Chicken liver paté: #SundaySupper is home for the holidays

Every family has its own holiday traditions. For example, my husband and I have had a fake banana on our Christmas tree since we first started living together more than 20 years ago. It's a little cracked now, but it still goes up on the tree every year. Another tradition we have is to buy one new ornament per family member per year. As time has passed, we have collected lots of fun things, which we love to unpack every year and exclaim, "Oh yeah, I remember that one! And this is one of my favorites. And so is this!" The tree gets more and more crowded every year, and that's just how I like it.

Of course, many of those traditions revolve around special foods. As a child, one of the holiday foods I looked forward more to anything else was my mother's chicken liver paté. It is still one of the best things I have ever tasted, even though it's hideous to look at. The first time I saw my mother making the stuff, I said it looked yucky. She told me, "Sometimes the best-tasting food is the ugliest. Try it before you make any judgments." So, with great trepidation, I did. And loved it.

Unfortunately, this post is not about her recipe, which is a secret process and recipe she invented and guards as though it could topple regimes. I have made attempts to duplicate it, trying several recipes that require baking in the oven in a pan of water (which is how my mother's recipe is made), but, although good, they just aren't worth the effort. In the last few years, I have turned instead to this much simpler recipe, which was adapted from a recipe in Allt om Mat, a Swedish food magazine. It's delicious, easily doubled (or even tripled), and easy to freeze. I always make a huge batch of the stuff and freeze about half. It never lasts long enough. It's especially good served with some sweet gherkins, but simply slathered on bread or crackers works just fine. Some of the butter may separate out during cooling, but you can mix it right back in to the paté. (Note that you will need a food processor or blender to make this.)

Ingredients

• 1 lb frozen chicken livers, partially defrosted
• 5 slices smoked bacon, diced
• 1 stick butter (4 oz)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley
• 1/2 Tbsp dried thyme
• 1-2 Tbsp brandy (optional)

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a deep pan or a large pot over medium-low heat. 
2. Add the diced bacon and onions and let the onions soften in the butter for about 10 minutes. (Keep the heat low to medium. You don't want the onions or the bacon to brown.)
3. Roughly cut the partially defrosted chicken livers into pieces that are about an inch in size. Add the livers to the onions, butter, and bacon in the pan. Add salt, herbs, and brandy (if using). 
4. Bring the mixture to a slow simmer and then let it simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. 
5. Let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes. Then blend it until very smooth in a food processor or blender. (Let the machine run for a good, long time so that the mix is evenly smooth.)
6. Taste the paté for seasoning. Add salt if needed while the mix is still hot and liquid.  
7. Pour the mixture into containers to chill. It will set up on cooling. Spread the paté on bread or crackers and enjoy. 

This week, #SundaySupper is sharing all kinds of special family treats for the holidays. Check out all the goodies and don't forget to participate in the chat on Twitter by following the hashtag #SundaySupper at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, 12/23/12. Also feel free to share your favorite holiday recipe on the #SundaySupper Pinterest board. 

Breakfast

• Eggs Benedict by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Holiday Cream Cheese Tea Ring by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Orange Refrigerator Rolls by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake by Small Wallet Big Appetite

Appetizers & Snacks

• Chicken Liver Paté by Tora’s Real Food
• Bindaetteok {Mung Bean Pancakes} by Kimchi Mom
• Crab and Asparagus Soup by The Urban Mrs.

Sides

• Potato Salad {Schwaebischer Kartoffelsalat} by Galactopdx
• Italian Orange Salad by Shockingly Delicious
• Sweet Potato Casserole by Magnolia Days
• Carrots au gratin by Juanitas Cocina

Main Dishes

• Char Siu Bao – Chinese Roast Pork Buns by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Savory Crepe Cake by Vintage Kitchen
• West Indian Curried Goat by The ROXX Box
• Pot Cheese and Potato Cheese Pierogies by Cupcakes and Kale Chips
• Seafood Gumbo and Grilled Oysters: A Louisiana Christmas Tradition by the Catholic Foodie
• Mom’s Paella by What Smells So Good?
• Portuguese-Inspired Chorizo Crown Pork Roast by Family Foodie
• Dorie’s Chicken in a Pot by Gotta Get Baked
• New Year’s Eve Buckwheat Noodles with Mochi by The Ninja Baker
• Mile High Lasagna by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Crab Cakes for Christmas Eve by Daddy Knows Less

