Julie & Julia
Yesterday four friends and I got together to see Julie & Julia and then came back to my place for dinner. Each of us had prepared a dish from Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Julia’s Party
Chateau Suau Sauternes 2005
Foies de Volaille (Chicken Liver Pate)
Amuse-Gueule au Roquefort (Roquefort Cheese Balls)
Soupe a L’Oignon
Louis Bernard Cote du Rhone
Coq au Vin & Steamed Asparagus (Chicken in Wine)
Clafouti au Bluet (Blueberry Clafouti)
(Recipes follow.)
The movie was excellent with Meryl Streep nailing Julia and Stanley Tucci bringing life to a devoted, loving Paul. The two veteran actors stole the screen; their chemistry was magical. It was joy seeing Julia blossom as a chef and out doing the men in her class at the Cordon Bleu. The audience became voyeurs into the warm and tender personal moments the Childs shared. Who'd have known Julia was such a minx? Amy Adams and Chris Messina did a good job in the shadows of Streep and Tucci.
I knew the stories having read several biographies of Julia Child and Julie & Julia by Julie Powell. Julie had not impressed me with her silly antics and foul mouth. Her genuine claim to fame is she has introduced Julia Child to a new generation and has fostered a new interest in good food, prepared properly. And, good for Julie to have met her own goal of cooking every recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. As for the project, why would anyone prepare every recipe from an ambitious cookbook especially for the most part doing the cooking after a long day at work. That would certainly drive any person to having almost daily meltdowns a la Julie.
The movie has left me wanting more of Julia with Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci in the leading rolls. The next movie could continue with Julia seeing the success of her opus and the launch of her new career in television. We could also be treated to scenes of her life at the house, La Pitchoune, Julia and Paul had built in Provence.
Foies de Volaille
The following mousse may be packed into a decorative jar and used as a spread for cocktail appetizers, or molded in aspic for an hor d’oeuvre. It is easy to make in an electric blender; if you do not have one, puree the liver in a meat grinder or food mill.
Yield: About 2 cups.
Ingredients
* 1 lb . or about 2 cups of chicken livers
* 2 Tbsps of minced shallots or green onions
* 2 Tbsps of butter
* 1/3 cup of Madiera or cognac
* 1/4 cup whipping cream
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/8 tsp allspice
* 1/8 tsp pepper
* 1/2 cup melted butter
* Salt and pepper
Directions
Look the livers over and remove any greenish or blackish spots. Cut the livers into 1/2 inch pieces.
Sauté with the shallots or green onions in hot butter for 2 to 3 minutes, until the livers are just stiffened, but still rosy inside. Scrape into the blender jar.
Pour the wine or cognac into the sauté pan and boil it down rapidly until it has reduced for 3 tablespoons. Scrape it into the blender jar.
Add the cream and seasonings to the blender jar. Cover and blend at top speed for several seconds until the liver is a smooth paste.
Then add the melted butter and blend several seconds more.
Force the mixture through the sieve and taste carefully for seasoning.
Pack into a bowl or jar, cover with waxed paper, and chill for 2 to 3 hours before unfolding.
Amuse-Gueule au Roquefort
Makes about 24
1/2 pound Roquefort
4 to 6 tablespoons softened butter
1 1/2 tablespoons chives or minced green onion tops
1 tablespoon finely minced celery
Pinch of cayenne
Salt, if needed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cognac (or more) or a few drops Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup fine, stale white bread crumbs
2 tablespoons very finely minced parsley
Crush the cheese in a bowl with four tablespoons butter and work it into a smooth paste. Beat in the chives or onion tops, celery, seasonings and cognac or Worcestershire. If mixture is very stiff, beat in more butter by fractions. Check seasoning carefully. Roll into balls about a half inch in diameter.
Toss bread crumbs and parsley in a plate. Roll the cheese balls in the mixture so they are well covered. Chill.
Serve as they are or pierced with a toothpick.
