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Julia Child

Julia Child is in the news again because of the movie "Julie and Julia" which I have not yet seen but used to love watching Julia Child on TV.
What is your favourite recipe you got from Julia Child?

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  1. I'm sorry - to me that's like asking "Which life's lesson from your mother do you most value?" because whatever specific lessons I got from my mom were completely swamped by our mutual love and affection. Similarly, Julia's influence on my cooking had little to do with specific recipes and everything to do with her attitude towards the preparation of food, and how one ought to think about it and approach it

    4 Replies
    1. re: Will Owen

      I, OTOH, have several favorite recipes which I've used over and over again since the book first came out. Obviously JC changed my attitude and fed my interest in cooking, but I'll provide 2 of my absolute faves.

      One is a leg of lamb - Gigot a la Moutarde - the meat is painted with the sauce, which contains mustard, garlic, soy sauce (!!), ground rosemary or thyme and powdered ginger and olive oil. (p. 335)

      The other is Roti de Porc Poele (po ellay - too lazy to do accents). It's on p. 380. There's a fabulous sauce on p. 382 Sauce Moutarge a la Normande.

      I can't count how many times I've made these 2 roasts for dinner parties.

      Of course there are a bazillion more, but these are the champs.

      1. re: oakjoan

        I'm a latecomer to Julia. I was in Europe in the years the French Chef was on, so I knew her only by reputation, and I was intimidated by haute cuisine--even though what she advocates is cuisine bourgoise, which is still very classy. That all changed a few weeks ago when I was asked to cook dinner for someone. I'd planned something southwestern, but the eggplant at the market made me think ratatouille. A retired caterer who took me shopping (and modetly acted as sous chef and gave me the credit for some brilliant turns) pulled out Julia for the ratatouille recipe. It was the easiest recipe I'd ever followed. And the results were exceptional. Now I'd like to be able to emulate Julie Powell and cook my way through at least one of Julia's books. That isn't going to happen, as my kitchen time is limited (and so is our budget), but I've found a sure mentor and look forward to many more sessions with her. And does she have a recipe for stuffed lamb shoulder braised in red wine? I was told once about a tapenade stuffed shoulder from Marseilles. It sounded so good.

        1. re: Father Kitchen

          " I was told once about a tapenade stuffed shoulder from Marseilles. It sounded so good"

          Has anyone made this? I was wondering specifically how tapenade turns out when heated. I make an hors d'oeuvre with warm goat cheese and warm tomato, but cold tapenade, and was wondering how the tapenade would turn out if baked with the other two.

        2. re: oakjoan

          I'm going to have to relent here, as I just remembered the Pommes de Terre à l'Huile, which has now become so much an inextricable part of what I think of when I want a non-mayonnaisey potato salad. Before I knew the recipe it was a part of the only meal in France that I managed to order completely in French with no English subtitles, and when I saw the recipe I knew we were going to be friends. I usually add some chopped HB egg, and I'm sure Julia wouldn't mind.

      2. Not a recipe, but a true appreciation for food and wine. And butter :)

        1. Her lemon curd. Absolutely awesome.

          1. I have only made a few, from simple (omelette) to complicated (baguette), all turned out fabulously.

            1. Coquille St. Jacques a la Parisienne from Vol 1 of Mastering was the first "complicated" recipe I tried to cook, some 40 years ago. It came out great, and I can clearly remember thinking at the time "Hey! I can do this!" To say that experience changed my life would be a gross understatement. The other one that springs to mind is Poulet Roti a la Normande - I can't get enough of the gravy (sauce, if you like) that comes out of that recipe.