Time to take your picks...
Last week I promised you a tour of our French holiday specials. Here it is, with a focus on our best sellers.
Let me start with our most popular chocolate specials: Suchard rochers, the irresistible chocolate-coated praliné bites; sarments du Médoc, the chocolate twigs from the Bordeaux region; Les Pyrénéens, the chocolates from southwestern France, to be savored very cool; Lanvin Escargots, a rich praliné heart in a thin chocolate shell; and, last but not least, dark and milk chocolate papillotes, the beloved traditional Christmas candies wrapped in fringed, shiny paper coming each with a little paper bearing a famous quotation, riddle, or cartoon.
Our other holiday best sellers include Rougié foie gras; marrons glacés (candied chestnuts) by Clément Faugier, Corsiglia, and more recently L'Artisan Provençal; Fortwenger Alsatian cakes and cookies; and L'Épicurien lovely gift sets of preserves and flower confits.
Needless to say, advent calendars are also in demand. We have unfortunately run out Bonne Maman's 2019 limited edition but Milka's (all chocolate) and François Doucet's (a refined confectionery assortment) are still in stock.
Now's a good time to avoid the rush!
Marianne – Owner & Gourmand-in-Chief 
This month's deals: 20% off Amora extra strong mustard, Savane marble cake, and Poulain Grand Arôme hot chocolate powder with coupon code NOV2019 (offer valid until November 30, 2019, or until supplies last)
Just in: more French favorites
Among the French favorites recently added to our shelves you will find Clément Faugier vacuum-packed peeled and steamed whole chesnuts, and culinary essences from Grasse in 4 new flavors: lemon, blueberry, raspberry, and wild strawberry.
If there is a French treat you would like to find on our website, please share your craving with us.
Suggestions for your French agenda
So many exciting French cultural events all around the USA this month and next. We hope you'll enjoy our picks!
Atlanta's Breman Museum presents Henri Dauman: Looking Up, an exhibition showcasing the work of the French photographer of some of the most important events and personalities of the 20th Century. Through December 30.
Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive presents Jacques Tati: Comedy as Choreography. Through November 30.
The Brooklyn Museum presents Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion through January 5, 2020 and JR: Chronicles, the first major U.S. exhibition of the works by the groundbreaking French multimedia artist, through May 3, 2020.
In Cambridge, MA the Harvard Film Archive presents Four Films by François Ozon. Through November 15.
The Denver Art Museum presents Claude Monet: The Truth of Nature. Through February 2, 2020.
The Fairfield Art University Museum (CT) presents two exhibitions revolving around France's greatest sculptor, Rodin: Truth, Form, Life and Prints from the Age of Rodin. Through December 31.
In Fort Worth, TX the Kimbell Art Museum presents Renoir, The Body, The Senses. Through January 26.
In Los Angeles the Getty Center presents Manet and Modern Beauty, through January 12, 2020, and Peasants in Pastel: Millet and the Pastel Revival, through May 10, 2020.
The 2019 edition of French Weeks Miami showcases a broad array of cultural and business events. November 14-21.
New York's FIAF (French Institute) presents its new film series Charlotte Forever: Gainsbourg on Film. November 5 through December 17.In New York the new Francophone film festival French Cinema Week NYC treats us to a line-up of recent features. November 12-14.
New York's Fashion Institute of Technology presents Paris, Capital of Fashion, an exhibition exploring the cultural construction of Paris as the capital of fashion. Through January 4, 2020.
In New York the Frick Collection presents Manet: Three Paintings from the Norton Simon Museum. Through January 5, 2020.
New York's Met Museum presents Félix Vallotton: Painter of Disquiet. Through January 26.
In Pasadena the Norton Simon Museum presents By Day & by Night: Paris in the Belle Époque. Through March 2, 2020.
Last but not least, French electro artist and DJ Gesaffelstein (who has worked with Lana del Rey and Kanye West among others) tours America with shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, Washington, DC, and Atlanta. November 7-27. Acclaimed French electronic duo Polo & Pan performs in Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, and Oakland. Through November 15.
Try our recipe for gratin dauphinois
Ingredients (serves 6)
1½ kg (3.3 lbs) potatoes
1 liter (1 quart) milk
1 clove of garlic
salt, pepper and nutmeg
30 cl (10 fl oz) heavy liquid cream
100 grams (7 Tbsp) butter
Preparation
Peel, wash and slice the potatoes thinly. (Don't wash after slicing to avoid losing the starch.)
Bring the milk to the boil with chopped garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the potatoes and cook on a medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the firmness of the potatoes.
Lay the potatoes in a buttered oven tray. Pour some of the milk on the potatoes and add the cream and small knobs of butter on top.
Bake at 180ºC (350ºF) for 50 minutes to 1 hour.