The evening after the “Réveillon,” which is Christmas Day, there was another French family dinner – less formal but equally delicious as the one the night before. This festivity started with sipping champagne at 8 p.m., with hors d’ouvres of spiced olives and smoked salmon toasts. Gifts were opened around 9:30, and then dinner was served: entrée, plat, and dessert – less food than the previous evening’s six-course meal which was a good (literally & figuratively)!
I suppose my New Year’s resolution should be to eat less or drink less champagne – pas possible! 
Poinsettia rouge
Boudin (sausage) with apple & fig
Magret de canard (duck) with orange sauce & chestnuts
Vanilla ice cream with creme de marron (chestnut glaze)
Pontsettia blanche
trop beau cette plante, j’ai manqué en acheter une Samedi ….
Je suis d’accord et je prefere la pontsettia rouge.
Ooh, la, everything looks divine, including the table settings and poinsettias, but especially the food— lovely!
Thanks – it was good but interesting that neither a cheese tray nor a salad were served, which I missed having.
My daughter, who has spent a total of about 5 years living in Paris, has told me about the significance of the salad and the cheese tray, and I also find it interesting how the courses are served in a different order than we typically do in the states. I’m always fascinated by the rationale for these things, and how different it can be between cultures.
OK, what’s the secret? Why don’t French women, or American women living in France, for that matter, not get fat??????????
I’ve read the book. Have you? The part that I most remember is how the authoress went to the US as a teenager and came back practically unrecogniseable a year later, much to le chagrin de maman.
I shouldn’t think you had room for the cheese!!
Yes, I read the book too – I think it’s all about portion control and not snacking and walking more here. The portions at dinner weren’t huge and there was time between courses to relax and chat = eating slowly. I missed having a little salad to help digest the main course, but I don’t eat salad at home every night nor dessert for that matter.
There is definitely a rhythm to a French meal: I went to a French woman’s house a few weeks ago for dinner – 4 hours at the table with all the courses and not one guest got up or asked to use the bathroom and whole evening.