Nataly

Well, I am re-posting my cipaille recipe to get things started.. I will try to translate the other classics my mom used to make like tourtieres and meat pies (not sweet - actual meat!). Hope others will post their favourite xmas foods, including deserts! Yum! Cipaille Prepare this crust and refrigerate one day: 3/4 cups of lard (ie crisco) 4 cups of flour 1 1/4 cups cold water + 1 egg yolk (beaten) 1/4 cup vegetable oil The next day: Cut following meats into pieces of about 1 inch cube (do not mix meats): pork, beef, chicken, moose. Instead of moose you can use a gamey meet like boar, deer or cariboo. Instead of chicken you can use feasant, pigeon or partrige depending on whether you like darker/ stronger meats. Equal quantities of each for a total of about 7 lbs of meat. (Note you will need a large and very deep dish.) ***Add these spices to each meat (generous quantities of each spice): · Nutmeg · Ground cloves · Cinamon · Allspice ***Or, for the less adventurous, replace by the below spices but definitely not as good: · Summer savoury · Salt and pepper · Mixed herbs · Garlic powder · Onion powder In a deep and very large dish (ideally with a lid) assemble as follows: 1. A layer of one of the meats (all of it) 2. A layer of potatoes (cubes about the same size as the pieces of meat-the potatoe/meat ratio shoukd be roughly equal) 3. A layer of oignons (chopped roughly) 4. Salt and pepper 5. A layer of crust cut into strips about 1 inch wide Continue this layering process until all meats used and cover with a whole crust, perforating it a bit. The crust is slightly thicker than a normal pie as it doesn't rise. Lift a corner of the crust and pour water in until it covers everything. Cover with the lid and cook in the oven at 250 º F for 3 or 4 hours. Lower the temperature to 200 º F for 3 more hours - remove the lid for the last hour of cooking. **IMPORTANT: keep checking there is a lot of water and keep topping it up right to the edge otherwise it will be overcooked and very dry. Probably worth checking every hour. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Well, one way to look at it is that it's 30 minutes of work, just spread over two days!!

Just translated this into English for y'all

Darned right!!! As for the three customs, horse meat is delicious although not pc.. And apparently the average frenchman/woman showers twice per day.. Probably to wash away all that stinky perfume!!! And I promise you that the women over here *do* shave "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

OMG I have cipaille in the oven and homemade mincemeat I already prepared for the mince pies I will bake and I am SOOOOO looking forward to sharing this meal with my other expat friends!!!

That is the biggest load of bollocks... There are women who seek financial support from men, just as there are men who want to spend their money on their partner. Men are not stupid. Well, no more so than women, anyway!! Some men want the trophy wife and are all too happy to pay for an extravagant lifestyle-it's ridiculous to associate this with prostitution. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I sold that house and bought another house with non-peaceful jeffery. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It was NOT stupid. No one knew the market would crash, otherwise fewer people would have been affected by it. And if the relationship had worked out buying that house would have been the *right* decision. Things didn't turn out the way you planned but that doesn't mean you had a bad plan. ETA: Congrats to your daughter

Go outside and be with the 3-dimensional people. Did you not read this?? I didn't say I spent all my time on the internet - I said I spent the rest of my time on the internet/computer. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Ahhh, the internet... I had no internet at home for several months in 2008 and again more recently for a couple of months. Getting connected again feels like I've found a long-lost friend!! I think outside of socialising with "real people" and doing sports, I spend all my free time on the computer. Hard to imagine my life without it! Anyone else out there who couldn't live computer-less/internet-less for any long length of time?? "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Oops!! That makes sense now I think about it!! ETA: I *did* put "other," so I guess if more than one applies you can select that

I know the answers are somewhat limited, but there is the option to expand with "other"

THANK YOU. Well put. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

OMG!!! You have just reminded me of something!! I got woken up once because my then-boyfriend was kicking/punching me and screaming like hell... It took me a while to realise the high-pitched screams were my own and took him a while to realise that the bad guys who were chasing him (in his dream) did not catch up to him, but in fact my leg/arm must have just brushed up against him (in real life)!!!! Wonder what the neighbours though of our horror-movie-screaming at 4 AM!!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Well, men may (in your country and/or Sweden) get a slap on the wrist by the law, but to say (or imply) that the women bear no risks is silly.. Prostitutes may not get arrested, but they do get beaten, hurt, killed.. And in *most* countries, the law regularly reprimands prostitutes, but not the "consumers".. There is an awful lot of inequality/unfairness/hypocrisy around this subject, I think. Bottom line is, it takes 2 to tango.. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Heh heh!! I watched that movie again a couple of months ago and after having lived in London for a bit I thought it was about a million times funnier than when I had first seen it as a kid!! Thanks everyone for the congrats!! I am so, so, SOOOOO happy

I'm not for it or against it, and I'm certainly not arguing that all women who use sex as currency don't have any other options. But your comment speaks volumes.. First of all, men pay for it, so they can hardly put all the blame on women - there is supply *AND* demand and it's hypocritical to judge only the woman for an act that *both* genders participate in.. And second, you are simply jealous because there is only a very small market for giggolos!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

If I woman is using sex to get "stuff"... she is a whore. I am not down on whores. But if woman is giving it up to get "stuff", then she is prostituting herself. I dont see how they arent. I think you're missing the point.. If sex is the only currency a woman has, judging her for using it is a bit unfair.. Besides.. Why are we judging the women who accept payment and not the men who make the payment?? The act has two sides to it!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Oh yeah!!

Well, I hate the cold and December is usually cold!! So yeah.. I guess I hate the weather in December! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

EEek! Hope everything goes well - take it easy after the operation, mkay? "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Oh, I've been confirmed as boring for a LOOONG time - this just makes me officially an Accountant!!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Like I said, I don't object to your poll. Just that I do get a little tired of hearing people say men "pay for sex" through meals, gifts, et cetera. Just think it's silly, because women contribute a lot in relationships as well, even if not in the form of cash.. I think it's a short-sighted association between unrelated things. But an interesting poll / topic, anyway

Hope your travelling goes well - it's hellish in Europe at the moment and I'm actually happy to be staying put!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I am so smart, S-M-R-T!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss