Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home [Hardcover]

(Full disclosure: I'm a Julia Child addict. I grew up "cooking along" with her show in the 1980s by sitting before my aunt's television with empty aluminum bowls and a whisk and clanking in time to Julia's instruction. Twenty-some years later, and I'm still at it...)

I just finished watching all 10 (!) hours of this four-DVD set over several days, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who is seriously interested in learning to cook time-tested, delicious meals at home. But be aware: this is old-school bourgeois cookery: roasts, stews, flans and crepe gateaus. This isn't foamed smoked salmon on a bed of organic flower petals or other such nonsense.

Rather, it is gratifying cooking that requires some practice and attention. That's why these DVDs are so great: You can easily play and replay the techniques that are often the most difficult in french cooking. Jacques Pepin debones a duck for an easy stove-top preparation, but if you were watching on PBS, you'd be likely to forget the exact steps and tricks for removing the hip bone or separating the breast from the carcass. It takes a bit of thinking, but if you go out and buy a duck, take it home, and review the DVD as often (and as slowly) as necessary, you will get it right. This is a great leap for home-learning.

These DVDs are a boon for Julia and Jacques's desire to convince America to return to homey, sensible meals, because it makes learning the techiques less forbidding. (I did the "serious amateur's" Saturday cooking classes at the French Culinary Institute in SoHo, where Pepin is a dean, and I especially appreciate the reminders that the DVDs provide; his technique and style is 100% FCI.)

For a lifelong devotee of Julia, it's difficult at times to see the great dame aging on-screen (and this is from '94-'95); Jacques does most of the heavy lifting here. But the series is nonetheless 100% Child and is worthy of her legend.

NOW IF ONLY THEY WOULD RELEASE ALL OF THE OLD SHOWS ON DVD ("Julia Child and Company," "Julia Child and More Company" or even the old "French Chef")!! A la Carte communications take note: there are more Julia addicts out there than just I!

I accidentally bought this book, planned to return it, and now intend to keep it as a handy reference for all the basics of gourmet American food. Every kind of food that belongs on a well-groomed American table is explored in loving detail by both chefs, from salmon gravlax to the perfect omelet to quick stocks and fine chowders, hamburgers, roast chicken and turkey, fish, creme caramels and other simple desserts. There are great tips all over the place, from how to turn out a perfect omelet to seasoning food in stages, as it cooks, so that all the flavors are brightened instead of ending up with a salty, overseasoned dish. You could plan buffets and banquets from this one book, and while you won't be congratulated on the extraordinary originality of the food, both conservative eaters and gourmands will enjoy the quality and simplicity. Therein lies the greatness of Julia and Jaques.

There is a lot of information here, not only on how to cook but also on how Julia and Jacques think and feel about food, in the margins and in the recipes. They don't hesitate to explore their differences of opinion, from seasonings to what to do if you make a mistake. As a weekend gourmet cook, I find this extremely helpful. It has already enhanced my comfort and ease with the food I cook, and that, to me, is worth it.

Simply wonderful!! That's about how to describe a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend some time with two of the greatest French chefs!!

I have two opinions of this 4-disc set, with the first being the positive; the second opinion I label as OK, not negative, because there are no negatives when you watch these two veterans of classic French cuisine.

To begin with, you have an beautifully filmed series that brings you into the home of the great Julia Child, so you feel very much a welcomed guest. And the grand dame of French cooking has invited Chef Pepin to join her in teaching you the finer points of this marvelous cuisine, so you have much to anticipate for both eyes and palate.

They play off each other as old friends would, and you will be entertained as well as taught. You'll see Julia in a firefighters outfit ready with the extinguisher as she prepares for Jacque to make a flaming dessert or "calling all ducks" with a duck whistle; then you have Jacque in a Julius Caesar ensemble to introduce the namesake salad...............all of it as corny as you can get, and all of it exquisite morsels that hint of the friendship that existed between these two icons. You also cannot help but notice that our Julia has aged, and that makes the friendship between her and Jacque all that more touching. He shows his admiration and his loving respect for her by doing much of the physical work, but do not fret, she is as fiesty as always.

