La Cuisine Française

I'll agree, speaking only French five days straight may appear to be a daunting task, but certainly not when baguettes, fromage, croissants, quiche, crepes, feathered birds, talking pineapples, and  cannibalistic pirates are added into the mix. So just as this introductory sentence informed you, or perhaps did not, I spent the last week immersed in a French-only camp. I came in on the first day, Monday, a bit restless and expecting a camp where they sit us down and explain personal pronouns for a day. To my pleasant surprise (and mostly everyone else's terrifying horror), as I walked through the glass doors of the North Layton Junior High, the lady standing at the registration desk questioned

"Bonjour! Comment tu t'apelles?"

as she handed out the name tags.

Hmmm. Maybe it won't be that bad



I reassured myself. 
The second we walked in the classroom door, all of the students were signing "French-Only Contracts" which binded us to the French language for the next 5 days. We went through the days, yes, going over the most basic of things, but even the sarcastic side-comments of the teachers were in French. We ended up making the most delicious of foods, ranging from quiche to crepes to couscous.

Quiche from the Pierre Country Bakery.

Quick Quiche Recipe:
Pie Crust
1 cup of whipping cream
4 eggs
Grated Cheese (any cheese, as long as it's tasty when melted)
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Line the pie crust at the bottom of a pan. This recipe works for about a 9-inch pan. 
3. Whisk the whipping cream and eggs together until creamy.
4. Add a dash of salt and pepper. 
5. Sprinkle about a handful of cheese on top of the pie crust. Pour in all of the whipping cream mixture. Sprinkle another handful of cheese on top.
6. Put the quiche in the oven and bake until the top is golden brown. Personally, it took me about 20 minutes to get to that stage, but make sure to continually check on the quiche. 

Yet, I must confess, although all of the creations we created in the school's kitchen were absolutely delectable, nothing beat Friday morning's breakfast. Friday was the day we set off in a bus to Salt Lake City to enjoy a day immersed in French food and... exotic animal smells (at the Hogle Zoo). We began with breakfast at Bruges, a small Belgian Waffle shop in downtown Salt Lake. 

Bruges Waffles & Frites

The sweet smell of the sugar melting within the waffle dough as it was fried made my mouth water. 

Here's a fun fact: The waffles at Bruges are made completely differently than the classic American waffle. Here in the U.S., we are used to a liquid being poured into the waffle-maker and then fried. The waffles at Bruges are made from a dough, similar in consistency to cookie dough, with little balls of sugar within. So when the waffle is fried, the sugar melts inside and around the waffle, causing the smell to be oh so sweet and the taste to be oh so immaculate. 

The friday-morning sun beating down on the chalkboard menu. 

Savory  smells escaping the pick-up window.

Being it the first time I was at Bruges, I decided to stick to the basics. I got a vanilla waffle with creme fraiche as my topping. The waffle was surprisingly filling, but nevertheless divine. 

My waffle.

So overall, I had an extremely entertaining week, but what made it unforgettable were the French (and I guess Belgian) foods. Or in other words... la cuisine française.