Houdini-Dog

I officially am stupid/have a genius dog. Today while I was at the bank, I left Duke in my car. All of a sudden, I heard a teller talking about a dog outside. It was of course, Duke. He managed to fit his pony-sized body through my honda civic window and was outside marking the bushes at the bank. Thank God he didn't run into the road. I swear, this dog is going to be the death of me.

Anywho, last night I made my second Julia Child recipe, Boeuf Bourguignon. This was the recipe that basically got Julia's book published, so I had high expectations. It consists of beef in red wine sauce with bacon, pearl onions and mushrooms, so it is basically like coq au vin with beef. It was long and tedious, but not actually super hard. I started by blanching the bacon, which I find odd, because I have always had bacon fried. If I made this again I would fry the bacon because it just wasn't very good this way, but my book said to do it this way so I did. After that I browned the beef, added the bacon along with carrots and onions and put them into a casserole dish. After that, I added wine and beef broth and it simmered for 2 1/2 hours. That's basically it, then add the pearl onions and mushrooms (which I left out) when its done and voilà! Boeuf Bourguignon! It was pretty good, but honestly, not as good as the coq au vin.. I think if it had simmered longer at a lower temperature, the meat would've been more tender, but oh well. It was still pretty dang good, if I do say so myself.

I think I'm done with French food for a bit, just for the time being. Also, you might be proud to know that I've applied for 3 jobs this week. Haven't gotten one yet, but hey, it's a start. Next week I have three tests, so I'm kind of glad I don't have one right now, as I'll probably be stressed anyways. It seems like teachers always pile on the tests at once. ugh. Maybe if I would prepare more ahead of time it wouldn't be so stressful, but where's the fun in that?

In lieu of studying...

I'm happy to report that La Petite Maison was completely fabulous and totally worth the hour and a half drive. It was a super cute little restaurant, albeit in a slightly ghetto spot. The atmosphere was cozy, not stuffy, and the food was delicious. It's owned by two sisters that are from the south of France, so it's legit. I had the Demi Canard Rôti à la Parisienne, which is a half roasted duck with cointreau jus. It was soooooo good. I tried to subtly take a picture of it, but it was too dark, so you'll just have to trust that it was artfully presented. If you haven't had duck you should try it. It's a lot like chicken, but a lot greasier, so therefore, a lot better. John Price had swordfish, which was also very good, and not fishy. We had crème brûlée for dessert, and it was served with fruit and chocolate sauce, so it was obviously fantastic. All in all, an excellent meal. My only issue is the fact that the closest French restaurant is that far away. Why must Alabamians go to Georgia to eat French food? Alabama needs me, if for no other reason than to bring them French food someday.

Other than that, it's been a pretty low-key weekend. We had college lunch today at church, which is always exciting because it's free food, potluck style. I've successfully procrastinated on all homework for the weekend, so that's good. Tomorrow I for real am going job-hunting. I'm praying that I find something simply so I don't have to spend more time searching. But I guess that's it for now, ciao!

Job, schmob..

Well, I have not gotten a job yet. Nor have I looked for a job. I have every intention to, but honestly, I just loathe applying for jobs. Way more than I hate actually working. I actually kind of like working. And I need to work. I've made the executive decision that I am studying abroad next spring semester, so I have $13,650 to make, not including airfare and food. So I better find one (start looking) soon.

Since I am lazy, I decided instead to make my first Julia Child recipe. Yesterday I made Tarte Normande aux Pommes. That's Custard Apple Tart to the non-Francophones. This recipe uses her Pâte Brisée Sucrée (sweet short paste, or crust), and it actually wasn't super hard, although I have made many crusts in my lifetime, so I may not be a good judge. The Powers' are a pie-eating kind of family, so I learned early. The filling was simply apples in sugar and cinnamon, arranged in the tart pan, with custard placed on top and baked. It turned out beautifully, and was absolutely delicious (remember, this is coming from a pie expert). I picked this recipe because it didn't have weird or expensive ingredients, so I would definitely recommend it.

The dogs (Duke & Phoenix) are now best friends. Look how adorable they are!!

Tonight, John Price is taking me to Atlanta for our late Valentine's Day!!! I'm very excited, and I will definitely give the inside scoop on La Petit Maison! à toute à l'heure!

Happy Mardi Gras!

It's been a super chaotic week, so I haven't had a chance to write lately! Not to mention that there haven't been too many culinary adventures because I'm still working my way through gumbo...

