Julia Child Birthday Recipe - Crepes Suzette Video

Food lovers are celebrating Julia Child's birthday today. An in her honor the 99 Cent Chef's new palate-pleasing video, "Julian & Julia," introduces Julia Child's nephew, Julian Child. He's a real chip off the cutting board and a chef worthy of sauteing with Aunt Julia's copper-bottomed pot!

I had the good fortune to run into Julian Child at the Hollywood Farmers Market this last Sunday. We chatted about his "Aunt Julia" and the movie "Julie & Julia."

As we walked through fresh and fragrant stalls of produce Julian stopped at a stack of organic oranges and reminisced about his childhood summers in Paris, France, and how he would tug at Julia Child's apron and beg for his favorite dish: Crepe Suzette in an Orange Butter Sauce.

Aunt Julia eventually grew tired of always preparing it and soon taught it to her nephew, a budding chef. I seized the opportunity to invite Julian to The 99 Cent Chef's kitchen to cook his Aunt Julia's Crepe Suzette for everyone!

A delicious and decadent dessert made with loads of butter, this French classic is easy and of course, cheap to make. Flour, eggs, milk, orange juice, butter and a 99 cent airline bottle of cognac make up the main ingredients. (You can leave out half the butter, but then it would not be a true Julia Child culinary experience. Try it this way at least once!)

Julian & Julia - VIDEO

Play it here. The video runs 6 minutes, 20 seconds.

Click here to view or embed video from youtube.

Ingredients (about 6 crepes)

• 3/4 cup of milk
• 2 to 3 whole eggs
• 1/4 tsp. of vanilla - optional
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of orange juice - fresh squeezed or carton pasteurize.
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 stick of butter - OK to use less
• 99 cent airline bottle of cognac (or brandy) - about 1/4 cup 

 Directions for Crepes
In a large bowl mix together flour, milk, water, salt, eggs and 1 tbsp. of melted or soft butter. Whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Heat your medium (about 8 inches) non-stick omelet pan and coat with 1 pat of butter or oil.

When butter is melted, add 1/4 cup of crepe batter - enough to just cover the bottom of the pan. Hold up pan and swirl to coat pan evenly. It is better to have too much batter than too little - a thin crepe will tear when turning.

Cook crepe for a minute, then loosen around the edges and continue cooking for another minute. Peek before turning to see if crepe is starting to brown. Carefully turn crepe over and cook for another half minute. As my video shows, the first crepe may stick and be unusable. Instead of throwing it away, you might as well taste it to see how tender the crepe turned out.
Don't worry, it takes a couple of crepes to get it right. Your crepes may not be perfect, but with a sweet Orange Butter Sauce no one will be complaining about the appearance. Set aside your cooked crepes to add to the Orange Butter Sauce.

Directions for Orange Butter Sauce
Use a large enough pan to dip a whole crepe into. Melt butter, then add orange juice, zest and sugar into pan, over a medium/high heat. Cook until sauce is reduced by half and thickened, about 5 minutes.

Reduce heat and add a crepe. Notice my use of a spoon and fork, in the video, to fold crepe into sauce. Fold in half once, then fold one more time and push crepe to the edge of the pan to make room for more.

I managed to fit about 3 crepes at a time to my pan. Allow crepes to heat through for a minute.


Now the fun part - cognac flambe! Have a long-handled match ready. This is when you want an audience. Your table should be set and the lights dimmed so you can serve the flaming Crepes Suzettes with a flourish!

When sauce and crepes are warm, pour in half the cognac and bring to the table. Place before your dazzled guest and strike a match, lighting the sauce.

Be careful: the cognac will flame up, so you don't want flammable items nearby (overhead curtains, paper, etc.) and your kids should not attempt this! Serve this first batch of crepes with a spoonful of sauce.

Finish saucing the other crepes, then flambe, and repeat. Bon Appetit!

If you are not familiar with the culinary icon, Julia Child, here is a scene from "Julie & Julia." Meryl Streep "chews" the scenery as larger-than-life Julia Child.

The other half of the movie is about Julie Powell blogging and cooking her way through, in one year, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" co-written by Julia Child. Both stories resonated with this Chef.

And the movie's Paris locale is intoxicating. You will find yourself leaving the theater with the booming voice of Julia Child in your head and your utterances will have her cadence. She is so fun to mimic you cannot help but bellow "Bon Appetit" every chance you get!

And 99 Thanks to Bob McGinness for his creative camerawork!

Strawberry Compote - Video Recipe

The last time I made pancakes, I reached for the maple syrup only to find the bottle almost empty, and my backup, fruit jam, was starting to form mold in the jar. As a tasty substitute I cooked a fresh Fruit Compote made with strawberries. Plus, this fresh fruit recipe is perfect for homemade Cranberry Sauce during the holidays.

