C is for Coffee, Croissants and Chocolate

French food alphabet advent calendar

Welcome to my French Food Alphabet Advent Calendar. Between now and Christmas Day I will be working my way through a selection of delicious food posts; some will be regional specialities, some are my personal favourite foods, some posts will include recipes, but all will be linked to French food and drink. I hope you enjoy your virtual tastings.

It’s the 3^rd December and C is for Coffee, Croissants and Chocolate

I may be bending the rules somewhat today, but as I enjoy all of these and feel eating them together only enhances them, I couldn’t possibly choose only one. A coffee and a square (or two) of dark chocolate is my daily treat and my Sunday wouldn’t be complete without a breakfast of croissant, coffee and dark chocolate.

Let me take you through a typical Sunday morning chez moi: I’m up and out early to ensure I’m one of the first through the door when our village boulangerie opens at 7.30am. Thankfully, we are only two houses away so my journey is short, peaceful and with the smell of the freshly baked bread in the air. A lazy lie-in can result in disappointment if I arrive and find they have sold out. With my croissants safely bought I can relax and enjoy a leisurely chat to the boulanger, his wife and usually our neighbour too, before wandering home to the sound of the eight o’clock Angelus ringing from the church and all is well in my world. I’m a firm believer of less is more, so although I would enjoy a croissant every morning I know I get far more pleasure from just the one a week I treat myself to.

A little tip when ordering your coffee in a café; if you don’t want an espresso you can order an alongé for half the price of a grand café. An alongé is a single shot of espresso coffee with added hot water; a grand café is a double shot of espresso and too strong for me.

If you have missed my previous advent posts you can catch up by clicking on the letters A and B. Don’t forget to pop back tomorrow for the letter D, it’s a savoury one and will include a recipe from one of my favourite French Chefs.