Julia Child's MY LIFE IN FRANCE

Baby Crumpet conducted our food book club meeting: MY LIFE IN FRANCE - the memoir by Julia Child about the years she lived in France right after WWII.

The book is a compelling read as it captured Child's passion for life, curiosity, sense of adventure and also her quirky use of words. It is impossible to not want to go out to explore & eat after reading this book. You discover a person who grew up in a middle class California family who has never had real French food or even had wine at lunch! You see through her eyes as she bit by bit discovers the joy of enjoying life through good food, wine & friendship. The entire 2nd half of the book is devoted to the backstory behind the creation of the seminal book MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING as well as the early filmings of the legendary PBS cooking series.

The Meal: Gracie prepared a potato leek soup (one of Julia's favorite) while Shelley (suspiciously not drinking - later confirmed she was pregnant. The ''not drinking'' test has never failed) delivered fabulous homemade desserts including a berry pie. It was my turn to do the main dishes and I prepared Sole Meuniere in honor of Julia Child's first ever meal in France; and a duck roasted in port-cherry sauce (roast duck as normal, then baste it in a sauce of butter, port, shallots & red cherries). I have to say the sauce was stunning (try not to think about the whole stick of butter I used). Wine flowed freely as usual.

Next book: HEAT by Bill Buford.