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.