I love...Julia Child

It's that holiday time of year, when much of our energy goes into cooking. And you just don't cook around our house without Julia's help.

Ever since it was published in 1989, our default cookbook has been The Way to Cook by Julia Child. It was a huge investment for us at the time ($50!) and a bit controversial, because the Silver Palate ladies came out with The New Basics that same year. Lukins and Russo were considered to be much more modern and their book more inclusive. But Child wrote a wonderful, easy to use book with great pictures and a good set of recipes and skills that every cook should have at hand.

This is a book for the beginner as well as the more experienced cook. The Way to Cook is written in typical Julia style...she takes a basic recipe, teaches you how to make it step by detailed step, and then expands on it. So once you know how to make a pizza dough, you go on to make calzones. Start with a roast chicken, move on to boneless stuffed turkey and designer duck. Mike uses this book for pies (see above), soups, and meat, and I've never used another pizza recipe. There's even a simplified version of the famous french bread from Mastering v. 2

So thank you Julia, for making life in the kitchen a little easier these past twenty years.