A week after seeing the movie “Julie and Julia,” my husband saw Julia Child’s two-volume set of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” for sale in a bookstore. “We should buy that,” he said. I told him he was crazy—no way was I cooking the things I saw Julie (and Julia) trying to make. “No, I want to try to cook like that,” he replied. So, for Christmas he received the books as a gift. Since then he has occasionally prepared recipes from these volumes. Even better, this experimentation has led to trying recipes from a variety of other sources including television cooking shows and a cookbook he heard about on NPR: “Around My French Table” by Dorie Greenspan. Now he cooks more often than I do. He does it really well and enjoys trying new recipes. Thank you, Julia Child, for creating the cookbook that led to this abundance of good eating!
I am happy to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Julia Child’s birth on August 15. If you are not familiar with Julia Child, here are some resources to introduce you to this colorful character who was famous for cookbooks and her television cooking series. She passed away shortly before her 92nd birthday.
Books by Julia Child
- “As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto: Food, Friendship, and the Making of a Masterpiece“
- “My Life in France“
- “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes From a Lifetime of Cooking“
- “Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volumes One and Two“
- “The Way to Cook“
Books by Others
- “Backstage With Julia: My Years With Julia Child” by Nancy Verde Barr
- “Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, How One Girl Risked Her Marriage, Her Job, and Her Sanity to Master the Art of Living” by Julie Powell
DVDs
And we just added a new Julia Child biography to our collection. Place a hold on “Dearie” by Bob Spitz!