Julia Child's Kitchen Wisdom

Having just returned from Europe, I've discovered a rather sad truth about us Americans: we consider food fuel. Right after the car has gobbled 20 bucks worth of regular, we fill-up at the closest fast food drive-thru, barely missing a lane change to get someplace else. Not so across the Big Pond, where a three-hour meal with friends and family is often the evening's social entertainment. So, I now aspire to be a recreational eater like, for instance, cooking diva Julia Child, who has for years encouraged viewers to realize the joys of cooking and eating, turning generations of ordinary meat and potatoes types into fringe cooking enthusiasts. Using archival footage from her show Julia's Kitchen Wisdom, this video includes tips and recipes during the cooking segments, salty banter with Graham Kerr and other guests, and interview clips with gastronomists such as Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse and Jacques Pepin. Unfortunately, the show also includes the "we'll be right back" announcements and some of the commercials as well as a few leftover editing trailers and countdown screens. It's too bad the tape wasn't trimmed a bit, but when you've got Julia declaring "I'm a card-carrying carnivore, I need my strength," a little excess fat is tolerable. Recommended. Aud: P. (N. Plympton)