I just finished reading Julie and Julia, and it's got me all jazzed up
about trying more of Julia Child's recipes. If you haven't read it
(and forgive me if it's already been posted about), it's by a
29-year-old secretary who decides to cook everything in Mastering the
Art of French Cooking (500 plus recipes) in one year's time -- she
blogged it, every darned recipe. Which means brains, sweetbreads,
liver, lobster vivisection... the works.

I have done a few Julia recipes (her baked ham is wonderful, as is a
so-called 'easy' recipe (ha, ha, ha) involving beef stew for two --
those darned pearl onions again), and am itching to dive in again.
Inspired, I tell you!

So, for all of you master cooks out there, any personal favorites?
Preferably personal favorites requiring less than three hours of labor?
(Much of the book was devoted to the more challenging recipes -- more
fun to write about, I suppose.) I have The Way to Cook and will be
picking up MtAoFC soon. My stove top is at the ready...

Karen MacInerney
Kitchen experimenter, family chauffeur, and culinary mystery author
www.karenmacinerney.com

Karen MacInerney wrote:
> I just finished reading Julie and Julia, and it's got me all jazzed up
> about trying more of Julia Child's recipes. If you haven't read it
> (and forgive me if it's already been posted about), it's by a
> 29-year-old secretary who decides to cook everything in Mastering the
> Art of French Cooking (500 plus recipes) in one year's time -- she
> blogged it, every darned recipe. Which means brains, sweetbreads,
> liver, lobster vivisection... the works.

I have Baking with Julia, and have probably made a half dozen or so of
the recipes (it goes with a PBS series she did) - have liked them all,
especially the brioche. 3 hours? Not likely. LOL.

N.

Karen MacInerney wrote:

>
> So, for all of you master cooks out there, any personal favorites?
> Preferably personal favorites requiring less than three hours of labor?
> (Much of the book was devoted to the more challenging recipes -- more
> fun to write about, I suppose.) I have The Way to Cook and will be
> picking up MtAoFC soon. My stove top is at the ready...
>
I just tried making her Duck a l'Orange recipe from Mastering the Art,
and it came out really well. I'll definitely make it again. It
doesn't come in at under three hours labor because of the time required
to make the duck stock, but I didn't find the recipe (and its
subrecipes) as difficult to make as I had thought it would be. Now I'm
less intimidated about trying other recipes in the book. (Essentially
the same recipe appears in The French Chef Cookbook, which I find a
less intimidating book to cook from--probably due to the format. I've
been making the vinaigrette salad dressing from that book for some
time. For some reason, I always get the proportions wrong for
vinaigrette if I don't follow a recipe.)

Pat

Karen MacInerney wrote:
> I just finished reading Julie and Julia, and it's got me all jazzed up
> about trying more of Julia Child's recipes. [snip]
> So, for all of you master cooks out there, any personal favorites?
> Preferably personal favorites requiring less than three hours of labor? [snip]

Too many to count. Julia was a great teacher. Two points she
demonstrated over and over will always be with me. First, it's worth
doing things right. Sure, sometimes we're in a hurry or have other
reasons for compromising and substituting, but if you want something to
be really good, then do it right. Secondly, it's cooking, not rocket
science, so enjoy what you're doing.

Now as to specific dishes. In the category of 'a bit of work but worth
it' one of my favorites would be Coulibiac -- salmon wrapped in pastry
and baked. In the 'so simple but so yummy would be the classic Coq au
Vin. -aem

"Karen MacInerney" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I just finished reading Julie and Julia, and it's got me all jazzed up
> about trying more of Julia Child's recipes.

> So, for all of you master cooks out there, any personal favorites?
> Preferably personal favorites requiring less than three hours of labor?

This one roasts longer than 3 hours, but prep time is only a few minutes:
The Smothered Brisket of Beef from The Way to Cook, page 249. I've made it
many times. I leave out the onions and tomatoes and add a few extra cloves
of garlic. It always come out succulent. You can thicken the meat juices
any way you'd like. I usually make a dark roux, but sometimes I just use
cornstarch. The leftovers make great sandwiches.

It's always a challenge to prepare since I've never seen brisket in the
stores here (Nome, AK), but usually I can get a few in Anchorage ($4.99/lb)
to bring home when traveling in and out of Alaska.

Robert

Robert Lee wrote:
>
> This one roasts longer than 3 hours, but prep time is only a few minutes:
> The Smothered Brisket of Beef from The Way to Cook, page 249. I've made it
> many times. I leave out the onions and tomatoes and add a few extra cloves
> of garlic. It always come out succulent. You can thicken the meat juices
> any way you'd like. I usually make a dark roux, but sometimes I just use
> cornstarch. The leftovers make great sandwiches.
>
> It's always a challenge to prepare since I've never seen brisket in the
> stores here (Nome, AK), but usually I can get a few in Anchorage ($4.99/lb)
> to bring home when traveling in and out of Alaska.
>
That recipe would probably also work well with some cuts of caribou
where you are. I'd add back the onions, and probably the tomatoes,
too. -aem

Robert Lee wrote:
> This one roasts longer than 3 hours, but prep time is only a few minutes:
> The Smothered Brisket of Beef from The Way to Cook, page 249. I've made it
> many times. I leave out the onions and tomatoes and add a few extra cloves
> of garlic. It always come out succulent. You can thicken the meat juices
> any way you'd like. I usually make a dark roux, but sometimes I just use
> cornstarch. The leftovers make great sandwiches.
>
Robert,

LOL... Can you believe that's one of the dozen or so recipes I've
actually made? Although I didn't thicken the juices, and I think it
would have benefited from a jot of cornstarch. It was a bit too
tomatoe-y for me... I think I'll follow your advice and drop the
tomatoes. (I love fresh, but am not fond of cooked, tomatoes.)

I remember putting it in the oven, taking the kids to an IMAX movie,
and returning a few hours later to a house filled with a heavenly
smell...

Karen MacInerney
Kitchen experimenter, family chauffeur, and culinary mystery author
www.karenmacinerney.com

Robert Lee wrote:
> The Smothered Brisket of Beef from The Way to Cook, page 249. I've made it
> many times. I leave out the onions and tomatoes and add a few extra cloves
> of garlic. It always come out succulent. You can thicken the meat juices
> any way you'd like. I usually make a dark roux, but sometimes I just use
> cornstarch. The leftovers make great sandwiches.
>
> It's always a challenge to prepare since I've never seen brisket in the
> stores here (Nome, AK), but usually I can get a few in Anchorage ($4.99/lb)
> to bring home when traveling in and out of Alaska.
>
That recipe ought to work well for some cuts of caribou, too, where you
live! I'd add back the onions and probably the tomatoes, too. -aem

Robert Lee wrote:
> The Smothered Brisket of Beef from The Way to Cook, page 249. I've made it
> many times. I leave out the onions and tomatoes and add a few extra cloves
> of garlic. It always come out succulent. You can thicken the meat juices
> any way you'd like. I usually make a dark roux, but sometimes I just use
> cornstarch. The leftovers make great sandwiches.
>
> It's always a challenge to prepare since I've never seen brisket in the
> stores here (Nome, AK), but usually I can get a few in Anchorage ($4.99/lb)
> to bring home when traveling in and out of Alaska.
>
That recipe ought to work well for some cuts of caribou, too, where you
live! I'd add back the onions and probably the tomatoes, too. -aem