Happy Birthday Julia!!!

Hello Everyone!
Oh my goodness, do you know what today is?!?!?!

No?
National Non-Profit Day?
Well....  Yes.
National Thrift Shop Day?
Actually- yes.
And both of those are things that are very close to my heart.  But still no!
What is it then?
Today is the day that the Grande Dame of Television Cooking was born - the amazing Julia Child!!!!

This is the little station I have made for myself out of my night stand and my iPad where I have been watching the black and white episodes of The French Chef. Joy!

And yes I am that excited about it.  In my mind, we should make her birthday a national holiday because she was one of the main reasons that we have the infinite varieties of food that we eat in America today.  Thanks to her bringing over French food and its preparation on her show the French Chef,  a genuine interest in food in the American public was created and for this she will have my constant adoration.  In case you were wondering, we would celebrate this holiday by preparing and eating dishes that were Julia Child staples.
So, to help you prepare for what is, undoubtedly, going to be a National Holiday any year now, I decided that I would include some recipes for some of Julia's most classic dishes.

Vichyssoise

This first dish is one of my husband's favorites and is the perfect dish for summertime.  The recipe I have posted below is not a Julia Child's recipe - as she has a cookbook that is still in production and I don't want to be sued by big, scary publishers that can make it so I live in a cardboard box -  but this recipe is highly based off of hers which I have pared down for two people - rather than 6-8 people.  (She always seemed to be cooking for ALOT of people.)
You will want to prepare this dish ahead of time so that it has time to chill.  And by chill I mean it is served ice cold.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced (You can use any potato, but I like golden potatoes)
1 1/2 cups leeks, sliced -  including the tender greens (As Julia says.)  If you don't trust yourself to know what the tender greens are, just use the white of the leek
1 quart homemade chicken stock  (Julia just used water and you can also use vegetable stock - but I like the taste of chicken stock)
Kosher Salt, to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup whipping cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. minced chives or green onions

Instructions
1.  I thought that I would mention this as the first step in case we have people that have not ever really cooked with leeks.  Leeks can be very dirty and gritty.  A good rule of thumb before you cook with them is to cut them in half lengthwise and then slice them up.  Once they are sliced, put them in a bowl with water and rinse them thoroughly.  You kind of want to run them through your fingers in the water and separate them by rubbing them in between your fingers.  Once they are cleaned remove them from the water and dry them thoroughly, the easiest way to do this is with a salad spinner.
2.  In a large, heavy bottomed saucepan add the chicken stock, potatoes and leeks.  Simmer, with the pot partially covered with a lid,  until the vegetables are tender - about 30 to 40 minutes.
3.  Working in batches, scoop the soup into a blender and puree.  (Julia has you using a fork or a food mill!!!  Can you imagine?!?!  This soup would have been so much work back in the day.) You want to make certain that you puree until your veggies are rather creamy with no large lumps or pieces.  You can run it through a fine sieve if you are worried that your blender wont puree it fine enough.
4.  Pour back into the pot, making sure the pot is on a cold burner, you don't want to have any heat on under your soup,  and slowly pour in the heavy cream, stirring constantly until you have a gorgeous creamy consistency.
5.  Taste for flavor.  Add any salt and pepper you desire.  If you feel it is too plain for your tastes, you can also add herbs at this time.  Basil is always nice as is rosemary, but this is one of those dishes that I like plain, so I just add salt and pepper as my taste buds determine is needed.
* Tip:  You may want to make your soup slightly saltier than you normally would as salt does lose some of its....ummm.... for lack of a better word..... saltiness when it is in a dish that has been chilled.  But don't overdo it!
6.  Allow the soup to cool a little before removing to a bowl,  Cover and chill in the refrigerator.  I like to let it chill for at least 4 hours, but you can have it chill overnight as well.

To serve:  Spoon cold soup into chilled soup tureens and garnish with the minced chives or green onions.

