With the arrival of suddenly cooler weather here, I recently went in search of some fall-like recipes with soup on my mind. In rummaging about, I happened upon the old family copy of From Julia Child's Kitchen, by Julia Child. Unless you've been living up at the North Pole, you know that Julia is all the rage again, and her books are topping the Amazon best sellers list like crazy. (I guess a major movie helps...) As I flipped through our copy I re-discovered the inscription at the front. Julia herself had signed the book, as well as her husband, Paul! Why it was ever dedicated to my dad, I'll never quite know...he was a master at scrambled eggs, but his interest in the culinary arts never went much beyond that, so why a world-famous chef would ever be asked to sign a copy for him is a bit of a mystery. Now my Grandmother, that would make sense...
Grandma was not what you would call a "TV" person. PBS was the only station she ever tuned in to. All Creatures Great and Small, Upstairs Downstairs and The French Chef pretty made up her entire viewing schedule. Let's just say the Nelson Ratings people were not beating down her door...However, when Julia came on, she sat in rapt attention, 3 x 5 note cards and pencil at the ready. In her perfect, clear handwriting, she took notes and made comments on everything Julia Child ever whipped up on her show. (There was no Food Network then, after all) My mom and I have all her old recipe boxes filled with authentic, complex, detailed recipes for everything from Bavarian Cream to Roast Chicken. There isn't a single dish that calls for a can of Cream-of -Mushroom or a packet of onion soup mix--such a thing would be unheard of. Grandma was a wonderful cook, and, I think, quite ahead of her time. She was of old school, like Julia. No shortcuts. No quick and easy.
Julia and her cookbooks really were the best thing to ever happen to the home chef--nothing else like it had been done before. She began the revolution. As I look at the dozens of beautiful cookbooks we stock here at Clever Girl, they are filled with great recipes, ideas and beautiful photographs. We really do owe it all to the love, passion and the determination of Julia Child to provide us her textbooks about real food and real cooking. She launched the foodie nation we've become way back in the 60's, and we benefit from it to this day...so thank you to Julia, and Bon Appetit!
