Ingredients:

• 4 navel oranges (brightly colored)
• 1 ready-to-cook duckling (approximately 5½ lbs)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Pinch of pepper
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 cups strong, brown duck stock
• 4 skinned oranges
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot (blended with 3 tablespoons Madeira)
• ½ cup Port or Madeira
• 2-3 tablespoons orange liqueur
• A few drops of orange bitters or lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• Assorted vegetables such as onions, carrots, and celery for roasting

Procedure:

1. Blanching the orange peel:
   • Use a vegetable peeler to remove the orange skin, then cut it into julienne strips (1/16 inch wide, 1/2 inch long).
   • Simmer the orange peel in a pot of water for about 15 minutes to remove bitterness. Drain and pat dry.
2. Roasting the duck:
   • Season the duck with salt and pepper, then stuff it with 1/3 of the prepared orange peel and tie it.
   • Place the duck breast up in a roasting pan, surrounded by assorted vegetables. Roast in the middle level of the oven at 350°F until slightly browned (approximately 15 minutes).
   • Reduce the oven temperature and turn the duck to its sides. Monitor closely to prevent burning, removing excess fat as needed. Continue cooking, turning occasionally, until the duck is cooked through.
   • About 15 minutes before completion, salt the duck to taste and turn it breast side up. Juices should run pale yellow when fully cooked.
3. The sauce:
   • While the duck roasts, prepare a caramel coloring by heating vinegar and sugar in a pan until it turns brown. Remove from heat and add half-cup duck stock.
   • Simmer briefly, stirring continuously to dissolve caramel. Add remaining duck stock and arrowroot mixture, then incorporate orange peel. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Season to taste and set aside.
4. The orange segments:
   • Peel and segment the oranges neatly, placing them on a serving platter.
5. Final assembly:
   • Once cooked, remove the duck and vegetables from the oven. Discard any strings and place them on the serving platter alongside the orange segments.
   • Deglaze the roasting pan with wine, reducing it to 2-3 tablespoons. Add this reduction to the sauce and simmer briefly.
   • Stir in orange liqueur and adjust seasoning as needed, ensuring a balanced orange flavor.
   • Swirl in butter just before serving, then pour the sauce over the duck. Serve immediately.

Ingredients:

• Eggplant: 1 lb.
•  Zucchini or summer squash: 1 lb.
•  Olive oil: 4-6 Tbsp. (divided)
• Salt: 1 tsp.
• Mashed garlic: 2 cloves
• Yellow onions: About 1 1/2 cups or 1/2 lb. (thinly sliced)
• Salt & Pepper: to taste
• Green peppers: 2 (about 1 cup, sliced)
• Minced parsley: 3 Tbsp.
• Red tomatoes: 1 lb. (Make sure they are ripe, firm, seeded, peeled, and juiced!)
• Note: If you are using canned tomatoes, you will need about 1 1/2 cups.

Directions:

Peel and cut the eggplant. Make sure you cut eggplant into lengthwise slices that are about 1-inch wide, 3-inch long, and 3/8-inch thick. Scrub the summer squash and cut into piece the same size as eggplant. Take a bowl and put the vegetables into it. Toss the vegetables with one teaspoon salt. Set them aside for 30 minutes. Drain every slice and dry with a towel.

Take a skillet and put four tablespoons of olive oil into it. Sauté the summer squash and eggplant, one layer at a time, for about one minute until they vegetables are slightly browned. Take them out into a dish.

Cook pepper and onions in the same skillet. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil if needed. Cook the vegetables for 10 minutes until they are tender. Add the garlic and season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Take the tomatoes and slice its pulp into 3/8-inch strips. Layer the tomatoes over pepper and onions, and season them with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and let the vegetables cook for about 5 minutes on a low heat until the tomatoes start to render their juice. Check the seasoning and raise the heat. Boil the vegetables in the tomato juice until the juice evaporates entirely.