Ratatouille

The next dish is ratatouille.  Which I can't even hear about or see without thinking of the Disney film by the same name. Because of this, I thought that I would include the recipe that this modern classic Disney film based their ratatouille recipe.  Yes, this is the same ratatouille that Remi served to the food critic.  Yes, this was an actual dish created by a real chef.  His name is Thomas Keller and he is something of a food legend and he advised on the food portrayed in the film.  I personally have never had the patience to make it, but I do think that it is beautiful. Keller actually doesn't call it ratatouille, he names it Confit Byaldi but, trust me, it is the Remi Ratatouille from the film.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/dining/131rrex.html

For those of you would would like a more practical approach, I have a ratatouille recipe that you can do on the stove that was one of the very first recipes that I ever posted.  If you would like to see that much easier recipe, just click on the link below.

http://frugalfemmecarole.blogspot.com/2016/01/eggplant-ratatouille-with-lemon.html


I was going to post a quiche recipe, as this was one of Julia's big staples, but I really want to save that for its own post on another day, so instead I will leave you with a link to some classic Julia television, The French Chef.  This one shows you how to make a classic Boeuf Bourguignon.

Isn't this a great behind the scenes photo?  There are four people sitting behind her.  Talk about a crowded kitchen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS32uLoshrs&list=PL7_E3CqOntSjTb0LqH9pHlt4-cBh9oeCv

Well, the only appropriate way to end this post is the Julia way so...... Happy Birthday Julia!  And, to everyone else,  Bon Appetite! 

Leftover Gumbo Sandwich on French Bread with Baked Sweet Potatoes Fries and Fry Dipping Sauce - Friday - One Week Menu

Hello Everyone!
We are down to two more nights worth of leftovers.  The recipe for this post is more of a different way of serving something than an actual recipe.

 I love gumbo.  Its one of the foods I quickly grew to love when I moved to Louisiana.  But even as much as I love gumbo, I don't always want it served over rice as a soup.  I came up with this idea because I love french dips and I thought that I could make a version of it with my leftover gumbo.
I included the gumbo recipe in an earlier post and told you to keep a little out of the freezer for another meal, this is the meal that I was referring to.  This is a super simple dinner and is quick to prepare.

Leftover Gumbo Sandwich

Ingredients

French Bread, sliced in halves diagonally

Leftover Gumbo

Mayo, optional

Dijon mustard, optional

Cheddar Cheese, sliced or shredded

Instructions

1.  Put at least two cups of leftover gumbo into a pot and heat over medium heat until warm.

2.  Using a slotted spoon, remove all of the meat and veggies from the heated liquid.  Place the solids from the gumbo onto a bottom slice of bread.

3.  Cover with the cheddar cheese (I liked shredded, but my husband prefers slices.)

4.  On the top slice of bread place the condiments that you wish.  Mayo and Dijon mustard are delicious, but you may want to do the condiment you prefer.  I don't like lettuce and tomatoes on my sandwich, but you might.  Don't be afraid to try what you like.

5.  Once you have arranged your sandwich, put the top slice of bread on the sandwich.

6.  In a small bowl or pastry cup spoon the liquid from the gumbo.  Use this as your "au jus" to dip your sandwich into.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato fries are a bit of a southern thing, especially here in Louisiana where they were grown for a while.  As you can see by the vintage ads I found online:

I think this may be my favorite ad.  I love the name of Bayou Maid.  I also am partial because the college I went to was not that far from Carencro, LA and Carencro is where I experienced my first really good gumbo.

While they are delicious, they can be a bit unhealthy if fried in the traditional manner.  In this recipe, I show you how to make sweet potato fries in the oven.

Ingredients

1 tbsp. olive oil, (can use less if you choose, you just need enough to coat the potatoes)

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch strips (You can use a crinkle cut knife if you want them to look pretty)

1 tsp. kosher salt, (Salt is to taste, you can add more if you desire)
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. sugar (optional -- this actually is good on all fries, but is especially good on sweet potato fries, but the recipe tastes just as good if you are afraid to try it.)

Instructions
1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3.  In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and sugar.
4.  Spread sweet potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
5.  Bake until sweet potatoes are golden brown and tender, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes.
6.  Depending on how much salt you've used, you can sprinkle with creole seasoning when you take them out of the oven.

Let the fries sit before serving.

You can dip them in anything that you would dip your regular fries in, but I find that this sauce is especially good.

Dipping Sauce

Ingredients
2 tbsp. mayo
1 tbsp. ketchup
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2-3 drops hot sauce  (I like Louisiana hot sauce, but, on occasion, Sriracha is good too)
  
Instructions
1.  Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Feel free to adjust these seasonings to your personal taste.  Sometimes I like to add more mayo, other times I like to skip the lemon juice.  It really is whatever you feel like tasting when you make the sauce.

I am going to try to post one more post tonight and then I will be caught up on the one week recipes and will start posting my Christmas Crafts and Recipes!