The Party Girl Cookbook

Today is Bastille Day. It would be a great time to drag out a thick, classic French cookbook of important historic note. Screw that. I pulled out The Party Girl Cookbook by Nina Lesowitz and Lara Morris Starr.

The Party Girls offer up tons of party ideas. The theme for the Bastille Day party is heady foods. Lettuce heads, artichoke heads, roasted garlic heads, and salmon with heads.

Berets are de rigueur for those who still have heads. Eiffel Towers tchotchke spread about with some Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité banners add to the motif. Throw Edith Piaf on the record player and you are good to go.

Grab a crusty baguette, slice it thin and spread with a head.

Roasted Garlic Heads

4 heads fresh garlic, loose outer skin removed
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut off the stem and the top one fifth of the head of garlic. Place them on a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place the rosemary sprigs across the tops of the cut heads. Drizzle with olive oil. Close up the aluminum foil and seal the edges tightly. Roast for one hour or until garlic is tender. Remove the package from the oven, open carefully, let the contents cool slightly.

Dinner (NOT) at the Bastille

According to Benjamin Franklin, Marie Antoinette and her family were well fed during their incarceration at Tuileries Palace. Here is their dinner list:

3 soups
4 entrees
3 roast dishes with three pieces
4 sweet courses
a plate of fancy cakes
3 compotes
3 dishes of fruit
3 loaves of bread with butter
1 bottle of Champagne
1 small carafe of Bordeaux
1 small carafe of Malvoisie
1 small carafe of Madeira
4 cups of coffee.

It sure beats bread and water!


Give a listen to Mireille Mathieu's riveting performance of La Marseillaise.