I opened up The Mister's paperback copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking (volume 1) and was interested to learn that clafouti, translated as "Cherry Flan" is usually also spelled clafoutis in French in both singular and plural, that the desert is from Limousin, and that the preparation, pancake batter poured over fruit, is about as simple "as you can imagine" (pg. 699). I glanced at the master recipe (cherry) and the six variations (with liqueur, with almonds, plum, blackberry, apple, and pear) and then I closed the book and followed the instructions in the Gourmet Cookbook*.
Like my mother, I love Julia Child. She was tall, fun, appeared fearless, a good writer, a good cook, and passionate about food. Yet I never met her, I have never watched her show, never bought one of her books, missed the Meryl Streep portrayal of her and rarely even open the one book that's been sitting on our shelf for nine years. So, I guess I love the concept of Julia Child.
Do you have any cookbooks you love but don't use?
Do you have any people who adore the idea of, but have no real basis for your admiration?**
*Halving the recipe, leaving out the kirsch, and replacing cherries with apricots, peaches and blackberries. Changing quantities, flavoring and main ingredients is pretty close to following a recipe for me. This morning I made another clafouti for breakfast. With all peaches, whole wheat flour and brown sugar, I'm not totally sure it was the same dessert, but I'm not sure what else to call it.
**Others for me include Alfred Russel Wallace, Barbara McClintock, Alice Waters and the Bronte Sisters.
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4 comments:
Thanks for inspiration; your father just made cherry and apricot clafoutis - yum!
And, I love to read anything by Marcella Hazan who seems to know all there is to know about Italian cooking
Barbara McClintock is definitely one, until I finally read a biography about her a couple years ago. There is a very short street in our neighborhood called McClintock St that I often drive by and think how cool it would be to live on a street by that name.
Your posts have reminded me how much I LOVE bread pudding with apricot jam... I will have to figure out how I can recreate it without French bread since such bread really seems to require gluten to taste good.
Hoping to call you soon! Tilly doesn't seem to think daytime naps are really necessary.
Molly
I use our Marcella Hazan book more than I use the Mister's Julia Child, but agree that she is a similar figure.
Oh, little Tilly, naps ARE necessary.
Molly, was the McClintock biography good? Who wrote it? I feel I really should know something about one of my heroines.
"A feeling for the organism" by Keller (Fox Keller?). Not amazing, but short and easy to read. I don't actually remember many details about her life other than she never married or had kids. Or maybe I'm making that up. I have a disastrously bad memory and frequently forget books and movies within a few weeks of consuming them...
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