“Allons, enfants de la Patrie” (Let’s go, children of the fatherland) was the battle cry in July, 1789 when the French stormed the Bastille, the hated prison fortress and symbol of their suppressive monarchy. That day, July 14th, is an important to today’s French as July 4th is to us, since, like our independence day, it was the beginning of the rule by the people.

Not that I need an excuse to cook up a French menu, but Bastille Day is a good a time as any.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any French recipes dating from the 18th Century, but I do have a cookbook first printed in 1861. The book’s forward claims the recipes are typically French, which is good enough for me! Since weights and measures are all presented in metric, I had to do a bit of math to convert them to our system.

So I made up a menu of some of the most interesting dishes for those of us who are of French descent and wish to keep in touch with their origins, and those of us who aren’t but nonetheless enjoy French-style cuisine.

M M M

Potage a l’Onion au Fromage

Canard au Petits Pois

Pommes de Terre a la Francaise

Tomatoes Farcies a la Provencal

Vacherin de Fraises

M M M

Potage a l’Onion

au Fromage

Onion Soup with Cheese

Serve with crispy French bread and butter

4 medium onions

4 tablespoons butter

2 slices bread, crumbed

2 1/2 cups milk

1 1/4 cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons grated Gruyere cheese

Peel and dice the onions. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onions, cover and simmer for 1 hour taking care not to brown the onions. Add the bread crumbs, milk and stock.

Continue to simmer for 45 minutes longer. Rub through a sieve.

Reheat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in the Gruyere a little at a time. Serves 4.

Canard au

Petits Pois

Duck with Spring Peas

Serve with chilled white wine

1 duck, 3 1/2 to 4 pounds

12 shallots or creamer onions (very small onions)

4 tablespoons butter

8 strips of bacon, coarsely chopped

2 cups chicken stock

2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen small peas

Bouquet garni, a bundle of seasoning herbs (see below)

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

1 small iceberg lettuce, shredded (optional)

Parboil together the bacon strips and onions until onions are just tender. Drain. In a large oven-proof saucepan heat the butter; add the onions and bacon and sauté until browned. Remove from saucepan.

Brown the duck in the same saucepan. Remove. Add one-third of the stock to the butter in the saucepan and boll down to half its original volume. Add the rest of the stock with the duck, bacon pieces, small onions, peas and bouquet garnish.

Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Cover and place in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour. Remove the duck and place on a serving platter. Surround with the peas.

Place lettuce, if used, in saucepan. Cook until lettuce is wilted. Place lettuce on the peas. Remove bouquet garnish from cooking liquid and pour over duck. Serves 6.

Bouquet Garni:

1 sprig fresh thyme

1 sprig fresh marjoram

1 small sage leaf

1 small bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh parsley

Tie the stems of all the herbs together with kitchen twine.

Pommes de Terre

a la Francaise

2 pounds potatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

4 ounces grated Gruyere cheese

1 clove garlic

1 cup chicken stock

3 tablespoons butter

Cut the potatoes into thin slices. Place in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and 3 ounces of cheese. Toss thoroughly.

Butter an ovenproof casserole and rub with the garlic clove. Place potatoes in dish and pour in stock to cover potatoes. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of cheese. Dot with butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes or until potatoes are browned. Serves 6.

Tomatoes Farcies

a la Provencal

4 medium tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons butter

4 ounces white bread crumbs (crumbs from 4 slices bread)

Chopped fresh parsley

Cut tomatoes in half. Scoop out seeds. Place halves in a baking pan. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 3 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan; add the finely chopped onions and the minced garlic and sauté, stirring constantly, until onions are golden but not browned. Add the butter and when melted add the breadcrumbs, chopped parsley; season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and then fill tomato halves.

Place dish of tomatoes in a 350 degree oven and bake until a crust forms. Serves 4.

Vacherin de Fraises

Foam Tart with Strawberries

3 egg whites

Dash salt

1/2 teaspoon vinegar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

Add salt, vinegar and vanilla to egg whites. Beat until mixture forms peaks. Gradually add sugar; beat until very stiff.

Line a baking sheet with butcher paper or other grease-proof paper. With a metal spoon, spoon the egg white mixture into six mounds. With the back of the spoon, make a depression in the center of each, forming a cup.

Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Turn off oven and leave the shells in the oven until cool. Peel tarts from paper.

Fill each with Sugared Strawberries (below). Top with whipped cream. Makes 6 tarts.

Sugared Strawberries:

1 quart (2 pint baskets) fresh whole strawberries

1/2 cup sugar or to taste

Wash, hull, and slice strawberries. Leave some whole for garnish, if desired. Sprinkle sliced berries with sugar. Toss gently. Will fill 6 tarts.