Julie had her heart set on cooking a goose, which seems to be a not uncommon part of French Christmas fare. It didn't take long to find a good specimen, along with a very friendly and helpful butcher.
They offered to dress and stuff it for us while we waited (a friendly Frenchman waiting at the stall said we definitely should have it stuffed). This involved about 10 minutes work, including cutting off the head and neck, which we declined to keep, trimming some of the fat (which they said we should take to cook potatoes in), burning off any remaining feather stubs...
...and adding the stuffing and trussing it all up with needle and string. The fat and liver were presented and delivered in a separate package.
All that bird and entertainment for a mere $120!! Having got into the swing of things it was off for the other courses. Oysters are also traditional fare at this time of year and we had a choice of 7 different varieties?? We went with the same ones as a French lady customer just before us.
Not enough yet, it was then escargots, blinies with a rather exotic fish and cheese pate, and berries.
After all that decision-making it was time for a coffee, and we found a nearby cafe with outside tables in the sun. The coffee of choice is a noisette, quite like a piccolo. We are too cheap to get cappuccinos at about $7 each.
In the afternoon we went for a stroll, heading to Trocadero for an Eiffel Tower fix.
We also noted that people had added some quite nice stock to the Christmas tree recycling and it didn't take us long to work out how to retrieve one, lifting it from the outside hand over hand one wire mesh at a time. We even managed to get a log stand out.
Very happy scroungers - whoops recyclers.
In the evening it was off to one of our favourite restaurants Les Papilles for another excellent 4 course meal.
Impressive menu. Loved the process of buying the goose. tres authentique. Looking forward to hearing how it all goes.
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