Cooking with Julia Child

For our first wedding anniversary, my husband surprised me with an amazingly thoughtful present: a couples cooking class that paid tribute to Julia Child.  The class, taught at CulinAerie by the delightful Susan Holt, focused on classic French cuisine, and Chef Holt entertained us with her knowledge of and personal experience meeting Julia Child.  

Okay… so I wasn't exactly cooking with Julia Child herself, but she was definitely there in spirit!

The class started with some basic instruction on how to prepare and cook our three course meal of Lentil Salad, Roast Pork with Mustard Cream Sauce, and Crêpes Suzette.  Chef Holt provided sufficient instruction on technique, without becoming overly technical.  It was, after all, a couples cooking class, designed primarily to be a fun, engaging, and entertaining experience for the pair. The meal was simple but full of flavor.  And the experience of cooking together was wonderfully intimate and romantic – despite the presence of 13 other couples!  Plus, they kept giving us wine!  

Here's a breakdown of our meal and some great tips I picked up along the way.

Lentil Salad with Chicory and Chevre

This simple salad of cooked French lentils with chicory (or frisée, endive, or any bitter green), goat cheese and a classic French vinaigrette caused my husband to declare that we should be eating more lentils.  It was so full of nutrients and flavor that I could easily eat this for a meal on its own.  

There are many varieties of lentils, and most commonly this legume is used in Indian cooking. French lentils are a distinctive dark green, and when properly cooked, should be al dente (firm, not mushy).  Lentils are high in protein, fiber and iron, folate and B1 (thank you Wikipedia!) and are a great option for vegetarian dishes.  

Cooking tips:

• These only need to cook for about 25 minutes in simmering water, until just tender.
• You don't really need to add salt, unless you want to add that flavor profile.  
• If you do add salt, you may need to increase the cooking time a bit.

Pork Tenderloin with a Mustard, Tarragon Cream Sauce.  And bacon.

Julia Child, in volume one of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, describes the pork loin as the most expensive cut, but also the most attractive looking.  I am not sure I can comment on its attractiveness, but I do know that this cut of meat can be found at Trader Joe's for around $5, which is about half the price of my local neighborhood grocer.  (I still support the local grocer, just not in the form of buying their pork tenderloin!) 

Roast pork tenderloin is one of my favorite dishes to make because it's simple, flavorful and easy. Just season the meat, sear it on all sides, and let it finish cooking in the oven.  Voilà!

Some helpful tips:

• Use canola or peanut oil for searing the tenderloin.  The smoke point of olive oil is too low and can impart its own flavors, which you don't necessarily want.
• When searing the tenderloin, put it in the hot pan and leave it alone until it achieves a nice golden brown/almost caramel color on one side.  Only then should you pick it up and turn… Repeat on all sides until it's evenly seared.  You  may need to lower the heat a bit as you go.
• Don't season the meat until just before you put it in the pan, and you really only need to use a little bit of salt and pepper.  The application of salt draws out moisture, so you want to wait until the last minute to apply this.

In regard to the last point, don't confuse basic salt and pepper seasoning with a dry rub or a marinade.  If you are going to use these, Julia Child advises at least 6 to 24 hours of marinating/seasoning time for a refrigerated loin roast.

Another good tip, let the meat rest in the pan, in the braising liquid (in this case wine and chicken broth) so it retains more moisture. Only remove the meat just before you start the sauce.  Slice the tenderloin just as the sauce is finishing, pour on the sauce and serve immediately.  This is the perfect, perfect, perfect temperature!  And the sauce – prepared with mustard, crème fraiche, and tarragon – was so good I wanted to lick my plate.

Oh, and this particular dish was also made with bacon.  And not just any bacon.  Nueske's bacon. Also commonly referred to as the best bacon in America… or at least is should be.  

Pork + Pork = Heaven  

Crêpes Suzette

"Fire in the hole!"  Not just an oft-repeated expression from the fabulous FX series Justified, but apparently the magic phrase of choice for the flambéed Crêpes Suzette!

Crêpes Suzette is a classic French dessert, and while crêpes can be a time-consuming, pain in the ass to make, they're soooo worth it.  Made with a few crêpes, butter, sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice, and an orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier (if you like more of a cognac finish) or Cointreau…  C'est très magnifique!  

Tips on the art of flambé:

• Never (Jamais!) pour the liqueur into the pan when it's over the flame.  Instead pull the pan off heat and pour in the liqueur.
• Immediately thrust the pan back over heat, tipping the pan toward the flame and thus igniting the alcohol vapors!  All without actually sloshing everything into the fire!
• And don't forget to yell "Fire in the hole!" while doing it!  Because it's fun to get in touch with your inner pyromaniac… and we need atmosphere dammit!  

Got all that?!   

Overall, this was a fun and memorable experience for the both of us.  We both learned new things and had an absolutely, lovely time cooking with and for each other.  And all of the wine didn't hurt either!  Thanks, Chef Holt and CulinAerie for a fantastic meal, and thanks to my amazing husband for a terrific first anniversary!  

Bon Appétit!

Apple, Fig and Bourbon Compote

Autumn, my favorite season, is upon us.  The farmer's market now has apples and cider and all of the things that are perfect and inviting on a cool, crisp fall morning.  While I am not a big fan of apple pie, I do love cooked apples.  This simple apple compote made with a fig spread (use fresh if you have them), a bit of bourbon, butter and brown sugar is lovely when paired with a (cheesy) polenta, or it can serve as a dessert on its own.  It also goes really well with grilled pork chops… wrapped in bacon… Mmm… bacon………..

