not buying MtAoFC

Slate has an article on why not to cook from Mastering The Art of French Cooking. I suppose they have a point about some of the recipes not being what people want to eat today and being somewhat fussy. However, I’ve cooked out of it and enjoyed everything that I’ve made.

I also think the book has a different goal. Rachel Ray helps get dinner on the table quick. MtAoFC is more about experiencing cooking and food.

I might not make weekend night dinners regularly from MtAoFC but I don’t think that is a reason to own or cook from it.

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Julie & Julia

The movie based Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen is coming out. Having seen some articles and a preview or 2 I am kind of excited.

I read the book and enjoyed. It even inspired me to a do a Mastering The Art of French Cooking dinner with my friends where we all made recipes from the book. I am looking forward to seeing the movie and hope it’s good. It sounds like people put a lot of effort into it. I hope it pays off.

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french potato gnocchi

It seems like an odd recipe to be in Mastering The Art of French Cooking, but there it is potato gnocchi.

Basically you cook potatoes, and mash them while making a pate a choux (the dough used to make cream puffs) and then combine them. They are light and fluffy-just perfect. Because of New Year’s resolutions, I used whole wheat all-purpose flour but I have made them with regular flour which works just fine. The whole wheat flour made them tan color but still delicious. I also changed the method for cooking the potatoes. Julia Child has you cut them and boil them until tender, drain, mash, and return to heat to evaporate any remaining water. I decided to bake mine instead.

Potato Gnocchi
potatoes
3-4 potatoes

Preheat oven to 400F. Clean and pierce potatoes. Bake for 45-60 min. Split open potatoes and scoop out the insides. Mash.

pate a choux
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 + 2 tsp all purpose flour

Bring water, butter, and seasonings to a boil slowly. Once the butter melts, remove the pan from heat and immediately add all the flour at once. Beat the mixture to blend thoroughly. Beat over moderate heat for 1-2 minutes until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a mass.

gnocchi
1 lb mashed potatoes
1 cup pate choux
1/3 cup Gruyere cheese + more to serve

Beat pate a choux and cheese into the potatoes. Take spoonfuls of the mixture and roll it to form cylinders.

rolling out gnocchi

Slip the gnocchi into simmering (not boiling-they will disintegrate). Poach them for a few minutes until the gnocchi float. Gently lift gnocchi out of pot with slotted spoon and drain on rack or towel.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake on parchment or silicon lined pan for 10 minutes or until heated through. Serve with grated Gruyere.

delicious French gnocchi

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supremes de volaille a blanc

I was flipping through Mastering The Art of French Cooking (I was planning on making gnocchi from the book) and saw this recipe for chicken. It sounded relatively simple and great for a week night.

I did make a few changes but I think I got the spirit of the recipe. I had boneless and skinless chicken instead of bone-in chicken. I also didn’t have cream so I used half and half. The recipe called for the chicken to be baked for 6 minutes but my chicken needed much longer.

supremes de volaille a blanc
1 large chicken breast cut in 2 pieces
1/2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 400F. Drip chicken with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat butter in oven proof dish on stove top until it’s foaming.

chicken rolling in butter

Roll the chicken in the butter. Cover the dish and place in the oven until chicken is no longer pink in the center-15 minutes. Remove chicken from dish and cover. Serve with sauce.

Sauce
2 tbsp chicken stock
2 tbsp dry vermouth
1/2 cup half and half
basil

Pour stock, and vermouth into dish and boil down quickly until it becomes syrupy.

sauce becoming syrupy

Add half and half and boil down until the sauce thickens. Sprinkle basil into the sauce.

supremes de volaille a blanc

A quick, delicious recipe from Julia Child. I don’t think of French food for easy weeknight cooking, but it definitely can be.

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