2009 Recipes: Chest-Clutching Good

These are both from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the book by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck that introduced us (and millions of others) to French cooking. They are easy to make but not for the faint of heart to eat. Click here for the account of the New Year's Eve these recipes relate to.

Bifteck Saute Bearnaise
Serves 4-6

Important notes from Julia: You must dry the steak thoroughly on paper towels - it will not brown otherwise. Also, the steaks must lie flat in one layer, which might mean you need more than one skillet. We did.

1 1/2 T. butter
1 1/2 T. vegetable oil
2 - 2 1/2 lbs. boneless club, rib eye, sirloin etc. steaks, 3/4-1" thick, patted dry
1/2 c. beef stock
3/4 c. Bearnaise sauce

Put 1 1/2 T. each butter and oil in heavy skillet(s) over moderately high heat until butter foaming begins to subside. Saute steak on one side for 3-4 minutes, regulating heat so fat is always very hot but not burning. Turn and saute the other side for 3-4 minutes (we actually did 4 1/2 minutes on each side for what we thought was perfect medium rare). The steak is done to medium-rare the moment you see pearling of red juice begin to ooze at the surface of the steak. Or, press steak with your finger - it is medium rare when it just begins to resist. Remove steaks to hot platter and season quickly with salt and pepper. Add the beef stock to the skillet, boil it down rapidly and beat by droplets into bearnaise sauce. Serve sauce in a warmed bowl with the steak.

Gratin Jurassien
Serves 4-6

Important notes from Julia: the baking dish (and thus, the layers of potatoes) should be shallow, no more than 2 inches high; do not let the cream come quite to a simmer during baking, to prevent curdling.

Additional note from Linda: these are heavenly, and if you have cholesterol issues, I mean that quite literally - a few bites of these may send you there earlier than anticipated. But trust me, you'd die happy.

4 T butter
2 lbs. red potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8" thick (6-7 cups) and patted dry
1 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1 c. grated Swiss cheese (I think I cheated and used more like 1 1/4 c.)
1 1/4 c. whipping cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Smear 1T of the butter in a 10-inch fireproof baking dish, no more than 2" deep.

Arrange layers of of potatoes (I did 3 layers) seasoning each with salt, pepper, cheese and dots of butter. End with a sprinkling of cheese and butter dots. Pour on the cream and heat on top of stove, almost to simmar (I put it in the microwave for a few minutes). Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. The gratin is done when the potatoes are tender and have absorbed the cream, and the top is lightly browned.