Not A Cooks Blog ... Mastering French Cuisine With Julia Child ... (Once A Week): SeriesTwo: Part Fifteen

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!