Week 17: December 6-12 (SAR) Galette Sablees [Sugar Cookies] pg. 635

I will be making these cookies this weekend.

Week 15: November 22-28 (MOM) Amuse Guele Au Roquefort [Roquefort Cheese Balls] pg. 196

2/6/10
So I was really on a roll today and also made the Roquefort balls. I have had the cheese for awhile now, really good Roquefort, actually from France, by way of Wegmans. I wondered if it was too old, but it's Roquefort, based on mold, so how would you know? I did smell and taste it and it tastes the same as always so I went ahead with it. I ate one Roquefort ball, cut in half, on two crackers. It is very good. The rest I put in the freezer for another time.

Taste: 4, very tasty if you like roquefort
Price: 5, very expensive. The cheese was over $10.00
Ease of Preparation: 2-3, not difficult.
Presentation: It is presentable, but I would not say stunning. I would have rather rolled in crushed pecans, not bread crumbs.
Would I make it again: Maybe, if someone told me they could not live without it.

Week 14: November 15-21 (SAR) La Tarte Des Demoiselles Tatin [Upside-down Apple Tart] pg. 638

I know, I'm behind. Coming soon...

Week 16: November 29-December 5 (KPH) Quiche Aux Fruits de Mer [Shrimp, Crab, or Lobster Quiche] pg. 149

So, I have not been on the blog very much lately, and I am a couple of recipes behind. But, I made this dish with crab last week and it was fantastic. It went together very quickly and I used leftover cream from Thanksgiving. It is a delicious quiche and I am sure that I will make it , or a variation of it again very soon. I am a big quiche fan. Connor also liked it. We ate it for dinner two nights in a row with a salad, and then I took it to school for lunch for two more days.

Taste: 4 (yummy)
Ease of preparation: 1 (super easy)
Presentation: 4 (simple, but elegant)
Price: 3 (I bought crab, which is a little pricey)
Would I make it again? Yes. It is easy, versatile, and tasty

Week 13: November 8-14 (KPH) Rapee Morv Andelle [Gratin of Shredded Potatoes with Ham and Egg and Onion] pg. 153

I made this a day early but I was looking for something to make for dinner on Saturday night and decided this would be perfect. This dish is so amazingly delicious and easy! Connor had a bagel with it and I had an English Muffin. It would be great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. There are almost no dishes and preparation time is almost nonexistent. This is one of my favorites so far.

Taste: 5
Ease of preparation: 1
Presentation: 4
Price: 1
Would I make it again? I think I will make this dish often. It is very, very good!

Week 12: November 1-7 (MOM) Puree De Pommes De Terre A L'Ail [Garlic Mashed Potatoes] pg. 520

I made the garlic mashed potatoes and served them with stuffed pork chops and applesauce. The potatoes are very good but I feel the stuffed pork chops were too overpowering for the mashed potatoes. The potatoes needed to be the focal point. Next time I would serve the potatoes with Filet Mignon and a simple vegetable, such as asparagus. The potatoes are easy enough to make , but the number of dishes, as usual, is completely ridiculous. I left the skins on my potatoes to add to the color and the fiber and nutrients.

Taste: 4
Ease of preparation: 3
Presentation: 4
Price: 1
Would I make it again? Yes, but I would make sure that it was the strongest flavor of the meal.

Week 11: October 25-31 (SAR) Champignons Farcis [Stuffed Mushrooms] pg. 516

10/31: I am making this appetizer for our main dish tonight. We have eaten out at Mario's and at Tastings this week so I thought a veggie entree would be nice.

Later - WOW! Is this good! I served this with green and yellow beans from my garden, homemade applesauce (my dad made it), and fresh bread. It seemed like a substantial meal and was very delicious. I made 1 dozen stuffed mushrooms and three were left. There were three of us for dinner. I will make these again for sure. This appetizer would be good to bring to a party.

Taste: 4
Ease of Preparation: 2, pretty easy to follow directions
Presentation: 3-4
Price: 2
Would I make it again? Yes, I will make it again for sure.

The Next Ten Weeks!

Weeks 1-10 flew by! Here are the next ten weeks of recipes. This will take us through the end of the year. As a side note-the movie Julie/Julia will be released on 12/8. That movie is where all this craziness originated from!

