Julia Child Recipe Series from the Smithsonian

Submitted by Patti Coles French cooking class #4, menu: Poulet...

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:38:15 -0400

Submitted by Patti Coles

French cooking class #4, menu: Poulet au Porto, (roast chicken steeped with Port wine, cream & mushrooms), Risotto (Julia’s way), Asparagus Tips, & Fresh Strawberry pie from Julia Childs, ‘Baking with Julia’.

Submitted by Patti Coles Our 3rd class we finally had our...

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:38:01 -0400

Submitted by Patti Coles

Our 3rd class we finally had our aprons with the same type of patch Julia Childs had! Ecole des 7 Gourmandes! Our menu: Sole Meuniere, Popovers from Julia Childs “Baking with Julia”, Roquefort cheese balls, Salmon with Beurre Blanc Sauce, Eggplant Pistouille, and Crepe Suzettes!

Submitted by Patti Coles This was the 2nd class and we cooked:...

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:37:38 -0400

Submitted by Patti Coles

This was the 2nd class and we cooked: coq au vin, parsley potatoes, buttered peas and Souffle a la Orange! Amazing!

Submitted by a reader Cannot get an adequate oil and vin. dressing. Seems so simple and it just...

Thu, 13 May 2010 16:22:00 -0400

Submitted by a reader

Cannot get an adequate oil and vin. dressing. Seems so simple and it just never turns out right. Jr

Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons (Chicken Breasts w/Mushrooms & Cream)

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:45:00 -0500

Submitted by Kathryn T. Alexander

Recipe #2 for me…another winner LOVED it! Even my picky 12 year old who HATES chicken, ate every last bite! I got high 5’s from my hubby and my stepson said “Really delicious, tastes like resturant cooking!” I will make this one again and again!

Submitted by Melissa K My husband came upon your blog because I was a little baffled by what to do...

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:42:00 -0500

Submitted by Melissa K

My husband came upon your blog because I was a little baffled by what to do with the browned carrots and onions (Julia didn’t say what to do with them after you brown them in the bacon fat). I saw that you tied them in a cheesecloth and that really helped me out. I just popped the casserole dish with the carrot/onion cheesecloth bag into the oven to cook for three hours. Our house smells great, too. :)

Submitted by Bernard I grew up in Lamotte-Beuvron, the little town where the tarte Tatin was...

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:42:00 -0500

Submitted by Bernard

I grew up in Lamotte-Beuvron, the little town where the tarte Tatin was created, and just released the beta version of a website dedicated to it. It has tips on how to avoid (or solve) some of the problems you experienced. It also has lots of historical info about it. Thanks for sharing your experience and sources. I was not aware of Julia’s clip, but added it to my site.

Submitted by Karen Talamantez My bread is on its final rise before shaping, then a final rise before...

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:36:41 -0500

Submitted by Karen Talamantez

My bread is on its final rise before shaping, then a final rise before going into the oven. Thank you for the series. I will miss it.

Boeuf Bourguignon - MAFC

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:58:53 -0500

Submitted by Kathryn T. Alexander

My first attempt at this recipe. Took me days to get over my hesitation at all the steps, but WORTH it! So delicious, this is how food was meant to taste!

Baguette oh la la

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:56:44 -0500

Submitted by Louis in Boston

This recipe for “french bread” is a quintessential Julia recipe. I made it years ago from a xerox copy from “Mastering the Art” (given to me by a good friend) following in detail the seven (!) pages of instructions. And it worked so beautifully. In the past year I have been making the no-knead recipe (not Julia’s) that took American home kitchens by storm recently (and now make it with a sourdough starter), but this blog inspired me to try Julia’s recipe again. I was VERY interested to find out that Julia actually changed the recipe in her various cookbooks (and at one point she recommended using asbestos tiles (!) in the oven). In one recipe she recommends all-purpose flour; in another bread flour. In one, she uses sugar in the yeast mixture; in another none. Compare the recipes in “Mastering the Art” and “The Way to Cook.” I decided to stick to my old standard in “Mastering the Art” with the one change of using bead flour instead of all purpose.

