3 Presents first Cordon Bleu dinner with cat on her shoulder: Noël Riley Fitch, Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child (New York: Anchor Books, 1999), 175.
4 Mrs. Child did “not have any great natural talent for cooking.”: Fitch, 180.
5 “Maybe the cat has fallen into the stew…”: Child and Prud’homme, 71.
6 Julia and Simca’s shared cat: Simone Beck with Suzanne Patterson, Food and Friends: Recipes and Memories from Simca’s Cuisine (New York: Penguin, 1991), 300.
7 “Paul Child, the man who is always there…”: Julia Child, The French Chef Cookbook (New York: Knopf, 1968), xvi.
8 Julia might have become a feline vet: Lisa McKinnon, “To Market with Julia,” Ventura County Star, March 3, 2003, http://www.vcstar.com/news/2002/Mar/03/to-market-with-julia, accessed March 12, 2012, quoted with author’s permission.
EVENTS IN JULIA’S later years in Cambridge and California are based on interviews with family, friends, and colleagues. Cat people or not, they agreed that telling Julia’s life’s story in the company of cats would be “jolly good fun.” It has been that, and so much more. We count ourselves lucky to have spent time with those who knew her so well and would like to thank them all for enriching our understanding of this extraordinary woman.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Philadelphia Cousins, Julia’s devoted niece and trustee of the Julia Child Foundation, offered guidance throughout our research and encouraged others to share their stories. David McWilliams told us what it was like to live in Aunt Julia’s Cambridge house during graduate school and, later, to take the “Julia tour” of Santa Barbara that began with burgers on the beach and ended with visits to a quirky Cat House.
Stephanie Hersh, Julia’s personal assistant and companion of sixteen years, whose stories revealed the texture of Julia’s daily life and the laughter they shared. Pat Pratt and husband Herb traveled with the Childs and belonged to their Cambridge circle. Spending time with Pat, it’s easy to see why these two vibrant and witty Smith College alums would be lifelong best friends.
Jim Dodge, master chef and “chauffeur,” who outfitted his red pickup with special running boards to accommodate Julia. He brightened many of her California days, and ours as well with his insights and encouragement, and asserted, “If you don’t know how much Julia loved cats, you didn’t know Julia.” Maggie Mah Johnson, Julia’s multitalented culinary assistant, graciously shared her collection of photos and memorabilia and her fond recollections. She and Sandy Shepard illuminated Julia’s friendship with Rosemary Manell, a fascinating woman in her own right who deserves more space than we were able to give. Sandy trusted us with boxes containing a lifetime of Rosemary’s mementos and letters between the Manells and Childs, and sent us on our way with a vintage bottle from Rosie’s wine cellar.
Rebecca Alssid, cofounder with Julia and Jacques Pépin of a unique master’s program in gastronomy at Boston University, reminisced about Santa Barbara visits with her still-exuberant friend. David Nussbaum, Julia’s cookbook collaborator and cat-loving friend, offered glimpses of Julia in action before the cameras, and the precious photo of Julia with her last kitten, Minou. Linda Carucci, Patty McWilliams, Marian Morash, Kim Schwartz, and others who shared their memories. Grosses bises à tous!
Many people helped us navigate the archives: Very special praise to Diana Carey, reference librarian for visual resources at the Schlesinger Library, who tirelessly tracked down photos and documents while ongoing cataloging made the collection a moving target. She, Lynda Leahy, and the Reading Room staff, who are as gracious as they are efficient, made hunting through boxes of manuscripts a pleasure. Thanks to Ellen M. Shea, head of research services at the Schlesinger, and Susy Davidson, executive director of the Julia Child Foundation, for facilitating the permissions process.
