Celebrate Bastille Day, the French holiday that celebrates national pride, with TODAY's favorite easy French recipes for gooey fondue, luxe croque monsieur sandwiches, cheesy quiches, simple soufflés and more French appetizers, mains and desserts.
Appetizers
This recipe doesn't require a fondue set which makes it especially easy and stress-free. All you need is a roasting dish, Brie cheese and your favorite vegetables—then suddenly you have your very own fondue.
The most popular fondue at The Melting Pot, here, aged Gruyère, raclette and fontina cheeses are blended with white wine and fresh garlic and finished with a dash of nutmeg.
If you like classic Niçoise salad, then you'll love these tartines. Tartine is just a fancy French word for bruschetta, which is just a fancy Italian word for open–faced sandwich. Here, just five simple pantry staples come together to create a super–delicious protein-packed elegant appetizer.
What's better than an ooey gooey pot of melted cheese? One with smoky brisket! This crowd-pleasing dip comes together in just a few minutes and is great for year-round entertaining.
Main Courses
Croque Monsieur is France's super-luxe answer to America's much beloved sandwich–grilled cheese. Even in its simplest form of cheese, bread, ham and a simple béchamel (white sauce), the result is so much more than the sum of its parts.
A store-bought package of shredded hash brown potatoes is the time-saving trick behind this delicious dish.
This classic French recipe only takes a handful of ingredients, but it's packed with flavor thanks to a zippy mustard vinaigrette.
Here's the thing about learning how to make a perfect omelet: you're not going to get this right the first time. But, after five, maybe six attempts, you'll start to feel like a pro. Then you'll want to make them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For a party, place the omelets in a baking pan, cover and keep them warm in an unlit oven. Serve them with a side salad dressed simply with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Believe it or not, you can make a soufflé ahead of time. These savory soufflés will still have the lovely airy center that makes them so delightful.
Fill up this quiche with your favorite seasonal vegetables and lots of gooey Gruyere cheese.
Update the classic French salad with protein-packed quinoa instead of lettuce, then pile on the haricots verts (green beans), potatoes, asparagus, tomatoes and olives.
For his updated take on classic quiche Lorraine, TODAY's Al Roker swaps in cheddar cheese and adds broccoli.
There's no need to be intimidated about steaming mussels. Simply combine melted butter, shallots, garlic salt, white wine and parsley. Then add the mussels and cover for 5 minutes. Lift the top and voila! And don't forget about the fries! Dip them in Homemade Mayonnaise for a truly authentic French experience.
Set it and forget it! This easy version of French beef stew is even better the next day.
This easy version of the classic French chicken dish is sure to impress even the most discerning guest.
This hearty French casserole is packed with beans, juicy chicken and smoky bacon.
Desserts
Making a soufflé isn't as hard as you think it may be thanks to this simple recipe that only requires six ingredients.
In France, these thumbprint cookies are called Marguerites and take their name from their daisy-like shape (marguerite in French) that's accentuated by a bright jam filling in the center.
Palmiers are a quintessential French cookie. Made with caramelized puff pastry, they are crispy and flaky. When you use store-bought puff pastry, you can prepare a batch in minutes. The only other ingredient you need is sugar!
Make these warm, comforting and gooey mini cakes in only 20 minutes. A scoop of vanilla ice cream is the perfect finishing touch.
An easy 5-ingredient dough is the base of this elegant French dessert that's filled with sugar and cinnamon coated apples. Feel free to substitute peaches, berries or your favorite fruit.
You only need 7 ingredients to make this zesty dessert with a crackly caramelized top.
To save time, whip up a batch of the crêpes one day ahead of time, then cover and refrigerate until you're ready to stuff them with the ricotta and top them with the syrup.
"Once you make this a few times, you'll get comfortable and forgo the measurements — the tart is so forgiving, you can just eyeball the amounts and still get fantastic results," says chef Marc Murphy.
This pots was originally published on July 14, 2016.