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Julia Child
August 15, 1912 - August 13, 2004
(Photo courtesy of Reuters)
La Belle Cuisine
Julia Child in her
own words...
“Life itself is the proper binge.”
"Some
people like to paint pictures, or do gardening, or build a boat
in the basement. Other people get a tremendous pleasure out of the
kitchen, because cooking is just as creative and imaginative as drawing,
or wood carving, or music."
"The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking
you've got
to have a what-the-hell attitude."
"Non-cooks think it’s silly to invest two hours’ work into two
minutes’ enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, well, so is the ballet.”
“I have
trouble with toast. Toast is very difficult. You have to watch
it all the time or it burns up.”
“It’s so beautifully arranged on the plate – you know somebody’s
fingers have been all over it.”
“In department stores, so much kitchen equipment is bought
indis-
criminately by people who just come in for men’s underwear.”
“I was 32 when I started cooking; until then I just ate.”
"It
is the Americans who have managed to crown minced beef as
hamburger, and to send
it around the world so that even the fussy
French have taken to le boeuf haché, le hambourgaire."
“I would much rather swoon over a few thin slices of prime
beef-
steak,
or one small serving of chocolate, or a sliver of foie gras
than to indulge
to the full on such nonentities as fat-free
gelatin puddings.”
"In
France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport."
From "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime in Cooking":
"Once
you have mastered a technique, you hardly need look
at a recipe again.”
“The perfect vinaigrette is so easy to make that I see no reason
whatsoever for bottled dressings.”
“It behooves us to choose eggs carefully and to treat them
right.”
“Of course you can buy a ready-made pie shell, but it’s a shame
not to have the know-how yourself.”
“When you have mastered a number of frostings and fillings,
cake making becomes just an assembly job.”
From "The Way to Cook":
The Way to Cook
“The
egg, that perfect, pristine, primal object – we may not gobble it up as
profusely now as we used to, but every mouthful should be memorable…”
“Because of media hype and woefully inadequate information, too
many people nowadays are deathly afraid of their food, and what does fear of
food do to the digestive system? I am sure that an unhappy or suspicious
stomach, constricted and uneasy with worry, cannot digest properly. And
if digestion is poor, the whole body politic suffers.”
“An
imaginary shelf labeled INDULGENCES is a good idea. It contains…French
butter-cream fillings, gooey chocolate cakes, and all those lovely
items that
demand disciplined rationing… They are for special occasions,
and when that occasion comes we can enjoy every mouthful.”
“While attitudes about food have changed through these last
years, fortunately the principles of good cooking have not. The more one
knows about it, the less mystery there is, the faster cooking becomes,
and the easier it is to be creative and to embrace new trends and ideas –
in addition, the more pleasure one has in the kitchen.”
“Wine is essential with anything! Particularly omelettes for
lunch.”
From
"In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs":
“Most important of all, food is a family affair and every meal
(including breakfast) should be a joyous occasion. While we are here on this
earth
we should not only be nourished by our food, we should also enjoy the infinite
pleasures of the table – as well as enjoying the cooking of what
goes upon it.”
"Dining
with one's friends and beloved family is certainly one of life's
primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and
eternal. In spite of food fads, fitness programs, and health concerns,
we must never lose sight of a beautifully conceived meal."
A selection of Julia Child recipes from our archives:
In Loving Memory of Julia: First you take a leek...
Appetizers:
Gravlax
Open-Faced Mediterranean Onion Tart
Beef:
Beef Sauté with Cream
and Mushroom Sauce
Beef Sauté with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Olive and Herbs
Beef Sauté with Red Wine, Bacon, Mushrooms and Onions
Paupiette of Beef Gargantua
Pot Roast of Beef (Master Recipe)
Bread:
Bagels (with Lauren Groveman)
Brioche (with Chef
Nancy Silverton)
Pumpernickel
Loaves
Fish:
Poached Fillets of Red Snapper
Salmon en Papillote
Pasta:
Sunday Night Pasta with Balsamic Vinegar
(with Lynne Rossetto Kasper)
Poultry:
Roast Chicken with Garlic and Lemon
(with Chef Gordon Hamersley)
Roast Turkey
Simple Sauté of Chicken with Herbs
Salad:
Authentic
Caesar Salad
Potato Salad American
Style
Soup:
Soulful Chicken Soup
Veloute
Cream Soups
Vegetables:
Stuffed
Onions
Zucchini au Gratin
Dessert:
Chocolate Buttermilk Fudge Cake
(with Chef Jim Dodge)
Chocolate Soup (with Chef
Jacques Torres)
Dessert Soufflés
Fruit Sherbet
Pate a Choux... a touch of magic!
Reine de Saba (Chocolate Almond Cake)
Tarte Tatin
Two Amazing Almond Cookies
Other:
Classic
Mayonnaise
Classic Sauce Beurre Blanc
Classic
Sauce Hollandaise
Classic White Sauces
Eggs by Julia (Master
Recipes)
Savory
Soufflés
Pate Brisée and Pate
Sablée
A Tribute to Julia Child
Happy 90th Birthday, Julia!
A Tribute to Craig Claiborne
A Tribute to Eudora Welty
Chef Jamie Shannon - in Memoriam
Index - Food Features
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