The French Chef Cookbook...Bon Appetit

The French Chef Cookbook by Julia Child.

     My Mother Lill-Sie, affectionately known as Bean, or later on as Grandma Bean, was an adventuresome cook. Ethnic recipes, exotic ingredients, and time consuming preparations were not looked on as obstacles only exciting challenges to try, seek out and enjoy.  She was a New Yorker so she was introduced to the cuisine of many cultures as a child, but that being said, it was she who sought them out. She told stories of going door to door in her neighborhood during the early 1940s, asking “What’s cooking?” Many of course found this quite endearing and would gladly give the precocious little toe head a taste! Her neighbors in Long Island were from Germany, Russia, Poland, Norway and France. Her parents, my grandparents, were from Sweden. Bean left a large cookbook collection, truly a legacy, and on this blog I share these books, memories of Bean and then cook one recipe from the book.

     My mother never really had much to say about my grandmothers cooking except to say how much she hated her “veal birds”. They must have been awful because I heard about them many times growing up! (Apparently they are veal cutlets wrapped around a bread stuffing with lots of parsley.)  There were many stories of my mom as a child along with her father attempting to cook some delicacy that he craved from his childhood while grandmother was away so I’m guessing that she was lacking in skill when it came to cooking. Though she did seem to be accomplished at canning fruits and vegetables. I remember the root cellar on the family farm in Massachusetts.

      None of their attempts ever seemed to come out; from exploding homemade root beer that burst with such force that the glass bottles were imbedded  in the eaves of the attic where they stored it; to bread dough so hard that the chickens wouldn’t even eat it. They ended up burying most of the evidence in a field so grandmother wouldn’t find out that they had wasted so much yeast and flour.

     Further evidence that grandmother was not the best cook was that young Bean sought out the next door neighbor, a German woman,  who ran a boarding house for all of the towns teachers. Mom loved to help in the kitchen and gave this woman full credit for teaching her the fine art of seasoning and cooking. Her eyes would smile when she spoke of standing on a kitchen chair, apron tied around and around her little body, peeling vegetables with this woman. That being said Mother rarely made German food, she cooked more like a “French Peasant” she always said. Her soups especially, her beef bourguignon was legendary. Egg dishes, sauces, her treatment of vegetables, her baking, custards, and hors d’oeuvres.  Attention to detail, developing a depth of flavor with the holy trinity or mire-poix... celery, onion and carrots along with fresh ingredients.

     Years later Bean married my father and he was strictly a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Older,  he had been raised during the depression when food and money were scarce at times. So he was not raised with an adventuresome palate. As we kids came along she would take us out on her neighborhood excursions to try ethnic restaurants and thus developed our love of exploring food and tastes and learning about other cultures.

     So I have a memory of an early television cooking show of a very tall woman with an interesting accent and a decidedly unique voice who genuinely loved food, Julia Child. She communicated with her whole body it seemed.

Title page, drawing by Julia’s husband Paul Child.

   
     This cookbook was the companion to her groundbreaking television show, one of the first cooking shows to ever appear on public television and was aired at first in 1963 just in New England. The book is organized by television episode and features the recipes that she taught that day. The show aired from 1963 - 1973. My mother’s cookbook dates from 1968 and features recipes up to the 134th show, which incidentally,  was devoted to fish mousse, Turban of Sole.

The Potato show. 

     I chose a recipe to try from “The Potato Show”, the 28th television episode which you can still watch on the internet. Please do as it is classic Julia. Nothing like the “perfect” shows of today’s cooking networks. She is honest, obviously doesn’t work from a script and not always do things work out the way they are supposed to. I love her comments...when about to flip a pan sized potato  pancake she advises you to “have the courage of your convictions!” Well, part of it went on the stove but she tells you not to worry as you can cover it up with cheese and cream. Later she tries again and she grasps that pan handle with two hands. And a lot more courage. And she pulls it off.  Love her!

Classic Julia Child. 

     In French this recipe sounds quite fancy,  Gratin De Pommes De Terre et Saucisson which translates to sausage and potato casserole.

Potato and sausage casserole. 

     I used honey gold potatoes with the skins on, sliced approximately a quarter of an inch thick and boiled in salted water until just tender. The minced onion was sautéed in butter before being assembled. In a lightly buttered casserole a layer of potatoes goes down first followed by a layer of sausage and then a layer of onion.

Layer of potato, sausage, onions and repeat.

Completely layered ending with onions.

   

Egg mixture poured over all, Swiss cheese on top.

     The eggs, cream, salt and pepper are whisked together and then poured over the casserole. The shredded Swiss cheese is sprinkled on top. Dot with butter before baking casserole in a preheated 375 oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. 

Bake until golden. 

     This is a simple and fast dinner to prepare once you have the parts prepped. Next time I’ll add a hint of garlic. Serve with a green vegetable or salad, I chose petit pois, seemed fitting. Quite a homey and comfort food type of dinner. 

Bon apetit!

    I’ve had such fun going through this cookbook, watching old French Chef episodes and reminiscing today about Beans and my adventures in cooking. So from Julia, Bean and Me, have the “courage of your convictions” in the kitchen, don’t stress it, and have fun. Bon Apetit!