Day 812 (Friday) 30^th August 2019

Our Italian dinner with Andy last night was a great success; Huw’s risotto was delicious, which was followed by ice cream and raspberries and rounded off with a glass of Limoncello, a coffee in our snazzy new cups, biscotti and delicious babas.

Biscotti, known also as cantucci, are Italian almond biscuits that originated in the city of Prato. They are twice-baked, oblong-shaped, dry, crunchy, and may be dipped in a drink, traditionally Vin Santo.

Main ingredients: Flour, sugar, eggs and almonds or pine nuts

Place of origin: Italy

Region or state: Tuscany, the town of Prato in particular

Alternative names: Biscotti di Prato

Amalfi Babas in lemon liqueur cream

The babà is a typical dessert of the Campania tradition, a soft dessert with a pleasant taste and a light sweetish and slightly alcoholic note of its bagna. Rather than presenting it in its classic rum version, we have revived a truly delicious variant: the wetness of our lemon liqueur cream gives it a unique consistency, creaminess and meltiness for a unique dessert with the scent of Amalfi lemons.  The small size of the individual babas makes them very versatile, use them as an accompaniment to ice creams or compotes and fruit jams, or as an ingredient for creating fanciful finger food desserts.

Ingredients babà: "0" type wheat flour, eggs, entirely vegetable margarine composed of: (vegetable oils and fats: palm and sunflower, water, acidity corrector: E300, aromas), sugar, salt, natural yeast. Syrup ingredients: water, cream, milk, sugar, glucose syrup, alcohol, milk proteins, natural lemon flavours, lemon peel infusion (1%) Alcohol content: 17% Capacity: Cans of gr.280 cc 314 – from gr. 485 cc 580-from gr. 870 cc 1062-from gr. 2700 cc 3000 Use: delicious products of the Amalfi pastry to be enjoyed as desserts, excellent when garnished with ice creams and compotes and fruit jams. They should be kept in the fridge and served slightly cold or at room temperature. Annual duration.

After our trips to Italy and my birthday presents our kitchen is getting prettier and prettier.

Badger is getting nicer and nicer every day and this evening he behaved himself so well that we allowed him in the living room while we ate. He must have got bored watching us eat so he decided to read a Lynda La Plante book but he just couldn’t decide which one…

 

It was a gloriously sunny day again today and again while Huw was working in the morning I sat in the sun and read my book for a few hours – it’s so nice to be able to do very little.

Badger enjoyed it too…

 

I had a lovely message from our friend Sue saying that she is coming to Villefranche on Sunday and staying until Friday. She sent the address of the AirBnb she has booked and it’s at the end of our street – about 100 metres away.

As the rest of this entry is about Italian food I thought it appropriate to include a

French Expression of the Day: Un quatre-heures

'Le quatre-heures' is a must-know French expression, if only to be aware of its second and not so innocent meaning.

Why do I need to know un quatre-heures?

Le quatre-heures is quite a tradition in France, especially for children. However, you would still find French grown-ups taking un quatre-heures on a regular basis as well.

So, what does it mean?

Un quatre-heures is an afternoon snack kids usually have when they come home from school, ranging from an apple and a glass of juice to a full banquet of croissants and pains au chocolat. 

The name simply comes from the time around which this snack is taken: around four o'clock in the afternoon. Similar to the British elevensies or three o'clocks.

Initially intended as a way for kids to wait until dinner, some adults also indulge in le quatre-heures. Another word for this you may have already heard is le goûter.

J'achète toujours un pain chocolat à Paul pour son quatre-heures. - I always buy Paul a pain au chocolat for his quatre-heures.

Je n'ai pas pris de quatre-heures, je meurs de faim! - I did not eat a quatre-heures, I am starving!

But beware of the French people's love for evocative sayings. While most of the time this refers to a snack for kids, it can also be an expression of a sexual nature.

If you ever hear someone say they would like to turn someone into their quatre-heures, then you should know the discussion topic is not revolving around food anymore. 

T'as vu le nouvel informaticien? J'en ferai bien mon quatre-heures, si tu vois ce que je veux dire. - Have you seen the new IT guy? I would not mind a piece of that, if you know what I mean.