Salads should be enjoyed: the French understand that a salad should not be a penitent meal for the faddish and fat-phobic. So, for your salad-making pleasure, here is Julia Child's favorite vinaigrette dressing, a simple blend of shallots, mustard, oil, vinegar, and lemon juice. You can sprinkle it on some lovely salad greens or toss it upon some cold chicken, or whatever you happen to find in your larder that night. A lovely crusty baguette as an accompaniment is a must! More

You insist that the Food Network is constantly on at home, and you follow Top Chef religiously, but how much are you actually paying attention? Maybe you know who Julia Child is (or even the Dan Akroyd spoofed version of her on Saturday Night Live), but let's see how far your food television knowledge goes beyond that. Take the quiz! » More

CIting popular demand and renewed interest in all things Julia, Gastronomica is reissuing its summer 2005 Julia Child tribute issue: This special issue of Gastronomica is many things. It is a glimpse into Julia's world—her childhood, her college years, her romance with her husband, Paul—for those who don't know as much about her as they might like. For those who respected her both as chef and colleague, it is a tribute. And it is a farewell and final bon appétit for those who knew her best. $13, from gastronomica.org/julia [via Marisa McClellan]... More

Photograph from pbs.org/juliachild Last week's Weekend Cook and Tell challenge was to recreate a dish from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The challenge was inspired by Julie & Julia, which opened over the weekend. As it turned out, the soaring temperatures of last weekend and this week made it much more appealing to go and see the movie than fire up the stove. We didn't get a lot of responses, but a few brave souls accepted the challenge. Here are some of their Julia-inspired responses: Duncan1205 made Jambon Baise' au Made're. It's basically ham braised in Madeira and beef stock. Duncan1205 claims that this dish has converted non-ham-eaters into ham lovers. Cybercita has made several recipes... More

"Never before has food being cooked and eaten on screen looked so good." If you're a serious eater, you're going to love Julie & Julia, Nora Ephron's graceful, funny, and generously spirited new movie. Why do I say this? Not because the back of my head takes a star turn that, according to Nora herself, "has everyone talking" (ha, ha). No, I'm afraid that joy will only be shared by my family and friends who will be the only ones taking note of my hatted head walking behind Amy Adams as she orders beef for her boeuf bourguignon at the Dean & Deluca butcher counter. I say that you are going to love this film because it's as passionate, discerning,... More

"Moderation. Small helpings. Sample a little bit of everything. These are the secrets of happiness and good health."--Julia Child This famous quote from the late, great Julia Child has been the cornerstone of my serious diet. And that quote was on a sign for all to see, as the guests wandered into the ultra old-line, ultra New York Metropolitan Club for the post-premiere party of Julie & Julia, Nora Ephron's loveable movie that chronicles in parallel fashion the lives of cooking culture icon, cookbook author, and seminal food TV star Julia Child and writer-blogger Julie Powell. It was a good thing the sign was there, because the opportunities for excess were everywhere. New York restaurateur Drew Nieporent had put together... More

Rosa 'Julia Child' Wow. Nice find, gutreactions! Julia Child apparently chose this specific rose cultivar, hybridized by Tom Carruth of Weeks Roses, to bear her name. "Julia loved the even butter-gold color and the licorice candy fragrance." This rose has a rounded habit and excellent disease resistance, raising the bar for any English-style rose. Julia Child also features a sweet licorice perfume that exudes from each fully petaled flower, as well as a butter-gold color that’s perfectly suited to any landscape. For rose aficionados out there, its parentage is "[(Voodoo x R. soulieana derivative) x Summerwine] x Top Notch," and is hardy in Zone 5 (or Zone 4, with winter protection). [via Talk]... More

"Flinging around four-letter words when cooking isn’t attractive, to me or Julia. She didn’t want to endorse it. What came through on the blog was somebody who was doing it almost for the sake of a stunt...She didn’t suffer fools, if you know what I mean." —Book editor and FoJC Judith Jones [via EMD]... More

Unlike other recent food film releases, Julie & Julia is not trying to make a statement about rejecting corn syrup or starting a compost pile. As director Nora Ephron said in a preview for food and film bloggers yesterday (it officially opens on August 7), it's about the joy of cooking, eating, and living. And a lot of buttah. The French onion soup appears in a happy montage scene between Julie and Julia. "I've never gone through so much butter before," said food stylist and former Martha Stewart Living food editor Susan Spungen who worked on the film. But her biggest challenge was making cheese look melty on screen. It had to be hot enough to stretch "from the... More

Cooking with Master Chefs was Julia Child's PBS television cooking show featuring her visiting 16 celebrated chefs in the United States. Nine of the episodes are now online in their entirety, including the 1994 Emmy nominated episode featuring Lidia Bastianich. My favorite episode is with a young and dapper pre-"BAM!" Emeril Lagasse, demonstrating his recipe for shrimp etoufee and a New Orleans crab boil. Watch the videos online »... More