Quoting: Julia Child

By: Michelle Buffardi
baked onions with vinaigrette

“The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.” — Julia Child

Amen, Julia, we couldn't agree with you more. So toss the 100-calorie packs of whatever snacks you've got, pour the Diet Coke down the drain, and let's take a look at our favorite rich, French food. Low-fat, schmo-fat, I say.

chevre and walnut tartlets

Chevre and Walnut Tartlets: crisp puff pastry, creamy goat cheese and fresh figs cooked in port = richness redefined.

hot mussels

Hot Mussles: we'll take ours topped with buttery breadcrumbs, please.

beef au bleu

Beef au Bleu: Julia might condone snacking on some celery sticks while you wait for your boeuf to cook.

belge-ette de veau

"Belge-ette" De Veau: Loosely translated, this means veal in creamy, buttery, mushroom-y sauce.

Halibut with Brown Butter, Crushed Chickpeas with Olives and Roasted Cumin Carrots
moelleux au chocolat
Moelleux au Chocolat: the caramel sauce is optional, but don't skip it. Really. Is caramel sauce ever optional?

Happy birthday, Julia. Thanks for everyone you gave to us, the lessons, your recipes, hours of entertainment, and perhaps most of all, thank you for making it ok to crave fabulous, luscious food.

Get the best of Julia's shows on Cooking Channel and check out Laura Calder's French Food at Home for more French-spiration, and tell us here how you're celebrating Julia's birthday.

Next Up

Julia Child Bio

Learn more about Cooking Channels Julia Child host of The French Chef with Julia Child.

Hump Day Snack: Julia Child Gets Auto-Tuned

PBS, on the cusp of the hottest trends of 2008, has created an Auto-Tune remix of some classic clips of Julia Child.

What Julia Child Would Drink on Her Birthday

We have two Julia-approved libations so that you can celebrate her 100th birthday the way Julia would have done herself, and a special cocktail of our own that we think the eccentric darling of the food world would appreciate.

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