Tag Archives: Bastille Day

July 20, 2018 · 5:24 PM

The French Pastries of St. Roger Abbey

In honor of Bastille Day, we are going to highlight a taste of France right here in Chicago: St. Roger Abbey. St. Roger Abbey is a French religious order of Friars and Nuns with a worldwide presence, but an American base in Chicago. We first learned of St. Roger Abbey when we came across the nuns selling macarons at Christkindlmarkt one year. The order has a wide variety of authentic, organic French pastries including palmiers, madeleines, Breton cakes and croissants that they sell to raise funds for their charitable work. They even have a cafe in Wilmette (1101 Central Ave, Wilmette, IL 60091) and an online store where you can support their mission. Sounds like a good reason to buy some croissants!

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Filed under Holidays, Reviews

Tagged as Bastille Day, Breton, Breton Butter Cake, France, macaron

July 14, 2015 · 12:41 PM

How to Cook Like Toulouse-Lautrec

france In honor of Bastille Day, here is a fascinating French cookbook to explore, “The Art of Cuisine” by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (yes, the artist)! This is in fact a compendium of his recipes, published after his death, along with sketches and other notes. An avowed denizen of Parisian nightlife, Toulouse-Lautrec was also something of a gourmand. In his cookbook you will find recipes for such exotic fare as “baked kangaroo” (containing no kangaroo) and more simple recipes typical of his native Southern France. the-art-of-cuisine

Celebrate Bastille Day with Breton Butter Cake (Gâteau Breton)

Today is Bastille Day, so it seems only appropriate that we cover our favorite French food group: Desserts. The dessert at hand today is the Breton Butter cake aka Gâteau Breton, a shortbread-like cake with a signature crosshatch design. This is a simple cake from the Northwest of France (where it gets its name from the region of Bretagne/Brittany), an area with a distinct food culture and language. The cake itself really is nothing more than eggs, sugar, flour and (lots of) butter – but sometimes simple things are the best! Check out recipes from Gâteau Breton from Lottie and Doof, Not Quite Nigella and Serious Eats.