So I got a dog. More like a small pony, really. He's a black lab- Newfoundland mix, so he's huge. My family rescued him, but weren't able to take care of him, and since I've got nothing but time, I took him in (much to my sisters' dismay). My roommate has a 2 year old German Shepherd, Phoenix, so it has been a super exciting week in our small household.

But on another note, I did try out my fondue pot last week. I got it at an after-Christmas sale at Williams-Sonoma, and Valentine's weekend seemed like the proper time to use it. John Price and I made Cheese Cider Fondue, which used Cheddar and Swiss cheese, and instead of cider, we used Simply Apple juice. It was very yummy. We were going to go to a French restaurant in Atlanta, but happened to get about 5 inches of snow that night, which of course in Alabama means that you cannot drive. Which was for the best. We'll go this Friday, and I'm sure it will be blog-worthy.


Tonight, I made tilapia with lemon butter sauce and pearl onions, with roasted vegetables. It was very simple, but very good. Also, in honor of Mardi Gras, I bought Cafe du Monde beignet mix at World Market, and they turned out great! It was super easy and quick, so I would definitely recommend buying some.

I'm going tomorrow to look for a job.... ugh. I need one, but life seems so hectic already. Oh well, I have another mouth to feed now and not to mention blinds to replace after he tore them down trying to look out the window, so a job is necessary.

A necessary evil.

gallons of gumbo

So... gumbo. It was harder than it seemed like it would be. I had to start out by making a roux, or a thickener, which is the hardest part. It's only oil and flour stirred together and simmered, but it's tricky to not burn it. I burned my first one, but the second roux was a success. Other than that, it's mostly just throwing stuff in a pot, or a crockpot as I used. It turned out decent. Not great, but I better start loving it because I have tons of leftovers.

I started looking through my new Julia Child cookbook, and it's blowing my mind. Her recipes are crazy intense, but she also provides very exact directions. And she includes what the common mess-ups are and how to fix them. Genius. But also, a lot of the things in there are waaaay out of my budget. Such as filet steaks stuffed with foie gras and topped with truffles. Yeah, right.

In other news, I just want everyone to see how incredibly adorable my baby sisters are.


That's right, they're modeling their new leopard print snuggies. I love and miss them so much!

First Blog Post Ever!!

Bonjour!!

I should probably start out by explaining what I want my blog to be about. In the past several years, I have developed a passion for cooking. I've gotten a lot better, but there are definitely still some mishaps in the kitchen. I thought keeping a blog of what I'm cooking would be a good way to track my progress, and possibly provide entertainment to some. I don't know that anyone will actually ever read this blog, but you never know.

I'm a student at Auburn University, majoring in International Business. I have no idea what to do with that, but I do know that someday I will open my own French restaurant. So be on the lookout for that... probably in about 45 years when I win the lottery. In the meantime, I just attempt to cook great things on a poor, unemployed college student's budget. Not that I'm complaining about all that my wonderful parents give me. But Julia Child doesn't take these things into consideration.

So anyways, I've been pretty busy in the past week, but I have had some interesting cooking experiments. First, I made a cake for one of my roommate's birthday.. Martha Stewart's Yellow Cake with Mocha Buttercream Icing, to be exact. Which went fairly well except for the fact that I thought that coffee grinds would be a good substitution for instant espresso powder. The icing had a nice grainy texture.. but not actually so bad once it was refridgerated. The real disaster that week was when I made Sausage and Peppers Rigatoni. Now, let me just say I have never eaten crushed red pepper before. But one of my roommates last year ate it like it was candy. I probably should've taken into consideration the other gross things that she ate. So I thought that sprinkling it liberally over the sauce would be yummy. Not so. That dish has been renamed Fire Sausage and while it had potential to be delicious, I ruined it with toooo much crushed red pepper.

I was getting discouraged by this point, because I don't usually have this many problems when cooking. So the boyfriend and I cooked one night, and I had the idea to make authentic Coq au Vin. As in, I single-handedly butchered a whole chicken. And I did it well. The chicken was then marinated in shiraz and vegetables overnight. The next day I cooked the chicken with bacon in bacon grease with a wine reduction and pearl onions, shallots, and mushrooms. It was one of the top 5 things I've ever cooked, possibly ever eaten. Not to brag or anything, I was just really proud of it. John Price made loaded mashed potatoes and a delicious Butterfinger Pie for dessert, so it was definitely a healthy dinner.
I'm making gumbo tonight, so hopefully that'll turn out well, although I have been warned that it's harder than it appears. We'll see. OH! My copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking came in today, so I'm super excited about that. In other words, get ready for some future exciting posts!