In France, when you have someone over for dinner. It's a four course meal.
You start with your appetizers. Something simple like olives or beans mixed with a good olive oil/fresh herbs with baguette, or a simple dip with crackers. No need to break the bank or spend more than 5 minutes on it.
Then, you have your main course. It usually has a protein (meat/fish), starch and an optional vegetables.
Optional - 5th course would be a salad between the main meal and cheese plate. But if we're talking about 4 course meal, this would be skipped.
After the main meal, it's cheese time. Of course...mostly raw milk cheeses from Androuet. OF COURSE. :)
Then, dessert. Sometimes I make a cake, but more often, the boulangerie puts my guests' minds at ease by keeping me out of baking. It's not my forte. I like to think it's because I don't own a kitchen timer, but I think I am just bad at it.
I like this. I like the 3 hour meal. I like the bounty of food. I like that dinner is not over in 30 minutes.
That's it. Just missing this. And a good olive oil. Anyone know of a good olive oil here in the states?!?! I have a bottle of Maille olive oil coming from France. But in the mean time (and for after)...I would like to have a good olive oil.
Also...
Any opinions on buying a new construction house vs. a resale house? Just need a general discussion.
We are weighing options!! It is horrible to be so grown up.
Love,
P
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We did new construction in Houston - Pros: home warranty, quick move in, no unknown previous issues like water damage etc, no previous ugly decorating to overcome plus it smells new! Cons: less negotiation with the builder on price - things may need to be tweaked once you move in since things haven't been tried out like doors etc
Thought of you yesterday. A Concert at St Julien featuring a tenor, last name Nguyen. Ahh. I will eat plenty of four course meals for you.
Go with "used". Window coverings are expensive.
We always buy used and pretty old...well worn in but not too worn. We're not into fixer-upers, necessarily. I've heard lots of new construction stories about problems when you move in. The home warranty makes it sound do-able, though. In some states the window coverings do come with the house, but not in all. It is a nice plus if you like them, though. We had fabulous window coverings at one of our houses. Good luck!
For olive oil: we would buy our olive oil at a Middle Eastern grocery store. The oil would actually taste like something. And be green, not pale yellow. So that's my recommendation! No advice on the house issue....
I vote for old construction, and you can remodel it when able. New houses just don't seem to have quality stuff unless you can afford a custom home builder. But it would be nice to know there's no prior damage undisclosed by a previous owner.
For olive oil I buy mine at (you'll never guess) Costco. But my sis bought me a bottle of Frantoia. It's green, cloudy, and probably cost a fortune. I'm gonna try it tonight.
It is a custom builder in the area. He's known for 1) quality and 2)million dollar homes.
But since the million dollar homes market is pretty much dead, he wandered into a different price range!
Phuong
New construction. all the way. :)
http://www.oliviersandco.com/FO/
Check out the website when you have a few minutes. They usually have stores in the nicer malls, and in the really nice ones, they even carry a create your own oil section.
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