Julia Child's Chicken Poached in Butter inspired by the new movie Julie and Julia

Bonjour! Can you hear it? My Julia Child impersonation? Use your imagination people!

I bet all you foodies out there are psyched about the upcoming movie Julie and Julia. Well I'm not going to brag but.....ISAWITALREADYOHMYGODITWASAWESOME!!!! Okay, Okay, I'll calm down. Well you all know about bakespace already, geez, I tell you about it all the time and if you're new here or if you don't remember, bakespace is a social networking site for foodies like you and me! Well thanks to Sony and our fearless leader, Babette (the founder of bakespace), I won tickets to see the premier of Julie and Julia! There was a contest and I posted about it on facebook and twitter so everyone could participate in the giveaway. So on Tuesday me and a couple of other bakespace members who won tickets headed over to Garden State Plaza in Paramus to watch the movie.

Here's the trailer if you haven't seen it yet.


If you don't have time to watch trailer I'll briefly tell you what the movie is about (without giving anything away of course!). Julie and Julia is a story about Julie Powell, a food blogger who spends a year making every single recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. To read Julie Powell's blog, the Julie/Julia Project click here. Intertwined with Julie's story is the story of Julia Child and how she came to live in France and how she became a chef. Obviously, you all know who Julia Child is (except my father who thought I was going to meet someone from the food network when I told him I won tickets to see Julie and Julia...that's a post for another day!) but the story of Julie Powell is real. She started off without any readers and before you know it she was contacted by publishers, magazine editors and television network producers. It's amazing how that happened. Being a food blogger myself I can certainly relate to everything (well, except the being published part!) and this movie just pulled at my heartstrings. It was fantastic!!!! I loved it!!! Merryl Streep and Amy Adams were fantastic! Have I convinced you yet that this movie was fabulous? Okay, so again, Thank YOU Babette for making this possible! I don't know how I would have held out for two more weeks!



I came out of the theater and I knew I just had to make a recipe from Julia Child's cookbook. I don't own her cookbook and I didn't grow up watching her on television. I've seen an episode here and there but never was interested in french cooking. Good thing because I would certainly be double my size if I was. Yesterday I did a search on the internet for a Julia Child recipe using chicken breasts and I found the following recipe on HGTV's website. Click here to see the article. The dish was delicious and decadent, I really enjoyed it (even though I overcooked the rice - oops) but unfortunately, this will not become part of my regular rotation. It's just way too fattening...almost one stick of butter. The sauce was amazing, I could eat it with a spoon! I used marsala because I forgot to buy madeira but I don't think it made much of a difference. I also forgot the mushrooms! Hopefully Julia Child isn't rolling around in her grave (yes Dad, Julia Child is no longer with us so I couldn't possibly meet her and get some advice like you suggested)! Okay, enough of my babbling...here's the recipe!



Supremes de Volaille a Blanc (Chicken breasts poached in butter)

From Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle. Knopf, 1961.

Ingredients:

Rice:
1/3 cup finely minced onions
2 tbsp. butter
1 cup raw, unwashed white rice
2 cups chicken stock or broth
salt and pepper
small herb bouquet: 2 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf, and a sprig of thyme tied together with white string.

Chicken:
4 thin boneless, skinless chicken cutlets
salt, pepper and lemon juice
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup diced onions
1/4 cup diced carrots
1/4 sliced mushrooms

Wine Sauce:
1/4 cup white or brown stock
1/4 cup port, Madeira or dry white vermouth
1 cup heavy cream
salt, pepper, lemon juice
2 tbsp. minced parsley

Preparation:

For the rice, cook the onions slowly in the butter until soft. Add the rice and stir over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes until rice, which first turns translucent, becomes a milky white color. Then stir in the chicken stock, season lightly with salt and pepper, and add the herb bouquet. Stir briefly until simmer is reached, then cover closely and cook at a moderate simmer, about 18 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Do not stir rice at all until this has happened. Then fluff lightly with a fork, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. This can be cooked ahead of time and reheated.

For the chicken: Preheat oven to 400. Cook the vegetables in the butter in a fireproof casserole before adding the chicken. Season meat with salt, pepper and drops of lemon juice. Lay over vegetables in one layer in the casserole, making sure the chicken is coated in the butter. Cover the surface of the casserole with wax paper. Place in oven for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the meat feels springy when you push on it. Remove from oven and set casserole aside while you prepare the sauce.

For the sauce: Pour stock and wine into a saucepan and boil rapidly until liquid is syrupy. Then pour in the cream and boil rapidly until lightly thickened. Season with salt, pepper and drops of lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the casserole and serve with the warm rice.

Bon Apetit!












For a web companion to Mastering the Art of French Cooking, check out Whisk: a food blog.

Julia Child's Chicken Poached in Butter inspired by the new movie Julie and Julia

Bonjour! Can you hear it? My Julia Child impersonation? Use your imagination people!

I bet all you foodies out there are psyched about the upcoming movie Julie and Julia. Well I'm not going to brag but.....ISAWITALREADYOHMYGODITWASAWESOME!!!! Okay, Okay, I'll calm down. Well you all know about bakespace already, geez, I tell you about it all the time and if you're new here or if you don't remember, bakespace is a social networking site for foodies like you and me! Well thanks to Sony and our fearless leader, Babette (the founder of bakespace), I won tickets to see the premier of Julie and Julia! There was a contest and I posted about it on facebook and twitter so everyone could participate in the giveaway. So on Tuesday me and a couple of other bakespace members who won tickets headed over to Garden State Plaza in Paramus to watch the movie.

Here's the trailer if you haven't seen it yet.


If you don't have time to watch trailer I'll briefly tell you what the movie is about (without giving anything away of course!). Julie and Julia is a story about Julie Powell, a food blogger who spends a year making every single recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. To read Julie Powell's blog, the Julie/Julia Project click here. Intertwined with Julie's story is the story of Julia Child and how she came to live in France and how she became a chef. Obviously, you all know who Julia Child is (except my father who thought I was going to meet someone from the food network when I told him I won tickets to see Julie and Julia...that's a post for another day!) but the story of Julie Powell is real. She started off without any readers and before you know it she was contacted by publishers, magazine editors and television network producers. It's amazing how that happened. Being a food blogger myself I can certainly relate to everything (well, except the being published part!) and this movie just pulled at my heartstrings. It was fantastic!!!! I loved it!!! Merryl Streep and Amy Adams were fantastic! Have I convinced you yet that this movie was fabulous? Okay, so again, Thank YOU Babette for making this possible! I don't know how I would have held out for two more weeks!



I came out of the theater and I knew I just had to make a recipe from Julia Child's cookbook. I don't own her cookbook and I didn't grow up watching her on television. I've seen an episode here and there but never was interested in french cooking. Good thing because I would certainly be double my size if I was. Yesterday I did a search on the internet for a Julia Child recipe using chicken breasts and I found the following recipe on HGTV's website. Click here to see the article. The dish was delicious and decadent, I really enjoyed it (even though I overcooked the rice - oops) but unfortunately, this will not become part of my regular rotation. It's just way too fattening...almost one stick of butter. The sauce was amazing, I could eat it with a spoon! I used marsala because I forgot to buy madeira but I don't think it made much of a difference. I also forgot the mushrooms! Hopefully Julia Child isn't rolling around in her grave (yes Dad, Julia Child is no longer with us so I couldn't possibly meet her and get some advice like you suggested)! Okay, enough of my babbling...here's the recipe!



Supremes de Volaille a Blanc (Chicken breasts poached in butter)

From Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle. Knopf, 1961.

Ingredients:

Rice:
1/3 cup finely minced onions
2 tbsp. butter
1 cup raw, unwashed white rice
2 cups chicken stock or broth
salt and pepper
small herb bouquet: 2 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf, and a sprig of thyme tied together with white string.

Chicken:
4 thin boneless, skinless chicken cutlets
salt, pepper and lemon juice
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup diced onions
1/4 cup diced carrots
1/4 sliced mushrooms

Wine Sauce:
1/4 cup white or brown stock
1/4 cup port, Madeira or dry white vermouth
1 cup heavy cream
salt, pepper, lemon juice
2 tbsp. minced parsley

Preparation:

For the rice, cook the onions slowly in the butter until soft. Add the rice and stir over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes until rice, which first turns translucent, becomes a milky white color. Then stir in the chicken stock, season lightly with salt and pepper, and add the herb bouquet. Stir briefly until simmer is reached, then cover closely and cook at a moderate simmer, about 18 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Do not stir rice at all until this has happened. Then fluff lightly with a fork, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. This can be cooked ahead of time and reheated.

For the chicken: Preheat oven to 400. Cook the vegetables in the butter in a fireproof casserole before adding the chicken. Season meat with salt, pepper and drops of lemon juice. Lay over vegetables in one layer in the casserole, making sure the chicken is coated in the butter. Cover the surface of the casserole with wax paper. Place in oven for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the meat feels springy when you push on it. Remove from oven and set casserole aside while you prepare the sauce.

For the sauce: Pour stock and wine into a saucepan and boil rapidly until liquid is syrupy. Then pour in the cream and boil rapidly until lightly thickened. Season with salt, pepper and drops of lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the casserole and serve with the warm rice.

Bon Apetit!












For a web companion to Mastering the Art of French Cooking, check out Whisk: a food blog.

Grilled Ham with Pineapple Glaze

I know, a ham steak isn't the prettiest thing to take a picture of but you know how the saying goes! This was a very tasty and satisfying dinner. My fellow bakespacer Carolyn always talks about making these yummy ham steaks and I knew it was something Steve would like to try on the grill. There is no recipe. It's so simple. Make a mixture of brown sugar and pineapple and let the ham steaks marinate it. Throw them on the grill with some fresh slices of pineapple that have been brushed with the glaze. Allow them to get some nice grill marks on each side and your done. The ham steaks are already cooked so this just takes minutes to make! It actually took me longer to peel and slice the fresh pineapple than it did to cook the ham! I don't think canned pineapple would work because it may be too soft but if you give it a try, let me know! I'd like the glaze to be more noticeable. Anyone know how to do that? The flavor definitely penetrated the meat but didn't make it shiny like a glaze usually is. I will definitely experiment some more and let you know how it goes!



img style="border:0;" align="left" src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/ewhites/Michele.jpg"/>

Grilled Ham with Pineapple Glaze

I know, a ham steak isn't the prettiest thing to take a picture of but you know how the saying goes! This was a very tasty and satisfying dinner. My fellow bakespacer Carolyn always talks about making these yummy ham steaks and I knew it was something Steve would like to try on the grill. There is no recipe. It's so simple. Make a mixture of brown sugar and pineapple and let the ham steaks marinate it. Throw them on the grill with some fresh slices of pineapple that have been brushed with the glaze. Allow them to get some nice grill marks on each side and your done. The ham steaks are already cooked so this just takes minutes to make! It actually took me longer to peel and slice the fresh pineapple than it did to cook the ham! I don't think canned pineapple would work because it may be too soft but if you give it a try, let me know! I'd like the glaze to be more noticeable. Anyone know how to do that? The flavor definitely penetrated the meat but didn't make it shiny like a glaze usually is. I will definitely experiment some more and let you know how it goes!



img style="border:0;" align="left" src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/ewhites/Michele.jpg"/>

Grilled Pizza, Wine Pairing and a Guest Post

My nagging has finally paid off! I finally have a post from a guest blogger! Check it out!



Hello everyone! I'm sure you're wondering who the other person is enjoying all these meals that you find here on Michele's blog. Well, that person is me...Steve. Michele asked me to write a guest post for her blog this week after a weekend of grilling. I guess you could say I am the resident wine connoisseur and grilling fanatic. It seems I am writing this to talk to you about both this week.



This is a recipe that we've come up with in the past and used a couple of times before. Since we first made pizza this way, it has been tough to top it! While it isn't an overly difficult way of making pizza, you do have to use the right ingredients and be vigilant while it's on the grill. Let's get down to it...

Ingredients:

Pizza sauce (recipe below)
Pizza dough - 1 lb for each pizza you want to make
4 oz. (approximately) or ½ of a regular sized bag of shredded mozzarella cheese – we prefer part-skim
Olive oil – for coating the dough
Fresh basil leaves
Toppings – this time around we used black olives and mushrooms, just use as much as you like

Before you start prepping the dough and making the pizza, you'll want to make the sauce. We basically make just a marinara sauce with some garlic and herbs in it. Michele will write about that.

