NEXT MEETING

NEXT MEETING
No meeting until September


dimanche 21 décembre 2014

Francine and Michel's Home, december 18th

Francine and Michel's Home, december 18th


Nice holidays Michel


The Twelve Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas, 

my true love sent to me 

A partridge in a pear tree.


On the second day of Christmas, 

my true love sent to me 

Two turtle doves, 

And a partridge in a pear tree.


On the third day of Christmas, 

my true love sent to me 

Three French hens, 

Two turtle doves, 

and a partridge in a pear tree.



On the fourth day of Christmas, 

my true love sent to me 

Four calling birds, 

Three French hens, 

Two turtle doves, 

And a partridge in a pear tree. 

On the fifth day…

five gold rings

On the sixth day…

six geese a-laying


On the seventh day…

seven swans a-swimming



On the eighth day…

eight maids a-milking


On the ninth day…

nine drummers drumming


On the tenth day…

ten pipers piping


On the eleventh day

eleven ladies dancing


On the twelfth day

twelve lords a-leaping




Share our Christmas menus ....

For the different cooks here are many courses : 

Main course
goose foie gras (nb : liver or Med: hepar adiposum)
smoked salmon saumon fumé
scallop coquilles st Jack, coquilles St Jacques gratinées
seashells  fruits de mer
roasted chicken or beef poulet ou boeuf roti
fishes poissons
goose oie
white sausage boudin blanc

Vegetables (you'll see what you you find ! )
mushrooms champignons
zucchini squash courgette

Dessert
chestnut cake roll gateau roulé aux marrons
ice cream log buche glacée
nougat cake

Phonétique

"about the difficulties of pronunciation", thanks Ruth for the recording !


http://cinco.ly/!AMwCBsi7POpL
(poussez le son à fond SVP)

BRUSH UP YOUR ENGLISH
(Hints on pronunciation)


I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough.
Others may stumble, though not you,
On hiccough, thorough, trough and through...
Well done!  And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of  less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead  : it's said like bed, not bead --
For goodness' sake, don't call it "deed"!
Watch out for meat and great and threat --
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear.
And then there's dose and rose and lose,
(Just look them up) and goose and choose,
And cork and work, and card and ward,
And font and front, and word and sword,
And do and go, and thwart and cart...
Come, come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language ?  Man alive,
I'd mastered it when I was five!

Tea Time   Cheers !

Awesome ginger bread with champagne !  Thanks Michel and Francine






Singing Christmas Carols


Silent Night
Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon Virgin Mother and Child

Holy Infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace


Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
Hark! The herald angels sing,

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"


O Come All Ye Faithful

O Come All Ye Faithful

Joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him,

Born the King of Angels;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.


Joy to the World
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.



Deck the Halls
Deck the halls with boughs of holly, 

Fa la la la la, la la la la. 

Tis the season to be jolly, 

Fa la la la la, la la la la. 



Don we now our gay apparel, 

Fa la la, la la la, la la la. 

Troll the ancient Yule tide carol, 
Fa la la la la, la la la la. 



Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!




Best wishes everyone



vendredi 12 décembre 2014

At the restaurant

THANKSGIVING DINNER MENU

At Roseline, décembre the 14th

About the restaurant ...















First Course (select one)‎
Roasted Sierra Beauty Apple Butternut Squash
Maple Creme Fraiche, Spiced Pecans
Buttermilk Fried Quail Salad
Poached Quail Egg, Wild Mushrooms, Bacon-Creole Mustard Vinaigrette
Entree Course (select one)‎
Oven Roasted Willie Bird Turkey with Giblet Gravy,
Mashed Potatoes, Sage Cornbread Stuffing, Port-Cranberry Relish
Maple Syrup Slow Braised Beef Short Rib
with Chive Mashed Potatoes, Buttermilk Fried Onions
Crispy Skin Coho Salmon with
Lobster-Salted Fingerling Potato Hash, Tarragon Oil, Lemon Confit
Sides- $7 additional‎
White Truffle Macaroni and Cheese
Smoked Gouda, White Cheddar, Bleu Cheese
Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts 
Caramelized Onions
Dessert (select one)‎
Apple Cobbler
Vanilla‎ Bean Ice Cream
Thanksgiving Sampler Platter
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
Cranberry-Pomegranate Sauce







RIVER COTTAGE
STARTERS
Tomato Soup
(A delicate creamy soup)
Smoked Cod
(Slices of cod served with brown bread and butter)
Calamari
(Pan Fried or Grilled Calamari)
MAIN DISHES
Scallopine Di Vittelo La Caverna
(Veal with fresh mushrooms and roasted peppers with a touch of cream)
Roasted Atlantic Salmon
(Pan roasted salmon with artichoke hearts, asparagus and plum tomatoes in a wine sauce)
Chicken Grana
(Dipped in parmigiano, sautéed in lemon and wine sauce)
DESSERTS
Chocolate Mousse Cake, Carrot Cake
Ricotta Cheese Cake
Tiramisu
DRINKS
Wide selection of teas and ground coffees,
Freshly-squeezed orange juice,
Variety of beers
WINE LIST
Variety of red and white wines





Booking a Table
  • I'd like to reserve / book a table for a party of six at 8pm, please.
  • Could we have a table by the window, please?
  • Could we have a non-smoking table, please?
  • Could we have a table away from the kitchen/toilets, please?
  • Could we have a booth, please?
  • Could you make sure it's a quiet table, please?

