Maybe it was a mistake to try new French cooking school recipes for a couple with two young daughters while I watched my 2-month-old son.

But I promised everybody, including myself, a big and good weekend dinner. And I couldn't wait to try the lush new cookbook "The Country Cooking of France" (Chronicle, $50). It's the kind of gorgeous tome you want to live in, and it's almost big enough to do so. It's the latest by Anne Willan, the acclaimed writer of 30 cookbooks who runs La Varenne cooking school at Chateau du Fey in Burgundy.

I fear she wouldn't have given me a great technical grade. I got behind, had to rush and made a few big mistakes.

First, after I removed the meat from the marinade, I poured the liquid down the drain when I was supposed to discard only the herbs and vegetables and pour the juice back over the meat for baking.

No problem: The main dish turned out most delish.

For my side dish, despite careful pre-shopping list-making, I forgot the button mushrooms.

No problem; the veggies were incredible without them.

Finally, the dessert, a lemon tart, I left a bit too long in the oven, so rather than a lovely yellow, the top was a deep brown.

No problem: Even the little girls loved the tart.

The lesson: Don't sweat too much over even more complicated weekend menus. Cook, work around your "mistakes" and savor the results.

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Gratin de Blettes à la Crème (Gratin of Swiss chard with cream)

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This gratin, writes Anne Willan, is an excellent first course or accompaniment to fish or chicken. Her "The Country Cooking of France" includes a recipe for asparagus with this sauce, which would be great on various vegetables.

• 1 large bunch (about 1 1/2 pounds) Swiss chard
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 ounces button mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream
• Grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Trim the stems from the chard, discarding any that are wilted. If any stems seem tough, peel them with a vegetable peeler to remove the strings. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Cut the chard stems crosswise into slices 1/2 inch thick. Very coarsely shred the green tops. Drop the stems into the boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the green tops and continue simmering until the tops are wilted and the stems are just tender, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, lemon juice, salt and pepper, press a piece of aluminum foil down over the mushrooms, cover, and cook until the mushrooms are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Uncover, add the shallots, and cook, stirring, until any liquid the mushrooms released has evaporated. Meanwhile, measure 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Stir the flour into the mushrooms, followed by the cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens slightly. Add the crème fraîche and bring just back to a boil. Take from the heat, add a little nutmeg, taste and adjust the seasoning.

Stir the well-drained chard into the sauce, taste, and adjust the seasoning, adding lemon juice and nutmeg if needed. Pour the mixture into a buttered gratin dish, sprinkle with Gruyère and brown under the broiler.

Serves 4.

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Backoëfe (Meat and potato casserole)

PG tested

Backoefe, which means "baker's oven" in Alsatian dialect, includes a range of meats with potato and onion and has a great story. Anne Willan writes, "In a traditional household, Monday was laundry day (and still was in northern England when I was a child) and too busy for cooking at home. So on Sunday night the meats for Backoefe would be left to marinate, and early the next morning all the ingredients would be layered into a large earthenware dish and carried to the village baker, where it would cook in the oven until noon. The unusual mix of meats shows the recipe was a catchall for oddments, and you can treat it the same way, adding more or less beef, lamb or pork, and including bits of ham and even chicken. You will need a dry white wine for marinating, but not too dry -- a Riesling would be just right."

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless chuck or stew beef
• 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
• 3 onions (about 1 pound total), thinly sliced
• 4 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups water, more if needed
• For the marinade
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large bouquet garni (the book's glossary describes it as a tied bundle of 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, 2 dried bay leaves and several sprigs of fresh parsley, plus leek greens and celery tops if you like)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 bottle (750 ml) dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Start preparing the casserole a day ahead. Trim the excess fat and any sinew from all the meats. Cut the pork and lamb into 1 1/2-inch cubes, and the beef into 1-inch cubes, and put all the meats in a large bowl. For the marinade, add the carrots, onions, bouquet garni and garlic to the bowl and stir to mix with the meats. Pour in the wine and top with the oil. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

Heat the lard in a large shallow flameproof casserole over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Take the pan from the heat, spread half of the potatoes over the onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with the marinated meat, lifting it out of the marinade with a draining spoon. Cover the meat with the remaining potato slices, pressing them down lightly, and season them with salt and pepper. Strain the marinade through a strainer held over the meat and vegetables and then add the water almost to cover them. (Discard the marinade vegetables and bouquet garni.)

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Cover the casserole and heat it gently on the stove top until the liquid simmers, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook until the meats are tender when pierced with a two-pronged fork, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Backoefe reheats well so it may be prepared a day or two ahead and kept in the refrigerator.

To finish, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Uncover the casserole and continue cooking until the potatoes brown and the cooking juices are concentrated, 15 to 20 minutes if the casserole is already hot, or up to 30 minutes if it has been refrigerated. Serve the meat and vegetables directly from the casserole.

Serves 8 to 10.

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Tarte au Citron (Lemon tart)

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Anne Willan describes this Provencal dessert as the "quintessentially simple lemon tart." I mixed the dough in a bowl.

• Pâte Sucree
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons butter, more for the pan
• For the lemon filling
• 3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• Grated zest of 2 lemons
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2/3 cup butter, melted
• Confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling
• 10-inch tart pan with removable base

For the pastry

Sift the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the center. Put the salt, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla or other flavoring in the well. Pound the butter with a rolling pin to soften it, add it to the other ingredients in the well, and work with the fingers of one hand until thoroughly mixed and the sugar is partially dissolved. Using a pastry scraper, gradually draw in the flour from the sides of the well, then work the dough and chill until firm, 15 to 30 minutes. Roll out the dough and line the tart pan, and then chill for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 375 degrees and set a baking sheet on a low shelf to heat. Bake the tart shell blind on the hot baking sheet and then let it cool, leaving the baking sheet in the oven and the oven on.

Note: As the book explains, you bake the pastry blind, or empty, covered with a crumpled sheet of foil and filled with dried beans or rice (that can be reused) to weigh it down. Bake until edges start to brown, 15 to 20 minutes, then remove weights and foil and continue baking until base is firm and dry, 4 to 5 minutes longer (since this tart will be filled and baked more).

For the filling

Pulse the almonds with 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and the remaining sugar until light and thick enough to leave a ribbon trail when the whisk is lifted, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and juice, followed by the melted butter. Using a spoon, stir in the ground almond mixture.

Set the tart shell on the hot baking sheet in the oven, and then carefully pour in the filling so it does not spill. Bake until the filling is set and golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle of the tart comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool, then unmold the tart onto a platter. Serve at room temperature, sprinkling with confectioners' sugar at the last minute. The tart keeps well for up to 2 days in an airtight container but will not be as light as on the day of baking.

Serves 8.

-- "The Country Cooking of France" by Anne Willan