A Julia Triumph & Culinary Bucket Lists

Several weeks ago, before it got pizza oven hot outside and we were all planning what we are grilling for the fourth of July, I had experienced a genuine Julia triumph. Since the film debut of “Julie & Julia” I’ve wanted to make Julia’s French Onion Soup. I gave it a try last year using a recipe I found on the web that touted itself as “based on Julia Child’s recipe.” (Note to self: beware of culinary disclaimers “based on,” it’s a real game changer). The resulting soup was just okay, edible, but nothing to write home about and certainly not worth repeating. This left me discouraged, wanting more and wondering…what was different about Julia’s recipe? I added “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” to my Christmas list; I now wanted the real thing in my quest for French Onion Soup perfection. With Julia’s tutelage in hand, I set about making the perfect pot of French Onion Soup…I must confess, I started to waver over 3 tablespoons of cognac, really what was I going to do with the rest of the bottle? Then those two little words drifted back into my mind “based on.” That “faux” Julia recipe didn’t have cognac…I quickly reined myself back in and committed to staying true to Julia’s recipe. With fingers crossed (ever tried to sauté onions with your fingers crossed? It’s not easy) I again embarked upon my quest for the perfect French Onion Soup. I painstakingly followed each step, carefully measured & re-measured my ingredients and waited…patiently (okay, somewhat patiently) for those onions to caramelize. People, I am here to tell you, my patience was rewarded and, yes, those three tablespoons of cognac made all the difference. After just one bite my sweet husband proclaimed this “the best French Onion Soup I’ve ever tasted.” Thank you, Julia, I will never, ever trust a “based on” recipe again and will never question whether “just three tablespoons” of something is worth it. Clearly, it is.

This Julia triumph bolstered my confidence and turned my thoughts to other dishes I wanted to cook, but had never tried for one reason of the other. These thoughts developed into a culinary bucket list of sorts, things I really want to make in my lifetime, but haven’t:

• Lobster stuffed beef tenderloin; I came across this recipe almost 20 years ago in “Dining by Fireflies,” from the Junior League of Charlotte. I immediately wanted to try it, really, how delicious must that be? Yep, been meaning to try that for 20 years. Crazy, right? All I can think is how much money I will have wasted if it doesn’t turn out well.
• Marshmallows; I find delicate confections to be daunting (this, I believe, is firmly rooted in my childhood when my sister made a batch of Divinity that went so badly our mom had to throw the pan away. Yes, that’s correct, the actual pan, not just the Divinity). Humidity is the sworn enemy of treats like marshmallows and Divinity and I do live in Florida.
• Chocolate truffles; every year I think “this Christmas, I’m making truffles” and every year, I do not make truffles.
• Hushpuppies, really great hushpuppies from scratch. I’ve made them from a mix many times and they’re fine, but not great, not a wow. I want a wow.

I’m sure there’s more to add to my list, while I'm cogitating on that, I’ve been asking those around me what dish is on their culinary bucket list. The responses have ranged from chocolate soufflé to orange chicken and everything in between. I was having a text conversation with my dear friend Sherry yesterday; when I mentioned this post she hit me with a powerful, inspiring four word response:

“Live the bucket list.” Thank you, Sherry, live it, I shall.

So many recipes, so little time

I never cease to be amazed by people who say they make the same four or five meals over and over and over again. I am equally perplexed by people who say they can never think of what to cook. My friends, I have the exact opposite problem. There never seems to be enough hours in the day or days in the week to try all the recipes I want to try and to experiment with all the recipes already in my repertoire.

