# The French Chef with Julia Child



## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

At Amazon, they have 10 years of the French Chef with Julia Child--the original show that started in 1963--available for instant viewing by Prime members. I think my Fire is going to become the "Let's Watch Julia Child" device. LOL. (You can also watch the shows on your computer.)

I watched the first show (Boeuf Bourguignon) and I have to say, it brought back lots of happy memories--watching "educational TV" Channel 13 in New York when I was young. I didn't actually "watch" the French Chef when it was first on--I was too young to be interested in cooking--but my mother would watch it now and then and of course, I remember the SNL parodies.

Watching Episode One now, almost 50 years later, I am struck by how well it stands the test of time. Julia gives good, basic information--how to saute meat, how to cut up a mushroom--that is still useful to cooks and aspiring cooks in the 21st century. She's not gimmicky. It's also filmed live and yes, she does get flustered and mis-speak but she corrects herself with a little smile. It's lots of fun to watch.

Since I know we have a lot of foodies that haunt this board, I was wondering if folks would want to watch Julia and use this thread for discussion? I'm not suggesting anything very structured or specific. More--if you watch an episode and something catches your eye or is a particularly useful tidbit, post it here. Or maybe you have a question about a recipe or technique. Or equipment that she is using. Or anything...

Actually, it was equipment that gave me the idea for this thread. Two things I have noticed:

One, she cooks on an electric stove! One of those old GE models with pushbuttons. She is constantly pushing the buttons on and off to raise and lower the temperature. My parents had a gas stove but I remember friends with kitchens and those pushbutton electric ranges. I grew up with gas but have been cooking on an electric stove since 1980. If someone gave me a gas stove now I'd probably burn everything to a crisp.

Second, in the chocolate mousse show she uses "the machine" to cream the butter and mix in the chocolate. The "machine" looks like a Sunbeam Mixmaster...it's certainly not a KitchenAid! The bowl spins around in one direction and the mixers go in another. To take the beaters off, the whole thing turns sideways (or something like that). Being a KitchenAid person all my life (people might remember that up until two years ago, I was using my grandmother's 1953 KA) I had never seen a Sunbeam in action. It definitely gave me a chuckle.

Here's a link to the first episode: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00622CMW4. There are 10 seasons with 24-25 episodes each so we have plenty to watch and discuss! I look forward to others' comments.

L


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

THANK YOU LESLIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved Julia's cooking show when I was younger... so much younger...


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

My mother had one of those pushbutton stoves (actually a cooktop and a separate wall oven) AND a Sunbeam Mixmaster.  Sadly, it died. . .and she replaced it with a Kitchen Aid.  BUT my grandmother ALSO had a sunbeam mixmaster which was still in the house when my Aunt Betty died last January. . . .My brother has it now and he says it works just great. . . .Granny died around 1970 and while it had been used pretty regularly until then, my aunt really didn't use it at all.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Pushbutton things were very popular in the early 1960s. I remember a car with a pushbutton transmission. I think there was even one that turned on with a button, not a key.

Julia's stove is also a cooktop with a separate double wall oven. And she refers to the refrigerator as "the icebox." LOL.

L


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

We had the push button stove AND the Sunbeam Mixmaster AND the push button car. I love the French Chef series, and promise to start watching it. 

I still have a Sunbeam toaster that my parents bought from the neighbor (they probably just gave it to us) when I was 10. Admittedly, that was 54 years ago. It still works, but bread was sliced mighty thin in those days. 

There will never be another Julia!


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I was going to say, "A 54 year old toaster? That's amazing!"  but then I remembered my sister has an antique toaster collection. All of them still work. Granted, the ones from the 1920s get used very rarely but sometimes, for fun, she'll pull one out and make toast. Obviously, they were built to last in the old days.

Of the Julia shows, so far I have watched Boeuf Bourguignon, omelettes, scallops, and chocolate mousse. Her omelette cooking style is very different from mine and I am not sure I could do what she does without wrecking my non-stick pan. The chocolate mousse was way too rich for me (it had something like two sticks of butter and a ton of heavy cream). I may make my husband watch the scallop show, though. She had some good suggestions.

