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 Meryl Streep as "Julia Child" in Columbia Pictures' Julie & Julia. (Jonathan Wenk/Sun Media) |
Just what we need -- a Julia Child celebration!
And it's coming this Friday, when Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep as the legendary food maven and Amy Adams as Julie Powell, hits theatres everywhere.
The Nora Ephron movie is an adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Powell's Julie & Julia, and My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme, in which the true-life stories of the two women are cleverly intertwined in a culinary cinematic feat.
Early buzz reports the movie will appeal to everyone as it combines love plus love of food. Sharp, witty, with a sweet storyline that gently blends together like a fine omelette, we guarantee you'll dig into this movie with the same gusto as you would an excellent meal.
In honour of this event, foodies everywhere have already started the celebrations by planning parties featuring favourite recipes from the two books.
Le Cordon Bleu International recently partnered with Sony Pictures in an extraordinary global celebration of the movie.
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To plan your own Julie & Julia party, we suggest handing out aprons and wooden spoons to your guests, encourage liberal amounts of Child-isms like "horray" and "yum, yum."
Celebrate with eggs -- Child wrote reams and demonstrated on TV how to cook, coddle, bake and create with these delicious little wonders. Plus they played a prominent role in her Le Cordon Bleu studies.
Check out cordonbleu.edu/julieandjulia for more ideas.
rita.demontis@sunmedia.ca
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OEUFS MOLLETS, SAUCE BEARNAISE
The following recipe, courtesy of Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa, was probably the one taught to Julia Child at Le Cordon Bleu. Adapted from Le Cordon Bleu At Home (Harper Collins)
6 very fresh eggs
Salt
Bearnaise sauce:
4 peppercorns, crushed
1 large shallot, chopped
3 Tbsp. (45 ml) chopped fresh tarragon
2 tbsp (30 ml) white wine vinegar
1/4 cup (50 ml) white wine
2 egg yolks
2 Tbsp (30 ml) water
8 oz. (1 cup/250 g) unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) chopped fresh chervil
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Oeufs mollets: Cook eggs in boiling, salted water for 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop cooking. Peel cooled eggs under warm running water and set aside in a bowl of hot, not boiling, salted water until ready to serve.
Bearnaise sauce: Combine crushed peppercorns, shallot, 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) tarragon, vinegar and wine in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat until all liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat, cool and strain. Put egg yolks, water and cooled reduction in a medium saucepan. Whisk over very low heat until mixture becomes foamy and thickens and whisk leaves a clear trail on bottom of pan. Do not let boil. Remove from heat. Whisking constantly, add melted butter, drop by drop, until mixture starts to emulsify (blend). Whisk in remaining butter in a slow, steady stream until sauce is thick and creamy. Whisk in chopped chervil and remaining tarragon. Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper. Serve immediately.
Serves 6.
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OEUFS BROUILLES (SCRAMBLED EGGS)
The French version of this timeless dish is one of creamy soft curds that just hold their shape from fork to mouth. Their preparation, as noted by Julia Child, is "entirely a matter of stirring the eggs over gentle heat until they slowly thicken as a mass into a custard." Adapted from Mastering The Art of French Cooking (Alfred-A-Knopf)
8 eggs
Salt and pepper
4 tsp. (20 ml) water or milk (whipping cream preferred)
4 Tbsp. (60 ml) softened butter, divided
Parsley sprigs
Beat eggs in large mixing bowl with seasoning and liquid for 20-30 seconds, just to blend yolks and white.
Smear bottom and sides of 8-inch (20-cm) heavy-bottom pan with half the butter. Pour in eggs and set over moderately low heat. Stir slowly and continually with rubber spatula, reaching all over bottom of pan. When eggs suddenly reach custard consistency, stir rapidly, moving pan on and off heat until eggs have almost thickened to consistency you wish. Remove from heat. Add remaining butter and extra tsp. (5ml) of cream (this will stop cooking.) Season to taste, turn out onto platter, garnish with parsley and serve.
Serves 4.
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DID YOU KNOW
Julia Child's culinary influences were one of the most powerful. A true trailblazer who influenced hundreds of famous chefs, she was one of the first women to introduce the French culinary techniques taught at Le Cordon Bleu to the American public, through TV and many publications. She received the Legion d'Honneur in 2000 and the Medaille Presidentielle de la Liberte in 2003. The was the pioneer of food shows, setting standards for the industry today.