Today, 14th July, is Bastille Day in France. As true francophiles, whitestar and I decided to celebrate by eating only French food.

Lunch (we didn't get up early enough for breakfast!): home baked baguette with French butter and pate.

Dinner: Saumon en papillote avec sauce aux fines herbes.

Recipe for lunch: buy baguettes that require part cooking, shove in oven for required length of time, leave to cool, add butter and pate and enjoy. Wash down with Tesco's French coffee.

Recipe for dinner:

Ingredients for 4 people:
4 skined salmon fillets
10g melted butter
8 thin slices of lemon, cut in half

SAUCE
315ml fish stock
80ml dry white wine
2 shallots, finely chopped
250ml double cream
4 tablespoons finely chopped herbs (chervil, chives, parsley, tarragon or sorrel - alternatively use dried "Fines Herbes" but you only need a tablespoon or so)

Preheat your oven to 200C (gas mark 6). Remove any bones from the fish. Cut out 4 30 cm greaseproof paper circles. Fold each circle in half then open out and brush with melted butter.

Put a salmon fillet on one half of the greaseproof paper circle, put four 1/2 slices of lemon on top, season with salt and pepper, then fold the other half of the paper circle over the fish. Seal by folding the two edges of the paper together. Put on a baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish, or until it's firm to the touch)

Meanwhile, make the sauce.
Put the stock, wine and shallots into a pan and simmer until it has reduced to a syrup (about 5 tablespoons of liquid should be in the pan). Add the cream and let it bubble for a few minutes to thicken slightly. Season and then stir in the herbs.

Serve each diner a parcel to unwrap at the table. The herb sauce should be served separately in a bowl or gravy jug.

OK I cheated and did it with jacket potatoes, so not strictly French, but some nice fresh veggies and new potatoes would be just as good.
<thumbsup>

Bloody hell, that sounds like far too much work <yikes>

I know it's late in the day so I've bunged a steak and ale pie in the oven and some chips...... <dinner>

Fantastic work there WW, nice food, I would have been very happy with those meals, although I would have had my baguettes with French Mayonnaise(spelling?), I am addicted to that stuff, I could eat it like it was yogurt <roflmao> .

Unfortunately I haven't had time to celebrate Bastille Day today due to the guests we have at the moment and all the move preparation we are doing at the moment.

However when I have celebrated on holiday in France its always a very exciting and partly moving experience too and I reccomend being on holiday in France around this experience and taking part in the celebrations.

It didn't take long at all actually. And certainly not too much work.

I bunged the baked spuds in, had a couple of glasses of wine <wine>

Then spent a few minutes preparing the fish.

The sauce was done while the fish was cooking - et voila!

Well yeah, granted.....but then if you're a bit crap in the kitchen even simple dishes can be a stress.

I'm a competant cook result wise, but it's quite an ordeal in the kitchen <roflmao>

My ex-husband used to tell EVERYONE he met that I couldn't cook.

My present husband (whitestar) would disagree. Although he hates the cleaning up afterwards!

Tomorrow, whitestar is going to cook dinner. I may not be around on Monday <yikes>

was chocolate cake at my mum's

it's her 80th birthday today

<wub> <wub> <wub> <wub> <wub> <wub> <wub> <wub>

Belated Happy birthday to Lex's Mum <flowers>

For the record, whitestar cooked dinner tonight, without any assistance from me, and it was delicous!

I shall be expecting more of the same from him who said he can't cook! <please>

How patriotic. I'm sure they celebrate St George's day too. Maybe on the anniversary of certain actions by French dock workers we ought to blockade our ports and set fire to all French imports....?

<roflmao>

Frey Bentos is alive and well then.

Dunno, I've never met him....

We made all the pies