Julia's Kitchen Wisdom Read online

For 3 pounds (4 or 5) baking potatoes about 5 inches long and 2½ inches across, serving 6. Trim potatoes into even rectangles and cut into strips ⅜ inch wide. Swish in cold water to remove surface starch. Just before frying, drain and dry thoroughly. Heat 2½ quarts fresh frying oil (I use Crisco) to 325°F. Fry the equivalent of 1½ potatoes at a time for 4 to 5 minutes, until cooked through but not browned. Drain, and spread out on paper towels. Let cool at least 10 minutes (or up to 2 hours). Just before serving, heat oil to 375°F and fry, again by handfuls, for a minute or two, to brown nicely. Remove and drain on paper towels. Salt lightly, and serve at once.

  RICE

  Plain Boiled White Rice

  For 3 cups. Measure 1 cup plain white rice into a heavy-bottomed saucepan; stir in 2 cups cold water, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 to 2 tablespoons butter or good olive oil. Bring to the boil over high heat and stir well; reduce heat to slow simmer, cover pan tightly, and cook undisturbed for 12 minutes—8 minutes for fat Italian Arborio. The rice is done when the liquid is completely absorbed and steam holes are visible on the surface. The rice will be almost tender, with the slightest crunch in the center. Let sit 5 minutes off the heat, covered, to finish cooking. Then fluff with a wooden fork, and correct seasoning.

  VARIATIONS

  BRAISED RICE—RISOTTO (FRENCH STYLE). Sauté ¼ cup of finely minced onion in 2 tablespoons of butter to soften. Stir in 1 cup of rice and cook, stirring with a wooden fork, for 2 to 3 minutes, until grains look milky. Stir in 2 tablespoons dry white French vermouth and 2 cups chicken stock, add 1 imported bay leaf, and bring to simmer. Season lightly. Stir once, lower heat, cover, and cook as for basic boiled rice.

  BRAISED WILD RICE. For 1½ cups rice, making 4 cups cooked, serving 6 to 8. To clean and tenderize the rice, thoroughly wash and drain it, then boil for 10 to 15 minutes in 4 cups of water, until softened but still a little hard at the center. Drain, and wash again in cold water. Then proceed as for the preceding braised rice, but substitute ¼ cup mirepoix or mushroom duxelles for the onions. When tender, sauté in its pan, stirring with a wooden fork, to evaporate moisture and crisp the rice lightly, adding, if you wish, another tablespoon or so of butter.

  DRIED BEANS

  Dried Beans Preliminary—the Quick Soak

  Pick over 1 cup of dried beans, removing any debris, wash thoroughly, and bring to the boil in 3 cups of water. Boil exactly 2 minutes, cover, and set aside for exactly 1 hour. The beans and their liquid are now ready for cooking.

  Open-Pot Bean Cookery

  For 1 cup dried beans, making 3 cups, serving 4 to 6. Add to the preceding beans and their liquid a medium herb bouquet, a peeled medium onion and carrot, and, if you wish, a 2-inch square of blanched salt pork. Season lightly with salt, and simmer, partially covered, for 1 to 1½ hours, or until tender.

  Pressure Cooker Beans

  Using the same ingredients as for the preceding open-pot beans, bring to 15 pounds pressure for exactly 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let pressure go down by itself—10 to 15 minutes.

  Crock-Pot or Slow-Cooker Beans

  No presoaking is necessary. Just put the raw, unsoaked beans and other ingredients into the Crock-Pot at 6 p.m. and turn to “low”; they should be perfectly done the next morning. (Or set them in a covered casserole and bake in a 250°F oven overnight.)

  Getting a laugh out of lobster

  Know where your meat comes from.

  Serve a hearty, dry white wine or a simple red with your bouillabaisse.

  Unmolding the omelet

  Enjoying a talk with Professor Raymond Calvel on making French baguettes

  Spooning up a luscious hollandaise

  Meats, Poultry, and Fish

  “Meats, poultry, and fish—each is unique, but so many of them cook in almost the same way.”

  SAUTÉING

  The quickest and easiest way to cook a ½-inch-thick single-portion size of meat, chicken, or fish is to sauté it, meaning you pat it dry, plop it into a hot pan, and cook it rapidly on one side, then the other, until it is nicely browned and just done. The meat juices caramelize in the pan, and that gives you the basis for your quick and delicious little pan sauce. If the portion is a bit thicker, it simply needs longer cooking, and you cover the pan to finish it off. Different foods demand, of course, slightly different treatments, and we’ll start with the basic sauté, then go on to some of the essential variations.

