On the anniversary of what would have been Julia Child's 100th birthday, we're celebrating more than just her culinary skills. We admit being distracted by the elegantly set dinner table, classic candelabras, and charming gingham panels on the set of Julie & Julia. To honor one of our favorite bon vivants, we're digging up inspiring scenes from the film and hunting down the decor to show you how to get the look for your kitchen – and home.
Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures
Want a new movie to curl up with this week? Today's DVD releases offer something for everyone. (And If you've seen a film you love lately, give it a review in the Movie Reviews Group — I may even feature it on the site!)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
With anticipation building for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — did you check out my sneak peek? — I fully intend on watching the most recent chapter one more time. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hasn't been my favorite movie in the series, thus far, but I still enjoyed it due to the special effects and the raging hormones between the main characters, which was fun to watch. This time Harry is coping with his godfather's death and the pressure of Hogwarts, so the themes are decidedly darker (and at times, even scary). If you're a fanatic, check out the two-disc version which includes a peek at Universal's "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" theme park. I've already seen a short preview of the place, but I'm excited for a more in-depth look!
Funny ladies of the big screen always make me happy; they can roll with the best of the boys and manage to be completely captivating doing it. This year's romantic comedies and girl-power anthems gave Hollywood's women plenty of chances to be silly, so let me know who you thought was the funniest this year. And don't stop voting there — check the rest of my Best of 2009 polls!
What to get the woman who raised you? She may not be as hard to shop for as grandma or dad, but I still have a few ideas. Mine is a Dancing With the Stars fanatic, so I'm snatching up their new workout DVD. Also on the list: Valerie Bertinelli's memoir and a cute Liz Lemon tote to take to the grocery store. I'm considering a TiVo, too — that way, she doesn't have to decide between The Amazing Race and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on Sunday nights anymore. (Really, it's like Sophie's Choice.)
But if my suggestions don't strike your fancy, check out all of the gift guides across the Sugar network. You're sure to find something!
Source: Flickr User soylentgreen23
Currently Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking is on top of the New York Times best seller list. But that's not the only book she wrote, Child has authored more than 10 other cookbooks. Is one of her works on your bookshelf?
Whenever I chat with someone about the film Julie & Julia, it seems the famous recipe for beef Borgignonne enters the conversation. However, when I watched the movie it wasn't this dish that stood out in my mind. It was the sole meuniere — the life-changing fish that Julia enjoyed upon her arrival in France — that I long to taste. Since I have a copy of my grandmother's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I went home and looked for Julia's recipe.
Unfortunately it's not in the book, so I hit the Internet in search of a buttery white-fish recipe. Although it's not necessarily a classic sole meuniere, I experimented with this sole and herbed white wine lemon sauce. The final result wasn't a culinary revelation, but it was decidedly delicious. If you're looking for a light, filling meal with fresh flavors, why not channel Child? For the recipe, keep reading.
In an article published last week entitled "Stop Hating Julie Powell, Please," Newsweek's Jennie Yabroff writes that the food blogosphere has misdirected its anger at Julie Powell. She traces the food writer's rise to fame, from relatable home cook and newfangled blogger to published culinary authority, and believes that all the criticism boils down to one complaint: that Julie Powell isn't a legitimate cook. She never claimed to be, Yabroff argues (something that Powell also reiterated when she spoke with us).
Whether you find Powell engaging and humorous or annoying and self-absorbed is a matter of taste, but it is her voice, not her cooking, that she should be judged by. Like it or not, her breezy, chatty, "let me tell you about my dog and my husband and what I did this weekend and oh yeah here's a recipe for fried squash blossoms" approach set the tone for most of the food blogs today, of which there are thousands . . . All owe her a debt of gratitude.
While I do think that there's a lot of resentment in the online world about Julie Powell's success, I can also see how her writing might be perceived as whiny and self-involved. How do you feel about it: should Julie Powell be criticized?
When Ms. Julia Child gets cooking, y'all start talking.
For this week's Caption It challenge, I chose a picture from Julie and Julia. There are a lot of hilarious captions, but here's what the finalists have to say:
Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures
