Bastille Day, la Fête Nationale and Crêpes
A holiday known by another name.
July 14 is known by those who do not live in France as Bastille Day. The French refer to it as la Fête Nationale, or “the National Holiday.” (More formally referred to as le Quatorze Julillet, (14 July). It is important because it is the day, in 1789, when Parisian revolutionaries stormed the Bastille fortress and freed the prisoners.
The Bastille Fortress becomes a state prison.
Designed to be a fortress to help stall an attack on Paris from the east, it began as a massive gate which consisted of a thick wall and two 75-foot towers. By the end of 1383, it had evolved into a rectangular fortress with eight towers and a moat. The same attributes that made the Bastille a great fortress translated into an effective state prison, but wasn’t used as one until the 17th century. King Louis XIII used the Bastille to jail his monarch’s enemies, (with out a trial), and would hold up to 55 prisoners inside at any given time.
A Few Little Known Facts About Bastille Day
Thomas Jefferson was a strong supporter of the Bastille ‘incident’ and gave the widows of those killed in taking the Bastille 60 francs.
When the Bastille was destroyed, its pieces were scattered across the globe by souvenir collectors.
Several dates were considered when choosing a date for a French national holiday. After much debate, it was decided to be July 14 because it married two very important anniversaries; 1789’s attack on the Bastille and 1790’s peaceful and unifying Festival of the Federation. In choosing this date, the senate gave all citizens the chance to decide for themselves which event they would rather celebrate. Senator Henri Martell preferred July 14, 1790, saying that it was “the most beautiful day in the history of France, possibly in the history of mankind. It was on that day that national unity was finally accomplished.”
There is a key to the Bastille at Mount Vernon–The Marquis de Lafayette, became the commander of the Paris National Guard the day after the Bastille event. After the storming of the prison, he was given a key to the building which he passed on to George Washington as a ‘thank you’ and also to be a symbol of the new revolution. The key still resides at Mount Vernon today.
Curried Chicken Crêpes
Ingredients
- 1 batch crêpes approximately 16
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 cup celery finely diced
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt or to taste
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 3 cups cooked chicken breast shredded
- ½ cup sour or heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°FMelt butter in large skillet; add onion and celery and sauté until just tender-crisp. Stir in flour and seasonings and cook 5 minutes.Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in chicken and cream.
- Place a heaping tablespoon or two of mixture across center of each crêpe, brown side out. Roll and place seam side down in buttered 13-inch by 9-inch baking pan. Brush or drizzle with melted butter and bake 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbling.
Lemon Cream Crêpes with Huckleberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 batch crêpes
Filling
- 2 cups lemon pudding, from package or your favorite recipe chilled
- 1 cup heavy cream whipped
Sauce
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ tbsp corn starch
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice or to taste
- 2 cups huckleberries (or blueberries) fresh or frozen
Instructions
Sauce
- Mix sugar and cornstarch together in a small saucepan. Stir in water and ½ cup huckleberries. Bring to boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring until clear and thickened. Remove from heat and add remaining berries and lemon juice. Refrigerate until cool.
- Combine filling ingredients; place 2-3 heaping tablespoons of mixture across center of each crêpe, brown side out, and roll. Place on serving plate and top with sauce.
A French Pancake
Crêpes are very thin French pancakes which are served with a variety of different fillings. The fillings can be either sweet or savory. They are versatile and can be enjoyed as an appetizer, a main course or dessert.
Celebrating Bastille Day
Today is a great opportunity to make up some crêpes and enjoy them in a variety of different ways, both savory and sweet. We will start by using a basic crêpe batter to make tender crêpes filled with raspberries, blueberries and whipped cream, (red, white and blue in honor of Bastille Day). There are always a few crêpes left over and those will be used to make Quiche Lorraine cups, using the crêpes to serve as the ‘crust’.
Basic Crêpe Recipe
Equipment
- Crêpe maker (optional)
- Blender or food processor (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup water
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp butter melted
Instructions
- Place ingredients in blender container or food processor in the order given. Blend for 30 seconds, stop and scrape sides and blend 30-60 seconds until smooth. OR mix in bowl with wire whisk or mixer, first combining flour and eggs, adding liquid gradually. Beat until smooth; add other ingredients. Batter should be the consistency of heavy cream.Batter can be used immediately, but I recommend that you allow the batter to 'rest' in the refrigerator for at least an hour. By doing so, the bubbles made while you blended everything together will dissipate so the crêpe will be less likely to tear during cooking.
There are always a few crêpes left over so I will use them to make Quiche Lorraine cups. The crêpes are placed in a muffin pan to create a frilly ‘crust’ to hold a delicious bacony cheesy eggy filling, baked to perfection.
Quiche Lorraine Cups
Equipment
- Muffin pan
Ingredients
- 6 cooked crêpes
- 2-3 slices cooked bacon crumbled
- ⅔ cup Gruyere cheese grated
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 ex-large egg beaten
- ½ cup whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°FSpray muffin pan with cooking spray and line each 'cup' with a cooked crêpe.Sprinkle crumbled bacon and grated cheese evenly into each cup.Mix flour, salt, eggs and milk and pour mixture over bacon and cheese.Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until firm.Cool 5 minutes before removing from the pan.
