Gary T.: Julia wasn't self taught but she started from scratch. She decided she wanted to be a better cook for Paul so she signed up for cooking courses while he was posted in Paris. That's where she met her two collaborators, Simone Beck and a woman whose name I forget. Now that I think of it, the name of the cooking school she ran was "L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes", celebrating the three women's partnership.

Amergin: Good news memory. You're right. It was the Polly Klaas case.

Catspaw: Thanks. One of the reasons I enjoy writing on Mudcat is that there is a community of people here that is interested in such a variety of things. That's the same reason I enjoy reading some of the threads. This is a good place with some real intereting folks. Now that I am starting to meet a few, it is seeming even better but to you I still owe the suggestion to stop in the Appalachian Culture Center - one of the highlights of my motorcycle trip to the East Coast. So, thanks again.

Sourdough.