Cooking Julia for the experts

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Julia Child is not a recent development in my life. When my mother and father met, she was taking a french cooking class and it appears that this was a significant attraction (amongst many others) to my father. I am not sure at what point Julia Child entered into the equation but she has been the source of many memorable dinners for Mémère and Pépère. We they came to visit I understandably wished to dazzle them with my newfound Julia prowess. Unfortunately this coincided with a killer week in court and an early morning start for my uncle to build a dishwasher hole in our kitchen. Result? a decimated kitchen, no preparation and a late arrival from work. Le Gourmand, Mémère and Pépère were wondering why we didn't just go out for dinner. Despite this they kindly pitched in as sous-chefs.

Menu
Poulet en Cocotte Bonne Femme
Chou-Fleur À La Mornay, Gratiné
Sauce Mornay
Carottes Glacées
Epinards Etuves au Beurre
Clafouti aux Pommes

The menu was somewhat modified when the piece of bacon I bought for the Daube was double what I needed, so I found a chicken recipe that called for bacon lardons. Always a bonus! The chicken was again browned in butter in the casserole on the cooktop, and small potatoes and onions (or quartered onions in this case) added to the chicken with the lightly browned bacon. Everything was covered in foil and the lid is placed on the casserole before it was cooked for an hour - we all agreed that the resulting chicken was succulent and tasty and I browned the potatoes and onions up in the chicken juices on the cooktop at the end.

The cauliflower is much like the cauliflower my grandmother, The Queen of Pastry, has always made with her roasts and Le Gourmand and I could eat it by the bucketload - blanched cauliflower, covered in mornay sauce and sprinkled with cheese. Mémère was particularly enamoured with the carrots glazed in stock with a little butter and sugar. The spinach was blanched and lightly braised in butter with a sprinkling of nutmeg that was quite subtle. Pépère decreed the meal delicious but too much effort for a Thursday night. Le Gourmand joked that we eat like this every night but let's face it at the moment we eat like this very often.

The apple clafouti was fantastic - I cooked it a little less than the recommended time and the batter was even gooier than the pear clafouti. Even I was impressed that the other three went for seconds - Bruce was already feeling crowded after main meal!

The verdict from Mémère and Pépère? Lovely subtle flavours. Hopefully the Julia they know and love.