Desserts

• Pizzelles {Italian Wafer Cookies} by Chocolate Moosey
• Fudge by Dinner Dishes and Desserts
• Crescent Cookies by Cookistry
• Christmas Stollen by Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
• Pfeffernussen by The Foodie Army Wife
• Creme De Menthe Cake by I Run for Wine
• Panettone Bread Pudding by the Country Girl in the Village
• Spiced Gingerbread Gooey Butter Cake | A twist on a St. Louis Favorite by Daily Dish Recipes
• Chocolate Gingerbread Cake with Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting by Crispy Bits and Burnt Ends
• Jamaican Christmas Pudding by Lovely Pantry
• White Chocolate Cranberry Santa Cookies by Mooshu Jenne
• Christmas Tree Cookies by Damn Delicious
• Old Fashioned Lady Fingers {Creamhorns} by The Meltaways
• Rose Milk Almond Falooda {Indian Dessert Drink} by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz

Drinks

• Wine Pairings by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• Cinnamon Infused Hot Chocolate with Southern Comfort Whipped Cream by Mama Mommy Mom

The posts are more than recipes. They are also wonderful stories of holidays and traditions. Please take the time to visit and read each heartwarming one.

Pink lemon cupcakes: The trouble with color (and a heartbreaking baby story)

My little boy turned six this week. It's hard to believe so much time has passed since those first terrifying days when he was a helpless floppy thing with a neck too weak to keep his head upright, soft spots in his skull, and an appetite I could barely keep up with. Now he's his own person, becoming more himself and more independent every day, which is great, but sometimes I miss him wanting to be with us. Other times I sigh with relief that I can just sit back and watch him be himself.

No. I must stop here. Pretending that the terror of those first days was solely because he was a helpless baby and I didn't know how to take care of helpless little babies is nowhere near the whole truth. There's more to the story. 

The Boo (nicknamed for scaring us so) was born with Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN). It means his blood didn't flow the right direction, and he was at imminent risk of death from lack of oxygen from the moment he was born.

We were not prepared for trouble. My pregnancy had been just about perfect. Every test had gone well. So when the doctors and nurses lifted him over to the warming table, and I could hear him struggling and the quiet, concerned, intense murmur, I could tell something wasn't right, but I was too exhausted and torn up to understand. I was just waiting to see my boy. Instead, they whisked him away to the NICU, and I didn't get to see him at all. 

I don't remember much else about that day. I was stitched up. They tried to get me in a wheelchair to go and see the Boo in the NICU, but I passed out cold (blood loss or meds? I have no idea). Mike went back and forth between me and the NICU, watching over us both, doing his best to take care of us, understand what was happening, and translate medical speak into English for us laypeople.  

I think a day passed like this. I spent time learning how to pump milk, trying to eat well, and receiving lots of visitors, and Mike went back and forth, back and forth, relaying information, keeping us together. He brought me a picture of the Boo's ear; it was all he could see among the tubes and wires, and it was perfect.

A little over 24 hours after the Boo was born, I was finally able to sit upright in the wheelchair and make it to the NICU to see my baby. He was beautiful and heartbreaking. We weren't allowed to touch him or speak loudly around him. Any stimulation at all meant that his blood oxygen level would go down, so we had to keep our distance and pour love onto him through air and glass. 

By the second night, Mike had been awake for more than 48 hours. At two in the morning, it seemed as though the Boo was finally beginning to stabilize, so Mike lay down on the couch in my recovery room and fell asleep. Two hours later, I was still semi-awake when the doctors came in quietly to tell us that things were no longer going well. The Boo would have to be transferred to another hospital with more advanced equipment, specifically the ability to provide treatment with inhaled nitric oxide and an ECMO machine (a kind of bypass machine that takes blood out of the body, oxygenates it, and then passes it back into the body). I was wheeled down to the NICU with Mike, and we sat and watched as a team of medical personnel prepared to move our little baby into a plastic box on a gurney (a device they called the "Spaceship") and transfer him to Georgetown Hospital in Washington, DC.

I will never adequately describe the grief of sitting in that wheelchair, in that dark, night-quiet hospital corridor watching skilled, concerned, caring people preparing to take my son away. A cold, black pit had opened in my chest and would never close. I could not stop weeping. When I heard the siren as the ambulance left, I wept more. I wept every time I heard an ambulance for a few years. 

I couldn't go to Georgetown that night, but we decided Mike had to go while I stayed and prepared to leave Manassas Hospital the next day. I spent the day pumping milk, eating, and trying to get on my feet long enough to shuffle down the hall, a prerequisite for release. In late afternoon, I was released, and my parents drove me downtown.

What followed was a desperate search for food and a cold, miserable night in a guest room at Georgetown. By the time I got to the hospital, the cafeteria was closed, so we had to order Chinese to be delivered to the emergency room. We slept on a bare mattress on the floor. Mike's glasses broke during the night. The next morning, we decided this was no place for me to stay and recover and gave up the guest room. Our plan was that I would visit during the day, and my brother (who had immediately booked a ticket from Sweden on hearing of our troubles) would drive me home to rest every afternoon, while Mike stayed until late in the evening.

