I checked out a copy of this book. I always love taking at least one cookbook among my library conquests. This one will definitely be one of the books I need to hunt down from the local used book store. I think I recall McKay’s actually having one in stock, but we don’t have the funds right now. Or the space. I really need more space for my books. For myself too.
Have you guys seen Julie and Julia?
I loved the movie and the book. But then again, I’m a huge food porn person. I used to do a Tumblr centered around pretty food for a while. Entirely reposts. But images of food are just so satisfying. I love food and let’s just face it, Julia Childs was an amazing woman who brought delicious food to common households.
The book is broken down into an acknowledgments section; introduction; soups and two mother sauces; salads and their dressings; vegetables; meats, poultry, and fish; egg cookery; breads, crepes, and tarts; cakes and cookies; and the index.
I absolutely LOVE this next soup…
Leek and Potato Soup
- 3 cups sliced leeks (white and tender green parts)
- 3 cups peeled and roughly chopped “baking” potatoes
- 6 cups water
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream of creme fraiche, optional
Bring ingredients to the boil in a 3-quart saucepan. Cover partially and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Correct seasoning. Serve as is, or puree, and/or top each portion with a dollop of the cream.
Variations
Onion and Potato Soup. Substitute onions for leeks, or use a combination.
Cream of Leek and Potato Soup. After simmering the preceding soup, puree it and whisk in 1/2 cup heavy cream. Reheat to the simmer again before serving.
Watercress Soup. Add a bunch of washed watercress leaves and stems to the base soup for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Puree. Garnish with a scattering of fresh watercress leaves.
Cold Soups. Such as vichyssoise. Puree any of the above, stir in 1/2 cup cream, and chill. Correct seasoning just before serving; stir in chilled cream if you wish. Top each bowl with minced fresh chives or parsley (or fresh watercress leaves.)
Soup Du Jour meaning add anything else you have on hand, such as cauliflower, broccoli, green peas, spinach, cooked or raw. This is how you may come up with some of your own marvelous ideas and secret “house recipes”.
Two of the Mother Sauces
Bechamel Sauce
(For 2 cups, medium thick)
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 2 cups hot milk
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- Pinch of Nutmeg
Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, blend in the flour with a wooden spoon, and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until butter and flour foam together for 2 minutes without turning more than a buttery yellow color. Remove from heat, and when bubbling stops, vigorously whisk in all the hot milk at once. Bring to the boil, whisking. Simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. Season to taste.
Béchamel sauce is a sauce traditionally made from a white roux and milk. Béchamel may also be referred to as besciamella, besamel, or white sauce French, Italian and Greek Béchamel sauce recipes include salt and nutmeg as a seasoning base. Béchamel sauce is one of the “mother sauces” of French cuisine.
Hollandaise Sauce
(For about 1 1/2 cups)
- 3 egg yolds
- Big pinch of salt
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and hot
- More salt, and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Beat the egg yolk with a wire whisk in a stainless-steel saucepan for a minute or two, until they thicken lightly and turn lemon-colored. Whisk in the pinch of salt, lemon juice, and 1 Tablespoon cold butter. Set over moderately low heat and whisk continuously at moderate speed, removing pan from the heat now and then to make sure the yolks aren’t cooking too fast. When they cling to the wires of the whisk and you can see the bottom of the pan between strokes, remove from heat and stir in the second Tablespoon of cold butter. Start beating in the melted butter by little driblets at first, until a good 1/2 cup of the sauce has thickened, then add it a little more quickly as the sauce thickens into a heavy cream. Taste and correct seasoning.
Hollandaise sauce, formerly also called Dutch sauce, is an emulsion of egg yolk, melted butter, and lemon juice. It is usually seasoned with salt, and either white pepper or cayenne pepper. It is well known as a key ingredient of eggs Benedict, and is often served on vegetables such as steamed asparagus.
Sorry for the lack of photographs for this post. I haven’t made anything like this lately besides the leek and potato soup. I did make some recently, but I didn’t even think to take photographs that day. It’s one of my family’s go-to soup recipes on a cold winter day. We bake up a nice crusty french baguette to go along with it and eat bowls of the creamy soup until our souls mend.
Now I need to convince my MIL that we need to make some of this soup. Ah well. Thanks for reading! There’s so much more from this book I should share, but I really don’t want to flood you guys with too much information in one post. I’ll have to check this one out again or go buy my own copy. Until next time~!
Atelier Whootique 