An American in Provence: The Night They Invented Champony

lundi 13 décembre 2010

The Night They Invented Champony

Saturday night we were invited to Alain's coworker's for raclette. (Hey, that's my easy to make when people come over fallback!)

I hadn't seen him and his wife since our trip to the waterpark in the summer. They have a little girl who will be two in February. Also invited were an Italian couple. He is doing his PhD in the same lab as Alain, and she is also doing studies here in Marseille.
Alain had invited the guys over for poker night several times while I was up in Strasbourg, but I had never met them.

We arrived a little after 6, two folding chairs in hand. For anyone who knows French people, 6 pm is rather early to start a get-together. I guess that is what having kids will do to you though.

They live at about 20 minutes walk from our place. We decided just to walk, even though it was cold, because we didn't want to deal with having to find parking at 11 pm.
Because Alain's colleague and his wife are Muslim, they don't drink alcohol (or at least, she doesn't and he doesn't when she is not around) so Alain bought some Champony. For anyone who doesn't know, it is a sparkling apple juice, often given to kids at holiday parties while all the French adults are tippling away at the champagne.

I had a stuffed elephant bought at Ikea a long time ago (right before Lucie, Alain's sister, informed us "No more stuffed animals as presents for Manon!") that I brought to give to their daughter, who was quite pleased.

We sat and talked for a few hours, then sat down for the raclette. I'm sorry but it just isn't the same with Coke instead of wine. After dinner, we had a tiramisu that the Italians had made and the Champony. We left at around 11 pm.
It was fun, but now I am out of ideas for what to make when they come over.

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8 commentaires:

deedee a dit…: I'm having some friends over this week and I'm making a big pot of chili, maybe you could do that. But not too spicy for the tender tongued French.
I like your new lay-out.
ps Was Alain at karate in my town on Wednesday? Someone that looked like him asked me to move my car...; lundi, décembre 13, 2010
Anonyme a dit…: Yes, raclette without a good wine from the Jura is just not complete. But you were thoughtful to buy the Champony.
If the chili doesn't work out, try making American-style homemade hamburgers.; lundi, décembre 13, 2010
Mwa a dit…: My easy solution is tortillas. Everyone serves themselves, but it has maximum wow factor. I just put lots of little dishes of raw stuff and a bit of fried chicken on the table.; lundi, décembre 13, 2010
screamish a dit…: i reckon Mwa has it right, they probably have never had it before and it's pretty easy for you in terms of time cooking...remember halal tho (hang on- they dont drink alcohol but they had raclette? with ham??) I'd choose wine over pork any day, personally....!; mardi, décembre 14, 2010
Michel a dit…: How about fondue or will the fact that there is wine in the fondue despite the fact the alcohol is burned off present a problem? How about a big pan of Mac & Cheese, home made of course no Kraft; do they even sell Kraft in France?; mardi, décembre 14, 2010
Pepe Le Pew a dit…: Certain foods just go together. It would be like having a peanut and honey sandwich. It would still be good but it's better with jelly.; mercredi, décembre 15, 2010
Uncle David a dit…: Are there good Christmas markets in Marseille, by the way?; mercredi, décembre 15, 2010
Starman a dit…: You should explain to them that wine is much better for you than Coke, then you and Alain could have wine while they drink the coke.; mercredi, décembre 15, 2010

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An American in Provence

The Night They Invented Champony

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