Remembering Bastille Day

An impromptu barbecue or game night can be a great time, but a real party with decorations, food and drinks to match the occasion can be ridiculous and awesome. In planning Kris' Bastille Day birthday party, I enlisted the help of some kiddos I know to make French flags for a garland and to hang all over the apartment (as well as on the building's door to direct friends to our new place).

Kris bought and our friends brought a ton of great records, some French and some funk by request. 

We drank too much French wine and beer.

We ate: five kinds of cheese, crackers, radishes and cucumbers with salted whipped butter, baguettes, ham and gruyere palmiers, blackberries, heirloom tomatoes...

When I attempted to stack my croquembouche, the party-goers insisted on an inalienable right to immediately consume the cream-filled dark chocolate ganache covered profiteroles.   I quickly abandoned the plan and retreated from the plate of pastries to avoid these dessert radicals.

(Super Easy!) Profiteroles:
Ruhlman's pate a choux ratio
Whipped heavy cream, a vanilla bean, a few teaspoons of sugar
Dark chocolate melted with heavy cream, 2 drops of almond extract