Movie Review--Julie & Julia

Mom & I enjoyed a foodie field trip day last Wednesday. We drove about an hour away to Birmingham where we window shopped, stopped at Penzey's spice store, and saw a matinee of Julie & Julia.

First though, we stopped at the drive-thru and heeded Mom's new addiction: chai tea lattes. I made the mistake of introducing those to her on our trip to Chicago earlier this summer and now she's hooked. With our lattes safely placed in the car's beverage holders, we were off to Birmingham.

We stopped at Forte for an early lunch. The weather was perfect so we sat at a sidewalk table. We shared some starters...Buffalo chicken spring rolls, tempura shrimp, and beef croquettes. All three dishes were prepared well and were very tasty.

Just two doors down was the movie theater, the Birmingham 8, a throwback to old movie palaces and one of my favorite places to see movies in Detroit. Mom & I took our seats as the lights went down and were transported to Paris in the 50s and 60s with Julia Child. Once the credits rolled, we realized that we weren't ready to come back to reality.

The movie is based on the book, Julie & Julia, by Julie Powell, a temp worker in New York City who decided to use Julia Child as her muse and cook her way through all the recipes in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Writer/director Nora Ephron cleverly intertwines this modern-day story with the story of Julia Child's days as a newlywed and cooking student in Paris, based on Child's book, My Life in France.

I've read both books, by Powell and by Child, so I was curious to see the film versions, most especially because of Dame Meryl Streep, who can barely do any wrong as far as I'm concerned. Toss in Stanley Tucci, Jane Lynch, and Amy Adams and I knew that I could not, not see this movie.

The best parts of the film are, no surprise, the parts about Julia Child's life in France. This time period includes her falling in love with food and cooking and ultimately attending the Cordon Bleu. She goes on to teach some cooking classes and embarks on writing what would later become her masterpiece, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a cookbook for American women who want to learn how to cook classical French dishes. Streep plays Child as a sassy, fun-loving, adventurer who still can't believe that she's finally found someone to love her. Tucci's Paul Child is a quiet, intellectual type who is in awe of his wife. The two make one of the most charming couples I've seen on the screen in years.

Streep towers over her co-stars, sounds just like Julia and exhibits pure joy while in the kitchen or at the dining table. As for Amy Adams, she plays a down and out, frustrated unpublished writer, who plods to her cubicle everyday wishing she was somewhere, someone else. Casting Amy Adams automatically makes the character of Julie Powell sweet, likeable, and root-able. Truthfully, the Julie Powell character should've been played by Mary Lynn Rajskub, who plays Julie's friend in the film. Rajskub, who plays the acerbic Chloe on 24, exudes more of the spirit, or lack thereof, of Julie Powell. Instead we have Amy Adams' Julie Powell, depressed and obsessed, but still cute and likeable.

I'm nitpicking, because the scenes between Julie and her husband are also tender and sweet. I will not remember most of those modern day scenes though. I will remember Streep's Julia Child visiting the farmers' markets, practicing chopping onions, her Valentines' Days with Paul, and her custom kitchen in Boston. I would love for someone to make another film about Julia Child, 120 minutes of just her life, starring Streep, of course.

Toronto Eats

G & I traveled to Toronto in July and enjoyed a wonderful long weekend. The weather was perfect, breezy and 78 everyday. We explored new areas of the city, took some walking tours, and of course, ate some delicious food.

The trip had several high points. Our first walking tour was in Cabbagetown which has the highest continuous concentration of Victorian houses in the North America. We then walked to the lakefront and toured the farmers' market building. Us being us, we found a wine tasting inside and happily joined in the festivities.

We soon were hungry so we stopped at Jamie Kennedy's Wine Bar, a short walk from the farmers' market. The hostess asked us if we wanted to sit at the bar next to where the chefs cooked in the open kitchen. Um, yes please! Once we settled in and ordered our first glasses of wine (starting with a sauvignon blanc), the chef gave us each an amuse bouche; a scallop breaded and fried, topped with a small dollop of tartar sauce and microgreens. One bite and we knew we were in the right place.