And so the next few weeks passed. Mike sat and watched our boy's saturation rate like a hawk for 10 days. For him, every dip in the numbers was a slash to the heart, a threat that our son would die. The one night I wasn't there because I was too sick and weak to make it, the doctors wheeled out the ECMO machine (an invasive procedure that can leave permanent scars) and then decided against it. I was dazed, in shock, and on pain medication, trying to maintain a schedule of pumping milk and stacking up bags of it in the hospital refrigerator until the day when the Boo would be able to start drinking. 

Then came a turning point. One night, while I was doing my two a.m. pump, and Mike was calling the hospital to check on our boy, the nurse told Mike that the little guy had extubated himself. (She had a hilarious way of saying this, which left us laughing in hysterics.) The boy was done. Annoyed with the stuff stuck down his throat, he just spit it right up. As my sister-in-law commented later, "Only two weeks old, and already rebellious and addicted to drugs." (To save his life, the doctors had had to administer a lot of drugs to keep him sedated and ensure his blood flowed in the right direction. We had to wean him from the addiction by administering opium for several weeks, but that's another story.)

After 29 days, we finally got to bring our boy home. Those 29 days of fear and grief were the worst of my life, and they left damage that took a long time to undo. But he survived. And now the earth has traveled around the sun six times since the day when he first arrived, so it's time for a treat.

           

This post was supposed to be about the cupcakes I made for his birthday celebration at school, but obviously, I got a little off track. My original idea was to make cupcakes that look like toadstools, a fun thing to celebrate both his birthday and Halloween. Sadly, the natural food dyes I purchased were not up to the task of turning my lemony frosting red, just pink. Even though I added ALL the dyes, red, blue, and yellow, the frosting remained stubbornly pink. It's a pretty pink, but I still feel a little funny about showing up with pink cupcakes to my boy's birthday party. At least the taste made up for it (and I gussied them up with some sprinkles, although my decorating skills are seriously lacking). 

So now, finally, here is the recipe for pink lemon cupcakes and some tips for coloring foods. This batch was enough for 24 mini cupcakes and 12 regular cupcakes, so it would probably be enough for 24 regular cupcakes or 48 minis (if you have two pans, which I didn't, thus the mixed sizes). 

Ingredients

FOR THE CUPCAKES*

• 1 and 1/3 cup PLUS 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 and 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 and 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup canola or other mild vegetable oil 
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• zest from one lemon (don't forget to wash the lemon carefully)
• 1 cup boiling water

FOR THE FROSTING**

• 12 Tbsps (1 and 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 4 Tbsps lemon juice (make sure to strain out any seeds)
• zest from one lemon
• 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• red food coloring (optional)

Directions

FOR THE CUPCAKES

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place bake cups in the wells of your cupcake pan(s). 
2. In a large bowl (your stand mixer bowl if you have one; it will make this recipe so much easier), mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and lemon zest. Use the paddle attachment at low speed to mix it all together evenly. Then add the sugar and mix at low speed until evenly distributed. 
3. Add the oil and mix at low speed until the mixture is crumbly, sort of like sand. 
4. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract until blended. Add the egg mixture to the flour-oil mixture at low speed until blended. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides if needed. 
5. Finally, with the mixer at slow speed, add the boiling water in a slow, even flow until the batter is just mixed and smooth. Once again, scrape down the sides as needed. 
6. Fill the bake cups about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes for regular cupcakes and 30-35 cupcakes for mini cupcakes. They should be lightly golden-brown on top when they are done. Let them cool in the cupcake pans. (Putting the pans on a rack would probably aid cooling.)

FOR THE FROSTING

1. Sift the powdered sugar into a stand mixer bowl if it has lumps.
2. Add the remaining ingredients (softened butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract) to the bowl. Start mixing slowly with the paddle attachment until the powdered sugar is just incorporated into the butter to avoid getting a cloud of sugar. Then beat on high speed until the frosting is white and fluffy.
3. Beat in drops of red food coloring until you get the shade of pink you want. 

After making this recipe, I asked my friend Cheryll of Decker'ated Delights who makes beautiful cakes and cookies how to get a good shade of red. She shared these tips:

1. Don't use food coloring. 
2. Use the paste. Apparently AmeriColor works well and doesn't leave a funny aftertaste. (Obviously, this doesn't quite fit with my real food ideals, so I will probably have to live with pinks and lavenders for now, but I wanted to pass on the information in case you want to try it.)  
3. Tint with a light pink first for a vibrant red. (Or light brown if you want a deeper red.)
4. Then tint with red. 

* Adapted from the Devilishly Moist Chocolate Cake recipe in Tish Boyle's The Cake Book.

