Julia Child ~ 100 years

This was a post I did 3 years ago . . .  to honor The Grand Dame of Cooking (besides Marcella Hazan, of course) I've decided to run it again ~ in honor of Julia Child's 100th birthday.

The more I learn about Julia Child... the more I like her.
~~~Not just love and admire her cooking abilities ~ but invite her into my kitchen to eat, drink, and really like her.
A story that was in the Birmingham News, told about when Julia Child visited Birmingham in 1973 for a series of cooking shows. She and her husband stayed with local Pediatrician Hughes Kennedy and became his long time friend. In fact she was so impressed with a chicken casserole recipe that she asked for the recipe for her garden club. Anyone who can love a southern chicken casserole full of cheese and mayo is my kind of people!

Chicken Riggins
3 cups diced chicken
2 cups celery
1 cup diced onions
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese
1 can slivered almonds
2 cups mayo
bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350°. Cook 4 chicken breasts and 4 thighs with salt pepper and celery tops until tender, about 20 minutes. Cool and dice. Dice 2 cups celery, Saute onions and cube 1 pound sharp cheddar cheese. Mix above with 2 cups mayonnaise and almonds. Place in a 3-quart casserole, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake at 350° until bubbly and golden on top (approximately 20 minutes).
Note: 2 tsp curry powder is added to mixture is an excellent addition.

One quote in the article Julia was talking about a particular dinner party she had attended...'God, it's horrible that people put on things like this for me when I'm just a plain ol' eater and here they think I'm the queen and have all these servants and all of these beautiful serving dishes, and it's so false.'

She would be happy in my kitchen!
I guess we could drink french wine for one night, along with our Chicken Riggins.
Bon appétit Y'all~
Sandi