Julia & Jacques Cooking At Home The complete Emmy Award-winning series. 10 hours, 22 Episodes and over 85 recipes. Julia Child and Jacques Pepin join together with fire, fun and culinary genius in what has become another classic hit for public television. Viewers are charmed by the special magic America s favorite cooking duo conjures up in Julia s legendary kitchen and enticed by the mouth-watering great food they prepare and enjoy. Julia s and Jacques warmth and conviviality shine through the programs along with their spirit, whimsy and remarkable skills, as they offer techniques, tastes and recipes at the heart of today s cooking. From Hamburgers and Halibut to Chicken Pot Pie and Artichokes, they reach the hearts of the audience who loves them for their easy camaraderie, step-by-step instructions and great talent.
Customer Review: The best, most heartwarming and practical cooking show ever.
There is a moment in this series that says it all for me: They are preparing a pork roast, I believe. Julia turns her back to fuss over one thing or another and Jacques, with a wink to the camera, scoops a few more garlic cloves out of a ramekin on the counter, dices them and slips them into the sauce he is making before she can turn back around.

It’s a classic example of the good-natured parrying that makes this cooking show my all-time favorite: Throughout the series the two of them gently fuss over which type of pepper to use, how long a roux must cook, and yes, how much garlic a recipe should have, as only old friends and accomplished cooks could. What a wondeful reminder that cooking is not an exact science.

And watching the ease with which Jacques plays his little prank is a reminder of just how much skill he has. He never seems to hurry or work hard, and yet everything gets done in no time.

This 4-DVD set is a delightful collection of moments like that, and a most practical guide to preparing an inspired collection of recipes ranging from creme brulee and roulade de chocolat to roast chicken and mashed potatoes. It will help any home cook master the basics, and reach for new heights of gastronomic glory.

Yes, Julia is clearly in her twilight, and Jacques does most of the real work. But Julia is there every step of the way, which is a joy to see.

As noted here in another review, the DVD provides the best format for emulating what you see on the show. Jacques is a true master and as a result, he makes everything look easy. The first time you try to follow along as he assembles a souflee, carves a chicken or rolls an omelet, you’ll realize just how much skill he has. But fear not, you can pause, rewind, and even go frame-by-frame to study his techiques. It really helps. (Just remember to protect your remote in plastic wrap.)

Yes, the DVD case is kinda cheap, though I have trouble getting the discs OUT, not keeping them in.

And yes, there is an unskippable commercial at the beginning of each disc. I go and drink coffee for two minutes if I’m starting a fresh disc. Otherwise I use the position-memory feature on my DVD players to skip them. Neither strikes me as overly burdensome.

Buy it. Savor it.
Customer Review: Le French cooking tag-team!!!!
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!”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 13th, 2007 at 8:49 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.