Don't crowd the pan (I love my iron skillets! This one was Mama Nell's.)

The end product: beautiful and delicious two-bite pies!

Want to try Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon? Here it is!

Boeuf Bourguignon from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One

For 6 people

A 6 ounce chunk of bacon: Remove the rind, and cut bacon into lardons (Sticks, one-fourth inch thick and one and one-half inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in one and one-half quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450°.

A 9-10 inch fireproof casserole 3 inches deep

1 Tb olive oil or cooking oil

A slotted spoon: Saute the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2-3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you saute the beef.

3 lbs. lean stewing beef cut into 2 inch cubes: Dry the beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Saute it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

1 sliced carrot

1 sliced onion: In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sauteing fat.

1 tsp. Salt

One-fourth tsp. Pepper

2 Tb flour: Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

3 cups of a full bodied, young red wine

2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon

1 Tb tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

One-half tsp. Thyme

A crumbled bay leaf

The blanched bacon rind: Stir in the wine, and enough stock to that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for two and one-half to three hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

18-24 small white onions, brown braised in stock: add one and one-half Tb butter and one and one-half Tb oil to skillet over moderate heat. Add onions and saute over moderate heat for about 10 minutes. Don't break the skin but roll them around to brown as evenly as possible. Then add one-half cup brown beef stock, salt and pepper to taste and a bouquet garni of 4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf and one-fourth tsp. Thyme tied in cheesecloth. Cover and simmer slowly for 40-50 minutes until onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape and liquid has evaporated. Discard herb bouquet.

1 lb. Quartered fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter: (Successfully sauteed mushrooms are lightly browned and exude none of their juice while they are being cooked; to achieve this the mushrooms must be dry, the butter very hot and the mushrooms must not be crowded in the pan.) Use 2 Tb butter and 1 Tb oil for half pound of mushrooms. Place skillet over high heat with butter and oil. As soon as you see the butter foam has begun to subside, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4-5 minutes. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat and repeat with remaining mushrooms.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms as above. Set them aside until needed.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about two and one-half cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock. Taste for seasoning. Pour sauce over the meat and vegetables. Cover casserole and simmer for 2-3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve with boiled potatoes, buttered noodles or rice, and decorate with parsley sprigs.

Too much anticipation leads to unrealistic expectations...

I saw the movie, I read the related books, I watched some old TV clips...and then I headed to the kitchen. Looking back, I can clearly see the errors that led to my disappointment, but my head was in the culinary clouds.

Let's start with the recipe: Julia Child's famous Boeuf Bourguignon. I studied the recipe—I mean really studied it—then shopped for all the ingredients. Next came the cooking. I've never followed a recipe more precisely. One of my worst faults is improvisation in the kitchen, but not on this day. Everything was measured, steps were in order, temps and times followed religiously. The kitchen smelled wonderful all afternoon—which is how long it took to prepare this classic—it can't be rushed.

Let me repeat something I knew, but thought did not apply to this particular culinary homage: if it looks like beef stew, and smells like beef stew, it's probably Beef Stew! And frankly, not the best beef stew I've ever eaten.

Looking back at the ingredients, I should have been more realistic. I expected the sauce to be very rich, and push the beef into taste euphoria. It was good, certainly tasty, but not over the top. I used the best burgundy Food Lion sells, and my meat was a good cut—much better than the usual hodge podge I use when making plain old beef stew, and I didn't rush the slow oven cooking.

When it comes right down to the bottom line, nobody knows more about turning beef scraps into a delicious stew than we Southerners, and my grandmother was obviously a culinary genius. You can add all the wine, fine mushrooms, and pearl onions you want, but it's not one bit better—maybe not even as good.

I think I picked the wrong JC recipe to obsess over.

Brandied Cherries

6 pint canning jars with 2 piece tops

6 lbs. Dark sweet cherries

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

One-fourth cup lemon juice

One and one-fourth cups brandy

Place jars in 200° oven until ready to use.

Wash and pit cherries.

Add jar lids to small saucepan of boiling water.

Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in large pan and bring to a boil. Add cherries, reduce heat and simmer until cherries are heated through. Remove from heat and add brandy.

Remove jars from oven and pack with drained cherries, dividing equally between jars. Add hot syrup, leaving one-fourth inch of head space. Remove air bubbles. Add boiled lids and rims to jars until barely tightened.

Place jars in boiling water bath, covering jars with two inches of water, and process for ten minutes. Remove jars, and cool, checking that all jars seal.

Brandied Peaches

2 pint canning jars with 2 piece lids

3 pounds firm peaches

3 cups sugar

3 cups water

One-half cup or more of brandy

Heat jars in oven at 200° until ready to use.

Remove peach peels, by making an 'x' in bottom of peach, place in boiling water for 1 minute, then shock in ice water. Remove peeling, and pit, and quarter peaches.

Bring 3 cups sugar and 3 cups water to boil in large pot. Add peaches and simmer only until peaches begin to soften.

Bring small sauce pan of water to boil, and add the lids (not the bands).

Remove jars from oven and fill with drained peaches.

Boil remaining syrup until it begins to thicken. Pour over peaches, dividing equally between jars. Fill jars with brandy, leaving one-fourth inch head space. Remove air bubbles.

Remove lids from hot water and place on jars. Add rims and just barely tighten. Place jars in pot on rack, cover by 2 inches with water and gently boil over medium heat for 20 minutes. Remove from water bath and cool. Jars should seal when cooling.

Annelle & Ball???

I've been waiting for the movie Julie & Julia for months. I read My Life in France and the Julie and Julia book, and have even been spending more time than I should perusing the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, comparing them to similar recipes that have made their way into my files.

I never think of making a French meal—my first thoughts always go to Tuscan Italian, which is so similar to our Southern fare. The more I read, the more I realize that the basic techniques Julia Child taught are common across the board. Whether you call it white gravy or bechamel, you still make it the same way! Coq au Vin, Pollo in Fricassea, or my Dad's best Camp Chicken made in the big cast iron skillet all share the same basic techniques, and vary only in a few ingredients.

With all my expectations, I was still unprepared for the affect the movie had on me. I walked out hungry for more 'Julia', wanting to connect with a 'Julia' of my own who loves the art of cuisine, loves to eat, and loves to cook. She was a woman who embraced the quirky changes of life, while never sacrificing her passions, and did it all with a good sense of humor and joie de vivre.

So, in honor of Julia's gusto and fearlessness, I took a step I've been toying with for several years. Last Saturday Amanda Wingfield of Patrick County and Melanie Barrow of the Henry County office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension joined forces to give a Canning Workshop in the new Spencer Penn Community Kitchen. The class was full and with our instructors, we had all the canning expertise anyone would ever need.

I can't tell you how timely this class felt. Mastering the Art of French Cooking was written for the American housewife, and was published at a time when cake mixes and TV dinners, time savers of every kind, had become the norm in the American kitchen. Julia reconnected people with real food, fresh food, and the art of cuisine.

It seems that we have been in a similar place, giving fast food way too much control over our eating habits. Now, we're realizing that for health reasons, cost reasons, esthetically pleasing taste reasons, we need to reconnect with our local farmers and gardeners, and the food preserving experiences of our mothers and grandmothers. It's worth the time and effort. And with the help of the classes led by these experienced food preservers who taught from the Bible of preserving, the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving Food, we can get back to the basics of really good, healthy, locally grown foods.

So, now I'm planning to 'can' my way through the 'Ball Blue Book'--well, maybe not entirely, but I'm looking forward to lots of creative experimentation.

Bon Appetit!