Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Happy Birthday, Julia!

Remembering Julia Child,

sharing a memory, and serving dinner.



Julia Child

August 15, 1912 - August 13, 2004




Julia Child, very close in age to my mom, would have been 100 years old this August.   In honor of this legendary American icon I felt it appropriate to reprise a post I did as a tribute to Julia Child when I first began Hyacinths for the Soul.  




I rarely cook much any more because my husband does most of the cooking. That allows me the pleasure of  focusing my attention to setting a special table. True, the first 25 years of our marriage I did do the everyday grocery shopping, cooking, and clean up, while my "personal chef" saved his kitchen talents for weekend dinner parties and invited guests. My husband has long held a fascination with cuisines of the world, has a library of cook books, follows many of the Food Network cooking shows, has attended the occasional cooking school, and was a student at The French Culinary Institute in NYC.




Julia Child and Assistant, LaVarenne Cooking School at the Greenbrier

In December 1999 when I discovered that Julia Child would be a guest chef at Ann Willan's La Varenne Signature Series @ The Greenbrier in March of 2000, I signed us up. The week was one of pure delight! The Greenbrier, a National Historic Landmark, is a 6,500 acre estate nestled in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. The southern charm of this national treasure was the perfect setting for a week of culinary classes and pampering by the staff at the Greenbrier. This national treasure has offered classic southern charm and outstanding amenities since the late 1800s.



Julia Child @ The Greenbrier Resort in 2000

As avid fans of the early PBS series THE FRENCH CHEF and later THE JULIA CHILD and JACQUES PEPIN COOKING @ HOME public television series, Julia Child has long shared her culinary expertise with us. The opportunity to attend a cooking session with Julia Child and actually meet her, was the icing on the cake! Or as Julia might say, "The butter on the bread!"



 "Elegance with Eggs"
Hard Boiled Eggs, Eggs a la Tripe, Eggs a la Chimay, 
Poached Eggs, Poached Eggs in Aspic, French Omelet, and Cheese Soufflé.


The class we attend with Julia was entitled 

"Elegance with Eggs", and it was all about eggs! 

Julia's joie de vivre was infectious! She did not disappoint!



Julia Child with a Group of Participants
Photo used with permission of Greenbrier Photography

Here we are with Julia.  That's us on the far right.



Le Menu on Courage Brewery Cockerel Menu Stand

The menu is set, and the chef is at work in the kitchen.



CA Chef Mustard Pot and HB-Henriot Quimper Hen On Nest



Welcome to 

"A Casual Dinner for Two"

honoring Julia Child.




As the saying goes, "The rooster may crow,

but it is the hen that delivers the goods!"


Le Coq Quimper Pottery, French Faience Roosters, and Sunflowers 

So our table was set with a chicken theme, both roosters and a setting hen!



Henriot Quimper Le Coq Dinner Plate,
Blue Pinstripe Charger fromNeiman Marcus,
Flatware from Pottery Barn

The Crowing Rooster




A Fresh Baguette, a Basket of Cooking Tools, 

and a Rooster McCoy Planter with Fresh Flowers





A Geo Martel Desvres - Cockerel Double Salt





Fresh Bouquet of Sunflowers



Rex-Goliath Pinot Noir

Petite Tarts with Fresh Berries




Our table is ready and waiting.

Shall we pop into the 

 kitchen and see what the chef is doing?




 Looks like he is busy cooking our omelets. 

 Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable 

Julia recommends that the best omelets are made as single servings using only 2 to 3 eggs. Cook the eggs over the highest heat. Once a film of coagulated egg forms, begin to jerk the pan roughly toward you. This throws the egg against the pan and forces it to roll over upon itself.




 Then you can slide your 

perfect omelet off onto a serving plate.





Top with a bit of chopped parsley and red bell pepper. 

Then add a simple salad of mixed greens.




 Voilà, 

 you have dinner!




So here's to you, Julia Child!

Bon Appétit!