L


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I watched the first episode, the beef. This is great. She shows exactly what is important to know, without the shiny props and boobs and whatever else they highlight nowadays. Step by step in simple words and it makes it very accessible. 

I think I can make that beef now with no problems. 

I can't wait to use my fire near the kitchen for things like that. I can put it on a stand and if needed can rewatch sections. 

I am not familiar much with Julia Childs. I didn't grow up here so I never saw these episodes on TV. 

I just love her personality. You can tell its still a bit rough there in the 1st episode, but that makes it more real and less staged. When everything is always so perfect and shiny on newer shows, it just isn't realistic. Like when some of the mushrooms flew out of the pan when she shook it  . That's me in the kitchen. I am very messy that way. 

But holy moly did she use a lot of pots and pans and bowls


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I watched the boeuf bourguinon and omelettes. I will try her method for omelettes in my stainless steel omelette pan. I really don't like the non-stick omelette pan, but I am grateful that Russ uses it cuz he is a sticker.  The beef dish was a classic when company came when I was a young married. We all made it in our electric skillet. 

The 54 year old toaster is really older than 54 years, because it was used when my family got it. It probably wasn't more than 5 years old when we got it. I think the neighbors "upgraded" to one of those fancy 4 slot toasters. 

Did you notice that Julia had her washer/dryer in the kitchen?


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Hi Atunah, welcome! So glad to have you join our Julia club. I remember from very early KindleBoards days that you grew up in Germany so yes, Julia would be new to you. I am looking forward to your discovery.

As a bit of background, when this TV show popped up on American TV, I think it might have been one of the first cooking shows ever. It was definitely the first to ever discuss French cooking, that's for sure.

The cookbook, *Mastering the Art of French Cooking*, written by Julia and two co-authors, came out around the same time. I don't know if the TV show was a spinoff from the cookbook, was started in anticipation of the cookbook being a bestseller--things were so different in those days. Not everything had a huge media campaign attached to it. In fact, I think the publisher thought the cookbook was a pretty risky venture. But guess what? All these years later and it's never been out of print. The Kindle version came out just a few weeks ago. Here's an article from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/books/julia-childs-mastering-the-art-of-french-cooking-joins-e-book-revolution.html?_r=1&ref=kindle

(I have my mother's copies of vol. I and II. Not first editions...8th printings, from 1964.)

The other bit of context is public television. Back in the old days, when I was just a whippersnapper, PBS was called "educational TV." In New York (my home) it was on Channel 13 which was sort of the bad luck station on the TV dial. LOL. (In the Billy Joel song "Pressure," he references Channel 13.) Channel 13 didn't have any ads and also had a limited range of stuff they could show, so lots of weird stuff was regularly broadcast. I remember watching a movie from the National Film Board of Canada about the 27 different names that Eskimos had for snowflakes. It was a running joke about how strange educational TV was...then Julia popped up. A few years later Sesame Street appeared. And the rest is history. But watching these old B&W shows really brings back lots of fond memories of what it was like in "the good old days."



Jane917 said:


> Did you notice that Julia had her washer/dryer in the kitchen?


Oh, I'll look for that in the next show. Also, I need to find out...was this filmed in her home? Her kitchen was moved to the Smithsonian back in what...2001? Here's a link:

http://americanhistory.si.edu/juliachild/

This is her Cambridge kitchen but it looks different from the one on TV.

Atunah, the movie *Julie and Julia* is good for getting a quick synopsis of her life even if the Julie character is sort of annoying. Unfortunately, it's not free on Amazon but it is available for instant watch.

L


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I loved Julie and Julia. Saw the movie, read the book. I guess I should also try the audible book. 

I have seen Julia's kitchen at the Smithsonian, but I don't think the kitchen in the first couple of years is the kitchen that was moved to the Smithsonian. Did you notice she has 2 range tops? One is right next to the oven (how modern to have a built in oven in those days) and one is facing the camera. There is obviously a cutout shelf under the range top she uses because she keeps stashing dirty pans under there. It will be interesting to see if the kitchen changes as the series advances. 

With all the zillions of cookbooks I have, I never had Mastering the Art of French Cooking. When I became of age to be my own chef, Joy of Cooking was all the rage. 

Don't you just wish Julia could have kept a cooking blog?


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Thanks for all this info Leslie. I did watch Julie and Julia. It was quite interesting to see about her life.

My mother has I guess a german version of basic cooking books. She did learn hot to properly do those basics. I never started cooking until I came to the US  . 

I like stuff broken down to basics and from scratch. I don't mind shot cuts, but I think its important to get some basics right first. That is what I liked about the show I watched. She shows how to clean the mushrooms, how to brown meat, how to tell if butter is hot enough etc. It takes the mystery out of cooking and back to basics, while coming up with some really complicated sounding and tasting food. 

I see she has a whole episode on poached eggs  

I did notice the washer and dryer in the Kitchen. I am used to those things being in "odd" places. We have them usually in the bathroom in Germany. No dryers though, just washers. Most people don't have dryers. I only ever knew one person that had one of those fancy all in one machines.  Line drying all the way. Not sure how much has changed in the last 16 years. All my family still has no dryer.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

It makes sense to have the washer in the kitchen or bathroom since it needs to be near the plumbing core. For those of use with small houses who don't have the luxury of a laundry room, that is.  

I skipped ahead ten years and watched an episode (in color!) on ham. This was a sort of strange looking dish that I don't think I'll be cooking anytime soon! She took a picnic shoulder ham, braised it, then sliced it. Then she made a mushroom stuffing. She put the ham back together with the stuffing between the slices. Next, she made a veloute sauce, poured in all over the re-built ham, sprinkled lots of cheese on top and put the whole thing in the oven for a while (mostly to warm up, I think). Julia suggested that it would be good for a buffet since it would be easy for the guests to serve themselves.

I think I'll go back to the basics in the first season.  

L


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I just finished watching French Onion Soup from Season 1. What great entertainment! I loved it when she picked up a bottle and poured some in the simmering onions. "Oops I meant to pour in olive oil and this is vermouth, but that's OK!" I like the way she simmered the onions on the stovetop. I do mine in the oven in a cast iron pan, which means I have to open the oven a lot to stir the onions.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Jane917 said:


> I just finished watching French Onion Soup from Season 1. What great entertainment! I loved it when she picked up a bottle and poured some in the simmering onions. "Oops I meant to pour in olive oil and this is vermouth, but that's OK!" I like the way she simmered the onions on the stovetop. I do mine in the oven in a cast iron pan, which means I have to open the oven a lot to stir the onions.


It also makes me chuckle...the "no brand name" bottles. She picks up a bottle of olive oil that doesn't have any sort of recognizable label on it...just says "olive oil." Same for any other ingredient she touches. I guess they figured they'd need to get permission for all these brand names and couldn't afford that (or didn't want to look into what would be involved) so they just went for anonymous labeling. But the downside is, Julia picks up the wrong bottle! LOL.

L


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Yay!  I keep trying to Tivo her on PBS and The Cooking Channel, but they show her shows so sporadically.  Now they just need Jacques Pepin, The Galloping Gourmet, and Yan Can Cook and I'll be all set.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

I don't remember if any were pushbutton, but Mom always had an electric stove from 1950 on.  Never had gas.


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## Alessandra Kelley (Feb 22, 2011)

I love Julia Child!  She lived a few doors down from my grandfather in Cambridge.

Before Julia, French cooking was seen as snooty and complicated and intimidating.  She really changed the way Americans thought about food.  I loved how she would fix accidents and have such enthusiasm.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I am watching episode 3, season 1, the baked tarragon chicken....

She has got a great line in the first 2 minutes...her handyman husband drilled a hole in a wooden knitting needle to create a trussing needle. In perfect Julia style she says, "If you don't have a handyman in your household, ask a dentist. They love to drill holes in things." I am laughing so hard I had to pause for a second...  

L


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I finished the baked tarragon chicken episode (no. 3) and I can definitely recommend it as show with lots of useful, basic info. How to truss and brown a chicken, how to carve a chicken. Making lumpy potatoes look nice. Who knew they were called patate chateau? (or something like that).

An episode worth watching...esp. because of the big laugh at the beginning and the doorbell ringing in the middle.   

L


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I will be sure to watch the baked tarragon chicken as soon as my Fire arrives and I get it set up! It was supposed to arrive today, but got "re-sorted" in Seattle. Amazon is crediting my overnight fee, but can't relieve my disappointment that it did not arrive today. The UPS truck hits my neighborhood about 1PM, so I sould have it fairly early in the PM tomorrow.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Jane917 said:


> I will be sure to watch the baked tarragon chicken as soon as my Fire arrives and I get it set up! It was supposed to arrive today, but got "re-sorted" in Seattle. Amazon is crediting my overnight fee, but can't relieve my disappointment that it did not arrive today. The UPS truck hits my neighborhood about 1PM, so I sould have it fairly early in the PM tomorrow.


You'll be happily watching Julia on your Fire tomorrow....just say it like a mantra. LOL.

L


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I just watched Chicken Dinner in Half Hour from Season 3. She has a new kitchen in Season 3. How simple, yet elegant this dinner is. I just don't often cook chicken with the skin on anymore, unless it is on the BBQ.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

For the life of me, I cannot find the tarragon chicken. Is it the casserole roast chicken episode?


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Jane917 said:


> For the life of me, I cannot find the tarragon chicken. Is it the casserole roast chicken episode?


Yes. Season 1, episode 3.

After that, I watched episode 4, Quiche Lorraine. I should make my husband watch this one. When he makes quiche he puts too much "stuff" in it. Julia's was simple and elegant and looked delicious.

L


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Thanks for the link, Leslie!  I have two real culinary idols: My late mom (the best cook I've ever known) and the late, great Julia Child! I've seen every television show that she ever made, and love to watch "The French Chef." I still remember the first French Chef show that I watched. Julia was holding up a chicken with its ankle bones (do chickens have ankles??) held between her fingers. She dropped the chicken, picked it up, looked in the camera, and said something about how we are usually in the kitchen alone when we cook, so why would we do anything other than wash off the chicken and then cook it. The crew could be heard laughing in the background, and, by the end of the show, I'm sure the crew was eating the chicken.  In later years, I read snippets here and there saying that Julia didn't really drop a chicken, and that it was just a story that got passed around. I'm here to tell you without a doubt that she dropped the chicken because it was the first show of hers that I watched, and it started my lifelong love of Julia.

I'm fascinated when I watch the old shows. I love her basic techniques and advice, but I'm also a bit amazed by the fact that she would cut up a chicken, for instance, on the same cutting board that she would then cut up veggies on. Not much hand washing or sanitizing of the work surfaces. Given the ease with which bacterial contamination can take place in a kitchen, I'm surprised that more care wasn't taken back in the day with that sort of thing.

When I get a chance, I'll watch her old shows again. She was a gem. (When she died, I remember going to a back-to-school picnic at my superintendent's house. Several of my co-workers knew how much I loved Julia, and they came up to me to tell me that they were sorry that Julia died. My superintendent and new principal, both of whom were very good friends of mine, were standing nearby as friends and I talked about Julia. I then turned to the administrators and asked if I could take some personal days to go to CA to attend Julia's funeral. (Of course, I wasn't really planning to try to go.) They said they'd have to talk about it (laughingly, of course), and even when I pointed out that she had hardly any family and could use some avid fans there to pay respect to her, they quickly denied my request. I have to admit that I thought of Julia many times on the day of her funeral.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

I'd seen that it's in the Prime streaming library but hadn't watched any yet.  I remember seeing her occasionally but now I definitely plan to watch some of these episodes....as soon as I get my marathon Turkey Day cooking & cleaning done.  So Friday I have a date with Julia on my Fire.

(My in-laws still have the push-button cooktop.)


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Atunah said:


> I watched the first episode, the beef. This is great. She shows exactly what is important to know, without the shiny props and boobs and whatever else they highlight nowadays. Step by step in simple words and it makes it very accessible.


hmmm...I didn't know cooking shows were that interesting....


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> hmmm...I didn't know cooking shows were that interesting....


Clearly you haven't been watching Giada (and her boobs, which are, admittedly, impressive).


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Meemo said:


> Clearly you haven't been watching Giada (and her boobs, which are, admittedly, impressive).


