For some reason I’ve been on a HUGE French food kick recently.  If I had my way I would eat from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking every day. I’m not even kidding. Clearly my body just wants butter and cream.

The other day I was [...]]]>

For some reason I’ve been on a HUGE French food kick recently.  If I had my way I would eat from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking every day. I’m not even kidding. Clearly my body just wants butter and cream.

The other day I was craving French onion soup so I decided to make it.  This of course meant I had to acquire onion soup bowls, which of course is half the fun!  When I decided to make the soup I knew the first (and only) stop would be Julia Child’s cookbook.  Of course she had a few recipes/variations but I decided to make the basic version.

I had no idea the soup would be so easy.  It takes some time because you have to caramelize the onions, but you aren’t using any fancy techniques or crazy ingredients.  The wackiest ingredient in the list is Cognac which I happened to have.  For the onion I used Vidalia’s which was probably a bit of a mistake because the onion flavour was too mild.  You’d probably want to use a yellow or Spanish onion here to get the most oniony goodness out of the soup.

I free-styled a bit at the end and rather than putting the bread at the bottom of the bowl I used it to top the soup and sprinkled cheese on it and ran the whole thing under the broiler.  SO GOOD.  My favourite part of eating onion soup is dunking the cheesy bread into the whole mess.

Making French onion soup is going to be added to my regular rotation of things to make.  It’s easy, inexpensive AND it really classes up dinner and makes a weeknight supper that much more special.

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A few months ago I was so pumped to finally buy Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1. Something happened shortly after and I didn’t really make any other recipes.  I mean, I always MEANT to open up the book when doing my menu planning but [...]]]>

A few months ago I was so pumped to finally buy Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1. Something happened shortly after and I didn’t really make any other recipes.  I mean, I always MEANT to open up the book when doing my menu planning but other dishes got in the way.  I was doing some menu planning the other day and decided that I wanted to make salmon but wanted to try a new method.  I thought to myself, why not see what Julia would have to say.  There weren’t a ton of recipes for salmon but there was this delicious sounding recipe for Salmon Gratin.

I’m a sucker for a gratin.  You can make most things taste pretty delicious by cooking them in cream and topping them with cheese.  True story.  How one could turn fish into a gratin had never occurred to me but I was pretty happy that it was an option. This recipe had me at hello.  I mean butter, milk/cream, wine and cheese? Sign me up folks!

This could definitely be a weeknight meal for most.  Before I started cooking I threw some fingerling potatoes in the oven.  While the gratin was in the oven I steamed some broccoli.  It took about 45 minutes to get the complete meal on the table.  Not bad. The steps in between were easy too and none of the ingredients are hard to find and chances are you have them on hand.  The only thing I had to buy was the Swiss cheese.

The results were pretty delicious. As in, I could eat this every week delicious.    I’m not sure what consistency Julia was aiming for but mine was a bit firmer than a stew.  There was no slicing, you had to scoop it out.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  The flavours were simple but worked well together.  I opted to use white wine (riesling) over Vermouth and the flavour worked really well with the dish.  Next time I would probably stick the dish under the broiler for a minute or so for a nice cheesy crust on top.

For more on this recipe check out the Julie/Julia Project entry for this recipe.

Salmon Gratin

* 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 1 cup boiling milk, cream or half-and-half
* 1/4 cup dry white wine (optional) or vermouth (optional)
* juice, from salmon can (if any)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 pinch pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 1/2 cups canned salmon or cooked salmon
* 1/4 cup grated swiss cheese
* 1 tablespoon butter
* mushroom, sauteed in their own juice (optional) or lemon juice (optional)

1. Cook onion in butter over low heat about 5 min or so – do not brown. Add flour, cook 2 minutes without coloring.
2. Off heat, beat in boiling milk, wine (if using), salmon juice (if using), and seasoning. Boil several minutes to thicken. Thin to medium consistency with 4-6 T. additional milk. Taste for seasoning. Fold salmon (and mushrooms, if using) into sauce, check seasoning.
3. Spread in 8” shallow baking dish or cooked pastry shell. Sprinkle on the cheese.
4. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, or til top is nicely browned.
5. Note: You can also add extra ingredients such as peas, diced hard boiled eggs, etc. to the casserole.

