Braised veal with herbs. OMG!!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Cotes de veau aux herbes
Amy and I have been on another journey of late. The hCG diet journey. Tremendous success I might add. So we haven't been cooking from Mastering the Art of French Cooking so much.
Until tonight. My wonderful husband bought a veal steak on a whim tonight on his way home. He was planning on grilling it. I thought I would look to see what was in my cookbooks. My Better Homes and Gardens cookbook made me yawn. Mastering the Art of French Cooking got my cooking juices flowing again.
I decided upon Veal Chops braised with Herbs - an "excellent basic recipe" for veal chops according to Julia. Even though it called for chops, I thought the steak would work well. Especially since it split into two pieces when I started drying it - perfect for the hubby and me. Julia always says that you have to dry meat or it won't brown. I believe her.
So a little olive oil and butter in my reliable cast iron skillet and I browned the veal. Remove veal and set aside. Add shallots (I finally got to use my shallots!!) and garlic to the pan and cook for a minute or so. Add white wine and basil and thyme and simmer for a couple minutes. Return veal to pan. Because I only had two pieces of meat, I just did everything on the stove top. If you had more, Julia suggests using a casserole and putting the veal in the oven for the next step.
So I added the veal to my skillet, salt and peppered it, covered it and let it cook for 15 minutes or so. Turned it over a couple of times to makes sure the herbs got on both sides. After 15 minutes, I removed the veal and covered it with aluminum foil. To the pan I added cream and then butter.
Served the veal steaks with the sauce over the top. It was so incredibly good. THE BEST meal I've made from the cookbook to date. Julia said green beans would go well, so I made green beans. The sauce was even good on the green beans.
Sauce was rich and flavorful. Veal was moist and tender. A definite keeper in my recipe collection. This is the kind of meal I was envisioning when starting this endeavor. Now that I found it, I kinda wanna start making more!!
Until tonight. My wonderful husband bought a veal steak on a whim tonight on his way home. He was planning on grilling it. I thought I would look to see what was in my cookbooks. My Better Homes and Gardens cookbook made me yawn. Mastering the Art of French Cooking got my cooking juices flowing again.
I decided upon Veal Chops braised with Herbs - an "excellent basic recipe" for veal chops according to Julia. Even though it called for chops, I thought the steak would work well. Especially since it split into two pieces when I started drying it - perfect for the hubby and me. Julia always says that you have to dry meat or it won't brown. I believe her.
So a little olive oil and butter in my reliable cast iron skillet and I browned the veal. Remove veal and set aside. Add shallots (I finally got to use my shallots!!) and garlic to the pan and cook for a minute or so. Add white wine and basil and thyme and simmer for a couple minutes. Return veal to pan. Because I only had two pieces of meat, I just did everything on the stove top. If you had more, Julia suggests using a casserole and putting the veal in the oven for the next step.
So I added the veal to my skillet, salt and peppered it, covered it and let it cook for 15 minutes or so. Turned it over a couple of times to makes sure the herbs got on both sides. After 15 minutes, I removed the veal and covered it with aluminum foil. To the pan I added cream and then butter.
Served the veal steaks with the sauce over the top. It was so incredibly good. THE BEST meal I've made from the cookbook to date. Julia said green beans would go well, so I made green beans. The sauce was even good on the green beans.
Sauce was rich and flavorful. Veal was moist and tender. A definite keeper in my recipe collection. This is the kind of meal I was envisioning when starting this endeavor. Now that I found it, I kinda wanna start making more!!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Sole Meuniere
Sole Meuniere was the first meal Julia had in France. Somehow, however, it did not make it into her cookbook. Some say that it is because it is too easy of a dish to create...some think it is old fashioned...hmmmm. I gotta try it!
Basically, you take sole filets, coat with salt and pepper seasoned flour - not too much - and pan fry in butter ONLY until a nice golden brown - only a few minutes on each side. Remove from pan and keep warm.
Then a bit more butter to the pan and cook it until it begins to brown. My first batch burned however. More butter in a fresh saucepan and cook until it begins to brown. Caught it this time!!
Pour the browned butter over the fish. That's it! And it was marvelous. Browning the butter really brings out some wonderful buttery nutty flavors. Never knew that. I love browned butter!
Basically, you take sole filets, coat with salt and pepper seasoned flour - not too much - and pan fry in butter ONLY until a nice golden brown - only a few minutes on each side. Remove from pan and keep warm.
Then a bit more butter to the pan and cook it until it begins to brown. My first batch burned however. More butter in a fresh saucepan and cook until it begins to brown. Caught it this time!!
Pour the browned butter over the fish. That's it! And it was marvelous. Browning the butter really brings out some wonderful buttery nutty flavors. Never knew that. I love browned butter!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Reheating....
After first warning my fellow co-workers that I was going to be heating up some fish, I popped my leftovers into my office microwave.
As it was reheating, I tasted the sauce cold, out of the container. Still yummy.
End result: The sauce held up well to reheating - no separation at all. I have to say it tasted exactly the same as it did when I made it. Woot! Woot!
I do have some extra sauce at home....perhaps I'll just put it on some rice or potatoes for another dinner this week.