Fortunately I had half of a one pound container of strawberries left from my last 99c only Store run (and I do see them on sale for the same price at my local Latin grocery store.)

Even though they were a few days old and starting to wrinkle just a little bit, I salvaged enough to make a Strawberry Compote. I first rinsed them off, then trimmed the stems and sliced off any soggy spots from the berries.

Next I assembled a few ingredients that make up Fruit Compote, including: apple juice, honey and a little ginger. Finally I added everything to a pot and let it simmer for a few minutes to soften (and mash) the fruit into a fragrant and fruity sauce. That's it.

The consistency of my Strawberry Compote is a little looser than a fruit jam.

This is a versatile sweet topping, and you can use almost any fruit and berries you have on hand - canned, frozen or fresh. Go ahead and try it with pineapple, peaches, blueberries, blackberries, apple, banana, pear - even seedless grapes and cherries. If you use canned fruit, the juice will be sweet enough, so leave out the honey. And you can use this recipe with fresh cranberries for a homemade chunky Cranberry Sauce (compote) for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.

You can spread my Strawberry Compote over pancakes, waffles, toast, French toast, cereal, and any favorite dessert like ice cream or pie. And store it in the refrigerator, if you have any left.

Strawberry Compote - VIDEO

Play it here, video runs 1 minute 24 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients (about 2 servings)

• 2 cups fresh fruit - I used strawberries. Okay to use frozen or canned fruit. Some fruit to use include: peach, pineapple, pear, apple (add a teaspoon lemon juice to keep apple from turning brown), and all types of berries. You can leave on some peach and apple skin.
• 2 tablespoons apple juice - okay to substitue with favorite fruit juice like: orange, cranberry or grape juice.
• 1 teaspoon of honey - or favorite sweetener.
• 1/4 teaspoon of ginger - fresh grated or minced, dried powder, or from jar. This is optional, okay to leave it out.

Instructions
 Prepare fruit. I used fresh strawberries and just removed the stem and leaves. Depending on strawberry size, half them or slice them into small sizes. You can use almost any fresh fruit on sale, or that you prefer.

For my recipe I use 2 cups of your favorite fresh fruit. This recipe is easy to half or double the amounts.

Over a medium heat, place fruit in a pot.

Add apple juice, ginger and honey, or favorite sweetener.

Once liquid starts to simmer, reduce heat to low. Use a fork or spoon to muddle and mash the fruit.

Continue cooking over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, occasionally mashing fruit as it gets soft. Compote is ready when liquid is reduced by half and all the fruit is mushy and soft.

Remove from heat and transfer to a small bowl or jar to cool to room temperature, so it thickens a little more. It is now ready to serve. While Strawberry Compote sets, you can cook up a stack of pancakes.

The consistency of my Strawberry Compote is a little looser than a fruit jam.

Store in the refrigerator. Serve with french toast, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, ice cream sundaes and more. You can give it a quick microwave (or warm it slightly on the stove top) before serving.

Hindsight
Recipe is easy to double ingredients. You only need to add a little more fruit juice though - about 1/3 cup total.

Use any favorite and seasonal fruit, like: cranberry, peach, pineapple, pear, apple (add a teaspoon lemon juice to keep apple from turning brown), and all types of berries. Obviously remove cherry, apple, pear, and peach seeds. You can remove peach and apple skin, or leave some of it on.

For homemade Cranberry Sauce, use whole berries. You can thicken the sauce by cooking for an extra 5 to 10 minutes until you reach desired sauce texture. Remember, any sauce will continue to thicken as it cools down.

Ultimate Dessert Bar - Deal of the Day

This is quite the sweet tooth satiater. My latest Deal of the Day is just desserts made by Luxe Bakehouse (trademark of Dawn Foods.)

And what a great bargain it is. You get four chewy Salted Caramel Ultimate Dessert Bars that measure two inch square, apiece --now that's a mouthful. I'm not a big dessert eater, and seldom review sweets, but this is a Deal of the Day to divine to pass up.

I picked them up at my local 99c only Store in the frozen deli case. I'm sure they will soon sell out. These Salted Caramel Ultimate Dessert Bars are even worth full price if you find them at your local grocery store. And for 99.99 cents they are well within my price point, as a cheap$kate pâtissier.

It is a multi-layer cookie/cake topped with chocolate chips. Working your way down there is a buttery white cream frosting stripped with caramel and more chocolate. You can taste hints of salt in the topping.

Under the frosting is a slab of tan colored cookie dough - slightly soft and crumbly, tasting of brown sugar. And if that isn't enough, the bottom layer is a solid cookie of dark chocolate, similar to an Oreo cookie.

