Julia Child would be 100 years old today. I think I might make her French Onion Soup and raise a glass this evening in her memory.
Bon appetit! Dee
Tag Archives: french onion soup
Centennial for Julia Child
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged bon appetit, cooking, food, french onion soup, Julia Child
Snow
For a nearly snow-less winter, we certainly have seen Spring snow up here in the mountains. It’s now April 13 and it’s been snowing all night with little accumulation on roads that I can see, but 5-8″ were forecast.
The winds picked up yesterday and all the birds went into refuge elsewhere. It’s not unusual to see about 40 ducks from our windows, sometimes a couple of geese, and the cranes. Right now much of the nature preserve is covered in snow, except for snowmelt making rivers and mud holes for the birds to dig into for bugs et al.
What does this extended winter mean for me, except a dirty car? I can make a few more soups or stews before changing the menu toward asparagus, fresh peas and look forward to outdoor farmers’ markets. We haven’t had Julia Child’s French Onion Soup all winter so I have to make it, have the ingredients on a post-it on the frig (all my cookbooks have been in storage for a year).
A few days ago I bought a bunch of spring onions, split the bulbs in quarters while leaving the greens intact, tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper and we grilled them. A harbinger of spring, before the snow started up again.
There’s a lot going on the next few weeks, though it is tough to think of Memorial Day being right around the corner. We’re hoping to see family that weekend, perhaps Jim’s Uncle Bobby will even babysit a few briskets for 13 hours on his custom smoker. Then we have family coming in June and I’ll work on menus for a picky eater, our nephew.
Along with cooking a good deal this past weekend, I helped my husband with wiring his car to allow him to listen to music on an iPhone or iPod. My time was spent pulling the coat hanger attached to the wire, and making breakfast, lunch and dinner. This morning I think I’m going to make omelets with Black Forest ham and Emmenthaler cheese, and perhaps biscuits. I have to plan it now because it takes 20 minutes for the oven to heat up, and who knows what temperature it’ll be at today? It’s usually 50-100 degrees high but has a mind of its own. Enjoy the day and cook something good!
Oh, here’s something for you. I cut up a slice of red onion, diced 1/2 red bell pepper and tossed it in a skillet with a bit of olive oil, added a couple cups of frozen corn, seasoned and stirred and let it cool to room temperature for a quick corn salad. I added a bean salad and sandwiches and that was Sunday supper. Cheers, Dee
Mission: Possible
Issue: Leftovers
Solution: Individual servings.
Method: Four covered French onion soup bowls I found and bought for $6. Yes, that’s $6 for all four with lids.
Menu 1: Julia Child’s French Onion Soup. I own two of her books with the recipe (see Cook Books for links) so had no trouble going online for measurements of ingredients I already knew. My beloved cooking books are all in storage and have been for nearly a year. Let the browser beware, there are a lot of fake Julia Child French Onion Soup recipes out there, luckily I knew which one was real. Served with croutons and probably Fontina cheese because that’s what I have on hand today. A green salad would be nice.
Menu 2: Chicken pot pie. I’ll work on this one probably tomorrow, with a purchased puff pastry round on top that is scored and triple-glazed with egg wash for a great topping.
Menu 3: Shepherd’s Pie. I’m working on my own recipe for this delight.
Jim won’t eat leftovers. I’d love the perfect rectangular pans so I can make other dishes, as the round ones probably won’t work for Menu 3. Or Jim will eat two! I’d like to be able to make individual lasagnes.
There’s still a search on for two perfectly sized le Creuset dutch ovens for stews. I can always cool a stew and put it in plastic to freeze for a while, like the ratatouille I just found in the freezer. If we leave this place and go to a larger home in the area, the first thing Jim’s going to do is buy me a chest freezer. That’s why we’re still here??? I don’t know that I want the pressure of a chest freezer but it would be a great place to store Zoe (frozen food for the dog) food so the indoor freezer could be for us.
This message will not be erased in ten seconds, Jim. This is my mission and I will carry it out and report to you later. Cheers! Dee
p.s. It’s snowing! We’re looking at a ski paradise over the next few days and a driver’s nightmare. Luckily we have two AWD vehicles with traction control and great snow tires.
Julia
Ever since I was a kid I loved Julia Child on TV, then I bought Mastering the Art of French Cooking I and II then The Way To Cook. Today I received “Julie and Julia,” “My Life in France” and another memoir.
Forgive me for craving books, especially those about cooks and cookery. I moved here on a temporary basis four months ago and left 99% of my life back home. I didn’t take one cookbook with me. We promised we wouldn’t add to the meager items we brought with us but have added a bit.
Luckily I’ve all my herbs and spices plus more. We’ve bought a few necessary books. Jim needed shirts for work so now has a non-banker wardrobe of khakis and plaid shirts (the newest is a George Strait) that runs long so is perfect for him.
My favorite recipe from Julia Child is her French Onion Soup. You can’t take any short cuts on it and it is a perfect winter dish with crouton and gruyere cheese. Add a salad, french bread and a glass of wine and if I needed to impress a suitor, that would be the dish given the appropriate season.
Most of the recipes I learned in cooking school were from Simone “Simca” Beck, one of Julia’s collaborators on both French cookbooks. Both are gone now, so is James Beard and other culinary giants.
I understand the movie Julie and Julia is coming out soon. Meryl Streep is an icon and Amy Adams is definitely worth seeing. I haven’t seen any reviews yet but given these two actors and Stanley Tucci, this is a movie I’ll be seeing. Cheers, Dee
Cooking with Dee 