Julia's Kitchen Wisdom Book Review and Cooking Quiz

"The late Julia Child produced MANY cookbooks but this one, in my opinion, is second only to her Magnum opus, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (make sure to acquire either the 1961 edition, or the 1966 one which is a reprint and be aware that "Volume II" has nothing much to do with "Volume I" which is this one.)

I'm a huge fan of Julia's common sense approach to cooking, which is also tenoned with her professional knowledge. The cookbook which I'm reviewing here represents a maturity of Julia's years of cooking knowledge, rarely found elsewhere. The book's subtitle is, "Essential Techniques and Recipes from A Lifetime of Cooking," which is significant to understanding what is to be found in the text. Only Jacques Pepin and one other rivals her in this realm: Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques. James Beard, yet another contemporary of Julia, also produced some terrific cookbooks -- here's one of his best: Beard on Food: The Best Recipes and Kitchen Wisdom from the Dean of American Cooking.

The simplicity of this work is astounding, given the detailed information which is conveyed. The book is brilliantly conceived, covering the chief areas of scratch cooking. I also much appreciated how the very nice photos of Julia in her studio kitchens, found throughout the book, punctuate her common sense attitude toward her art. There is a nicely organized index at the end to help you find the recipe that you need. It's tough to pin down exactly how many recipes are in here (lots!) because Julia offers us so many variations and alternatives to each of her basic dishes.

In summary, I have never been more pleased with a foundational cookbook and I believe that neither home cook nor the professional chef should be without a copy. Highly recommended. "

~~ Patrick W. Crabtree

Of course, we are all even more familiar with Julia Child today because of the Julie & Julia project, a blog written by Julie Powell in which she cooked her way through Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. If you enjoyed the movie and are wondering about the book, you might like to check out my review at A Julie and Julia Book Review. Alternatively, you can check out the book Julie and Julia on Amazon by clicking right here.


A Julie And Julia Book Review

When I picked this book from the library on our cruise vacation this past summer, I could not put it down. That is, until I was forced to return it to the library before we disembarked from our ship. Read my complete review by following this link.