Everyday Systems

Hi Everyone,

If you know me at all, you know I love cooking and am quite new to it. I am contemplating buying a Julia Child cookbook in the future. Anyone own any Julia Child cookbooks? Are they a useful learning tool or do you have to be an expert cook to appreciate them? Are ALL the recipes the type that take all day to prepare? (which isn't so much a problem on the weekend...)

Plus, as someone who likes to cook and read, there's just something about owning a book by someone as influencial as Julia Child.

Well, if you think cooking is going to be your "thing", then I say buy the cookbook and dink around with the recipes on weekends and holidays. If it's too advanced, then set it up on the shelf until you are ready for it. Try another classic like The Joy of Cooking which has EVERYTHING from scratch. If I recall correctly, they have excellent instructions too.

Have fun!

I think that Mastering the Art of French Cooking might be a little on the intiidating side, but a great teaching tool. Many of the recipes are complex, but she explains EVERYTHING! But there's just a lot of stuff you aren't going to want to make unless you are very comfortable in the kitchen -- pastry, souffles, live lobsters.

Julia Child has another book called The Way to Cook that looks like it might be better to start with, it sounds like a good "kitchen bible" kind of book that covers everything and also gives recipe variations.

I taught myself to cook largely using Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Most of the recipes are pretty simple (OK, she also has homemade ravioli and how to bone an entire chicken in there if you want to go that route) and very clear. And delicious.

Another great book for beginners is Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food. I can't get over how good her recipes are, and it's organized to sort of teach you technique.

All very interesting! I was looking at the book in Borders the other day. And I love food and making dishes (though they're simple) so even reading about it is exciting. Even if all I do is read it, I'm sure there are some tricks in there to be learned.

Do you have a particular type of cooking that you are more fond of than another? That might give you a good starting point for your self-guided home-schooling in the culinary field

I have so many cookbooks, but this conversation is making me want to buy more.

Nichole, of course, there is always the library to test run your cookbooks.

Thalia, cookbooks are like sirens to me, singing their wooing song of gourmet meals made in short amounts of time with inexpensive and easy to find ingredients. (sigh) I've learned to resist (kinda) and put a moratorium on purchasing new cookbooks. Of course, there is always the library and interlibrary loan...

Nichole, you might want to go see the "Julie and Julia" movie about the gal who cooked every recipe in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in one year. While you probably wouldn't want to cook every recipe, and are perhaps too young to remember what a tremendous impact Julia and her television show had at the time, I think this movie might give you a sense of Julia's enthusiastic approach to food and its preparation, as well as her exuberant love of life. It's a very "up" movie in that sense.

As far as having to be an expert cook to get something out of Julia's cookbooks: my sister, who is an excellent cook but was certainly no expert when she started, says she taught herself most of her cooking techniques from the original edition of "Mastering the Art". She has all her cookbooks, and frequently refers to them even today!

If you see the movie, at the very least you will want to make Julia's boeuf bourguignon.

winnie96 wrote:
If you see the movie, at the very least you will want to make Julia's boeuf bourguignon.

Or coq au vin.

I'd get the cookbook. Read it for enjoyment, then if you want to make something -- have at it! I've learned a lot from just reading cookbooks. I do think most of the recipes are time-consuming --certainly no 30 minute meals (with the possible exception of omelets).

For everyday cooking advise and recipes, I like Julia's "The Way to Cook".

I also have her "Baking with Julia". Very good.

Someone at work gave me the Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and I have to say that 1) it's too advanced for me and 2) since I don't eat meat I can't make most of the recipes! But I love Julia Child and I'm sure the other cookbooks of hers that are suggested would be much better!