Mastering the Art of Living!

Boeuf Bourguignon, Ile flottante, Reine de Saba....oh my! Like many people around the world, I have been inspired by Julia Child. I want to create, I want to learn and I want to Master the Art of French Cooking. Well, it began one Sunday morning. We sat around our old farm table eating breakfast and began discussing dinner. Discussing the next meal while enjoying another is very French, so we felt we were on the right track! We decided to attempt the Boeuf Bourguignon and the Ile Flottante . We read the recipes out loud, reread them to ourselves, and then assigned posts in the kitchen. We were three musketeers, one for all and all for one; but we had high expectations, strong wills, and hot heads! Mind you the oven hadn't even been turned on and we were already on fire! Attitudes had to readjust, temperatures had to be turned down and we all had to remember the purpose of our project. Boeuf Bourguignon a la Julia! We worked beautifully for hours making sure that every step was followed to perfection. And then, when it came time to work on the dessert, everyone vanished. It was I who wanted to make the Ile flottante so, here I was faced with the prospect of making one of my favorite desserts alone. I thought the creme Anglaise would be a breeze, but I thought wrong. With two failed attempts I remembered the French saying, "jamais deux sans trois" (third time is a charm!). The third time was a charm and feeling triumphant, I began the meringue. It rose beautifully and with it my spirits! I placed it in the oven and waited. We were closing in on the dinner hour and I felt that the trials were behind me now. I made myself a martini (well, Julia did it!) and waited. The meringue came out beautifully and I sat down to enjoy my drink. When I returned to the kitchen, my smile came crashing down at the sight of the fallen meringue! What had gone wrong? I didn't have time to remake it, so I figured I would serve it anyway, without apology! Our friends arrived, so anxious to partake in this Julia inspired dinner and when it came time for dessert, I served the fallen Ile flottante. I closed my eyes and focused on flavor. It was delicious, not beautiful, but delicious. Our friends were the beautiful ones....they all applauded our efforts and drank up every last drop of the creme anglaise! Who needs perfection when you have great friends?

So, you might ask, why is there a photograph of the Reine de Saba cake?

That is the perfectionist in me. I needed to redeem myself and so I made a different dessert in the cookbook. It was delicious and it left me knowing that inspiration, effort, persistence and patience are major ingredients in the recipe of life.