Poached sole

pâte a choux

fish stock
filets de poissons pochés au vin blanc
haricots verts au maître d'hôtel
sauce velouté
sauce mornay

After a two week hiatus - Tom has been working late and it is no fun to cook for one - it is time to work on Julia. Frozen sole from Trader Joes in the freezer and Stacey is coming for dinner: what to do, what to do? Julia has the answer - sauce - with butter, fish stock and cheese - poured, or rather placed carefully, over fish poached in white wine. I steamed the potatoes in the dregs from the fish stock - absolutely delicious, and served green beans finished in olive oil and lemon juice on the side. Strawberries and cremé Chantilly finished the meal. The wine? 2006 Zaca Mesa Viginoier. Nice to cook again.

birthday cake

Le Marquis au Choclat - avec

• Biscuit au Chocolat
• Crème au Beurre à l'Anglaise
• Chocolat glace

This could be called either a labor of love - or - a good workout for a Kitchen Aid. Bright red -a stand mixer - I bought it years ago for my quinquennial Bŭche de Noel - Julia's recipe of course (with a bit of help from Martha).

The cake is for David - one of our oldest and dearest friends. We rented the third floor apartment in his and Katherine's rambling, Eastlake Victorian house; that was how we met.

Tom was already here and saw that apartment and met Katherine - this was all arranged by a realtor friend. I flew in from LA on Thanksgiving weekend to look for a place to live - or, rather review some of the places Tom had already checked out. Now, that apartment was always more Katherine's project than David's, and he was in charge of the second showing. Actually, I got the impression he was roped into that second showing - David was a bit grouchy, but he did his duty and played tour guide. I was impressed. Not only by the apartment, but most importanly by David himself - direct, smart, a bit sarcastic - I realized almost at once he was a New Englander and I could relate, for those were qualities I recognized in my mother.

We took that apartment, integrated our lives with those of Katherine, David and their various pets, and the rest is, of course, history. We moved around several times since then, as did Lynda and Roger who lived across the street, but we have all remained good friends - always ready for a hearty debate and lots of laughs. Tonight, the six of us celebrate David's birthay. As we so often do, Lynda, Katherine and I will share the cooking duties. The cake is my assignment.

leftovers

I've decided The French Chef Cookbook will benefit from Julia's The Way to Cook - the former is rather light on demonstrative pictures and diagrams (no surprise since it was published in 1972) and the latter, anything but. They work well together and have lived side by side on my kitchen bookshelf for ages. Julia also considered The Way to Cook her magnum opus.

Tonight, I took the leftover mussaka, mixed it with pasta, and finished it off with a Sauce Béchamel * that got turned into a Mornay Sauce* with the addition of cheese. Very simple. Very tasty - esp. with the 2002 Chateau de Pennautier (a southern French Merlot/Syrah blend) Tom dragged up from downstairs - our erstwhile cave! Enjoy.

* look for these recipes in The Way to Cook

Sunday dinner

Salade Mimosa
Moussaka

I used ground beef in place of ground lamb in the moussaka - the herbs and tomatoes are from my garden, and as usual, I doubled the amount of sauce required. I hope Julia doesn't mind, but as she always said: when you are alone in the kitchen, who will ever know?

first three recipes

Sauce Vinaigrette
Pommes de terre a l'huile
Salad Nicoise

our dear friend John is coming for dinner tonight - being August it is rather hot today (you'll see Minnesota is the land of extremes) and I'm making a salad. I watched Julia create a salad Nicoise on a DVD the other day, and it put the idea into my head

French bread from Trade Joes, and a white wine, and voila! Tom will pick the wine when he gets home from work (no longer works evenings and weekends happy to say). Our relationship is simple - I cook - he picks the wine - both essential tasks to the business of life.

oh - I need to mention I garden - I really garden - a lot - all the time really. I'm very lucky Tom has not given me the push b/c I spend more time and money on my garden than any human being should. Still, tonight, I'm picking the first of my tomatoes and the last of some green beans. Such joy.

getting stated

If Julie Powell can do it, I can do it. Since Julia's The French Chef Cookbook is already on my kitchen bookshelf, that will be my guide. And, I will not follow a timetable.

I've often said that cooking saved my life. Tom and I moved to Minnesota from Los Angeles in late 1995 - notice late 1995 - notice again Minnesota. Needless to say, it was extremely cold. And isolated. Tom (a radiohead) had to work evenings and weekends and I would not meet many new people until the Spring thaw when I met Lynda - prior to that, most people simply went about the business of keeping warm. As for myself, I would listen to The Splendid Table, buy the books that Lynn recommended, shop for ingredients in local Asian and Mexican markets, and work through the recipes. That was how I taught myself to cook.

That was also how I made friends - friends I love - and whom I love to feed. This blog is dedicated to them, and my husband of 16 years. Enjoy -ajm