Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home by Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. 2000. Hardcover. (F&C)

Julia Child and Jacques Pepin are synonymous with good food, and in these pages they demonstrate techniques (on which they don't always agree), discuss ingredients, improvise, balance flavors to round out a meal, and conjure up new dishes from leftovers. Center stage are carefully spelled-out recipes flanked by Julia's and Jacques's comments--the accumulated wisdom of two lifetimes of honing their cooking skills. Nothing is written in stone, they imply. And that is one of the most important lessons for every good cook.

So sharpen your knives and join in the fun as you learn to make:

- Appetizers, Soups, Eggs, Salads and Sandwiches, Potatoes, Vegetables, Fish, Poultry, Meat, Desserts and much, much more . . .

Throughout this richly illustrated book you'll see Julia's and Jacques's hands at work, and you'll sense the pleasure the two are having cooking together, tasting, exchanging ideas, and raising a glass to savor the fruits of their labor. Again and again they demonstrate that cooking is endlessly fascinating and challenging and, while ultimately personal, it is a joy to be shared.