Movie - Julie & Julia out on Aug 7th

[BreezyCooking]

Has anyone cooked any Julia recipes? I would be interested to hear what you think. Trying to decide if I should buy her book.

I have both Volumes 1 & 2 of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". But the cookbook I use the very most (to the point where it's literally falling apart) is Julia Child's "The Way To Cook". I'd definitely recommend anyone interested in Julia's take on food with a newer & fresher approach run out & add this book to their cookbook library. It easily becomes a "go to" bible for good everyday food with Julia flair, unlike "Mastering". Don't get me wrong, I love reading & rereading "Mastering" & have made a number of the recipes. It's just not something I utilize very often.

"The Way To Cook" by Julia Child - buy it. You'll not only love it, but better still you'll use it regularly. (The "Steam-Roasted Goose with Port Wine Gravy" has been our Xmas dinner since the book was originally published!)

 

[yogiwan]

My wife used this for years but finally gave it away (something to do with limited shelf space) and used Pepin's book for awhile and this has given way to others (most of which get ripped apart and stored in her recipe file).

But Julia's book(s) got us started on the path toward creative and good cooking. Otherwise it might be Hamburger Helper. What a thought!

 

[ChefJune]

Question for those: How many cooking mistakes did you observe? Not sure the continuity editors were chefs.

?? The chef for the movie was Susan Spungen, who used to run Martha Stewart's operation. She's top notch.

I thought the food looked delicious, but I was following the two stories. The food was a prop for me.

 

[ChefJune]

yes.... I cooked from Mastering in the 60's and early 70's, but the Julia book of mine that's the most worn is "From Julia Child's Kitchen." It was her first solo book, and came after the two Masterings. I also "overuse" "The Way to Cook."

Breezy, do you also do her Buche de Noel for Christmas?

 

[yogiwan]

The food was a prop for me as well and I am not the technical cook in this family

I still need to figure out how to de-bone a duck and I want to know how to keep my knives as sharp as Julie's in the duck scene all the time. My wife can go through an edge in a day it seems.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Breezy, do you also do her Buche de Noel for Christmas?

No - haven't done that one yet. To tell you the truth, normally Xmas is just hubby & I, & we're so stuffed from snacking & the big goose dinner that dessert rarely rears its ugly head.

My biggest claim to fame re: fabulous Xmas desserts for a large group was doing Martha Stewart's "Crocembouche" - 75 little cream puffs stuffed with chocolate rum creme & stuck together via caramel in a pyramid/Xmas tree shape. Then the whole shebang wreathed in layers of finely spun caramelized sugar.

If we'd had a gas oven, I seriously would have considered sticking my head in it by the end of the ordeal.

 

[ChefJune]

The Buche is actually not difficult! Time consuming, but not hard to do. For many years I taught a "HOliday Treasures" dessert class in Boston, and Julia's Buche was part of it, including the meringue mushrooms dusted with cocoa. Always a huge hit.

 

[yogiwan]

Was this the one where Martha threw the sugar into the air and it expanded into fine threads of sugar shape in a cone?

It seems to me she threw everything up in the air and had it spin around a tree shaped cone. Then when it cooled and solidified she could carefully lift it into place around the cream puffs. I only saw this once so memory may not be any good. But I remembered thinking at the time that any home cook that would try that was "nuts" Only Martha could get away with throwing sugar around the house expecting it to come down where she planned instead of all over the kitchen, dining room and any where else you could imagine.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Was this the one where Martha threw the sugar into the air and it expanded into fine threads of sugar shape in a cone?

It seems to me she threw everything up in the air and had it spin around a tree shaped cone. Then when it cooled and solidified she could carefully lift it into place around the cream puffs. I only saw this once so memory may not be any good. But I remembered thinking at the time that any home cook that would try that was "nuts" Only Martha could get away with throwing sugar around the house expecting it to come down where she planned instead of all over the kitchen, dining room and any where else you could imagine.

Not exactly.

