I have long had an interest in France. Julia Childs sparked that fire in me. I remember watching her and Jaques Pépin on Saturday mornings on PBS. I could tell that she really enjoyed what she was doing. She was one of the only female chefs on TV. She was someone I'd admire. Today's her birthday so I thought that a trip to France was appropriate for the day.
A couple of years ago I had a French themed party. I had mussels, french style green beans, mustard chicken and lentils. It was so delicious. And fun! I like using themes for my parties because it helps me to not be all over the place with my food, decor, and ambiance. Who wouldn't love spending an afternoon in Paris? I'm glad I could take my guests there even if it was for just an afternoon.
So for this trip to France I had Julia Childs in mind. One of the first meals that she had when she moved to France was Sole Meuniére and she fell in love with French food. I wanted to share this same experience and a little more. If you're going to France, you might as well go all the way. I also made steamed mussels, green bean almondine, and frites (a.k.a. French fries).
I was pleasantly surprised at how good the sole meuniére was. I saw how simple the recipe was so I was sure that it would be pretty bland. I guess I had forgotten that butter is delicious. Go figure! The green bean almondine was simple and good. These are two dishes that will go into my rotation of meals for sure. Everyone needs some quick and tasty go to quick meals. The only thing is that sole is not easily found everywhere.
Mussels are something that I make on occasion already and this traditional French preparation is always so good. This time I added some heavy cream to the broth. You will need some crusty bread to soak up all that goodness. If not, just tilt the bowl back and drink it up. I used this recipe from the Lace and Grace Blog for Classic French Mussels. I followed it exactly and it came out great.
My trip to France was so much fun and I came up with more recipes to have in my quick cooking Rolodex because of it. Sounds like a win-win to me. Whatever you are doing during this time during the quarantine, I hope you are staying safe and having some fun. I know I am.