Too much of a Good Thing?

This is about the time of year when people who are lucky enough to have prolific gardens start to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of gorgeous bright red tomatoes and beautiful zucchini that their loving care has yielded.   A problem I'd like to have, quite honestly...

Growing up, my grandparents next door neighbors had a garden behind their house. By the end of July, it was practically bursting at the seams.  Every summer we were the grateful recipients of brown paper grocery bags filled with tomatoes and cucumbers from his garden.  The trade off was the newspaper.  One of us was sent next door to give them the paper every day after my grandparents had read it and in turn, every few days he left a bag of fresh from the ground veggies on the back porch.  Not a bad arrangement.

If you find yourself overrun with tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, etc...  this recipe is perfect!  It utilizes all of the wonderful produce of summer in a healthy vegetarian dish that is... well, super yummy.  

Ratatouille can be eaten warm,  at room temperature or even cold. It is substantial enough to stand on its own or it can be served alongside roast chicken or tossed through your favorite pasta.

I have sandwiched it in a crusty ciabatta roll for lunch or served it on sliced, toasted baguettes as an hors d'oeuvre with a glass of wine.  This recipe is the epitome of summer, there really is no wrong way to enjoy it.

So, next time you are out in your garden or like me, gazing wistfully at other people's gardens, hands on hips, wondering what the heck to do with all of those little gems you've grown...  now you know.


Ratatouille

There are many variations on this dish.  Some call for sliced vegetables, some rough chopped, some demand that each veggie be cooked separately, some just throw them all in the same pot.  As long as you are cooking, enjoying the process and the food tastes good...  do whatever makes you happy.

This is a variation on Julia Child's recipe.  I changed a few things to make it more to my taste, feel free to do the same from here.  More of what you like, less of what you don't.

• 1 lb eggplant, peeled & cubed
• 1 lb zucchini, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 3/4 lb firm, ripe tomatoes, peeled & seeded, chopped
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• a few sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp minced parsley
• 1 tbsp basil, finely sliced (chiffonade)

Toss eggplant with 2 tsp salt and set inside colander to drain.  Place a small plate on top to weigh it down and let stand for 30 minutes.

Heat a few tbsp olive oil over medium heat and saute eggplant for a few minutes until lightly browned.  Remove eggplant from pan, add zucchini and saute until lightly browned. Remove zucchini & set aside.

In the same pan, cook onions and peppers slowly in olive oil for about 10 minutes until tender, but not browned.  Add more oil if necessary.  Add garlic, thyme & bay leaves, season with salt and pepper.

Add tomatoes and cook over low heat for 5 minutes until tomatoes render their juices.  Then raise heat and simmer for several minutes until liquid has mostly evaporated.
Return eggplant and zucchini to the pan and stir to combine. 

Let simmer for a few minutes allowing flavors to combine, remove from heat and stir in parsley and basil.

Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc


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If You're Afraid of Butter, Use Cream...

The above is one of my favorite quotes from Julia Child, one of the gutsiest broads to ever hoist a meat cleaver. (and I use that term lovingly)

On August 15th of this year, Julia would have turned 100 years old and I'd like to think would still be cooking.
In the 100 days leading up to Julia's birthday, the JC100 is celebrating this culinary powerhouse and her recipes.  Each week, a new recipe is featured and this weeks offering was Coq au Vin...  one of my all time favorites.

I remember watching Julia & Jacques and loved her candor and fearless approach to cooking.  She made it seem fun and most importantly, possible.  She had a way of walking her audience through a recipe that made complex dishes seem effortless and isn't that all we really want? To feel like anything is possible?

Her sing-song voice demonstrated her unmistakable excitement for what she was doing, especially when butter was involved.  She made no apologies for anything, especially her occasional mishaps in the kitchen.   For example, you dropped the chicken?  No big deal, pick it up & rinse it off!   I loved that.  It was like being told, it's ok if it all doesn't go perfectly as planned...  just keep cooking.

Her contributions to cooking and bringing knowledge of French cooking to the American public are unparalleled.  She was truly one of a kind. 

This is my all time favorite quote and precisely why I can relate to her... 

“The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appétit. ”
― Julia Child


Coq au Vin

• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds frying-chicken parts (roughly 1 whole chicken, cut up)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups sliced onion
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 - 2 large cloves of garlic, pureed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/3 cup canned Italian plum tomatoes
• 3 cups young red wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• beurre manie for the sauce: (1 1/2 tbsp each flour and softened butter blended to a paste)
• chopped parsley
• 3 cups fresh mushrooms, trimmed, quartered and sauteed
• 1/2 cup bacon, cut into 1/4 inch strips (original recipe calls for bacon to be blanched, however I like the saltiness of the bacon so I omitted this step)

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan, saute the bacon and remove to a side dish, leaving the fat in the pan.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Brown the chicken in the pork fat, adding a little olive oil if necessary.  Remove and set aside.
4. Add the onions into the pan and saute over moderate heat until fairly tender, then raise the heat slightly to brown lightly.  Drain to remove excess fat.
5. Return chicken to the pan with the onions, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, tomato and mushrooms.
6. Pour in the wine and enough stock to barely cover and simmer slowly for 20 minutes.
7. Remove chicken from pan and spoon surface fat off the cooking juices.   
8. Taste the mushroom/onion cooking juices, boil down if it needs strength, adding seasoning if necessary.  Off heat, whisk in beurre manie to make a lightly thickened sauce.  Bring briefly to a simmer- the sauce should be just thick enough to lightly coat a spoon.
9. Return chicken to pan, basting with sauce, onions and mushrooms.

* I always serve this over lightly buttered egg noodles, it goes perfectly with the sauce.  You could also serve it with rice or to avoid starch completely, serve with a green salad.

Excerpted from The Way to Cook by Julia Child. Copyright © 1989 by Julia Child. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.