Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Cheese Quiche
I saw this recipe and decided it would be the ideal one to use my manna eggs in. When I cracked them open, there were so beautiful. The yolks were dark orange and very solid—as small as nickels. They were tiny so I used all four of them where this recipe calls for only two. Merci, wild chickens!
3 oz cheese
6 oz. cream cheese
2 tbsp softened butter
3 tbsp cream
2 eggs (or four, if you found them under your coconut tree)
Salt and (white) pepper
Cayenne to taste
½ tbsp minced green onion tops (or chives)
An 8” partially cooked pastry shell placed on a baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 375. Blend the cheeses, butter, cream and add the eggs. Force through a sieve to get rid of the lumps. Stir in the herbs and spices. Pour into the pastry shell and set in the upper third of the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the quiche has puffed and the top has browned.
Rating: A. Yummy! The quiche was so fluffy and rich.
Note: The recipe suggests using Roquefort, camembert, brie, or Liederkranz cheese. But I had a block of soft sheep cheese on hand, and used that, with tasty results. I also used LOTS more green onion tops, and still couldn’t hardly taste them.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Julia's French Onion Soup
Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking
French Onion Soup
5 c. sliced yellow onions
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp sugar
3 tbsp flour
2 quarts boiling beef stock
½ c. white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
2 oz swiss cheese, slivered
1 tbsp grated raw onion
Several rounds of hard-toasted French bread
1 ½ c. grated swiss and parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
In a large OVENPROOF pot, heat the butter and oil on medium low. Add the onions and cover, cook for 15 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to medium, add salt and sugar. Stir frequently for 30-40 minutes, until the onions are deep brown. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 3 minutes. Off heat, blend in the boiling stock and wine and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer partially covered for 30-40 minutes more.
Preheat the oven to 325. Stir the slivered cheese and grated onion into the soup. Float the rounds of toast on top, and spread the grated cheese over them. Sprinkle with the oil. Bake for 20 minutes, and set for a minute or two under a broiler to lightly brown the top. Serve immediately
Rating: B.
Notes: This sounded so good, and the final product was yummy… but it was not-homemade tasting. It almost tasted like French onion soup from a can! Next time I would add herbs and spices and skip the last bit with the grated onion and all that—just serve the soup with toast on the side.
French Onion Soup
5 c. sliced yellow onions
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp sugar
3 tbsp flour
2 quarts boiling beef stock
½ c. white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
2 oz swiss cheese, slivered
1 tbsp grated raw onion
Several rounds of hard-toasted French bread
1 ½ c. grated swiss and parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
In a large OVENPROOF pot, heat the butter and oil on medium low. Add the onions and cover, cook for 15 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to medium, add salt and sugar. Stir frequently for 30-40 minutes, until the onions are deep brown. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 3 minutes. Off heat, blend in the boiling stock and wine and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer partially covered for 30-40 minutes more.
Preheat the oven to 325. Stir the slivered cheese and grated onion into the soup. Float the rounds of toast on top, and spread the grated cheese over them. Sprinkle with the oil. Bake for 20 minutes, and set for a minute or two under a broiler to lightly brown the top. Serve immediately
Rating: B.
Notes: This sounded so good, and the final product was yummy… but it was not-homemade tasting. It almost tasted like French onion soup from a can! Next time I would add herbs and spices and skip the last bit with the grated onion and all that—just serve the soup with toast on the side.
Deceptively Delicious Macaroni and Cheese 2
Deceptively Delicious Macaroni and Cheese 2
1 ½ c. whole wheat elbow macaroni
1 c. milk
½ c. chickpeas (or other light-colored bean)
1 ½ c. shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterey jack)
Pinch salt
pinch paprika
pinch pepper
Cook and drain the macaroni. Meanwhile, puree the chickpeas and milk.
Cook the milk mixture in a large saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes, until it’s smooth. Add the cheese and cook until melted and creamy. Stir in the seasonings and then add the macaroni.
Rating: B. Yummy.
