Julia's Kitchen Wisdom (2 page)

Italian Meringue

Chocolate Ganache

Soft Chocolate Icing

Brandy-Butter Cake Filling

Apricot Filling

COOKIES

Cat’s Tongues—
Langues de Chat
, Finger-Shaped Sugar Cookies

P.S. BISCUITS

Baking-Powder Biscuits

Kitchen Equipment and Definitions

KITCHEN EQUIPMENT

Oval Casseroles

Saucepans

Baking Dishes

Chef’s Skillet and Sauté Pan

Knives and Sharpening Steel

Wooden Spatulas and Rubber Scrapers

Wire Whips or Whisks

Bulb Baster and Poultry Shears

The Vegetable Mill (or Food Mill) and Garlic Press

The Food Processor

Mortar and Pestle

Heavy-Duty Electric Mixer

DEFINITIONS

Sauces, Soups, and Stocks

Roasts

Casseroles

Acknowledgments

This book represents some forty years of happy collaboration on cookery with colleagues and friends. The idea for it came when we decided to make a television special out of snippets from my earlier shows starting with the very first one, “Boeuf Bourguignon,” that famous French beef stew, which aired February 11, 1963, on Boston’s “educational” station, WGBH. You can’t have a food show without a book to go with it—hence this volume. It is with deepest appreciation that I acknowledge the following angels who made it all possible.

My continuing gratitude goes to Judith Jones, who has been my editor since the beginning of my cookbook life. Hers is the conception of this book, and it is she who carefully went over each suggestion, each chapter and paragraph, yes, and even each sentence. Her remarks and suggestions are golden, and her advice is treasured. My admiration of Judith as an editor and my affection for Judith as a person are boundless.

David Nussbaum, my collaborator, has done a magnificent job of gathering and sifting through material from all the various shows and books. He has done testings and comparisons, made outlines and suggestions, and always presented me with detailed material eminently ready to work on. The book, literally, could not have been done at all, and certainly not by the deadline, had it not been for David.

My special thanks go to Geoffrey Drummond, producer of the two-hour PBS television special
Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom
that gave rise to this book. Geof and his editor, Herb Sevush, went through miles of old tape to pick out just the right episodes to show, and then edited them all into a lively whole. Geof’s company, A La Carte Communications, Inc., with Nat Katzman, also produced my last four series,
Cooking with Master Chefs, In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs, Baking with Julia
, and
Jacques and Julia Cooking at Home
, as well as two
Cooking in Concert
PBS specials with Jacques Pépin. Segments from all of these shows appear in the present special. We have always had a great time working together, and my admiration and affection for Geof are infinite.

Continuing and enthusiastic thanks to Public Television for making my career possible. I simply would not have existed without them, and I very much appreciate the support and the freedom that PBS offers its participants. How lucky we are that it exists!

Sincere thanks to many who have helped me through the years and whose work has meant much to the success of our TV special as well as to the recipes in this book: William A. Truslow, Esq., my family lawyer and faithful friend. Russell Morash, my first producer, who started us out on
The French Chef
and kept us going through the
Julia Child & Company
series; and Marian Morash, The Victory Garden Cook and our first executive chef. Ruthie Lockwood, sometime producer of
The French Chef
, unique personal director, and valued friend. Rosemary Manell, talented food designer for photography as well as television, and recipe developer for many of the shows and books. The wonderfully talented Sarah Moulton, sometime executive chef on our
Company
series. Stephanie Hersh, my longtime assistant and friend, without whom my office would be a mess and my life both dull and in disarray.

A project of this magnitude cannot happen without the support of generous sponsors, and this is particularly true of Public Television. I am proud that we are associated with the Robert Mondavi Winery, whose pioneering spirit and generosity have made California wines recognized throughout the world. I am delighted, too, that my favorite spread, Land O’ Lakes Butter, is with us again—we used an incredible 573 pounds of it on our
Baking with Julia
series. And much of that good butter finds its way into the pots and pans of All-Clad Metalcrafters, our final sponsor. Heartfelt thanks to you, all three.

   
Toujours bon appétit!

