On this weekend of Mother's Day, I am sending a wave of joy to the woman who started my journey. Dearest Julia Child, no-nonsense lover of food and life, though never having children of her own, certainly can count millions of passionate fans and followers: she was my mentor, and I adored her. I offer this homage of affection with her Clafouti - silky, aromatic, comforting.
I met Julia once, whe I was cheffing at le Bocage in Cambridge. She appeared suddenly, all 6 foot something of her to my 5 foot 5. She was all laughter and jollies; I suddenly wobbled and came very close to fainting, as she spread smiles and gushed in her usual Julia way about our food. She was on her second wave of popularity, and thought nothing of sitting briefly on the trash barrel in the kitchen as she spoke to each of us. Bless her heart.
Her original recipe called for fresh cherries, but, as I think she would understand, I substituted fresh, fragrant California strawberries.
Julia Child's Clafouti
1 1/4 cups milk ( or half light cream, half milk)
1 T. vanilla extract ( make sure it's a good one!)
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/4 t. salt
A few scrapings of nutmeg ( my addition)
1/2 cup flour
2-3 cups quartered fresh strawberries
1/3 cup sugar, divided between ramekins, or, if in a casserole dish, sprinkled on top.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Butter several ramekins or one large casserole dish.
In a blender, combine milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, and flour. Whiz.
Pour a 1/4-1/2 inch layer of batter into each dish, or the large casserole dish.
(I usually skip this and just place fruit on the bottom and cover with batter)
Place in oven and bake until a film of batter sets in the dishes or casserole dish.
Remove from heat and spread the strawberries over the batter - I used 1/2 cup per ramekin.
Sprinkle on the sugar, dividing between ramekins.
Pour on the rest of the batter, dividing between the dishes, or the one casserole dish.
Place back in oven and bake until the clafouti is puffed and golden and set( about 40 minutes).
Serve lukewarm.
And, yes, those are my now grown babies above!
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4 comments:
That sounds and looks delicious! I love Julia, too. (My daughter's middle name is even Julia!) I'm jealous you got to meet her. She'll always be my very favorite.
Lindsey - isn't that an homage, to name your daughter after her! To be honest, I never realized just how much Julia had to do with the world of cooking until I read her biography "Appetite for Life". Her constant hard work to elevate the world of food, especially French food, isn't well known, but it should be.
Your babies pictures are precious! And getting that chance to meet Julia is amazing - I can't even imagine how incredible that must have been. I will have to read her biography that you mentioned.
Have you seen the trailer for the movie "Julia & Julie" (I think it's coming out sometime in late summer.) I rarely get to movies, but Meryl Streep has the role of Julia Child, so it may have potential.
Hi barb! Thanks for your sweet comment about the kids - that one of me holding my 1 month old son just appeared a year ago in some old files my sister found along with several other slides. I have hardly any photos of me WITH my kids, since I was always behind the camera!
I can't wait to see Julia & Julie! Meryl seems perfect, from the trailer I saw.
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