Merci beaucoup! David Cashion, our editor at Abrams, who instantly got the spirit of this book, helped give it form, and nurtured it with care, and to Darilyn Carnes for her stylish and elegant design. To our agent, Claire Gerus, whose support and sage advice put us on track for what has been a fascinating ride. To our faithful friends, especially Peggy Hughes, Susan Prince, and Jo Bolger, who came running when we were stumped by the vagaries of Microsoft or just needed encouragement over a glass of whine. And to the memory of Margie and her Minou.
Finally, to Julia and all the poussiequettes who put the joie in her joie de vivre. Her secret to the good life was simple: Find something you love and do it every day. For us that something was writing Julia’s Cats.
PATRICIA BAREY AND THERESE BURSON own a media production company whose programs have won top honors at major international competitions.
Ms. Barey received Emmys for public television profiles of Chicago’s food and restaurant scene and the pioneering work of Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, with two chats lunatiques, Ella and Rosie.
Ms. Burson, who holds a PhD in English, taught college literature, wrote scripts for national PBS series on the environment and school desegregation, and produced an award-winning documentary about the Art Institute of Chicago. She lives in Evanston, Illinois, in a maison currently sans chat.
Throughout the writing of this book, they found sustenance and inspiration in their butter-stained copies of Julia’s masterful cookbooks.
For more information about Julia’s Cats, visit www.juliascats.com.
JULIA CHILD´S RECIPE FOR LANGUES-DE-CHAT (CAT´S TONGUE COOKIES)
These crisp little wafers go with ice creams and fruit desserts, and are wonderful to have on hand when you want a molded magnificence, since you can use them rather than ladyfingers. They freeze perfectly, too, so you might make a lot while you’re at it.
For about 30 cookies, 4 inches long and 1¼ to 1½ inches wide
½ stick (2 ounces) soft unsalted butter
⅓ cup sugar
The grated rind of 1 lemon
¼ cup egg whites (about 2 “large” egg whites)
⅓ cup all-purpose flour (measure by scooping dry-measure cup into flour and sweeping off excess)
Equipment. 2 or more buttered and floured cookie sheets, the largest you have, and no-stick recommended; a 12- to 14-inch pastry bag with ⅜ -inch round tube opening; a flour sifter set over wax paper; an electric beater or wooden spoon; a rubber spatula and a flexible-blade spatula; a cake rack.
Preliminaries. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and set racks in upper- and lower-middle levels. Prepare pastry sheets, assemble pastry bag, and set out all your ingredients and equipment.
The batter. The mixture here is only butter and sugar beaten to a pommade (a light and fluffy consistency), then mixed with plain egg white, and finally with flour; the trick is to keep it light and fluffy so it has enough body to hold in a pastry bag and be squeezed out. Proceed as follows: Using an electric beater or a wooden spoon, whip the butter, sugar, and grated lemon rind in a small bowl until they form a fluffy pommade—if you have softened it too much and it has turned limp and almost liquid, beat over ice water to bring it back to a fluffy, almost foamy, state. Beat the egg whites briefly with a fork, just to break them up. Pour ½ tablespoon of them into the butter-sugar mixture and rapidly cut it in with a rubber spatula, giving 3 or 4 brief scoops. Do not try to mix thoroughly because you do not want to soften the batter; rapidly cut in the rest of the egg whites by ½ tablespoons. Then sift on one quarter of the flour, rapidly cut it into the mixture, and continue with the rest in small portions. Stand the pastry bag in a cup, spread the top open, and scoop in the batter.
Forming the cookies. Using quick straight strokes, form lines of the batter on the prepared cookie sheets, making lines 3 to 4 inches long and the width of your finger, spaced 3 inches apart—they will spread in the oven.
Baking. Bake 2 sheets at a time in upper- and lower-middle levels of pre-heated 425-degree oven. In 6 to 8 minutes, when ⅛ inch around their circumference has browned, the cookies are done. Remove from oven and immediately, with a flexible-blade spatula, disl
odge cookies onto a rack. They will crisp as they cool.
*Store in a warming oven, or wrap airtight and freeze.
Julia’s Cats Page 10