Bastille Day Fête

We had some friends over for a little lunch to celebrate Bastille Day. In keeping with the French theme, we served le grande aioli—homemade bowls of garlicky mayonnaise plus all kinds of foods to dip into it: slender green beans, soft-cooked eggs, walnut-sized boiled potatoes with red, purple, and yellow skins, cherry tomatoes, carrots, breakfast radishes, and more. Graham wasn’t totally convinced that everyone would be happy with just aioli as a dipping sauce, so there was also hummus, upon which he sprinkled za'atar and which everyone seemed to enjoy. We set out a couple of cheeses, one firm and one meltingly soft, with sliced baguette toasts and olives. I loved having our new friends meet our old friends, and even before the last guest kissed us goodbye, I was already thinking about the next party we could have.