.
I love me some Julia.
As in Child. As in {in my best Frenchie accent} “Bon Appetit!” Julia Child.
Her Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a Culinary Bible to me.
That Julie chick who cooked all of her recipes has nothing on me.
Well, accept she wrote a blog about it and made a movie. And made lots
of money. She has that one on me, I suppose.
I remember the first time I made a Julia Child recipe. We were living in
Brussels, Belgium and I had just signed up to take classes at Cordon Bleu.
I was nervous as a cat laying next to a front porch rocker.
So, I rode my bike to the Market Square, filled my basket with all the
ingredients I needed to make dinner….and rode home. Slowly. Dreading that
I was going to cook my first real French dinner. I rode through the Park, by
the 300-yr old church, past the Abby….and, finally made my way home.
The Hubbs had chosen the dish. One of his faves.
Boeuf Bourguignon.
I couldn’t even pronounce it correctly.
The Hubbs, who was semi-fluent in French, made it sound so elegant and
beautiful and….well, Frenchy.
When I said it, it sounded something along the lines of Boof Borg-none.
{Bone Jore, Soo Voo Play.}
I was pretty sure that the fact I could not speak or understand French did not
bode well for my upcoming French cooking classes. {stress overload}
I unpacked my basket one ingredient at a time, making sure I had everything
needed for this Beefy-Bergy dish my husband had raved about. Then, as I
started gathering all the pantry staples I already had on hand….something
slowly started to occur to me.
Those “champignons” which sounded so foreign was nothing more than
Mushrooms.
The “Boeuf” was what we Americans called “Beef Stew.”
And “Bourguignon?” Good ole’ red wine.
I knew all about red wine. I loved to cook with it. Sometimes it even made
it into the dishes.
I was so happy and so relieved. I didn’t care that phone calls back home cost a
small European fortune, I had to tell my Mama that her very Southern
daughter was gonna cook up a pot of Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Bacon,
all doused in a general helping of Red Wine.
Bless my heart.
I’ll never forget what my Mama said when I told her what I was “fixin’.”
{We don’t cook in the South, we “fix.” “Whatcha’ fixin’ for supper?”}
Me: “Mama, I’m gettin’ ready to fix Boof Borginoogey.”
Mama: “Boof what?”
Me: “Beef Bourginoodle. It’s Beef Stew with mushrooms and bacon.”
Mama: “Then why didn’t you just say Beef Stew?”
Me: “‘Cause it’s French. It’s a recipe by Julia Child. Boof Borginoggin’.
It has red wine it it, too.”
Mama: “Wine? The kind you drink?”
Me: “Yes, Mama. That kind of wine.” {versus the bathing kind of wine}
Mama: “Why you gonna ruin a good pot of Beef Stew with that wine stuff?”
I couldn’t explain my newfound interest of French cooking to my Mama.
I also, didn’t tell her sweet, Christian self that her beloved baby daughter
loved that “wine stuff” more than my Daddy loved his Deere.
And that was saying something.
After I hung up from that very expensive and very enlightening phone call,
I realized that the “Can-Do Attitude” my Mama and Daddy had instilled in
me had taken a momentary lapse, buried underneath some uncertainties
I was feeling about trying something new.
Cuisine Française.
Afterwards, standing there in my “Kiss My Grits” apron, looking at the pile of
ingredients before me, I suddenly realized that these were plain, ordinary
ingredients – with pretty, fancy French names.
I followed Julia’s recipe. I didn’t want her hard work and years of writing and
re-writing to be for naught. But, cooking that dish was second nature to
me. I fell in love that day with French Cooking {and Julia} while cooking
fancy Beef Stew in a 200-yr old Belgian Farmhouse. I developed a new-found
respect for a woman who learned to cook cuisine française then went on to
teach millions of others to do the same.
I’ve never let a style of cuisine or a recipe scare me since. Some have been
achieved with great success, and others…. have not.
But, each time I have tried something new, I have reminded myself that all of
the ingredients simply had fancy, sometimes foreign names.
Accept scrapple. Ain’t nothing fancy about it and I would advice you NOT
to cook with it or eat it. You heard it here first!
I am sharing my recipe for Crispy Iron Skillet Potatoes and Onions with
Homemade {fructose free} Ketchup.
I scooped out some of the finished Ketchup and added a few pinches of curry
powder, to accompany the Curried Pork Tenderloin stuffed with apples
and raisins.
Simple ingredients. Simple foods. Good eatin’.
Thanks for letting me share these recipes for
Tasty Tuesday!
This Thursday, I will be guest posting over at
Mom4 Real with my sweet friend, Jessica.
Here’s a little sneaky peaky at what I will be “serving.”
Green Pea-Sesame Hummus with Garlic Pita Chips
Hope to see you there!
- (2) Cans 6oz Organic Tomato Paste
- (1) Tablespoon Minced Garlic or Garlic Paste
- (1) Tablespoon Woistershire Sauce
- (1/4) Cup Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
- (3) Tablespoons Honey
- (1/2) teaspoon Cinnamon
- (1/4) teaspoon Ground Cloves
- (1/4) teaspoon Nutmeg
- (1/4) teaspoon garlic
- (1/4) teaspoon salt
- (1/4) teaspoon pepper
- (3-4) Tablespoons Water
- In a saucepan on medium heat, add all the above ingredients. Stir well. Once ketchup mixture is heated through, remove from heat. Add (2) Tablespoons of water, stir. Add more water, as needed, to get the "ketchup" consistency desired. Taste, and add more honey or spices as needed. Store in a closed container. Will last for about 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
Don’t forget about Home{work} Wednesday which starts tomorrow
night. The party goes LIVE at 8pm.
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Nana Diana says
Yum and Yum and Yum! Sounds delicious- xo Diana
View CommentSuzan says
I have eliminated wheat and sugar from my diet in an attempt to treat my body better. I have been dying for ketchup! I cannot wait to make your recipe. Thanks so much for posting!
View Comment(By the way – this transplanted Southern girl married a Frenchman and the first “frenchy” thing I ever made was a cheese souffle in a tiny apartment oven that didn’t have a temperature regulator. The kitchen fairies were smiling because it came out perfectly. Second thing I made was Boeuf Bourguignon. I love it because it sounds so cotton picking fancy and really is crazy easy!)
Kerryanne @ Shabby Art Boutique says
Mmmm… looks delicious!!
View CommentMarty Walden says
Very funny, gal! I also like your new recipe plug-in.And i can’t even remember what scrapple is but that’s probably a good thing, right?
View CommentLisa@Nothingbutblueskies says
You crack me up! Love your fancy new look and recipe plug in! I just need to spend a week at your feet to learn all of your blogging tricks!
Is it totally a WEIRD coincidence that I made those potatoes last night for dinner!? My mom made them often when I was a kid. (I made omelettes with them. Hubs was out of town, so it was an easy fix for the the little guy and me.) I LOVE those potatoes! I don’t think of making them often, but they always taste great!
I need to try your fructose free ketchup! Sounds delish!
Have a great day!
View Commentxo-Lisa
Marty@A Stroll Thru Life says
Oh wow, this looks good. You amaze me with your culinary skills. Thanks for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty
View Comment