I also kneaded by hand, even though the Smithsonian folks used a stand mixer (not an option in the first edition of “Master the Art”). In any event, I found making the bread so much easier than I had years ago when I first tried it. I think this is because I am now a regular bread maker, so I have a better feel for the art. And you know what - the hours spent (mostly because of waiting for the long rises) are so worth it. This bread is fantastic, and even though I am now a fan of sourdough, I love the light delicate crunchy and oh so flavorful taste of this true french baguette. Thank you Smithsonian and thank you Julia!!

Bon appétit!

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:12:00 -0500

Today’s French bread recipe is the last post of the Julia Child Recipe of the Week series. We’ll continue to share news and thoughts about Julia Child’s Kitchen at the Smithsonian and other topics relating to American food and wine history on our “O Say Can You See?” blog (please follow us there!).

Thanks to all who responded to this series—we enjoyed hearing from all of you! As 2009 comes to a close, we encourage you to continue cooking, trying new recipes and techniques, and sharing your experiences with others.

—Posted by the National Museum of American History

Recipe #16: French Bread “Like the sun in all its glory suddenly...

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:51:38 -0500

Recipe #16: French Bread

“Like the sun in all its glory suddenly breaking through the shades of gloom.”

So wrote Julia Child after finally succeeding in making real French bread. Her struggle to achieve the elusive crunchy crust drove her and her husband Paul to Professor Calvel, of L’Ecole Francaise de Meunerie in Paris, who shared his secrets.

The trick was to simulate a baker’s oven, with a hot surface for the bread to bake on and steam to form the crust. Paul discovered he could line their big Garland range with quarry tiles, which held the heat beautifully. While the bread baked, he created a burst of steam by dropping a brick into a pan of water in the oven’s bottom. Thereafter, this small stack of quarry tiles remained on a shelf above the range, ready for use in making French bread, this week’s recipe.

This week Team Julia members Nanci Edwards, Rayna Green, and Paula Johnson tackle Julia’s deliciously crusty, French bread.

READ THE FULL POST ON OUR BLOG for recipe sources

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—Posted by the National Museum of American History

Submitted by Michael Robins I also enjoy cooking Julia Child recipes. Cooking really is about...

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:01:06 -0500

Submitted by Michael Robins

I also enjoy cooking Julia Child recipes. Cooking really is about caring! Very true :)

Recipe #15: Eggplant and zucchini gratin, Ratatouille Julia...

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:57:00 -0500

Recipe #15: Eggplant and zucchini gratin, Ratatouille

Julia Child spoke of her kitchen as “the most loved and most used room in the house.” She and her husband Paul worked together on its design and spent many years cooking, dining, and entertaining friends and family in their kitchen. This week’s cooks rediscover the pleasures of cooking with family, reliving memories inspired by certain flavors, and sharing meals made with seasonal, locally-grown produce.

This week staffers Valeska Hilbig, Deputy Director of the Office of Public Affairs, and Matthew MacArthur, Director of New Media, put their culinary skills to the test. Following Julia’s guidance, Valeska brought together a colorful eggplant and zucchini gratin with vegetables from the local farmer’s market, while Matt created a fragrant ratatouille that fed the whole family.

READ THE FULL POST ON OUR BLOG for recipe sources

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—Posted by the National Museum of American History

Submitted by Ashley Re: Le Glorieux From the picture, you’d never know there wasn’t...

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:22:12 -0500

Submitted by Ashley

Re: Le Glorieux

From the picture, you’d never know there wasn’t flour in it. And I’m sure that the chocolate and orange ganache would make a great dessert just by itself. I’m inspired!

