SeriesTwo: Part Fifteen - L'Orange

Handing out the oranges half time at the netball game use to be the tradition. This was before nutrition experts informed everyone what to eat and when. Oranges are out due to the high acidity being added to the athlete's body at a time where their hard working body is already generating a whole lot of the stuff.   Having a day in Palmerston North to watch Imke play in the under15 HB netball team I decided that the orange theme should continue but with a Julia twist ... "Gateau a L'Orange" Orange Sponge cake. This is one of five unusually good and typical French cakes that Julia provide in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". There is no baking powder used in any of the cakes, their lightness is due to the careful folding of the perfectly beaten egg whites into the batter.


Mousse de Foies de Volaille was also consumed courtside but definitely did not get the thumbs up by the youngest two members of the family. This could be due to the deep degree of disappointment felt when finding the brown coloured remnants in the food processor was not chocolate. Instead what was found was pureed cooked chicken livers, seasonings, with a Madeira reduction. Cream and butter was also combined to give body and what the French call 'molleux" or a velvety texture. It went down quite nicely on cold toast between game watching.


Julia also assisted in the carbo load the night before the netball event. "Poulets Grilles a la Diable" - chicken broiled with mustard, herbs and bread crumbs. I felt like a real butcher quartering the whole chicken. A good sharp knife is absolute.  The partially cooked chicken is smeared with mustard and herbs, rolled in bread crumbs and returned to under the grill to brown and finish cooking. The whole family found it "finger lickin good". Perhaps I could give the Colonel Sanders some competition and set up a stall strategically placed around busy netball courts!

Gateau a L'Orange

KFC!

This is not chocolate

Netball at Palmerston North

Series Two: Part Fourteen - A Julia Birthday Dinner Party

Music from Edith Piaf and food from Julia - it was a French dinner party in honour of my mother's 70th birthday. Scallops, Boeuf Bourguignon and Chocolate Mousse were the birthday food requests.

I had a day set aside to prepare... (very unlike me)

I took the opportunity to try "Coquilles St. Jacques a la Provencale" - scallops gratineed with wine, garlic and herbs. This recipe from Provence is handy in that it can be prepared in advance and gratineed just before serving. It involved mincing onions and sautéing the scallops in very hot butter, then adding the wine and herbs. I reluctantly snipped some fresh thyme as now with winter frosts in full flight this was looking a pitiful little plant. I added the bay leaf, reduced the sauce down and voila! The most difficult stage was finding equivalents to scallop shells to spoon this delicacy in to. It ended up being a mixed assortment of holding vessels but they all did the trick and no purchases required.

Boeuf Bourguignon has to be one of the most famous dishes - a beef stew in red wine, with bacon, onions and mushrooms. It was one of the signature meals in the Julie and Julia movie with the two handy tips  being dry the beef in paper towels to make sure the meat browns and don't crowd the mushrooms in the pan whilst sautéing them. Boiled potatoes and beans with French bread to soak up that divine sauce, were served alongside the beef.

Mousseline au Chocolat was the dessert. Julia claims that the recipe they produce in "Mastering the art of French Cuisine" is the one of the best. It uses egg yolk, sugar, and butter. Instead of cream, beaten egg whites are used. The orange flavouring (I used Cointreau) is delicious with the chocolate. As I had polluted a chocolate dish with alcohol (yet again) I had a Hansells instant chocolate mousse prepared earlier that I could placate eldest daughter with. I did declare that if everyone tasted the $2 option and thought it better than Julia I was going to hang up my oven gloves - luckily no-one attempted the comparison. I felt somewhat relived when youngest daughter who had arrived late for dinner from netball in Wellington after a small tasting the night before felt the need to complete the rest after breakfast (bad mother!)

We were also spoilt that night by guests providing French cheeses, a fine HB Te Mata Estate Coleraine (perfect with the Boeuf Bourguignon) and a chocolate brownie ... and of course fine company to celebrate Mum's birthday (which it is really all about)

...as Edith sings - La Vie en rose - Life in rosy hues

The birthday artist

Enjoying the scallops

Mousseline au chocolat