Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child

After a busy Holiday Season, I sat down with a good book.  My oldest son, David, gave me this book for Christmas.  I could not wait to read it.  This is most in depth biography about Julia Child I have read.  The author, Bob Spitz, writes about Julia's childhood, her college days, career days (before her cooking days), life with her husband Paul, cooking days, and her later years.  In the beginning, Julia did not like to cook but she loved eating.  It wasn't until she met Paul that she developed a love for great food and eventually cooking. When Julia set her mind to learn how to cook a dish she became obsessive.  She would research and try recipes over and over.  She was very exact.  This caused some friction between her and her cooking partner Simca. Julia and  Simca wrote two books together .  It wasn't an easy collaboration at times but luckily for us they made it work.  As time went, and the book "Mastering The Art of French Cooking" became a huge success,  Julia's next adventure was to have her own TV show "The French Chef".  It was interesting to read about the strong partnership Julia and her husband Paul had.  He had note cards and took care of various things on the set for her.  They were there for each other through thick and thin.  He was  very proud of her success.  After Paul died, Julia continued with her cooking shows and numerous other projects.  She had a cooking spot on "Good Morning America" and shows on Public Television.   Julia and Jacques Pepin hosted a television show together and she was a character.  On one episode, they were going to make a flaky dough for chicken pot pie and three minutes before the show she decided on a new plan.  She decided to use Crisco!  She had never used Crisco before.  Note, this was a show sponsored by Land O'Lakes.  In the end they reached a compromise of  half butter and half Crisco.  Julia continued to be active well into her eighties.  During the last couple of years of her life, her health deteriorated.  She was on dialysis and her doctors advised her to not eat so much butter.
Julia died two days before her ninety-second birthday.   It can be said that Julia Child lived life to its' fullest. I would recommend this book to those interested in an in-depth picture of the life of Julia Child.

Eggs in a Hole

Eggs in a Hole

My mother used to make this breakfast dish for me when I was growing up.  Instead of baking them in the oven she would cook them on the stove in a cast iron skillet.  When I made this dish for m kids, I did it the same way.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a recipe in Cook's Country magazine for a baked version of this breakfast dish.  Instead of making one-at-a-time you can make six.  To make this recipe you will need two heavy-bottomed rimmed baking sheets.
Start by buttering one side of a slice of bread, cutting a hole in the center and placing the slices  and holes on a  very hot baking sheet that has melted butter. Once the bread has toasted, crack an egg in the "hole" of each bread slice.  Season the eggs with salt and pepper and bake until the whites are barely set, 4 to 6 minutes.  Remove the eggs from the oven and let sit until the white are completely set.  Serve immediately.
Your family is in for a tasty breakfast.

Eggs in a Hole
From Cook's Country Magazine

Ingredients:

6 slices hearty white sandwich bread
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
6 large eggs
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Adjust oven racks to lowest and top positions, place rimmed baking sheet on lowest rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Spread 1 side of bread slices evenly with 2 1/2 tablespoons butter.  Using 2 1/2-inch  biscuit cutter, cut out and remove circle from center of each piece of bread.

Buttered Bread

Hole Cut inCenter of Bread

Hole in Bread

2. Remove hot sheet from oven and melt remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons butter on it, tilting sheet to distribute evenly.  Place bread circles down center of sheet and bread slices on either side of circles, buttered side up, in single layer.  Return sheet sheet to lowest oven rack and bake until bread is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes, flipping bread and rotating sheet halfway through baking.

Bread Slices And Circles Arranged on Hot Baking Sheet

Toasted

3. Remove sheet from oven and set inside second (room temperature) rimmed baking sheet.  Crack 1 egg into each bread hole.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bake on top oven rack until whites are barely set, 4 to 6 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking.

Egg in Hole

4. Place sheets on wire rack and let sit until whites are completely set, about 2 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Egg Whites Setting

Egg in Hole

                                                                                  

Cracker Barrel's Hash Browns Casserole

Hash Browns Casserole

I love Cracker Barrel's Hash Brown Casserole.  I order it every time I go. I love the creaminess  and flavor of the casserole.  Needless to say, I was delighted to find this recipe on the Food.com Website.  It is a very easy dish to make and you will probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen.  First, get a large bowl and place hash browns, butter, Cream of Chicken soup, sour cream, onions ( I used onion powder) cheddar cheese, salt , and pepper.  Mix the ingredients well.  Place in an 11x14-inch baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray.  Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven.  I let my casserole cool about 7-10 minutes before serving.