For the past maybe 5 or 6 years I’ve put Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1 on my Christmas wish list. For some reason no one has EVER bought it for me.  I was ordering books from Amazon a few weeks ago and decided to finally make my own [...]]]>

For the past maybe 5 or 6 years I’ve put Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1 on my Christmas wish list. For some reason no one has EVER bought it for me.  I was ordering books from Amazon a few weeks ago and decided to finally make my own Christmas and finally buy the book myself (cue: sister’s are doing it for themselves…).

BEST.DECISION.EVER.

I’m kind of obsessed with this book.  I’ve made crepes and quiche so far and they have been great.  The quiche recipe is going to be my standard base.  I love how Julia Child uses tons of butter and cream.  She was a woman after my own heart really.  I’ve been pouring over the recipes and have all sorts of things marked that I would like to make.  When I came upon this recipe for a chicken sauteed in bacon fat and roasted with bacon, onions and potatoes I couldn’t resist.

This recipe is definitely not a weekday meal (unless your weekdays allow you time for involved recipes) but it is perfect for a Sunday dinner.  It’s not that the recipe is difficult to follow it just involves a few intense steps.  The most intense step is sauteeing an ENTIRE CHICKEN in bacon and butter.  You’re supposed to sautee the bird until it’s golden… I couldn’t make that happen.  AND you’re not supposed to break the skin while turning the chicken.  I failed at that epically.  I think I just have to be more patient and really let each side brown.  Plus it would make the final outcome more attractive if the bird was browned.

This turned out so great!  I mean, what’s NOT to love about eat potatoes cooked in chicken and bacon fat? Seriously.  Plus the chicken was really flavourful and delicious.  It would never occur to me to cook a chicken in one of my Le Creusets!  But it turned out perfectly.  I wouldn’t make this every week given all that is required to make it happen but as a special occasion or once in a while dish – this is perfect.

Poulet en Cocotte Bonne Femme

• 1/2-pound piece bacon
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3-pound roasting chicken, trussed and buttered
• 15 to 25 peeled white onions (about 1-inch diameter)
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Herb bouquet made with 4 parsley sprigs, 1/2 bay leaf, and 1/4 teaspoon thyme tied in washed cheesecloth

1. Remove the rind and cut the bacon into lardons (strips 1/2 inch wide and 1 1/2 inches long). In 2 quarts water, simmer the bacon for 10 minutes. Rinse in cold water and dry. In a fire-proof casserole, saute the bacon for 2 to 3 minutes in 1 tablespoon of the butter until lightly browned. Transfer to a dish.

2. Brown the chicken in the hot fat, breast side down. Brown for 2 minutes, regulating heat so the butter is always very hot but not burning. Turn the chicken on another side using 2 wooden spoons or a towel. Continue browning and turning the chicken until it is a nice golden color almost all over, particularly on the breast and legs. This will take 10 to 15 minutes. Add more oil, if necessary, to keep the bottom of the casserole filmed.

3. Remove the chicken from the pan. Pour the fat out of the casserole. Set the oven at 325 degrees.

4. Drop the onions into boiling, salted water and boil slowly for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

5. Peel the potatoes and trim them into uniform ovals about 2 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Drain immediately.

6. In the casserole, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons butter until foaming. Add the potatoes and roll them around over moderate heat for 2 minutes to evaporate their moisture; this will prevent their sticking to the casserole. Spread them in the pan. Salt the chicken and place it breast up in the casserole. Place the bacon and onions on the potatoes and add the herb bouquet. Baste all the ingredients with the butter in the casserole, lay a piece of foil over the chicken, and cover the casserole.

7. Heat the casserole on top of the stove until the contents are sizzling. Transfer to the oven and roast for 1 hour and 10 to 20 minutes or until the chicken leg registers 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Baste once or twice with the juices in the pan.

Adapted from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” Volume One, printed in the Boston Globe.

(Recipe found on She’s Becoming DoughMessTic)