Baking with Julia Child...

                                                                 Baking with Julia Child

O.K., let's get this cleared up...I don't mean baking with the Julia Child, as sadly, she passed away in 2004. What I mean is baking Julia's dessert recipes from her Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Yesterday as I looked through the dessert recipes in this masterpiece cookbook, I thought to myself- I can do this! This confident thought was most likely influenced by my recent rereading of Julia's My Life in France, and furthered along by watching the film Julie and Julia for the fifth time. I love that movie!

So, I will begin this challenge by making Tarte Aux Fraises ( Fresh strawberry tart), using Julia's recipe. This will force me to use more recipes in this expensive cookbook, given to me by one of our sons (Matt), for Christmas in 2009.

Stay tuned! Bon Appetit!

~Kathy~
                             

Julia Child turns 100!

    Chefs, bloggers and bookstore owners are celebrating the centennial of the late, and great Julia Child this summer with 100 days of tributes.

Alfred A Knopf, Child's publisher, and her editor Judith Jones kicked things off by asking a panel of legendary chefs to choose their favorite recipes from Child's vast collection. Among the 100 recipes chosen: Beef Bourguignon, Reine de Saba and Chocolate Mousse. Check out Julia's Facebook page at : Facebook.com/JuliaChild.

** Cook up your favorite Julia Child recipe or throw a Child-inspired dinner party and post your photos, memories and more on the JC100 Facebook page (Facebook.com/JuliaChild).**

 Happy Birthday, Julia!

Some thoughts on Julia Child...

Yesterday I bought the book As Always, Julia, which details the friendship Julia Child had with Avis Devoto through letters. Avis was her pen pal and literary mentor. In addition, it tells the story of the evolution of Mastering the Art of French Cooking from its inception to its publication.

Julia's letters to Avis reveal the trials and rewards of "translating the genuine taste of French cooking into American cooking."

One of the reasons I am so interested in this book, published in 2010, is that it focuses on the importance of letters in the form of "snail mail"....becoming obsolete in our current times. Letters that are handwritten and sent on stationary with a postage stamp require time, thought and a bit of money.

How different our communications would be with one another if we slowed down a bit, and took the extra time to send a card or letter to someone! This book captures the evolution of a deepening friendship through letters. The same type of book (I would argue),couldn't be written from email correspondence, as that type of communication is hasty and often not very thoughtfully written.

   

                                                   Julia working with her mentor/teacher Max Bugnard
                                                   in 1955.