  FOR A SUCCESSFUL SAUTÉ

  DRY THE FOOD. If the food is damp it will steam rather than brown. Pat it dry it in paper towels, or in some cases season it and dredge in flour just before cooking.

  HEAT THE PAN. Set the pan over high heat, add the butter or oil, and wait until the butter foam is beginning to subside, or until your fat or oil is almost smoking. Then, and only then, add the food. If it is not really hot, the food will not brown.

  DON’T CROWD THE PAN. Be sure there is a little space between pieces of food—about ¼ inch. If the pieces are crowded together, they will steam rather than brown. Don’t fall into the trap of adding too much to your pan. Sauté in 2 or even 3 batches if necessary, or you’ll be sorry.

  THE FRYING PAN. Get yourself a good solid pan, one that will just hold your food and is neither too big nor too small. I am wedded to my trusty all-purpose professional-weight Wearever aluminum nonstick with its 10-inch top diameter, 8-inch bottom, and long handle. I also have the smaller size, 6 inches across, and the larger, 12-inch pan.

  NOTE: This is not a fancy “gourmet” type pan, and you’ll most often find it in a hardware store.

  MASTER RECIPE

  Sautéed Beef Steaks Serves 4

  1 Tbs unsalted butter

  1 tsp light olive oil or vegetable oil—a little more if needed

  4 well-trimmed 5-to-6-ounce beefsteaks ½ inch thick (boneless loin strip, rib, or other)

  Salt and freshly ground pepper

  For the Deglazing Sauce

  1 Tbs minced shallot or scallion

  1 clove garlic, puréed, optional

  ⅔ cup red wine—or ½ cup dry white French vermouth

  ⅓ cup beef or chicken broth

  1 to 2 Tbs unsalted butter

  Set your frying pan over highest heat and swirl in the butter and oil. When the butter foam has almost subsided, rapidly lay in the steaks. Sauté undisturbed for a minute or so, quickly season the surface of the meat with salt and pepper, and turn the steaks. Season the steaks on the exposed sides, and let brown again for a minute or so before testing for doneness.

  WHEN IS IT DONE? Test rapidly and often, since meat can overcook very quickly. Press it with your finger. If it feels squashy, like raw meat, it is very rare. As it cooks it becomes springy—when lightly springy it is medium, and if there is no spring it is well done.

  The Deglazing Sauce. Remove the meat to a hot platter and cover while making the sauce. Tilt the pan and spoon out all but a smidgen of fat, stir in the shallot and garlic with a wooden spoon, and let sauté a moment, then swish in the wine and broth, stirring the coagulated meat juices into the liquid. Let boil rapidly for a few seconds, until reduced to a syrup. Remove pan from heat, toss in the butter, and swirl the pan by its handle to swish the butter into the sauce until it has been absorbed. The sauce will smooth and thicken lightly; you will have but a small spoonful of deliciously concentrated juices per person. Pour over the steaks, and serve.

  VARIATIONS

  VEAL SCALLOPS. Use 5-to-6-ounce veal steaks (slices from the loin or leg) ½ inch thick. Season and brown on both sides in hot butter and oil, as described in the master recipe. Cook to medium—until lightly springy to the touch. Deglaze the pan with minced shallots, white wine, a dash of dry Madeira or port, and a sprinkling of tarragon.

  BONELESS CHICKEN BREASTS. For a quick sauté, I like to remove the skin and pound the breast meat between sheets of plastic wrap to a thickness of ½ inch. Season with salt and pepper, then proceed to the sauté in clarified butter. Cook the breasts about 1 minute per side, until springy to the touch—careful not to ov
ercook, but you must be sure the chicken is cooked to the just-well-done stage—the juices run clear yellow with no tinge of pink. Deglaze the pan as described, with minced shallots, dry white French vermouth, and chicken stock; a sprinkling of tarragon goes nicely in the sauce here.