We had tempura asparagus that knocked us out and then switched to Shiraz in our glasses. We followed that up with pork belly ravioli.

The next day we took a walking tour of the University of Toronto, a beautiful campus and a backdrop for several wedding photographers that day (I think we saw six wedding parties during an hour's walk). The final stop on the tour was the rooftop bar at the Park Hyatt. What can I say? This quickly became a favorite place that I'm sure G & I will revisit on our next trip. The rooftop bar reminded me of a cozy living room...a fireplace, a few couches and a coffee table, and a few tables here and there. There was a small outdoor patio as well with views of the city, north and south. Then, the bar, of course, with a friendly, knowledgeable bartender. I especially liked him because as he was close to our table, he chuckled at some of my jokes.

G & I ordered two glasses of champagne and the bartender supplied us with snacks of smoked almonds, marinated olives, and edamame. A mouthwatering stop. Two very happy travelers.

It's Julia Week!

Julie & Julia, the new movie starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child, opens today and yes, I cannot wait to see it.

In honor of this event, I'm going to focus a bit on Julia this week. And joyfully so.

Briefly, some facts and some reasons why I love Julia:

Did you know that she didn't start cooking until she was 37 years old?

I started culinary school at age 36.

She didn't get married until she was 34.

I didn't get married until I was 35.

Julia's love of food and cooking blossomed in France.

My love of food and cooking took me to France.

Julia worked for the OSS and recently was outed as a spy during that era.

I...well, I've watched a lot of spy movies and I've always wanted to be one.

Me + Mom + Wednesday = Foodie Feasts!

Today I'm headed to Mom's for our weekly foodie experiment. This summer we've been meeting up each Wednesday and playing in the kitchen.

Depending on what mood we're in, we make simple salads or complicated French-y dishes. If we're in Ann Arbor, we make a trip to the farmers' market for some ingredients.

We've made panini sandwiches with turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado (courtesy of my new favorite kitchen toy, the Griddler---thanks, Mom!) When we felt super fancy, we made fried artichokes with garlic aioli. Neither my stepdad nor my husband like artichokes so we enjoyed those all by ourselves. A transcendent moment.

Up next is a southern dinner: pulled pork, braised collard greens, cole slaw, hush puppies, and peach cobbler.

mmm...toast

I was about to run to Caribou for Monday Mac time when G said, "Hey, you want some toast?"

I usually hurry to the coffee shop on Mondays to clear my head and get ready for the week's tasks. Plus, Caribou has helped me out this summer with $1 coffee on Mondays. But when G offered toast, I remembered that we had a loaf of homemade sourdough bread and that stopped me in tracks.

We usually have whole wheat or whole grain bread in the house, but this week's special at the market was sourdough, so I couldn't resist. I've bought bread in plastic bags for years...who hasn't? But I don't really enjoy it. It definitely doesn't add anything to my meal experience. In fact, when we have toast from bagged bread, I leave the crusts on my plate and give them to G. Only recently have I realized that when I eat fresh, homemade bread, I eat every morsel of it and even look forward to the crust.

Why? Because fresh bread is a delicacy. The use of "real" bread makes a statement. Real bread takes a sandwich to the next level, makes French toast even better, and in the case of my toast this morning, makes me sit up and pay attention.

We have great local bakeries here in Ann Arbor so I can depend on them most of the time for fresh bread. In the winter and fall, I try to make my own. I highly recommend it; it's really not that difficult and the feeling of accomplishment is worth it (not to mention the aromas that will waft through your house). It's a good project for a Sunday. Just pick up a packet of yeast on the baking aisle at the grocery store and you're ready. All of the other ingredients are probably in your pantry already, for beginner bread baking.

But back to my toast. A thick slice of sourdough, lightly toasted, buttered, with a delectably crunchy crust. Toast with character. Toast the way it was meant to be.