Week 11: October 25-31 (SAR) Champignons Farcis [Stuffed Mushrooms] pg. 516

Week 12: November 1-7 (MOM) Puree De Pommes De Terre A L'Ail [Garlic Mashed Potatoes] pg. 520

Week 13: November 8-14 (KPH) Rapee Morv Andelle [Gratin of Shredded Potatoes with Ham and Egg and Onion] pg. 153

Week 14: November 15-21 (SAR) La Tarte Des Demoiselles Tatin [Upside-down Apple Tart] pg. 638

Week 15: November 22-28 (MOM) Amuse Guele Au Roquefort [Roquefort Cheese Balls] pg. 196

Week 16: November 29-December 5 (KPH) Quiche Aux Fruits de Mer [Shrimp, Crab, or Lobster Quiche] pg. 149

Week 17: December 6-12 (SAR) Galette Sablees [Sugar Cookies] pg. 635

Week 18: December 13-19 (MOM) Poulet Roti [Roast Chicken] pg. 240

Week 19: December 20-26 (KPH) Creme Brulee [Creme Brulee!] pg. 589

Week 20: December 27-January 2 (SAR) Le Marquis [Chocolate Spongecake] pg. 679

Week 11: October 25-31, TBD

What will we decide on next? I have to choose two more recipes for the next ten weeks and Mom and Sar each have to choose three. Stay tuned for a new list...

Week 10: October 18-24, Souffle A La Vanille (Vanilla Souffle), pg. 614 (KPH)

I am looking forward to making this week's recipe. I am a big fan of Vanilla Souffle. Stay tuned...

10/22 I made the Vanilla Souffle last night. It was a fairly quiet night so I thought I would be brave and go for it! According to Julia "A fairly quick operator can make any of them (sweet souffles) ready for the oven in 20 minutes. Well, it took me 30 minutes, but it was my first attempt. It is amazingly delicious! We had one small portion leftover which I gave to dad for dessert tonight. I can make it again, and I will. Soon!

Taste: 5
Ease of Prep: 3 (egg whites don't scare me as much anymore)
Presentation: 5
Price: 1 (super cheap)
Would I make it again? Is the Pope Catholic? I might make it tomorrow!

Week 9: October 11-17, Roti de Porc Grand' Mere (Casserole-roasted Pork with Potatoes and Onions), pg. 382 (MOM)

I went with Dad to the movie "Inglourious Basterds," and did not get home until 4:15. I still had this delicious Julia Child's meal on the table at 6:30. This roasted pork was pretty easy to do, for a Julia recipe. It is also very tasty. The book listed several variations for gravies. I took the roast juices, added some Riesling wine, some gravy flour and whisked it up on the stove. It was a terrific gravy! I served it with dinner rolls and some Cortland applesauce that Dad made. This is easy enough for a family dinner, but delicious enough, and fancy enough, for a company dinner.

Taste: 5
Ease of Preparation: 2
Presentation: 4
Price: 2
Would I make it again? Sure! Easy and delicious!

Week 8: October 4-10, Souffle Aux Epinards (Spinach Souffle), pg. 165 (SAR)

I have made the Spinach Souffle twice now. The first time was the test batch and the second time I made a double batch for my dinner for 18. It is delicious! This is now one of my new favorite recipes. I have always been a huge fan of Spinach Souffle and thanks to Julia Child's cookbook, I will no longer be buying the Stouffer's brand of Spinach Souffle.

Taste: 5
Ease of Preparation: 3
Presentation: 5 (unless it falls, then it is a 4)
Price: 1
Would I make it again? Oui! Oui!

Test Recipe: Souffle Aux Epinards (Spinach Souffle) pg. 165

I am having a dinner party on Saturday night for 18, mostly family members. Most of the recipes are from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child. I wanted to test out the "Souffle Aux Epinards" (Spinach Souffle) before including it on Saturday's menu.
I was terrified , of course, because of the whole egg whites deflating thing that threatens to occur in so many of Julia's recipes.
My egg whites were perfect. The recipe was actually pretty simple, as Julia's recipes go. It is also absolutely delicious and is on the menu for my dinner. I will make this recipe often from now on, I think. This recipe is also on the "official" list to make in a couple of weeks.