   Have to say that I like . I watched the Chefography show about her, and I was impressed.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

Last night while the kids were watching some horror movie, I plugged in my earbuds and watched 2 Season 2 episodes of Julia. I watched the Casserole Chicken and Scallops. I think quiche is the next in my lineup.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Jane917 said:


> Last night while the kids were watching some horror movie, I plugged in my earbuds and watched 2 Season 2 episodes of Julia. I watched the Casserole Chicken and Scallops. I think quiche is the next in my lineup.


My daughter has absconded with my Fire so I am behind on my Julia watching. Things should be back to normal by tomorrow, however.

L


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

Leslie said:


> My daughter has absconded with my Fire so I am behind on my Julia watching. Things should be back to normal by tomorrow, however.
> 
> L


LOL!


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I snagged the Fire yesterday and watched an episode where she made boneless chicken breasts and rice. Julia showed how to take the chicken off the bone to make the "supremes" (as she called them). She called the rice risotto but it's really braised rice, made the same way as Pierre Franey advises in *The 60 Minute Gourmet*. That's how I used to make rice until I got a rice cooker. 

Watching that made me have a craving for chicken with rice so I talked my husband into Chicken with Pickles for dinner. Yum! If anyone wants the recipe let me know and I'll type it up.

L


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Jane917 said:


> Last night while the kids were watching some horror movie,


OT: I just finished watching House of Wax, one of Vincent Price' early horror movies, from a Netflix DVD. When I was 6 or 7, older sister of a friend took us to see it in local theater. It's the only movie that ever gave me nightmares. Truly scared me. Not this time though.  I remembered sequence of things incorrectly.

Back to Julia . . . .


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Just discovered this thread.  Thanks for letting us know about this, Leslie.  

Watching the Boeuf Bourguignon now.  I'll never make this myself, but it's fun to watch.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

mlewis78 said:


> Just discovered this thread. Thanks for letting us know about this, Leslie.
> 
> Watching the Boeuf Bourguignon now. I'll never make this myself, but it's fun to watch.


It's a lot of fun to watch, that's for sure...


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

She just referred to the "ice box."  My uncle used that term and he had a real ice box in the garage that he used for tools.  

Note that she dries the beef and the mushrooms with towels and says how easy it is to have these on hand since we have electric washers (apparently, she didn't have to use the laundromat).


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Leslie said:


> I snagged the Fire yesterday and watched an episode where she made boneless chicken breasts and rice. Julia showed how to take the chicken off the bone to make the "supremes" (as she called them). She called the rice risotto but it's really braised rice, made the same way as Pierre Franey advises in *The 60 Minute Gourmet*. That's how I used to make rice until I got a rice cooker.
> 
> Watching that made me have a craving for chicken with rice so I talked my husband into Chicken with Pickles for dinner. Yum! If anyone wants the recipe let me know and I'll type it up.
> 
> L


Chicken with Pickles sounds intriguing. Would love the recipe when you get time.



Sandpiper said:


> OT: I just finished watching House of Wax, one of Vincent Price' early horror movies, from a Netflix DVD. When I was 6 or 7, older sister of a friend took us to see it in local theater. It's the only movie that ever gave me nightmares. Truly scared me. Not this time though.  I remembered sequence of things incorrectly.
> 
> Back to Julia . . . .


I grew up with Vincent Price horror movies, especially the ones based on Poe's works. I got to see Price on campus when I was in college, and he was very interesting. (Just hearing his voice was enough to scare me, though.)


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

mlewis78 said:


> Note that she dries the beef and the mushrooms with towels and says how easy it is to have these on hand since we have electric washers (apparently, she didn't have to use the laundromat).


Look behind Julia and you'll notice her washer and dryer...Jane917 was the first one on this thread to notice and point that out.

L


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Cindy416 said:


> Chicken with Pickles sounds intriguing. Would love the recipe when you get time.


Here you go:

*Chicken Breasts with Condiments* (affectionately known as Chicken with Pickles in our house)
serves 4-6

3 whole chicken breasts, halved, boned, and skinned
1/2 tsp salt
pinch pepper
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup sour pickles, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tsp chopped chives

Remove fat and tendons from chicken breasts. Flatten slightly between sheets of waxed paper. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Boil cream in a medium sized saucepan until reduced to 3/4 cup. Cream will be thick.

Heat butter in a skillet. Add chicken pieces, cooking 3-4 min per side. Remove to a platter and keep warm.

