Beef Stroganoff

So, I was able to get the verbal version of Julia Child's Beef Stroganoff from a friend :) I had big plans to post the recipe that I wrote on two post-its, but it didn't turn out that good so... I think I will pass. We love the Rachel Ray version, but Julia's called for 1 cup of cream. I didn't use all of it, but it was still sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo creamy, too creamy. B didn't even like it. I bought some polenta cakes from HEB, but they weren't very good either. I served it with green beans and corn, which were good :)

Beef Bourguignon (modified)

I did receive my copy of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" from the library, but before I did, I just did a google search and found this Julia Child recipe online. To say we have had some rain would be an understatement, but it makes from beef bourguinon (sp?) weather. Armed with the recipe, I took a spotaneous trip to the grocery store on Monday morning. Maybe not the best idea. The base recipe I used turned out to be modified, and then I modified from there based on the ingredients I found.

Ok, so I didn't blanche the bacon as directed, just to save a step. But I didn't do the whole thing with the pearl onions because I couldn't find any. I just used some jarred roasted onions instead. Other than that, pretty much as directed. And here is the result:



Yep, a whole sink full of dirty dishes. Although you can cook this ahead (and clean up), there was still a lot to do at the last moment. Onto the meal itself:



Assembled in the pot. And I served it with egg nooodles:



I don't often get to have a glass of wine with dinner these days, but I had some leftover! It was pretty good, but I don't think that Andy and I handled the amount of fat/butter in this dish very well!

Prepare to be impressed :) Creamy Spinach Turnover

I found this gem on PBS.com! Sweet show...kinda like 30 minute meals with all the stuff made before hand. The French Chef (1971): Spinach Twins. A turnover is something with a pie crust that is not in the shape of a pie:) Sorry about all the pictures. The first one I tried to make didn't work so good, I mean well.

I made one for the kids with just ham and cheese

This was very time consuming. I got a ready-made pie crust and then layered the spinach mixture, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed ham, and then topped off with more spinach mixture.

Here is the pre-cooked turnover brushed with the egg and water mixture that acts like a glue to hold the decorative stripes on.

Here is the turnover cooked. I was pretty proud and I think that my husband was impressed too...right B?

Julia said to serve it with a cucumber and tomato salad...done.

Deluxe Chicken Salad

I also found this recipe for Deluxe Chicken or Turkey Salad on my search. I literally could only find a few recipes that I thought I could make. She suggests making your own mayo, so I followed Kerri's recipe. Mine was way to salty and the olive oil taste was too strong. It tasted fine in the chicken salad, but not by itself:)

Wish I would have had some chips with it:) Kalamatas were nice though too!!

Sauteed Pork Chops

I did a search for some Julia Child recipes and it was slim pickins. After I went to the library and all of her books were checked out, I thought the Internet would be teaming with recipes...sadly no:(

I did find this recipe for Julia Child's Sauteed Pork Chops. They were very tasty, but I think that bone-in chops are just tasty:) My husband did say that it seemed like something you would get at a fancy restaurant. They were pretty easy considering it came from Julia:)

I did screw up the sauce because I didn't remove it from the heat and swirl the pat of butter in. I kinda for got and so my perfect syrupy sauce just turned into melted butter with bits of brown...kinda like oil and vinegar. This does give me hope that I could make a fancy restaurant sauce if I would just follow the directions.

Puffed Cheese Appetizers and Steak Diane

Had a little dinner party the other night and decided to break out Julia again. The puffed cheese appetizers were in a section following how to make your own puff pastry. Who does that? I used store bought. They turned out ok. It was pretty easy, so I can see myself making some version of these, but maybe not these exact ones.