** Adapted from the Creamy Frosting recipe in Williams-Sonoma's The Kid's Cookbook. 

Tarragon-lemon roasted chicken

I've got a thriving tarragon plant in the garden. It's become a bit of a mess, as tarragon tends to do. So, I thought I would switch up my usual roast chicken routine and add a bit of tarragon to the mix. If you've never had tarragon, it's an intense herb with a slight licorice-y flavor and a bit of a tingle on the tongue. But even if you don't like licorice, try it anyway, something magical happens when you combine it into a savory dish. Tarragon is the herb used to flavor bearnaise sauce, which is my all-time favorite sauce. I plan to try to harvest the rest of my tarragon in a few weeks, chop it up, and freeze in cubes. (Or I may just make an enormous batch of tarragon butter and freeze that. That's if I don't just eat it all at once, of course.)

Roasting a whole chicken is definitely a time-consuming task, but it's well worth it, and you'll be able to get at least two to four or more meals out of it (meal 1: eat chicken with roasted potatoes; meal 2: make chicken sandwiches; meal 3: pick most of the chicken off the bones and make chicken salad for sandwiches; meal 4: save the carcass in the freezer to make stock another time).

Here's how to do it.

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees (Fahrenheit). Butter a deep baking dish. Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water and pat it dry with paper towels.

 
Step 2: Remove leaves from about three sprigs of tarragon and chop them finely. Blend the chopped leaves into about half a cup of softened, salted butter.

Step 3: Salt and pepper the chicken liberally, on both sides and inside the cavity of the chicken.

Step 4: Wash a lemon well. Squeeze out the juice and set it aside. Stuff the remaining lemon halves inside the chicken.

Step 5: Use 2-3 tablespoons of tarragon butter (set the rest aside for another use) and smear it under the skin of the chicken. (To loosen the skin, gently push fingers underneath and detach it from the meat. By the way, this is also a great technique for flavoring your Thanksgiving turkey.)

Step 6: Place the chicken in the buttered baking dish and add about two cups of water to the bottom of the dish to keep the chicken from drying out. (Feel free to pat a little more butter on top of the chicken if you are so inclined.) Slide the pan into the oven and set your timer for 30 minutes.

Step 7: After 30 minutes, take the chicken out of the oven. Sprinkle half of the reserved lemon juice over the top of the chicken. Then turn the chicken over and sprinkle the remaining lemon juice over the other side. (My only advice for turning the chicken? Use two large spoons or spatulas and be careful. It's not an elegant operation.)

Step 8: From this point on, turn the chicken every 20 minutes or so. Make sure to spend 2-3 minutes spooning the liquid in the baking dish over both sides of the chicken. The chicken will be done in about 2 hours and 15 minutes (to check for doneness, use either a thermometer or stick a fork or knife into the thickest part of the thigh, if the juices run clear, the chicken is fully cooked).

Step 9: When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving it. In the meantime, you can make gravy with the pan drippings if you so desire.

Simple pan gravy:

1. Pour the pan drippings into a separator cup and let the drippings divide into two layers. (The top layer will be the fat layer.) Spoon off about 3 Tbsps of the fat and add it to a pan. 
2. Add 3 Tbsps flour to the hot fat. Let the mixture cook for a couple of minutes. 
3. Whisking continuously, add the liquid part of the pan drippings (should be about 1 to 1.5 cups) to the fat-flour mixture in the pan. Let the gravy thicken over medium heat. If the gravy is too salty, add a little cream or half-and-half. 

Bacon and Cheese Quiche for #SundaySupper and #CookForJulia

Who doesn't love Julia Child? Her crazy high-pitched voice, her fondness for butter and wine, and above all her enthusiasm for life and food. She was a great light and a great inspiration, especially for people who love food and for late bloomers.

Because I am so fond of her, I knew I had to participate in this week's #SundaySupper event, despite a nasty flu-like bug that has left me aching and feverish. This week's #SundaySupper is all about honoring Julia Child, who would have turned 100 years on August 15, by cooking some of her recipes. The last words of her introduction to The Way to Cook express some of the ideals of the #SundaySupper group: "The pleasures of the table--that lovely old-fashioned phrase--depict food as an art form, as a delightful part of civilized life. In spite of food fads, fitness programs, and health concerns, we must never lose sight of a beautifully conceived meal."

After flipping through my copy of The Way to Cook, I decided to make a bacon and cheese quiche with a scratch-made crust, which may have been a little ambitious given the fever I've had all day, but hey, it's Julia, you know? How could I possibly just go and buy a crust?