Add a caption

is having a dinner party on Saturday night for 18. Most of the recipes are from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child. I wanted to test out the "Souffle Aux Epinards" (Spinach Souffle) before including it on Saturday's menu. It was absolutely delicious and is on the menu for my dinner.

Week 7: September 27-10/3, Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons (Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Cream), pg. 269 (KPH)

This is the recipe for the week. Being adventurous, maybe a little crazy, and all together at the end of the week, we are going to make this recipe on Saturday night at the farm. This will be for a dinner for 18! We are insane! Stay tuned...

10/18 Sorry. A little behind on my blogging. Dinner was amazing but I do not think I will ever try to do so many Julia dishes for so many people again. At lunch time I made the Potage Parmentier, which was served with "fix your own" Panini sandwiches. For the big dinner we served Supremes de Volaille aux Champions, Gratin Dauphinois, Souffle Aux Epinards, fresh broccoli and cauliflower from my garden, homemade applesause, and homemade rolls. For dessert we served Reine De Saba, Plum Torte, and Peach Pudding. Everything was delicious and seemed to be liked and appreciated. Dishes took forever. I think it ended up being 4 or 5 dishwasher loads and a hand load.

Taste: 5
Ease of Preparation: 3
Presentation: 4
Price: 3
Would I make it again? Yes. But it is a very rich, calorie laden main course.

Bonus Recipe: Tarte Aux Abricots

Connor asked me to make another tart because he loved it and our first one was gone in a day. I wanted to try to make an apricot tarte this time. Since apricots are not in season right now, I used canned apricot halves and drained off the syrup. I made the dough for the crust last night and rolled it out and baked it today. We will have the tart for dinner tonight; it looks delicious! Hope it tastes as good as it looks. I will write more about the taste later! Later: Yup! It is very good. Connor liked the peach tart better, only because he prefers peaches over apricots, but he liked it and I liked it.

Week 6: September 20-26, Biscuits A La Cuiller (Ladyfingers), pg. 667 (MOM)

This is the recipe for this week. I am a little intimidated by Ladyfingers! Stay tuned for a full report! 9/20-Step 2: Went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and bought pastry bags and nozzles to use for the Ladyfingers. I am still intimidated-not by the actual recipe, it is the fussy baking I am concerned with. I will keep you posted!

Kimberley:
I got all of my ingredients out and measured, ready to be used. I whipped the batter together until it formed "the ribbon." Then, I beat the egg whites until they formed soft peaks, added the sugar, beat until it formed stiff peaks. Lastly, you had to fold and combine flour, egg and sugar mixture, and egg white mixture. It had to be folded just enough to be mixed, but not deflate the egg whites. I then pushed it into the disposable pastry bag and made my ladyfingers. I could not find a half inch tip so I had to make two lines of batter. If I were to make ladyfingers again, I would want a larger pastry bag, with a larger tip, and a helper to hold the bag while I put the batter into it. It is a very difficult job by yourself.

In the recipe Julia mentions that if the cookies are under baked, they will be soggy, and over baked they will be hard. So they need to be just right. They actually turned out okay. They are not as pretty as commercial, perfectly sized Ladyfingers, but for a first attempt I am pretty happy with them. I put an apricot glaze in the middle of them. Dad and I tasted a couple of them plain and they are very tasty. Later- I tasted the Ladyfingers with the glaze in the middle and they are totally delicious! Later still -Connor just got home from a Cross Country Invitational and ate two. He thought they were really, really good!

Taste: 5
Ease of Preparation: 4 (fussy, with LOTS of dishes, as usual)
Presentation: 4
Price: 1
Would I make the recipe again? Hmmmmm. Well, they are a lot of work and create a lot of dirty dishes, but they are very good. The recipe does not make very many though and it would be hard to double it because of the whole egg white not deflating problem. My guess is probably not, but who knows!

