Julia Child greeted me with her trademark trill, her imposing frame filling the doorway of her room at the Brown Palace Hotel. This was 1990 and I was a young reporter, terrified to meet the legendary icon, but in trademark Julia style, she immediately put me at ease. No subject was off-limits.

When I noted her height (which she put at 6-foot-1½ ), she said, “I’m the smallest in my family,” with her warbly laugh. When I asked her if she minded the then-famous bit on “Saturday Night Live” where Dan Aykroyd impersonated her, mock cutting his hand on a chicken and famously intoning, “Save the liver,” she said, “It was very funny. I have the tape.”

Julia, as she was known far and wide, would have been 100 years old on this date. Even now, eight years after her death, foodies and non-foodies alike are planning tributes to the legendary cook. The secret to her enduring popularity: She was larger than life with a genial personality — her phone number was listed in the Boston phone book — but she was also a force of nature, with the uncanny knack of staying relevant in a fast-paced world.

From the debut of her first cooking show, “The French Chef,” to her death in 2004, two days shy of her 92nd birthday, she strived tirelessly to make cooking accessible to the “TV dinner” generation and beyond. In her later years, she made butter, cheese, beef and other rich foods fashionable again.

Holly Arnold Kinney of The Fort restaurant knew her as a family friend and colleague. “I think her greatest legacy is she really demystified French cuisine for the home cook but more than that, she was an advocate against food fascism in our culture — that’s what she called it. She was furious that there was a movement to eat margarine instead of butter. She wanted food and wine to be enjoyed.”

Kinney’s fondest memory may be the time that her father, Sam Arnold, taught Julia to open a bottle of champagne with a tomahawk. Julia took it to a late-night TV show, where the bottle exploded all over the set. “It made an exciting segment,” says Kinney.

Kinney also appreciated Julia’s tireless work ethic. “She worked hard at her craft into her 80s and 90s. My father would say, ‘Your schedule is worse than a politician’s’ and she would say, ‘That’s my work and I love my work.’ “

And like a great politician, she knew how to make everyone feel special. Sally Mohr, a master sommelier and the former owner of the Boulder Wine Merchant, served with her on an American Food and Wine Institute panel in Colorado in 1997. Mohr cherishes the encounter.

When she thought she was going to have to leave her home this summer for the wildfires, she considered taking her most prized possession — a framed picture of Julia from the event.

“That was a fun night and it was a real treasure to meet her. She was so down to earth and what was more amazing was how gracious she was to everyone who wanted to talk with her, she was willing to give as much time as necessary.”

Although Julia burst onto the scene for her French cooking, she came to embrace American food just as the “eat local” movement was getting off the ground.

“She saw the turning of the tide and became a proponent of locally great products,” recalls Jim Cohen, the owner of the Empire Lounge and Restaurant in Louisville and Pizzeria da Lupo in Boulder. “That’s where we as chefs came into her life.”

In 1983, Julia named Cohen one of the 11 top chefs in America — the list also included Wolfgang Puck — and flew him to California to tape her show, “Dinner at Julia’s.” For Cohen, it was a game-changer, leading to a fulfilling career that started at Tante Louise in Denver, followed by a long stint at the Wildflower at the Lodge of Vail (he was nominated for a James Beard award in 1991 for Best Chef in the Southwest) and that would eventually bring him home to his favorite state. “When you’re 25 and run into someone who is an icon to the world and she’s just normal and funny — that’s what needs to be appreciated about her.”

And she was funny. In one of her final appearances in Aspen at the Food and Wine Festival, she shocked the crowd by cooking a lobster in the microwave. “When he stops clawing at the door, he’s done,” she reportedly told the stunned crowd.

Some of the foodies thought she was kidding; others weren’t so sure, but I can tell you that she trumped all the other food events that year as word spread and knock-knock jokes about lobsters made the rounds.

Even in her last years, Julia was still gracious and accessible. We spoke on the phone a few times for stories — no appointment necessary because she always answered her phone.

My friend Linny Pretekin, who owns Linny’s Cookies in Denver, was able to fulfill a lifelong dream in 2002 and visit with Julia at her assisted-living home in Montecito, Calif.

Pretekin was more excited at meeting her culinary heroine than “when I went to the Beatles concert at 17.” At the Montecito center, Julia had her own home, complete with full kitchen. “When she walked into the room, my heart was pounding, but she was so relaxed and at ease, it was like meeting a friend.”

Pretekin keeps Julia’s contact information in her old Rolodex. “It just makes me think about her. I like seeing it there because it makes me think about that really great women.”

She was a great woman. And just as we remember the best and brightest in every field, Julia will remain head and shoulders above the rest.

Marty Meitus is a Denver writer who was the food editor at the Rocky Mountain News.

Events to commemorate Julia’s 100th

• Restaurants featuring special Julia Child dishes on the menu:

The Fort restaurant, 19192 Colorado 8, Morrison, 303-697-4771. Four-course tribute menu, $70, Wednesday-Aug. 19.

Le Central, 112 E. Eighth Ave., 303-863-8094. Through Aug. 19, varying menus, $25-$30.

Randolph’s Restaurant and Bar at the Warwick, 1776 Grant St., Wednesday-Aug. 31, 303-318-7272. Three-course dinner and a drawing for a trip to France, $36, $51 with wine pairings.

Jay’s Bistro, 135 W. Oak St., Fort Collins, 970-482-1876. Wednesday, five-course dinner, $55, with wines, $85.