This is the first pastry crust I have ever made, and I am happy to have finally tried it. I feel capable of making more pies, tarts, and quiches now (honestly, if I didn't have a bunch of book chapters to clean up for a client, I'd do it again tomorrow). Let me be clear, this wasn't easy. Making a good pie or tart crust is a difficult, fiddly business. But it's remarkably satisfying. And it tastes good and buttery, and it's nice, crisp, and flaky. The base recipe is also easy to repurpose for savory or sweet uses, so if you learn to make this one crust, you can make a lot of different tasty treats.  

For the quiche shells, I deviated only in one respect from Julia's recipe. In place of the vegetable shortening required in the recipe (which I don't feel comfortable using because it's a mystery ingredient to me), I used lard. (I was so excited to find a source for local, grass-fed pork lard at the farmers market this morning; I know, call me a food nerd, it'll make me happy.) Let me explain a little about lard. Before the invention of hydrogenation, "shortening" was equivalent to "lard," which is white pork fat. Lard doesn't taste porky at all, it is a clean fat that is solid at room temperature (and very easy to make yourself). It prevents the formation of long strings of gluten, which means that your dough will be tender, not chewy like bread. If you don't want to use lard, just swap it out with vegetable shortening.

OK, so let's get to work. (And don't forget to skip to the end of this post and check out all the other tasty recipes and blog posts that are part of today's #SundaySupper #CookForJulia event!)

Ingredients for the Quiche Shells (Butter Dough)

• 1 1/2 cups (7.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (2.5 ounces) cake flour
• 1 tsp salt (for savory tarts) OR 1/4 tsp salt and 2 Tbsps sugar (for sweet tarts)
• 6 ounces chilled, unsalted butter, diced
• 2 ounces chilled lard (or vegetable shortening, if you must)
• 1/2 cup ice water (plus a few extra drops as needed)

You will also need two 9-inch tart pans (or you can use two 9-inch pie pans), plastic wrap, tin foil, pie weights (or dried beans), and extra butter.

Instructions for the Quiche Shells

I recommend making the shells at least a day before you plan to make the quiche. You can also shape the crust in the tart pan and freeze it for another day.

First, mix together the dry ingredients: the flours and the salt (or the flours, the salt, and the sugar).

Then, add the flour mixture and the diced cold butter to a food processor. Pulse the flour and the butter about 5 to 6 times (don't overwork this). Next, with the food processor running, add the lard (or shortening). Then add the ice water and pulse again about 5 to 6 times. The mass in the bowl should be loose and clumpy.

If you pick up a fist-sized clump of the dough, it should just come together. If it's too dry, add a few more drops of water. 

Turn the loose, clumpy mass out onto a baking board (if you have a marble board, now's the time to use it). Just barely mash it all together and make two flat discs. (Keep in mind that you want to work this dough as little as possible.) Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least two hours and up to two days to let the gluten relax.

After you've let the dough chill, roll it out on a floured board. (Keep the dough cold. If it gets too soft to work with, just chill the dough again for 20-30 minutes and start over.) Roll it out to a diameter of about 12 inches (about an inch larger than the tart pan). Then roll the dough onto the rolling pin. Butter the tart pan.  

  

Gently roll the dough on top of the buttered tart pan. 

Push down the extra dough to thicken the side walls of the tarts. Cut off any excess dough by rolling the rolling pin over the top of the tart pan. Use any extra dough to fill holes as needed. Prick the dough all over and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (Here's where you can freeze the dough to bake it another time.)

When it's time to bake the shells, preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a sheet of tinfoil and place it butter side down on top of the raw dough. Place either dried beans or pie weights on top of the foil, filling the pan. Slide the pan into the oven. 

After 15 minutes, take the pan out of the oven (be very careful if you have a pan with a bottom that separates from the ring). Remove the pie weights or beans and the tinfoil. Prick the dough again and slide back into the oven for another 4 to 5 minutes to get some nice color. 

   

After you take the shells out of the oven, let them cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then remove the pan and let them cool completely. 

Ingredients for the Bacon and Cheese Quiche Filling

(This is enough for one shell. Feel free to use the second shell for another filling, or wrap it carefully and freeze it.)

• 6 slices bacon, sliced into pieces (of course, I used the Haskins' incomparable bacon) 
• 1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese (cheddar would be good too)
• salt, pepper, grated nutmeg
• 3 large eggs plus enough heavy cream, half and half, or milk to get 1 1/2 cups

Instructions for Assembling and Baking the Bacon and Cheese Quiche

Place the shell back into the tart ring or pan for stability. 

Cook the bacon until it's crispy and let it drain a bit on paper towels. Line the bottom of the quiche shell with the pieces of bacon. 

Sprinkle all but a tablespoon of the cheese on top of the bacon. 

