(I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm years behind in everything.)
After months on the waiting list, I finally got the book as well as Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" from the library last week and finished the memoir in just two days.
Between plunging a knife between the eyes of a live lobster, the dramatic cursing like a sailor and the never-ending "I might jump off the cliff" talk, it was fascinating.
I loved the movie because:
- the food dripping in butter looked scrumptious and
- the two marriages were portrayed with encouragement, passion and humor.
I know this is a big part in the movie but I think this accomplishment gets kinda glossed over and romanticized in the movie because there's more attention given to Julia Child's storyline about the challenges of getting her cookbook even published.
But my word, have you looked through these recipes?! I thought it would be fun to try a few but I'm not sure if I'm up for it.
In other words, I'd rather not cook for three days for a dish that will be eaten in five minutes if it tastes decent at all. Also? A lot of them call for calves' livers, brains and bone marrow.
Am I the crazy one or is it Julia?
Bouef bourguignon is supposedly Julia's signature dish. Even though I am not a red meat fan, I thought it might be a good one to try.
The first ingredient is a 6-ounce chunk of bacon.
Not bacon slices. A chunk of bacon. Is this even available in Indiana?
The first step is to remove the rind and then cut the bacon into lardons which are sticks 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long.
So my first thought is "What the heck is a bacon rind?" My second, "Why can't I just use packaged bacon slices, Julia?"
Clearly, I am no Julie Powell.
Also, these women made mayonnaise from scratch. By beating ingredients with a whisk and a bowl.
That mayo better taste like manna from heaven to require the time, energy and ingredients to make something like MAYONNAISE from scratch.
But in Julia's defense, I must say her cookbook reads like a novel. I might never make anything from it but it sure is fascinating.
I'll keep you all updated if I attempt any of these recipes but I think it's a better possibility that I'll grab some lukewarm e-coli from Taco Bell and just watch the movie instead.
6 comments:
I have Julia's recipe for BB, as well as Ina Garten's in my recipe binder begging to be tried. They are soooo intimidating though! I WILL DO IT...just not today. If I do though, I will be sure to post photographic evidence for you!
I looked up that recipe after seeing the movie and seriously thought, that would probably take me a whole weekend to make that- I think it took me an hour just to read the recipe through! Kudos to you if you ever try it! :) I'll come eat it! haha
You Go Girl!!! I'm very impressed
Love the post! First of all, I think I'm farther behind because I haven't seen the movie, read the book, or for that matter...even requested it from the library.
2nd, I'm proud that you're attempting the recipe. Unless it's baking something...when I see a recipe that has more than 10 ingredients, especially with ingredients I've never heard of or know where to buy, I just keep flipping the pages or I do another google search. :)
I love reading your blog! It makes me smile!
Thanks for visiting my blog! :) I'm also further behing, having not read the book or seen the movie, or even really wanting to because I sincerely dislike cooking. I'm going to agree w/ Janna that if a recipe has too many scary (unknown) ingredients, I just move on. :)
Love the post! and Love that movie. I totally agree that it was wonderful about their marriage relationships. so sweet. That's awesome that you checked out the cookbook and book. I've seen them both in the bookstore but haven't gotten the nerve to buy either. I think that the Julia Childs cookbook would look beautiful on my shelf for many years... unopened.
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