•Rocky Mountain PBSwill feature Julia Child cooking shows on Aug, 18 on its Create channel. (Comcast Channel 248, for more information on the channels in your area, rmpbs.org/channels/)

• Follow her on Twitter @JC100 and on Facebook: facebook.com/JuliaChild

• Cooking Class: Joy of Julia hands-on cooking class, Cook Street School of Fine Cooking, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Aug. 24, 303-308-9300 or cookstreet.com for registration, 937 Market St.,

• Newly published: “Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child,” Bob Spitz, Knopf, August 2012

Julia Trivia

• It was no secret that Julia didn’t approve of Julie Powell’s “Julie and Julia” project, which started with a blog and became a book and a movie. “At first I was incredibly hurt by it but I made my peace with it,” Powell said in an interview (with the Rocky Mountain News) in 2006.

• Julia donated her kitchen to the Smithsonian in 2001. The reconstructed kitchen from her Cambridge, Mass., home appears in The National Museum of American History right down to her Garland six-burner gas stove which she purchased used for $429 in 1956.

• It took 10 years of writing, testing and rewriting and collaboration with her co-authors to produce Julia’s seminal cookbook, “Mastering The Art of French Cooking.” It was turned down twice by Houghton Mifflin before Alfred A. Knopf published it in 1961.

• While promoting the cookbook, Julia appeared on public television on a book show called “I’ve Been Reading.” She made an omelette. Her appearance was so successful — the TV station received a few dozen letters, which was considered monumental at the time — that she was asked to do a pilot for the show that would become “The French Chef.”

JULIA’S RECIPES

These recipes are from one of Julia Child’s most user-friendly cookbooks, “Julia Child The Way to Cook” (Alfred A. Knopf). In typical Julia Child style, she leaves nothing to chance in her recipes, right down to seeding the tomato with your “little finger,” for the stuffed tomatoes.

Stuffed Tomatoes Provençale

This is a great recipe for summer. Don’t use dried, canned breadcrumbs — make them yourself. There is another version in “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home,” which adds Parmesan cheese and dried herbes de Provence, so feel free to play with the recipe.

Although Julia Child was quoted as saying, “If you do not have a good wine to use, it is far better to omit it, for a poor one can spoil a simple dish and utterly debase a noble one.” A sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio would be good choices. Child’s standby was white vermouth. Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients

4 large, firm ripe tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground pepper

½ cup lightly pressed down crumbs from firm white bread

2 tablespoons minced shallots or scallions

1 large clove garlic, pureed

¼ cup minced fresh parsley

3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Cut the tomatoes in half (not through the stem). Gently squeeze them to remove excess juice; dig out the seeds with your little finger. Salt and pepper the insides lightly and turn upside down on a rack to drain while you prepare the stuffing.

Toss the bread crumbs with the shallots or scallions, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper to taste, blending in droplets of olive oil as you do so.

Divide the stuffing into eight portions and mound into each tomato; arrange the tomatoes in a baking dish. Drizzle a little more oil over the crumbs, if you wish.

(May be prepared in advance up to this point.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. About 20 minutes before serving, bake in the upper third level until the crumbs are lightly browned and the tomatoes are hot through but still hold their shape. Serve them soon, since they risk a collapse if kept warm.

Curried Shrimp with Mushrooms

For 6 servings, 5 shrimp per person

Ingredients

½ pound fresh mushrooms, trimmed, washed, dried and quartered

2 or more tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons shallots or scallions

½ cup finely minced onions

1 large clove garlic, pureed

2 teaspoons fragrant curry powder (or more if you wish)

1½ tablespoons flour

½ cup dry white wine or dry white French vermouth

1 cup chicken stock

¼ teaspoon dry thyme

Salt and freshly ground pepper

30 large raw shrimp (about 1 pound in the shell), peeled and deveined

Drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ cup, more or less, sour cream

Cooked rice

Directions

Make the curried mushroom sauce: Saute the mushrooms briefly in a frying pan with a tablespoon of the oil; toss in the shallots or scallions the last minute of cooking, then scrape the mushrooms into a side dish. Add the remaining oil to the pan, stir in the onions and garlic, and cook slowly for 7 to 8 minutes, or until tender and translucent. Stir in the curry and the flour, and cook slowly, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and blend in the wine, stock, and thyme. Simmer 5 minutes, correct seasoning, and fold in the sautéed mushrooms. Simmer 3 minutes; taste and season nicely with salt and pepper.

Adding the shrimp: Fold in the shrimp and simmer a minute or two only, just until they have curled and are barely firm when pressed. Taste carefully and correct seasoning, adding drops of lemon juice as needed. Remove from heat, and fold in the sour cream by spoonful, only enough to enrich and thicken the sauce. Serve over rice.

Bean Brandade

This puree of beans is a nice dip with chips and crackers. If you substitute chickpeas for the other canned beans, you have the recipe for Julia Child’s hummus. Makes about 2 ½ cups.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked or canned beans, such as pinto, cannellini, or black beans, drained

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste), available at most groceries

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 or 2 large cloves of garlic, mashed with ½ teaspoon salt

Seasonings: Salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce, and sage

Directions

Puree the beans and pulse in the rest of the ingredients. Season to taste.

For more Julia Child recipes, visit The Denver Post’s food blog, “Colorado Table”, and scroll down for recipes.