Soupe a l'oignon
We did not want too hearty a soup because of all the rest we were going to eat so we just had it without the bread. Some cheese was sprinkled on the top for flavour.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
1/3 tsp. sugar
3 tbsp. flour
2 qts. (2 ltrs.) boiling brown stock, canned beef bouillon, or 1 qt. water and one quart of concentrated stock or bouillon.
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp. Cognac
rounds of hard toasted french bread
1 to 2 cups grated swiss or emmantaler cheese (You can use Parmesan - but only if you have to.)
Directions:
Cook the onions slowly with the butter and oil in a covered heavy bottomed 4 qt. saucepan for 15 minutes.
Uncover, raise heat to moderate and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions have turned an even, deep, golden brown.
Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 3 minutes.
Off heat, blend in the boiling liquid. Add the wine and season to taste. Simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 minutes more, skimming occasionally. Correct seasoning.
(*) Set aside uncovered until ready to serve. Then reheat to the simmer.
Just before serving, stir in the Cognac. Pour into a soup tureen or soup cups over the rounds of bread and pass the cheese separately.
Home made beef stock-
5 to six pounds of meaty soup bones - REALLY meaty.
A mirepoix of 1/3 cup onions, 1/3 cup celery, 1/3 cup carrots
(preheat 325 deg. oven)
Roast the bones in an open roasting pan and cook for 2 hrs. over the mirepoix bed in the bottom of the pan. (lower oven temp to 225.)
Remove bones and meat and place in heavy lidded casserole. De-glaze the roasting pan with 1/2 cup water and strain chunky contents out. Add liquid to the bones. Add enough water to just cover bones and cover tightly. Return to cooler oven and let cook for 3 or more hours.
Remove from oven and pour off liquid. Let stand for 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully ladle off any fat. Then strain through layers of cheesecloth. If the bouillon isn't concentrated enough, simmer very slowly to evaporate the stock.
Season to taste.
(And yes, my sister in law made her own beef stock.)
Coq au vin
Sylvia’s Note: I made the Coq au Vin using white wine as I prefer the colour.
3 to 4 oz. chunk of lean bacon
2 Tbsp. butter
2 1/2 to 3 lb. cutup frying chicken
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup cognac
3 cups young, full-bodied red wine such as Burgundy, Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Chianti (I used a white Cote du Rhone)
1 to 2 cups brown chicken stock, brown stock, or canned beef bouillon (I used white chicken stock)
1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste (didn’t use it)
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
12 to 24 brown-braised onions (I used white-braised onions)
1/2 lb. sautéed mushrooms
3 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. softened butter
Fresh parsley
Remove the rind and cut the bacon into lardons (rectangles 1/4 inch across and 1 inch long). Simmer for 10 minutes in 2 quarts of water. Rinse in cold water. Dry.
Sauté the bacon slowly in hot butter until it is very lightly browned (temperature of 260 degrees for an electric skillet). Remove to a side dish.
Dry the chicken thoroughly. Brown it in the hot fat in the casserole (360 degrees for the electric skillet).
Season the chicken. Return the bacon to the casserole with the chicken. Cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes, turning the chicken once.
Uncover and pour in the cognac. Averting your face, ignite the cognac with a lighted match. Shake the casserole back and forth for several seconds until the flames subside.
Pour the wine into the casserole. Add just enough stock or bouillon to cover the chicken. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs. Bring to the simmer. Cover and simmer slowly for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and its juices run a clear yellow when the meat is pricked with a fork. Remove the chicken to a side dish.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
Simmer the cooking liquid in the casserole for a minute or two, skimming off fat. Then raise heat and boil rapidly, reducing the liquid to about 2 1/4 cups. Correct seasoning. Remove from heat, and discard bay leaf.
Blend the 3 Tbsp. flour and 2 Tbsp softened butter together into a smooth paste (beurre manie). Beat the paste into the hot liquid with a wire whip. Bring to the simmer, stirring, and simmer for a minute or two. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
Arrange the chicken in the casserole, place the mushrooms and onions around it, and baste with the sauce. If the dish is not to be served immediately, film the top of the sauce with stock or dot with small pieces of butter. Set aside uncovered. It can now wait indefinitely.
