Cooking With Julia

One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year came from my husband. A copy of the movie, Julie & Julia, and Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking box set.

I think I've mentioned here before, how much I love this movie. I'm not too into giving my endorsement on movies, because whether a movie is good or not really depends upon what a person does or does not like in a movie. For me, this one is right up my alley. I love the food, cooking, blogging, history, relationships, etc. - - I absolutely loved it. I adore stories about people who follow their passion, no matter what. As for the two-volume cook book - - I'd never thumbed through it until Christmas Day. Really, the cookbook is amazing. I tend to prefer a cookbook with a lot of pictures so I know what my end result is supposed to look like. These books have no pictures, aside from a few pencil drawing here and there. What it does have is explicit instruction. Explicit. I really believe even the most novice cook could pick a recipe from these books and produce a fabulous dish.

I had my heart set on making Boeuf Bourguignonne (Beef Stew in Red Wine, with Bacon, Onions, and Mushrooms) for New Year's Day dinner, and I'm happy to report that I did just that. Not only that, but I also decided to tackle one of Julia's desserts, too - - Reine De Saba (Chocolate and Almond Cake). Mind you, I was in the kitchen for almost the entire day, but I loved every minute of it. I do believe that at one point, Steve came in to check my progress, and I jumped up and down and clapped because I was having so much fun.

Here's the "boeuf"....

....and the "bourguignonne"...

The end result was a dish that I never would have guessed in a million years that I could have produced. The flavors were amazing and I must admit that it was completely satisfying to enjoy a meal that I spent such a long time preparing. It was so much fun!

Part of the process was to learn to properly brown-braise pearl onions...these smelled soooo good while they were simmering.

I also learned that to properly brown mushrooms, you cannot crowd them in the pan. Yes, those mushrooms are swimming in butter and oil...yum.

As for the cake...it was also a delight to prepare, although I didn't think it was very pretty to look at, unfortunately. I think the cake decorator in me expects to see high, perfectly decorated end-result. What I learned is, a cake does not have to look like it came from a bakery to taste divine. This cake only contains a half-cup of flour, and therefore results in a texture similar to a chocolate truffle - - smooth, creamy, and bursting with chocolate (and rum, I might add).

Next on my list? Coq au Vin (Chicken in Red Wine with Onions, Mushrooms, and Bacon). I'll let you know how it goes.