Week 5 September 13-19, Potage Parmentier (Onion and Potato Soup), pg. 37 (SAR)

Kimberley: (picture on the left)
"Leek and potato soup smells good, tastes good, and is simplicity itself to make." This is what the master, Julia Child, wrote in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Well, she was right. I made this soup last week, on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It was super easy and very delicious. I served it for dinner with a loaf of fresh Italian bread (sorry Julia!) that I got at Tops on sale for 99 cents. A salad or a vegetable would have been good also. I ate the rest of the soup for lunch at work most of that week. You can also add vegetables to the soup which I might do next time I make it, but I wanted to make the original recipe first before I started monkeying around with it.

Taste: 5
Ease of Prep: 1 (SO EASY!)
Presentation: 3-4
Price: 1 (SO CHEAP!)
Would I make it again? Absolutely! I am planning to make it again early this next week so I have it when Dad comes to pick the apples, and I plan to make a double batch of it the first weekend of October for the big family apple picking weekend.

Sar: (picture on the right)

Taste: 5

Easy of prep: 1 (The easiest recipe yet.)

Presentation: 4 (An extra point for the good china.)

Price: 1 (very cheap)

Would I make it again: Yes, definitely

This recipe was very easy. We both thought that it was delicious and had two helpings. I used leeks not onions. Julia suggests cream or butter at the end.

I used half cream and half butter which gave it a nice flavor. Also, I drained the liquid out and mashed the vegetables with a potato masher and then added the liquid

back in before serving. This made them easier to mash.

Bonus Recipe: Gratin Dauphinois (Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and a Pinch of Garlic ), pg. 523

I had potatoes to use up, and I am a big fan of Au Gratin Potatoes so I decided to try this recipe. This recipe was easy to make and is very delicious. I also added a little chopped onion to my recipe. I have now made this recipe twice in the last couple of weeks and I will continue to make it on a regular basis since everyone has loved it and it is quick and simple. Prep time is no more than 15-20 minutes. Hayley took all of the leftover back to school with her in freezer dinners with meatloaf, Gratin Dauphinois, and sweet corn. I will have to make it again soon. One single batch was enough for three meals for Connor and me.

09/27: I have now made this recipe three times. It is a new staple dish. I made it last night and used Cheddar cheese because I was out of Swiss. Still delicious and still easy!

Week 4: September 6-12,Tarte Aux Abricots or Peches (Apricot or Peach Tart), pg. 639 (KPH)

Kimberley: (left picture)
I was nervous to start this week's recipe because of my experience with last week's recipe which was, in my eyes, less than successful. I called Mom in the morning to review the recipe with her and see if she was going to use apricots or peaches. Neither one of us were able to find fresh apricots and peaches are in season, so the decision was made for us.

There are actually three recipes involved in this week's recipe. First you have to make a Pate Brisee Sucree (Sweet Short Paste) on pg. 533. This recipe was pretty confusing because it lists the ingredients for 1 cup ratios, but then the recipe is based on 2/3 cup, and I needed 1 1/2 cups. Fortunately, Dad was around and figured out the new units of measure for us. I made the pastry in the mixer which worked fine and put it in the freezer to cool down for rolling. The first time I tried to roll it out, it was a sticky mess even though I followed the right amount of time in the freezer. I put it back in the freezer for another hour and the second time it rolled out just fine.

Slicing and arranging the peaches went fine, except that the recipe does not state how thick the slices should be. I had to bake the tarte for longer than the recipe said, in order to get syrupy juices. I had to modify the apricot glaze recipe on page 593 because I started with homemade apricot jam, not preserves. My jam would not go through a sieve. My modified recipe seemed to work fine.

For dinner we had grilled pork chops, baked potatoes, and roasted summer squash and zucchini. We had the tarte for dessert. It is half gone. We each had two servings. It is very good. Connor really liked it, especially the crust which he thought tasted more like a cookie. The recipe was a success!

Taste: 5
Ease of preparation: 3 (lots of time in-between steps)
Presentation: 4 (nice looking dessert)
Price: 1-2 (especially with my own fruit)
Would make it again? Yes, I would. It is a very tasty, pretty dessert. I would also like to try an apricot tarte and an apple tarte.

Sar: (Picture on the right)
I enjoyed making the peach tart. As you can see, my crust was not too pretty. Next time, I’ll use the sweet paste amounts for two cups.

That will give me plenty to cover the pie pan and maybe some for cookies. I also used your homemade apricot jam with the recipe as is except for the straining.

