Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

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Mastering the Art of French Cooking
684 pages; Alfred A. Knopf
You need to learn how to make beef bourguignonne. If only because you will have a bubbling pot of it, which will make celebrating crucial events very easy—ones that you might otherwise be tempted to dismiss as too much work.” For example: your 39th birthday.

The cookbook so profound, it changed a culture, Mastering the Art of French Cooking is Julia Child's first masterpiece. From Poulet au Porto to Boeuf Bourguignonne to Lobster Thermidor, Julia Child makes even the most complex recipe seem easy enough to try. Pair it with the Julie Powell-inspired movie, Julie and Julia, and you have a perfectly timeless Mother's Day gift.
— Melissa Hellstern