Shortly before serving, bring to the simmer, basting the chicken with the sauce. Cover and simmer slowly for 4 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is hot through.
Serve from the casserole, or arrange on a hot platter. Decorate with sprigs of parsley.
For 4 to 6 people
Oignons Glaces a Blanc
White braised onions may be served as they are or they may be simmered for a moment in a good cream sauce. Use them also as a garnish for fricasses or blanquettes (or Coq Au Vin Blanc).
Ingredients
* 18 to 24 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter
* 11/2 tbsp butter
* 1 1/2 tbsp oil
* 1/2 cup of white stock, canned chicken broth, dry white wine or butter
* Salt & pepper to taste
* A medium herb bouquet: 2 parsley sprigs, a few sprigs of thyme and a small bay leaf, tied in cheesecloth
Directions:
Place the onions in the saucepan or skillet with the liquid, butter, seasonings and herb bouquet. Cover and simmer very slowly, rolling the onions in the saucepan from time to time, for 40 to 50 minutes. The onions should not colour, and should be perfectly tender, yet retain their shape. If all the liquid evaporates during the cooking, add more by spoonfuls as necessary. Remove herb bouquet.
The onions may be cooked several hours in advance, reheated, as served as desired.
Champignon Sautés au Beurre
(Sauteed Mushrooms)
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 lb small fresh mushrooms, washed, dried, and left whole. Quarter larger mushrooms.
Attention: do not salt them until ready to serve.
Place a 10-inch enameled skillet over high heat with the butter and oil. When the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. During their saute the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minutes the fat will reappear on their surface, and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.
Clafouti
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
3 cups blueberries
1/3 cup sugar
powdered sugar
In a blender blend the milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour. Pour a 1/4 inch layer of the batter in a buttered 7 or 8 cup lightly buttered fireproof baking dish. Place in the oven until a film of batter sets in the pan (this took about 3 minutes). Remove from the heat and spread the blueberries over the batter. Sprinkle on the 1/3 cup of sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour. The clafouti is done when puffed and brown and a knife plunged in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, serve warm.
Yesterday four friends and I got together to see Julie & Julia and then came back to my place for dinner. Each of us had prepared a dish from Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Julia’s Party
Chateau Suau Sauternes 2005
Foies de Volaille (Chicken Liver Pate)
Amuse-Gueule au Roquefort (Roquefort Cheese Balls)
Soupe a L’Oignon
Louis Bernard Cote du Rhone
Coq au Vin & Steamed Asparagus (Chicken in Wine)
Clafouti au Bluet (Blueberry Clafouti)
(Recipes follow.)
The movie was excellent with Meryl Streep nailing Julia and Stanley Tucci bringing life to a devoted, loving Paul. The two veteran actors stole the screen; their chemistry was magical. It was joy seeing Julia blossom as a chef and out doing the men in her class at the Cordon Bleu. The audience became voyeurs into the warm and tender personal moments the Childs shared. Who'd have known Julia was such a minx? Amy Adams and Chris Messina did a good job in the shadows of Streep and Tucci.
I knew the stories having read several biographies of Julia Child and Julie & Julia by Julie Powell. Julie had not impressed me with her silly antics and foul mouth. Her genuine claim to fame is she has introduced Julia Child to a new generation and has fostered a new interest in good food, prepared properly. And, good for Julie to have met her own goal of cooking every recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. As for the project, why would anyone prepare every recipe from an ambitious cookbook especially for the most part doing the cooking after a long day at work. That would certainly drive any person to having almost daily meltdowns a la Julie.
The movie has left me wanting more of Julia with Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci in the leading rolls. The next movie could continue with Julia seeing the success of her opus and the launch of her new career in television. We could also be treated to scenes of her life at the house, La Pitchoune, Julia and Paul had built in Provence.
Foies de Volaille
The following mousse may be packed into a decorative jar and used as a spread for cocktail appetizers, or molded in aspic for an hor d’oeuvre. It is easy to make in an electric blender; if you do not have one, puree the liver in a meat grinder or food mill.
Yield: About 2 cups.