Arriving at the Restaurant
  • Good evening, the name is Hand. I have a table booked for six.
  • Do you have the menu in English/German/French ..., please?
  • Do you have a high chair for young children, please?
  • Could we have a table over there, please?
  • I'm sorry but I asked for a table by the window.
  • Could we have an extra chair, please?


Placing Your Order
  • I'd like the .............., please.
  • For starters I'll have the soup and for the main course I'd like the roast beef.
  • Could I have chips instead of new potatoes, please?
  • What is the house special today?
  • Is there anything you would recommend?
  • Could I see the wine menu, please?
  • I'll have a bottle of the South African Cabernet Sauvignon.
  • I'll have a glass of house red/white, please.
  • Which wine would you recommend?
Complaining
  • Excuse me, but my meal is cold.
  • Excuse me, we've been waiting for over half an hour for our drinks.
  • I'm sorry but I ordered the side salad not the vegetables.
  • Excuse me this steak is over-done, I ordered rare.
  • I'm afraid this wine tastes corked.
  • Excuse me this wine isn't chilled properly.
Congratulations to our waitress of this evening, Ruth





According to the degree of cooking of the beef :

very rare  saignant (only for french people)
rare   bleu
well done bien cuit
over done (only for english people)

a few words :

chilled     rafraichi   but ... chilled to the bone  transi de froid
booth       table avec canapé
overbooked trop d'invitations
extra chair supplémentaire
side dish  accompagnement

Tea time 

 fruit juice and thin waffle made with a waffle iron ( but to waffle : parler pour ne rien dire) !for example : my wife often tells me I waffle ...

to finish with that, down the hatch and we're gone ( cul sec ....)

samedi 1 novembre 2014

Chez Danielle et Maurice

Chez Danielle et Maurice, october 30th

Congratulations to Francine who is coming in despite her foot operation.
Everyone is there except Laurence too far away.
Vivien, grandson of Marcelle is the guest




                                                                                      Receiver
Landphoner


The topic this evening is a very difficult exercise, about Telephoning !


First, Ruth tell us un incredible story of tel-internet breakdown at home ...

Second, conversations between two persons :
- a friendly call from Marcelle to Francine for have a chat ... giggles (fou rire)
- a call from Roseline to Maurice for booking a few rooms the next weekend, for their couple and five grand children ...
- Vivien (his father in fact) would send his teen-aged child in Australia and want to contact the host family ...What else can I do for your breakfast ? 
- Michel cannot lend his who is broken-down and too much dirty....

Telephone terms (US/GB)

  • answer                           to say "hello" into the phone when it rings
  • answering machine      something that you can record as a message on if the person you                                             are calling isn't home
  • busy signal                    a beeping sound that tells the caller that the other person is                                                    already on the phone with someone else 
  • call                                 a telephone conversation; to telephone
  • call back/phone back   to call someone who call you first
  • call display                    a screen that shoes you who is calling
  • cell/mobile phone         a telephone that you can take with you away from your house
  • cordless phone             a phone that is not attached to the wall, for short distances at home
  • dial                                to press the buttons
  • dial tone                        the sound the phone makes when you pick it up
  • phone book/directory  a book that alphabetically lists local phone numbers of people and                                         business 
  • hang up/ring off           to put the receiver down and end a call 
  • phone box/ ...              box pay phone: a place where you can pay to use the phone in publi
  • receiver/handset         the piece on the phone that you speak into and listen from
  • switchboard                a central system used to connect telephone calls (hotel, building ..)



Useful expressions  in a telephone conversation

  • introducing yourself          Hello, this is name  Hello, name here  Hello, it's name calling
  • asking to speak to sbd       Is name their, please ?   May I speak to name, please ?
  • connecting someone          Just a minute, I'll get him / Please hold the line / One moment...
  •  making special requests  Could you please repeat that ? Would you mind spelling that ...
  •                                             Could/can you speak up a little/a little slower please ?
  •                                             Can you call me / ring me back ?
  •                                             I think we have a bad connection
  • taking a message for..  I'm sorry, name is not here at this moment Can I ask who's calling 
  •                                        Would you like to leave a message ?
  •                                        S/He's busy right now. Can you call again later?
  • leaving a message with ... Yes can you tell him/her name called, please
  •                                             Could you ask him/her to call name when he gets in?
  •                                             My number is xxxxxxx.
  • finishing a conversation   Thank you for calling/ringing
  •                                             I'm afraid I have to let you go now
  •                                             I'll talk to you again soon. Bye.
  •                                             Give me a ring when you have time
Various ...
  • May I borrow your phone ? Can I use your phone, please?
  • The phone is ringing. Could you pick it up please ?
  • The line is busy.
  • I'm afraid you've got a wrong number









Thanks Danielle and Maurice.
The cakes and the white wine was excellent !