The casserole was delicious:)  It was creamy and every bit as good if not better than Cracker Barrel's   The family enjoyed every bite.


Cracker Barrel's Hash Browns Casserole
From Food.com

Ingredients:

2 pounds frozen hash browns
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (10 1/4 ounce) can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup onions (or 1 teaspoon onion powder)
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray an 11x14-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Mix the above ingredients together.  Place in the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until brown on top.

3.  Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 10-12 servings

Ready to Serve

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! HAVE A GREAT 2013  FROM  THE GANG AT "FROM MY SOUTHWEST KITCHEN."

Cheddar Gougeres

Cheddar Gougeres

Cheddar Gougeres are deliciously light  French puffs.  These are a wonderful savory appetizer to serve at any get together.   This recipe is not difficult to make.  The key thing to remember is to have everything ready to go before you start. Begin by bringing the water, butter and salt to a boil.  You add the flour and stir until a smooth ball forms.   Let the dough rest for  5 minutes.  Then add the eggs one at a time.  Then stir in the cheese and chives.  Drop by tablespoon onto a greased baking sheet - I lined my baking sheet with parchment paper and baked until they are golden brown.
To me, it was love at first bite.  I loved the light pastry that had the flavorful taste of the cheddar cheese with  chives.








Cheddar Gougeres
From Taste of Home Magazine

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup minced fresh chives
2 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil.  Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms.  Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny.  Stir in cheese, chives and garlic.

Water, Butter, and Salt Coming To A Boil

Soft Ball

Smooth

Cheese and Chives Added 

2. Drop by tablespoonfuls 1 inch apart onto greased baking sheets.  Sprinkle with remaining salt.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Serve Warm.
Yield: 3 dozen

Go-With-Everything Celery Root Puree

Celery Root Puree

This week in French Fridays With Dorie we made Celery Root Puree.  Let me admit - I wasn't sure about this recipe.  Whenever I would see Celery Root in the store I would ask my self who would want to eat that.  After making this recipe, I would that is who.  I love Celery Root.  It is so delicious.  I love its' a mild celery flavor.  In this recipe celery root was boiled in milk and water with a potato, and a small onion.  All of the veggies were drained and then pureed.  Once the veggies were smooth, butter was added to the veggies.  Season with salt and white pepper and if you want garnish the Celery Root Puree with snipped  fresh chives, pistachio oil, or browned butter.  I served mine with snipped chives.

The family enjoyed this recipe a lot.  They loved the flavor and the texture of the puree.  This recipe is a keeper for the Saucier Family:)

This recipe can be found on page 354 in "Around My French Table."

Pureed Veggies

Tasty

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

Split pea soup is a perfect soup for the winter.  It is filling, flavorful, and easy to make.  In this recipe, you just put all of the ingredients in a slow cooker and set the temperature.  I used 2 cups diced ham for the recipe but feel free to use a meaty ham bone or ham hocks.  If you are using a ham bone, remove the bone from the soup after it has finished cooking. Remove the meat from the bone and dice up the meat. Return the meat  to the soup. In addition to the ham, I use dried green split peas, onion and garlic powders, a bay leaf, sliced carrots, salt, pepper, ground allspice, and chicken broth.  I like my soups thick, so I pureed 1 cup of the soup mixture after it was done.  I then stirred the puree into the soup.  If you like the soup the thickness it is, ignore the puree part in the instructions.
This soup is rich and hearty.  It goes well with a piece of rustic bread or whole grain crackers.  You can eat this soup for supper or serve it in a cup for lunch or a starter.




 Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

Special Equipment:  Slow cooker

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package dried green split peas, rinsed and drained
1 meaty ham bone or 2 ham hocks or 2 cups diced ham
1 cup sliced carrots
1-tablespoon onion powder
1-teaspoon salt
1 Bay Leaf
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
6 cups chicken broth


Directions:

1. Layer the ingredients in a slow cooker in the above order (starting with the split peas and ending with the chicken broth).
2. Do not stir the ingredients.  Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 8-10 hours or until the peas are very soft.
3. Stir the soup and discard the bay leaf.   Remove 1 cup of the soup and puree in a food processor.  Return the puree to the soup and stir.
4. Taste and adjust seasoning if need.  Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

Makes 8 servings