Monday, February 1, 2010

Monday's New Cookbook For The Week

Mondays.. I'm not to fond of Mondays.  Do you know statistically that people are more prone to heart attacks on Mondays?  I guess after a mellow weekend shocking your body back into the fast pace of getting to work would do it.  That said, I would rather go down with a lobster tail dripping with garlic butter, hanging out of my mouth first.  Which means, take time to taste your food and savor the moment and always look forward to your  next meal.

I received a request to test the Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck.  What may surprise some people is that, there is a Volume I and a Volume II to Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Volume I was once tested on Grocery Bags with Anna Wallner & Kristina Matisic. It was also the book used in the movie Julie and Julia.  At first I was going to just test Volume II, written by Julia Child, and Simone Beck since Volume I seemed to have received so much attention.  But after reading both books, I realized that the second Volume really refers back to the first Volume.  So it looks like I have to work with both books this week.

Today I tested the Poulet Pele A L'estragon  with Farce Duxelles (Casserole-Roasted Chicken with Tarragon and Mushroom Stuffing) and the Pommes De Terre Sautees ( Potatoes Sauteed in Butter).  Both dishes were from Volume I.

The recipes were easy to read, and although I thought the main ingredients for each dish would be Chicken and Potatoes, It happened to be BUTTER. So you know the dishes  had to be amazing.  Everything melted in my mouth.  And the mushroom stuffing was great even with the chicken gizzard and the chicken livers.

The book is a bit intimidating at first, but if you ever read a Julia Child cookbook before, you'll know that her books are very detailed. Reading through the book, brought me back to cooking school, because of it's descriptive preparation techniques. The techniques are essential. Once you have the skill and techniques, you'll never lose them

I suspect this will be a week of decadence, so I'm going to really have to work that treadmill.


The Cookbook Addict

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