Storm the Weekend with the ACBN

It's Bastille Day, and the Friday Newsletter is embracing some revolutionary ideas for your weekend enjoyment.

I think it’s fascinating how countries choose their Independence Days.

Obviously, we’ve just gotten through our celebrations here in the United States last week; every year, Americans of all stripes commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776 by grilling hotdogs and setting off fireworks. Of course, there’s evidence that the nation’s founding document wasn’t actually signed until some time in August, and true independence from Britain wasn’t actually secured until the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Regardless. It’s pretty clear: we’re celebrating paperwork.

Then there’s the French.

Despite their pivotal role as allies in the American Revolution, many Americans don’t give the French enough credit for their fighting spirit. First, there’s the modern-day fact that the French will riot against even small cuts to the social safety net that Americans could only dream of having.

There’s also their national day.

Today, July 14th, is the Fête nationale française, what is commonly referred to in English-speaking countries as “Bastille Day”— commemorating the day when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized the Bastille, a major armory/fortress/political prison and symbol of royal power, seizing (and eventually razing) the building.

That is way more metal than signing a document, if you ask me, and it’s worth celebrating in style.

Friends? It’s Friday once again at The Action Cookbook Newsletter.

I’m storming into the weekend with the spirit of the sans-culottes, bearing a fully-loaded slate of weekend goodness, topped this week by a French specialty.

I’ve also got a summertime drink that’s great with or without alcohol, some chill music, a good book, a fun game and much more:

Liberté, égalité, fraternité—c’est vendredi, mes amis.

7) Mastering the art of French cooking

A few weeks back, after returning from my European family vacation [Lindsey Buckingham’s “Holiday Road” plays briefly], I wrote up a travelogue of the foods I had consumed in Denmark, Belgium and France.

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In the comments of that post, reader Keyes popped in with a suggestion:

Surprised you weren’t tempted by “French Tacos” (which are much better than the name indicates). Would make a great recipe imo.

I clicked through to a New Yorker article they shared, and was immediately filled with the sense that I’d missed something fundamental on my trip to Paris, an oversight the size of the Eiffel Tower. French tacos, I learned, are a popular fast-food concoction—really more like a burrito or quesadilla than a taco—that consist of halal-style kebab meat, French cheese, French fries and white sauce wrapped in a large tortilla and pressed/toasted on a grill or panini press.

I mean, this just hits so many of my buttons. I considered boarding a plane right back to Paris, but realized that my family, my day job and my bank account might all object. So I’d have to do the next best thing: I’d have to make my own.

This meant preparing a few components first, though.

First, the meat:

Halal Cart-Style Lamb

• 2 pounds lamb leg or shoulder

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin