Sarah
This week's cooking adventure involved dutch ovens! That sought after, elusive cooking tool escaped me for most of the week. I knew I would have to double the Beef Bourgingnon recipe and therefore needed 2 dutch ovens. So after canvassing friends and family for one to borrow with no success I began to research purchasing one. Who knew the world of dutch ovens was so expansive (and expensive!). In the end it came down to ovens made in China vs. ovens made in France with a $150 difference between the two and lots of warnings to avoid the hazzards of cheap, Chinese cookware. But spending $200+ on a pot is a big decision! And the least expensive prices were not available locally. Any cookware ordered online would not arrive in time for the meal. What to do??? Thank God for Outdoor Recreation on base (a kind of camping/outdoor rental store/trip place). I was able to rent deux camping dutch ovens for a little over $10. Perfect! Only, they weren't big enough to hold the recipe. I quickly deduced that I would have to cook the beef stew twice, 4 pots in total.
On Tuesday morning, I asked God to help me finish all of the cooking and even have time for a rest (10 hours of cooking is a lot!). I started right away and the first batch of beef stew was completed by noon. God helped me throughout the rest of the day and I was able to complete everything!
The stew was deliciously rich, with many layers of flavors added over the course of cooking. Perhaps my favorite layer was the cognac flambe! The flames leapt much higher than I had anticipated and licked the door of the microwave! The second round was flambed on the ground :). For an appetizer I cooked mussels in white wine and they were delicious. Lots of shallots, garlic, white wine and tomatoes made the mussels juicy and tangy.
The profiteroles were a hit. And not too difficult. My puff pastry still needs some work, but it's getting better each time I make it. I recommend this dessert to anyone, an elegant look without too much fuss.
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Sarah
Last week's steak dinner was a lot of fun. I started cooking in the morning to make sure I could finish on time. After an hour plus I was still unsuccessfully trying to cook the caramel sauce for the floating island dessert. How frustrating! How sticky! How hot! I finally decided to try again later and moved on to the meringues - sticky part two! I am not a fan of meringue. I have tried to make it 2 or 3 times and each time as I add the sugar they stop stiffening. This time was no exception. Everything was going along just fine, then I added the sugar slowly and they stopped firming up. I had to start again with another egg white and SLOWLY add back my unstiffened whites + sugar. A long and sticky process! The vegetable tian was delicious and fun, I will surely make it again. What a nice side dish! The steak with bernaise turned out just fine, but much of the attention of the evening went to the pissaladiere - pizza with onions, anchovies and olives. Yes, anchovies! The first I've ever tried. Not too bad, but SO SALTY! The floating islands were extremely sweet - maybe I overdid the drizzles of caramel sauce? And so chewy! Overall, I think the vegetable tian was my winner. And the floating isanlds win the prize for the strangest dessert yet.
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Sarah
What an action packed month! Mike's two weeks of R&R felt like a month. God blessed the in too many ways to list, and I was even able to put some of my newly learned skills into practice cooking a last minute dinner for Mike, Amy, Joshua and I.
Highlights:
- Meeting Mike at the gate, and a spontaneous "heroe's return" clap from the other passengers. He was surprised that we had made it past security, and everyone was charmed by Joshua's exclamation "That's my Daddy!"
- Welcome home dinner with all of our family on the night Mike came home. Everyone got to see Mike, hug him, and love on him and enjoy time together.
- Potty Training Joshua - Mike wanted to be involved and we were crazy to try this the day after Mike returned back! He had been delayed a few days and we wanted to get it started before our San Francisco trip. Incredibly stressful!!! But now, incredibly rewarding!! An important shared memory for our little family.
- Valentine's Day double date with Amy & Joshua. Joshua was a pretty good date, even if he didn't have flowers for his Auntie. What fun to share a day of love with those we love so much.
- SAN FRANCISCO! Too much to list, but the bicylce ride to Sausalito and Tiburon was the highlight of our time there. Lunch in China town, Chinese ballet, wandering and walking all over town, a foggy coastal drive and the most delightful breakfast I've ever had at the Farmhouse Inn. Thank you Mom & Dad Freeman!
- Fun with Joshua - kite flying, his first movie, hiking to 7 falls (16 creek crossings in icy cold water!)
- Fun with family - zoo, Craig's birthday celebration, pizza dinner and more
Now it's been 10 days since he's gone back to Iraq and Joshua and I are starting to get back into our normal routine. I think it's time to COOK!
Here's the menu:
Steak with Bernaise Sauce - Ribeye steaks
Vegetable Tian - a bed of sauteed onions covered with sliced zucchini, tomoato and potato, drizzled with olive oil and baked, finished with grated cheese.
Dessert: Ile Flottante - Floating Islands of meringue, with caramel, pralines, and creme anglaise.
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Sarah
Our last French family dinner was a wonderfully casual event. We had all decided on something lighter because the filet of beef au poivre was delicious, but rich! There were only three things on the menu, and this dinner was a breeze compared to some that I have cooked.
Croque Monsieur
Provencal Vegetable Soup
Chocolate Truffles
The vegetable soup was tasty, and was upgraded to delightful by the addition of pistou, a kind of pesto sauce that was added to the soup at the last minute and served alongside the soup as a garnish. Some freshly grated parmesan cheese and a dollop of pistou made all the difference. It melted right into the soup adding a great deal of richness.
The Croque Monsieur sandwiches were a huge hit! What's not to love? Black Forest Ham, mustard, gruyere cheese, crunchy bread covered in bubbling, melted bechamel sauce and more grated cheese? Delicious!
