Recently I find myself reading quite a bit about Julia Child, and I'm actually quite fascinated 1) by the fact she married late (maybe there's still hope!), and 2) by the fact that she basically didn't learn how to cook until she was in her 30's. Now, I like to think that I know how to cook, and I'm not quite 30 yet, but that also means I have plenty of time to become exceptional at what I do, and that's always encouraging.
The first thing I did was to rush to the local library and procure a copy of her masterpiece, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I. I have ordered my own copy, but it's so slow in making its way to me that I couldn't wait any longer. I sat in the library, reading the cookbook, much to the dismay of my fellow patrons, who I'm sure were giving me she's-actually-READING-a-cookbook looks. I flipped straight to the chicken section, because frankly, who can resist, especially after Julia has talked on and on about how amazingly chickeny French chicken is. And then I found it. A chickeny chicken recipe with mushrooms thrown in the mix for good measure: Fricassée de Poulet à L’Ancienne.
I proudly marched into Central Market to get my fryer chicken and my dry white wine, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the chickeniest of chicken would pass my lips and rest on my tongue. I even cut the chicken up myself, something I didn't know I could do, but managed rather well. And while the recipe did take over an hour to finish, and about a bizillion pots, by the time it was finished, I was wiping the drool off my chin. And you know what? Julia was right. It was the richest, chickeniest chicken I think I may ever have eaten. It was tender and concentrated and heavenly.
So now I'm in a quandry. If that recipe turned out so magnificently, wouldn't all the others? And shouldn't I try them?? So many recipes, so little time!!