Thank you for allowing me to 

share some personal memories of Julia Child.




I appreciate the joy that Julia has 

brought into our home through the years.





If you have a personal story 

or remembrance of Julia Child, 

please share it with us in a comment.

Joining










French Inspiration Thursday @ French Cupboard








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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

August ~ And It's HOT








~ Summer Fun ~

Let's Dish August Challenge
@
Cuisine Kathleen




I had good intentions to set a table of cool blues

filled with beachy details





Like this shell and coral teapot .   .   .


And the cute cream and sugar set that

 I brought back from my Galveston 

 beach trip early in the summer.





But .   .   .  it's just too hot 

in August here in Texas to set a table outside.

Texas Heat = Not fun!


So I decided to .   .   .


Hatch Chiles that is!




August = Hatch Chile Festivals 



If you can't beat the heat, 

eat Hatch chiles! 




 Too hot to be in the kitchen, 



so I let Central Market do the cooking.


Hatch Beef Fajita Wrap




 Hatch Chile Tortilla Chips




And an ice cold Corona!




I traded the cool blues for 

hot stripes and spicy Hatch chile cuisine

served on a tray pool side.   .   .




With just the right mix of textures.





And to finish with a bang

~ Austin Slowburn Hatch Brownies ~ 

Basically you add 

4 T. Austin Slow Burn Green Chile Jam 

to a box of Ghirardelli Brownie Mix.

These are so good!

Tutorials, Tips, Tidbits @ Stone Gable

My tip for this week:

 When the summer heat gets you down,

Don't heat up the kitchen.  

Let your local deli do the cooking. 

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Monday, August 6, 2012

Let's Dish ~ Black & White & A Pop of Yellow




Let' Dish 

 about

Black and White 

with a touch of Yellow





A few weeks ago, blogging friend  


shared her version of a black and white table for summer.





The cupboards at HFTS have plenty 

of black and white so I took 

Kathe's inspiration and set a B and W table 

for a Friday night dinner party with friends.




My stack:

Black Woven Placemats  

Pottery Barn chicken wire chargers

MacKenzie-Childs Courtly Check chargers

Simple Black Plates and Bowls from the $ Store.






The Sunny Days of August 

provided the pop of yellow for the centerpiece.






I looked to my summer garden to provide 

a few blooms to pop into my mini Courtly Check pots.





The perfect low centerpiece.




I would have liked to use these 

sunshine yellow napkins from World Market,

but alas I only have four of these.




So instead I pulled these 

black and white paisley ones into service.
Used my collection of vintage 

napkin rings that were a thrifty 

"find" at Round Top two years ago. 




The beautiful sterling initials 

make these very special.




I love the way they compliment my set of

 vintage flatware with the French "ivory" handles.

The spoon was a recent find at 

an antique shop in New Braunfels.

I picked up a pair of these specifically 

to use with these knives and forks.  

They are Reed and Barton.




They round out a place setting of six to use with these spoons 

that were my antique souvenir from Maine last summer.

The Cherished Home is a wonderful shop in Belfast, ME.

They were having a great sale the day we visited.

These four coin silver chowder spoons were $25 for the set.




The two like this one are marked 

Oertelt with crossed swords and the # 12.

A simple TH is the monogram.

An update about coin silver from Johanna @ Silver + Roses.
After reading this post, Johanna created a post about the coin silver flatware that has been in her family for generations.  Be sure to stop by Johanna's post here for some interesting insight.




The two in this pattern are 

marked Fifield and Brackett 

with the monogram "N J Furber".




Dessert offered the opportunity to bring in 

more black and white with a touch of yellow.




These cute demitasse spoons are Sabre Paris.

I bring some of this flatware back each time I visit Paris.  

It's reasonably priced and 

found in several Paris department stores.





For a quick and easy light dessert serve

a bowl of fresh summer berries 

topped with whipped cream   .   .   .




Offered with some pretty and tasty treats


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