Cooking lunch for the commander's wife

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:20:20 -0500

Submitted by Phyllis Tabbot Hantman of Rockaway, NJ

In 1967, my husband was posted to Ft. Belvoir, Va. as an army dentist. I was a newly wed young mother, and living on-post, was thrust suddenly into the obligatory entertaining that accompanies military life for married officers and their spouses. Our commanding officer was married to a lovely and sophisticated Frenchwoman. Part of her duties was to visit all newly arrived families and welcome them. Usually luncheon or some other formal type of refreshment was served. I was nervous, but at that time watched Julia Child daily on her French Chef t.v. show. I had her cookbook, and under her kind and supportive t.v. encouragement, I made salad niciose for lunch, followed by chocolate mousse. Madame was impressed- (remember, I wasn’t French!) and greeted me with extra warmth and kindness throughout our posting at Belvoir. That was the first of many meals I have since served that involved wonderful recipes from Julia Child.

Recipe #14: Le Glorieux (flourless chocolate cake) Julia called...

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:55:02 -0500

Recipe #14: Le Glorieux (flourless chocolate cake)

Julia called this cake a “dark and delicious cousin of the Quatre Quarts,” the yellow butter pound cake that originally called for a quarter pound of its four ingredients—eggs, sugar, flour, and butter. Le Glorieux, however, uses cornstarch instead of flour, and 5 large eggs. An essential step is to sift the cornstarch before sprinkling it into the egg mixture, a step easily handled with a sifter or a simple wire strainer. In Julia’s kitchen, these three strainers hung at the ready off the hood of the Garland range.

This week, finance director Beth Kline reveals the poetry behind baking a decadent chocolate dessert.

READ THE FULL POST ON OUR BLOG for recipe sources

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—Posted by the National Museum of American History

Submitted by Jeanne Chantilly Meringuée or Elegant Ice Cream The...

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:50:00 -0500

Submitted by Jeanne

Chantilly Meringuée or Elegant Ice Cream

The days after Thanksgiving mean leftovers! In our house, that also means leftoverChantilly Meringuée ice cream. I usually make it a few times a year, but I really should make it more often because it’s just about the most delicious thing we’ve ever eaten.

The recipe is from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol. 2 by one of my cooking goddesses, Julia Child, and her writing partner, Simone Beck. I love bothMastering the Art of French Cooking books. The recipes look complicated but, if you’re willing to stick with them, they are amazing. One of my all-time favorites is the one for Chantilly Meringuée—or Whipped Cream with Italian Meringue. And while you can use this recipe for fillings in cakes, we freeze it and eat it as ice cream. It’s light and fluffy—and you don’t need an ice cream maker to make it.

This recipe looks somewhat difficult at first glance. The complication is that it has two distinct steps. First you make one recipe, then go ahead a few pages and use what you’ve just made in another recipe. But, if you actually read the recipes, they’re simple and straightforward. I’ve made it often over the years and it comes out perfectly every single time. Leave it to Julia to share a recipe that is so simple at its heart and yet so elegant.

There are two basic steps to creating this confection: making the Meringue Italienne (Italian Meringue) and then use that to make the Chantilly Meringuée. Don’t let the number of steps intimidate you—it’s actually quite easy once you start doing it.

This recipe also contains one of my favorite cooking techniques: combining sugar syrup with whipped egg whites to create a shiny and perfect meringue. Years ago, my friend Ingrid showed me how to do this—and it looked like magic! But, it’s actually a technique that serious cooks use fairly often—most notably in buttercream frosting. It gives me a sense of pride each time I do this—feeling like like I am following in a long line of experts who’ve discovered the perfect technique. And I love the fact that it requires the cook to trust his or her instincts and know that it will come out. And this is what Julia taught—have fun and trust your instincts.

I usually make this several hours before big holiday meals—most notably Thanksgiving and Christmas. I then place it in the freezer to freeze so it’s ready by the time we are having dessert. Since it’s an ice cream confection, it goes with almost anything—pie, cake, pudding, cookies, as well as on its own. And, I’ve even included an extra step you can take to make a chocolate version—so incredibly good it should be called Food of the Goddesses.

I’ve rewritten the recipe here to be in a linear order. I’ve used all of Julia’s steps, but placed them in a more modern format. I’ve also included my own optional addition for for making a chocolate version.