Add chicken broth to skillet. Boil until reduced to 1/4 cup. Stir in pickles, cream, and mustard. Cook until hot but do not boil. Add tarragon, parsley, and chives.

Return chicken to pan to reheat. Turn to coat with sauce.

On a platter, attractively arrange the chicken and pour over sauce. Garnish with slivered lemon peel and slices of sour pickle. Serve with white rice.

Enjoy!


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Leslie said:


> Here you go:
> 
> *Chicken Breasts with Condiments* (affectionately known as Chicken with Pickles in our house)
> serves 4-6
> ...


I think I have this recipe in my Weight Watchers recipe file.  Seriously, though, it sounds delicious. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks!


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

That chicken recipe looks good, Leslie. When you mentioned Chicken with Pickles, I thought maybe you were losing it. It looks much better as chicken with condiments.   

All the kids have left and the house is very quiet. I am wading through the pile of sheets and towels. For a light dinner, I am making Julia's Quiche Lorraine. I have already prepared the pastry crust. I have never simmered my bacon before cooking, but I will give it the French try. I think I will sautee up some onions also. 

Bon Apetit!


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Jane917 said:


> That chicken recipe looks good, Leslie. When you mentioned Chicken with Pickles, I thought maybe you were losing it.
> .
> 
> Bon Apetit!


I thought maybe she was pregnant....


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## Victoria J (Jul 5, 2011)

I loved watching Julia Child on PBS when I was a kid. She's part of the reason why I love cooking and baking today.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I made Julia's quiche lorraine last night because I had quite a bit of cream left over from the holiday. Naturally, the quiche was very smooth and creamy. I even made the pastry shell, which is added value. Usually I just use a Pillsbury crust (with guilt), but there is nothing like the real thing. I had extra filling, and put it in a couple of ramekins for breakfast today. It was even creamy without the crust. It will be hard to go back to 1% milk quiche!


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Victoria J said:


> I loved watching Julia Child on PBS when I was a kid. She's part of the reason why I love cooking and baking today.


Same with me. Between Julia and my mom's wonderful cooking, there's no way that I'd not love to cook.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I just finished the crepe video from season 1. So handy if "in Julia's words" you have left over lobster in the fridge.

from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


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## Randirogue (Apr 25, 2011)

You are awesome for sharing this little tidbit of info.  I'm totally going to be watching it!


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Jane917 said:


> I just finished the crepe video from season 1. So handy if "in Julia's words" you have left over lobster in the fridge.
> 
> from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


Does anyone else think that the term "leftover lobster" is an oxymoron? (I live in the midwest, where lobster is a rare treat. I'm not sure I know anyone who would allow any lobster to be left over.  )


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

Cindy416 said:


> Does anyone else think that the term "leftover lobster" is an oxymoron? (I live in the midwest, where lobster is a rare treat. I'm not sure I know anyone who would allow any lobster to be left over.  )


My thoughts exactly. Or crab. Maybe Leslie keeps a ready supply of lobster in her refrigerator.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Somethings should be consumed immediately, 
leftover steak would be another....neither is any good reheated


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Jane917 said:


> My thoughts exactly. Or crab. Maybe Leslie keeps a ready supply of lobster in her refrigerator.


Leslie is fortunate enough to live in Maine, so I think there's a good possibility that she does just that. I know I would, were I lucky enough to live there. (Lobster and crab are among my favorite foods. Can you tell?)


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> Somethings should be consumed immediately,
> leftover steak would be another....neither is any good reheated


Actually, I love leftover cold steak. I think I like it more than when it is first served.

And yes, in the summer, we often have leftover lobster in the refrigerator. The way we do it: if you are going to have 4 people for dinner, buy 8 lobsters. You can count on 6 being consumed, maybe 7, then you can plan for 1-2 leftover to pick out the meat. The key is buying chicken lobsters (1 to 1 1/4 lbs) not great big humongous ones, designed for one per person. Multiple small lobsters are better.

Did Julia discuss all this?

