Julia Child’s Sautéed Mushrooms in Madeira Sauce

2017-08-02

This Recipe
Chef: Julia Child
Cuisine: French Cuisine
Course: Main Dish
Difficulty: Easy
Category: Course
Servings: 3
Preparation Time: 10 Minutes
Cooking Time: 20 Minutes

This Post
Chef : François
Category: Recipe
Posted on: Wednesday August 2, 2017
Comments : No Comment
Languages : English | Français

Ingredients
Mushrooms, Shallots, Madeira, Brown sauce,

La version Française se trouve ICI

Julia shows us an appetizing way of using mushrooms in a brown Madeira sauce, a traditional French recipe that is one of my favorites

About this recipe

A delicious dish that Julia says can be used with a piece of filet mignon, or with sautéed chicken livers, or another piece of meat.

This dish is an old French style dish that you would find in traditional French restaurants, and it works beautifully at home for a nice diner

You may serve this mushrooms dish as a side dish, with meat, or even serve this as a main dish for a nice dinner !

Julia Child, we owe you respect

This is a recipe of Julia Child. I have a great respect for Julia, for the dedication to French Cuisine and her huge work to assemble the French recipes and techniques in her book

She acquired her knowledge while living in Paris and studying at the Cordon Bleu de Paris

Julia spent many years in Paris and discovered the French food, and while attending the Cordon Bleu, learned about French cuisine techniques.

When she moved back to the United States, Julia Child published her book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol.1", a masterpiece that is still a best seller that you still can find nowadays in all bookstores in the states. What an impressive undertaking !

To purchase online, see HERE

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol.1

In fact, the book was written with two French ladies, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle

These three ladies met in Paris and started an informal school "L'école des trois gourmandes" (The School of the Three Food Lovers). Whenever Julia appeared on television, she kept the same name on a sticker on her chest.

After writing her book, Julia appeared on American television in a series called "The French Chef"

I learned about Julia Child quite late : While living in Pasadena, I followed a couple classes at the Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, and the teachers mentioned Julia and her book (see HERE). Call it a Coincidence: Julia lived in Pasadena and studied at the Cordon Bleu (but the one in Paris)

I learned about Julia Child quite late : While I was studying classes at the Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, my teachers mentioned Julia and her book. Coincidence: Julia lived in Pasadena and studied at the Cordon Bleu (but that in Paris). Here's a photo of my mug with that house:

This house is not a museum but a private house

House of Julia Child
625 Magnolia Avenue
Pasadena, California

Julia in Paris

And when I visited Paris, (see HERE), I had to walk by the place she had been living in Paris...

House of Julia in Paris
81, rue de l'Université
75007 Paris
France

Le Film "Julie et Julia"

You probably saw the movie about Julia Child "Julie and Julia", starring Meryl Streep et Amy Adams

To purchase online, see HERE

DVD Julie & Julia

The movie shows Julia's life, including her days at the Cordon Bleu Paris

The movie tells the story when Meryl Streep (Julia Child) lives in Paris and then in the States

The house of Julia, in the movie, is not 'rue de l'université' as I told you earlier, the movie location was a bit further, and of course I had to see it as well, as I enjoyed very much the movie !

House of Julia (movie)
10, Rue de Seine
75006 Paris
France

There are other film locations to discover while in Paris : This article talks about those places

Julia Child's book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol.1" is a must-have...

To purchase online, see HERE

I initially thought the book would not be very useful, to be honest. However I changed my mind : it is very useful ! Julia captured the traditional recipes, and this information is important to us, food lovers

The recipe is on page 515

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol.1

Modifications to the original recipe

I modified a few things...

I use
Olive Oil
instead of "oil"
I use 1
Shallot
instead of "one tablespoon" that Julia mentions
I thicken the sauce with
Flour
(1 teaspoon)

Ingredients

You will need...

DVD Julie & Julia

Non-Slip Cutting Boards

Sekiryu Santoku Japanese Knife

Scanpan Saucepan

Calphalon Nonstick Sauce Pan

Cast Iron Shallow Casserole Le Creuset

Saute Pan Scanpan

Ninja Food Chopper Express

Steps

1. Slice the

Button Mushrooms

( ½lbs or 227 g)

Non-Slip Cutting Boards

Sekiryu Santoku Japanese Knife

The Madeira Sauce

For the Madeira sauce, pour the the

Madeira

(⅓ Cup or 77 g) into a saucepan and boil it

3. Julia mentions that we want to boil it down until it has reduced by half (3 Tablespoons or 38.5 g).
However, as Madeiras are thicker in France, I think that you may want to reduce the liquid further until it has reduced to a third (2 Tablespoons or 25.6 g)

Scanpan Saucepan

Calphalon Nonstick Sauce Pan

4. Mince the

Shallot

(1)

5.

In a skillet, melt the

Butter

(2 tablespoons) and the

Olive Oil

(1 tablespoon), then add the

Shallot

(1)

6. Sauté the

Button Mushrooms

( ½lbs or 227 g)

7. Stir to brown the mushrooms

Cast Iron Shallow Casserole Le Creuset

Saute Pan Scanpan

8. Once the

Madeira

(⅓ Cup or 77 g) has reduced, add the

Brown Sauce

(1 Cup or 270 g) and cook

on low heat

9. Julia's brown sauce recipe : Julia's recipe is HERE

10. An easier recipe : Julia mentions that if you don't have a brown sauce, you can always take a

chicken stock

thickened with one tablespoon of

cornstarch

, to mix in a blender, which will thicken while it cooks