You'll need a pound of dough for each pizza that you want to make. We've tried using two pounds before, but it just doesn't come out the same. You certainly can try making your own dough for this recipe, but we're lazy and we've found that it's very easy for us to get a hold of dough from Brooklyn. In my personal opinion, for the amount of time and money you have to put in to make your own pizza dough, it's just more economical and less time consuming to just get it from somewhere else. Just make sure it's quality dough!



Place each pound of dough in a bowl that will easily fit all of it in there, drizzling a bit of olive oil in the bottom of the bowl first, so that the dough doesn't stick. Place plastic wrap over the top of the bowl and then cover with a dish towel. Let the dough rise for a couple of hours, until it rises to the top of the bowl or even above it.



Once the dough has risen, pound it down and then take the dough out of the bowl, placing it onto a cooking sheet or something equivalent. Begin flattening out the dough on the sheet, making sure to keep both sides of the dough moist with olive oil so that it does not stick. Once the dough has been flattened and spread out, it's ready to be grilled.



Make sure you have your mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce and toppings ready to go. Turn your grill on to high and let it sit for about 8 to 10 minutes. For this recipe, we used a gas grill. Once the grill is nice and hot, you can bring your dough and other ingredients outside to your grilling area. Turn the burners down to about medium-low heat. Make sure you use some sort of grilling spray (we used Pam for grilling) to spray down the grilling surface so that the dough does not stick to it. Take the dough off of the pan with your hands and place onto the grill, trying to keep something of an oval or even rectangular shape. Since most pizza you find is round, I like being different and creating all sorts of uneven shapes to make it look unique. Once the pizza dough is on the grill, close the lid and let it sit for about 4 – 5 minutes. You'll want to stay by the grill to check it every so often. The bottom of the dough should get nice and crispy, with some prominent grilling marks. Keep in mind that most gas grills have one side that is hotter and cooks faster than the others.










Once you can lift up the dough with ease, use a spatula and flip the whole pizza over in one shot – just like you would a pancake. Once the pizza has been flipped, you can then spread on the pizza sauce, followed by basil leaves (preferably torn into smaller pieces) and then the shredded mozzarella. You can then add on any toppings you may have. After everything has been added onto your pizza, close the cover of the grill again and let it sit for about 3 – 4 minutes. You'll want to check the pizza every so often to make sure that the cheese has melted on the top and that the bottom is nice and crispy, with those same grill marks.

As soon as all that has happened, the pizza is now ready to be taken off of the grill. Use a spatula or two to take it off of the grill and put it back onto the cooking sheet. Cut up the pizza in whatever fashion you like and serve!





For this pizza, I have found that a light white wine goes best. You will want something with a fruity undertone that will bring out the acidity of the pizza sauce and the flavors of the toppings you chose. I like to enjoy a nice Riesling with this pizza. My label of choice is Urban. It is an inexpensive Riesling that is light and fruity, as well as very refreshing. Feel free to experiment with your own palate and find a wine that suits you. Stick to the lighter, fruitier wines, either in the white or red varietals, such as a Pinot Grigio or a Pinot Noir.





I hope you all enjoy making this as I know we certainly have and will continue to do so all summer long!



Michele's Pizza Sauce

Enough for approx 4 pounds of dough.

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
4 cloves minced garlic
3 tsp chopped basil
1-2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar
extra virgin olive oil

Feel free to use fresh or dried herbs. This time I used frozen dorat basil, fresh basil leaves and fresh oregano. It's up to you.

Directions:

Saute garlic in oil, add frozen or dried herbs being careful not to burn them. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. If using fresh herbs add now. Let it come to a boil and then lower heat. Cook on medium for 30-40 minutes. Taste it and adjust seasoning.

Grilled Pizza, Wine Pairing and a Guest Post

My nagging has finally paid off! I finally have a post from a guest blogger! Check it out!



Hello everyone! I'm sure you're wondering who the other person is enjoying all these meals that you find here on Michele's blog. Well, that person is me...Steve. Michele asked me to write a guest post for her blog this week after a weekend of grilling. I guess you could say I am the resident wine connoisseur and grilling fanatic. It seems I am writing this to talk to you about both this week.



This is a recipe that we've come up with in the past and used a couple of times before. Since we first made pizza this way, it has been tough to top it! While it isn't an overly difficult way of making pizza, you do have to use the right ingredients and be vigilant while it's on the grill. Let's get down to it...

