Julia's Potage Parmenfier

I hope ya'll have seen Julie & Julia, or you have it on your Netflix queue, or something. It is wonderful, though, apparently like the rest of the world, I'd have preferred to have it just be Meryl Streep as Julia and Stanley Tucci as her delightfully patient and supportive husband Paul. Which is ironic, considering the movie was inspired by the book made from Julie Powell's blog. (The book is a fun read, btw). Whatever. After sitting for two hours watching Julie and Julia make love to food (using LOTS of butter -- the secret ingredient to great food apparently), I couldn't wait to get home and grab my old french cooking classic of Child's, given to me by mom long ago and seldom touched.

If you are like me, well, I love to cook and bake, but spending hours on preparation is just not my thing. And frankly, a lot of Child's recipes were intimidating.

So I selected the simplest thing I could find for a cool evening's repast, and it was simple (operative word here) and also delicious. Nothing wrong with that! I share it here. I'd have taken a picture of it but Excy and I were rather intent on eating it before 'The Closer' came on.

(Serves 8)

1 lb. potatoes, peeled and diced (about two large)

1 lb. leeks, diced (trust me)

3-4 T. ( tablespoons) unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste

4 to 6 T. heavy cream

2 to 4 T. minced chives and parsley

Simmer potatoes and leeks in salted water until soft (about 40 to 60 minutes). Puree' with an immersion blender*. Add butter in bits. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cream. Pour into bowls and sprinkle with the herbs. Serve with some crusty bread.

* You've gotta get an immersion blender. They rock, they are so much fun to use. Plus they have attachments that make them versatile and much easier to use than a hand mixer or large chopper. And take up far less room.