Now that's a lot of flavors to take in, and you have four bars to indulge in!

The ingredient list is a long one, loaded with sugar, flour, caramel, chocolate, sea salt, condensed milk, butter, etc.

Click on any photo to see larger.

So, on a scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best, how does Salted Caramel Ultimate Dessert Bar by Luxe Bakehouse rate? Well I gotta give this Deal of the Day an 8 !

You don't want to hoover these bars every day, so I'm glad to not run across them very often. But if you find any, I recommend having your own taste test.

Thanksgiving Recipes Week - Mom's Pumpkin Pie

Check back for a daily dose of Thanksgiving recipes all this week - it's a digital all-you-can-eat holiday brunch at the Cheap$kate Chateau!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow so you have time to make my Mom's Pumpkin Pie. I was back in Gonzales, Louisiana a few years ago around Thanksgiving, and got her to cook it on camera. Boy, was it good -- so good that a lot of my Cajun cousins swung by. It was a fun and noisy day, as you will see, where everyone lines up for a slice after the pies cool down.

Mom made a wheat crust from scratch, but for the filling she went with the convenience of canned pumpkin. I know you are disappointed that we didn't find a free pumpkin in the wild, like we did for Mom's last dessert recipe of Mini Pecan Pies -- where we went pecan picking out in a field of pecan trees (click here for that video).

Even with canned pumpkin, Mom's extra ingredients of spices, eggs and evaporated milk, make a luscious  filling with a creamy flavored kick of cinnamon, ginger, vanilla and clove.

The rest of the pie filling was made with cheap ingredients. This week I went searching for a cheap can of pumpkin and found out how expensive it is. Almost $3 a can! 

Now, for this recipe I am following Mom's lead, and would not have her change a family recipe handed down to her, but I can offer a 99.99 cent substitution: canned sweet yams. They are almost the same color, and by the time you add sugar and all the spices to Mom's pumpkin filling, it almost tastes the same.

I've had Sweet Potato Pie (probably made with canned yams or sweet potatoes) at my local Soul Food restaurant and it's dang good. The consistency is similar to pumpkin and the flavor is sweeter. Usually canned yams are cooked chunks floating in liquid. So if you want to make a cheaper pie using yams, you should drain the can and mash the cooked yam flesh. And, I would use half the sugar that Mom uses for her Pumpkin Pie.

The best substitution would be to fork mash the orange flesh of fresh baked and peeled sweet potatoes -- they are almost  as cheap as russet potatoes. See, dear reader, I am always thinking of you, and how to make a cheaper, but still tasty twist on a typical expensive dessert!

For the heck of it, I priced premade pumpkin pies at my local grocery chain store and found them on sale for $6.99 each. That's way too One Percent for
The 99 Percenter Chef!

You could also buy an inexpensive pre-made pie crust -- but if you have time, do give Mom's homemade version a try. The whole pie came together quickly and easily. It's a two-for-one recipe. The video recipe is for 2 pies. Of course, it's easy to cut the ingredient amounts in half  to bake one pie.

I have to give a big 99 thanks to all my Cajun relatives -- I didn't have to twist their arms to give Mom's Pumpkin Pie a try -- and an extra 99 thanks to Mom for sharing her recipe with all my readers. And Happy Holidays to all!

Mom's Pumpkin Pie Recipe - VIDEO

Play it here. Video runs 8 minutes, 53 seconds.

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients for Pie Crusts (2 Pies)

• 2 cups of flour - white or wheat flour
• 1/2 cup ice cold water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup shortening

Directions for Pie Crusts
Add flour and salt to a large bowl for mixing. Scoop in a cup of shortening. Mix in with a fork until flour becomes pea sized lumps. Pour in a cup of cold water. Now you have to get your hands dirty. Mix the dough  by hand for about 3 minutes until it all comes together. Sprinkle flour over a work surface. Plop dough on it and form into a ball. Divide the ball in half.

With a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball until it is large enough to fit over your baking pie pan. Press dough into the pan and press together any cracks that split during the transfer. You can pinch dough ridges around the top if you want to.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Pie Filling

• 2 cups of canned pumpkin - okay to use cheaper canned sweet potatoes or yams (drain then mash with a fork or potato masher to smooth.
• 1 cup of sugar - use half a cup if you are using sweet potatoes or yams. Of course, best to use baked and peeled fresh orange colored yams - about 2-4, depending on the size.
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups of evaporated milk

Directions for Pumpkin Pie Filling
In a large bowl mix in dry ingredients and spices including: sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, cloves and ginger.

