"Be a fearless cook!" Child recommended. "Try out new ideas and new recipes, but always buy the freshest and finest ingredients, whatever they may be. Furnish your kitchen with the most solid and workmanlike equipment you can find. Keep your knives ever sharp and toujours bon appetit!"
Today we celebrate the 100th birthday of Julia Child. I truly thought she would live to see this day. There are not many men or women who lived a life so fully and joyfully. I owe Julia massive gratitude for teaching me how to cook well. She taught me how to love to read recipes, pay attention to detail, only buy the best ingredients and use BUTTER!!!!
Since no one was scheduled for this spot, I thought I'd just insinuate myself on this special day.
The Smithsonian, working overtime, has been able to reopen the exhibit of her kitchen after a 7 month closure (overall museum rehab). Here's a lovely WaPo article about the exhibit and other culinary celebrations for our most beloved chef. Read also this loving tribute, My Dinners with Julia by Sheryl Julian in The Boston Globe.
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I vaguely remember that Julia was a smoker -- maybe from her autobiography which she wrote with her grand-nephew, Alex Prud'Homme (the nephew finished after her death in 2004) -- My Life in France. Interesting enough, a google search for Julia Child and smoking brought up a bunch of sites. Here is the most concise and a bit hilarious:
1933
She collected $1,000 from her father on her twenty-first birthday, who promised her it, if she gave up smoking until she was twenty-one, as she was fond of puffing on his cigars. Apparently after collecting the money, she started smoking again and did so for another thirty years.
Source:
"Tallyrand's Culinary Fare: Julia Child
Soooooo, she quit in 1963 ish, two years after the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
The only way to cook, no matter the recipe or source, is to have utter reverence for Julia. What does that mean? For me --
1. Read the recipe over and over and over again for a few days at least;
2. Write up a list of ingredients and check off what you have on hand;
3. Re-write your list and go to a good butcher or local farm or farmer's market or reliable grocer;
4. Re-read the recipe a few times after you put your groceries in the appropriate places;
5. Measure and place all of your dry ingredients in prep bowls;
6. Follow the recipe as if you are following instructions for delivering your favorite person's baby; and
7. Don't be afraid of mistakes -- and if you make any -- follow Julia's 1st commandment -- "Never apologize."
The following is a dish I have made for years -- if one truly follows Julia's guidance, you will be adored by anyone who eats it.
I am copying the entire recipe as written.
Boeuf Bourguignon
Bouef A La Bourguignonne
[Beef Stew in Red Wine, with Bacon, Onions and Mushrooms]
As is the case with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf bourguignon. Carefully done, and perfectly flavored, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man, and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner. Fortunately you can prepare it completely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains flavor when reheated.
Vegetable and Wine Suggestions
Boiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish. Buttered noodles or steamed rice may be substituted. If you also wish a green vegetable, buttered peas would be your best choice. Serve with the beef a fairly full-bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, Bordeaux-St. Emilion, or Burgundy.
For 6 people
A 6 ounce chunk of bacon: Remove rind and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quart of water. Drain and dry.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
9 to 10 inch fireproof casserole, 3 inches deep and 1 tblsp olive oil or cooking oil: Saute the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you saute the beef.
3 lbs stewing beef cut into 2 inch cube: Dry the beef in paper towel; it will not brown if it is damp. Saute it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon
1 sliced carrot, 1 sliced onion: In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sauteing fat
1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 2 tblsp flour: Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to the overn for 4 minutes more. (This brown the flour and cover the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees
3 cups of a fullbodied, young red wine such as one of those suggested for serving or a Chianti. 2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon, 1 tblsp tomato paste, 2 clove mashed garlic, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1 crumbled bay leaf, the blanched bacon rind: Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and et in the lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 3-4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily. (I've actually cooked this in the oven at 225 overnight)
Vegetables to add at end of cooking:
18 to 24 mall white onions, peeled, 1 1/2 tblsp butter 1 1/2 tblsp oil: When the butter and oil are bubbling in a skillet, add the onions and saute over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling the onions about so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect to brown them uniformly.
1/2 cup of brown stock, dry white wine, red wine or water, salt and pepper to taste, a medium herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, 1/2 bay leaf, 1/4 tsp thyme wrapped in cheesecloth: Pour in the liquid, season to taste and add the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape, and the liquid ha evaporated. Remove the herb bouquet.
1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms: Saute in butter until browned.
Add onions and mushrooms by carefully blending in the stew just before serving.
Bon appetit!!
If you follow just one Julia recipe -- you will appreciate the art of cooking. Anyone who loves to cook should own at least
Mastering the Art of French Cooking since it teaches technique besides having brilliant recipes.
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