Most of all, you will not be disappointed in the recipe jewels contained within these 4 discs of French cooking joy:

(Volume I)
BEEF:
Steak Diane
Bistro Steak
Steak au Poivre
Chateaubriand
Hamburger Deluxe

DESSERTS:
Strawberry Sabayon
Gateau of Crepes
Crepes Suzette

SALAD:
Classic Caesar Salad
Potato Salad
Salad Nicoise
Composed Salad

SANDWICHES:
Croque Monsieur
Croque Madam
Pagne Bagnat
Seafood Loaf
Lobster Roll

VEGETABLES:
Stuffed Artichokes
Mushroom Duxelles
Very Green Beans
Haricot Verts
Bruised Peas
French Style Peas

STEW:
Beef Burgundy
Pot Roast

(Volume II)
FISH:
Sole Meuniere with Black Butter Sauce
Poached Snapper with Cucumbers

TURKEY FEAST:
Giblet Gravy
Cornbread and Sage Stuffing
Cranberry Chutney
Creamed Onions
Braised Brussel Sprouts

SOUP:
French Onion Soup
Leek and Potato Soup
Vichyssoise
Watercress Soup
Mediterranean Fish Stew

EGGS:
Scrambled Eggs
Classic Omelette
Mushroom Omelette
Omelette Piperade
Eggs Benedict

PORK:
Roast Prok Loin
Sauteed Pork Tenderloin with Port and Prunes
Grilled Pork Chops

CREAMY DESSERTS:
Creme Anglaise
Ice Cream Profiteroles
Creme Caramel
Creme Brulee

(Volume III)
SHELLFISH:
Oysters and Clams on the Half Shell
Shrimp Cocktail
Moules Mariniere
Billi-bi Soup
Moules Ravigote

ROAST CHICKEN:
Savory Stuffed Chicken
Butterflied Chicken with Spice Rub

SOUFFLES:
Cheese Souffle
Scallop Souffle
Chocolate Roulade

WINTER VEGETABLES:
Stuffed Cabbage
Cauliflower au Gratin
Glazed Carrots and Turnip
Celery Root Remoulade

CHARCUTERIE (sausages and pate):
Homemade Sausages
Sauages in Brioche
Country Pate

COMFORT FOOD:
Poached Chicken on a Bed of Rice
Chicken Pot Pie
Country Style Apple Tart

(Volume IV)
SALMON:
Gravlax
Salmon Tartare
Salmon Unilateral
Oven-Roasted Salmon
Salmon en Papillote

ROASTS OF VEAL AND LAMB:
Veal roast en Cocotte
Sauteed Mushrooms in Cream
Eggplant and Zucchini Gratin
Roasted Leg of Lamb

POTATOES:
A Perfect Baked Potato
Pommes Byron
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Pommes Boulangere
Gratin Dauphinoise
Pomes Souffles

DUCK:
Skillet Duck with Parsnips and Shallots
Two-Way Duck
Duck Giblets and Escarole Salad

Now for the "OK" part of all of this. As another reviewer mentioned, the packaging was a bit shoddy in that all the CD's arrived loose within their container because they had fallen out of the plastic grips; I think it would have been better if they had each been secured within separate plastic jackets.

That being said, each disc begins with the commercials that preceded every episode of this wonderful series. But now being on DVD, they are only at the start of each disc and not each episode; they run only two minutes so they are brief. But keep in mind that theses companies helped to underwrite the cost of such an excellent series, therefore I think anyone would be hard-pressed to be upset.

So for any gourmand of cooking, and even if that person is yourself, you will enjoy the series that brought you 85 recipes, 2 people, and one great time that you will appreciate. Besides, as Julia tells you, "it's real cooking, not for fluffies!"

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