At this very moment, and in no particular order, I want to make:
• French Onion Soup. We love French onion soup in our house, but have never made it ourselves. Online recipe searching turned up many recipes with an extensive ingredients list including several items for which I would have no other use. Any recommendations on a recipe that provides amazing depth of flavor without having to buy out the liquor store to achieve that flavor would be greatly appreciated.
• Meatballs. I’m totally intrigued by the idea and have been know to crave them periodically, but have never made them. I was deeply scarred by several encounters with really bad (read: spongy and bland) meatballs in the 80s and haven’t yet fully recovered. This could very well explain my hesitancy in tackling them myself.
• Chocolate truffles…no explanation/justification necessary
• The Barefoot Contessa’s lemon cake (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-cake-recipe/index.html). I came across this recipe in a magazine many years ago and was immediately intrigued. A few years later I was delighted to learn the author of this recipe would be debuting a show on Food Network. The rest, as they say, is history.
• Lobster stuffed beef tenderloin, a recipe found in “Dining by Fireflies,” a cookbook from the Junior League of Charlotte. Two luxury ingredients rolled into one perfect entrée. I am certain it would be a showstopper and a crowd pleaser if I could just get around to making it.
• Chocolate strawberry tuxedos (we learned the technique on our recent cruise, now we have to attempt this stunt without a net or, in this case, without Chef Darcy on standby).
• Shrimp Scampi that tastes exactly like it does at Carrabba’s. Any ideas/inspiration/inside information would be appreciated beyond measure. This one truly confounds me, it seems to have all the standard scampi ingredients, but the taste is not like anything else I’ve ever had that called itself Scampi.
• Alton Brown’s Slow Cooker Pepper Pork Chops (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/slow-cooker-pepper-pork-chops-recipe/index.html). These are unbelievable and it’s been a couple of years since I’ve made this recipe (for no other reason than what the title of this post suggests.) When you try this, and you must, be kind to yourself and spin the leftovers into a Shepherd’s Pie. Trust me; you’ll be so very glad that you did.

Fellow foodies and cooks, this is just the short list of what’s on my mind at the moment, ask me again tomorrow and you may get a dozen different ideas. Have I said, so many recipes, so little time?

Is it just me? What about you guys? What are you craving/daydreaming about/contemplating for your next kitchen adventure? Do share; after all, that’s half the fun of cooking.

Menu Planning Mojo

I just love menu planning! It truly thrills me. Anything from a plain old Tuesday night dinner to a holiday feast, it matters not to me; half of the fun is in the planning. As a little girl, I always loved it when my mom got that magical issue of Woman’s Day magazine with the month of meals calendar…odd reading material for a child, perhaps, but it’s something I love to this day.

I plan our dinner menus a week in advance in our house for just the two of us. And I am never happier than when I have a party, event or occasion that needs my menu planning mojo. In fact, we are in the throes of planning a 50th birthday party for a dear friend and, frankly, I am so excited and having so much fun with the menu, you would think it was my own birthday party. (Thanks for turning 50, Tam!)

It probably comes as no surprise that I have a sizable collection of cookbooks to turn to for inspiration. The internet is never more than a click away and I keep all of my tried & true recipes saved on my hard drive and on disk (just in case!) Of course, it’s always fun (and inspiring) to kick around menu ideas with my foodie buddies.

Fully immersed in recipes, I never get tired of contemplating what theme I should chose, what entrée works with what sides and exactly what the perfect dessert might be. I love the challenge of putting together just the right flavors, colors and textures to create a great meal. It’s always fun to serve the unexpected. When guests anticipate fancy holiday food, we’ll serve two big pots of chili. (Yes, two, I’m sure most of you are familiar with the raging beans vs. no beans debate. I myself live in house divided, he wants beans, I want it plain, so we do both.) We also love offering old favorites in new ways, burgers on the grill become pimiento cheese bacon burgers, a delicious twist on a classic.

Sometimes, we even send our guests away with a little something special for the next day. If a dinner party runs late (because everyone is having such a good time, no one wants to leave) it’s fun to send our friends home with homemade muffins for the next morning. At the end of a party last Valentine’s weekend, we sent everyone home with a glassine bag of Hershey’s kisses tied with a red ribbon. Coming up with these little, unexpected touches is all part of the menu planning fun me.

So, what about you? What happens when you summon your menu planning mojo? I would love to hear all about it!