1 ½ c. whole wheat elbow macaroni
1 c. milk
½ c. chickpeas (or other light-colored bean)
1 ½ c. shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterey jack)
Pinch salt
pinch paprika
pinch pepper
Cook and drain the macaroni. Meanwhile, puree the chickpeas and milk.
Cook the milk mixture in a large saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes, until it’s smooth. Add the cheese and cook until melted and creamy. Stir in the seasonings and then add the macaroni.
Rating: B. Yummy.
Deceptively Delicious Baked Egg Puffs
Deceptively Delicious Baked Egg Puffs
2 large eggs
4 large egg whites
¼ c. carrot puree (recipe calls for yellow squash or butternut squash, but use what you got, right?)
2 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 400. Cut 4 ramekins or tiny coffee cups with cooking spray and set on a baking sheet.
In a large bowl combine the ingredients. Divide the mixture—at a scant ¼- ½ c. each—between the four mugs. Bake for 13-15 minutes, when they are puffy and the eggs are no longer runny.
Rating: B
Notes: Yummy! This didn’t turn out like the picture, which looks like an ethereal angel food cake. Mine looked like puffy scrambled eggs with bits of carrot. But they were very tasty!
2 large eggs
4 large egg whites
¼ c. carrot puree (recipe calls for yellow squash or butternut squash, but use what you got, right?)
2 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 400. Cut 4 ramekins or tiny coffee cups with cooking spray and set on a baking sheet.
In a large bowl combine the ingredients. Divide the mixture—at a scant ¼- ½ c. each—between the four mugs. Bake for 13-15 minutes, when they are puffy and the eggs are no longer runny.
Rating: B
Notes: Yummy! This didn’t turn out like the picture, which looks like an ethereal angel food cake. Mine looked like puffy scrambled eggs with bits of carrot. But they were very tasty!
Joy's Sourdough Pancakes
Joy’s Sourdough Pancakes
I had this favorite place to go watch the lesbian couples chase their kids—on the corner of Gilman and 10th in
Then the other night I was looking for a breakfast recipe with an overnight rest, and stumbled onto this recipe.
These are them. *sob*. These are the pancakes I was waiting for my whole life, and I didn’t know they were out there, but I never stopped believing, and—here they are! The texture, the flavor—I know, who’s ever heard of pancake-flavor. These… I wish I were eating them right now. I will never go back to regular old pancakes again. And don’t even DARE say bisquick within earshot...
½ c. warm water
2 ¼ tsp yeast
1 ½ c. warm milk
3 tbsp melted butter
2 c. flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
Whisk together the water and yeast. Let stand 5 minutes. Add the milk and butter, then the flour and sugar.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for one hour. Stir the batter down, cover again, and then let it rise overnight in the fridge.
Let the batter stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Then stir the batter to deflate, whisk in the eggs and salt.
Cook on a very lightly greased griddle at medium-high heat, ¼ c. or less at a time.
Drool.
Rating: A+ Superlatives, perfects, amazing, will use this and only this recipe for the rest of my life.Joy's Chicken Stock
Joy’s Chicken Stock
I came down with a cold this week and kept obsessing about chicken soup. I finally made this and filled my fridge with quart jars of the lovely golden stuff.
Put the chicken in a stock pot and cover in cold water. Bring slowly to a boil, reduce the heat at once, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Skim often. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer partly covered for 3-4 hours, skimming often and adding water if needed. Strain and cool uncovered, then refrigerate covered. Remove the fat when ready to use.
Rating: A
I came down with a cold this week and kept obsessing about chicken soup. I finally made this and filled my fridge with quart jars of the lovely golden stuff.
4-5 ½ lbs of chiekcn parts or one whole bird.
Cold water to cover
1 unpeeled onion coarsely chopped
1 carrot
1 celery rib
8 peppercorns
1 bouquet garni (I cheated and just used a big handful of the hard herbs from my potted garden and a couple of bay leaves)
(I added 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar for color)
Put the chicken in a stock pot and cover in cold water. Bring slowly to a boil, reduce the heat at once, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Skim often. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer partly covered for 3-4 hours, skimming often and adding water if needed. Strain and cool uncovered, then refrigerate covered. Remove the fat when ready to use.
