ALSO BY JULIA CHILD Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I (with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle) The French Chef Cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume II (with Simone Beck) From Julia Child’s Kitchen Julia Child & Company (with E. S. Yntema) Julia Child & More Company (with E. S. Yntema) The Way to Cook Cooking with Master Chefs In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs (with Nancy Verde Barr) Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home (with David Nussbaum) My Life in France (with Alex Prud’homme) These are Borzoi Books, published in New York by Alfred A. Knopf. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Soups and Two Mother Sauces PRIMAL SOUPS Leek and Potato Soup STOCKS Light Chicken Stock Simple Beef Stock Fish Stock SOUPS MADE FROM STOCK OR CANNED BROTH Chicken Soup with Vegetables Mediterranean Fish Soup Scotch Broth CREAM SOUPS Cream of Mushroom Soup FAT-FREE CREAM SOUPS WITH PURÉED RICE Rutabaga Soup Soubise—with Rice and Onion Purée CHOWDERS The Chowder Soup Base TWO OF THE MOTHER SAUCES Béchamel Sauce Hollandaise Sauce Salads and Their Dressings SALAD GREENS Mixed Green Salad SALAD DRESSINGS Basic Vinaigrette Dressing Chopped Hard-Boiled Eggs—Salad Mimosa Curly Endive with Bacon and Poached Eggs Warm Duck Leg Salad MAIN COURSE SALADS Salade Niçoise Chicken Salad Pasta Salad American-Style Potato Salad COLE SLAW AND OTHER VEGETABLE SALADS Cole Slaw Celery Root Rémoulade Grated Beet Salad Cucumber Salad Vegetables THE BLANCH/BOIL SYSTEM FOR GREEN VEGETABLES BLANCH/BOIL VEGETABLE CHART STEAMED VEGETABLES A HANDFUL OF STEAMED VEGETABLES THE BOIL/STEAM SYSTEM FOR VEGETABLES BOIL/STEAM VEGETABLE CHART ROASTED OR BAKED VEGETABLES Tomatoes Provençal Baked Winter Squash Baked Eggplant Slices and Eggplant “Pizza” Cauliflower au Gratin SAUTÉED VEGETABLES Sautéed Mushrooms Pipérade—Sautéed Peppers and Onions Grated Sautéed Zucchini Grated Sautéed/Steamed Beets Brown Onion “Marmalade” BRAISED VEGETABLES Braised Celery Braised Endives Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage POTATOES Mashed Potatoes Steamed Whole Potatoes Boiled Sliced Potatoes Scalloped Potatoes—Gratin Dauphinois Sautéed Diced Potatoes The Best Grated Potato Pancakes French Fries RICE Plain Boiled White Rice DRIED BEANS Dried Beans Preliminary—the Quick Soak Open-Pot Bean Cookery Pressure Cooker Beans Crock-Pot or Slow-Cooker Beans Illustrations: Part 1 Meats, Poultry, and Fish SAUTÉING Sautéed Beef Steaks Calf’s Liver and Onions Fillets of Sole Meunière Thick Pork Chops Thick Veal Chops Sauté of Beef Tenderloin Sauté of Pork Tenderloin Chicken Sautéed in White Wine BROILING Broiled Butterflied Chicken Broiled Fish Steaks—About ¾ Inch Thick Lamb Brochettes Broiled Flank Steak Broiled Hamburgers Butterflied Leg of Lamb Roast/Broiled Butterflied Pork Loin ROASTING Roast Prime Ribs of Beef Roast Top Loin (New York Strip) of Beef Roast Tenderloin of Beef Roast Leg of Lamb Imported Legs of Lamb (New Zealand, Iceland, etc.) Rack of Lamb Roast Loin of Pork Meat Loaf Roast Chicken Steam-Roasted Duck Steam-Roasted Goose Roast Whole Fish STEWING, BRAISING, AND POACHING STEWING Pot au Feu Boiled Dinner BRAISING Beef Bourguignon—Beef in Red Wine Sauce Lamb Stew Lamb Shanks Ossobuco FISH AND SHELLFISH—POACHING AND STEAMING Fish Fillets Poached in White Wine Sea Scallops Poached in White Wine Poached Salmon Fillets Whole Steamed Salmon Steamed Lobsters Egg Cookery The French Omelet Scrambled Eggs Poached Eggs Shirred Eggs Eggs Baked in Ramekins Hard-Boiled Eggs SOUFFLÉS Savory Cheese Soufflé DESSERT SOUFFLÉS Vanilla Soufflé SAVORY CUSTARDS Individual Broccoli Timbales—Molded Custards MOLDED DESSERT CUSTARDS Caramel Custard CUSTARD DESSERT SAUCES AND FILLINGS Crème Anglaise—Classic Custard Sauce Floating Island Pastry Cream—Crème Pâtissière Sabayon Classic Chocolate Mousse Illustrations: Part 2 Breads, Crêpes, and Tarts BREADS Basic Dough for White Bread, French Breads, Pizzas, and Hard Rolls To Form and Bake 2 Long French Loaves Baking in the Bread Machine: White Sandwich Bread—Pain de Mie TWO DESSERTS BASED ON BREAD Apple Charlotte Cinnamon Toast Flan—a Bread Pudding CRÊPES—PAPER-THIN FRENCH PANCAKES All-Purpose Crêpes ROLLED CRÊPES: SAVORY AND DESSERT ROULADES Savory Spinach and Mushroom Crêpe Roulades Strawberry Dessert Crêpes LAYERED CRÊPES: SAVORY AND DESSERT GÂTEAUX Savory Tower of Crêpes with Lobster, Broccoli, and Mushrooms Dessert Gâteau of Crêpes à la Normande Crêpes Suzette TARTS All-Purpose Pie Dough—Pâte Brisée Fine Forming a Tart Shell Prebaking a Shell—“Blind Baking” Quiche Lorraine Apple Tart The Famous Upside-Down Apple Tarte Tatin Cakes and Cookies CAKES Génoise Cake The Genoa Almond Cake—Pain de Gênes Le Brantôme—a Walnut Layer Cake La Reine de Saba—the Queen of Sheba Chocolate Almond Cake Meringue-Nut Layer Cakes—Dacquoise FILLINGS AND FROSTINGS 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.