Great Lakes Foodie » Julia Child http://www.greatlakesfoodie.com A Wisconsinite foodie sharing love of food... Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:18:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 The French Chef… http://www.greatlakesfoodie.com/2009/12/02/the-french-chef/ http://www.greatlakesfoodie.com/2009/12/02/the-french-chef/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:32:24 +0000 Great Lakes Foodie http://www.greatlakesfoodie.com/?p=380 Over the weekend, I set the DVR to record our local PBS affiliate, MPTV.  Julia Child was going to be featured on a fund drive.  Watching the shows, we saw her omelet episode, bouillabaisse episode, and my favorite, the chicken episode.  Having pulled a roaster out of the freezer, it reminded me how a

Continue reading The French Chef…

]]> Over the weekend, I set the DVR to record our local PBS affiliate, MPTV.  Julia Child was going to be featured on a fund drive.  Watching the shows, we saw her omelet episode, bouillabaisse episode, and my favorite, the chicken episode.  Having pulled a roaster out of the freezer, it reminded me how a simple roast chicken could be.

I worked from home today as I had to chaperone the other half to the doctor to have his esophagus looked at.  I know, how does a foodie get along with someone with a sensitive tummy?  I make it work.  Admittedly, it can be hard at times…but that is part of the challenge.  Long story short, I had the time today…middle of the week…to roast a chicken.  The basic roast is my favorite.  Salt, pepper, and some butter.  Moist, flavorful, easy to create leftover variations.  I like the basic approach as I don’t have to commit to a series of leftovers.  I can take some and make an Asian dish.  The next day Italian…and Mexican the next.  If I start out making a honey-balsamic glazed chicken…I’m kinda stuck in the Mediterranean genre.

After a long wait in the doctor’s office and a never-ending series of emails and phone calls for work, this was a great cap to the day.  Don’t be afraid…the chicken is your friend…and the whole chicken is your juicy friend.  Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week!

Technorati Tags: , ,

]]> http://www.greatlakesfoodie.com/2009/12/02/the-french-chef/feed/ 0 Home Run Ending to a Mediocre Food Week http://www.greatlakesfoodie.com/2009/10/17/home-run-ending-to-a-mediocre-food-week/ http://www.greatlakesfoodie.com/2009/10/17/home-run-ending-to-a-mediocre-food-week/#comments Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:54:01 +0000 Great Lakes Foodie http://www.greatlakesfoodie.com/?p=311 I am thrilled to say that this week has been a complete success.  Though I had a few bumps earlier in the week, my buddy Julia came through as always.  This brings me to a periodic concern I have about all the cooking choices available today.  Are you testing your recipes??????  I believe the

Continue reading Home Run Ending to a Mediocre Food Week

]]> I am thrilled to say that this week has been a complete success.  Though I had a few bumps earlier in the week, my buddy Julia came through as always.  This brings me to a periodic concern I have about all the cooking choices available today.  Are you testing your recipes??????  I believe the secret to a good cook is a fearless nature with perseverance to the core.   You can’t give up if you’re going to make a great dish.  There will always be mishap and the flavor combination that becomes disaster.  However, if you don’t try to move forward, you’ll be stuck with the old.  (Don’t get me wrong…I make my old hat turkey stroganoff a couple of times a year.  I have stopped making it weekly though!!)

Now for the details…

close-up of meat loaf

As I said, Julia came to the rescue.  I am confident that anything Julia Child touched and put to paper is going to be successful.  I pulled out the old cookbook and looked for something a bit rustic and different than we’ve had before.

Boeuf a la Catalane was it!

This French dish comes from the corner of France near Spain and the Mediterranean.  It’s made with beef, rice, and onions.  It’s a stew of sorts.  However, witht the addition of rice, I would call it a cross between a stew and paella!   Look for recipes for this dish online.  I’ve even seen a variation with green olives.  Though, I’d be the only one in our household eating the dish then.  Hmmm…never thought about it that way.  This was good enough to not want to share.  Maybe I will make it with green olives next time!!! Pumpkin

Now on to dessert

Since it’s Sweetest Day today, I decided to make my better half a favorite fall dessert flavor, pumpkin.  I found a Pumpkin Bread Pudding recipe in the October 2007 issue of Gourmet magazine.  I have to say, great choice.  Crunchy bread crust, creamy custard, sweet and spicy pumpkin.  A hit!!! The only thing to do better would be a nice vanilla bean ice cream scoop.  Reader beware:  A scoop might send you over the edge with this rich, filling dessert.  I’d be happy with just a small, tablespoon size scoop…melting over the warm crusty bread.   Maybe it’s time to go to the store and get some ice cream!!!  Recipe follows:

Recipe: Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Summary: Gourmet, October 2007

Ingredients

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs plus 1 yolk
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon allspice
  • pinch ground clove
  • 5 cups cubed (1-inch) crusty bread
  • 3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. Whisk cream, pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, and spices. Set aside.
  3. Toss bread cubes with butter.
  4. Place bread in an 8-inch square baking pan and pour custard mixture into pan. Let bread soak in custard mixture for 5-10 minutes.
  5. Bake bread pudding 25-30 minutes or until custard is set.
Cooking time (duration): 15
Number of servings (yield): 6
Meal type: dessert
My rating: 4.0 stars ****

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

]]> http://www.greatlakesfoodie.com/2009/10/17/home-run-ending-to-a-mediocre-food-week/feed/ 0