I stumbled down a rabbit hole recently… I opened my copy of Baking with Julia after easily 20 years of it sitting on my book shelf. It was published in 1996 and I bought a copy right away. It’s been great fun to retry some recipes. Some things stay the same. And in other cases, wow, things have changed since 1996!
Does 1996 seem like a long time ago to you? I am afraid to say that it does not to me. I remember where I was living, who I was dating (he shall remain nameless! it did not go well!), and of course who my roommate was. Because it was dear Kate! We were living together in San Francisco, and I was toiling away at Williams Sonoma. Logistics analyst was my title and it was about as glamorous as it sounds. I tracked containers as they made their way across the globe to the Memphis warehouse, then on to stores and customers’ homes.
One of the perks of working at Williams Sonoma was the employee discount (duh) and access to early releases- like the cookbook Baking with Julia. I even got a signed copy!
Cooking in 1996 was quite different than 2023
The book is really great and a bit of a time capsule. This comes through in the TV series which accompanied the book’s release. There are references to the importance of eating “low fat” and the assumption that everyone owns a bread machine. And Julia’s kitchen! They filmed the series in her actual kitchen in Cambridge, MA, and my goodness, this would never happen in 2023. There’s no Wolf range or views over the Pacific. It looks a bit like my mom’s kitchen in Dallas, actually.
I made the focaccia above just this week, using the recipe from Baking with Julia. I wish I had used the pizza oven, but not sure it would have been worth the effort for three smallish loaves of focaccia. Still, it was delicious. And one of the simpler recipes in the book (I’m looking at you, Alice Medrich with that impossible chocolate ruffle cake!) (Yes, it takes 18 hours to make.)
Apart from the recipes, cracking open the book seemed to crack open my memories of that time in my life. I was in my 20s, and it was a tough time. But it was also a time of so much fun and promise. I would leave the following year for business school on the East Coast, and everything would change. Kate and I would not be roommates, she would move to Seattle and meet Steve a few short years later. I entered the world of consulting and the endless travel and powerpoint that it entailed. Honestly, it’s not surprising that I haven’t opened the cookbook for so long.
Now that Dear Husband and I are empty-nesters, there is time for more leisurely pursuits. And while I may not spend 18 hours on a cake or make my own puff pastry (no way!) I’m going to find a few more recipes to try and think back on the freedom and anticipation of 1996.
Baking with Julia: Savor the Joys of Baking with America’s Best Bakers, by Doris Greenspan
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