Ingredients:

Pizza sauce (recipe below)
Pizza dough - 1 lb for each pizza you want to make
4 oz. (approximately) or ½ of a regular sized bag of shredded mozzarella cheese – we prefer part-skim
Olive oil – for coating the dough
Fresh basil leaves
Toppings – this time around we used black olives and mushrooms, just use as much as you like

Before you start prepping the dough and making the pizza, you'll want to make the sauce. We basically make just a marinara sauce with some garlic and herbs in it. Michele will write about that.

You'll need a pound of dough for each pizza that you want to make. We've tried using two pounds before, but it just doesn't come out the same. You certainly can try making your own dough for this recipe, but we're lazy and we've found that it's very easy for us to get a hold of dough from Brooklyn. In my personal opinion, for the amount of time and money you have to put in to make your own pizza dough, it's just more economical and less time consuming to just get it from somewhere else. Just make sure it's quality dough!



Place each pound of dough in a bowl that will easily fit all of it in there, drizzling a bit of olive oil in the bottom of the bowl first, so that the dough doesn't stick. Place plastic wrap over the top of the bowl and then cover with a dish towel. Let the dough rise for a couple of hours, until it rises to the top of the bowl or even above it.



Once the dough has risen, pound it down and then take the dough out of the bowl, placing it onto a cooking sheet or something equivalent. Begin flattening out the dough on the sheet, making sure to keep both sides of the dough moist with olive oil so that it does not stick. Once the dough has been flattened and spread out, it's ready to be grilled.



Make sure you have your mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce and toppings ready to go. Turn your grill on to high and let it sit for about 8 to 10 minutes. For this recipe, we used a gas grill. Once the grill is nice and hot, you can bring your dough and other ingredients outside to your grilling area. Turn the burners down to about medium-low heat. Make sure you use some sort of grilling spray (we used Pam for grilling) to spray down the grilling surface so that the dough does not stick to it. Take the dough off of the pan with your hands and place onto the grill, trying to keep something of an oval or even rectangular shape. Since most pizza you find is round, I like being different and creating all sorts of uneven shapes to make it look unique. Once the pizza dough is on the grill, close the lid and let it sit for about 4 – 5 minutes. You'll want to stay by the grill to check it every so often. The bottom of the dough should get nice and crispy, with some prominent grilling marks. Keep in mind that most gas grills have one side that is hotter and cooks faster than the others.










Once you can lift up the dough with ease, use a spatula and flip the whole pizza over in one shot – just like you would a pancake. Once the pizza has been flipped, you can then spread on the pizza sauce, followed by basil leaves (preferably torn into smaller pieces) and then the shredded mozzarella. You can then add on any toppings you may have. After everything has been added onto your pizza, close the cover of the grill again and let it sit for about 3 – 4 minutes. You'll want to check the pizza every so often to make sure that the cheese has melted on the top and that the bottom is nice and crispy, with those same grill marks.

As soon as all that has happened, the pizza is now ready to be taken off of the grill. Use a spatula or two to take it off of the grill and put it back onto the cooking sheet. Cut up the pizza in whatever fashion you like and serve!





For this pizza, I have found that a light white wine goes best. You will want something with a fruity undertone that will bring out the acidity of the pizza sauce and the flavors of the toppings you chose. I like to enjoy a nice Riesling with this pizza. My label of choice is Urban. It is an inexpensive Riesling that is light and fruity, as well as very refreshing. Feel free to experiment with your own palate and find a wine that suits you. Stick to the lighter, fruitier wines, either in the white or red varietals, such as a Pinot Grigio or a Pinot Noir.





I hope you all enjoy making this as I know we certainly have and will continue to do so all summer long!



Michele's Pizza Sauce

Enough for approx 4 pounds of dough.

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
4 cloves minced garlic
3 tsp chopped basil
1-2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar
extra virgin olive oil

Feel free to use fresh or dried herbs. This time I used frozen dorat basil, fresh basil leaves and fresh oregano. It's up to you.

Directions:

Saute garlic in oil, add frozen or dried herbs being careful not to burn them. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. If using fresh herbs add now. Let it come to a boil and then lower heat. Cook on medium for 30-40 minutes. Taste it and adjust seasoning.