Mastering The Art

As a result of the movie "Julie & Julia," Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which is the book that started it all, is finally reaching the number 1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list. I loved the movie when I saw it last week-end, although I was a little disappointed that it didn't include more actual cooking. I also agreed with many of the critics that the Julia in Paris segments, starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child, were hugely more interesting than the modern day tale of the New York blogger who decided to cook her way through the entire cookbook in one year.

I already own the cookbook, volumes 1 and 2, having purchased a 40th Anniversary edition a few years ago when I found it on sale at Costco. As outlined in this article, modern cooks who are used to quick low-fat cooking will find Julia's masterpiece to be a bit of a challenge, with ingredients, techniques and calorie counts that we just don't see on the Food Network. Still, it's fun every now and then to at least attempt to master Julia's art. I'm certainly going to keep trying, one recipe at a time and I'll let you know how it goes. For the moment, there's nothing else to say except "Bon Appetit!!!"