Rating: A
Cabbage Soup
Cabbage Soup
Saute the cabbage, onion and potato in the oil on low heat for10 minutes or so—until the veg is getting tender. Add the broth and simmer for 20 minutes or so. Stir in a little fragrant cheese or whole wheat croutons, and voila!Olive oil
2 cups chopped cabbage
1 onion
1 sweet potato
5 c. beef broth
Monday, February 2, 2009
Easter in February this year?
Can you see it?
How about now? Under the Samoan coconut tree?
Lookathat! Like Easter or something!
I found 4 wild chicken eggs under the tree-- I'm thrilled! I haven't quite eaten them yet. I'm trying to think of something suitable. I'm hoping there won't be any little bones or feathers inside, but if there are, that will be a new culinary experience.Thanks for the bounty, nature! Who needs grocery stores? Now I just need some gallons of milk to come tumbling from the clouds.
This is one of those rare posts that intersects with each of my scattered blogs, so if you are disappointed to see the same one thrice, sorry!
Becca's...Red...Rice....
This was a shockingly easy beautiful little side dish the other night.
Red...Rice....
Heat the olive oil in a saute pan, add the tomato paste and spread it around, let it cook for 30 seconds or so. Add the cooked rice and the salt, combine it all thoroughly, and stir it until the rice gets a teeny bit carmelize. Grind some pepper and toss with cilantro, and voila. Practically instantaneous.
Red...Rice....
2 tbsp or so olive oil
2 cups cooked rice
3 tbsp or so tomato paste
sea salt
pepper
fresh cilantro, chopped
Heat the olive oil in a saute pan, add the tomato paste and spread it around, let it cook for 30 seconds or so. Add the cooked rice and the salt, combine it all thoroughly, and stir it until the rice gets a teeny bit carmelize. Grind some pepper and toss with cilantro, and voila. Practically instantaneous.
Becca's Bean Gunk
Originally published at Run and Not Be Weary
Matt and I fell in love in our dingy student apartments over steaming bowls of this stuff. It's fast, easy, made of cheap ingredients, and tasty too!
Bean Gunk
Saute the onion, garlic in the olive oil until they're a little bit carmelized. Add whatever spices and the veg and cook for a few more minutes until everything is really combined and smelling amazing. Then add the tomatoes and the beans and let the stuff simmer for 10 minutes or so, until it thickens a little bit and everything is thoroughly combined. Add the chopped fresh herbs and voila!
I like to serve it on rice, with maybe some cheese or sour cream on top.
Note: You could expand this into a soup easily-- just add broth and/or white wine when you add the tomatoes.
I hope you enjoy it!
Matt and I fell in love in our dingy student apartments over steaming bowls of this stuff. It's fast, easy, made of cheap ingredients, and tasty too!
Bean Gunk
olive oil
sea salt
one onion, chopped
garlic
2 or 3 cups of vegetables: celery, carrots, peppers--even fennel or hard squash would be good, too.
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1 can of black beans, with their juices
fresh herbs-- cilantro is my favorite
other possible additions: chipotle tabasco, cumin, smoked paprika, turmeric
Saute the onion, garlic in the olive oil until they're a little bit carmelized. Add whatever spices and the veg and cook for a few more minutes until everything is really combined and smelling amazing. Then add the tomatoes and the beans and let the stuff simmer for 10 minutes or so, until it thickens a little bit and everything is thoroughly combined. Add the chopped fresh herbs and voila!
I like to serve it on rice, with maybe some cheese or sour cream on top.
Note: You could expand this into a soup easily-- just add broth and/or white wine when you add the tomatoes.