L


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

Leslie said:


> And yes, in the summer, we often have leftover lobster in the refrigerator. The way we do it: if you are going to have 4 people for dinner, buy 8 lobsters. You can count on 6 being consumed, maybe 7, then you can plan for 1-2 leftover to pick out the meat. The key is buying chicken lobsters (1 to 1 1/4 lbs) not great big humongous ones, designed for one per person. Multiple small lobsters are better.
> 
> L


Not having lobster in the refrigerator, I combined some turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes and put them in the crepes. Then I made a cranberry cream sauce for the top. They turned out quite nice, and I think Julia would be proud!


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Jane917 said:


> Not having lobster in the refrigerator, I combined some turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes and put them in the crepes. Then I made a cranberry cream sauce for the top. They turned out quite nice, and I think Julia would be proud!


Sounds delicious, Jane! I know I would have enjoyed this...

L


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

Leslie said:


> Sounds delicious, Jane! I know I would have enjoyed this...
> 
> L


I will trade you some turkey for some lobster!


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I watched the episode on veal scallops last night which--as always--made my mouth water. She layered them with ham, made a cream sauce and gratineed the whole thing. Yum!

L


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I am resurrecting this thread as today is Julia Child's 100th birthday. There's a nice article at the New York Times and another one where people are sharing favorite JC recipes. I like this comment:

Every summer I make the Julia Child tomato sandwich recipe from the August 15, 2002 Larry King show.

KING: What about a dish? Would it be appropriate to have, you know, a Julia Child salad, or Julia Child ...

CHILD: I just love a fresh ripe - red, ripe tomato. I think there couldn't be ...

KING: That's good enough.

CHILD: ... anything better. That's good enough.

KING: But when you want it sliced, you want it served in a Julia Child salad? Or do you just want it served ...

CHILD: I'd like it on a nice big piece of white bread slathered with Hellman's mayonnaise, and then slices of that ripe tomato on top of it. And just ...

KING: And what should we call it?

CHILD: ... eat it with a knife and fork. You can call it the Julia Child tomato sandwich.

KING: A Julia Child tomato sandwich is hereby ordained ...

Bon appetit!

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/your-favorite-julia-child-recipes/?ref=dining

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/dining/the-julia-child-recipes-home-cooks-still-make.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

In honor of Julia's 100th birthday, this is Amazon's Kindle Daily Deal:



Betsy the Quilter said:


> In honor of Julia Child's 100th birthday,
> *Today's KDD: As Always by Joan Reardon*
> (Reduced 80% from yesterday's price of $9.99)
> *$1.99*
> ...


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Leslie said:


> Watching Episode One now, almost 50 years later, I am struck by how well it stands the test of time.


I actually remember watching those shows when they were new. Julia was one of the pioneers of TV cooking shows, and it's still fun to watch her.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

PBS has done a great Julia Child remix:






Betsy


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> PBS has done a great Julia Child remix:


That was super. My goodness, those hot chocolate truffles got my sweet tooth going. Bon apetit!


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

I first learned how to make Coq Au Vin from Julia.. and loved so many of her PBS series.. but what I think about is the Saturday Night Live spoof with her bloody hands when cutting Chicken,.. too funny


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> PBS has done a great Julia Child remix:
> ...
> Betsy


Thanks for posting that remix. I remember watching The French Chef on TV when I was a child and as an adult. I have been rewatching the shows on Amazon Prime since February.

I mentioned Coq Au Vin to someone just last week. I also first learned of it from Julia.

Bon apetit!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

bordercollielady said:


> I first learned how to make Coq Au Vin from Julia.. and loved so many of her PBS series.. but what I think about is the Saturday Night Live spoof with her bloody hands when cutting Chicken,.. too funny


I was going to post that, too...looking around for it, I found that it was based on a true incident. Jacques Pepin talks about it in a very hard to hear clip; I'll see if I can find it.

If you want to see the SNL skit, you can find it at PBS's site celebrating Julia's 100th, along with many other videos:

http://www.pbs.org/food/julia-child-100-birthday/julia-child-video-collection/

edit: Here's the Pepin interview, which was backstage somewhere; there's a tremendous amount of background noise:






Betsy


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

Just watched the SNL spoof.. that was great..    think I will get the book too..


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

The Google logo today honors Julia--see www.google.com

And I'm listening to an interview on NPR, the Diane Rehm show by the author of this new biography:



It's very interesting. When they get the podcast up later this afternoon, I'll add a link.

