Today's Quiz

So guess which one of these recently-tried recipes was the winner -- the one I'll be making again soon.

Was it the lemon-blueberry bread, complete with glaze?


Was it the braided cheese bread, sprinkled with sesame seeds?

( Please excuse my ooze.)

Was it the mushroom-sherry sauce, served over a fine piece of beef?

Or would our winner be the from-scratch chocolate cake, made with nearly one whole pound of butter?

Ticktock. Ticktock.

I'm waiting while you make up your mind.

Got your answer?

Let's see if you were right.

The lemon-blueberry bread, alas, was nothing special.

The cheese bread, while making a lovely albeit humongous loaf, was also nothing my taste buds are screaming to experience again.

Likewise, sad to say, the chocolate cake with nearly one whole pound of butter.

Did I mention there was a lot of butter in this recipe?

The hands-down winner, in spite of my blurry little photo, was the mushroom-sherry sauce, adapted slightly from a Julia Child/ Louisette Bertholle/ Simone Beck recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

You wanna try it yourself? Here are the instructions.

First, fry up some filet mignon steaks in a skillet with 2 T. butter and 1 T. oil. Cook on medium-high, about four minutes a side for medium rare. (Yes, filet mignon is very expensive. Yes, this is a dish to save for a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary or Valentine's Day dinner.)

In separate skillet, saute in butter 1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced, until lightly browned.

When meat is done, remove from heat and keep warm. (I used my oven's "warm" setting.) Pour out any excess oil from pan you cooked your meat in. Stir into the pan 1/2 c. beef bouillon (I used 1/2 c. water and about 1/2 t. powdered bouillon) along with 1 T. tomato paste. Boil rapidly for a couple minutes, scraping up whatever's in the pan, until liquid is down to 2-3 T.

In measuring cup, stir together 1/4 c. sherry and 1/2 T. cornstarch. Stir this mixture into stock mixture. Boil rapidly for one minute to let the alcohol evaporate. Add the sauteed mushrooms and serve over the beef, sprinkled with a touch of dried tarragon.

Et voila. Julia, your sauce is tres magnifique.