I hope you enjoy it!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Aunty Adele Loo's Shockingly Delicious Bread Pudding
The name says it all, folks:
Aunty Adele Loo's Shockingly Delicious Bread Pudding
Preheat oven to 300. Pour warm milk over bread cubes in a large bowl. Add and mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and raisins. Pour into a greased 8" pan. Top with dots of butter and bake for 45 minutes until knife comes out clean.
Aunty Adele adds in all caps, "Please note, I usually double the recipe and bake in a 9x13" pan"
Rating: A slobbery and infatuated A+
Notes: Aunty Adele brought this to a potluck and knocked all the other ladies on their butts. She finally acquiesced to our begging for the recipe by bringing about 50 printed copies to church. My copy, crunchy now with butter and milk stains, is folded cozily into the jacket of my Joy. But I figured I should put it here for safe-keeping, too. Thanks Aunty!
Aunty Adele Loo's Shockingly Delicious Bread Pudding
2 c. warm milk
5 c. bread cubes
2 beaten eggs
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c. raisins (optional)
3 tbsp butter
Preheat oven to 300. Pour warm milk over bread cubes in a large bowl. Add and mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and raisins. Pour into a greased 8" pan. Top with dots of butter and bake for 45 minutes until knife comes out clean.
Aunty Adele adds in all caps, "Please note, I usually double the recipe and bake in a 9x13" pan"
Rating: A slobbery and infatuated A+
Notes: Aunty Adele brought this to a potluck and knocked all the other ladies on their butts. She finally acquiesced to our begging for the recipe by bringing about 50 printed copies to church. My copy, crunchy now with butter and milk stains, is folded cozily into the jacket of my Joy. But I figured I should put it here for safe-keeping, too. Thanks Aunty!
Deceptively Delicious Oatmeal (with Sweet Potato)
Oatmeal (with Sweet Potato)
From: Deceptively Delicious
Combine the milk, sugar, sweet potato, vanilla, and spice. Bring to a boil, then add the oatmeal. Simmer until the oatmeal is soft, 2-5 minutes. Stir in the peanut butter. Serve with fruits and nuts on top, milk, and warm maple syrup.
Rating: B
Notes: Good, but kinda like eating a delicious brick. I would leave out the peanut butter next time, or seriously reduce it.
From: Deceptively Delicious
1 c. milk
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. sweet potato or pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon to taste
1 c. old fashioned oats (I shamelessly endorse Coach's Oats)
2 tsp peanut butter
dried fruits and nuts
pure maple syrup, for serving
Combine the milk, sugar, sweet potato, vanilla, and spice. Bring to a boil, then add the oatmeal. Simmer until the oatmeal is soft, 2-5 minutes. Stir in the peanut butter. Serve with fruits and nuts on top, milk, and warm maple syrup.
Rating: B
Notes: Good, but kinda like eating a delicious brick. I would leave out the peanut butter next time, or seriously reduce it.
Deceptively Delicious Turkey Chili
Turkey ChiliFrom: Deceptively Delicious
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 lb ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sweet paprika
pinch pepper
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 liters chicken broth
1/2 c. red pepper puree
1/2 c. carrot puree
1/4 c. cornmeal
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 can kidney beans
Cook the onion in the olive oil in a large pot, till it softens. Add the Turkey to the pot, and sprinkle with the spices. Stir until the meat is cooked through, 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, beans broth, purees, cornmeal, flaxseed meal, and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes, until it's nice and thick.
Rating: A
Notes: I like adding the beans with the tomatoes, earlier than the original recipe suggests , so that the beans can absorb all those flavors.
How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark BittmanMy review
rating: 3 of 5 stars
I went to the used book store the other day with some cast-off hard-backs to trade in. I shoved several lounging cats aside, and found all 944 pages of this tome. The shiny "Julia Child Cookbook Award" and "James Beard Foundation Cookbook Award Winner" stickers intrigued me. So did the Washington Post quote, "Think of it as a more hip Joy of Cooking"
Them's fightin' words. I'm a Joy devotee. But flipping through, I was intrigued. I like the illustrations, the larger print, the informative lists and inset boxes.... So I traded in my castoffs (sorry Yiddish Policeman's Union) and brought it home.
