Crèche Menu #1

While reading Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman, I learned about the insanely gourmet meals French toddlers aged 3 to 5 are being served at their national form of preschool, the "crèche". Crèche doesn't teach kids math or reading; it teaches toddlers to socialize and to explore their senses, particularly their sense of taste. Every day, French children at crèche sit down to a four course meal, consisting of a vegetable course, main course, cheese/dairy course, and dessert. These meals are planned meticulously in advance to ensure the widest variety of colors and flavors without repetition.

As an American, it is difficult to imagine young children or even adults sitting down to such complex and civilized meals every day. We live in a land of picky eaters, generally of the starch and meat variety. Most restaurants in America offer kids meals consisting of chicken nuggets, burgers and fries, and not much else. Good luck getting your child to eat his vegetables, much less a smelly chunk of ripe blue cheese. The French believe that taste is something to be developed; if your child doesn't like a particular vegetable, serve it again a week later, perhaps cooked another way that may be more to his liking. They believe most people can grow to develop a taste for almost anything if one's palette is developed at an early enough age.

I found some sample menus of what the French are serving at crèche at http://karenlebillon.com/tag/french-kids-school-lunch-project/ . I thought I'd take a stab at one such menu. Here is what was served September 30, 2013 in Paris:

Salad: Lentil Salad with tomatoes
Main: Roast pork or turkey, with peas and carrots
Cheese/Dairy: Brie
Dessert:  A kiwi

I found a lentil salad recipe on Epicurious, and picked up a pre-seasoned lemon/herb pork loin at the supermarket. Like the Paris creche, I served brie cheese, but opted for white peaches instead of kiwi for dessert.

Lentil Salad with tomatoes and dill

Ingredients

1 cup dried lentils (preferably small French lentils)

1 large garlic clove, chopped

1 tsp salt, or to taste

¾ lb tomatoes, diced (2 cups)

4 large scallions, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped fresh dill

¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil

3 tbsp red-wine vinegar, or to taste

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ tsp black pepper

Preparation

Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan with lentils, garlic, and ½ tsp salt, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until lentils are just tender, 15 to 25 minutes. Drain in a large sieve, then transfer to a large bowl.

Toss hot lentils with tomatoes, scallions, dill, basil, vinegar, oil, pepper, and remaining ½ tsp salt, or to taste.

 

My first crèche-inspired meal turned out quite nicely. Thanks for reading!

Deluxe Chicken Salad (Julia Child)

I found this recipe for Deluxe Chicken Salad in Julia Child's The Way to Cook, published in 1989, which is aimed at a "new generation of cooks who have not grown up in the old traditions, yet who need a basic knowledge of good food so that they may enjoy fresh, healthy home cooking." Here, as compared to Mastering the Art of French Cooking, you find fewer aspics and less butter. Most of the recipes in The Way to Cook are "low in fat or even fat-free," which is a wild departure from her earlier French recipes for which she is famous.

While she acknowledges that times have changed and people have become more health-conscious since the '60s when her first book was published, she also adds that "too many people nowadays are deathly afraid of their food." She argues that such worry creates an "unhappy and suspicious stomach" which surely causes harm to the digestive system and body as a whole. She recommends, instead of total abstinence, creating an imaginary shelf labeled INDULGENCES, for ingredients such as butter, heavy cream, sausages and pates. "Never lose sign of a beautifully conceived meal," she says.

As long as I'm getting adequate exercise, eating sensible portions, and cooking from good, wholesome ingredients, I consider eating to be a natural and health-giving part of life, and also one of its greatest pleasures. So cook on, my friends, and don't be one of those people who worry so much about calorie-counting and the evils of butter to enjoy a thoughtful, delicious meal.

I made this chicken salad for my book club. To cook the chicken, I used Julia Child's master recipe for Sauteed Chicken (p. 137 The Way to Cook). Lacking a food processor, I used store-bought low-fat mayonnaise instead of the preferred homemade mayo, and also subbed almonds for walnuts. This chicken salad is great on croissants, or with a few dashes of cayenne pepper for a little kick. Enjoy!

Deluxe Chicken or Turkey Salad

6 cups cooked skinless and boneless chicken or turkey that has been cut into good-size bites, such as rectangles about 1 by 1 1/2 inches and 1/4 inch thick

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

1 to 2 tbs light virgin olive oil

2 to 3 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp finely cut fresh tarragon leaves, or 1/4 tsp fragrant dried tarragon

1 cup diced tender celery stalks

1/2 cup minced scallions or mild onion

1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

3/4 cup or more mayonnaise, preferably homemade

1 medium head romaine, washed and dried

Instructions

1. Toss the chicken or turkey in a big mixing bowl with the salt, pepper, and enough oil to enrobe the meat very lightly. Then toss with the lemon juice, and finally with the herbs, celery, onions, and optional walnuts. Taste analytically, and correct seasoning. Let steep 10 minutes, tossing several times. *May be completed a day in advance to this point; cover and refrigerate.*

2.  Drain any accumulated liquid out of the salad, correct seasoning again, and fold in just enough mayonnaise to enrobe the ingredients.

Serving suggestion: Shred the lettuce and arrange in a bowl or on a platter and mount the salad over it; spread a light coating of mayonnaise on top.

Broiled Stuffed Mushrooms & Boeuf Bourguignon (Julia Child)

While reading a book called Bringing Up Bebe for my book club this month, which is mainly about French parenting but also about the French lifestyle and it's eating habits, I have been inspired to bring more French methods into my kitchen and more French dishes to my table. Where better to turn for instruction than to Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking? For years I've been intimidated by this tome, sitting on my bookshelf, mocking me. I've flipped through the recipes plenty of times, but have only ever attempted one or two.

But when I got my hands on Julia Child's public television program, "The French Chef" from my local library, I was inspired to finally get cooking. If you haven't seen The French Chef, these videos are absolute gems. First off, Julia Child is hilarious! And her attitude is always fun and accessible. She makes these advanced dishes look relatively easy, and encourages novice home-cooks to give them a whirl. So I did! 

I started with a recipe for Broiled Stuffed Mushrooms from season 2, episode 1 of The French Chef, Vegetables: The French Way. They were delicious! I served my mushrooms with sweet potato fries and sausage. 

Feeling thus emboldened, I ordered my first Dutch Oven (Lodge 4.5-quart enameled cast-iron) from Amazon.com, and took a stab at Julia Child's famous Boeuf Bourguignon. I managed not to screw it up, and had a memorable night with friends as we shared this special dish. 

Broiled Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

8 large mushrooms

2 tbsp. butter

2 shallots, minced

1 tbsp. flour

Heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Swiss cheese, finely grated

Parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Wash, trim and dry mushrooms, then remove the stems by gently rocking stems back and forth until they come out. Chop the stems finely. Squeeze the juice out of the chopped stems. 

2. Heat about 2 tbsp. of butter in pan, and add mushroom pieces. Add 1 or 2 minced shallots. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring often. They are done when mushroom pieces begin to separate from each other. 

3. Add about 1 tbsp of flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add heavy cream (enough to make fairly thick mass once mixture cooks down). Add some salt, pepper, and a bit of parsley. 

4. Rub mushroom heads with butter and place in a baking dish. Fill the mushroom heads with the sauce. Top with grated Swiss cheese. 

5. Brown the mushrooms 5-6 inches under the broiler when you are ready to serve them. It should take about 5 minutes

Boeuf Bourguignon

See: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, page 315, or this YouTube video.

"The way to a full and healthy life is to adopt the sensible system of 'small helpings, no seconds, no snacking, and a little bit of everything.' And above all -  have a good time!" - Julia Child

Bon appetit!

Agua Fresca

I have been making a lot of agua fresca during this hot summer. Here are some of my favorite recipes that I've tried so far...

1. Agua de Pina

Ingredients

1 ripe pineapple, cubed

4 cups water, or more as desired to dilute the pineapple juice

Simple syrup of sugar and water ( if desired)

Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Cut the top and bottom of the pineapple off and then remove all outer skin. Chop up pineapple, including the core.

2. Put the cut-up pineapple into the blender with up to a quarter cup of water. Puree until completely smooth.

3. Position a small strainer, covered in a double layer of cheesecloth, over a large bowl. Pour a bit of puree into the center of the cheesecloth. Close tightly and begin to twist and gently squeeze over the strainer so that the juice strains into the bowl. Repeat this process several times with the rest of the puree. The pineapple puree should yield between 2 1/2 and 3 cups of juice.

4. Make a simple syrup to add to your juice, if desired (ratio is 1/2 c. sugar to 1 c. water). 

5. Combine the pineapple juice, water, and any simple syrup (if you wish to sweeten it). Add a small pinch of salt. Stir well and refrigerate until well-chilled, about an hour. 

Source: http://theothersideofthetortilla.com/2010/08/agua-fresca-agua-de-pina/ 

2. Horchata

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked white long-grain rice

5 cups water

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup white sugar

Instructions

1. Pour the rice and water into the bowl of a blender; blend until rice just begins to break up, about 1 minute. Pour into a bowl, add cinnamon, and cover. Let rice, water and cinnamon stand at room temperature for a minimum of three hours. 

2. Strain the rice and water into a pitcher (preferably through a sieve lined with cheesecloth) and discard the rice. Stir the milk, vanilla and sugar into the rice water. Chill and stir before serving over ice.