Julia Child thread: her influence, in the media, and recipes

[DocBuzzkill]

Wow!  Looks delicious, Barry!  I read the recipe in The Way to Cook, and that checks all my boxes.     The combination of mushrooms, cream, and port is always a winner.  The roast chicken technique in itself looks good, too.  Is that a Le Creuset braiser?
Did you pre-cook the potatoes then finish them in the skillet?

[Kumbaya]

The recipe doesn't call to pre cook the potatoes. But next time I will. Or cut them smaller.
I think the potatoes were technically correct; but still too firm in my opinion. I'd say they were right on the edge of being underdone.

Yes on Le Creuset braiser. It's seen a lot of use! A likes these and I buy them for gifts (Christmas / B'day). 

[DocBuzzkill]

Yeah, just blanching the potatoes before sautéing them would do the trick.  For roasted potatoes, I blanch them first, which allows the outer surface to be "roughed up" when I mix them with olive oil and seasonings.  They're really nice and crisp but thoroughly cooked.  I really don't like underdone potatoes.
I have a large (12 in in diameter), deep (3.5 in) Le Creuset sauté pan with lid, aubergine w/ the same ceramic interior as your braiser.  It's my workhorse! 

[Kumbaya]

Yeah, just blanching the potatoes before sautéing them would do the trick.  For roasted potatoes, I blanch them first, which allows the outer surface to be "roughed up" when I mix them with olive oil and seasonings.  They're really nice and crisp but thoroughly cooked.  I really don't like underdone potatoes.
I have a large (12 in in diameter), deep (3.5 in) Le Creuset sauté pan with lid, aubergine w/ the same ceramic interior as your braiser.  It's my workhorse!

That sounds like the perfect size and I like the ceramic interior! I don't think we have that one.

In the potato recipe after you sear the outside there is a step where you turn down the heat and cook the potatoes at a lower temperature for 15 -20 minutes. I thought that didn't sound like it was long enough but who am I to question Julia Child. But next time I'd say it would take 30 minutes. Or cut them smaller. Or blanch as you recommend.

[picote]

I read somewhere adding a tablespoon of baking soda to the water when blanching will make them crispier. It seems to work for me.

[DocBuzzkill]

That sounds delicious! Post pictures!!

It also reminds me I need to find a decent crusty bread product for our dinner. That porto sauce needs an additional delivery mechanism. Which is easier said than done where I am.

OK, here are the photos.  Food photography is tricky, and to look decent, a professional is needed. A lot of home cook photos are just...gross.  These fall under the latter category and are not pretty.  Comments on the recipe below.

Looks like some horror from the Gallery of Regrettable food.    It tasted and smelled delicious though.


Here's a serving.  I was able to eat maybe 2/3 of the fish/scallop mousseline.  Just one piece of bread.  I think I ate more butter yesterday than I have in over a year!  Finished my steamed spinach though!  The fish was NOT easy to serve (see blobs on table cloth).


Comments on recipe.

Julia's master recipe for braised salmon with aromatic vegetables was actually easy.  Salmon, vegs, and juices were delicious.   

Scallop mousse (goes on top of the salmon and veg), a mix of sole and scallops, was easy to prepare, but it was bland.  Needs some zhushing up, like addition of a bit more white pepper, maybe 1/2 tsp of Hungarian hot paprika, and a tablespoon or 2 of Cognac.  Cooking time was 40 minutes vs. Julia's 20 to 25, but our oven's temp is funky.  We had to crank it up on the setting to actually heat closer to 350.  I'd really like a dual fuel stove. I hate the damn gas oven.

The mousseline sauce was amaaaaazing, but incredibly rich (butter, so much butter).  The base is JC's recipe for hollandaise (best recipe and procedure I have seen yet - produced a nice thick sauce that did not curdle), then the very reduced juices from the fish are added, followed by whipped cream to lighten it. "Lighten." Heh.  Then it's all run under the broiler.  Per Julia, 2 inches away.  I set the platter 6 inches away.  Even then, that mound was really brown!  Spawn the Elder snatched it out of there before it burned, thankfully.

We reduced the total recipe by 1/2, and it still made a lot.  Sent about 1/3 of it home with Spawn the Elder.  It was an adventure, but I won't repeat it.  The master recipe for braised salmon filet though, yeah, definitely would repeat that!

[Kumbaya]

OK, here are the photos.  Food photography is tricky, and to look decent, a professional is needed. A lot of home cook photos are just...gross.  These fall under the latter category and are not pretty.  Comments on the recipe below.

Looks like some horror from the Gallery of Regrettable food.    It tasted and smelled delicious though.


