Some of my favorite books are cookbooks. I am strictly amateur, so a formal review of a cookbook is unlikely. A report of my adventures with it, however, seems natural to me. Writing about this will force me into using some from my collection (I got FOUR as retirement gifts), and get me in the kitchen trying new foods.

I started with Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking with Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck. Go big or go home, right? My interest in Julia (Can I call her Julia?) began with the 2009 film Julie and Julia. While I had vague memories of seeing her on TV as a child and of course the famous SNL sketch, I was not that familiar with her until Meryl Streep brought her alive for me in that film. I followed up with reading that book, and becoming much more fascinated with Julia than Julie. At the same time an author was presenting at a local library luncheon - his book? A biography of Julia Child - Dearie by Bob Spitz. I dug a bit more into Julia’s life with a History Chicks podcast episode focusing on her. Most recently HBO has produced a series featuring her life at the time of her TV show called Julia. So for years I have been fascinated by Julia Child and her cooking.

I had been searching for an already loved copy of the cookbook, when my daughter presented me with my very own new copy.- hoping I would have more time to use it as a retired lady. I won’t be cooking my way through the ENTIRE cookbook, but I sure will be trying some recipes out. I started with Poulet Saute aux Herbes de Provence or Chicken Sauteed with Herbs and Garlic in an Egg Yolk and Butter Sauce with a side of Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I need to begin by saying - labor intensive. I didn’t even start with a whole chicken, (Sorry, Julia!) and still hard work! I would not have been able to adequately accomplish a single other dish. Note to self: if I ever undertake this for guests other than my husband, I will have something like a salad prepared well ahead of cooking time. Next, have butter on hand. I guess that is not a surprise to anyone familiar with Childs’ cooking, but yummy butter.

The end result, butter and all, was delightful. I am grateful to my daughter for providing the Herbes de Provence - certainly made the end result easier.

I clearly have more than a little to learn, and I doubt I’ll ever be an expert in the kitchen, but the trying was as fun as I’d hoped. But we enjoyed a good meal. I fulfilled a long time dream of completing some French cooking and intend to do more. The full recipe is out there online, but gosh, the cookbook is an experience to be sure!

Enjoy your meal! (See what I did there?) Let me know how it goes for you.