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Celebrate Freedom
With Picnics, Parties & Parades
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It’s time to celebrate with joy and thankfulness events past and present, that provided opportunities for us to flourish as a nation and as individuals.
July 4th, a Federal holiday, commemorates the Declaration of Independence of the United States, which guaranteed our freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It offered the door of opportunity for citizens to freely use their talents, gifts, and resources.
Global unity for democracy extends worldwide and on July 14th, France celebrates Bastille Day, a holiday honoring democracy and equality in France.
How wonderful it is! Both of these countries, the United States and France, celebrate national holidays in July that cherishes democracy, equality, human dignity, and liberty.
Do you want to know what President John Adams said about the 4th of July?
Sharing Our Friendship Fun – Try Some French Flavors:
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Paris Bistro Jambon Croissants
An easy-to-make recipe to celebrate the holiday!
About the Recipe: The amount of ingredients used in this smoked ham sandwich will vary depending on the size of your croissant. Other condiments can be added like mustard, but the fig jam adds a delicious flavor to the smoked ham. Power greens are a combination of baby healthy leafy greens. Add your favorite additions but use a crisp fresh croissant for that perfect lunch treat.
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Summer Garden Ratatouille
So easy to make; so delicious to enjoy
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About the Recipe: Fresh vegetables from the garden add flavor and attractive summer color to this ratatouille style side dish. It is so easy to make – just slice, arrange in circles, season, and bake. It’s a perfect supper side dish!
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Chilled French Golden Tomato Soup ‘n Salad
It’s a new twist on Tomato Soup!
About the Recipe: When serving this recipe, your guests will be surprised how stunning the colors are, like a beautiful piece of art. The taste of the chilled golden tomato soup, swirled with French dressed summer salad is so refreshing. It’s a masterpiece of culinary excellence!
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Cannelés‘
A French sweet treat that’s crispy, caramelized, and custardy
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About the Recipe: These little pastries are considered cakes in France but might be called cookies in other countries. They have channeled ridges on the outer crispy caramelized crust and tiny popover centers. They are a delightful sweet treat. Remember If you want to make the original recipe, you will need the copper baking molds.
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Baby Cannelés‘
Make in foil lined mini muffin or bite-size pan
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About the Recipe: Copper molds are very expensive, so we tried to make a recipe that was a little like the original. We used Dorie Greenspan’s basic dough but placed our little canneles into foil lined mini cupcake or baby muffins pans. The foil liners make the indentions into the little cakes. Our baby cakes had crisp crusts and soft centers. They were best on the day they were baked and a little chewy on the next day, but very tasty.
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French Consulate Chicago
Special Relations between the United States and France
France and the United States of America share a long historical friendship. Many times, both countries have extended their helping hands to each other. France was America’s first friend and is the oldest ally since the time of the American Revolution. In fact, the Statue of Liberty was a gift to the U.S. from the people of France. The United States was there for France too, supporting their country’s freedom fight during WWI and WWII. In the spirit of commonality, both great nations celebrate a patriotic national holiday in July.
With this interesting historical background, we wanted to find out how the people of France celebrate their July 14th national day, so we met with Guillaume Lacroix, the Consul General of France to the Midwest, who is based in Chicago.
Guillaume Lacroix became Consul General of France to the Midwest in August 2017 He has jurisdiction over 13 states in the Midwest and strives to build partnerships with business and organizations that link back to France.
We met with the Consul General of France early in July and asked him about his position here in the U.S. and how July 14th, a national holiday in France, is celebrated.
Guillaume Lacroix Interview
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French Baguette Picnic Bread
Hidden inside is a delicious sausage surprise!
About the Recipe: The French bread is usually made with white wheat flour and has a crisp, chewy crust. The interior is soft and full of bubbles, surrounding the spicy cooked sausage surprise inside the baguette styled bread. Cut into slices and serve with a honey mustard dipping or spreading sauce. It’s perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks. Using premade refrigerated dough makes it easy to prepare and it’s ready in just minutes.
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French Cornichon Baby Red Potato Salad
Sweet pickles team with bright colored watermelon radishes
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About the Recipe: When thinking about picnics, potato salad is the perfect side dish to add. This potato salad has a zesty flavor of cornichon pickles blended with chardonnay flavored mustard. A colorful addition of watermelon radishes adds that summertime magic ingredient.
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Plan a French Cheese Course
Serve with glasses of Riesling, a cru Beaujolais or Champagne
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About the Recipe: French cheeses add lots of fascinating flavors and a touch of elegance to your menu. Serve them after the main course or before dessert. In fact, they are so creamy and rich that you might want to serve them as dessert with some sweet honey, fig preserves, or fresh fruit.
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Picnic Pan Bagnat / Pain Bagnat – French
Use a flavored rosemary olive oil bread
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About the Recipe: It’s easy to prepare a stuffed small French bread with your favorite ingredients and have your sandwiches ready to serve. I like using one of the herb flavored French breads for the added flavor. Remember that too many juicy ingredients will make those sandwiches very moist. Slice the loaf ahead and rewrap it to carry along with some plates, napkins, and your favorite drinks. It’s a quick and easy recipe.
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Summer’s Best Panzanella
The secret is a little sweetness from fresh peaches
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About the Recipe: The juiciest red and yellow tomatoes combine with a touch of sweet fresh peaches and are tossed with an onion, garlic vinaigrette and fragrant basil leaves. Seasoned croutons are crisp yet slightly moistened by the dressing. The fresh flavor makes a winning salad to serve.
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Pan Bagna Brioche
Perfect tuna make-ahead picnic pocket-sized sandwiches
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About the Recipe: This recipe uses 5-inch Brioche rolls that are softer than standard bread to create a delicious tasting mini sandwich to carry along on a picnic. It doesn’t use mayonnaise and since it is already chilled, it’s ready to serve when you arrive, making it a perfect picnic recipe. As it sits in the refrigerator, the flavors blend together.
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French Summer Lemon Salad Lentils
With bright multi-colored sweet peppers and crunchy cucumbers
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About the Recipe: French lentils make a wonderful salad because they are a little firmer and smaller than the usual lentils. Their slightly nutty and peppery flavor blends well with the sweet peppers and cucumbers. Add lots of bright colors with those festive sweet summer peppers.
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Alsatian Choucroute Sauerkraut ‘n Sausages
Mild pickled cabbage is a comfort food for cool weather picnics
About the Recipe: This dish is one of the most traditional dishes of Alsatian and German cuisines. The sauerkraut is cooked in wine creating a pickled cabbage that flavors and blends with the pork meats that are added. Choucroute Garnie is dressed sauerkraut in Alsace and served with an assortment of sausages or other cold cuts.
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French Double Cream Blackberry Cheesecake
The secret is adding some savory rich French brie
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About the Recipe: Just one bite and you will know why everyone loves French cheesecake. The secret is a little addition of creamy brie cheese along with the usual cream cheese. Light orange lemon flavors lightly add a fresh flavor along with the drizzles of sweet blackberry sauce that trickles around the plate. Top with a summer fresh blackberry.
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Flavorful Classic French Madeleines
Add a new flavor twist to your cake-like cookies
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About the Recipe: The French often think of madeleines as dainty buttery small cakes. This recipe is considered a classic and requires a special pan to make. The little cake-like cookies are lightly browned, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Enjoy this sweet classic mini cake cookie with a cup of tea or coffee.
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