Buttermilk Crumb Muffins

No translation needed!!!!

This is my first “Baking with Julia” recreation.  I made it for breakfast on a Saturday Morning and they were a hit!

This recipe was in the episode of “Baking with Julia” with cooking teacher and author of "The New Fanny Farmer Cookbook" Marion Cunningham.  She shows Julia Child how to make a series of easy and delicious quick breads, an American bakery staple. She makes moist buttermilk crumb muffins from a hundred year-old recipe that are good enough to eat on their own.  Then she bakes scones, half done in the traditional shape, half made in a roll-up style, served with butter, whipped cream and raspberries. Finally, she creates unbelievably easy- to-make Irish soda bread, and fluffy popovers served with a drizzling of honey.

This recipe made me revisit a project I started a few years ago. I started making Recipe cards out of old family recipes.  I decided to make cards for the new recipes I’ve been making.  So this was the result:

Side one -

 

Side two -

What do you think?  Does it look professional? 

coming soon…POPOVERS!

Escalopes De Veau A La Crème

Rough English Translation:  Sautéed Veal Scallops with Mushrooms and Cream. The sides are Risotto and French Style Green Beans.

Who doesn’t love mushrooms and cream sauce? This is not your American Variety dish made with Cream of Mushroom Soup from a can!  I must stay this dish was extremely delicious.  It was the first time that I made Risotto.  If you are not familiar with “Risotto”, no need to feel inferior.  Until a couple of years ago, I didn’t have the faintest idea what “Risotto” was.  The common question is what is it, rice or pasta?  The answer is RICE.  The name “Risotto” is the finished dish not the rice itself.  The common rice used is called “Arborio” which is the rice frequently used to make rice pudding.  However, my research (yes I researched it being the geek that I am) showed that Europeans also are known to use Carnaroli or Vialone Nano rice. 

Making Risotto is a long painful process and can very easily become a congealed lump of starch!  So find a good technique and follow the direction EXACTLY!  Mom had a box of “Risotto” in the house and the directions were on the box.  But you can use “Arborio” rice and find a reliable recipe online.

The Veal Dish Contains:

veal scallops, mushrooms, butter, shallots, dry white wine (I used Chardonnay) but you can also use dry white vermouth or Madeira, beef bouillon, whipping cream, cornstarch and salt & pepper. 

“Mastering the Art of French Cooking”

Escalopes De Veau A La Crème (Sautéed Veal Scallops with Mushroom and Cream – pg. 366

Pretty quick recipe.  A nice treat during the week or a quick meal to make for company.  They’ll think you spent all day making it!

Gateau Fourre' a' la Crème au Bearer a' l'Orange

Roughly translated in English: Orange sponge cake iced with Orange Butter cream Icing and filled with Orange-Butter Filling.

This FANTASTIC cake I actually made on Christmas Eve this past December.  Why Christmas Eve? Probably due to boredom and the fact that Mom shelled out $42.95 for a copy of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”.

Little did I know that this cake would start a landslide of decadent cooking and baking that would pull me out of a deep, dark, depression!

“Mastering the Art of French Cooking”

Gateau A L’Orange (Orange Sponge Cake) pg. 671

Gateau Fourre a la Crème d’Orange (Orange-Butter Filling) pg. 672

Crème au Beurre a l’Orange (Orange Butter-Cream Icing) pg. 674

Despite it’s rich sounding name, this cake is very light and fluffy and only contains 3/4 of a cup of cake flour.  I highly recommend setting aside a few hours for making this cake.  It’s labor intensive and time consuming but well worth it! 

Inspired by “Julie & Julia”

 OK, so maybe I’m a bored housewife.  Maybe I’m a desperate caretaker who is having a mid-life crisis.  Or maybe I’ve fallen in love with cooking, GOOD cooking and scrummy food!

I think if you talk with any woman in their 40’s who finds a new passion and sit her down and make her watch the movie “Julie & Julia”, she will find similarities between her and Julia Child.  No, not every woman turns a past time to help with housewife boredom into a midlife career or changes home cooking forever.  But this delightful film certainly romanticizes an ideal that most of us would like to see come true.  I think that Julia Child would be pleased with the resurgence of her “French Cooking” techniques and the inspiration it has given to a whole new generation of home cooks.  Both men and women.

I remember watching Julia Child with my mom in the kitchen when I was a little girl.  I don’t remember much other than her warbly voice and the fact that she always seem to have a glass of wine at the ready.  Little did I know that Julia would help me through a tough time while taking care of my sick mother.

Then there is the “parody” that Dan Aykroyd made famous on SNL on December 9, 1978. Classic!

Mom discovered two old shows of Julia that are now being aired in the middle of the night.

Both shows have corresponding cookbooks.  I’ve been cooking and baking up a storm.  I’m gaining weight and need to get some self control back, but my family is THRILLED with my new passion.

From time to time, I’ll be sharing some of the results with you.  So stay tuned… and Bon Appétit!