Posted on 12/12/2009 7:59:35 AM PST by Silly
Part of Julia Child’s charm is that she nonchalantly became her own authority. One of my favorite quotes is her description of her “brand-new, super-duper” Chocolate Mousse Dessert Cake:
“And here it is: Le Gâteau Victoire au Chocolat, Mousseline! One of the great chocolate cakes of all time, according to me.”
Not, “in my opinion,” but “according to me.” Who says that? A master citing herself, that’s who.
She restates this notion of self-authority in the same television segment, a guide to an intimate tableside cooking of Steak Diane:
“So, as I said at the beginning before we started cooking, I think this is a nifty little dinner (and I really agree with myself) for a chafing dish dinner.”
The menu (which she pronounces “may-noo”) of this very simple feast includes:
Child must have imbibed quite a bit of alcohol on a daily basis, I think. I cannot believe that someone whose recipes and menus included such a prodigious amount of spirits, and a kitchen so well-stocked with them, did not start drinking around lunchtime.
For this meal alone, the following alcohols are used:
(Excerpt) Read more at paulklenk.us ...
Brought to you by the Wesayso corporation because we say so.
Julia had a 30-minute program in the 60s. There wasn’t much TV available then (3 networks and educational channel).
One day, I happened to watch for lack of anything on the other channels. She was making some kind of bread.
As the program went on, she was kneading and slamming the dough like a baseball bat against the counter. I was in stitches. She was happily talking and slamming.
By the end of the program, she had flour all over the counter, some of the wall, her apron, her face, her hair.
I fell in love with her at that point.
Whenever possible throughout the years, I watched many of her PBS programs. She was a delight.
Authoritative, occasionally wacky with a loopy warbling voice that reinforces that impression, very amusing to watch and to hear as a result, comfortable in her own skin and able to lampoon herself, and very fond of alcohol, in her dishes or in its own right.
Perfect fodder for entertaining television that also manages to educate, but she’s not enough of a model-perfect clone, to ever meet with the success today, that she enjoyed in her prime.
Who’s become more shallow, network executives, or the viewing public? A pretty strong case could be made for either, or both.
This trhead is nonsense. And BTW stuff it.
One of my favorite episodes (not on YouTube, at least not in full) is her "omelette" party. This is where she makes custom omelettes for each of her guests, in real time, in her dining room.
Of course, she screws up one of them. So she says, "Well, we'll just save this one for Mr. Smith, he won't know the difference."
Besides the magnificent endowment of her kitchen to the Smithsonian (which you can tour online), she also donated her knives to another party (perhaps a museum).
She owned over 500 of them.
I feel pretty sure of myself after a nice glass of Cabernet. More so after two! ; )
Bon Appetite!
Ol’ Julia was a beauty in many ways.
Remember the time she bled all over the set while cutting up a chicken? She never batted an eye.
BTW, she was a top employee at William Donovan’s OSS during WW2.
She first wanted to be a nurse but was too TALL!
She’s probably cooking up some goodies for the Angels now.
We had spaghetti at our house three times this week!
I suggest you stick to the News and Activism forum, if you don’t like this sort of thing. There are numerous forums (fora?) within FR, wherein this sort of thread is perfectly acceptable, and even welcomed, though.
Lighten up.
As I recall she was also a secret agent at some time in her life. A lot of Hollywood was once composed of veterans, from Audi Murphy to Pappy Boyngton.
A research assistant and file clerk for the OSS. What a life she had.
Errrr... this was posted on the N/A forum.
I loved her show myself. It was one of the few things on PBS worth watching.
We just refer to her as cousin Julia.
'La bonne cuisine est la base du véritable bonheur.' - Auguste Escoffier
(Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness.)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Wow, that is so cool!
It’s on General/Chat.
Her maternal grandmother and my maternal great-grandmother were girls in the same very small Massachusetts town in the 1880's. Both with the last name Weston.
What are the odds we aren't related? Pretty small.
'La bonne cuisine est la base du véritable bonheur.' - Auguste Escoffier
(Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness.)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Ever watch Sandra Lee? I think she, too, has a hollow leg....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLMNZ6xY6YY
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