Great Pairings: Food & Wine, Julie & Julia, Leeks & Bacon

Our favorite greens stand at the FM had some beautiful leeks yesterday, so at the suggestion of my friend, I decided to make a Leek & Bacon Quiche for our Sunday supper. I had all of the ingredients already except for the cheese, so it was a quick trip to the market and a nice relaxed afternoon preparing the quiche. The recipe was for two tarts, but I kind of fudged it and made one big pie. The flavoring was perfect - from a Food & Wine article about the movie Julie & Julia. Apparently, quiche was one of Julia Child's favorite things to make, and being laden with cream and cheese, I can see why!

One thing I learned is that leeks straight out of the ground are really, really dirty. Soil gets all up inside the layers, so you have to rinse and wash them very thoroughly before use.

The recipe is easy to make whether you choose to make the crust yourself or use a store-bought one. You want to use a good quality aged Gruyere, which can be expensive - I paid about $12 for the wedge that I bought at Mollie Stone's - so if you can find some at Costco or Trader Joe's for less, it will make the recipe much more cost effective. Don't skimp and go for cheap Swiss though - what would Julia say? Plus it does make enough for 2 pies, but I would still be happier if it were say, $6-7 for a block.

We had it with some leftover roasted chicken and salad for dinner (my husband loves it slathered with strong Dijon mustard) - and today I am having it with some lobster bisque for lunch. It's extremely rich and decadent, so a little goes a long way. Bon appetit!

A Perfect Pairing

Oh lucky, lucky me! I got free tickets to a special advance screening of "Julie & Julia", the new film starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. It is based on the book "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell (a good book), and also "My Life in France" by Julia Child (a great book).

I was so glad to see that an equal portion of the movie was devoted to Julia Child - she is, of course, talked about throughout Julie Powell's book, but the movie gave her a chance to really come to life. The contrast between the two time periods and places, 2002 in Queens and 1950's Paris, was very well done, both in set design and costume.

The food stylists for the movie deserve a great round of applause. All of the dishes looked either delightfully delicious, or delightfully disastrous, depending on the situation. It's over 12 hours after the movie ended, and I am still salivating over the Boeuf Bourgignon. Luckily for me, my ever-so-thoughtful friend Michael packed a picnic, and we had a nighttime tailgate party for two, right there in the cinema parking lot!

Of course, the biggest message of the movie is that it's never too late in life to get inspired. Julia Child did so when she was in her 40's, living in a foreign country, and Julie Powell followed suit when she had just turned 30, working in a lowly government job. Neither of these women had had remarkable lives up until they discovered a passion for food, cooking, and the desire to share their experiences with others. And most importantly, not to get discouraged by mistakes and setbacks...they are all a part of the experience, and make any victories that much sweeter. Bon appetit!

Lemon Tea Cake

This is a cake that I like to make when I make my Shaved Asparagus Salad - for the simple reason that the salad calls for lemon juice from about 3 lemons, and this cake calls for the zest from 3 lemons. No waste.

The other reason that I love making this cake comes directly from the description in the book "Baking with Julia": This cake is a fooler: Its texture is that of a classic pound cake, moist, firm, and tightly knit, but it's made in just five minutes using the same sponge technique you'd draw on for almost-weightless genoise." A cheater pound cake - sign me up!

For our Book Club dinner, we served it with a very generous dollop of freshly whipped cream and just-plucked blackberries - a lovely combination of sweetness, tartness, and texture.

Lemon Tea Cake

• 4 large eggs, at room temp
• 1 1/3 C. sugar
• Pinch of salt
• Grated zest of 3 large lemons
• 1 1/3 C. cake flour
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 C. heavy cream, at room temp
• 5 1/2 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp

Preheat the oven to 350.
Butter a 9 X 5 inch loaf pan and dust with flour, shaking out the excess.
Whisk together the eggs, sugar and salt for just a minute, until foamy and smoothly blended; the mixture should not thicken.
Whisk in the grated zest.
Spoon the flour and baking powder into a sifter and sift about a third of the dry ingredients over the foamy egg mixture. Whisk the flour into the eggs, mixing lightly - there is no need to beat. Sift the flour over the eggs in two more additions and whisk only until everything is incorporated.
Whisk the heavy cream into the mixture.
Switch to a rubber spatula and gently and quickly fold in the melted butter.
Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan - it will level out - and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the center of the cake crowns and cracks and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake to a cooling rack to rest for 10 minutes before unmolding. Cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.

Lemony Lemon Cake

You simply cannot have enough lemon flavor, as far as I am concerned. I was craving a lemony dessert, so I pulled out my recipe for Lemon Loaf Cake from the book "Baking with Julia", based on her PBS series, which I have made before. It uses a lot of lemon zest, and is fairly quick and easy - no mixer necessary. I add poppy seeds since I always have them in my pantry, and I like the way they look.

One thing that always bugs me about the recipe is that you use all of this zest, but then you have 3 naked lemons sitting there, going to waste. So I went online and found a recipe from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, for lemon syrup and lemon glaze, which used up exactly the amount of lemon juice that I had left. While the cake was still hot, I added the lemon syrup to soak in, and then when it cooled I added the glaze. It was exactly what it needed!

This cake is great for dessert, toasted for breakfast, or served in small slices for tea. It would make a lovely hostess gift as well.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 C. sugar (I use superfine baker's sugar)
• Pinch of salt
• Grated Zest of 3 large lemons
• 1 3/4 C. cake flour
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 C. heavy cream, at room temperature
• 5 1/2 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1 T. poppy seeds
• Syrup: 1/3 C. lemon juice and 1/3 C. sugar
• Glaze: 3 T. lemon juice and 1 C. powdered sugar
  

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Butter a 9 X 5 inch loaf pan and dust with flour, shaking out the excess
- Whisk together eggs, sugar, and salt for just a minute, until foamy and smoothly blended. Whisk in the grated zest.
- Spoon the four and baking powder into a sifter, and sift about 1/3 of the dry ingredients over the foamy egg mixture. Whisk the flour into the eggs, mixing lightly - no need to beat. Sift the flour over the eggs in 2 more additions, and whisk only until everything is incorporated.
- Whisk the heavy cream into the mixture.
- Switch to a rubber spatula and quickly fold in the melted butter and poppy seeds.
- Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 min.
- Remove the cake to a cooling rack and let it rest for 10 minutes before unmolding.
- While the cake is cooling, heat the lemon juice and sugar in a pot until incorporated to make a syrup.
- Unmold the cake to the cooling rack with a tray underneath.
- Poke holes into the top of the cake with a toothpick
- Spoon lemon syrup on top of cake.
- Allow cake to cool. Meanwhile, mix the 3 T. lemon juice and confectioners sugar together. You may need to add a little water or more sugar to get the right consistency.
- Spoon glaze all over the cooled cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.