Pardon my French

I'm definitely seeing Julie & Julia this weekend (UPDATE: Saturday at 1:20), so I was feeling a little French. Again, Martha not so much with the French. This week I've been going through my torn out recipes to actually throw out stuff that, while I thought looked really good, once I read it again it was more like, that looks really hard and what in the world was I thinking. One that I did find was a recipe for Cooktop Cassoulet. I love a cassoulet. Here is me in France, waiting patiently for my cassoulet at lunch in Carcassonne.



Now cassoulet is usually a slow cooker meal. With duck. But this one, you make in a skillet. With chicken and sausage. Actually, looking over the recipe, it's similar to jambalaya. Except you use Northern beans instead of rice, and there are diced tomatoes in this, and no tomatoes in jambalaya. Also, I was able to find smoked sausage at Publix for this. They don't carry the Savoie's that I need for a jambalaya.

So I start to get all my ingredients out, hit the shuffle on the iPod, I have two small/medium onions (there were no large ones at Publix. Naturally), a green pepper, a couple garlic cloves, chicken broth, dried thyme, bay leaves. Bay leaves. Where the hell are my bay leaves... crap.

One quick trip through the parking lot to Publix later, I now have bay leaves. Although, when I went to Grenada, I brought back bay leaves as big as my whole hand. Now, I have to make due with these piddly things.



And why, may I ask, is there a shaker on the top of the bottle?? Seriously, I want to know...



What goes with French food? French wine. I am loving the Fat Bastard Shiraz. The name fits my mood today (not the fat part).



As I have said before, I am a messy cook. I spill, I splatter and generally worry about it later. BUT, I do want to save my clothes. I remembered I have pretty tea towels, so I tucked one around my waistband. Pow. Instant apron. And don't I look skinny??



OK, I love chopping. I just get in a zone. It's very therapeutic. Now, the onions and peppers are just chopped. So you can be as neat or as rough as you want. I did a pretty rough chop. That's how I roll. Sausage gets cut into 1/2 inch rounds, and I diced up three chicken breasts. Here we go. All prepped!



AND, this is one of my favorite kitchen tools, especially when dealing with raw meat and chicken.



Just like jambalaya, the sausage goes first to get all brown.



Then you take it out and put in the chicken.



Take that out when browned and put the veggies in the skillet, cooking them until they get a bit soft. Then add back in the meats, the can of undrained diced tomatoes and the spices (thyme, bay leaves and salt and pepper).



Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Then add in 1/4 cup chicken broth and two cans of undrained great Northern beans, cover and cook for 10 more minutes. I don't have a top for my skillet, so I have to use my wok lid.



Oh, it looks so pretty!



It's hearty, and definitely calls for being served in my fancy pasta bowls. In a word (well, two), and in honor of Julia, Bon appetit!








Again, pardon my French, but I'm just going to call this the "What the Fuck did I Ever do to you Steve Jobs" playlist.

Wonderful Tonight Eric Clapton (I do! Hair all pulled back, pants too big because I've lost weight!!)
The Trouble with Love Is Kelly Clarkson (The trouble is, it hurts like hell)
It Must be Him Vicki Carr (Now he'll play that damn Vicki Carr record, and when he comes to bed he won't touch me. Sigh.. —Olympia Dukakis in Moonstruck)
Grafton Street Dido
I Still Haven’t Found What I'm Looking For U2 (I hear you Bono. And I LOVE YOU! Plus I love the end of this video, on the streets of Vegas, where the equally hot Larry Mullen Jr. just says "fuck it" and climbs into a cab for parts unknown.)
Wild Horses Rolling Stones (I prefer The Sundays version, actually)
Nothing Lasts Forever Maroon 5 (I built a wall around my heart, never let it fall apart, strangely I wish secretly it would fall down while I'm asleep)
Everything Zen Bush (Gavin is HOT)
You Tell Me Paul McCartney (maybe we'll run into each other at the airport!)
Father Figure George Michael (My favorite GM song. The video... HOT)
Homeward Bound Simon & Garfunkel (Next weekend, I will be!)
Keep Breathing Ingrid Michaelson (I hear that's the trick)
Head over Heels Tears for Fears (I wanted to be with you alone.. and talk about the weather)
I Could Never Take the Place of your Man Jordan Knight (He's dreamy, but I of course prefer Prince's version.)
Groovy Kind of Love Phil Collins (SERIOUSLY?!?!??!)
Head Over Heels The Go-Go's (well played...)
Rainy Days and Mondays The Carpenters (And this is where I yelled out "Are you FUCKING kidding me!?!?!?!")
Scars Papa Roach (Much better. Same mood, but with bitterness and rock and roll)
This Woman’s Work Kate Bush (And, while I love this song, it's back into the pit)
New Years Day U2 (Again. I love you Bono)
Back at Your Door Maroon 5 (I give up)
Pump up the Volume MARRS (Every time we get makeup in from NARS, I always think.. MARRS.. Needs.. Women...)
Brand New Day Sting (God willing and the creek don't rise!)