  SHRIMP IN LEMON AND GARLIC. Sauté 30 “large medium” peeled and deveined raw shrimp in 3 tablespoons olive oil with 1 or 2 large cloves of garlic, minced, and the minced zest (yellow part of peel) of ½ lemon. When the shrimp have curled, in 2 minutes or so, and feel springy, remove from heat and toss with 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, drops of soy sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss again, with 2 tablespoons of fine fresh olive oil and a sprinkling of minced parsley and fresh dill.

  SEA SCALLOPS SAUTÉED WITH GARLIC AND HERBS. For 1½ pounds, serving 6. Cut large scallops in thirds or quarters. Season with salt and pepper and, the moment before cooking, dredge in flour. Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of clarified butter or olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan, and when very hot but not smoking, turn them into the pan. Toss every few seconds, swirling the pan by its handle. As they rapidly begin to brown add a large clove of minced garlic and 1½ tablespoons of minced shallots, then 2 tablespoons of minced fresh parsley. The scallops are done when just springy to the touch. Serve at once.

  JUICE-EXUDING PROBLEMS? The scallops you buy may well have been “plumped” in a saline solution that exudes when the scallops are warmed, making a proper sauté impossible. If you are dealing with a fishmonger, always ask for “dry” scallops. In any case, it’s wise to test them out by briefly heating through 3 or 4 in a dry nonstick frying pan. If liquid exudes, heat all of them by handfuls, drain—saving liquid for fish stock—dry, and then proceed to your sauté but cut down on the normal timing.

  HAMBURGERS. Sometimes I like my hamburgers perfectly plain and at other times I want to flavor them. In any case, form the meat rather loosely into 5-ounce patties—about ½ inch thick for quick cooking.

  Plain Hamburgers. If I’m to panfry them I rub the pan itself with a little vegetable oil, heat it to almost smoking, and sauté the hamburgers about 1 minute on each side. I give them the finger test, as in the master recipe—I like mine medium rare, when they are barely beginning to take on a little spring.

  Rather than pan-frying plain hamburgers, however, I do recommend the stovetop grill pan with its ridged interior. Oil it lightly, heat it until almost smoking, and on go the hamburgers. The cooking fat runs out of the meat and off the ridges into the valleys.

  Flavored Hamburgers. For 4 hamburgers, fold into the meat 1 grated medium-size onion, salt and pepper, 3 tablespoons sour cream, and ½ teaspoon mixed herbs such as Italian or Provençal seasoning. Just before sautéing, turn the burgers in flour and shake off excess. Sauté on both sides in hot oil and make the sauce as directed in the master recipe.

  TO DREDGE OR NOT TO DREDGE

  Dredging the food in a light coating of flour before the sauté helps to hold the meat together and also gives it a light protective crusting. You will have little or no caramelization in the pan, and as to sauce you may simply want to make a browned butter, as for the fish fillets meunière below. Or, if you have a thicker piece of meat that needs further cooking, let it simmer in the wine and broth, and the flour coating will give you a lightly thickened sauce.

  Calf’s Liver and Onions

  For 4 slices of liver, 5 ounces each and ⅜ inch thick. Slowly sauté 3 cups sliced onions in the butter and oil, and when tender and translucent raise the heat and let the onions brown lightly for several minutes. Remove them to a side dish. Just before sautéing it, season the liver and dredge lightly in flour, shaking off excess. Add a little more butter and oil to the pan, heat until the butter foam begins to subside, and sauté the liver for less than a minute on each side—it will get further cooking and is to be served medium rare. Remove the pan from heat, spread the cooked onions over the liver, and pour in ½ cup of red wine or dry white French vermouth. Blend ½ tablespoon of Dijon-type mustard into ¼ cup chicken broth, and blend into the rest of the liquid. Set over moderate heat and bring to the slow boil, basting the liver and onions with the sauce for a minute or two. The liver is done when just lightly springy to the touch.

  Fillets of Sole Meunière

  For 4 fillets up to ½ inch thick and 5 to 6 ounces each. Just before sautéing, season the fish with salt and pepper and turn in flour, shaking off excess. Heat the butter and oil in the pan until the butter foam begins to subside, lay in the fillets, and sauté for about a minute on each side, just until the fish begins to take on a light springiness to the touch. Do not overcook—if the fish flakes, it is overdone. Remove to a hot platter, and sprinkle a tablespoon of minced fresh parsley over the fish. Rapidly wipe the pan clean with paper towels (so flour residue will not speckle the butter to come—or use a fresh pan). Heat 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in the pan, swishing it about and letting it brown lightly. Remove the pan from heat, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and, if you wish, toss in a spoonful of capers before spooning the hot butter over the fish.