Here's a serving.  I was able to eat maybe 2/3 of the fish/scallop mousseline.  Just one piece of bread.  I think I ate more butter yesterday than I have in over a year!  Finished my steamed spinach though!  The fish was NOT easy to serve (see blobs on table cloth).


Comments on recipe.

Julia's master recipe for braised salmon with aromatic vegetables was actually easy.  Salmon, vegs, and juices were delicious.   

Scallop mousse (goes on top of the salmon and veg), a mix of sole and scallops, was easy to prepare, but it was bland.  Needs some zhushing up, like addition of a bit more white pepper, maybe 1/2 tsp of Hungarian hot paprika, and a tablespoon or 2 of Cognac.  Cooking time was 40 minutes vs. Julia's 20 to 25, but our oven's temp is funky.  We had to crank it up on the setting to actually heat closer to 350.  I'd really like a dual fuel stove. I hate the damn gas oven.

The mousseline sauce was amaaaaazing, but incredibly rich (butter, so much butter).  The base is JC's recipe for hollandaise (best recipe and procedure I have seen yet - produced a nice thick sauce that did not curdle), then the very reduced juices from the fish are added, followed by whipped cream to lighten it. "Lighten." Heh.  Then it's all run under the broiler.  Per Julia, 2 inches away.  I set the platter 6 inches away.  Even then, that mound was really brown!  Spawn the Elder snatched it out of there before it burned, thankfully.

We reduced the total recipe by 1/2, and it still made a lot.  Sent about 1/3 of it home with Spawn the Elder.  It was an adventure, but I won't repeat it.  The master recipe for braised salmon filet though, yeah, definitely would repeat that!

Wow!  I think that looks delicious!!
I also love that you add whipped cream to lighten it.

She's definitely not afraid of a little butter. 

I also think they may under report cooking times because they were working in commercial kitchens with heavy duty equipment.

[Chasing Amy]

I also think they may under report cooking times because they were working in commercial kitchens with heavy duty equipment.

The recipes were heavily tested in "home kitchens" so maybe you just aren't a good cook, Barry. 

Great thread, by the way! Bring on all the butter.

[DocBuzzkill]

The recipes were heavily tested in "home kitchens" so maybe you just aren't a good cook, Barry. 

Great thread, by the way! Bring on all the butter.

Home kitchens with a Wolf range/oven?

Mmmmmmm...butter.

[Chasing Amy]

Home kitchens with a Wolf range/oven?

Mmmmmmm...butter.

Well, yeah. How else could you prepare this?

[DocBuzzkill]

Well, yeah. How else could you prepare this?

True, true.  Her sole meunière procedure (all stove top) is great and easy in the home kitchen.  I love our Bosch gas top on our range, but the oven sucks. 

[Kumbaya]

That looks delicious!

[Kumbaya]

Our range and oven is all Jennaire 1990s stuff. Still works awesome but the oven is tiny.

I like it and don't want to replace despite the pressure I feel daily / weekly by the better cook I live with.

[Chasing Amy]

That looks delicious!

It looks like a dehydrated cheese burger in a bowl of watered down tomato soup.

[Kumbaya]

It looks like a dehydrated cheese burger in a bowl of watered down tomato soup.

Yum! It need 7-up Salad as a side.

[DocBuzzkill]

It looks like a dehydrated cheese burger in a bowl of watered down tomato soup.

Looks sort of Regrettable.

[radial]

Throw it all in a blender and voila, deconstructed soup and sandwich you can eat with a straw. 

[Kumbaya]

Coq au vin tomorrow.
I get to set some chicken on fire again this weekend!

[ihop]

More photos Barry and Doc!

I love Le Creuset pans and that braiser is tempting…


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[DocBuzzkill]

Hmmmmm, coq au vin!  One of my favorites.  No Julia (other than watching the HBO show) this weekend.  Spawn the Elder is preparing a pork loin, onion, and apple dish from Christopher Kimball (Milk Street; Boston Globe) for dinner, and the DH is planning on grilling a leg of lamb (butterflied) for dinner tomorrow.

More photos Barry and Doc!

I love Le Creuset pans and that braiser is tempting…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here's my deep skillet Le Creuset.    It's now about 9 years old, and we use it for so much, from searing steaks and scallops to braises to slow-cooked stews.  We replaced the knob on the lid with a metal one so it is completely oven-safe.  S the E will use it this evening.  I bought it at Williams Sonoma.  I think they may carry it exclusively, because I have not seen it on the Le Creuset site.  Not cheap but worth every penny.