So far, I feel a little weird about it. Like I've brought home somebody else's grandma to pretend to be my grandma. It's nice and all, maybe there's some stuff that's even better about this grandma than about my own, like maybe her recipe for Crisp-Cooked Sunchokes or Garam Masala, but... Joy is my home.
I've only tried about 3 recipes from this book so far. And I have to admit, I checked the Joy equivalent for each one. And where they differed... I sided with Joy. It's a trust thing! Joy has never let me down!
I'll keep trying this one out, but I suspect that Joy will always get the final word.
View all my reviews.
Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld
My review
rating: 3 of 5 stars
This pert little cookbook will have you pureeing your way to a balanced diet!!!!!!! And Loving every perky bite!!!!!!
Okay, so it's maybe a little too cutesy for me.
But the glossy upclose food-porny pictures are tantalizing, and the recipes are tasty, if a teeny bit fussy. It reminds me of a diet or self-help book: you have to be committed to the whole philosophy of the thing to get any real benefit out of it. You can't just browse and pick and pluck the appealing recipes-- you have to dedicate yourself to the cult of pureed veg.
Which is fine, in itself. I'm just not willing to commit. Yet!!!!!!!!!!!!
View all my reviews.
How To Cook Everything Hot Chocolate
Hot Chocolate
From How to Cook Everything
4 servings
4 c. milk
¼ c. powdered cocoa
¼ c. sugar
Pinch salt
Blend the dry ingredients with about ½ c. of the milk over very low heat in a small saucepan, stirring until smooth. Whisk in the rest of the milk. Heat over medium low until hot. You can also substitute freshly brewed coffee for half or more of the milk!
Rating: A
Notes: Howsabout a teaspoon of vanilla mixed with cinnamon, added right at the end? Not too shabby for a cold winters breakfast! (Look, 58 degrees is cold for me.)
Whipped Cream
Whipped Cream
Yes, this is shockingly basic. But it's the kind of thing I seem to be always looking up to double check...
Put the cream into a chilled bowl (put it in the fridge for a while, or put it in an ice bath, or this morning's choice, balance it precariously on a frozen bag of edamame). Whip the daylights out of it. When it's about halfway there (thickening but not really taking shape) add the sugar and corn starch. Whip it some more-- if it's for a topping, stop when it's still glossy but is just starting to hold soft peaks. If it's for decorating, whip it stiff-- till it's practically butter. Yum!
Yes, this is shockingly basic. But it's the kind of thing I seem to be always looking up to double check...
1 c. cold heavy cream
1 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp corn starch
Put the cream into a chilled bowl (put it in the fridge for a while, or put it in an ice bath, or this morning's choice, balance it precariously on a frozen bag of edamame). Whip the daylights out of it. When it's about halfway there (thickening but not really taking shape) add the sugar and corn starch. Whip it some more-- if it's for a topping, stop when it's still glossy but is just starting to hold soft peaks. If it's for decorating, whip it stiff-- till it's practically butter. Yum!
How To Cook Everything's Chocolate Pudding
Chocolate Pudding
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 c. sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
pinch salt
3 eggs
2 1/2 c. half and half
2 tbsp softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or small saucepan. Meanwhile combine the sugar with cornstarch and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and half and half. Stir the liquid into the powders and heat over medium heat, whistk to eliminate lumps and then stir until the mixture thickens. The recipe claimed 10 minutes, but after 25 I finally cranked the heat to medium high and got the job done in another five. Add the melted chocolate, and stir to combine. Add the butter and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap, directly on the surface of the pudding. Refrigerate.
Rating: B-
Notes: Sad, huh! It seems so right! But the Joy of cooking vanilla recipe was just so much better. And the half and half and butter were excessive-- they didn't add anything. Too bad. Still infinitely better than anything instant, with a nice dark chocolate flavor. I'm just convinced there are better chocolate pudding recipes out there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