As it was reheating, I tasted the sauce cold, out of the container. Still yummy.
End result: The sauce held up well to reheating - no separation at all. I have to say it tasted exactly the same as it did when I made it. Woot! Woot!
I do have some extra sauce at home....perhaps I'll just put it on some rice or potatoes for another dinner this week.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Getting better...
Julia's first experience with french cooking was a sole dish. My husband and I were at our lake house this weekend and went to the local supermarket, which happens to have a wide variety of seafood. I found sole there, so picked it up.
Tonight I tried Filets de Poisson Bercy aux Champignons (Fish Filets Poached in white wine with mushrooms), page 210. Take an oven safe dish, and butter it. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon or so of minced shallots or green onions in the bottom. Living out in the sticks, shallots are not that easy to come by. I think I'll need to stop in Madison somewhere - I used green onions. Maybe I'll grow my own next summer.
Salt and pepper the sole filets and put on top of the shallots/onions. Sprinkle another tablespoon of shallots/onions on top. Slightly warm the mushrooms in melted butter and put on top of the fish. Cover with 1 cup of dry white wine and however much water you need to cover everthing. Dot with butter (duh) and bring to a simmer on the stovetop. When it has reached a simmer, cover with waxed paper and pop into a 350 oven.
Ok...that was pretty easy. Not as much work as the last one. Now for the sauce!
After 8-12 minutes remove fish from oven. Drain out liquids into sauce pan. Keep fish and mushrooms warm. Reduce liquids to one cup. (I got a little over zealous here and ended up with 3/4 cup...oops) Add flour and butter that have been mixed together and half cup of cream (the recipe called for whipping cream, but I only had half-and-half so I used that). Bring to a boil - it got really thick. Add more cream until it coats the back of a spoon nicely (Julia's term - nicely). Add salt and pepper to taste and then Julia said a few drops of lemon juice. I wanted mine to have a bit of tanginess to it, so I added more lemon juice.
The sauce right out of the saucepan was really good....smooth, incredibly creamy (probably cuz it had a cup of cream in it ya think?) and pretty flavorful. The lemon juice was just the right touch. I made brown rice and green peas as sides. Put a filet on the plate, add a few of the mushrooms, and spoon the sauce on top. Served with a delightful chardonnay.
This was the best dish I've made (one out of only three, but I'm getting there). It was still a little blander than what we like, but it was pretty good. The fish was done perfectly - moist and tender. Sole, however, is a mild-flavored fish to start with. Even though, the sauce got a little lost on it. It was much better just out of the pan - which I tested thoroughly.
I have some leftover, so put a little brown rice in a container with the fish, mushrooms, and sauce. I'll see how it heats up at work tomorrow.
I was pleased with this recipe. Next up however, I really want to try a roast chicken and then a dessert....stay tuned!
Tonight I tried Filets de Poisson Bercy aux Champignons (Fish Filets Poached in white wine with mushrooms), page 210. Take an oven safe dish, and butter it. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon or so of minced shallots or green onions in the bottom. Living out in the sticks, shallots are not that easy to come by. I think I'll need to stop in Madison somewhere - I used green onions. Maybe I'll grow my own next summer.
Salt and pepper the sole filets and put on top of the shallots/onions. Sprinkle another tablespoon of shallots/onions on top. Slightly warm the mushrooms in melted butter and put on top of the fish. Cover with 1 cup of dry white wine and however much water you need to cover everthing. Dot with butter (duh) and bring to a simmer on the stovetop. When it has reached a simmer, cover with waxed paper and pop into a 350 oven.
Ok...that was pretty easy. Not as much work as the last one. Now for the sauce!
After 8-12 minutes remove fish from oven. Drain out liquids into sauce pan. Keep fish and mushrooms warm. Reduce liquids to one cup. (I got a little over zealous here and ended up with 3/4 cup...oops) Add flour and butter that have been mixed together and half cup of cream (the recipe called for whipping cream, but I only had half-and-half so I used that). Bring to a boil - it got really thick. Add more cream until it coats the back of a spoon nicely (Julia's term - nicely). Add salt and pepper to taste and then Julia said a few drops of lemon juice. I wanted mine to have a bit of tanginess to it, so I added more lemon juice.
The sauce right out of the saucepan was really good....smooth, incredibly creamy (probably cuz it had a cup of cream in it ya think?) and pretty flavorful. The lemon juice was just the right touch. I made brown rice and green peas as sides. Put a filet on the plate, add a few of the mushrooms, and spoon the sauce on top. Served with a delightful chardonnay.
This was the best dish I've made (one out of only three, but I'm getting there). It was still a little blander than what we like, but it was pretty good. The fish was done perfectly - moist and tender. Sole, however, is a mild-flavored fish to start with. Even though, the sauce got a little lost on it. It was much better just out of the pan - which I tested thoroughly.
I have some leftover, so put a little brown rice in a container with the fish, mushrooms, and sauce. I'll see how it heats up at work tomorrow.
I was pleased with this recipe. Next up however, I really want to try a roast chicken and then a dessert....stay tuned!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Second dish
hmmm.....maybe we just don't like french cooking?