Rating:

Taste: 5 - It was better cold than hot, but both were delicious.

Ease of preparation: 3 – It was fun to roll out the dough and it was nice to have a recipe that did not involve whipping egg whites or cream..

Presentation: 2

Price: 1-2

I would definitely make it again and would like to try the apricot version.

Week 3: 8/30-9/5 Mousse A L'Orange (Orange Mousse -frozen dessert), pg 603 (MOM)

KPH: (left picture)
Today was the big Mousse A L'Orange baking day. I was very excited to try this dessert because I am a big fan of orange flavored dessert, and it really looked like a tasty treat!

I got out all of my ingredients and utensils. I followed the recipe step by step and everything looked and seemed to be exactly as it should be, which is what I like. It is hard when you have never made a dish and directions are not making sense. All of the directions made sense. I used fancy dessert dishes for my mousse.

So we (KPH, Hayley, Max) had a great lunch: Vidalia Onion and Beef Burgers on the grill, chips, and corn on the cob. I went down to the freezer and brought up the dessert and decorated it quickly with whip cream and mint leaves. We all took a bite at the same time. Well, it doesn't taste very good. I do not care for the frozen consistency, the orange zest makes it a little grainy, even though I grated using the smallest hole. It also tastes a little bit bitter. There is only 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. sugar in the recipe, so maybe more sugar would have helped . If I did something wrong, I have absolutely no idea what it was because everything seemed fine. None of us actually finished the whole dessert, which is highly unusual. I will be very curious to hear the reports from Mom and Sar on how their mousse turned out.

It does look beautiful, though.

Rating:
Taste: 1
Ease of preparation: 4 (seemed easy!)
Presentation: 4
Price: 2
Would I make it again? Absolutely not.


Sar: (right picture)

Photo caption added by Ed.

Rating:

Taste: <1

Ease of preparation: 3

Presentation: 3.5

Price: 3

Would I make it again? I will never make this dessert again.

It was a lot of work and dirty dishes for a less than delicious result. It was bitter. Maybe I should have used smaller oranges.

If it actually had some of the orange flesh in it instead of just zest, it would probably be better.

Mom: (no picture)

Taste wasn't bad, probably not worth the effort. If I made it again (which I probably won't) I would add more sugar and less zest.

Taste: 3

Ease of Preparation: 3-4

Presentation: 3 (didn't decorate it)

Price: 2

Would I make it again? Probably not

Week 2 [8/23-8/30] Reine De Saba (Chocolate and Almond Cake), pg. 677. Frosting is Glacage Au Chocolat (Chocolate Butter Icing), pg. 684

Sar: (Bottom picture)

The almond cake was a success. It did not take that long to make and it was good. As with Julia’s recipes so far, it did generate a lot of dirty dishes. I rate it as follows:

Taste – 4.8

Ease of preparation – 1-2

Presentation – 3.5

Price – 1

I definitely would make it again and maybe use rum next time instead of coffee.

Kimberley: (Top three pictures)

I made my cake the day after Sar, so I was able to call and check on what things should look like at different times. It is delicious, but unbelievably rich. I made two cakes and already froze one, but I think I will freeze most of the first one as well. A very little piece was enough for me. I agree with Sar about the dirty dishes; lots of dirty dishes! The frosting was very easy to do, and full of butter, of course!

My ratings are:

Taste: 4

Ease of Preparation: 3 (kind of fussy)

Presentation: 4

Price: 2

Would I make it again? Maybe. I have a lot of chocolate cake recipes that are not this fussy and are also delicious.

Mom: (no picture)

Delicious and very rich. It says it serves 6-8, but certainly could serve 12. I used a 9" pan so it did not come up in the pan as much. I would use an 8" pan next time. It was very tender and fell apart when I flipped it. Next time I would let it cool right on the serving plate.

Taste: 5

Ease of Preparation: 3

Presentation: 4

Price: 2-3

Would I make it again? Yes I would.

---

Week 1 [8/16-8/22] : Boeuf Bourguinon pg. 315

We traveled to Boston on Wednesday, August 19th. We went out shopping for our ingredients that night at Roche Brothers, which is Wellesley Hills version of Wegmans. Shopping together was a lot of fun and we divided up the list and went searching. On Friday morning, which was the day we were making the beef, Dad went to the wine store for us to get the wine we needed.

