Publisher's Synopsis
All religions have as a symbolic gesture the one of drinking and eating: libations, absorption of the flesh of sacrificed animals, communion under the species of bread and wine. Food is the basis of spiritual life. "And suddenly, like a new wife, a perfectly prepared turkey sits on the white bed of the table," noted Gabriel Vicaire, a French poet. The finger of the tongue waits for the ring of food to marry the whole soul to the glory of God. These few recipes, some of which are quite simple, others more elaborate, some of which require fewer ingredients than others, are almost all recipes developed in the many French monasteries, this "white coat of churches" as expressed lyrically a thousand years ago by Raoul Glaber, a monk from the Paris region. "Cousin of the fat men With which our country aboundsWe love you in the familyWe are not ungrateful! wrote Gabriel Vicaire again about a large poultry. What is important during a meal is the love of preparation and that the laughter of the guests make the crystal of souls ring out.