  Thick Pork Chops

  When your meat is thicker than ½ inch, it takes longer to cook, which means you could be burning the outside before the inside is done. You have two choices. Either brown the meat on both sides and set it in its pan in a 375°F oven to finish cooking—which works very well for steaks, chops, and fish—or brown the meat over high heat, then cover-cook it to finish more slowly, as it simmers in its sauce.

  For 4 pork chops about 1¼ inches thick. First give them a ½-hour dry marinade by rubbing in a little salt and pepper, allspice, and dried thyme. Dry them off and brown them on both sides. Then pour around them ¾ cup of dry white vermouth, ½ cup of chicken broth, and 2 tablespoons of minced shallots. Cover the pan and let simmer slowly, basting rapidly every 4 to 5 minutes, until the meat is done to the medium stage—faintly pink. The best way to test is to make a slit in one chop close to the bone. Remove the chops to hot plates, and spoon excess fat out of the pan. Reduce the liquid to a syrup and pour over the chops.

  Thick Veal Chops

  Cook them the same way as the pork chops, but omit the spice marinade. A bit of tarragon would go nicely in the simmering liquid, and it will want a swish of butter after it has reduced to its sauce consistency.

  Sauté of Beef Tenderloin

  Cut the meat into 2-inch chunks—you will probably want 3 chunks, or about 6 ounces, per serving. After drying them off, toss and brown them on all sides for several minutes in hot butter and oil, until beginning to take on springiness to the touch—they should remain rare. Remove to a side dish and season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup of dry Madeira or port, and pour in ½ cup of heavy cream. Return the meat to the pan. Bring to the simmer for a very few minutes, basting meat with the sauce as it thickens lightly. Serve on hot plates and decorate with sprigs of fresh parsley.

  Sauté of Pork Tenderloin

  Use the same system for pork tenderloin, but give it the dry-spice marinade suggested for the thick pork chops above. You may wish to omit the cream finish, using chicken stock instead.

  Chicken Sautéed in White Wine

  For 2½ to 3 pounds of chicken parts, serving 4 people. Brown the chicken pieces on all sides in hot butter and oil. Remove the wings and breasts, which need less cooking. Season legs and thighs, cover the pan, and continue to cook over moderate heat for another 10 minutes, turning once. Season the white meat and return it to the pan. Stir in 1 tablespoon minced shallots, ⅔ cup chicken broth, ½ cup dry white wine or vermouth, and ½ teaspoon dried tarragon or Provençal herbs (see box below). Cover the pan and cook at the slow simmer 5 to 6 minutes more, turn, and baste the chicken pieces with pan juices, then continue cooking until tender—about 25 minutes in all. Remove the chicken to a hot platter. Spoon off fat and boil down cooking liquid to reduce by half. Off heat, swirl in the enrichment butter, pour the sauce over the chicken, and serve.

  WHEN IS THE CHICKEN DONE? The flesh of the drumsticks and
thighs is just tender when pressed. The juices run clear yellow when the meat is pricked deeply—if there’s no juice, you have overcooked it, but the chicken must be cooked through.

  VARIATIONS

  A PROVENÇAL ADDITION. After returning the white meat to the pan, stir in 2 cups of fresh tomato pulp, and continue with the recipe. When you have removed the chicken, boil down the sauce until thick and fine, and carefully correct seasoning.

  CHICKEN PIPÉRADE. In a separate pan, sauté 1 cup of sliced onions in olive oil until tender then add 1 cup each of sliced red and green pepper and a large clove of garlic, minced. Sauté together for a moment. Add to the chicken when you return the white meat.

  BONNE FEMME—ONIONS, POTATOES, AND MUSHROOMS. After removing the white meat, add to the dark meat 3 or 4 medium Yukon-gold potatoes, quartered and blanched, and 8 to 12 small white onions. Continue with the recipe. After returning the white meat, fold in 1½ cups of previously sautéed quartered fresh mushrooms, and finish the recipe.

  PROVENÇAL HERBS—HERBES DE PROVENCE.—A mixture of ground dried herbs, such as bay, thyme, rosemary, and oregano.