Take a casserole, about 2½-inch deep, and put 1/3 of the tomato mixture into it. Sprinkle the freshly minced parsley over tomatoes. Next, arrange half of the summer squash and eggplant on top. Layer the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put the remaining summer squash and eggplant, and finish off with the rest of tomatoes and parsley.

Cover the casserole and put it on a low heat. Let everything simmer for about 10 minutes. Check it after 10 minutes, and season it if necessary. Raise the heat a little and cook everything for 15 minutes uncovered. Cook until all the juices evaporate. Be very careful about the heat. Avoid the vegetables getting scorch at the bottom of casserole.

Take it out, and serve!

Salade Nicoise is probably one of the most famous salad recipes by Julia Child. It was one of Julia’s favorite dishes.

Ingredients

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 2 to 3 tablespoons
• Lettuce: 1 head (large, washed and dried)
• Fresh green beans: 1 1/2 pounds (blanched, trimmed, refreshed in water and dried)
• Salt: to taste
• Freshly ground pepper: to taste
• Salad dressing:  2/3 to 1 cup (You can use oil or lemon dressing)
• Oil-packed tuna: 8 to 10 ounces (drained and flaked)
•  Red tomatoes: 3 or 4 (peeled, quartered, cored, and seasoned prior to serving)
•  Hard-boiled eggs: 8 (halved lengthwise)
• French Potato salad:  1 quart
• Flat anchovy filets:  1 can (open and drain it just before serving)
• Capers: 3 to 4 tablespoons
• Black Nicoise-type olives:  1/2 cup
• Fresh parsley: 1/4 cup (minced)

Directions:

1. Take a salad bowl or platter and line it with lettuce leaves, shortly before serving. Drizzle some olive oil on the leaves and dust them with salt.

2. Next, take a mixing bowl and toss the beans into it. Put some dressing and seasoning according to your taste.

3. Drizzle the dressing over the tomatoes. Take the tuna into a plate and season it lightly with a couple of spoons of dressing.

4. Take the platter with lettuce leaves and place the potatoes in the center. Mound beans strategically, intermingling them with the seasoned tomatoes. Mound the tuna at strategic internal as well.

5. Circle the salad with hard-boiled eggs, and twist an anchovy filet on top of every egg.

6. Spoon some more vinaigrette over the salad. Scatter some olives, capers, and parsley.

Enjoy! 

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Scrambled eggs are probably the most common choice for breakfast. Here is a recipe adapted from Julia Child’s scrambled eggs recipe with suggested garnishes. The amount of cream and/or butter is given as in the original recipe. If you want to try out the fully loaded traditional version, use the exact amount of ingredients as discussed below.

Ingredients:

• Eggs: 8 (or seven eggs and two egg yolks)
• Salt: according to your taste
• Pepper: according to your taste
• Softened Butter: 2 tablespoons
• Water or Milk: 4 teaspoons
• Whipping cream or softened butter: 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons
• Parsley sprig: for garnishing

Directions:

Take a mixing bowl and put eggs, pepper, salt and milk into it. Beat the mixture for about 20 to 30 seconds. Next, take a pan and smear its sides and bottom with butter. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, and cook it over moderately low heat. Do not forget to continuously and slowly stir the mixture. There would be no change in the shape or texture of the mixture for about 2 to 3 minutes. Once you cross that time limit, the eggs with start to thicken into a custard form. Stir the mixture quickly, moving your pan off heat time to time. Cook it until the eggs are thickened to your preferred consistency. Remove the pan from heat immediately. Remember, the eggs will continue to fry/cook slightly even after you take the pan off heat.

When the eggs start to reach your desired consistency, pour the butter/cream into the pan. Season the mixture to taste. Arrange it on serving plates, and garnish using the parsley.

Variations:

Au Fromage

Stir four to six T. grated cheese (Swiss) into the eggs along with the enrichment cream or butter at the end.

Aux Fines Herbes

When you beat the eggs for the recipe in the very beginning, add a tablespoon of minced herbs, such as chervil, parsley, tarragon and chives, into it. Sprinkle some more herbs before serving!

