DIVA DISASTER - LESSONS LEARNED THE HARD WAY

Good Afternoon dear Chefs...

Today, is the DIVA Disaster post and most fittingly, I want to address the whole Julie & Julia thing.  Here's my take on it.  Yes, Julie Powell transformed herself into a marketable entity.  Through her story, we revisited the life of a very talented woman, Julia Child; that perhaps without such creativity on Julie's part, we would only know Julia Child as one of the notable cooks of all-time.  Unless of course, you were schooled through her Alma Mater, studied French cooking or had other personal interest in this woman's life.  It was through perserverance, that both women gained public and personal successes; but certainly not without having to face challenges that I, timidly confess, would have defeated me. 

I, did, however, after seeing the movie, felt inspired to forge ahead in my kitchen; I gained respect for butter and stopped holding myself hostage to lack of skill or knowledge, in some areas.  I walked away realizing that our cooking disasters are an integral part of our learning process.  That it is only through failure that we find success.  This was, for me, the lesson learned especially since I am super hard on myself.  So for that, I am grateful.

This past Christmas, I was gifted the lastest edition of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", by Julia Child, et. al.  At first, I wondered who had it in for me.  Then it became apparent that it was time for me to leave the confines of comfort and try something new.  I wasn't at all familiar with any of the recipes in this book and to make matters worse, you guys already know how I view a cookbook.  Thus, "COOKBOOK COMBAT".   But I was going to give it a shot, following the rules as so elegantly set, by one of the world's most noted beloved. 

Not knowing where to begin, I remembered that Boeuf Bourguignon gained notoriety in the film and it was there I would start.  I figured it was simple enough and I've made beef stew before. "What was I thinking?"  A recipe two and a half pages long was a bit intimidating, but I followed it to the letter and forged ahead making this amazing dish, that created mouth-watering aromas.  But when the moment of truth arrived and we all stood around the stove anticipating, with spoons in hand, I was devastated!!

It was too salty.  Way too salty.  The saltiness over-powered the maginficent flavors that only I could detect were there hidden in salt.  There was no fix for this.  This was a disaster of major proportions.  No amount of potato was going to soak up the salt content and if it did, it was no longer Boeuf Bourguignon.  I didn't even bother trying.  There was no way to justify it to my palate. 

I don't know how the others ate it...out of pity, if anything.  This is where I went wrong and I apply what I've learned to almost everything that calls for broth, bouillon, stock, bacon and even butter.

I have a refrigerated bouillon paste both chicken and beef flavored.  After this horrific event, I tasted the beef paste and truly, it's a block of beef flavored salt.  The proportions to achieve 3 cups of beef stock, were more than enough to kill my dish.  Add bacon and salted butter to this and you've got an unedible meal. 

I haven't tried to repeat this recipe, as of yet.  When I do, I will be using homemade beef stock and unsalted butter.  I'll post the recipe in the RECIPEVAULT; it's truly worth the effort, when done right.

No matter how much time, expense or even desire that goes into something we find important enough to put forth all this effort, there are no guarantees it will turn out as we expect.  I would rather fail and say I've tried, then to live with the not-ever-knowing.  But knowing me, I will fail and fail again and do it until I get it right or better yet, "master it"...in this case.