My cookbook reading group ventured into a classic this past week – “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” paired with “My Life in France”.   Compared to cookbooks being published now, MtAoFC doesn’t stand out.  It has a simple cover, lots of text and a few illustrations rather than large photographs of every recipe that can sometimes be best described as “food porn”.  But this was the book that when published in 1961 reignited interest in cooking in North America when every other trend was toward easy and processed convenience foods.  It was the book that dared to say that meals can take a long time and can be hard work, but the results are worth the effort for an authentic French meal.

I didn’t know much about Julia Child before this month.  I recognized her name and image because even in rural Nova Scotia, with only three TV channels in the 80s and 90s, she was a celebrity chef.  But other than recognition, I didn’t know much else.  And perhaps many 30-something’s wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for the books “My Life in France” and ”Julie and Julia”, which in the last few years have introduced MtAoFC to a new generation.  Both of these books were featured in the movie, “Julie and Julie” (that I still haven’t seen), reaching an even wider audience.    If you only have time for one book, I recommend “My Life in France” as the better book (Julie Powell’s crises of turning 30 grew tiring after the first hundred pages).  “My Life in France” was coauthored by Julia Child and Alex Prud’homme (her grand nephew).  It tells Julia’s pretty incredible story of arriving in France, discovering French cooking, ingredients and markets, going to cooking school, starting her own cooking school and the gruelling process (which she totally loved) of putting together a comprehensive cookbook for an American audience.

If you have never cooked from MtAoFC I recommend giving a couple of recipes a try.  It is easily found at libraries or used bookstores.  I imagine that many of the recipes are even available on the internet.   I made a garlic soup (way better than it sounds), scalloped potatoes, and a spinach soufflé, and they all turned out wonderfully thanks to the meticulously detailed directions offered by Julia Child.  And any meal with as much butter, cheese, egg yolks and heavy cream is guaranteed to be good (unless it is liver – the consensus of our cookbook group was that if the rich sauces in MtAoFC can’t make liver good, nothing can).  And with more calories on offer from a recipe or two than any one or two people should consume alone, it an ideal cookbook to use when cooking with members of your community.