Aux Truffes

Take one or two dices truffles and mix them with eggs before scrambling. When serving the eggs sprinkle some chopped truffle onto it.

Garnishings

Bacon, sausages, ham, broiled or sautéed mushrooms, sautéed eggplant, chicken livers, broiled tomatoes, kidneys, zucchini, buttered peas, piperade, asparagus tips, diced sautéed potatoes, artichoke hearts.

Ingredients:

• Chunks of bacon: 6 ounces
• Lamb: 3 lb leg (cut into stew cubes)
• Olive oil: 1 tablespoon
• Onion: 1 (Sliced)
• Carrot: 1 (Sliced)
• Salt: 1 teaspoon
• Flour: 2 tablespoons
• Pepper: 1/4 teaspoon
• Young red wine: 3 cups (full-bodied)
• Tomato paste: 1 tablespoon
• Brown beef stock: 2 to 3 cups
• Garlic cloves: 2 (mashed)
• Bay leaf: 1 (crumbled)
• Thyme: 1/2 teaspoon
• Rosemary: 1 spring
• Dry white wine: 1/2 cup
• Pearl onions: 20 (skin removed)
• Unsalted butter: 3 tablespoons
• Wild mushrooms: 1 lb (quartered)
• Chopped parsley: 1 tablespoon

Directions:

Remove rind. Next, cut bacon into 1 ½ inch long and ¼ inch thick pieces. Simmer bacon and rind for about 10 minutes in water. Drain the water, and let them dry. Preheat your oven precisely to 450 F. Turn on the heat. Take a pan and put some oil into it. Next, put bacon into the pan and sauté it over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until it turn light-brown in color. Remove the bacon from heat and take it out into a dish. Set it aside. Reheat the fat left in the pan until it is almost smoking.

Take the lamb, and dry it with the help of a towel. Sauté it in the hot oil and fat until it is nicely browned on every side. Add it to the bacon you placed aside before. Brown the vegetables in the same fat. Pour out the fat. Put the lamb and bacon into the casserole and add some salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour and toss everything together in order to coat the lamb. Set the casserole in the preheat oven for about 4 minutes. Take it out, toss the meat and put it back into oven. Let it cook for another 4 minutes. Take the casserole out of the oven, and turn the heat to 325 F.

Pour in some stock and wine to cover the lamb. Add garlic, herbs, tomato paste, and bacon rind to the pot. Bring everything to a full boil using the stove. Cover the casserole and set it in the lower-third portion of your preheated oven. Regulate the heat in order to ensure that the liquid simmers slowly for about 3 hours. Test the meat with the fork. If it pierces easily, it is ready.

When the lamb is in the oven, prepare the mushrooms and onions. Melt half tablespoon of butter in a skillet and bring it to bubble. Add the onions to the butter and sauté it over medium heat for about ten minutes. Make sure that the onions are browned evenly from all sides. Pour in the white wine. Season the mixture to taste. Cover the skillet and simmer the onions for approximately 45 minutes. The onions must be perfectly tender. However, they must retain their shape when the liquid is evaporated. Set it aside.

Melt the other half tablespoon of butter in another skillet and bring it to bubble. Add the mushrooms to the butter and toss them for 4 to 5 minutes until they turn brown. Set them aside.

Finally, check if the lamb is ready. If it is tender, take the content of casserole out into a sieve. Skim the fat off the sauce. Put that sauce into a pan and simmer it until it thickens. Pour it back on the lamb. Garnish the dish using parsley, and serve with rich, noodles or mashed potatoes.

