properfood.ie
Both my parents were from large families compared to today’s French standards and so it was rare we could manage to all be together, especially on my dad’s side. My mam’s family made the effort to assemble at least once a year at my granny’s in Créteil, a suburb of Paris, between Christmas and New Year.
There was my mam, her three sisters, her brother, my granny, the husbands and kids. It made for a lively gathering, with everyone kids and adults sitting together around the dinner table. It was loud, messy, and joyous. I had great fun with my cousins, playing “peel the cheese” removing the rind and trying to eat our cheese before our uncle would nick it from our plates in front of our disgusted eyes. I still get annoyed thinking about it.