made the steak taste amazing! To save time and money, we used a frozen bag of fries, because I wanted to get fancy with the dipping sauce. I have been saving a small bottle of truffle oil and I thought this was the perfect time to use it! My first truffle tasting was in the South of France a few years ago. I highly recommend Julie Blanner's Truffle Aioli recipe. It's definitely a taste of fine European cuisine!
I left Sunday more open to flexibility but had the ingredients to make Barbara Bakes' Lemon Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast for brunch. I stayed in bed a little longer than expected that morning due to a migraine, so my husband, Daniel, was nice enough to make it on his own. I highly recommend this recipe, it was delicious! Consider serving it the next time you have a small occasion!
Of course, you can't forget the drinks! Seeing as how it was a French-inspired weekend, we had to have French wine. To start off the weekend, we toasted with Garish with Lemon's recipe for Elderflower French 75 cocktail. Luckily, our local liquor store had mini bottles of St. Germain. To begin the weekend we enjoyed our cocktail in our screened in patio while listening to French Music.
Music
Music can be key in transporting you into a state of mind. Pick music you enjoy, but also try expanding your collection. I actually listen to French music quite often. I play songs that are song in French when I'm working so I don't get distracted by the lyrics. My favorite young French artist is Louane. Her music is light-hearted and fun! For this weekend, I played my Amazon Music France playlist. It is a nice mix of instrumentals and vocals.
Activities
This weekend's activities were centered around taking the time to the making of the meals and then enjoying them. So it wasn't about playing a game. But we spent a lot of time in our patio listening to French music.
Movie or TV Show
There are many movies that take place in France. I had never seen An American in Paris, so that was top on the list. Unfortunately, although it has many key elements of Parisian life, it was filmed in a studio in Hollywood. It was still a classic film that should be on your list if you love musicals. Since the weekend was revolving around French food and with our love of Disney, we watched Ratatouille. Such a great film about how you should try to live your dream job, no matter who or where you come from!
I know there are many ways I could do a French Weekend, but I think it was a very successful first Away Weekend @ Home!
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