Vive La France !!

In honor of Bastille Day the French equivalent of our 4th of July, I wanted to gather some of my French recipes onto one page for your viewing pleasure.

I first had this French lentil salad at a Paris restaurant last spring. It would make a great addition to any summer meal.

French onion soup is truly a classic. It can take all day or just an hour, the secret is in the slow caramelization of the onions.

Here's another soup that in the south of France is always on the menu, the rich seafood soup: Bouillabaisse.

Another French soup : Potage St Germain, here what Wiki says about it:  Eating fresh "garden" peas before they were matured was a luxurious innovation of the Early Modern period^,by contrast with the coarse, traditional peasant fare of pease pottage, Potage Saint-Germain, made of fresh peas and other fresh greens braised in light stock and pureed, was an innovation sufficiently refined that it could be served to Louis XIV of France, for whose court at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye it was named, ca 1660-80.

Crepes are an iconic French street food, eaten sweet or savory. Here's my recipe for those made with buckwheat flour.

I love to say "clafouti" it's just such a fun word, besides being a tasty French dessert. I made it with peaches in this recipe, feel free to use nectarines, plums, apricots or cherries.

While they require a special pan, Madelines are worth it. These cookies are as French as the name Madeline, and the stories written about the little girl with that name.

Creme Caramel is on every menu in almost every restaurant in France. It was one of my mother's favorite dessert and she tried it everywhere we went.

It's too bad that Galette Des Rois is only served for a short time in early January. As a lover of anything with almonds, this dense rich galette is one of my favorites.

In looking over these recipes I realize there is many more I could add to my French collection. I do hope that one of these inspires you to make something French this week.