Category Archives: Drinks

Confiture de figues

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Meg

I first discovered fig jam many summers ago when I spent a few weeks at a country house in the Cévennes region of southern France. The place was idyllic, lush with fruit both cultivated and wild. We picked the figs … Continue reading →

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Confiture de groseilles

Posted on July 1, 2022 by Meg

When summer strikes, it’s time to head to the market for red currants — or, if you’re lucky enough to have them in your garden, to go on a picking spree. These jewel-like berries make a fabulous jam that is … Continue reading →

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Ratafia

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Meg

I discovered the apéritif known as ratafia one summer when the former owners of my cottage in Burgundy paid me a visit. As they admired the changes I’d made inside, I asked them how they had used the grapes growing … Continue reading →

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Ti punch, acras de morue

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Meg

Strong drink may be needed to get through the next couple of weeks, so here’s a rum cocktail from the French Antilles and crispy cod fritters to go with it. The cocktail, ti punch, is based on rhum agricole, a … Continue reading →

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Soupe angevine

Posted on November 22, 2019 by Meg

With Thanksgiving and the holiday season around the corner, here’s a crisp, citrus-flavored apéritif from the Loire Valley to add sparkle to the festivities. Soupe angevine, literally soup from the Anjou region, combines sparking white wine with lemon juice, sugar … Continue reading →

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Vin chaud épicé

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Meg

Hot spiced wine is a traditional French party drink around this time of year, when short days and long nights inspire those of us in northern realms to light up our homes and invite some friends to brighten the gathering … Continue reading →

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Kir

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Meg

Why should the word kir be associated in my mind with the word decadence? The cocktail originally known as a blanc-cassis has nothing particularly decadent about it. It’s the most natural of apéritifs, made of dry white wine — Burgundy … Continue reading →

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