Julia's Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking: A Cookbook

After 40 years of cooking with fellow chefs and friends, Julia Child has developed a refined method for cooking her master recipes. In this cute little cookbook, she has also included variations to many of the recipes to show us all how creative cooking can be, yet how essential it is to follow the basic cooking truths. Julia was born in Pasadena, California. She then moved to Paris with her husband Paul and studied at the Cordon Bleu. After writing her first cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," in 1961, she appeared on many public television cooking shows. Judith Jones can be credited for discovering Julia Child, she is the best editor Julia Child could have ever found. She is very wise and once wrote me a nice letter to explain why my instructions in my own cookbook were too truncated. She loves the cookbooks she edits to have a personality and an easy flowing writing style. I took her advice very seriously and she has in fact improved my writing by her one small comment. It is with that said, that I can say that her influence on this book has only made Julia's writing even more wonderful. I love the fact that Julia gives her editor so much credit in the Acknowledgments section. Without great editors, most cookbooks would never make it to the publishing stage. David Nussbaum was also very influential in the writing of this particular cookbook as he was with "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home." He helped to gather information needed for this book from Julia's books and shows. He also spent time with Julia in Judith Jones's Vermont kitchen, working out the details of some recipes. The book I am reviewing is only 127 pages, but there is also a 288 page large print edition which I applaud Julia for considering and publishing. In both books, Julia presents soups, sauces, salads, dressings, vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, eggs, breads, crepes, tarts, cakes and cookies. The index is delightfully easy to use and I love the headings, e.g., Almond(s) is in a different color than the list following it. In that way, you can find the basic categories of Apples, Crab, Soup, Cookies, etc. When you read the text in this cookbook, you will almost feel that Julia Child is reading to you. I can hear her voice and that is what makes this book so wonderful. Each chapter begins with a fun note (or what you might call a headnote) from Julia. The first chapter is "Soups and Two Mother Sauces." There is a recipe for "Leek and Potato Soup." Julia explains the master recipe and then gives variations of "Onion and Potato Soup," "Cream of Leek and Potato," and "Watercress Soup." What you will learn from this book is "techniques." This allows you to create your own recipes. In cooking there are certain proven cooking methods and that is what I believe Julia is trying to show you. You learn to make a white sauce and a hollandaise sauce in the first chapter. The style of the master recipes is similar throughout the book. Each one has a nice heading of a different color, ingredients are listed in the order they will be used and the instructions are easy-to-read, yet do not have numbers. The Variations for the recipes are in a paragraph style, but also have nice headings in a different color. Each page has two columns of text. In the second chapter, you will enjoy learning to make a "Basic Vinaigrette Dressing." The variations sound just delicious and there is also advice in a small block which explains how to keep your vinaigrette fresh for several days. Throughout the book you will find little blocks of text with a pink background. These must be some of Julia's secrets. This is a book you will want to read and absorb. In the third chapter, Julia has charts for blanching and boiling vegetables. She says: "When you serve fine, fresh green vegetables, you want them to show off their color." She gives some sage advice on how to accomplish this. The chapter on "Meats, Poultry and Fish" is an introduction into sautéing, broiling, roasting, stewing, braising, poaching and steaming. Then, onto French Omelets and dreamy soufflés. You will enjoy learning how to make molded dessert custards or as we know them to be, "Caramel Custards". She makes a "Classic Custard Sauce," a "Pastry Cream" and finishes the chapter on eggs with a "Classic Chocolate Mousse." Julia Child knows that you could just use a ready-made pie shell, but thinks it is a shame if you can't make one yourself. With that, I can agree. So, in her Bread Chapter, she not only explains how to make basic bread dough, she shows us how to make an all-purpose pie dough. "Cakes and Cookies" follow this chapter. This will soon become one of your favorite chapters. Now, there is one thing you will want to know when making Julia's recipes. She uses a different method for measuring flour than I do. She sifts the flour into the cups and then sweeps off the excess. That will be key to your success where noted. I personally only use that method when making pie crusts, because I create my recipes by the dip and sweep method, which is the lazy way! You will notice that in her directions, she will say 1/2 cup cake flour (sifted and measured as per the box on page 97.) I was delighted to find a recipe for "Cat's Tongues." While I had heard of these finger-shaped sugar cookies, I had no idea what they tasted like. I recommend this book to new cooks, especially because these are the master recipes I learned when I was learning to cook as a teenager in cooking class. For experienced cooks, you will enjoy the variations. This is a book of Kitchen Wisdom from American's favorite teacher of French home cooking. ~The Rebecca Review

