Posts Labeled ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’

August 24th, 2009

The Best Wedding Gift of All Time? The Panini Grill

August is Panini Month. That’s right. Panini Month. When I learned about this from @Foodimentary on Twitter, I nearly fainted from excitement.

I love panini. But not just any ‘ol panini. I particularly love the panini I build from scratch in my very own kitchen.

The absolute best wedding gift we received when we got married was our Krups Panini Maker (thanks, Dianne and Jay!). I think we used it every week for at least the first year of our marriage. We made savory panini with prosciutto or with brie and apples, and sweet panini with nutella and bananas.

Brides, if you have not already added a panini grill to your registry, do so immediately. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Just add it!

One of the things I love about a panini grill is that it begs for creativity, inviting you to find the absolute best combination of bread, ingredients, and condiments for that perfect sandwich creation. And, it’s interactive. My husband even brings our panini grill into work for occasional “Panini Fridays” with his team at the office.

So, knowing it was Panini Month, I thought it only right to celebrate with a nice panini and soup lunch this past weekend. For my panini creation, I chose to pile on a few of my favorite ingredients:  Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam Triple Cream cheese, thinly sliced Granny Smith apples, and baby spinach — all set between two slices of fresh French bread from Cenan’s Bakery in Vienna.

Triple Cream, Apples, and Spinach Panini

Triple Cream, Apples, and Spinach Panini

To accompany the panini, we made Onion Soup from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and served them both on a panini plate.

French Onion Soup and Panini

French Onion Soup and Panini

Happy Panini Month, everyone!

August 3rd, 2009

Celebrating Julia Child: A Countdown to Julie & Julia

photo by Getty Images via Harper's Bazaar

photo by Getty Images via Harper's Bazaar

I’ve only read a few biographies in my life. If there was ever an argument to start reading more of them it would have to be An Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child. I read it years ago and it remains one of the most inspiring books in my library.  With each page I turned, it was as if  Julia was standing in front of me, her tall frame planted firmly and her fists in the air like a boxer after winning a fight, urging me to live life. To drink it up. To make the most of every minute. And above all, to eat and cook well.

An Appetite for Life, available at Amazon.com

An Appetite for Life, available at Amazon.com

Julia Child was a remarkable woman (even if an easy target for shows like Saturday Night Live). Independent. Sharp. Bold. I remember being floored to learn that she once worked for the OSS, the precursor to the CIA.

Perhaps it was Child’s dynamism that led Julie Powell to choose one of her cookbooks for her yearlong cooking-challenge-turned-into-life-lesson adventure, the Julie Julie/Julia Project.

Powell, a young, married, government worker decided one day to cook through Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year.  As Powell notes in her very first blog entry where she lays down the gauntlet, “365 days. 536 recipes. One girl and a crappy outer borough kitchen.”

Powell later turned the blog into a book.  After sharing with him that I might want to read it, my husband included a copy of Julie and Julia in an Amazon order he placed earlier this summer. From the time it came in the mail, I could not put it down. Powell’s writing is good, but the concept behind  it all is even better. What would happen if you set out to accomplish a culinary goal of working your way through an entire cookbook? What would you learn along the way (besides how to poach an egg or make aspic)?

The book became a movie which is due out this weekend  (August 7). In honor of the movie and Julia Child, whose birthday, August 15, is just around the corner  (more on that in future posts….), I am starting a countdown to the movie starting…. now.

There’s a lot we can learn from Julia Child — and a lot, I think, that we can learn from Powell through her culinary adventure. Stay tuned! It’s going to be a great week!

And in the words of Julia Child, Bon Appétit!

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