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

This amazingly delicious entrée salad came from Nice, France – an exotic resort on the French Riviera (Cote d`Azur). The classic version of the dish uses only raw, fresh vegetables. However, cooks all around the world have created a variety of versions of this salad that incorporate cooked ingredients. The version presented in the recipe below is pretty close to the original one, with only an addition of green beans and potatoes. For an ideal tangy excitement, top the salad with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

• Tuna Fillets: 25 oz (3/4 inch thick)
• Dried tarragon: ½ teaspoon
• Black pepper: 1/16 teaspoon
• Salt: ¼ teaspoon
• Red potatoes: 2 small
• Romaine lettuce leaves: 8
• Green beans: 5 ounces (cut then into two-inch pieces)
• Hard boiled eggs: 2 (quartered)
• Plum tomatoes: 2 (small, quartered)
• Black olives: 8
• Chilled salad plates
• Capers: 2 teaspoons
• Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette 

Directions:

Take a large skillet, and put tarragon, tuna fillets, pepper and salt into it. Let the mixture simmer on a medium high heat for eight minutes in an inch of water. Take tuna out of the skillet and put it on a plate. You need to reserve the liquid left behind in the pan, and keep it in refrigerator for about one hour prior to serving.

Put some water in skillet and bring it to a boil. Add green beans and potatoes to the boiling water and cover the pan with the lid. Take the green beans out of the pan with the help of a slotted spoon after four minutes of cooking. Rinse then immediately and thoroughly in cold water. Set the rinsed green beans aside. Allow the potatoes to simmer for additional six minutes. Get them out of the boiling water, and put them on a plate for cooling. Slice the potatoes when they cool down.

Assembling the Salad:

Take chilled salad plates, and arrange four lettuce leaves on each one of them. Divide the ingredients equally on every plate. Arrange potatoes, tuna fillets, tomatoes, green beans, olives, eggs, and capers on lettuce. Drizzle the salad vinaigrette, and serve.

The above mentioned amount of ingredients will make at least two servings.

Cooking Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 Hour and 25 minutes

This recipe is from Julia Child’s very first book – The French Chef. While the great French cook normally stuck to traditional French sponge cakes, it is never easy to pick out one recipe. From cakes studded with glacéed fruit, to cakes perfumed with orange zests and topped with glossy, delicious apricot glaze, there are numerous recipes you might want to try.

Ingredients:

For cake

• Bittersweet chocolate: 4 ounces (chopped)
• Unsalted butter: 8 tablespoons or 4 ounces (at room temperature)
•  Dark rum or brewed coffee: 2 tablespoons
• Kosher salt: 1/2 teaspoon plus a pinch
• Granulated sugar: 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon
• Almond extract: 1/4 teaspoon
• Almond Meal: 1/3 cup or 1-1/4 ounces
• Eggs: 3 (separate the yolks from the whites, at room temperature)
• Almonds: About 1/2 cup (sliced and silvered for garnishing)
• Cake Flour: 1/2 cup or two ounces (sifted)

For Frosting 

• Bittersweet Chocolate: 2 tablespoons (chopped)
• Kosher salt: 1/4 teaspoon
• Dark rum or Brewed Coffee: 2 tablespoons
• Unsalted Butter: 6 tablespoons (at room temperature)

Directions:

Cake

Preheat your oven precisely at 350 F. Take an 8-inch cake pan (preferably round) and grease its sides and base. Line it with parchment paper and dust it with flour. Put the coffee/rum and chocolate into a medium bowl and put it over a pan full of simmering water. Let the chocolate melt until it is smooth. Don’t forget to stir occasionally.

Get a stand mixer and beat together 2/3 cup sugar and butter until the mixture turns fluffy and light in color. Mix ½ teaspoon of salt into the mixture. Next, you need to take egg yolks, one at a time, and beat then into the mixture until they are thoroughly incorporated. Add the almond meal, almond extract, and coffee and chocolate mixture into it and mix it well.

Take a medium-sized bowl and whip the egg whites vigorously. Add 1 tablespoon sugar and a pinch of salt to it and continue whipping. Egg whites would be ready when still peaks start to form. Lighten your batter by putting in ¼ of the egg whites and mixing thoroughly. Then put 1/3 of the cake flour and 1/3 of egg whites alternatively. Take the smoothed batter out into the cake pan and smooth it out. Bake it for about 20 to 25 minutes. The cake must be puffed and jiggle a little in the center when shaken. Allow the cake to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Take it out and let it cool before frosting.