Julia Child is my greatest culinary hero. Her first two books, the two volumes of `Mastering the Art of French Cooking' influenced two generations of home cooks, caterers, and restaurateurs. Her PBS television series did not invent the TV cooking show, but they made such an indelible impression on the genre that I am sure their influence will be felt long after Julia is cooking for St. Peter. Her generous support of charities and freedom from commercial influences should be a model for other culinary professionals who wish our respect. After all that, I confess a certain irony in expecting to give this book a cautionary review. It is certainly a joy to read a new work by Ms. Julia, but I anticipated a few things you should consider, based on the fact that this is a very short book. First, there are 105 pages of kitchen wisdom for a list price of $20, not including introductions and index. Short books leave things out. The book very wisely advocates a slow rise to bread dough to get better development of flavor, but it doesn't explain why. Another area where the book is clearly leaving things out is where it mentions the five French mother sauces, but only gives details on making two of the five. Second, it seems to concentrates on the faster rather than the tastiest result, as this requires less space. One example I found is in the recipe for creating a crème fraiche at home. Almost every recipe I have found asks you to let the mixture of cream and sour cream or yogurt to sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Some have it sit for up to three days. This book allows for no waiting time. I confess the book does not always take the shortest route, as the recipe for pie dough (pate brisee) recommends a rest period of two hours in the fridge. Most writers suggest at least 30 minutes. I bought this book over a year ago and I do not use it for anything except for its crepe recipe, which I find to be both effective and simple. Rereading selected sections a year after reading it the first time shows me that in spite of it's small size, it simply does not mislead by omission. When an important detail is needed for a technique, the detail is there. I expected the book to skimp on the discussion of the omelet, for example, but it did not. It stated that there are many ways to make an omelet and the method presented was simply Julia Child's preference, not the Gospel. I was especially fond of the fact that on the matter of fresh vegetables, Julia was closer to Nigella Lawson's common sense approach to using goods out of season than to the stoic `only fresh and local' dogma. She does confess that we have not yet corrected the insipidness of tomatoes out of season, but almost all other produce is as good as gold, and healthy to boot. The lesson I take from the change in my impression of this book over the last year is that one may not be able to appreciate this book or be comfortable in using it unless you are already comfortable in the kitchen and know why you do certain things in certain ways. To use an Alton Brown metaphor, this book is excellent at giving you directions, but it leaves out all the details of alternate routes in the event you stray from the straight and narrow. I highly recommend this book, but I urge you to not take it as a shortcut to kitchen wisdom. The best way to use the book is to have studied these techniques in more detailed books and to come back to this book for a reminder. The irony in this advice is that Julia herself says that once you know a technique, you rarely have to refer to a recipe again. To those of you who are reading the book without a wide reading in other good books on cooking, please take my word for the fact that this lady knows what she is talking about. Very highly recommended for all amateur cooks.

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 . Julia's Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking is a relatively diminutive document in terms of length, only 128 pages, but every word counts in this fine edition. Here are the essential chapters: -- Soups and Two Mother Sauces -- Salads and Their Dressings -- Vegetables -- Meats, Poultry, and Fish -- Egg Cookery -- Breads, Crêpes, and Tarts -- Cakes and Cookies 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. The recipes herein can be prepared by even the beginner to cooking. Julia has made it that simple for us. And when you taste her French Onion Soup (page 7) you'll come to realize why Julia was head and shoulders above the pack of television chefs which followed her. The French Onion Soup is a simple and amazing appetizer. All these recipes bear the hallmark of her apparently limitless culinary knowledge. 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.

