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prepared my first béarnaise sauce, which I had learned from Julia Child’s
Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
To my relief, it turned out beautifully. A few minutes before the meat was ready, I put warm water into the kitchen sink, then carefully set my bowl of béarnaise into it to keep it warm. Then I went to get everything else ready.
    I returned a few minutes later to find my perfect béarnaise swimming in water. To my horror, the faucet had leaked. The sauce was reduced to liquid, and I to tears.
    Cooking lesson number one: Never define yourself or your value by whether you burn the buns or swamp the sauce. I was the only one who thought I’d ruined the evening. Cooking and everything else became a lot more fun when I stopped being so hard on myself—but that was a lesson that took a long time coming.

JULIA’S BÉARNAISE
    Like any recipe you prepare over and over again, you begin to put your own twist on things. Perhaps one chef you admire uses too much garlic for your taste, or you might like someone’s version of a cream sauce, but there may be an element someone else uses that you like even better. So you mix and match and you make it your own. But in Julia’s case, she made the definitive béarnaise sauce. Here’s Julia’s original béarnaise (reprinted with permission from
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
)—I hope you like it as much as I do!
FOR 1½ CUPS
    ¼ cup wine vinegar
    ¼ cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth
    1 Tb minced shallots or green onions
    1 Tb minced fresh tarragon or ½ Tb dried tarragon
    ⅛ tsp pepper
    Pinch of salt
    A small saucepan
    3 egg yolks
    2 Tb cold butter
    ½ to ⅔ cup melted butter
    2 Tb fresh minced tarragon or parsley
    Boil the vinegar, wine, shallots or onions, herbs, and seasonings over moderate heat until the liquid has reduced to 2 tablespoons. Let it cool.
    Then proceed as though making a hollandaise. Julia’s hollandaise sauce, which I think is perfect, is also included in this book for you (page 80). Beat the egg yolks until thick. Strain in the vinegar mixture and beat. Add 1 tablespoon of cold butter and thicken the egg yolks over low heat. Beat in the other tablespoon of cold butter, then the melted butter by droplets. Correct seasoning, and beat in the tarragon or parsley.

European Excursions

    B EFORE J OHN AND I fell in love, I’d never been out of the United States. John was thrilled, since he liked being the first to show me beautiful new places. He felt the best way to do it was by car, so we bought a silver-gray Jaguar in Zurich, Switzerland, and drove straight to Bern to see Ursula’s family. We even went hiking in the mountains with Urs’s amazing mom, who, in her late eighties, could still leave us behind.
    John wanted to head north, do a tour of the Baltic countries, and show me my roots in Norway. But all I could think of was that I was so close to the place I had dreamed of all my life: France.
    The moment we drove across the Swiss border and our tires touched French soil, John said I cried for two hours; I was so excited. I’ve always had an inexplicable love and passion for France. The day I went to Versailles, I felt like I had gone home. Even when I was in junior high and high school in Southern California, I took French instead of the more customary Spanish. Later I went to Berlitz and took so many French lessons that my teacher, André Demir, ended up being one of John’s best friends.
    My connection to France is wondrous; my love of French cooking, and that thread that has gone throughout my life in so many ways.
    John and I did end up driving all around Europe, including seeing my ancestor’s homeland, Norway.

Always a Great Notion

    J OHN ALSO INTRODUCED me to camping. One summer, we traveled the entire California coast, then made our way up to Oregon to visit two of his closest friends on location. Richard Jaeckel and Sam Gilman had both landed roles in
Sometimes a Great Notion,
a film based on a best seller, starring Paul