Frosting

Put the coffee and chocolate into a medium-sized bowl. Place it on hot boiling water. Melt the chocolate and stir it until it is smooth. Take the bowl off the heat, add butter and beat the mixture with the help of a wooden spoon. Make sure that there are no lumps in the mixture. Next, place that bowl in a larger container filled with ice. Mix the fisting until it is chilled to a spreadable form. Cover the cake with the frosting, and decorate it with almonds (optional).

For this article, I am going to share with you a great Julia Child recipe called – Stuffed Cabbage With Turkey and Sausage.

This is great during the days after thanksgiving, or practically any time of the year when you have leftover turkey and sausage in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ pounds of cabbage
• 4 cups of turkey (left over)
• 1 ½ cups of sausage (removed from the skin, because you only need the meat)
• 2 pcs of eggs
• 3 cups of beef stock
• 6 oz lean salt pork (1/4 inch in thickness / you’ll need at least 12 slices)
• 2 cups onions (finely minced)
• 1 medium size onion (thinly sliced)
• 1 medium size carrot (thinly sliced)
• 2 cups tomatoes (crushed)
• ½ t salt
• 1/8 t pepper
• ¾ t thyme
• ¼ t allspice
• 1 T butter
• 2 T olive oil

 Cooking Procedures:

For this recipe, you’ll need to prepare an oven safe bowl, that is about 3 quarts in size.

Preheat your oven to 400F

Get your cabbage. Note: for an easier time peeling the cabbage leaves, you can place your head of cabbage in the freezer for two days wrapped inside a plastic bag, without the core. Thaw with hot water before using.

Blanch, rinse, and dry your salt pork

Sauté your minced onions in butter and olive oil

Divide your minced onions. ¾ goes to the stuffing, and the rest goes to the sauce.

In olive oil, gentry brown the thinly sliced onions and carrots. Then set aside.

Get a mixing bowl, and combine the meats and the seasoning. Add a few tablespoons of the stock, and keep on mixing well.

Get you bowl, and layer the salt pork underneath. Layer the thinly sliced carrots and onions on top of the salt pork too.

Cover the sides and bottom of the bowl with cabbage leaves.

Put the first layer of the stuffing that is at least half an inch thick in height.

Put a layer of cabbage after every layer of stuffing.

Do the procedure several times, until you reach the top layer of the bowl, leaving at least half an inch above.

Bake for 30 minutes. (Place the bowl on a pan to catch the drippings)

After 30 minutes, lower the temperature to 350F.

Bake for at least 2 hours more.

Check your stuffing with a thermometer. If it shows a 165F, then it is already cooked.

Add stock every now and then, if you see that the cabbage is drying.

Prepare the sauce by simmering the tomatoes and mixed onions for 10 mins.

Remove the cabbage and pork from the oven.

Drain the juice, and add a cup of the juice in the sauce mixture.

Remove the pork from the bowl, by unmolding it on a plate.

Sauté your salt pork for garnishing.

Serve your cabbage stuffed with turkey and sausage with the sauce on top, and a little garnishing too!

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Pissaladière is a famous savory. It is a Provencal onion tart layered with anchovies, olives, and herbs. It is recommended to cut Pissaladière into rectangular pieces before serving. It works as a perfect appetizer. While cooking the onions, be very gentle and careful. Even if you burn a tiny bit of onion, it will give an unappealing bitter flavor to the entire dish.