Things that make me happy: Bourbon, fig spread, brown sugar

Apple, Fig and Bourbon Compote - Recipe inspiration from here!

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large or 2 small apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 2 tablespoons fig spread
• 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 shot of bourbon – feel free to pour some in the compote, too! ;)

Peel, core and dice the apple.  

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Add the apple and cook for three to five minutes, until the apple just begins to soften.

Add the fig spread and brown sugar.

Mix together until the brown sugar is desolved and the fig spread just begins to thin out.

Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the shot of bourbon… Really, you can add as much as you like… It's really about how much bourbon flavor you want to taste and how long you have to cook it down.  

Back on the heat, stir in the bourbon.  

Bring it just to a low boil and reduce the heat to low.  

Cook the sauce down for another ten minutes or so.  Again, this can cook longer, but I was hungry! 

Serve alone or topped on a slice of grilled polenta.

Enjoy!

Summer Vegetable Tart

I picked up some zucchini, squash and mini eggplants from the farmers market this weekend and decided to turn them into a goat cheese and bacon delivery mechanism.  Because I love goat cheese.  And bacon.  Mmm… bacon…  And you know… it's good to eat vegetables.  And stuff.

Summer Vegetable Tart with Goat Cheese and Bacon

• 1 small zucchini
• 1 small yellow squash
• 3 mini eggplants
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• Smidge of salt and pepper
• Puff pastry (I used four squares of puff pastry measuring approximately 4×4 inches)
• Goat cheese
• 2 strips of bacon, cooked and broken into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, or the specified temperature on the package directions of the puff pastry.

If using frozen puff pastry, defrost for about 20-30 minutes at room temperature, or according to whatever the package directions specify.  If you're making puff pastry from scratch, congratulate yourself on your awesomeness.  Also, open a bottle of wine and start drinking… because you're probably going to need it.  Julia Child knows!

Wash and chop the zucchini, squash, and mini eggplants, leaving the skins on.

In a large saute pan, melt the butter and olive oil together over medium heat.  

Add the vegetables, a little salt and pepper to taste, and saute for about 2-3 minutes.  

Add a splash of balsamic vinegar (about 1 tablespoon – more or less depending on how prominent you want the flavor to be).  

Note: The balsamic vinegar really makes the flavor when coupled with the goat cheese.  The marriage of these two flavors is really what makes this tart special.  Even if I like to pretend it's the bacon.

Toss the vegetables to coat.  Cook for another minute or so, then turn off and remove from heat.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the puff pastry on to it.

Score the edge of the puff pastry squares with a knife and poke several times with the tines of a fork.  Brush very lightly with some olive oil or an egg wash.  Top the squares of puff pastry with the lightly sauteed vegetables.

Add some goat cheese and pop the tarts in the oven.  

Ready for the oven… Mmm… Goat Cheese…

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or for however long the package directions say you should.

In the meantime, cook the bacon, if you haven't already done so.  Set aside to drain the excess grease from the bacon.  Allow to cool and chop into bite size pieces.

With a few minutes left of bake time, add the bacon to the tarts.

When the edges have puffed up and turned lightly golden brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

Enjoy!  

Grilled Cheese. Now With Bacon.

How can I possibly make a grilled cheese more unhealthy?  Add bacon.  

Grilled Cheese with Bacon

• 2 slices bacon
• 2 slices rye bread
• A slab of butter, approximately 1 tablespoon
• Cheese (I'm lazy, so I used a slice of American cheese. But you should feel free to experiment with one or more unprocessed cheeses.) 

Fry up the slices of bacon and when crisped to your liking remove from the pan and set aside on a paper towel to soak up the excess grease.  

Off heat, remove the bacon grease from the pan.  

Tip: Store bacon grease in a jar and use it for making popcorn later on.  It gives it an awesome smoky flavor.  Thanks to Kat for enhancing my life with this bit of knowledge!

Over medium heat, melt about half a tablespoon of butter in the pan.  Add a slice of bread.  

Top the bread with cheese and after about 30 seconds, add the bacon (break into pieces first). Top with another slice of bread.  

After another 30 seconds or so, remove the sandwich with a spatula and add the other half tablespoon of butter.  As it melts, flip the sandwich back into the pan. 

Remove after a minute or so… or when the bread has turned crispy and golden on both sides.  

Mmm… bacon…

For the record, I did eat a peach after this monstrosity.

Enjoy!  With or without tomato soup, but definitely not without the bacon.

Tater Tot Casserole

Tater tots for dinner.  With cheese.  And bacon salt.  What else is there to say?! 

Tater Tot Casserole, thanks to Kat for introducing me to this dish!

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley 
• 1 or 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup 
• 1 bag frozen tater tots
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Bacon salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cook the ground turkey over medium high heat until nearly cooked through.  

Add the onion, garlic, and seasonings and cook about five minutes more.  Add a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce, mix thoroughly, and cook for another minute or so.    

Remove from heat, and stir in the cream of mushroom soup to the ground turkey and onion mixture.  

Pour meat mixture into a baking dish and spread out evenly.

Top with tater tots, arranged in rows.

When the meat mixture is fully covered with the tater tots, bake at 375 degrees for about 40-45 minutes, or until tater tots are fully cooked through and somewhat crispy.

In the meantime… chop up some veggies for a salad so you can feel better about eating tater tots for dinner.

Mmm… veggies!

When the casserole has finished baking, remove from oven and top with cheese.  Continue baking for another 5-10 minutes until cheese is nice and melty.

Mmm… melty!

Dish out a square and serve with a side salad.

Enjoy!  And don't forget the bacon salt…