i have embarked

On the pilgrimage that every serious woman must make,

if she in fact wants to be a real, hard-core, don't-mess-with-me, stand-back-when-you're-in-my-kitchen kind of woman.

And, I have this sturdy, fool-proof, cookbook stand to assist me along the way. It's an item akin in pleasurable necessity to a 65 L backpack for youngsters traveling around Europe during summer breaks, or ankle boots for the style-sensitive types.



First order of business--
after reading the introduction to the book and the introduction to the chapters from which I will be experimenting, because Julia insists it be so--
is to re-learn how to hold a knife.

It really is easier this way, and I feel like I will be less likely to chop off a fingertip or somehow maim another necessary appendage or two, which I have done often in the dicing process. I have a scar on one finger from such nonsense.

Tarragon.

I have rarely used it. But the Bearnaise (p. 84) that I will be pouring over my Pan-Broiled Steaks, or Bifteck Saute Bearnaise, (p. 295) require it.

How do you suppose Julia would feel about Smart Balance butter? Not thrilled, I presume.

Well, it went okay. I got too into the cooking and cookbook to take pictures so there are no photos of the finished dish. HOWEVER,

This is how I used the leftover Bearnaise.

Julia suggests using it on seafood,

So I mixed it with crab meat and diced tomatoes, like a warm crab salad on toasted English muffins. It was good, but Husband said it needed more Bearnaise :)

I promise to take photos of my next dish!