I know, I know - I didn't do a July 4th posting, but I'm blogging about a Bastille Day Party?! I promise we celebrated the 4th, but it was just in the middle of our whirl-wind summer and it didn't get documented:(
Anyway, everyone, their mother and their brother throw a 4th of july party, but who throws a Bastille Day party? Chopper, my 1/2 French Poodle + 1/2 Golden Retriever, that's who. And for those of you doing the math, yes that equals 1 Goodle. At the Haley house, we embrace our multi-ethnic roots (Scottish, Irish, French, Mexican) if for no reason other than a good excuse for more parties and holidays. We've had Cinco de Mayo and St. Patty's Day parties. Chopper has been with us for a couple years and we've yet to celebrate his French heritage. I still haven't decided if our party will be more than a couple of friends, but I'll let you know and in the meantime, here are my thoughts and finds on the idea.
To start with Bastille Day is July 14th and celebrates the liberation of the French people from the monarchy. Here's a little Bastille Day trivia to entertain your guests. It turns out that when the peasants rose up against their elite oppressors one of their campaigns was to break the political prisoners out of the infamous Bastille. They did and the scene became the symbol of the entire movement. Unfortunately it wasn't quite the scene the liberators anticipated when they got into the cells...less than a dozen prisoners were there - a couple of whom were insane. Mere details....
So here we go...
Invitations:
My first find was a set of fill-in-the-blank invitations with a french poodle. I picked these up months ago at my local TJ Maxx. Here are some more I've found online:
PrettyGirlPostcards shop on Etsy.com has several cards like this that would really set your theme - and the more you order the more freebies you get!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/prettygirlpostcards?ref=pr_shop
And if you needed an online version:
http://new.evite.com/#create:template=bonappetit&eventType=dinner_party&featured=no&page=1&position=8
Food:
French food and wine might be the best part of this party! Obviously for appetizers you're going to have to have some stinky cheese and crusty bread so let's start there.
I've been wanting to try french bread so this is my opportunity. I like this video so I'll give it a try later and let you know how it worked!
http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=JTY4WJRSzY8
There's a lot of stinky cheese out there to choose from so here's a quick guide that will help you select a cheese and then impress your guest with your knowledge of the French cheese "families!"
http://about-france.com/cheese.htm
Nothing is more decadently French than a box full of beautiful rainbow-colored macaroons! More likely than not I will be ordering these for my party, but I've always wanted to be able to whip out these delicacies so I've included a recipe I've been eyeing along with some resources for ordering them pre-made:
Being an Atlanta girl, I know that anything from the famous Alon's will be perfection so I'll be picking a box up on Wednesday when I visit my father. It's been a favorite of locals since they opened their doors in 1992 with their made from scratch bakery items.
To order from Alon's: http://www.alons.geomerx.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=
For internet orders try etsy.com.
Now if I'm going to attempt to make them at some point then I think Martha knows best so I'll start with this recipe:
http://www.marthastewart.com/355759/french-almond-macaroons
A wonderful go-to dish for me is a basic quiche and this is perfect for our theme. If I end up with just another couple for dinner then 1 large quiche will work, but if I had several quests for cocktails then I'm getting a bunch of those little quiche shells from my freezer section in the grocery store and making a couple different mixes.
Whatever size or fillings you decide, here is the base you use:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups half & half, heavy cream or whole milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
dash of nutmeg
2 1/2 cups of filling
Prick your chilled crust all over. Bake per recipe instructions and let cool. Reduce oven to 375. Cook meat and blanch/sauté/steam vegetables. Layer ingredients: meat on bottom of crust then vegetables topped with cheeses. Whisk together eggs, milk and seasonings. Pour over crust with filling and bake for approximately 45 minutes until set. The quiche will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven. Look for a bit of a jiggle in the middle, but not on the edges. It will puff up and turn golden. Let cool 10 minutes and serve.
Lastly I think I'm going to break in my new madeleine silicone form! Now I chose silicone for these delicate/ cookies so I could pop them out easily, but there are some really beautiful madeleine forms in a variety of styles and materials out there. I still haven't decide what flavor to try yet, but I will probably try at least these basic ones:
http://www.marthastewart.com/356451/madeleines
DECOR!!!
One of my favorite parts of a party:) Luckily France's colors are red, white and blue so we can recycle some 4th of July decorations or at least pick it up on clearance since it's just 10 days after. Just keep in mind that star motifs make it Americana - you want just red, white & blue. Bunting of any kind would look great - I might whip up this style since it's a no-sew project:
http://www.pepperdesignblog.com/?p=10041
For French specific decor, I love this decal and would keep it up in my kitchen year round! It's so cute:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/77008219/bon-appetit-french-vinyl-lettering-wall?ref=sr_list_2&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=french+wall+decal&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade
Play with the theme by finding pieces you would keep in your decor like a like a throw pillow with french script on it or retro french advertisement.
Lastly all you need is a soundtrack. If you're the type to have movies going in the background then you can't go wrong with Kirsten Dunst's Marie Antoinette or the incomparable Glen Close in Dangerous Liaisons and of course netflix has a supply of Bridget Bardot or French Noir films!
Personally I prefer music so I'm grooming a Pandora station. For your own, use these seeds: Coralie Clement, Charles Trenet, Carla Bruni and Edit Piaf.
I will be sure to post pictures from whatever I end up doing and let me know what you think!
