Noël off

On December 23rd, I thought I was just having friends over for a Sunday lunch -- a traditional French event that I rarely have time to host.

But thanks to up-and-coming chef, famous Aveyronnais, and all-round cutie Cyril Lignac,

I realized my company meal could be so much more. It could be a Noël off!

Now I know I have already gently castigated Cyril's magazine, cuisine by, for its oh-so-chic use of English to pepper up its articles:

"Then there is the rather liberal use of English in "cuisine by Cyril Lignac" -- I guess we could start with the magazine's title. I'm no staunch defender of "French-only" policies, but when Cyril's mag features "un people," Olivia Ruiz, I have to cringe. Also I have to admit that I didn't even know who ce? cette? people was until I read about the good fun the singer had making her favorite profiteroles with Cyril.

But I'll forgive him."

And I've fogiven him again for "Noël off," which really rings cutting-edge, and turned my pre-Christmas Sunday lunch into an elegant, almost Parisian happening -- at least in my mind.

The concept -- a pre-Christmas meal among friends before the family festivities begin -- does help to make the season bright, especially for those of us who live far away from home.

So, my Noël off was quite the success -- at least in my mind -- as was my Noël on, partly thanks to new recipes I tried out from both Elle à table and cuisine by Cyril Lignac. The latter doesn't seem to have its own Internet site yet, though. I guess Cyril can only be on so many media fronts at once: TV, magazines, Cuisine Quotidienne...