A night in France by way of Asheville!

I just finished a great visit in Asheville with Tracy, Joe and the kids. We had lunch at 7 Bones and then went to Ben's first soccer game of the year. Charlotte had fun taking photos and we had fun watching Ben play a great game. We had such a big heavy lunch that Tracy and I were craving a salad and settled on a Salad Nicoise. Such a perfect meal on a hot summer night. This is Julia Child's recipe. I probably used double the lemon juice and vinegar called for. It's a matter of taste and what you like.

Salade Nicoise

From Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom, by Julia Child.
Of all main-course salads, the Nicoise is my all-time favorite, with its fresh butter-lettuce foundation; its carefully cooked, beautifully green green beans; its colorful contrast of halved hard-boiled eggs, ripe red tomatoes, and black olives; all fortified by chunks of tunafish and freshly opened anchovies. It’s a perfect luncheon dish, to my mind, winter, summer, spring, and fall an inspired combination that pleases everyone.

Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients

1 large head Boston-lettuce leaves, washed and dried
1 pound green beans, cooked and refreshed
1-1/2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 to 2/3 cup basic vinaigrette
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 or 4 ripe red tomatoes, cut into wedges (or 10 to 12 cherry tomatoes, halved)
3 or 4 "boiling" potatoes, peeled, sliced, and cooked
Two 3-ounce cans chunk tuna, preferably oil-packed
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
1 freshly opened can of flat anchovy fillets
1/3 cup small black Nicoise-type olives
2 to 3 tablespoons capers
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Directions

Arrange the lettuce leaves on a large platter or in a shallow bowl. Shortly before serving, toss the beans with the shallots, spoonfuls of vinaigrette, and salt and pepper. Baste the tomatoes with a spoonful of vinaigrette. Place the potatoes in the center of the platter and arrange a mound of beans at either end, with tomatoes and small mounds of tuna at strategic intervals. Ring the platter with halves of hard-boiled eggs, sunny side up, and curl an anchovy on top of each. Spoon more vinaigrette over all; scatter on olives, capers, and parsley, and serve.




Basic Vinaigrette Dressing

From Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom, by Julia Child

This is a bare-bones recipe for the simple all-purpose vinaigrette, which you will vary as you wish. Its beauty lies solely in the quality of your ingredients. Note that you will so often see proportions of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil, but that can make a very acid, very vinegary vinaigrette. I use the proportions of a very dry martini, since you can always add more vinegar or lemon but you can’t take it out.

Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients

1/2 Tbsp finely minced shallot or scallion
1/2 Tbsp Dijon-type mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp wine vinegar
1/3 to 1/2 cup excellent olive oil, or other fine, fresh oil
Freshly ground pepper
Directions

Either shake all the ingredients together in a screw-topped jar, or mix them individually as follows. Stir the shallots or scallions together with the mustard and salt. Whisk in the lemon juice and vinegar, and when well blended start whisking in the oil by droplets to form a smooth emulsion. Beat in freshly ground pepper. Taste (dip a piece of the salad greens into the sauce) and correct seasoning with salt, pepper, and/or drops of lemon juice.

End of the holiday

Home alone again. Why is it I miss the kids more when they've been here for a visit? All the babies were sick and yesterday I succumbed to their germs - sore throat, stuffy nose, generally just feel bad. Hope I kick it quickly!

9.2010 - Made this to go with filet mignons that Jerry picked up for us. Denis was gone so Ally, Jerry and I did all the cooking and eating. I didn't have enough tomatoes to provide liquid so we added a little chicken broth. Don't be afraid of the anchovies as they just add a nice salty background flavor - not fishy at all.

Gratin de Pomes de Terre (Provencal Scalloped Potatoes)


Source : Julia Child Type : Potatoes www.cookstr.com
Origin : France Category : Side Dish

Instructions :
This casserole with its full-bodied Mediterranean flavor goes with roast lamb or beef, steaks, chops, or grilled mackerel, tuna, or swordfish. It is also good served cold. The potatoes need no other liquid than that rendered by the tomatoes as they cook together.


2 cups thinly sliced onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and juiced (4 to 5 tomatoes, 2 1/4 cups pulp; see Notes)
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 canned anchovies, packed in olive oil, drained and reserving oil
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil (include as part of this the oil from the anchovy can)
boiling potatoes sliced 1/8 inch thick (6 to 7 cups)
grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese
olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook the onions and olive oil slowly together in the saucepan until the onions are tender but not browned. Cut the tomato pulp into strips 3/8 inch wide. Fold the tomatoes and salt into the onions. Set aside. In a small mixing bowl, mash the anchovies into a paste with the garlic, herbs, pepper, and oil. Spread one quarter of the tomatoes and onions in the baking dish. Over them arrange half the potato slices, then half the anchovy mixture, then half the remaining tomatoes and onions. Spread over this the rest of the potatoes and the anchovy mixture; top with the last of the tomatoes and onions. Spread on the cheese, and sprinkle with olive oil. Place in middle level of preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and have absorbed all of the juice from the tomatoes. If the top browns too much during cooking, cover very loosely with a sheet of foil. Keep warm or reheat.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Background : Equipment: A small saucepan
Serves / Time :
An oiled baking dish about 10 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep Aluminum foil if necessary Tomato Preparation Many recipes calling for tomatoes direct that they be peeled, seeded, and juiced. This applies to tomato sauces, to the tomato fondues which are used in egg dishes, to various Basque or Provencal recipes, and to the diced tomato pulp which may be poached in a soup or a sauce. One pound or 4 or 5 medium tomatoes will yield about 1? cups of pulp.
TO PEEL TOMATOES Use firm, ripe, red tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes one or two at a time in boiling water to cover, and boil for exactly 10 seconds. Remove. Cut out the stem. Peel off the skin starting from the stem hole. After a 10-second blanching, tomato skin is loosened and peels off easily TO SEED AND JUICE TOMATOES Cut peeled or unpeeled tomatoes in half crosswise, not through the stem. Squeeze each half gently to extract the seeds and juices from the center of the tomato. If they are to receive a cold stuffing, sprinkle the interior with salt which will draw more juices out, then invert them in a colander. Gently press the juice and seeds out of the tomato half DICED, SLICED, OR CHOPPED TOMATO PULP Chop, dice, or slice the peeled, seeded, and juiced tomato halves. Roughly chopped tomato pulp is tomates concassees.