It's the holiday when a nation celebrates the dawn of its independence, when parades fill city streets, when families gather for picnics and fireworks light up the nighttime sky.
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The Fourth of July? Yes ... and, no. America's birthday was eight days ago.
We're talking another red, white and blue occasion, Bastille Day. It's the July 14 anniversary of the storming of France's hated Bastille prison in 1789 by angry Parisians bent on revolution.
America and France might have their differences, but July partying in the name of liberty is common ground between the two countries. Bastille Day, this year, falls on Tuesday.
The Sunday News asked two restaurateurs — both of whom have French-themed food and atmosphere at their establishments — to create items suitable for a Bastille Day picnic. Daniel LeBoon, owner and chef at Josephine's Restaurant, in Marietta, went all out, crafting a picnic menu that "sounds like it's fancy, but it's not," despite such elegant ingredients as smoked salmon, escargot and an exquisite dessert adorned with tendrils of sugar.
Rachel Adams, of Rachel's Cafe & Creperie, on Lancaster's North Queen Street, whipped up a French casual classic, the beloved crepe. They're usually sold on city streets from carts or booths in France, sort of the way we pick up a hot dog or a soft pretzel on the run.
Adams' crepe, filled with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream — the French tricolore shares our flag's colors — isn't exactly picnic-packable in its complete form, but "you could take all of the things with you and assemble them," she said. (Sliced bananas are also in the recipe).
LeBoon's picnic is also accented with fresh vegetables and, of course, French bread. His picnic includes an escargot casserole as an appetizer; a smoked salmon fondant and the two recipes below, Ratatouille Scallop Napoleon and Floating Island. He calls the spread "comfort food, with a French twist."
A recipe for basic crepe batter, from the Web site
COOKS.COM, is also included here:
RATATOUILLE SCALLOP NAPOLEON1 small green squash
1 small yellow squash
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
12 large (U-6/8 size) scallops
For the pommes Annette:
8 Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced
3 tablespoons butter, melted
For the ratatouille:1 eggplant, diced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 red onion, diced
3 shallots, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons grape seed oil
Slice green and yellow squash thinly. Place in melted butter in a 4-inch tart pan; arrange squash by color, alternating green and yellow. Season with salt, pepper and herb. Bake in oven at 400 F for 12 minutes.
For the pommes Annette, slice potatoes and dip into melted butter. Overlap in a 4-inch tart pan; season with salt and pepper; bake for 25 minutes in a 475 F oven on a sheet pan.
Sauté scallops over high heat for 20 seconds on each side. Let rest for 20 minutes on a rack. Slice scallops and fan them into the pommes Annette.
Sauté ratatouille ingredients in a large pan over high heat with the grapeseed oil.
Assemble all recipe ingredients in a layered stack, topping with the squash and the diced ratatouille.
FLOATING ISLANDFor the crème anglaise:
2 cups half and half
6 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
1 vanilla bean (most recipes call for the bean to be split)
For the sugar tendrils:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
Other ingredients:4 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar
Scald the half and half. Mix in other crème anglaise ingredients; place in a double boiler and stir, using a figure-eight motion until thick. Chill by stirring the crème anglaise in a bowl over an ice bath.
For the sugar, boil the 1 cup of water and the 1 cup of sugar until the mixture turns an amber color.
Let mixture cool for about 5 minutes and "throw" it over a wooden spoon. The amber-colored sugar will be like a thin taffy; dip a fork in it and "throw" in a 12-to-6-o'clock motion. Pull it off and wrap the sugar into a mold of any shape.
Mix the 4 egg whites and the 2 tablespoons of sugar until stiff peaks form. Bring a small pot of water to a boil.
Use a spoon to shape the egg white mixture in the water for 30 seconds while poaching.
Pull out and let dry. Assemble all recipe ingredients; the crème anglaise first on a plate, the poached egg whites atop that and then the amber-colored sugar goes on top of the egg whites.
CREPE BATTER1½ cup milk
1 cup flour
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon melted butter
Sift the flour with the salt into a bowl.
Make a well in the center and add the egg and egg yolk.
Pour the milk in slowly, stirring constantly and, when half is added, stir in the melted butter.
Beat well until smooth.
Add the remaining milk, cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before using.
The batter should be the consistency of light cream.
When cooking, tilt pan so that the batter spreads evenly over bottom.
Cook until the bottom is golden brown; turn and repeat.
Makes 18 crepes.
(Rachel Adams, of Rachel's Cafe & Creperie, filled her crepes with sliced bananas, blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream.)
Stephen Kopfinger is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact him at skopfinger@lnpnews.com or at 291-8799.
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