Everybody who knows me, knows that one of my biggest passions (besides reading) is food. I love eating good food and I am fanatic about cooking good food. The first channel I turn on when I watch TV is the Food Network. I love cooking shows, cooking websites, cook books. However, there is nothing in this world that gives me more pleasure than cooking for an appreciative audience of friends and/or family - especially when there is wine involved.
So once again, Michelle comes to the rescue in my hunt for reading material when she loaned me Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen . Turning 30 and going through a bit of a "what am I doing with my life" crisis, Julie Powell decides to do something ambitious. With her husband egging her on (forgive the pun), Julie decides to take on the huge feat of attempting to make all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days. In addition to the cooking, Julie's husband convinces her to record her journey on a blog.
What ensues is a commentary that swings from hilarious to reflective to manic and sometimes a little whiny but I'm okay with that. It's a journey of self-discovery for Julie Powell and she charmingly interjects some Julia Child with snippets from her letters and some biographical notes. It's not just about the cooking but someone trying to figure out who they are and what they are made of. The Julie/Julia project blog is no longer active but she has a new blog she has been writing on since the book was published in 2005. What is so refreshing, is that there is little or no difference between her tone in the book and how she writes on her blog: honest, a little disbelieving, and always bordering on the edge of complete panic. It makes her very human. I'm adding her blog to my blog roll so I can follow her adventures.
I think I may take a look at Mastering the Art and while I can definitely say that I will not be attempting organ meats or aspic, I may need to give the vodka gimlet some serious consideration.
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen
Julie Powell
Little, Brown & Company
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