Last week we had a flyer in our mailbox advertising the annual hunter’s lunch next Saturday. These lunches occur all over rural France at the end of the hunting season, and, in our case they are long, multi-coursed and alcohol driven.
Like everything else in France the price has crept up, this year to 20€ ,but for that you get six courses and as much to drink as can be considered polite. And entertainment.
It’s mostly of the impromptu variety, fuelled by several glasses of wine and a fire-water digestif and it can go on a bit. There are hunting songs, and mountain choruses that I quite enjoy. In fact, the shepherd songs can be beautiful, especially when sung by our local male voice choir, the Chanteurs de Mont Royal. A ancient old boy always totters to the microphone and sings an obscure ditty with at least ten verses, and choruses to which everyone (except us) joins in - con brio !
It’s when one of the local ladies decides (as she always does) to give us her tribute to Edith Piaf that it all begins to soar into the realms of farce. We try not to wince as she renders (murders) ‘La Vie en Rose,’ and then find ourselves heading for the door as, to tumultuous cheers, she launches into ‘Mon Legionnaire’.
We are usually amongst the first to leave, at about four o’clock, but, as we live close to the Salle de Fete we are still seeing people drifting home at six.
This year’s menu, which is always included on the flyer is as mouth-watering as ever .:
Salade Gasconne
Panache de salads,tomates, gésiers,lardons et magrets fumés
Salad of duck gizzards, bacon pieces and smoked duck breast.
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Pavé de Saumon sauce paprika et estragon
Fillet of salmon with tarragon and paprika
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Civet de Sanglier et pomme de terre vapeur
Wild boar casserole with mashed potatoes
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Cuisse de canard confit et ses legumes
Duck leg confit and vegetables (usually the ubiquitous haricot vert)
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Fromage de pays
Local cheeses
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Tarte aux Pommes tiède et sa glace vanille
Warm Apple pie with vanilla icecream
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Café
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Digestif
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Vin rouge et rosé
Vin mousseaux
Aperitif tout inclusive.
I mustn’t forget to stock up on the indigestion tablets.
2 comments:
That really made me laugh out loud! Living, as I do, in the countryside, some of what you say has such a familiar ring about it. I did so love the Edith Piaf lookalike - We go to the odd dinner (odd in both senses of the word) where you need a strong constitution, indigestion tablets and it also helps to be a bit deaf! Nice to read you again - I seem to have missed your blog for a while.
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