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In her own words, here is the captivating story of Julia Child’s years in France, where she fell in love with French food and found ‘her true calling.’ From the moment the ship docked in Le Havre in the fall of 1948 and Julia watched the well-muscled stevedores unloading the cargo to the first... read more

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  • “No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing”
    Julia Child
  • “Learn how to cook-try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!”
    Julia Child
  • “The sweetness and generosity of the French had shown me how lovely life can be if one takes the time to be friendly.”
    Julia Child
  • “Though she was a natural performer, she was essentially a private person who didn't like to reveal herself.”
    Alex Prud'homme
  • “the more I learned the more I realized how very much one has to know before one is in-the-know at all.”
    Julia Child
  • “I have always been a nut for rubber stamps, and I couldn't wait to use this one on our letters. Stamp, stamp, stamp!”
    Julia Child
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • “Remember, ‘No one’s more important than people’!” In other words, friendship is the most important thing—not career or housework, or one’s fatigue—and it needs to be tended and nurtured.
    Highlighted by 199 Kindle customers
  • Illegitemus non carborundum est (“Don’t let the bastards grind you down”).
    Highlighted by 196 Kindle customers
  • I don’t believe in twisting yourself into knots of excuses and explanations over the food you make.
    Highlighted by 157 Kindle customers
  • Upon reflection, I decided I had three main weaknesses: I was confused (evidenced by a lack of facts, an inability to coordinate my thoughts, and an inability to verbalize my ideas); I had a lack of confidence, which caused me to back down from forcefully stated positions; and I was overly emotional at the expense of careful, “scientific” thought. I was thirty-seven years old and still discovering who I was.
    Highlighted by 143 Kindle customers
  • The sweetness and generosity and politeness and gentleness and humanity of the French had shown me how lovely life can be if one takes time to be friendly.
    Highlighted by 111 Kindle customers
  • “You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made,” he said. “Even after you eat it, it stays with you—always.”
    Highlighted by 109 Kindle customers
  • “Une maison sans chat, c’est la vie sans soleil!” (“A house without a cat is like life without sunshine!”)
    Highlighted by 105 Kindle customers
  • “One thing that separates us Senior Citizens from the Juniors is learning how to suffer,” Paul noted. “It’s a skill, just like learning to write.”
    Highlighted by 70 Kindle customers
  • One of the secrets, and pleasures, of cooking is to learn to correct something if it goes awry; and one of the lessons is to grin and bear it if it cannot be fixed.
    Highlighted by 66 Kindle customers
  • theosophist, and a vegetarian. In those days, widows had few opportunities to find decent work,
    Highlighted by 11 Kindle customers
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First Sentence edit see section history

At five-forty-five in the morning, Paul and I rousted ourselves from our warm bunk and peered out of the small porthole in our cabin aboard the SS America.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Foreword by Alex Prud'homme

Introduction

Part I
Chapter 1. La Belle France
I. Sea Change
II. Sole Meuniere
III. Roo de Loo
IV. Ali-Bab
V. Provence
VI. Le Grand Vefour
VII. La Morte-Saison

Chapter 2. Le Cordon Bleu
I. Chef Bugnard
II. Never Apologize
III. The Mad Scientist
IV. First Class
V. Bastille Day
VI. An American Stomach in Paris
VII. The Artistes
VIII. Surprise

Chapter 3. Three Hearty Eaters
I. Les Gourmettes
II. Home Leave
III. La Chasse
IV. Simca and Louisette
V. L'Ecole
VI. Le Prince
VII. Operational Proof
VIII. French Home Cooking
IX. Avis
X. A Curry of a Life

Chapter 4. Bouillabaisse a la Marsellaise
I. Terra Incognita
II. Top Secret Confidential
III. Hill the Pill
IV. The "Investigators"
V. Mistral
VI. Soup
VII. Boulevard de la Corderie
VIII. Adieu

Part II
Chapter 5. French recipes for American cooks
I. Situation Confused
II. The Dream
III. Oslonians
IV. A Godsend in Disguise

Chapter 6. Mastering the Art
I. A Lucky Coincidence
II. Prawns in the Maelstrom
III. I've Been Reading
IV. The French Chef
V. La Peetch

Chapter 7. Son of Mastering
I. The Irving Street Boulangerie
II. Pitchounians
III. Loup en Croute

Chapter 8. The French Chef in France
I. Documentaries
II. Contretemps
III. Movie Night

Chapter 9. From Julia Child's Kitchen
I. Ma Cherie
II. Chef
III. Heartbreak

Epilogue. Fin

Index

Glossary edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in KCPL Discussion Kit (Aug2010). (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Julia Child (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Alex Prud'homme (Contributor)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 2006
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 317

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More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Tender at the Bone
  • The Apprentice
  • Maman's Homesick Pie
  • Our House is Not in Paris

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • Paris in the Fifties

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