Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Saturday's Child


Along with every other foodie in America, I am currently obsessing about Julia Child. Digging out my old copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, reading My Life in France, even perusing Julie Powell's blog. The juxtaposition of those last two leaves me liking JP less and less and JC more and more.

Granted, MAFC is not exactly vegetarian-centric. You've got fifteen varieties of roast chicken, you've got your veal stock, your recipes that involve digging out bone marrow -- you get the picture. However, you can't argue with a good beurre blanc. And there's a reason the cookbook is a classic; the way it takes you step by step through the techniques, the love of food that's inherent in the whole project, the butter... Then, there's Julia herself. She didn't even start cooking until she was in her mid-thirties, and then she jumped right into a professional cooking course at one of the world's most prestigious culinary schools, ten hour days of practice, and then co-writing a cookbook that two other people had been working on for years. Impressive, n'est-ce pas?

That's why August 15th, on Julia's birthday, I'll be doing what every other foodie in America is doing: gathering friends and coercing them into cooking elaborate, butter-laden, impractical dishes, stuffing ourselves with said dishes, then going to see a movie that isn't Harry Potter.