Chantilly Meringuée or Elegant Ice Cream
-adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol. 2

Special Equipment Needed
-a stand mixer is very helpful for this recipe. A hand mixer will do in a pinch.
-candy thermometer is very helpful unless you are familiar with finding the soft-ball stage using the ice water technique (which is actually quite easy)
-freezer-friendly containers for freezing the meringuée

Ingredients

For the Meringue Italienne
2 C granulated sugar
2/3 C water
3/4 C egg whites—about 5-6 large or extra large eggs
big pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Chantilly Meringuée
1 recipe of Meringue Italienne
2 C chilled heavy cream
2-4 tsp vanilla extract
Optional: if you want to make this chocolate, 1/2 C unsweetened chocolate + 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate, chopped)

1) To make the Meringue Italienne
Measure out all the ingredients before you start—this makes the process go much more smoothly
-combine the water and sugar in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and set over medium high heat
-do not mix with a spoon, instead, swirl pan slowly by its handle to mix the sugar and water
-continue to swirl the liquid as it comes to a boil
-continue to swirl until it turns from cloudy to clear
-stop swirling pan, cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer while you beat the egg whites

-in the bowl of the stand mixer, beat egg whites for about a minute—until they start to become foamy
-add the cream of tarter and salt
-beat, gradually increasing the speed to high, until the egg whites form stiff peaks
-beat in vanilla
-stop beating and go to next step

-remove cover from your sugar syrup, and insert candy thermometer if using
-raise heat and boil rapidly
-when the bubbles start to look thicker, watch the temperature or start dribbling drops into iced water
-boil until the mixture reaches the “soft-ball stage”—when it makes a definite but blobby shape when you try to form it into a ball under the ice water, or 238 degrees on your thermometer

-once the sugar syrup has reached the soft-ball stage, immediately start beating the egg whites again on medium speed
-carefully and slowly pour the hot sugar syrup in a thin stream into the egg white mixture as it beats until you’ve used all of the sugar syrup
-continue to beat the egg whites on medium high until shiny, stiff peaks form out of the mixture and the bowl is cool to the touch—about 10 minutes
-stop beating and set aside

2) to make the Chantilly Meringuée
-beat the cream until it has doubled in volume (don’t beat so long as to turn it into butter)
-beat in vanilla extract
-with a spatula, fold about 1/3 of the whipped cream into your Meringue Italiennemixture to lighten it.
-then scoop out the remainder of the whipped cream onto the meringue mixture and fold it in as rapidly and as lightly as possible—you want to try not to deflate the mixture too much
-once the mixture is combined, scoop it into a freezable container (we use a Tupperware container) and place in freezer until you’re ready to eat it. It will take a few hours to fully freeze, but even if it’s not fully frozen, it will still taste delicious

For the optional chocolate version:
-when you come to step 2, making the Chantilly Meringuée, melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler or a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water until just melted
-beat the melted chocolate into the cream
-then follow the remainder of the Chantilly Meringuée instructions for folding the cream into the meringue mixture

Enjoy!

Recipe #13: Pain d’Épices (honey spice cake) Julia Child loved...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:23:00 -0500

Recipe #13: Pain d’Épices (honey spice cake)

Julia Child loved her stand mixer and the one that sits on the counter in her kitchen at the Smithsonian contains a special feature: the mixing bowl is engraved with “Bon Appétit Julia Child.” This stand mixer was a workhorse in her kitchen and appeared regularly on the television series Baking with Julia. Although Julia recommended using a heavy-duty machine for today’s recipe, Helena managed to get good results with a hand mixer.

This week, curator Helena Wright gets a start on holiday baking by pulling out one of her favorite Julia Child recipes.

READ THE FULL POST ON OUR BLOG for recipe sources

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—Posted by the National Museum of American History

Submitted by Irene Re: Boeuf Bourguignon What a wonderful family project! Cooking has a way of...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:18:50 -0500

Submitted by Irene

Re: Boeuf Bourguignon

What a wonderful family project! Cooking has a way of bringing people together - if you can get along in the kitchen, you’re likely to get along anywhere. It seems like we Americans are rediscovering a love for cooking (versus frozen dinners)!