Eggplant Gratin (Gratin D’Aubergines, Provencal)

The upcoming release of the movie Julie & Julia (August 7, 2009) has ignited discussions about cooking and blogging and caused me to reflect on my own cooking journey. Cooking always seemed like a big mystery to me when I was growing up. My grandmothers were both talented Southern cooks and seemed to hardly measure anything. Though I truly adored their food, to my mother’s dismay I was never interested in things involving the kitchen, especially the cleaning part, so I really didn’t put forth any effort to learn. I didn’t grow up watching Julia Child and my culinary point of view was fairly limited to Southern and Midwest American foods, so it wasn’t until I tasted good Chinese food at a restaurant in the Chicago suburbs during my high school years that I realized I was missing a whole culinary world. An overseas move in 1989 and exposure to Asian and island cuisine ignited my passion for authentic regional foods. Read more

Chocolate Mousse

There is something romantic about mousse. Perhaps it’s the chocolate or the combination of light airiness and rich flavor, but whatever it is I think chocolate mousse makes a perfect treat for Valentines or any other romantic occasion.

The first time I made this mousse was by special request of my friend Rose. It’s her favorite dessert and she loaned me her copy of Julia Child’s The Way to Cook so I could make this for her. It was the first Julia Child recipe I ever made and after tasting the rich, decadent chocolate I knew this would be my go to recipe for chocolate mousse. I decided I needed my own copy of this informative cookbook and it’s now one of my favorites.

I have made some minor modifications to suit my taste. Child’s recipe calls for sweet or semisweet baking chocolate, but I use a mix of semisweet and bittersweet. She also said to put the mixing bowl on ice when whipping the cream, but I cheat and chill the bowl in the refrigerator instead. Once it’s made, the mousse needs several hours to chill, so plan ahead, but it’s well worth the wait. The recipe makes enough for up to eight servings, so I’ve included instructions to make it for two.

RAW EGG WARNING: You should take care to use the freshest available eggs and make sure that they are stored properly.

More Ideas For Valentine’s Day

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Steak au Poivre with Sauteed Porta Bella Mushrooms

Most of our evening meals are simple, often pulling from the freezer any leftovers from my weekend cooking marathons. We spend our energy taking care of the boys, coaxing them to eat their dinner and use good manners, and conversation centers around the day and what the boys did in school or any new milestones. We try to minimize the chaos, but I’ll tell you we’ve heard it all during dinner.

“Daddy, I peed on the potty all by myself!”

“I don’t want to use my fork!”

“I don’t like this. I can’t eat it.”

“Daddy? Mommy? Have some more [fill in the blank]?” (pause) “Oh. May I have some more [fill in the blank], please?”

“Mommy, I love my vegetables!” (Usually said after being told there will be no dessert for little boys who don’t eat all their dinner.)

“Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” [airplane noises]

“Oh, please don’t put that in your hair.” (pause, sigh) “OK, I guess you need a bath tonight.”

“Ghhhh!” (Said while the toddler throws his food or bowl or cup or spoon on the floor. Usually followed by tears because now he doesn’t have the food/bowl/cup/spoon/whatever.)

By the time we get the boys to bed we’re both exhausted and can easily fall asleep wherever we sit, Read more

The Daring Bakers Make Julia Child’s French Bread

Unlike many of my fellow Daring Bakers, I cannot claim to have watched Julia Child’s cooking shows or even read any of her books until recently. I was more interested in Asian, Mexican, or Italian cooking, anyway. That’s what I told myself, but in truth it’s because I thought her cooking style was beyond my skill level.

What I really needed was a push from someone who had more faith in my cooking skills than I did, and that push came last fall from one of my neighbors. She asked me to make Julia’s chocolate mousse for her sometime and even loaned her copy of The Way to Cook. How could I say no to that? So I tried it and found it wasn’t as hard as I thought. Or perhaps I’ve grown a little and now have an appreciation for everything Julia had to share. And how could I not appreciate a woman who started cooking in her 40s? It was quite inspiring to this self-taught home cook in her early 40s.

So I tackled the mousse and then her amazing French onion soup, and both turned out well. So when Mary of The Sourdough and Sara of I Like to Cook announced that the February Daring Baker’s challenge would be Julia Child’s French bread, I was excited. Having spent the last few months learning to bake artisan breads certainly was a factor in my excitement. Something new to try! Read more

The Way to Cook…Vegetarian French Onion Soup

This post marks a couple of firsts for me. This is the first time I have made French onion soup in two years, but not because I don’t like it. I love it and I have missed it! No, I had to give this up along with many other foods while I was pregnant with our third son because I was so sick, and then after he was born I was still eating a very restricted diet because he had reflux and couldn’t tolerate many foods I like to eat. So this year I am thrilled to be able to enjoy all of my favorite foods again.

And the other big, BIG first for me is the cookbook I adapted this recipe from. Until recently I have never owned a Julia Child cookbook, and I never watched her shows. For some reason I had the impression that her recipes were too complex, but early on in my cooking journey I could have really used her help because some of my creations were utterly horrifying fiascoes. A couple months ago my attitude changed when I was challenged to try a Julia Child recipe by one of my neighbors. Rose and her family moved into their house across the street last spring, and she was expecting her third child in October. I welcomed them to the neighborhood with a gift of homemade chewy oatmeal raisin cookies and we struck up a friendship. After we got to know each other a little better and she had a chance to be a taste tester for the Daring Baker challenges, she asked me if I would make a chocolate mousse for her sometime using a Julia Child recipe that another friend of hers had made for special occasions. She had the cookbook with the recipe and loaned it to me. I was slightly intimidated based on my prior thoughts about Julia Child’s cooking, but in the spirit of friendship I said I would try it sometime. I made it for a girls’ night out and realized what I had been missing all these years. I should have bought this cookbook a long time ago! Read more