Puffed Cheese Appetizer

- roll out puff pastry dough
- sprinkle cheese down the center
- flip bottom half over cheese
- sprinkle more cheese
- flip top half over cheese
- roll out again to almost original size
- repeat cheese and flip steps (probably should have done this two more times, but I only did it once)
- cut into 2 inch by 3 inch strips and place on baking sheet
- paint tops with egg glaze and sprinkle with cheese
- bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes



The steak diane is really a family staple. I don't make it as much as my mom does, but I am always happy to eat it when she makes it for me! You can use steak or thin pieces of chicken. It is so easy to make, and although I did prep as much as I could ahead of time, I had it finished by the time the rice was done cooking.

Steak Diane

- pound 4 steaks to 1/4 inch thickness. Grind thick layer of pepper on surface (recipe called for green peppercorns, but I just used black). Rub on soy sauce and olive oil.
- Saute steaks in 1 TB olive oil andn 1 TB butter ~ 1 minute on each side. Set cooked steaks aside.
- Add more butter and oil. Saute 1/4 cup parsley and shallots for a few minutes.
- Combine 1 cup beef boullioin, 1 TB cornstarch, and 1 TB Dijon. Add to pan. Cook for a moment.
- Add 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce, juice from half a lemon, and 2 TB of port (or substitute). Cook for a few minutes.
- Add steaks back to pan to cook in sauce for a few minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Rosie's Great Potato Salad

It has been awhile. This past week has been very busy with 3rd bday parties, in laws, and the start of the college football season. To complicate matters, it turns out that many of Julia's recipes are pretty darn complicated. (just FYI - I don't think I will ever removed the skin from a duck or chicken, remove the bones, make some sort of stuffing of the meat, and then put it BACK into the skin. Who does that?) I found this recipe for potato salad in my mom's copy of Julia Child and Company. Sure, it is just another potato salad, but what really interest me is the homemade mayonnaise that went into it. I have stated before that I am not a mayo fan, but have always wanted to try making my own. It was actually very easy. Here is the recipe:

Mayonnaise in the Food Processor (yield about 2 1/4 cups, I didn't end up with that much...on purpose)
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks (I used one)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp of salt
1 TB lemon juice
2 cups olive oil of the highest quality (I used one of whatever I had)
white pepper (I used black)
- process egg, egg yolk, mustard, and salt for 30 seconds
- add lemon juice and process another 30 seconds
- with motor running, add olive oil in thin stream until all is in. Check consitancy.
- Taste and adjust seasonings.



That is all. The result was good, very different from the store bought, but I thought the olive oil taste was a little strong. I probably didn't not use a good enough quality!

For the potato salad.
3 lbs red potatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 medium celery stalk, finely diced
1 small crisp dill pickle, finely diced
2 hard boiled eggs, diced
2 Tb minced parsely
1 canned pimineto diced (I used roasted red pepper)
1/2-3/4 cup homemade mayonnaise

- Boil potatoes in their skins about 20 minutes, just until tender. Then drain off water, and let sit for 5 minutes to let them firm up. Peel and slice. Toss still warm potatoes in large mixing bowl with broth, salt, and pepper.
- Salt the diced onions and add to potatoes along with the celery, pickle, eggs, parsely, and pimento. Toss and forld gently to blend flavors. Taste carefully and adjust seasonings.
- When cool, fold in mayonnaise.



This was good, probably one of the best I have had, but still, it is a potato salad. Ehh. I served it with grilled hot dogs and brats. My Father In Law said he could almost hear Julia, "mmmmmmhmmmmmm"

The Julia Child/Monthly Challenge project

I was inspired by the movie Julie/Juile. I mean, I haven't seen it or anything, but just the media blitz and previews got me thinking this would be a great challenge. Cook anything from Julia Child. I have found a few books and so far, I am a little nervous. You wouldn't think it, but Julia Child is a little...dated. I don't cook like she does. I rely on simple and fresh ingredients to get dinner on the table fast. Julia takes a little longer, and is definately more complicated. Well, this is the monthly challenge blog and it might be a challenge, so let's do it! Cook from the recipes of Julia Child. You should be able to find some online, and if not, the library. I have checked out a few of her books, but still waiting for Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol I. Apparently, I wasn't the only one with this idea!