A memoir by the legendary cookbook editor who was present at the creation of the American food revolution and played a pivotal role in shaping it •  “Engrossing. . . . The Tenth Muse lets you pull up a chair at the table where American gastronomic history took place.”— O, The Oprah Magazine Living in Paris after World War II, Jones broke free of bland American food and reveled in everyday French culinary delights. On returning to the States she published Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking . The rest is publishing and gastronomic history. A new world now opened up to Jones as she discovered, with her husband Evan, the delights of American food, publishing some of the premier culinary luminaries of the twentieth century: from Julia Child, James Beard, and M.F.K. Fisher to Claudia Roden, Edna Lewis, and Lidia Bastianich. Also included are fifty of Jones's favorite recipes collected over a lifetime of cooking-each with its own story and special tips.  “Lovely. . . . A rare glimpse into the roots of the modern culinary world.”— Chicago Tribune “Lovely, elegant, and passionate.” — Newsday   “Engaging. . . . [Jones's] refined gourmandise is present on every page.” — The Washington Post   “Lovely. . . . A rare glimpse into the roots of the modern culinary world.” — Chicago Tribune   “Engrossing. . . . The Tenth Muse lets you pull up a chair at the table where American gastronomic history took place.” — O, The Oprah Magazine Judith Jones is Senior Editor and Vice President at Alfred A. Knopf. She joined the company in 1957 as an editor working primarily on translations of French writers such as Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. She had worked before that for Doubleday, first in New York and then in Paris, where she was responsible for reading and recommending The Diary of Anne Frank. In addition to her literary authors, she has been particularly interested in developing a list of first-rate cookbook writers; her authors have included Julia Child (Judith published Julia's first book and was her editor ever after), Lidia Bastianich, James Beard, Marion Cunningham, Rosie Daley, Marcella Hazan, Madhur Jaffrey, Edna Lewis, Scott Peacock, Joan Nathan, Jacques Pépin, Claudia Roden, and Nina Simonds. She is the coauthor with Evan Jones (her late husband) of two books: The Book of Bread: Knead It, Punch It, Bake It! (for children); and The Book of New New England Cookery . She also collaborated with Angus Cameron on The L.L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook . Recently, she has contributed to Vogue , Saveur , and Gourmet magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Bread Pudding SERVES: 4 to 6 At a country inn in Wales, I had one of those taste-memory moments that made me realize how a simple pudding of eggs, bread, and milk could in a flash call up a flood of memory so acute that for an instant I was right back in childhood. The baked dish was brought in, wrapped in a white linen napkin, the way Edie would have served it, and as it was spooned onto the plate I had my first whiff. Then, when I took a taste, the hot raisins bursting in my mouth, the sensation was so powerful that the tears rolled down my cheeks (adding a little salty flavor). NOTE: I discovered from Edna Lewis how much better crushed sugar cubes are than plain granulated sugar as a topping. They're particularly good if you've stored them in a jar with a vanilla bean. Bread pudding is best warm, but it can be very good cold, too. I've even had it for breakfast straight from the fridge. Ingredients 2 1/2 cups milk 2 tablespoons butter, plus a little for buttering the dish 3 slices homemade-type bread, crusts removed, crumbled to make 1 ½ cups 1/2 cup raisins Grated rind of ½ lemon 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 3 large eggs 3 tablespoons sugar About 4 gratings of nutmeg (about 1/8 teaspoon) For topping: Crushed sugar cubes, to make about 2 tablespoons For serving: Heavy cream    1. Heat the milk with the butter, stirring until melted.    2. Remove from the heat, stir in the crumbled bread, the raisins, grated lemon rind, and lemon juice, and let cool to lukewarm.    3. Separate the eggs, and beat the yolks into the milk and butter along with the sugar.    4. Beat the whites in a clean bowl until they form soft peaks, and fold them into the pudding mixture.    5. Season the mixture with nutmeg, and turn into a lightly buttered shallow baking dish. Sprinkle the crushed sugar cubes on top.    6. Set the dish in a pan of simmering water, and bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for 1 hour. Serve warm with a pitcher of heavy cream. Chapter One: Growing Up   When my mother was well into her nineties, she announced that she had an important question for me and wanted an honest answer. I steeled myself for something weighty, perhaps about whether I believed in heaven and hell.   Then she looked at me and asked: “Tell me, Judith, do you really like garlic?” I co