Bon Anniversaire to Julia

This week marks Julia Child's 109th birthday. But I remember her when she was barely half that age, way back in 1968, on a day I still recall vividly. I had just turned on the little television in our apartment and sat down to watch her groundbreaking show, "The French Chef."

For 28 minutes and 52 seconds Julia demonstrated with characteristic aplomb how to make a French chocolate, rum and almond cake called Queen of Sheba. As soon as the show was over I headed straight for the grocery store to buy the ingredients to make the cake that very evening.

Ironically, such was the effect Julia Child had on me and millions of others. Ironically, because this woman whom Kathryn Kellinger called "the most important culinary figure this country has produced" was, as Pia Nordlinger notes, a food philistine until she was middle-aged. As Julia herself admitted, "I was 39 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate."

Fortunately for all of us who like to cook, she experienced an Epicurean epiphany on Nov. 3, 1948, while lunching at Couronne restaurant in Rouen, France, on oysters portugaises, sole meuniere, and a green salad. And the rest, as they say, is history. As Frances Dowell observes, "Julia Child changed the face — and flavor — of American cooking."

Julia Child has been gone for almost twenty years, but her influence remains, and now, thanks to the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts which she set up before she died, not only her recipes but her words are available to guide us. The foundation has recently published a delightful compendium of quotations from Julia that offers much food for thought.

A sketch of Julia Child by Paul Child, her devoted husband and principal graphic artist, which adorns the title page of the The French Chef Cookbook, a companion to the television show that made her famous.Submitted by Tom Harte

Not surprisingly, she had strong opinions about food:

"The souffle is the egg at its most magnificent."

"An American meatloaf is for all the world a French pate minus the wine and truffles."

"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook."

"Without peanuts it isn't a cocktail party."

"If you're afraid of butter, use cream."

And she offered lots of advice about the art of cooking:

"No matter what happens in the kitchen, never apologize."

"A cookbook is only as good as its poorest recipe."

"Wallop your steaks! Whoosh up your egg whites! And, behind your chafing dish and before your guests, act with assurance and decisiveness."

"I think every woman should have a blowtorch."

"I think careful cooking is love, don't you?"

But she also commented on life in general and people in particular. "People who love to eat are always the best people," she posited. I'll drink to that.

Ramequin Forestiere

Forestiere means "in the manner of the forester's wife," and since the forester husband typically foraged for mushrooms, they're a principal ingredient of any dish with the name. This one, a cross between a souffle and a quiche, is adapted from the French Chef Cookbook, the companion to the TV show that made Julia Child a star.

• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 5 1/2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 tablespoon minced scallions
• 9 tablespoons flour, divided
• 1/4 cup cream
• 2 cups cold milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch of pepper
• pinch of nutmeg
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Swiss cheese

Saute mushrooms and scallions in one tablespoon of the butter and the oil until beginning to brown. Sprinkle with one tablespoon of the flour, lower heat to moderate, and stir for a minute. Off heat, pour in the cream, then cook over moderate heat until thickened, season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.

In a 2-quart saucepan beat milk into remaining ½ cup flour and stir slowly over moderately high heat until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat and beat in 3-½ tablespoons butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and, one by one, the eggs. Beat in one cup of the cheese. Place half of mixture into a buttered 9-inch cake pan, spread with mushroom mixture, and cover with remaining egg mixture. Sprinkle remaining ⅓ cup cheese over top, and dot with remaining tablespoon butter.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes until puffed and browned.