Since the opening of the movie “Julie & Julia,” foodies have been reminiscing about Julia Child’s cookbooks, television shows and personal encounters.The movie made me remember 1979, when I first met Julia and Paul Child in Denver. They were there to conduct a three-day cooking demonstration as a fundraiser for the Denver Art Museum. Having been a faithful fan of Julia’s television show, following the recipes in her “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” cookbooks, making notes as she did her program, I was determined to attend her Denver live performance.At the time I was a teacher at Air Academy High School; fortunately, the principal there was a fan of Julia, too, and let me have the time off.It was thrilling to be in the audience and even more thrilling to stand in line to have she and Paul sign my two volumes of “Mastering.” I still have “A Culinary Collection: Julia Child at the Denver Art Museum,” that contains all the recipes she demonstrated. Though I cooked from the booklet often, the recipe that became my go-to for dinner parties was Fresh Strawberry Souffle XXIX. The note at the top of its page says, “This is a different and improved recipe for the strawberry soufflé in our television series.”There follows a long explanation of soufflémaking and testing. A fresh strawberry soufflé was “too fragile, too collapsible,” writes Julia, “and I determined to find out another way to go about it.”The last recipe that Julia tested and perfected was version XXIX, with the solution being: “Cook the drained, sliced berries in the sugar syrup for a moment, drain them a final time, reboil those juices and fold the strawberries in, letting them cool and thicken in the syrup before combining them with the egg whites.”The recipe, below, is a winner. I make the strawberry mixture in the morning of the dinner party. Egg whites are separated in the mixing bowl a couple of hours before guests arrive. The soufflé dish is buttered and sugared ahead. As the entree is being served, I heat the oven to 425 degrees. As entree dishes are being cleared, I beat the egg whites and fold in the berry mixture. The soufflé makes a spectacular presentation. I serve it with Champagne, as suggested by Julia.—Farney appears Tuesdays on KOAA’s Comcast Channel 5 at noon. Read her review of “Julie & Julia” at gazettedining.freedomblogging.com.Fresh Strawberry Souffle XXIXYield: 6 servings1/2 tablespoon soft butter1 1/4 cup sugar, divided3 pints fresh strawberries1 tablespoon red wine vinegar4 egg whites placed in clean, dry beating bowlSmall pinch salt1/4 teaspoon cream of tartarGrated rind of 1 lemonProcedure:1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place rack on lower third of oven. Smear 2 1/2-quart soufflé baking dish with butter; roll 2 tablespoons sugar around in it to coat bottom and sides. Shake out excess.2. Hull and wash strawberries, slice them rather roughly, and toss in large bowl with 1/3 cup sugar and vinegar. Let stand half-hour, so juices will exude. Drain in colander set over a bowl; reserve juice.3. Place 2/3 cup sugar in heavy-bottomed, 2-quart saucepan. Pour 1/4 cup juices drained from berries into pan. Set over high heat and, swirling pan by handle, bring just to boil. Remove from heat, swirling, until sugar is completely dissolved, then return over high heat. Cover pan and boil 1 minute or so, until bubbles thicken and sugar is at the soft boil stage.4. Fold 2 1/2 cups of drained, sliced strawberries into hot syrup and bring to boil, folding, 1 minute. Drain strawberries through a sieve set over a bowl; reserve juices. Return juices in bowl to saucepan and boil down rapidly until thickened; add any juices that have accumulated in bowl as you boil. Fold strawberries again into syrup, add grated lemon rind, and set aside for a few minutes to thicken as the syrup cools.5. Beat egg whites slowly until foamy; beat in salt and cream of tartar, and gradually increase speed to fast until egg whites form stiff, shining peaks. Sprinkle in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and beat a few seconds more to stiffen them further. Immediately scrape strawberry mixture into one side of the egg whites and rapidly but delicately fold them together.6. Turn mixture into prepared baking dish, either smoothing the top with a spatula or leaving it in its rather rough state — which I prefer — and place in oven. Bake 10-12 minutes, until a skewer inserted into side of the puff comes out almost clean. Serve at once.Source: Julia Child

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