I'm not so sure about the truffles. They might be a one time dessert. The nice thing about them is that you can customize them by adding different flavorings or liqueurs and rolling in various items (powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, crushed almonds etc). Maybe good for a party?
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Sarah
Last week Connor and I cooked a delectable filet mignon meal. What fun to have company in the kitchen, especially such fun company! Connor and I (and Joshua) spent a few hours on Saturday shopping for our ingredients and baking the Baba au Rhum cake.
The filet mignon was cooked superbly with a little help from my brother Craig, aka, the master of meat. Charmaigne made the kitchen sparkle while we waited
hours for the sauce to reduce, but the end result was worth the wait. The garlic mashed potatoes were rich and lucious thanks to copious amounts of garlicky olive oil. I can't say any of us were impressed by the French String beans, but they served their purpose. The Baba au Rhum was a bit of a disappointment. It did not soak up the rum syrup and so was dry,
but, as my Dad said - the coarseness of the cake was a great contrast against the silkiness of the whipped cream. And it was! I will try the Baba au Rhum again if I can get my hands on a 5 or 6 cup bundt pan.
Everyone agreed that the next meal should be a little lighter, so I will cook Provencal Vegetable Soup, Croque Monsieur, and Chocolate Truffles.
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Sarah
Filet of Beef au Poivre
French String Beans
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Dessert: Baba au Rhum
Connor and I have arranged a delicious menu for Sunday night! Please RSVP as soon as you can (or by Saturday night). Love to you all!
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Sarah
Amy put in a special request for dinner this week - Seafood Stew. It's supposed to be rainy and cold on Tuesday, so it might have been a stroke of genius!
Starter: Cheese Puffs
Seafood Stew
Toasted Baguette Slices buttered and rubbed with garlic
Dessert: Chocolate Orange Mousse
Tuesday, January 19
6 spaces available
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Sarah
Our first French feast was a wonderfully fun night with lots of family and lots of food. After cooking most of the day, what a delight to sit down with people I love and enjoy some delicious food. Amy created a beautiful, glittering, glowing table filled with lots of candles, flowers and tablecloths - gorgeous!
A Few Observations on French Cooking based on "Barefoot in Paris"
EGGS - I used more than 15 eggs, I knew French food had a lot of butter, but eggs (especially yolks!)?
EGGS Part 2 - Meringue? I have never seen so many recipes with meringue, a true love affair with the light fluff, or are the French just thrifty?
LIQUOR - Must be very useful for adding flavor. A full bottle of wine in the garlic chicken! Plus cognac!
What Ina Forgot to Include in "Barefoot in Paris'
Lemon filling is so HARD to make! It slid and seeped out of the tart after it was cut.
Don't add sugar too fast to meringue when you whip it, whip it good!
Gruyere cheese requires serious shoulder and arm muscles to grate, but also puffs up and gives a satisfyingly large pile of grated cheese when done.
Not advisable to use a box grater to zest lemons, the longest 1/4 cup of zesting in my life! (plus nicks!)
I CAN cut a bone in chicken breast in half, just whacka, whacka and voila!
Until next time...
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Sarah
Today I went shopping for the ingredients for tomorrow night's big dinner. There weren't a lot of things on my list, but I bought a lot of each thing including 8 cloves of garlic, 5 bunches of asparagus, 2 heads of cauliflower, 7.5 lbs of chicken and LOTS of cheese! I was kind of skeptical about whether the commissary would have gruyere cheese (I've never noticed it there!) but they had 2 different kinds and even a few substitutes. I triple checked my list, so hopefully I won't have any last minute trips to the store tomorrow.
I'm starting to get nervous! Maybe 5 items was a bit ambitious for my first try? Plus I have to double most of my recipes to accomodate 10 people so I'm not sure how that will work out (will everything fit in my pots?). Thank God that Amy didn't specify that the food had to "look like the pictures in the book" or "taste like a little bit of Paris". I plan to start cooking tomorrow morning...
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Sarah
Where to find a tart pan? My first task in preparing for dinner on Tuesday has been a challenging one. I've been to 3 retail stores and 1 restaurant supply store and am still tart-less. Later today I'll up my ante and head to Williams & Sonoma where I will officially enter the world of the discriminating gourmet. How could I even think of making the lemon meringe tart in a pie dish?! What is a tart without the fluted golden brown crust?
Also in search of a pastry bag and tips...
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Sarah
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Sarah
After a careful review of Amy's selections I've decided on a menu for my first dinner:
Starter: Cheese Straws
Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
Asparagus with Hollandaise
Cauliflower Gratin
Dessert: Lemon Meringue Tart
All family and friends who want to come RSVP by Saturday night 1/10. No more than 10 so RSVP right away!
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Sarah
On Christmas night a formal wager was made between my older sister Amy and I. I will cook each recipe she selects from "Barefoot in Paris" for her at least once, and then I may assume ownership of her new cookbook. No exceptions for food quality or mistakes! She did not drive a hard bargain.
On New Year's Eve, Amy marked all of the recipes in the book for me to cook. More than 40, but I say, bring on the challenge! I've always wanted to learn how to cook French food and though Ina Garten is no Julia Child the food will be delicious.
In my corner: EVERYONE! Let's face it - everyone wants me to win this one. Their mouths started watering at the first mention of veal chops and loin of pork. But I will be the ultimate winner! New skills, new cookbook, and lots of fun dinners with everyone I love. Who could ask for more?
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