Mix the eggs with the cream, half and half, or milk (just enough to break up the yolks and disperse them evenly throughout the custard). Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. I also added some fresh thyme from the garden. Pour the eggs into the shell and sprinkle the reserved cheese on top. Slide into the oven for 30-35 minutes until the eggs have puffed and browned.  

Let the cooked quiche cool on a rack for a little while, slice, and enjoy.

You can find other quiche fillings and lots of other great Julia Child recipes at these #SundaySupper blogs:

#CookForJulia Breakfast

Râpée Morvandelle by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings 

Croissants by Cookistry 

#CookForJulia Lunch

Tuna Salad Nicoise by Magnolia Days 

Blood Orange, Walnut, and Rocket Salad by Granny’s Down Home Southern Cooking 

Croque Monsieur by Webicurean

Spinach and Cream Cheese Pancakes by Happy Baking Days 

Julia’s Chicken Salad by My Trials in the Kitchen 

Pissaladière Niçoise (Onion Tart with Anchovies and Black Olives) by The Wimpy Vegetarian

Provencal Tomato Quiche by Are you hungry?

Quiche Lorraine  Spoon and Saucer 

#CookForJulia Dinner

Bouillabaisse by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen 

Boeuf Bourguignon by Chelsea’s Culinary Indulgence

Orecchiette Con Broccoli Di Rape and Sausages by Doggie at the Dinner Table 

Boeuf Bourguignon by Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks

Veal Stew with Onions and Mushrooms with Baked Cucumbers and Boiled Potatoes (Blanquette de veau a l’ancienne with concombres au buerre) by Kimchi Mom

Salmon en Papillote by Girlichef

Poached salmon with cucumber sauce by Katherine Martinelli

Lobster Souffle and Deviled Chicken by Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends 

Roasted Chicken with Julia’s Mustard Marinade by The Meltaways

Wild Mushroom and Herb Stuffed Chicken by Mama Mommy Mom

Puree of White Beans with Garlic and Herbs (Brandade á la Soissonaise) by Avocado Pesto

Poulet au Porto by Family Foodie 

#CookForJulia Sides

Hollondaise over Blanched Asparagus by The Little Ferraro Kitchen

Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and Garlic (Gratin Dauphinois) by Home Cooking Memories 

Ratatouille by Basic N Delicious 

French-style country pate by There and Back Again

White Bean Dip with Homemade Tortilla Chips by Momma’s Meals

Oeufs à la Diable by What Smells So Good?

Soubise by The Weekend Gourmet

Ratatouille by Cupcakes and Kale Chips

#CookForJulia Desserts

Cream Cheese and Lemon Flan by Juanita’s Cocina

Strawberry Sherbert in Cooky Cups by Cravings of a Lunatic

Creme Brulee by Wine Everyday

Mousseline Au Chocolat by Small Wallet Big Appetite

Peach Tarte Tatin by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Cinnamon Toast Flan by Vintage Kitchen Notes

Dark Chocolate Crepes by Family Spice

Crepes Fines Sucrees by Mangoes and Chutney

Pommes Rosemarie:Apples Rosie by The Daily Dish Recipes

Espresso Soufflé by Chocolate Moosey

Best Ever Brownies by In the Kitchen with Audrey

Orange-Almond Jelly Roll Cake by Mrs. Mama Hen

Orange Spongecake Cupcakes by Mama’s Blissful Bites

Orange Mousse with Greek Yogurt by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz

Wine Pairings: Relishing Food and Wine; Thanks to Julia Child! by ENOFYLZ

The fun starts every week at 3:00pm ET by showcasing fabulous recipes. At 7:00 pm ET, we will start our live chat. Join us on Twitter by using hashtag #Sundaysupper or using Tweetchat. See you there!

Salmon with leek-mustard sauce and pistachio topping

Surely it can't have escaped you by now that I love color. I go to an art supply store, and the tubes of paint and their glorious colors are as seductive as candy to a child. When I paint, I build up layer upon layer, trying to create a deep, jewel-like finish that gleams and contains mysteries, like the clear surface of a pond.

Food often seduces me with its color too. Take the Copper River sockeye salmon I got yesterday. The gleaming, translucent flesh with that beautiful pink-orange color. I wish I could paint it, or capture it in a tube. Barring that, I suppose I have to eat it. I was seduced into buying it, even though I had not originally planned to eat so much seafood this week.

 
That glorious pink-orange color pairs especially well with the pale green of leeks and pistachios. That's not why the flavors of this dish work so well (and boy do they), but it does make a pretty dish. As for flavor, how do I describe it? The mellow cream and sweet leeks temper the assertiveness of the mustard, which works especially well with the fattiness of the salmon. Then there's the crunch of the nuts to provide a little texture. It's just a glorious bite. Simply take my word for it and try it.

It's a simple dish, but attend carefully to the fish so that you don't overcook it. Watch the times.

