Instructions: Gather family and friends for a leisurely Provencal-style midday meal.

Georgeanne Brennan, Special to The Chronicle, September 5, 2001

I never understood the rationale of a midday Sunday dinner, nor did my father or my brother. On the other hand, my mother had grown up in Fort Worth, with Southern tradition, and she believed in the importance of being reasonably dressed up and sitting down at noon to eat a hot meal of pot roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, condiments and a nice piece of pie or cake.

We thought this was silly. My father was a surfer and we lived just four blocks from the beach in Southern California. We thought he had the right idea when he said, "Look. Its a beautiful, sunny day and the surfs up. Cant we just have a sandwich or something? Take it to the beach with us?"

It wasnt until I lived in Provence that I discovered another version of midday Sunday dinner, and this one I immediately understood. It is one of the best reasons to be in France. On Sundays, family and friends gather at home or a restaurant for a leisurely meal and lots of conversation. The meal is preceded by aperitifs - a glass of pastis, Lillet, Port, vin dorange or sweet vermouth for the adults; lemonade, flavored sodas or fruit juice for the children. For a half-hour everyone chats and sips and nibbles on nuts, olives, a little pate and crackers, then moves to the dinner table.

Whenever possible, the table is set outside, where everyone can benefit from the balmy Mediterranean climate. If the day is hot, the table is moved beneath a sheltering arbor, mulberry tree, umbrella or an awning; if its cool,

we sit in a sunny spot. The scent of herbs and flowers drifts through on even the lightest breeze, and it is a pleasure to watch the light and shadows change as the meal progresses. Even my father would have delayed surfing for this version of Sunday dinner.

Provencal meals are always based on what is in season and on special local products.

In late summer and early fall, proud cooks offer wild mushrooms theyve gathered themselves, several varieties of goat cheeses from neighboring villages and farms, local wines, and - either from their gardens or from a favorite vendor at the open markets - melons, tomatoes, sweet peppers, and greens. Of course, much of the cooking is done with local olive oil and the Provencal pantry provides locally-cured olives, fresh harvest walnuts and almonds, and anchovies.

Our climate and our food options are so like those of Provence that it is easy to replicate the Provencal style. It seems so logical to feast on what is local and in season - as in the three menus Ive created for todays special Fall Entertaining issue.

After all, part of the problem with my mothers Southern roast and potatoes Sunday dinners was that the food didnt translate to sunny Southern California.

I think her Sunday midday dinners might have had more success with her recalcitrant family if she had served up chowder made from the abalones we pried off Bird Rock at low tide, corn and tomatoes from the old fruit stand on Highway 1, and berry pies made from the wild blackberries we gathered clambering around the canyons. I know I would have liked it better, especially if we could have eaten it outside on our big picnic table, listening to the surf in the distance and the birds chattering in the neighborhood palm trees. .

Georgeanne Brennan is a food and garden writer who divides her time between Yolo County and her cooking school in Provence. She is the author of

"Savoring France" and "The Food and Flavors of Haute Provence," at food@sfchronicle. com.

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