In another small bowl, add 4 eggs and lightly whisk the egg yolks and whites together for a minute. Pour  blended eggs into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix it all together for a minute.

Spoon in 2 cups of canned pumpkin into the spices and egg mixture. Next pour in 2 cups of evaporated milk. Whisk it all together for a minute or two until well blended.

Okay to substitute cheaper sweet potatoes or yams, but first drain and mash with a fork or potato masher. They"re usually canned in liquid with large pieces.

Now it all comes together. Just pour the pie filling into both pie shells until pie shells are almost full.

Add pies to a 425 degree heated oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees and finish baking for 40 minutes.

Mom uses a toothpick test to see if a pie is cooked through. She inserts a toothpick into the center of the pie, then removes the pick to see if it's wet. If it comes out clean, it's ready. If it is still wet, she puts it back in the oven for another 5 - 10 minutes. I think if the toothpick is slightly damp, you can just leave the pie out to cool, as it will continue cooking anyway.

Pie is ready to serve when it reaches room temperature (after an hour of cooling on the counter.)

Of course, you could easily half all the ingredients to make just one pie.

You can also speed up the cooling by putting the pies in the refrigerator. Since the pie plates are hot, you need to allow them to cool for 10 minutes first. Then place potholders, or a kitchen towel, on the refrigerator surface and place the pies on it. Pies store well in the refrigerator, so you can make them a couple of days beforehand -- just cover with plastic wrap after they cool down.

Pie slices are delicious on their own, but you may want to top with whipped cream.

Hindsight
Of course, you can just buy a premade crust at the market for cheap. I thought it fun to show how Mom makes hers. As mentioned earlier, it is easy to cut the ingredients in half to make just one pie. You could shave off 10 minutes or so for a creamier pudding like filling, that's still enough time to cook the crust.

Chia Pudding with Fruit

 1/2 cup Chia seeds, 3 cups soy milk, 4 hours refrigeration, equals creamy Chia Pudding.

I've been seeing a lot of Chia seed mentions around the blogosphere lately, and decided to try a recipe to see what it's all about. I made a simple Chia Pudding with Fruit.

  

They are quite expensive at regular markets, but when I saw small 3 ounce packages in my local 99c only Store  I picked up a package decided to try a recipe with the teeny tiny seeds. The small packages are located by the spices and dried herbs at the store I went to.

Chia seeds are touted as a superfood with health benefits and extra nutritional value. You can read all about that stuff by clicking here. Mainly they are loaded with antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. Hey, I can use all the help I can get - I'm not getting any younger here.

Chia, native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, and has been cultivated by the Aztecs and Mayans way back in pre-Columbian times.

Raw Chia Seeds

What's interesting about them is when added to a tasty fluid they swell, absorbing the liquid, becoming similar to a tapioca pudding after setting for about 4 hours. The taste of Chia is fairly neutral, maybe with a slight green tea flavor, so using a rich tasting liquid like almond or soy milk is recommended.

If you think of it like oatmeal, then all you need to do is add some sliced fruit and you have a knock-out dessert or nutritious breakfast.

For my recipe I stirred in sliced strawberries and banana, after the Chia Pudding has set. You can use any fruit you find on sale.

I always find soy milk at the 99c only Stores, and every once in a while almond milk makes an appearance in the cold deli case.

Click on any photo to see larger (and esc key to return here.)

So hit the produce section of your grocery store or farmers market, and stock up on your favorite fresh fruit to slice and add to my cheap$kate Chia Pudding with Fruit.

Ingredients

• 3 cups soy milk - okay to use regular milk, almond milk or almost any juice. For thicker pudding use 2 or 2 1/2 cups of liquid.
• Raw Chia seeds - 3 ounces or half a cup.
• Fruit - any favorite. I used cheap bananas and strawberries. Add as much as you like. Other fruit to try: pineapple, peach, mango, melon, blueberries, or whatever you can find on sale at the grocery and farmers market. 
• Okay to add teaspoon of any favorite sweetener - optional.

Directions
Add raw Chia seeds to a large bowl. Pour in 2 to 3 cups of soy milk, regular milk, almond milk, or fruit juice.

3 cups of soy milk will make an oatmeal or sour cream consistency. Okay to use about 2 cups of soy milk for a thicker pudding.

Stir seeds into soy milk and set in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours. Stir mixture once every hour as seeds absorb liquid. They clump up some, but easily break apart with a light stir.

When mixture is set, add Chia Pudding to a bowl and add sliced fruit - as much fruit as you like.

Some recipes call for a tablespoon of honey or any favorite sweetener. I find the fruit and soy milk sweet enough for my taste.

For a single serving, add 3 tablespoons of raw Chia seeds and fill up a coffee mug with soy milk or favorite liquid.