Hygge in French: Cozy weekend & Magret de Canard: Easy 3-Ingredient Duck recipe
Monday, January 23, 2017
Our 21-year-old, Max, came home from Montpellier for the weekend and cooked a cozy meal for the whole family. Read on in today's missive, below.
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TODAY'S WORD: le magret de canard
: fillet of duck, duck breast
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Maxime nous a cuisiné des magrets de canard selon la recette que je lui ai donnée.
Maxime cooked us some duck fillets according to a recipe I gave him.
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A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE
by Kristi Espinasse
If you keep coming across the word hygge, it's no wonder--you are reading too much news! Hygge is all over the media, even in France. According to Le Monde there is no French translation of the Danish word, a term synonymous with "snug" and "cozy" and involving friends, family and comfort food--all squeezed together, like a warm câlin:
This past weekend was extra hygge thanks to the layer of comfort Max added to the mix: our son cooked his father's specialty, magret de canard, for dinner while we relaxed under the covers (a fluffy blanket, or plaid, is key to cocooning--as are les coussins, or throw pillows.). And when Jackie called "à table!" I noticed our daughter had lit two candles, in the old brass candlesticks--a wedding present from Aunt Ruth and Uncle Bill, in Seattle.
From Denmark to France and back, somehow, to the States, I'm wrapping up this cozy little post, sooner than usual--keeping things short and snug as a hug. As for the recipe: score the fatty side of the duck and fry both sides. Add sliced pears to the melted fat. Cook until fruit is soft. Pour honey over. Bon appétit!
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Stories you may have missed...
Souler, Claquer, Hurler - Our son throws a party and my plan to escape to the hotel backfires. Read the lively trilogy, here.
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FRENCH VOCABULARY
Increase your vocabulary with this list. More tools here.
la pantoufle = slipper
le feu de cheminée = chimney fire
le câlin = hug, cuddle
le plaid = throw blanket
le coussin = pillow
à table! = everyone to the table now!
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To read all about the concept of hygge--cocooning in French--read The Little Book of Hygge, here
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