Favorite Julia Child Cookbook?

[Otter]

I know a lot of them are good, but if you could chose just ONE, which ONE would it be?

[choclatechef]

The Way to Cook, followed swiftly by Mastering the Art of French Cooking I & II.

[Andy M.]

I also like Mastering the Art of french Cooking and the newer book she wrote with Jacques Pepin, Cooking at Home.

[Darkstream]

Mastering.

It is one of the three core books that every serious (amateur) chef should have.

[Otter]

Originally Posted by Darkstream

Mastering.

It is one of the three core books that every serious (amateur) chef should have.

And the other two are?

[marmalady]

Mastering, definitely, for 'serious' learning. But just for fun, the 'Jacques and Julia' book is a hoot! And the recipes ain't bad, either!

[Michael in FtW]

I've got to go with choclatechef on this, if you were going to limit yourself to only one of Julia's books - "The Way to Cook" would be my pick. But, without the "Art of French Cooking I & II" it's kind of like buying only the "A" volume of an encyclopedia ...

[subfuscpersona]

sooo hard to choose...she set a standard for recipe books that is seldom equaled even today

Vol I and II are my choice also - I can tell b/c, of all the cookbooks I have, they are the ones that are seriously falling apart, they've been used so often.

Fortunately, my library has most of the cookbooks she authored. I recently returned Baking with Julia after scanning about 2/3 of the book into my 'puter.

(PS I just love the NY Public Library - you can search and reserve books on-line and they email you when it's available at your local branch. One small area where my tax dollars really work for me!)

[Robo410]

i also agree with ChocolateChef and Michael in FW. If only one go with Way To Cook. why? more adaptable to our individuality dictated by what we have and product availability. THe mastering books are real style and technique texts.

[Claire]

I have "Mastering", but truth to tell, the book I pick up and use more often is the Pepin/Child book. More general, but more accessible. I have easily a couple hundred cookbooks upstairs, then a sideboard in the dining room (it is an old house, the stairs between the two are those between a maid's room and what was probably once the kitchen, the sideboard put in during the past century). The sideboard has "Joy" on it always, then anything from a few to a dozen cookbooks that I most recently used. The Child/Pepin book is there most of all the other cookbooks/magazines.