Going Gluten-Free

For weeks, my mom has been begging me to come up with a menu to serve at her Christmas Work Ladies Lunch she's throwing for some of her co-workers. The only problem is, that one of her co-workers doesn't eat gluten. I gotta say, no cookies, cakes, baked goods, most soups, and any number of things that have gluten in them has gotta suck!

This is a perfect time to try out my skills, especially since this meal is inspired by the one and only Julia Child. I am making Cream of Mushrooms Soup, Sauteed Spinach Quiche, House Salad, and a luxurious Vanilla Creme Anglaise with Fresh Berries.

I started the Creme Anglaise the night before so that it would have time to set in the goblets I served them in. It was not as difficult as I thought that it would be, although I think that having a candy thermometer definitely helped a lot. I had to cool down and reheat the custard like 3 times to get it to work right. No fear! It was phenomenal.

The salad was plain tomatoes, lettuce...you know the typical salad. The Mushroom Soup was amazing too! The secret to great mushroom flavor it to squeeze out the mushroom essence to release its aroma and flavor into the soup.

The Spinach Quiche, you know I love quiche, was a real winner. S even loved it and she hates spinach. Sauteing blanched spinach with butter and shallots can really work wonders to mask the rotting smell of cooked spinach.

A Christmas Feast

This is the first year that I have completely been given the role of Christmas Cook. Actually, I think my mom was happy about that. So that I could finish in time and not be rushed, I had to start on Christmas Eve to prep.

First, every year we make coffee cakes for ourselves and for our neighbors. My mom also insisted that I make my Dark Chocolate Chip Biscotti. So two pints of sour cream, a dozen eggs, 5 lbs of flour, three batches of Aunt Margaret's infamous Lazy Day Coffee Cake and Two batches of biscotti later, I was done.

Now to the tart. I really think I outdid myself. I started and finished making the tart dough and the Vanilla-Rum Pastry Cream for the tart the night before. Today, decorated the tart with two kinds of fruit, sliced pears with cinnamon, ginger, and a drizzle of honey and lemon (to keep the fruit from oxidizing) and sugar-lemon macerated raspberries drizzled with white chocolate. A tip for drizzling chocolate chips...use a double broiler and add a little corn syrup. The tart ended up being the most flaky-delicious masterpiece ever! Dad said it was better than my favorite restaurants.

Now to the prime rib standing roast. Mom and I packed it with a crust of salt and baked it for hours. Coming off the bone scrumptious. There were lemon-thyme roasted potatoes that were superb as well as some simple broiled tomatoes and Aunt Pet's Parker-house Rolls. I'm getting really good at those.

So yummy I think I am going into a food coma.

Provencal Soup with Pistou

Although the recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking is not called Provencal Soup with Pistou, the name escapes me right now, so it'll do.

This soup basically boiled vegetable soup with a kind of tomato pesto-Parmesan paste added in at the last minute. Let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS!

Although at first it was not very salty and it needed some freshness, after the tomato addition with a little lemon and some more salt, it was really refreshing. I sprinkled a little bit of extra Parmesan on top to finish. Served with crackers and peanut butter.

Mustard Broiled Chicken Breasts, Cauliflower Gratin, and Wild Rice

My first new recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by the one and old Julia Child. I love Julia. If fact, I am pretty sure that I was born in the wrong country. I should have been French. My inspiration for this meal came because I am currently reading Julie Powell's Julie/Julia Project Book about cooking her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Julie Powell and I have a lot in common. For one, we both love Julia Child, we both have PCOS and we both were stuck in a rut of life. So, here's to Julie and Julia.

I made Chicken Diable or something like that. It was great except the only problem was that I made chicken breasts, not a whole broiled chicken. I didn't adjust my recipe timing exactly right. Obviously, I didn't bake it for like an hour, but I cooked the chicken through so that by the time I needed to baste it with the mustard and breadcrumbs and re-broil it, it got too dry. Ugh! I hate dry chicken. I am so much better than that. The chicken was ok, it needed more mustard. I'll remember next time to half the fat and double the dijon mustard.

The cauliflower was good. It needed some salt, but my Dad said that he actually liked it. He also went back for seconds. That's saying something because my Dad can't stand cauliflower.

The rice, well I cheated. It was from a box mix, but pretty good.

All in all, not a bad tribute to my role models.