Ingredients
* 1 lb . or about 2 cups of chicken livers
* 2 Tbsps of minced shallots or green onions
* 2 Tbsps of butter
* 1/3 cup of Madiera or cognac
* 1/4 cup whipping cream
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/8 tsp allspice
* 1/8 tsp pepper
* 1/2 cup melted butter
* Salt and pepper
Directions
Look the livers over and remove any greenish or blackish spots. Cut the livers into 1/2 inch pieces.
Sauté with the shallots or green onions in hot butter for 2 to 3 minutes, until the livers are just stiffened, but still rosy inside. Scrape into the blender jar.
Pour the wine or cognac into the sauté pan and boil it down rapidly until it has reduced for 3 tablespoons. Scrape it into the blender jar.
Add the cream and seasonings to the blender jar. Cover and blend at top speed for several seconds until the liver is a smooth paste.
Then add the melted butter and blend several seconds more.
Force the mixture through the sieve and taste carefully for seasoning.
Pack into a bowl or jar, cover with waxed paper, and chill for 2 to 3 hours before unfolding.
Amuse-Gueule au Roquefort
Makes about 24
1/2 pound Roquefort
4 to 6 tablespoons softened butter
1 1/2 tablespoons chives or minced green onion tops
1 tablespoon finely minced celery
Pinch of cayenne
Salt, if needed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cognac (or more) or a few drops Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup fine, stale white bread crumbs
2 tablespoons very finely minced parsley
Crush the cheese in a bowl with four tablespoons butter and work it into a smooth paste. Beat in the chives or onion tops, celery, seasonings and cognac or Worcestershire. If mixture is very stiff, beat in more butter by fractions. Check seasoning carefully. Roll into balls about a half inch in diameter.
Toss bread crumbs and parsley in a plate. Roll the cheese balls in the mixture so they are well covered. Chill.
Serve as they are or pierced with a toothpick.
Soupe a l'oignon
We did not want too hearty a soup because of all the rest we were going to eat so we just had it without the bread. Some cheese was sprinkled on the top for flavour.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
1/3 tsp. sugar
3 tbsp. flour
2 qts. (2 ltrs.) boiling brown stock, canned beef bouillon, or 1 qt. water and one quart of concentrated stock or bouillon.
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp. Cognac
rounds of hard toasted french bread
1 to 2 cups grated swiss or emmantaler cheese (You can use Parmesan - but only if you have to.)
Directions:
Cook the onions slowly with the butter and oil in a covered heavy bottomed 4 qt. saucepan for 15 minutes.
Uncover, raise heat to moderate and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions have turned an even, deep, golden brown.
Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 3 minutes.
Off heat, blend in the boiling liquid. Add the wine and season to taste. Simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 minutes more, skimming occasionally. Correct seasoning.
(*) Set aside uncovered until ready to serve. Then reheat to the simmer.
Just before serving, stir in the Cognac. Pour into a soup tureen or soup cups over the rounds of bread and pass the cheese separately.
Home made beef stock-
5 to six pounds of meaty soup bones - REALLY meaty.
A mirepoix of 1/3 cup onions, 1/3 cup celery, 1/3 cup carrots
(preheat 325 deg. oven)
Roast the bones in an open roasting pan and cook for 2 hrs. over the mirepoix bed in the bottom of the pan. (lower oven temp to 225.)
Remove bones and meat and place in heavy lidded casserole. De-glaze the roasting pan with 1/2 cup water and strain chunky contents out. Add liquid to the bones. Add enough water to just cover bones and cover tightly. Return to cooler oven and let cook for 3 or more hours.
Remove from oven and pour off liquid. Let stand for 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully ladle off any fat. Then strain through layers of cheesecloth. If the bouillon isn't concentrated enough, simmer very slowly to evaporate the stock.
Season to taste.
(And yes, my sister in law made her own beef stock.)
Coq au vin
Sylvia’s Note: I made the Coq au Vin using white wine as I prefer the colour.
