Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2025 i My French Country Home

Dear Readers, As Christmas time approaches, France always seems to sparkle a little brighter. Twinkling lights, festive shop windows and the scent of mulled wine announce that the holidays have arrived, inviting us to pause and indulge in the small pleasures of the season. In this issue, we are excited to share and savor these unforgettable moments and places with you. We recently visited Montagnerot, a 15th century château in Burgundy that one family has remade as a chic country retreat that honors their storied heritage. Just a short drive away, a couple shares how they transformed two abandoned village houses into a cherished space for family and friends, while an American fashion designer recounts how she and her partner patiently renovated a 500-year-old property in Uzès. Paris also takes…

Creamy Chestnut Soup with Foie Gras Serves: 4 Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 15 min Ingredients: • 5 to 5 ½ cups (around 750 g) of cooked chestnuts (jarred or vacuum-packed) • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped • 1 glass of water • 1 ¼ cup (300 ml) whole milk • 3.5 oz (100 g) foie gras, diced • 2 tbsp olive oil • Fresh parsley • Salt and pepper Preparation: In a soup pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the chopped onion for 3 min, without browning. Add the chestnuts, season with salt and pepper, then pour in the milk and water. Simmer for 10 to 15 min. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Add the diced foie gras and blend again until creamy. Adjust…

HER HIM KIDS HOME PETS…

Long-term planning has never been my forté — except when it comes to one thing: holiday gift shopping for my nearest and dearest. It’s a process. Typically I begin perusing the official French soldes (sales) for cashmere sweaters and accessories in January, then, in the last week of June I take a quick look at the summer mark-down offerings, and finally, throughout the year I return to my favorite resources where I always discover something irresistible (keep reading, you’ll see). As you know, I rarely give gifts that are not French-made. When I find exceptions to my rule, they are only with items that are French-adjacent. The criteria are simple: an item must be part of the current zeitgeist, a new find from one of my girlfriends (tested and approved),…

Tish Jett is an author, journalist and former editor at the International Herald Tribune and American ELLE. She wrote the profile of Julia Child and also pens our regular “Just Between Us” column. @tishjett Olivier Jully is a Paris-based travel photographer. His stunning images feature in our guide to the iconic district of Montmartre. @olivierjully Eric Sander is a French photographer who shoots some of the country’s best-loved properties and gardens. In this issue, he captured the images of the Jardins de Marqueyssac in the Dordogne. www.ericsander.com  @ericsanderphoto We are delighted to have the following talented writers and photographers contribute to this issue. Franck Schmitt is an author, photographer, chef and journalist. He created and photographed our Christmas dinner recipes, as well as the feature on cooking with chestnuts. Franck…

To achieve this look, layer two tablecloths of different sizes in contrasting colors. Offset the embroidery or detail on the top cloth with a trailing vine — clematis or ivy — and a sprinkling of red berries (real or artificial). Single strands of greenery can run across the table, with clusters of leaves punctuating the white background. Less is more, and it’s important to leave space for dishes and glasses. A tiered centerpiece can be created using three compotiers (pedestal dishes), filled with green grapes, berry branches and vines. Decoration need not be complicated — nature provides the most beautiful details. White plates are set with silver cutlery and two glasses, one for water and one for wine. Folded napkins are topped with a simple green leaf for an understated…

“Any city looks completely different when it snows, but in Paris it’s even more magical because it’s so rare,” says Logan Louboutin, a Parisian street photographer who has captured this enchanting phenomenon just a handful of times over the last four years. “I was born in Paris and have always lived nearby, but I’ve had very few opportunities to see the city under the snow,” he admits. In many ways, life really does stop when the flakes begin to fall: Trains stall, flights are grounded and some businesses even shutter until the storm passes. For photographers like Logan, however, this is the moment they’ve been waiting for. On the rare occasions when snow is forecast, he sets an early alarm to photograph the pristine white landscape before the streets awaken.…

It was this 716-page tome that launched the remarkable career of 49-year-old Julia Carolyn McWilliams Child. Her transformation was prodigious: A California girl from a conservative, upper-middle-class family, with dreams of becoming a novelist, joined the Office of Strategic Services in 1942, and, two years later, met fellow OSS officer Paul Cushing Child — the encounter that would change her life. They married in 1946 and, two years later, sailed for France, where Paul had accepted a post with the United States Information Agency. Julia had never been to Europe and considered their move a stroke of “sheer luck,” she recalls. Despite her good fortune, Julia had a problem: She was bored. In earnest, she began intensive French classes and spent hours exploring the city. Instantly, she was drawn to…

Founded in 1893, Maison Lapparra is one of Paris’s oldest silversmithing houses, known for its classical and Rococo-inspired designs. Once at the heart of the city’s thriving orfèverie (goldsmithing) district on the rue du Temple in the 3rd arrondissement, Lapparra stood for generations as a bastion of French craftsmanship, producing silverware, champagne buckets, trays and other precious-metal objects. As tastes and lifestyles shifted, demand for fine silver began to fade, and by the late 20th century, many storied ateliers had closed. By 2014, Lapparra was the last surviving workshop of this golden age. Its 450-square-meter (4,800-square-foot) glass-roofed premises — adorned with Lalique mirrors and pulley-driven dumbwaiters — was a setting worthy of an opera stage. But the brand itself had fallen on hard times. “The space was magical,” recalls Odile…

We’re delighted to bring a taste of that magic to the magazine with a holiday menu crafted by our dear friend, Franck Schmitt. Whether you choose to try out one recipe or prepare the full menu, let this be your passport to an authentically French Christmas feast. Smoked Salmon and Avocado Rolls Serves 4 Prep time: 20 min, plus 1 hour chilling Ingredients • 4 large slices of smoked salmon • 1 tub of cream cheese such as Saint Moret (typically 5 oz, or 150 g) • 1 ripe avocado • 1 bunch of fresh chives Preparation Finely chop the chives. Cut the avocado in half and then again into tiny cubes. Prepare two large sheets of plastic wrap, laying them flat on top of a clean work surface. Lay…

Marie and Mikael, both natives of La Puisaye east of Orléans, discovered the houses in the storybook village of Villiers-Saint-Benoît in 2020. They stood side-by-side, across from a fortified castle and the church of Saint-Benoît. Their noble façades — weathered by time yet brimming with promise — echoed village life and the couple’s love for this corner of France, where rolling fields meet deep forests. “We were looking for something small for the two of us and, by chance, we discovered these two old properties,” Marie recalls. “They were way too big for us, but we couldn’t abandon them. We put all our heart into breathing new life into them so they could be filled with joyful moments with family and friends.” With parts dating as far back as the…

Paris Every Day By Rebecca Plotnick | 83 Press Rebecca Plotnick, the author behind the blog Everyday Parisian, invites readers to experience the City of Light like a local. Through stunning photography and thoughtful tips, she shares favorite spots, seasonal advice and French lifestyle insights. A charming companion for travelers and dreamers seeking to savor Paris beyond the postcard. Paris Noir: The Secret History of a City By Jacques Yonnet, translated by Christine Donougher | Dedalus Limited Originally published in 1954 as Rue des Maléfices, this French cult classic is now translated into English for the first time. Yonnet, a French Resistance hero, blends fact and folklore in a gripping memoir that reveals Nazi-occupied Paris’s hidden life through tales of defiance, betrayal and mystery. Roaring: Art, Fashion and the Automobile…

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