Introduction

So often you can be in the midst of cooking and you just can’t remember whether that leg of lamb should roast in a 325° or a 350°F oven, and for how long. Or you’ve forgotten just what you do to unmold a jelly-roll cake, or the system that so successfully brings back the hollandaise sauce. This book aims to give quick, snappy answers to many of those questions.

It won’t by any means answer everything, and it doesn’t go into such complicated subjects as French puff pastry, for which you need pages of instruction and numerous photographs. In other words, it doesn’t pretend to take the place of a big, detailed, all-purpose cookbook like my
Way to Cook
or
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
, Volumes I and II. It is, rather, a mini aide-mémoire for general home cookery, and is aimed at those who are tolerably familiar with culinary language; whose kitchens are normally well equipped with such staples as jelly-roll pans, a food processor, a decent rolling pin; and who know their way around the stove reasonably well.

It began as my loose-leaf kitchen reference guide gradually compiled from my own trials, remedies, and errors—corrected as I’ve cooked my way through the years. Now that it has evolved into a book, information is arranged according to the large categories of soups, eggs, bread, and so forth, with the emphasis on technique. Whether a crêpe is rolled with mushrooms for a main course or with strawberries for dessert, all crêpe dishes are made in much the same way, so they are all together in one chapter. The same goes for soufflés, tarts, meats, and the rest of the menu. In the roasting section, for instance, the master recipe, though brief, details the technique for dealing with a large piece of meat. Here the master recipe is for roast beef, and is followed by still briefer variations for other roasts such as leg of lamb, roast chicken, turkey, fresh ham, and even a big whole fish. They all cook in essentially the same way, though small details differ. The same is true for soufflés and tarts; and green vegetables are grouped in two convenient charts according to method. Once you have mastered a technique you hardly need look at a recipe again, and can take off on your own.

If you have watched the PBS television special that was the inspiration for this book, you will note that the recipes demonstrated there are included here but that the method or ingredients are often not quite like those on the screen. Many of those recipes were conceived years ago. Take the garlic sauce for mashed potatoes as an example. That was a good system for its time, but an involved one. Here it is much simpler and equally good, if not even better.

A thorough professional index is essential for this kind of book. When you have a question, for instance, just look it up by subject, such as “Chocolate, about melting,” or “Mayonnaise, about troubleshooting,” or “Sole Meunière,” or “frying pans,” and so forth. My own little loose-leaf served me well, and I am hoping this book version will give you, too, as well as me, many of the essentials needed for brief instruction and problem solving.

Julia Child
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Soups and Two Mother Sauces

“Once you have mastered a technique, you hardly need look at a recipe again.”

Homemade soups fill the kitchen with a welcome air, and can be so full and natural and fresh that they solve that always nagging question of “what to serve as a first course.”

PRIMAL SOUPS

These are the basic soups, the least complicated, and often the most loved.

MASTER RECIPE

Leek and Potato Soup

For about 2 quarts, serving 6

3 cups sliced leeks (white and tender green parts; see box below)

3 cups peeled and roughly chopped “baking” potatoes

6 cups water

1½ tsp salt

½ cup sour cream or
crème fraîche
, optional

Bring ingredients to the boil in a 3-quart saucepan. Cover partially and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Correct seasoning. Serve as is, or
purée
, and/or top each portion with a dollop of the cream.

VARIATIONS

• ONION AND POTATO SOUP.
  Substitute onions for leeks, or use a combination.
  

• CREAM OF LEEK AND POTATO SOUP.
  After simmering the preceding soup,
  purée
  it and whisk in ½ cup heavy cream. Reheat to the simmer again before serving.
  

• WATERCRESS SOUP.
  Add a bunch of washed watercress leaves and stems to the base soup for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Purée. Garnish with a scattering of fresh watercress leaves.
  

• COLD SOUPS
  , such as vichyssoise. Purée any of the above, stir in ½ cup cream, and chill. Correct seasoning just before serving; stir in chilled cream if you wish. Top each bowl with minced fresh chives or parsley (or fresh watercress leaves).
  

• SOUPE DU JOUR.
  Meaning add anything else you have on hand, such as cauliflower, broccoli, green peas, spinach, cooked or raw. This is how you may come up with some of your own marvelous ideas and secret “house recipes.”