What you do is assemble your little filled cream puffs in the shape of a pyramid, sticking them together with your caramelized sugar.
You then melt/caramelize additional sugar, & when it's at the correct temp, you use a fork or a snipped whisk (which is what I used) to lift the sugar out in long golden strands & cover/swirl the cream puff pyramid with them. There's absolutely no throwing or tossing involved. One doesn't toss mad-hot sugar around unless one wants to visit the ER - lol. Apart from hot oil, very few things are hotter than melted sugar. It is true, however, that you can spin sugar over oiled "molds" & then place them over desserts. Luckily this one doesn't require that extra step.

Anyway - it turned out absolutely gorgeous, but serving was another matter altogether. All that crispy sugar does make elegant service a bit difficult. I felt I should have offered my guests complementary dental appointments for the following day.

And another caveat? Keep the weather in mind if thinking of making this dessert. I was asked to repeat this extravaganza for a New Year's Eve party, & it was humid & rainy that night, thus making the spun sugar difficult to deal with & much less lovely.

 

[Scotch]

Saw the movie this afternoon and thought it was great. It's not just about the cooking or the cookbook but about two parallel lives lived 40 years apart. Consequently, I think non-foodies and other adults who don't know a spatula from a spoon would enjoy it. I guess you could classify it as a "chick flick," but I think it's more intellectual than that. The acting is superb -- Meryl Strep truly channels Julia Child in yet another amazing performance. The rest of the cast is also great, and the scenes of Paris are magnificent.

As for the books, I've had both Volumes 1 & 2 for many years and have made a number of dishes from them. They're not the easiest recipes in the world, but they are all very good to superb. I also have her more recent tome, The Way to Cook, which I would recommend over the Mastering volumes -- it's more practical, easier to follow, and more modern in its approach to food and in the recipes presented. Still, IMHO any good collection should include both volumes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking if for no other reason than historical perspective.

 

[yogiwan]

It may be considered a chick flick but at the session I went to the audience was at least 50% men and most every guy I have talked to that has seen it has had favorable comments.

So guys, take your lady to this movie and win more than just one favor.

 

[yogiwan]

I checked with my wife about Martha "throwing" sugar to make the fine wrapping for the cream puffs and she confirmed it. I remember we both had to pick our jaws off the floor at what she did and could not imagine anyone but here doing this.

Your method sounds much much safer and more sane. But Martha is a show person and was not confined to safe or sane at the time. I would love to find that show again as it was unbelievable (but the result was incredible).

 

[BreezyCooking]

I checked with my wife about Martha "throwing" sugar to make the fine wrapping for the cream puffs and she confirmed it. I remember we both had to pick our jaws off the floor at what she did and could not imagine anyone but here doing this.

Your method sounds much much safer and more sane. But Martha is a show person and was not confined to safe or sane at the time. I would love to find that show again as it was unbelievable (but the result was incredible).

She may very well have "thrown" the spun sugar on the show (although that definitely IS highly unsafe & definitely NOT a recommended procedure). I never saw her make a Crocembouche on tv - just followed the recipe in one of her early cookbooks - published long before she became a real diva.

 

[Dixie_Amazon]

Julia Child was a guest once when Martha was doing something like that. She looked rather bemused and said, "I would have never thought to do that.".

 

[pennsy]

More...

Chiffonade & Co.

I think I mentioned before that Julia Child's biography "Appetite For Life," by Noel Riley Fitch is superb. Some time ago a friend of mine saw me reading it during a trip to the gym. She thought the book would be boring, WRONG; on the contrary, I found it utterly fascinating. Begins with what she was like as a kid, upbringing, her education, what she did during the war (fascinating too) which lead up to her meeting Paul Child. Nice pics of their wedding, reflections on how she cared for Paul as he went downhill then died, but bravely carried on with her life. The book should be available in your local library, but I've got my own personal copy which I'd be loath to part with. Hope someone might be inspired to read it.

Best,
Pennsy

P.S. Wonder if this movie was reproduced on "faulty" DVD's? Just a day or so ago, another friend of mine remarked that they too lost the movie, then the theatre issued refunds or renewals depending on what people wanted. Hope that doesn't happen when I go to see it.