Channeling Julia

I recently finished reading Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously. It's the true story of this gal Julie who decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking over the period of one year. Needless to say she botches a few recipes, kills several lobsters, and discovers that aspic is a dish best left to the French.

I was so inspired after reading it that I decided to go out and get myself a copy of Julia's famous cookbook. While I have no aspiration of cooking every single recipe, I thought it would be fun to whip up some french food. I made my first dish tonight, which also happens to be the very first recipe in the book: Potage parmentier (Leek and potato soup). It was quite yummy and very easy to make.

1 lb peeled potatoes, diced (I used yukon gold)
1 lb thinly sliced leeks
2 quarts of water
1 tb salt
6 tb whipping cream
minced chives or parsley

• Simmer the vegetables, water, and salt for 40-50 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
• Pass the vegetables through a food mill and season (Side note: Julia says that using a food processor or blender for this step is "un-French". Well the food mill I purchased specifically for making this soup didn't fucking work at all. I used my food processor and it worked great. Just call me un-French.)
• Off the heat and just before serving, stir in the cream by spoonfuls. Pour into bowls and garnish with herbs.

Bon appetit!