Julia Child has long been one of America’s most beloved chefs. But only now—five years after her death—has her most famous book finally become a best-seller. Following the recent release of the film Julie & Julia, directed by Nora Ephron and starring Meryl Streep as Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Knopf) shot to No. 1 on The New York Times’ advice and how-to best-seller list, at one point selling 22,000 copies in a single week. The 752-page cookbook, co-written with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, now sells for $40.
In a diet- and calorie-conscious age, Mastering brims with butter, salt, and goose fat. Its recipes are also time-consuming and labor-intensive, as blogger Julie Powell (played in the film by Amy Adams) learned when she set out to teach herself recipes from Child’s book. Child received her own education in cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and in her memoir, My Life in France (Knopf), she relates her own early misadventures in the kitchen. Most of all, she says, what she had to learn was how “to take time—hours even—and care to present a delicious meal.”
This popular recipe from Mastering, unlike many of her other main courses, calls for only a moderate amount of oil. Child notes that it “is good either hot or cold,” and tasty served with whole baked tomatoes.
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Recipe of the week
Poulets Grillés à la Diable
(Chicken Broiled With Mustard, Herbs, and Bread Crumbs)
2 ready-to-cook, 2½-lb broilers, halved or quartered
Saucepan containing 6 tbsp melted butter and 2 tbsp oil
A pastry brush
A broiling pan minus rack
Salt
6 tbsp prepared mustard of the strong Dijon type
3 tbsp finely minced shallots or green onions
½ tsp thyme, basil, or tarragon
1⁄8 tsp pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 cups fresh, white crumbs from homemade-type of bread (make the crumbs in an electric blender, 3 or 4 slices of bread at a time)
A broiling pan plus rack
The rest of the basting fat
Preheat oven broiler to moderately hot. Dry the chicken thoroughly, paint it with butter and oil, and arrange it skin-side down in the bottom of the broiling pan. Place it so that the surface of the chicken is 5 to 6 inches from the hot broiling element, and broil 10 minutes on each side, basting every 5 minutes. The chicken should be very lightly browned. Salt it lightly.
Blend mustard with shallots or onions, herbs, and seasonings in a bowl. Drop by drop, beat in half the basting fat to make a mayonnaise-like cream. Reserve the rest of the the basting fat for later. Paint the chicken pieces with mustard mixture.
Pour crumbs into a big plate, then roll the chicken in crumbs, patting them on so they will adhere. Arrange chicken pieces skin-side down on the rack in the broiling pan and dribble half the remaining basting fat over them. Brown slowly for 10 minutes under a moderately hot broiler. Turn, baste with the last of the fat, and brown 10 minutes more on the other side. The chicken is done when the thickest part of the drumstick is tender and, when the meat is pricked with a fork, the juices run clear yellow.
Transfer to a hot platter and serve. Serves 4 to 8.
Tomates Grillées au Four
(Whole Baked Tomatoes)
Firm, ripe red tomatoes, all of the same size and not more than 2 inches in diameter
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
An oiled roasting pan just large enough to hold the tomatoes easily
Minced, mixed green herbs or parsley
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut out the stems, leaving as small a hole as possible. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the stem hole. Brush the tomatoes with olive oil; place them stem-end down in the roasting pan. Do not crowd them together.
Bake in the middle level of the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them; they are done when the skins break a little, but they should not be baked so long that they burst.
Baste them with pan juices. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and sprinkle herbs or parsley over them. Serve as soon as possible.
