Tigers & Strawberries has pretty much summed up how I felt about the Julie & Julia movie perfectly.
Cami gave me both Julie Powell’s book and Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a gift and, while I read through the blog-turned-book fairly quickly, I never really got around to making fantastic French food. I just couldn’t get in the mood for food that required technique or time, even if it was all laid out simply for “servantless American cooks”.
Then my mom and I went to see the movie, which was adorable and makes you love Meryl-Streep-as-Julia-Child more than you think is possible. It also confirmed that, even though I like Amy Adams, I don’t like Amy-Adams-as-Julie-Powell. Julie Powell just seems whiny and unappreciative and so woe-is-me. I haven’t really read her blog, but it’s the impression I get from her book.
I also didn’t like how her husband looks like a total pig every time they sit down to eat. I understand that sometimes they didn’t eat until after 10 pm because she was cooking after she got home from work and they were probably starving, but for the sake of visual pleasantness, couldn’t they give him a fork and tell him to chew with his mouth closed? Sheesh.
I agree that Julia Child’s life and story would have been infinitely more interesting to follow than this parallel between Julia and Julie. But, I also understand that the movie was created due to the popularity of the book and blog.
After watching the movie and watching them eat all this luscious French food (except for the scenes in present day because they’re wolfing food down and that’s unappetizing to watch), it certainly made me want to come home and make Julia’s quintessential Boeuf Bourguignon.
Which I did. And it was fabulous the first night and even better the next night. I took no pictures because it was kind of all one color and we dove into it pretty quickly, although with proper utensils and closed mouths. I highly recommend making the dish. You’ll feel a tiny bit closer to Julia Child.
I’ve since made hollandaise sauce, which was served with steamed cauliflower because artichokes were too expensive, and that was decadent and lovely, too. And quite buttery.
At the very least, Julie & Julia inspired me to finally break into that volume of a cookbook, even if I attribute that inspiration more to Julia and less to Julie.
Three Dog Kitchen 