White gazpacho

1 large English cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

2-1/4 cups seedless green grapes

1-1/2 cups store-bought vegetable broth, or chicken would work, chilled

2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

2 small cloves of garlic, peeled (I like more)

1/2 small shallot, peeled or red onion

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons sherry

salt and pepper to taste

Put cucumber, 2 cups grapes, vegetable or chicken broth, 1 tablespoon dill, garlic, shallots or red onion into a blender and puree until smooth, about 2 minutes. (I use a Cuisinart). With motor running gradually, add olive oil and puree until very smooth. Add vinegar and sherry and puree more. If using blender, the texture should be smooth. Cuisinart will give you more of a grainy look. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill. Good up to 2 days. Makes approximately 4 to 6 servings.

- Bea Dobyan

Koulibiac

1 package of puff pastry

Filling

1 14-ounce package of frozen spinach

1/4 cup diced onions

1/4 cup butter

1 clove of garlic, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 to 3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

1 1/4 cup cooked rice (cook in fish stock)

1 1/2 pounds salmon filet

1/4 cup fresh dill (1 teaspoon if you use dry)

The filling can be made one day ahead.

Spinach layer:

Saute spinach in butter with garlic and onion, remove from heat, add salt and pepper and stir in parsley. Let cool.

Rice layer:

Cook the rice in fish stock. Let cool.

Clean and pat dry the salmon.

Assembly:

Preheat oven at 375 degrees.

Roll out one sheet of pastry dough on a greased cookie sheet (Use Silpat or parchment paper if you have any on hand). In the center of the puff pastry dough, layer half the rice, half the spinach mixture. Add the sliced egg, then salmon. Sprinkle salt and pepper and the dill. Add the remaining rice and spinach. Top with other puff pastry sheet. Pinch edges and seal completely. Remove excess dough if needed. Brush with egg wash.

Bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes until dough is golden.

- Michelle Nelson

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

Cooking Instructions

As is the case with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf bourguignon. Carefully done, and perfectly flavored, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner. Fortunately, you can prepare it completely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains in flavor when reheated.

VEGETABLE AND WINE SUGGESTIONS

Boiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish. Buttered noodles or steamed rice may be substituted. If you also wish a green vegetable, buttered peas would be your best choice. Serve with the beef a fairly full-bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, Bourdeaux-St. Emilion or Burgundy.

1 6-ounce chunk of bacon

1 9- to 10-inch fireproof casserole 3 inches deep

1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil

1 slotted spoon

3 pounds lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes

1 sliced carrot

1 sliced onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups of a full-bodied young red wine such as one of those suggested for serving or a Chianti

2-3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 teaspoon thyme

a crumbled bay leaf

the blanched bacon rind

18 to 24 small white onions (brown-braised in stock)

1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter

parsley sprigs

Remove rind and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Saute the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 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. 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. In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sauteing fat. 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. Stir in the wine and enough stock or bouillon so 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 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily. While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. 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 2 1/2 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 or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.

(*) Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

FOR IMMEDIATE SERVING

Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice and decorated with parsley.

FOR LATER SERVING

When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

Recipe Notes

Boeuf Bourguignon (beef stew in red wine with bacon, onions and mushrooms) from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1" by Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, published by Knopf. Reprinted with permission.

- AOL Food, http://food.aol.com