Ingredients:

• Butter: 2 tablespoons
• Raw Sugar (demerara sugar): 2 teaspoons
• Yellow onions: 6 (make sure they are properly chopped)
• Black pepper: ¼ teaspoon
• Salt: ¼ teaspoon
• Balsamic vinegar: 2 teaspoons
• Dried thyme: ½ teaspoon
• Black olives in oil: 20 (drain them before using)
• Puff pastry: 1 sheet (thawed)
• Anchovy fillets: 20
• Fresh thyme: 2 teaspoons (properly chopped)
• Olive oil: 2 teaspoons

Directions:

Preheat your oven precisely to 350 degrees. Take a large skillet and put some butter into it. Melt the butter on medium heat. Add the demerara sugar and onions to the butter and sauté. Don’t forget to frequently stir the mixture. Cook until the onions start to turn golden and become tender. Sprinkle some pepper, salt and thyme into the pan. Stir the mixture thoroughly. Get the pan off and put it in your preheated oven. Let the mixture cook for about 20 to 30 minutes. Make sure that you stir it occasionally. Let it cook in the oven until the onions are very soft, wilted and turn medium golden throughout.

Add some vinegar to the mixture during the very last minutes of cooking. Take the pan out of the oven and set the onions aside. Start preparing the pastry for Pissaladière. Once you are done with it, wait unit it cools down to room temperature.

Raise the temperature of your oven to 425 Fahrenheit. Take a 12 inch by 15 inch baking sheet and press the softened pastry into a rectangular shape. Slowly build it up around the corners. Spread the cooked onion over it. Leave about one inch of the pastry dough uncovered around the corners. Arrange olives and anchovy filets on the Pissaladière. Let it bake for about 15 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven. The pastry should be puffed up, crisped and turned golden when you take it out of the oven.

Take it out and sprinkle some fresh thyme and olive oil across the tart’s surface. Cut it into rectangular shaped pieces and serve at room temperature or warm, according to your guest’s preference. The amount of ingredients mentioned above is going to make at least ten servings.

Inactive: 3 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Total time: 23 minutes

If you are looking for some elegant dinner options, there is no better dish than Moules à La Marinière (steamed mussels). Don’t you want to experience the French charm, eating mussels the way Julia and Paul child might have. This recipe comes directly from Julia Child’s extraordinary book – Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In this masterpiece by Julia Child, there are several pages dedicated solely to mussels. Mussels, with their delicious pink flesh and oval, blue-black shells are often known as poor man’s oysters. However, it always feels incredibly luxurious when you serve it for dinner.

After some preparation, it is just a matter of few minutes before dinner is ready. Julia recommends soaking the mussels for some time in water prior to cooking. If you want your mussels to fatten up a little bit more, try adding some flour to the water used for soaking. Get mussels and your favorite wine, and you are half way there.

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour: 1/4 cup
• Dry white wine: 1 cup
• Mussels: 3 quarts or about 3 pounds (scrubbed)
• Minced scallions, leeks, or shallots: 1/4 cup
• Bay leaf: 1/2
• Parsley sprigs: 4
• Parsley for garnishing: 1/4 cup
• Unsalted butter: 3 tablespoons
• Fresh thyme: 1/2 teaspoon (roughly chopped)
• Black pepper: 1/8 teaspoon (freshly ground)
• Baguette: 1 (cut into 1/2-inch slices, drizzle some olive oil, and toast them for some time!)

Directions:

Take a large mixing bowl and put flour and four cups of water. Whisk them together, and add the mussels to the mixture. Add some more water if needed for covering the mussels. Leave the mussels in soaking water for about an hour in order to disgorge any grit or sand. Take a pan and add minced onion, wine, pepper, parsley sprigs, butter, and thyme. Let the mixture simmer over high heat.

Drain the mussels and rinse them once more. Add the mussels to the mixture and top the pan with lid. Don’t forget to shake the mixture occasionally in order to let the mussels cook evenly. Let the mussels cook like this for about five minutes. When the shells are opened, it is an indication that mussels are cooked.

Serve the steamed mussels in shallow pasta/soup bowl. Garnish it with minced parsley. It would be great if you could serve them with some toasted baguette. The above mentioned recipe will make at least 3 servings.

Important Note:

Discard any mussel with cracked shell when raw, since it indicated that it is dead. Similarly, if a mussel doesn’t open after cooking, it needs to be discarded too.