(Originally posted on 8/11/09)

Thoughts from the Late-Night Chef..............So, what do you do when you've just come home from watching 'Julie & Julia' (fabulous, by the way) at ten at night, and you're coming down with a bit of a head cold and your beloved (also coming down with what is most likely the same head cold) turns to you and says.....'I'm hungry.' You pause and say, 'I'm hungry, too.' What do you do?



.......You make Oeufs en Cocotte à la Julia! Mostly because it's what you had in the fridge (three eggs, a splash of cream, some leftover gruyère and a handful of parsley, baked gently in ramekins in a water bath in a dutch oven), and because it's the best thing you can eat at ten-thirty at night. We ate them while streaming old episodes online of 'The French Chef' and went to bed with happy bellies.

P.S. - dork that I am, I actually had a Julia dream last night. She turned out to be my real paternal grandmother, and was very wise and raucously funny. Good dream, dorky girl. ;-P

(Originally posted 8/4/09)

Two dishes: Lamb ragu with fettucine, chèvre & fresh mint; Poulet sauté à la crème (from JULIA!!!)

This is a slight variation on a beautiful dish I had in Portland's Northeast section, at an awesome little place called Lovely Hula Hands. Their version included fresh fava beans, which was a nice touch but slightly harder to get my hands on in Phoenix in July. Too bad. My lamb ragu was made by simmering ground lamb in red wine with baby portabellos and local onions from my friend's dad's garden, and a variety of subtle spices including cumin and cinnamon. Simmer it for a long time, to the sticky, falling-apart-goodness stage. You'll know what i mean when you get there. The garnish is a nice soft goat cheese and the mint, of course, is from my own garden. This is a dish a bit more suited to a slightly chilly, drizzly Portland evening than a steamy July night in the desert, but if you want to crank up the A/C, pretend it's cold outside and eat a hearty meal, I suggest you try this one. It's worth it!

Extreme culinary closeup!!

Poulet sauté à la crème....My first foray into 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' by the great Julia herself! While I wouldn't say I have yet mastered the art, this dish was satisfyingly easy enough for a first try. Next time we'll tackle lobsters or soufflés or the famously scary Oeufs en Gelée!! but for now, this was enough of a start. Lovely herbed sautéed chicken legs and thighs--in butter! Oh Julia!--under a sauce made by deglazing the pan with white wine and adding shallots and cream. There's nothing about that that could be anything but good. Egg noodles on the side, mostly as a vehicle for that wonderful sauce. And simple steamed asparagus spears because really, one can't have too much decadence all on one plate and survive, can one?? Always good to have something simple, green and healthful. Oh my god was this good. We will be returning to Julia very, very soon, don't you worry.

(Originally posted 7/26/09)

So, I made a dangerous discovery today: a forgotten dusty old copy of 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking,' by Julia Child et al, at the back of my cookbook arsenal.

Having just finished reading 'Julie & Julia' (charming!) and looking hesitantly forward to the movie (will probably be much less so!), this is a welcome find. I had even briefly considered just going out and buying the thing until the cartoon lightbulb went off over my head this morning and I started rummaging around in the kitchen archives--only to come up with THIS! It's old and dusty and gross on the outside, but it could be almost new on the inside, it looks untouched. Since I usually prefer my cookbooks to look like veterans of the culinary wars (i.e. splashed with various sauces, meat juice, bits of chopped parsley, artfully placed egg yolk streaks, etc), I am obviously going to have to break this one in mercilessly, starting immediately. So if anyone ever feels like coming over for 'Fonds d'Artichauts Mornay' or 'Homard à l'Américaine,' just let me know.......