Today I received an awesome book. Julia and Julia. (Thanks Danielle!) The book that the movie was based on. Already loving it and yes, it just mentioned Joy of Sex, a book I bought as a gift for someone at this time last year! And it mentioned The Joy of Cooking, another cookbook that I have recently acquired.

"Maybe I should be a part of something that was not easy, just simple. "

I want to make Julia Child's recipe - Potage Parmentier - potato leek soup.

I've spent the last two hours perusing 'The Joy of Cooking' and deciding on what to attempt to cook.

Thing one: Artichokes (page 257)

steamed. with butter or hollandaise sauce.

hollandaise the easy way - put 3 egg yolks, 2T lemon juice, pinch of cayenne, and 1/4 t. salt in a blender. heat but dont brown 1/2 c of butter.

(edit 1/2/10 : done! made 3 artichokes over the last week - the first just with melted butter and the next two with melted butter mixed with fresh garlic, italian seasoning, black pepper, parsley, salt, paprika and some other random spices made by him - it was SOOO GOOD !)

Thing two: Broccoli

soak heads for 10 minutes.

flip.

boil covered.. in 2 in - so you steam the heads not the stalks.

Thing three: Game.?!?! Squirrel. Opossum. etc. Just kidding. This chapter made me sad. Grey squirrels are better and should be served with walnut Catsup. Opossums should be trapped and fed cereal and milk, Lucky Charms perhaps?, to enhance their flavor.

Thing four: Sweet Potato Waffles(217) and other potato dishes

sweet potatoes, eggs, milk, crisco, flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and a waffle iron. yum.

baked potatoes (293) wash, grease with butter, cook 40 minutes @425 degrees . puncture each with fork 20 minutes in.

Thing Five: Crepes Suzette. (213) Not sure about the suzette sauce yet - but

3 eggs

2T flour

1T H20

1T milk

pinch of salt

stir a lot. leave in fridge at least 3 hours or overnight.

put butter in a skillet until it bubbles then add paste very thin across pan. keep pan moving and cook for a minute. flip and turn it a lot. fold the cake twice into triangles.

stack crepes between foil or wax paper and reheat later in sauce.

Other gifts I have received include soap and chapstick (fancy yummy smelling kind!) from Lily along with a gorgeous artful card! A beautiful Japanese-ish necklace from Brenna, because of a shirt I really enjoy wearing that it will match. and an old fashioned butter dish from scott. and berry infused vodka a la Sarah! My roomies are so awesome!

Love and good recipes,
J