3 to 4 oz. chunk of lean bacon
2 Tbsp. butter
2 1/2 to 3 lb. cutup frying chicken
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup cognac
3 cups young, full-bodied red wine such as Burgundy, Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Chianti (I used a white Cote du Rhone)
1 to 2 cups brown chicken stock, brown stock, or canned beef bouillon (I used white chicken stock)
1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste (didn’t use it)
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
12 to 24 brown-braised onions (I used white-braised onions)
1/2 lb. sautéed mushrooms
3 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. softened butter
Fresh parsley
Remove the rind and cut the bacon into lardons (rectangles 1/4 inch across and 1 inch long). Simmer for 10 minutes in 2 quarts of water. Rinse in cold water. Dry.
Sauté the bacon slowly in hot butter until it is very lightly browned (temperature of 260 degrees for an electric skillet). Remove to a side dish.
Dry the chicken thoroughly. Brown it in the hot fat in the casserole (360 degrees for the electric skillet).
Season the chicken. Return the bacon to the casserole with the chicken. Cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes, turning the chicken once.
Uncover and pour in the cognac. Averting your face, ignite the cognac with a lighted match. Shake the casserole back and forth for several seconds until the flames subside.
Pour the wine into the casserole. Add just enough stock or bouillon to cover the chicken. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs. Bring to the simmer. Cover and simmer slowly for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and its juices run a clear yellow when the meat is pricked with a fork. Remove the chicken to a side dish.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
Simmer the cooking liquid in the casserole for a minute or two, skimming off fat. Then raise heat and boil rapidly, reducing the liquid to about 2 1/4 cups. Correct seasoning. Remove from heat, and discard bay leaf.
Blend the 3 Tbsp. flour and 2 Tbsp softened butter together into a smooth paste (beurre manie). Beat the paste into the hot liquid with a wire whip. Bring to the simmer, stirring, and simmer for a minute or two. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
Arrange the chicken in the casserole, place the mushrooms and onions around it, and baste with the sauce. If the dish is not to be served immediately, film the top of the sauce with stock or dot with small pieces of butter. Set aside uncovered. It can now wait indefinitely.
Shortly before serving, bring to the simmer, basting the chicken with the sauce. Cover and simmer slowly for 4 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is hot through.
Serve from the casserole, or arrange on a hot platter. Decorate with sprigs of parsley.
For 4 to 6 people
Oignons Glaces a Blanc
White braised onions may be served as they are or they may be simmered for a moment in a good cream sauce. Use them also as a garnish for fricasses or blanquettes (or Coq Au Vin Blanc).
Ingredients
* 18 to 24 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter
* 11/2 tbsp butter
* 1 1/2 tbsp oil
* 1/2 cup of white stock, canned chicken broth, dry white wine or butter
* Salt & pepper to taste
* A medium herb bouquet: 2 parsley sprigs, a few sprigs of thyme and a small bay leaf, tied in cheesecloth
Directions:
Place the onions in the saucepan or skillet with the liquid, butter, seasonings and herb bouquet. Cover and simmer very slowly, rolling the onions in the saucepan from time to time, for 40 to 50 minutes. The onions should not colour, and should be perfectly tender, yet retain their shape. If all the liquid evaporates during the cooking, add more by spoonfuls as necessary. Remove herb bouquet.
The onions may be cooked several hours in advance, reheated, as served as desired.
Champignon Sautés au Beurre
(Sauteed Mushrooms)
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 lb small fresh mushrooms, washed, dried, and left whole. Quarter larger mushrooms.
Attention: do not salt them until ready to serve.
Place a 10-inch enameled skillet over high heat with the butter and oil. When the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. During their saute the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minutes the fat will reappear on their surface, and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.
Clafouti
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
3 cups blueberries
1/3 cup sugar
powdered sugar
In a blender blend the milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour. Pour a 1/4 inch layer of the batter in a buttered 7 or 8 cup lightly buttered fireproof baking dish. Place in the oven until a film of batter sets in the pan (this took about 3 minutes). Remove from the heat and spread the blueberries over the batter. Sprinkle on the 1/3 cup of sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour. The clafouti is done when puffed and brown and a knife plunged in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, serve warm.