Cooking with Qualms

For years, my friend Rebecca,  who's a very good cook, has urged me not to apologize for anything I make because, after all, that's what Julia Child said.

This has always puzzled me.   Did JC mean that cooking is such an imposition that the recipient ought to be glad to get anything at all? That's what I thought, and it dovetails nicely with the philosophy of this household, which is that if you are served, you'd better be grateful.

But, no, that's not what JC meant.

I'm reading a book I got for Christmas, "As Always, Julia," the letters of Julia Child and her pal Avis DeVoto, and I just came across this on page 46:

 "...the... hostess should be advised never to say anything about what she serves, in the way of "Oh, I don't know how to cook, and this may be awful," or "poor little me," or "this didn't turn out"...etc. etc.  It is so dreadful to have to reassure one's hostess that everything is delicious whether or not it is."

So it's not about holding your head up because you slaved in the kitchen, and no apologies are necessary.  It's about not making your guests, who haven't lifted a finger, feel uncomfortable! Forget it.

On a more positive note:  Julia Child hated Republicans.   In 1952, she wrote,  "...the Republicans...need to 'grow up' to their responsibilities.  I have faith that the nation is strong enough to withstand them and to teach them, though my faith is not without dreadful qualms" (1952).

Also--she's wearing pearls in every picture.