3 new recipes from Julia's Cookbook!

#1 Creme Brulee

Ok, I don't know what I did wrong! I followed the recipe for Creme Brulee and read it 3 times but it did not set up AT ALL! Hmmm. Here's what Julia says about Creme Brulee: Its not a french dessert, it's actually Creole. So why didn't it set up? I have no idea. This recipe does not call to bake the custard sauce, it just says to stir it over low heat on the stovetop and then chill it.

Oh well.

Here's what I did to salvage the egg yolks and whipping cream I used: I whipped it in my kitchen aid mixer with the wire whip and turned it into a soft whipped topping for strawberries. Yummy!

#2 Fresh Braised Spinach with Butter aka Epinards Etuves au Beurre

Okay so picture 3 large bunches of spinach - get the visual, then wash it, blanch it for 5 minutes, strain it, spread it on a towel and squeeze it dry. Then, chop it - you now have 3 cups of cooked chopped spinach that started out as 3 huge bunches! Wow. Now you can braise it in the butter for 10 minutes.

It was good but I can't help but think that if I had taken 2 boxes of frozen chopped spinach, I could have saved myself a lot of work, pans and time.

#3 Ham Slices in Cream and Madeira Sauce aka Tranches De Jambon Morvandelle

I bought a cooked sliced ham for this at Whole Foods which can do double duty all week for sandwiches too.

So with this recipe you basically warm the ham slices for one minute only in butter in a saucepan and set them aside. Then add flour, chopped onion, stir in broth and madeira (or port, which is what I used) and once its smooth and thickened, add heavy cream and salt and pepper. Put the ham back in and serve it over the spinach above.

I served the ham and spinach with my favorite Julia Child potato dish which is like a scalloped potato dish cooked in the oven.

Nigel liked this dinner alot! I liked it, but didn't love it. I thought the port in the sauce was a bit much.

Cheese Puffs

I forgot to tell you! The Cheese puffs I made with the leftover chaux paste (that I used for the gnocchi) was to die for good!!! And very easy. So very easy. I will definitely make these again.

Although, I have to wait until I'm not counting calories (which I started a week ago) to make these again because they're very addictive!

Love this cookbook.

Pommes De Terre Sautees

I loved the new potato dish I made a few days ago. And I'm not a huge potato fan!

Pommes De Terre Sautees (Potatoes sauteed in butter)

You may think that potatoes sauteed in butter is nothing special but you would be incorrect!

Take fingerling potatoes, peel them, melt some butter in a saute pan and brown a bit on all sides. Then cover the pan for 5 minutes and continue cooking on low heat until nicely brown on all sides and tender. Salt and eat!

This dish is so tasty! I served them with beef tenderloin steak and a red wine reduction gravy with a nice pear and greens salad w/balsamic olive oil dressing.

Lovely!

Hollandaise Sauce

Made the blender Hollandaise sauce yesterday to top the crab cakes Katie made. Was very yummy.

I've made this before and it's so easy and so good. Can't believe it turns out so very creamy.

Okay, let's catch up!

I made the gnocchi. I don't think I followed the directions exactly because it turned out a little mushy. I will make it again, this time paying more attention to details.

This morning I'm making cheese puffs with leftover chaux paste (that I used for the gnocchi). I'll let you know how it turns out. I think it'll be yummy.

I'm loving this cookbook.

Stay tuned for more. I'm headed to Katie's this Thursday and we'll be cooking more!!!

Chicken Fricasse

Made scrambled eggs for breakfast this morning. The trick is low heat, a teaspoon of butter and cook til just barely done. Heaven.

Just looked thru Julia's cookbook and am going to make an Old Fashioned Chicken Fricasse with white wine cream sauce and vegetables for dinner. Looks yummy. Its basically cut up chicken browned in a little butter, and baked in the oven then add pearl onions and mushrooms and finish the sauce with stock, white wine, and cream.

Wish me luck!

Eggs, Vegetables

Okay, I watched 3 episodes of the French Chef this morning. 2 on eggs and 1 on cooking vegetables the french way. I'm in heaven! Butter rules!

But the good thing about it is that if you use just a teaspoon of butter per serving, it only adds about 35 calories to your serving.

Let's talk eggs first. To make a french style omelet, you only cook the eggs 20 seconds. I've been cooking my eggs way too long! You don't add cream or milk either, only about a teaspoon of water per 2 eggs.

Then I watched her make baked eggs, which I have never seen anyone do before! Easy and it looked so yummy that I made them for Kristie and I this morning for breakfast. I like these eggs so much better than poached eggs because there's no water to contend with and the flavor is so much better. I'll be making this dish over and over now that I know its so easy. (To make baked eggs for a crown, you can use a muffin pan.)

Now let's talk vegetables. She cooked green beans, carrots, spinach and stuffed mushrooms. I had already make the stuffed mushrooms from her cookbook but it was nice to see her do it. The key to the green beans and the spinach is to cook them for 5 minutes in rapidly boiling water - LOTS of boiling water - we're talking about 2 gallons! Then drain them and "refresh" them in cold water. That can be done ahead of time, then simply heat them in a saucepan with a little butter and lemon juice, salt and pepper. for the spinach you can add butter and either stock or cream. Use the spinach as a later to put under fish or eat as is.

Carrots can simply be cut up and put in a small saucepan. The key is to fill the pan only about 1/3 the way up, add a tablespoon of water and some diced shallots. Cover and let cook for about 20 minutes. They're done when all the water evaporates and the carrots are tender. I'll be trying that soon!

This is the most fun I've had learning about food in a long time!

P.S. I'm still counting calories and have lost another 1.5 pounds...even cooking many dishes the Julia Child way! Yay.