Ingredients

• 2 8-oz fillets of Copper River sockeye salmon (you will probably get great results with any kind of salmon that's in season, but that's what was available to me)
• 2-3 Tbsps unsalted butter
• 3 leeks, cleaned,* sliced thinly
• 2 teaspoons whole-grain Dijon mustard (or more to taste)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• salt and ground white pepper
• a large handful of salted pistachios, chopped (if you have the time and inclination, toast them in a hot pan for a few minutes before chopping them)

Instructions

1. Basically any fast-cooking recipe requires that you prepare all your ingredients in advance, and this is definitely a fast-cooking recipe. (With slower foods, like soups and stews, you can keep cutting vegetables while the onions are softening or the meat is browning.) So, the first step is to prepare all your ingredients. Surprise! Bet you didn't see that coming. 
2. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of the salmon fillets. 
3. Melt butter in a pan (I used my beloved cast-iron skillet) over medium heat. Let it foam plenty and just start to brown. 
4. Place the salmon fillets in the pan, flesh side down (because they are going into a clean pan, they will look nicer that way). Let them cook without any fussing around for 3 minutes. 
5. Turn the fillets over and let them cook skin-side down for 2 minutes. Spoon some of the hot butter over the top of the fillets a few times.  
6. Remove the fillets from the pan, place them on a plate, and tent the plate with tinfoil to keep the fish warm. Set it aside for now. 
7. Add the leeks to the pan. Let them cook until they are soft, about 5-10 minutes. Do not let them burn. (Don't let anything burn, really.)
8. Add the heavy cream and the mustard to the pan. Combine the leeks, mustard, and cream. Let the cream thicken up a bit (this should only take a minute or two). Salt and pepper to taste. Taste the sauce. Add a little more mustard if you think the sauce lacks bite (but do it in small increments so you don't ruin it). Also, if you have any juices on the salmon plate, add those back into the sauce.
9. To serve, place a fillet on a plate, spoon the leek-mustard sauce over the salmon, and sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the top. Serve it with something simple like boiled potatoes or rice that you can use to absorb extra sauce.  

* Because of the way that leeks grow, they often have a lot of dirt and grit in them. To clean them properly, strip off the outer leaf or two of the leek and cut the bottom and the top off (leave about an inch of green). You will end up with a long, mostly whitish cylinder. Cut the cylinder down its entire length. Then rinse all the inside layers of the leek thoroughly under cold running water. Finally, slice the half cylinders into little half moons.

Purple blueberry cake: Baking with my son (and Legos) for #SundaySupper

OK, so the title should probably be lavender or perhaps lilac blueberry cake, but it's a work in progress and a deep, rich purple is the goal. I am aiming for a purple like Juana Cocina's blueberry sour cream ice cream, which is out of control gorgeous. And I am aiming to create rich color without using artificial food dyes. But the spectacular color was not to be this time. Oh well. My five (and a half) year old son and I had fun baking this cake. So did some of his Lego friends, especially Captain America who defended us from the flour monster.

This week's theme for #SundaySupper is kids in the kitchen. Getting kids in the kitchen early and getting them involved in making some of their own food is a great idea. It builds basic cooking skills like measuring, reading recipes (my boy isn't there yet, but he will be), some basic math, some nutritional information, but more important it creates a sense of comfort and confidence in a kitchen, like this is a place that you know and feel at home in. The best way to control what and how much you eat is to learn to cook it yourself. Without the confidence built from familiarity, the kitchen can seem intimidating. (I've written about fear in the kitchen before.) Thankfully, my boy won't grow up with that fear. 

I asked him what he wanted to make for this blog post, and he decided he wanted to make a cake and frosting from Williams-Sonoma's The Kid's Cookbook, which has lots of great somewhat simplified recipes (good for adults too) that are almost all made from scratch (which is really important to me; I am afraid I don't much care for "recipes" that start with processed, packaged foods). From the basic recipes in there, we modified them a bit to try to get color into the cake and the frosting. Like I said, I am not ecstatic about how the color turned out and will probably have to try a few more variations until I get it as purple as I want it to be, but it's a tasty cake anyway. (As you will no doubt notice, I am not skilled when it comes to decorating cakes. Perhaps one day I will learn to do better, for now, I'll just muddle through.)

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• butter for greasing the cake pan (about 1 Tbsp)
• flour for the pan (about 2 Tbsps)
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsps baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup pureed frozen blueberries (I really like Wyman's frozen wild blueberries)
• 1/3 cup milk

FOR THE FROSTING

• 12 Tbsps butter, room temperature
• 3 cups confectioner's sugar (sifted)
• 2 Tbsps pureed frozen blueberries, strained
• 2 Tbsps heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
• plus about a cup of blueberry jam for the inside of the cake 

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then grease and flour an 8-inch springform pan:

Measure flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and mix it together. Set it aside for now. 