This is an incredible little book 107 fact filled pages that is an amazing collection of essential techniques...sort of a "how to" of everything you'd like to know about cooking all in one place and simply explained! I've been cooking for 46 years and began as a bride with zero experience by having to look up the recipe for scrambled eggs, a baked potato...you name it and I would have no clue...just stared at the oven knob and all those numbers between 200 and 550 wondering how I'd ever find out what temperature I was supposed to use to bake a potato. I literally had to begin with the most basic recipes and learn technique by a trial and error method and wore out two copies of the Joy of Cooking. 46 years later and what now seems like a lifetime of loving to cook, collecting 100's of cookbooks I cried when I read Julia's Kitchen Wisdom...like a visit with a beloved friend...but OMG if she'd just written this book when I was starting out life could have been so much easier. If you only have one cookbook and whether you are just beginning to learn to cook or you've been cooking for years THIS IS A MUST HAVE BOOK. The title says it all "Essential Techniques and Recipes from A Lifetime of Cooking" by Julia Child. This is not "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" which blew my mind as a young cook...this is like Julia in your kitchen teaching you. A perfect gift.

Julia Child describes the focus of the book thus (Page ix): So often you can be in the midst of cooking and you just can't remember whether that leg of lamb should roast in a 325 degree or a 350 degree oven. . .This book aims to give quick snappy answers to many of these questions." Chapters within this book include: Soup and sauces; Salads and dressings; Vegetables; Meats, poultry, and fish; Egg cookery; Breads, crepes, and tartes; Cakes and cookies; Kitchen equipment and definitions. Examples of coverage. Main salads for meals. The first example is Salada Nicoise. A recipe is provided. More interesting? Child supplies variations on the basic recipe, such as cold meat roast salad, Syrian lamb salad, and Pheasant (or duck or chicken or turkey) served in salad. The chapter on meats, poultry, and fish features discussion of different cooking techniques, such as sautéing, broiling, roasting, stewing (braising and poaching). Interesting concept. Child notes Beef bourguignon as a basic recipe. Then, she discusses variations on this master recipe, such as Coq au vin and Ossobuco. This book is straightforward, the recipes are quite doable, and there is a lot of useful information. A nice work by Julia Child.

I just recently got into cooking. I have always been able to cook basic dinners, breakfasts, follow recipes but just now I really started getting into cooking as an art. This book is amazing. For example I have sauteed cuts of beef before but with this cook book I do it how it is suppose to be done. I never knew that I needed to dry the cuts first with a paper towel or dredge them in flour, or about the space needed between them, or that the reason why my butter always smokes up when I'm browning is because I needed a dash of olive oil with the butter. I could go on forever but the bottom line is this book has made me love, enjoy, and feel more confident about my cooking skills. This book presents recipes in a way that inspire you to try you own things. She starts with a master recipe then includes variations on that recipe so now when I'm looking in my kitchen for ingredients my brain isn't stuck on a recipe it flows, adds, and changes things so I can come up with my own dishes. If you like things more well done then Julia does then cook them longer and she teaches you how to tell when meats are at your desired preparedness. If calories are an issue balance what you are cooking (roast chicken with veggies), eat European portions (which we should be doing anyway), and go for a walk with the family after to digest your food and enjoy the night air. It's not rocket science it's common sense :)

I bought this book together with Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1 as gift and it was a great success! Not only I had a pleasure of watching my friend's face light up, I was promised to par take in experimental testing of recipes made from this book! Talk about a perfect gift! The book is a nice compliment to the Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It is not so much a recipe book itself, but rather a guide with time-saving tips, ingredient substitutions, serving suggestions that Julie Child learned through the years. She shares her technique for braising, searing, roasting and folding which make cooking not only better but simpler! Very useful not only for beginners but experienced cooks as well. If you are looking for a gift that is bound to be a smashing success - I recommend this book!

This is a well constructed compact book packed with information and will be the first place I look for recipes. Her recipes and detailed instructions are no nonsence and complete.