Tea at Trianon: 7 French Recipes to Bring to Your Thanksgiving Table

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, November 15, 2026

7 French Recipes to Bring to Your Thanksgiving Table

From Léonce:

Now, I should probably admit that I’ve only celebrated Thanksgiving once, here in Amsterdam. I was invited to dinner and brought a homemade pain d’épices, which seemed like a perfectly reasonable French contribution. Whether the evening followed every American tradition, I couldn’t say, but I remember enjoying it very much. So I’m hardly an authority on Thanksgiving, and I certainly wouldn’t dream of interfering with anyone’s treasured family recipes. We French have our own rather firm opinions about what belongs on the Christmas table, so I understand the sentiment.

Still, if there’s room for something a little different alongside the turkey and the pumpkin pie, I’ve gathered seven ideas, from Comté gougères and chestnuts gently cooked in butter to a stuffing inspired by something rather unexpected: the garlic and parsley butter we serve with escargots. Some are traditional French recipes you can easily bring along as a guest, while others are adaptations I’ve imagined for the occasion. You certainly don’t need to make all seven. From what I understand, there is already quite an impressive amount of food involved in Thanksgiving. But perhaps one or two will tempt you. (Read more.)