Day 9, July 24: Lunch

For the aperitif today we drank a liquor made from anise.  Dominique handed me a large glass and told me to serve myself.  I proceeded to fill up the glass, to outbursts from the whole table... It turns out that the liquor is 45% alcohol and you usually mix a finger of it with a full glass of water.  The drink itself is very sweet, so if I'd been alone with no one to tell me I was drinking it wrong, I would probably have been on the floor in minutes.

Slice of beef and string beans

Day 8, July 23. Dinner

 We went into town and ended up eating lunch at a sushi restaurant, so only dinner pics today... It was the first time for Dominique and Claudine to eat sushi, and they didn't dislike it but I don't think it's their thing...

This is the family's favorite rosé, they buy it by the case!  

Egg plant slices fried with a garlic/ onion / herb batter!  Delicious, especially with a bit of bacon or cheese.

The usual suspects...

Day 7, July 22; Lunch and Dinner

Day 6, July 21: Dinner

Souffle with fresh vegetables

Arbois is a region (actually one specific town) of France known for its white wines.  It makes reds too, but this Savagnin is definitely something different:  Very strong, with a scent of caramel to the nose but nearly sour to the taste.  I wasn't a big fan but it's very interesting to taste.

Cheese for filling in the corners

Day 6, July 21: Lunch

One of the easiest and most effective methods for picking out a bottle of wine in France is to look for the label you see on this bottle: "Mis et bouteille a la propriete"  This means it was picked and bottled at the vineyard itself, and not mixed with other grapes or made industrially. 

Yesterday we picked mushrooms in the woods, and here is the result!

A little bit of everything...

For dessert, a delicious fruit salad!

Day 5, July 20: Dinner

We went to a restaurant for dinner to taste a local delicacy... 

Pig feet, a speciality of the region.  It's cooked for hours in white wine to the point that even the bones are soft enough to eat, then it's roasted.  I couldn't quite bring myself to order it so...

I ordered a hamburger!  Good thing too, I tasted the pig feet and it was much too fat for me 

Pig feet on display

Pickled Pig feet

Day 5, July 20: Lunch

Sunday Lunch still means something special in the Leclerc house, and even if it's just the two of them they fix the table up nicely and bring out the good settings.

Sunday lunch moves a notch up in style!

For an aperitif, a very fruity and citrony drink called l'apero Lorraine

A nice 2009 Pinot Noir

A nice beef steak with a pepper sauce

Filling in the corners with some goat cheese called saint wolf