I made the scallop dish tonight--Coquilles St. Jacques a la Parisienne on pages 216-217. Again, it was just OK. Nothing really special about it. It was incredibly creamy and rich, but the flavors were really mellow and not that impressive. I do believe I followed the recipe quite closely. It was a f*ck of a lot of work. Three different sauce pans....a couple of bowls just to hold stuff until I was ready to work it into the recipe. I think it took me over an hour from start to finish. Not including clean up. And then we weren't really that impressed.
It was good, but not fantastic. Definitely not worth the effort and expensive/fattening ingredients. Maybe it would have more flavor with shrimp instead of scallops...might have to try that.
I made the scallop dish tonight--Coquilles St. Jacques a la Parisienne on pages 216-217. Again, it was just OK. Nothing really special about it. It was incredibly creamy and rich, but the flavors were really mellow and not that impressive. I do believe I followed the recipe quite closely. It was a f*ck of a lot of work. Three different sauce pans....a couple of bowls just to hold stuff until I was ready to work it into the recipe. I think it took me over an hour from start to finish. Not including clean up. And then we weren't really that impressed.
It was good, but not fantastic. Definitely not worth the effort and expensive/fattening ingredients. Maybe it would have more flavor with shrimp instead of scallops...might have to try that.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Channeling my inner Julia
My wonderful husband (who gave me some unexpected but wildly appreciated flowers this week) is a bass player in Flip City Live. The band is playing on Halloween at the Ferry Crossing in Merrimac. I have decided to go as Julia Child this year.
I ordered a wig on eBay last week and it arrived yesterday. I plan on stopping at Goodwill for a blue or green blouse and dark blue or black straight skirt. I have pearls and pear earrings already, as well as an apron. I will wear flats as Julia always did. So I'll be a pretty short Julia, but true to her style. I found the Ecole des 3 Gourmands design on the patch she wore, so I'll do an iron-on transfer of that and wear it as a pin. Manifique!
So....after I tried on the wig, I decided to make one of Julia's recipes - finally! We were planning on having ribeyes, so I thought I would just look for a sauce to go with it. I left the wig on, added pearls and pearl earrings, and an apron with a towel hanging from it. Let the cooking begin!!
I made Bifteck Saute Marchand de Vins on pages 294-295 for those of you following at home. Basically, you pan-fry the steaks in oil and butter. When done, take the meat out, salt and pepper, and set aside. Pour out excess fat from pan. Add finely chop scallions or green onions and a tablespoon of butter. Cook onion/scallions for about 1 minute to soften. Add one cup of red wine and boil quickly until reduced to an almost syrup consistency. I may have had mine a little runny.
Remove from heat and add 4-6 tablespoons of butter, one at a time, incorporating thoroughly before adding the next piece.
By this time my steak was cold. Didn't realize it, however, until we started eating. So we had to pop in the microwave for a bit. Just ladle a few tablespoons over each piece of meat.
French cooking usually calls for unsalted butter... I didn 't have that, so used regular salted butter. The sauce was a bit salty to taste right out of the pan, but seemed to work well on the meat.
End result....it was good, but not spectacular. I wanted it to be so good that I just wanted to drink the sauce...alas, it was not.
So my first experience was just OK.
Next up, however, is a delightful scallop dish - Coquilles St. Jacques a la Parisienne on pages 216-217.
I ordered a wig on eBay last week and it arrived yesterday. I plan on stopping at Goodwill for a blue or green blouse and dark blue or black straight skirt. I have pearls and pear earrings already, as well as an apron. I will wear flats as Julia always did. So I'll be a pretty short Julia, but true to her style. I found the Ecole des 3 Gourmands design on the patch she wore, so I'll do an iron-on transfer of that and wear it as a pin. Manifique!
So....after I tried on the wig, I decided to make one of Julia's recipes - finally! We were planning on having ribeyes, so I thought I would just look for a sauce to go with it. I left the wig on, added pearls and pearl earrings, and an apron with a towel hanging from it. Let the cooking begin!!
I made Bifteck Saute Marchand de Vins on pages 294-295 for those of you following at home. Basically, you pan-fry the steaks in oil and butter. When done, take the meat out, salt and pepper, and set aside. Pour out excess fat from pan. Add finely chop scallions or green onions and a tablespoon of butter. Cook onion/scallions for about 1 minute to soften. Add one cup of red wine and boil quickly until reduced to an almost syrup consistency. I may have had mine a little runny.
Remove from heat and add 4-6 tablespoons of butter, one at a time, incorporating thoroughly before adding the next piece.
By this time my steak was cold. Didn't realize it, however, until we started eating. So we had to pop in the microwave for a bit. Just ladle a few tablespoons over each piece of meat.
French cooking usually calls for unsalted butter... I didn 't have that, so used regular salted butter. The sauce was a bit salty to taste right out of the pan, but seemed to work well on the meat.
End result....it was good, but not spectacular. I wanted it to be so good that I just wanted to drink the sauce...alas, it was not.
So my first experience was just OK.
Next up, however, is a delightful scallop dish - Coquilles St. Jacques a la Parisienne on pages 216-217.
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