Just finished Julia Child's "My Life in France"

R

richard-in-cincy

Well-known member
Wow. What a mensch. If you haven't read this book, and you love food, you need to get it and read it now. And of course, I'm plowing through the "The Book" now.

What an amazing person.

 
Richard, I chose this for my bookclub selection in Oct. I hope the ladies like it as much as I did.

And, lucky me, I get to make dinner that night and we usually build a menu around foods from the book or something about the book. Now, how on earth will I decide what to make?? thinking about stuffed crepes and hericot verts and a ceasar type salad, or her tomato quiche. for dessert her chocolate bombe. appetizers are harder to find. Maybe Gougere and some Boursin cheese and crackers and nice olives and cornichones(sp). I have plenty of time to play with the menu. Can't be too fancy though, we try to keep it simple.

 
Well, maybe Julia's first meal in France???

In Rouen, of course (honored to have visted it in May).

Oysters (portugaises) on the half shell
served with pain de seilge (pale rye
bread) and unsalted butter (Beurre de
Charentes)

Sole Meuniere (presented with a spluttering
butter sauce with a sprinking of parsley)

Salad verte and crisp baguette

Frommage blanc

cafe filtre

She was hooked. And the rest, is history.

 
Or a nicely roasted chicken with potatoes.

I watched Paula Deen in Paris, and one of the segments was about the chicken man---an outdoor booth with roasted chickens and the potatoes at the bottom of roaster catching all those lovely drippings. I wanted to dive into the TV.

 
Funny, I hung a picture of Julia in my kitchen just this morning. Actually, it's a silly

greeting card a friend gave me--a 50's photo of a shirtwaisted model displaying a new electric oven. Julia's head has been pasted onto the model, along with a fire in the oven and an extinguisher in her hand. The caption is "W.W.J.D.: What would Julia do?"

It's a great book, and very inspiring. I consider Julia the patron saint of late bloomers.

 
Try her "Champignons a la Grecque," the first recipe in the "Cold Buffet" section of THE BOOK.

Greek mushrooms. They're amazing.

 
All the Paris markets have those chicken roasters and have had them for

YEARS--we in the US have come to it very late. I think I posted a recipe that approximates it.
Put halved new potatoes and thick sliced onions in the bottom of a roasting pan. Put your liberally salted chicken on top. Roast at 400* for an hour-hour and a quarter or until done.

We were in the Sunday market at pl. Monge at the chicken roaster when a dog just helped himself to one of the chickens!! The owner tried to get it away, sort of succeeded but then held it too close to the ground--back to the dog. She just stood there over the dog looking off into the distance as if this really wasn't happening toher.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top