We started at 2:00 p.m. I started by boiling the bacon and Mom and Sar started on some prep work, cutting the beef, mushrooms, carrots, onions, and peeling the pearl onions. They also washed and dried the beef, which is all very time consuming. After the bacon was boiled, it needed to be browned. Everything needed to be browned, separately, in small batches. This, again, is very time consuming. It is also a little dangerous and I got grease splatters a couple of times.

By 3:30 we had all of the initial work done and added the wine, ready for the dish to go into the oven. My dad came back with two different Bordeaux wines, so part of our decision making process was sampling them both to decide which went into the stew and which one we would drink with the dinner. We all agreed that one of the Bordeaux was smoother than the other so we wanted to drink that one with dinner.

While the stew was in the oven, I finished the mushrooms and the onions which were actually two separate recipes: Oignons Glaces A Brun (Brown-braised Onions), on pg. 483, and Champignons Sautes Au Beurre (Sauteed Mushrooms), on pg. 513. Both were very easy recipes.
The stew was ready at around 6:15 and we were ready to eat at around 6:30. Our complete menu was: Beef Bourguinon served over buttered noodles, Fresh Broccoli, French Bread, and Bordeaux wine.

The meal was absolutely, completely delicious. It was a gourmet treat. There were no leftovers, which is what I predicted. Eating our meal were: Mom, Dad, Sar, Ed, Kimberley, Hayley, Max, and Connor.

We came up with a rating scale for our dishes:

1) Taste: 5
2) Ease of preparation: 2-3
3) Presentation: 5
4) Price: 4-5 (Pretty pricey ingredients)
5) Would we make it again: Mom and Sar said "No", I said "Yes"

This was a great experience, made better by the fact that we were together. We talked a lot about how to do various things listed in the recipe. Our confidence might not have been as strong if we had not been together. If I make this dish again I would do a lot of the prep work the day before and break it up as it is a lot of work.

The First 10 Weeks

Week 1: August 16-22, Boeuf Bourguinon, pg. 315 (KPH) [Review will be posted soon!]

Week 2: August 23-29, Reine De Saba (Chocolate and Almond Cake), pg. 677 (SAR)

Week 3: August 30-September 5, Mousse A L'Orange (Orange Mousse- frozen dessert), pg. 603 (MOM)

Week 4: September 6-12,Tarte Aux Abricots or Peches (Apricot or Peach Tart), pg. 639 (KPH)

Week 5 September 13-19, Potage Parmentier (Onion and Potato Soup), pg. 37 (SAR)

Week 6: September 20-26, Biscuits A La Cuiller (Ladyfingers), pg. 667 (MOM)

Week 7: September 27-10/3, Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons (Chicken Breasts with
Mushrooms and Cream), pg. 269 (KPH)

Week 8: October 4-10, Souffle Aux Epinards (Spinach Souffle), pg. 165 (SAR)

Week 9: October 11-17, Roti de Porc Grand' Mere (Casserole-roasted Pork with Potatoes and Onions), pg. 382 (MOM)

Week 10: October 18-24, Souffle A La Vanille (Vanilla Souffle), pg. 614 (KPH)

Week 11: October 25-31, TBD

How it Began

We went to see Julie/Julia on Friday, August 14th. We loved it! About halfway through the movie we started to get inspired and started to conspire. After the movie, we went to Barnes and Noble and purchased "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." On the way home, we came up with our own version of a cooking club.

So far, the participants are Sar, Kimberley, and Felicia - two sisters and their mom. We will cook one recipe each week in our own homes and then write about the recipe. We will rotate who gets to pick the recipe for the next week. The weeks will run from Sunday to Saturday. Pretty simple rules. We are going to try to establish the first six weeks of recipes within this next week so we can stay organized. I like to stay organized! I also think it will be fun to have something to look forward to.

I am Kimberley and it is my turn to pick the first recipe. I picked Boeuf Bourguignon, on page 315.

The three of us will be together in Boston this week so we are going to complete this recipe together. The plan is to get the ingredients this week and prepare the recipe on Friday August 21st.

So, with nothing to lose, and everything to gain (pun intended), here we go!