Betsy


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I bought Dearie this morning without even sampling it, based on the strength of 28 five star reviews on Amazon!

L


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

If it's half as good as the interview I just listened to, it's well worth owning. The author, Bob Spitz, apparently met Julia Child when his publisher called him and asked if he'd be willing to escort an older woman to an event. He was politely demurring when they said "It's Julia Child." He agreed immediately. So he developed a relationship with her.

He said she loved the Dan Ackroyd SNL parody even though she didn't like most of parodies of her. She had the video and would show it to people, and would act out the


Spoiler



dying part. Apparently Al Franken wrote the bit and was under the table squeezing the blood packs.


.

Betsy


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

Leslie said:


> I bought Dearie this morning without even sampling it, based on the strength of 28 five star reviews on Amazon!
> 
> L


I have never paid that much for an ebook, but I may be tempted! I wish this book had gone to the Lending Library. I know the events surrounding Julia's birthday will prompt me to stream more of the PBS videos of her series. I think I only got up to Season 3.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Jane917 said:


> I have never paid that much for an ebook, but I may be tempted! I wish this book had gone to the Lending Library. I know the events surrounding Julia's birthday will prompt me to stream more of the PBS videos of her series. I think I only got up to Season 3.


I will admit, it was a splurge but even just 10 pages in, I am chuckling to myself. The description of "Educational TV" in the early 60s reminds me so much of Channel 13 (the PBS station in NYC). "Reading is Fun." Doesn't that sound like a scintillating TV show? LOL

L


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

here's a link to the interview:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-08-15/bob-spitz-dearie-remarkable-life-julia-child

He talked about how she made PBS and how every cooking show since has been because hers was successful. It's a call-in show and people who knew her ended up calling in.

Betsy


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

DL: Have yo uever cooked anything that was terrible?
JC: Of course!
dl: what do you do with stuff like that?
JC: I give it to my husband.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Leslie said:


> I am resurrecting this thread as today is Julia Child's 100th birthday. There's a nice article at the New York Times and another one where people are sharing favorite JC recipes. I like this comment:
> 
> Every summer I make the Julia Child tomato sandwich recipe from the August 15, 2002 Larry King show.
> 
> ...


Salt & pepper that tomato, put another piece of white bread with mayo on top (preferably Duke's), and you've got a good ol' Southern 'mater sammich. When I was young and had a decent metabolism, I'd eat one as an "appetizer" before dinner. We still look forward to good fresh tomatoes in the summer, big enough that you only need one big thick slice for a sandwich. Never knew Julia & I had that in common!


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Thanks for resurrecting this thread today. I LOVED Julia Child, and have an autographed photo of her that is framed and hanging in my kitchen. (I bought it on Ebay years ago because I was never fortunate enough to meet my culinary idol.)  She was a gem!


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Meemo said:


> Salt & pepper that tomato, put another piece of white bread with mayo on top (preferably Duke's), and you've got a good ol' Southern 'mater sammich. When I was young and had a decent metabolism, I'd eat one as an "appetizer" before dinner. We still look forward to good fresh tomatoes in the summer, big enough that you only need one big thick slice for a sandwich. Never knew Julia & I had that in common!


I have always loved tomato sandwiches (made with Hellman's mayo, a la Julia). Any Harriet the Spy fans here? That was her go-to lunch every single day...


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

As I continue to read through the Julia Child biography, I learned that the incident where she cut herself and kept on going was in 1978 on the late night show _Tomorrow_ with Tom Snyder. Jacques Pepin was on with her (and he must be describing it in in that video that Betsy linked, that I couldn't understand). Al Franken (now Senator Al Franken) wrote the skit. Dan Aykroyd was dubious since the whole skit was based on a single premise: blood and bleeding to death. But in the end, he gave it a try and it was a success.

My interim mini-review of _Dearie_: it's good but not great. It's what I would describe as a superficial biography. He includes all the good stuff we want to read but doesn't really drill down in detail (ie, was Julia homophobic? That issue is dashed off in a paragraph). It's entertaining but not really substantial. As I recall, this was the same critique of Spitz's biography of the Beatles. He writes for entertainment; he's not a scholar. Still, I'm enjoying the book and it is making me hungry! LOL.

L


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