Santoni - My French Country Home

My French Country Home

Entertaining Through the Seasons

Sharon Santoni

Franck Schmitt

My French Country Home

Entertaining Through the Seasons

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2017 Sharon Santoni

Photographs 2017 by Franck Schmitt

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

Gibbs Smith

P.O. Box 667

Layton, Utah 84041

Orders: 1.800.835.4993

www.gibbs-smith.com

ISBN: 978-1-4236-4279-4

This book would never have happened were it not for the help and encouragement of many special people.

First of all, thank you to my editor, Madge Baird, for her patience and her sure guiding hand.

Thank you to Franck Schmitt, my photographer, who also took the photos for my first book, and who always knows how make me smile.

Thank you to my friends Gisle and Xavier for letting us shoot some of the pictures in their beautiful home and garden.

Thank you to Heather Robinson for re-reading my texts and to Hana Wylson for helping me style the forest shoot.

And finally, thank you to my husband, Eric, and my children, who continually support me, listening patiently and always encouraging me to push open new doors and explore new paths.

I n French, entertaining is translated as lart de recevoir, or the art of receiving. Pretty strange to talk about receiving when, actually, the host is the one doing all of the work and laying out the spread. But perhaps the receiving is in the gift of companionship that comes our way when we entertainthe opportunity to create something delicious, something beautiful and welcoming as well as the pleasure of sharing the moment.

Entertaining in France is a part of everyday living. Casual or formal meals are an intrinsic part of the culture, and as a native English woman, I have learned to love this way of living and blend it with my own upbringing.

Growing up in a big family where the doors were always wide open to relatives and friends, a love of entertaining is in my blood. From my earliest years I have memories of huge meals around long, noisy tables; of small cozy tea parties; of open-house Christmas brunches that lasted all day; and of never-ending dinner parties where good food and lively conversation accompanied us into the small hours of the morning.

When I was little, I loved being at my grandmothers for tea. She was a part of that generation that had time for the little things in life that make such a difference. I always appreciated the care she took in laying out a tea tray, complete with home-baked scones and cakes, little pots of homemade jam, and tiny sandwiches filled with cucumber and salmon dotted with a single flower perched on top... just because. Tea was taken in the garden in the summer and around the fire in the winter. And even if it was just the two of us, there was always a pretty tablecloth and a napkin each, and often shed lay the table with her beautiful best china, because, as she liked to remind me, theres no point in having it if you dont use it.

My mother was a great entertainer too. I have never equaled her big Sunday lunches, and she was the one who taught me that its not a big deal to throw a party with food for a huge crowd, providing you think it through and remember to enjoy each minute. When I joined the local youth club in my teens (this was country living, and entertainment was hard to come by) and announced to my mum that it was customary for members of the club to invite the others home for evening coffee and that Id like to do that and, by the way, there would be over one hundred people coming, she simply replied that shed probably need to buy some more cups and some extra biscuits.

In short, I grew up sure in the knowledge that there was never a lack of excuses for entertaining friends, and when I came to France as a student, this family background blended with my discovery of French culture.

Ive tried to pass this love of entertaining on to our four children, who have long since flown the nest. When they were still small, their birthdays were always fun and often involved ponies, bouncy castles, relay races, treasure hunts and a variety of dressing-up costumes. When the children were still small, birthdays were always a good excuse for a big party. Invitations were homemade, as was the often overly ambitious birthday cake. I remember my just-turned-six-year-old handing out her party invitations outside the school gate andwithout consulting me firstannouncing to her friends that her birthday cake would be pink and have six tiers, before turning to me with a confident smile. How could I possibly disappoint her? Six tiers there were. The cake may have been more reminiscent of a certain tower in Pisa than Monsieur Eiffels construction in Paris, but it was quickly eaten, and none of the pretty little guests noticed the lopsided silhouette. The joy is in the sharing.

Once I lived full time in France, there were always opportunities to invite friends to our table. My husband comes from a long line of great cooks, and by his side I discovered the joy of preparing food, the trips to the farmers market to buy fresh produce, the planning of a menu according to what we found there, as well as the careful matching of the right wine to each dish.

Since in France we live in a climate where the seasons are clearly marked, we have the additional pleasure of there always being something to look forward to. From the change of air in the autumn that makes us long for comfort food again, to winter meals to warm us after a Sunday walk in the forest, to spring spreads created with the first fruits and vegetables of the new season, to summer, when the warm weather allows us to dine alfresco and linger late over a table in the company of good friends.

Living in the countryside keeps us especially aware of the seasons. Our small village is bordered by a forest on one side and crop-growing fields all around. The forest changes color without our help, and the fields are landscaped by local farmers as they plough, sow and harvest. Each fall, when the first new shoots begin to sprout, I am keen to see which crop has been sown in the fields that we can see from our house. Not because it will be produce that we will eat, but because the color and nature of the crop will affect our view and even our mood.

Along our valley we are fortunate to have many beautiful gardens, Spring sees lilacs and wisteria dripping over stone walls and doorways. In June the roses bend low beneath the weight of their blooms, and in the autumn the dahlias explode like fireworks until the first frost signals their retreat.

Tablescapes change with the seasons too. No matter how simple or spontaneous the occasion, I have to lay a few flowers and candles on the table. And if I have the time and the garden is flourishing, then Ill happily go all out and decorate the table from one end to the other, simply because it makes everyone smile. Its not about trying to impress or putting on a show; its just about living in the present.