Add sugar and butter to a mixer bowl. Beat with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer until the butter and sugar are creamy. 

Add the eggs and vanilla and continue beating the mix until smooth. Reduce the speed on the machine and add the blueberry puree and the milk. Finally, add the flour mixture. 

Combine everything quickly, but completely, and spread the batter into your springform pan (note, the batter isn't very runny, you will want to smooth it out with a spatula). And, because I trust the farmer who raises my eggs, I let my son sop the pot. (I wouldn't do this with industrial eggs anymore.)

Bake it in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes. When it's done (test for doneness with a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake; if it comes out dry, the cake is done), take it out and let it cool in the pan on a baking rack for 15 minutes. 

Then, get the cake out of the pan and let it cool completely on the baking rack. Go ahead and get out your butter to soften and blueberries to defrost during this time. (My boo and I watched Captain America while it cooled; it was on the fourth of July that we baked this after all.)

FOR THE FROSTING

To make the frosting, puree about a quarter cup of blueberries and strain the puree. I went ahead and poured the heavy cream through the strainer to try and pick up more of the color. 

Add the butter, cream, blueberry puree, vanilla, and confectioner's sugar to your mixer bowl.

Beat until the frosting is fluffy. 

Cut the cake into two layers. Spread a layer of blueberry jam on the bottom layer. Then gently place the top layer onto the bottom layer. Try to line them up as evenly as possible. 

Spread a thin layer of frosting all over the cake. This layer is called the crumb layer and will basically glue down the crumbs. Then spread a thick layer of frosting all over. To make my super fancy border, spoon frosting into a plastic bag, cut a tip off one corner, and push out one little dollop of frosting at a time all around the outside rim of the cake. 

Then invite some friends over to eat it. 

And of course, it wouldn't be #SundaySupper without all the other great meals that my fellow bloggers have put together this week. Check out all these tasty meals that can get your kids in the kitchen:

Start your day:

• Panko Encrusted French Toast Sticks ~Doggie At the Dinner Table 
• Pineapple Not-Upside Down Muffins ~In the Kitchen with Audrey
• Bacon, Egg & Sausage Breakfast Cups ~Daily Dish Recipes 
• Buttermilk French Toast with Homemade Cinnamon – Raisin Bread ~What Smells So Good

Healthy snackers:

• Snack Attack: 3 Healthy Choices for Little Nibblers ~Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Fruit Salad in an Orange Cup ~Mama’s Blissful Bites 

Main meal:

• Whole-wheat Pretzel Dogs ~Family Spice
• Poblano Mac ‘N Cheese ~Juanita’s Cocina
• Coconut Chicken and Shrimp ~Super for a Steal 
• Lunie and Mini-me’s Grilled Pizza ~Cravings of a Lunatic
• Hedgehog Meatballs and Chili Dog Pie ~Cooking by the Seat of our Pants
• Walking Tostada ~Shockingly Delicious
• Mini Sausage Rolls ~Small Wallet Big Appetite
• Mini Corn Dog Muffins ~In The Kitchen With KP
• Mexican Black Bean & Quinoa Burgers with Homemade Guacamole ~Cupcakes and Kale Chips
• Threaded Spaghetti Hot Dog Bites ~Damn Delicious
• Golden Potato Patties ~My Trials in the Kitchen 
• Grilled Chicken Wings in Sesame Flavors ~The Queen’s Notebook
• Spaghetti Tacos ~Girlichef
• Parmesan Corn on the Cob ~Home Cooking Memories 
• Yum Yum Salmon  ~Family Foodie
• Pad Thai ~Meal Planning Magic 
• Chicken Tortilla Bake ~Mrs. Mama Hen

Sweet treats:

• Chocolate Slab ~Happy Baking Days 
• Chocolate Chip Cut-Out Cookies ~Chocolate Moosey
• Self-Crust Coconut Pie ~Magnolia Days
• Fresh Cherry Clafoutis ~The Meltaways
• Wolf’s Wonderful Peanut Butter-Brownie Fudge Sundaes ~The Weekend Gourmet
• Cookies and Cream Ice Cream ~The Messy Baker Blog
• Healthy Creamy Caramel Apple Parfaits with Greek Yogurt ~Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Chocolate and Salted Caramel Pudding Pops ~Hezzi-D’s Cooks and Books
• Chocolate Cheese Turnover ~Basic and Delicious 
• Chocotorta Vintage Kitchen Notes 
• Oatmeal and M&M Cookies ~That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Tropical Popsicles ~Pippi’s in the Kitchen Again
• Carrot Cupcakes ~Diabetic Foodie

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