Cooking with Hollywood: Julie and Julia II

After watching Julie and Julia, I was struck by the changes in the publishing world since the original appearance of Julia Child's cookbook. First, it's even more difficult to get any publishing company to take on any type of book. Because of the increased ability to self publish in a cost effective way, the market is flooded. Because of cheaper labor costs, many books nowadays are even printed outside the country and then shipped back here for sale.

At the same time, technology has changed the way we think about and read both books and cookbooks. As people turn more and more to the Internet first when seeking information, the need for books has decreased and we are beginning to see hard cover and paperback books becoming dinosaurs. (When was the last time you looked in an encyclopedia?)

The invention of digital readers has helped, but has also changed the way we read. I love mine, especially when I travel because I can take lots of books along without all the weight. I still don't feel like I want a cookbook on a reader though. I want to see the whole recipe and all of the information on one page - all at once - with a stunning picture of what it should look like when it's done. (I picked up Mastering the Art of French Cooking at Borders the other day, but didn't buy it because... well... it didn't have any pictures!) As well, my cookbooks are more of a "collection". They sit around me like friends and encourage me to experiment with different dishes in the kitchen.

Cooking with Hollywood: Julie and Julia

Time to move on to another "foodie" movie. How about Julie and Julia? The best thing about this is that I will get to watch it again. I have yet to run into anyone who didn't like it or didn't think that Meryl Streep was incredible in her part as Julia Childs. It was a cuddly, fun, feel good sort of movie and the only one that I have ever sat through twice. It was interesting to me that Julie and Julia both did what they did for the same reason I wrote my book. They both followed a passion for learning about food because they needed "something more" in their lives. In all cases, the project became bigger than itself and morphed into a career.

Cooking with Hollywood: Ratatouille 9

Thinking about restaurant critics is an interesting topic. In Ratatouille, the critic was well known and the kitchen had the opportunity to respond when he walked in the door. The Michelin food critics are, however, anonymous. Those that criticize that system wonder how you can assess the validity of their opinions if you don't know who they are or what their credentials are. Michelin says, however, that their critics are highly trained, experienced and organized. They eat at all kinds of different restaurants twice a day and submit long, detailed reports on every experience. For many years, the Michelin critics were criticized for being highly influenced by expectations that restaurants would follow French haute cuisine rules and ideas. i.e. traditional methods. Recent articles, however, seem to opine that they are trying to accept and give credit to new ideas and methods. As we speak, Michelin is creating a rating system for US restaurants. It is, however, interesting that most of the best rated chefs are French and/or trained in France, isn't it?

Cooking with Hollywood: Ratatouille 8

Often cartoon style movies have very grown up humor and/or make/discuss important issues. With Ratatouille, a very serious issue lies underneath the plot that has to do with the Michelin rating system. The Chef Gousteau character clearly imitates the real life situation of what happened to Chef Bernard Louiseau of La Côte d'Or restaurant in Saulieu, France. Chef Gousteau even looks like him. Chef Louiseau achieved his life's ambition to become a Michelin 3 star chef (the best) but then confided to another chef that he would kill himself if he lost a star. In February of 2003, he did just that, shooting himself with his hunting rifle after his restaurant had been downgraded by Gault Millau and there were rumors surfacing that he would lose a star.

As in the case of Chef Gousteau in the movie, Chef Louiseau may be physically gone, but his ideas had and still do have great influence on French cuisine. He introduced many ideas and products. As well, his restaurant is still flourishing and still has 3 Michelin stars, due to the efforts of the current chef and his wife. Young chefs are still learning and benefiting from his style.

Thought for the Day...

Blogging is lonely!

Cooking with Hollywood: Ratatouille 7

I'm sure that the dish Ratatouille was chosen for the movie because it starts with RAT and the movie is about a rat, so that's perfect - but it's really a great dish for using up bits of leftovers, and for offering a variety of vegetables at a meal. I like to make it in the winter time when fresh vegetables aren't that available and you need to cook them to intensify the flavors.

Ratatouille is normally a combination of eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and onions, seasoned with garlic and herbs like basil and thyme. Just sauté the garlic and onions. Then add the vegetables and cook them all together until they are tender. If you are using dried herbs, add them early and if you are using fresh herbs, add them at the end to keep their fresh taste in tact. You can serve this like a stew or you can cut the vegetables larger (as Remy did in the movie) and arrange them in rows or circles in a baking dish and bake them instead of sautéing them. You can also add other bits of leftover things like diced or sliced potatoes, cooked pasta or rice. Or, you can serve your stew over the starch. And last, you can also add cooked chicken or meat.

Don't forget salt, pepper and little acid like lemon juice... and the first commandment of cooking, which is to taste your dish and if necessary and adjust the spices before you serve it. There you have it! Ratatouille! At least, doing this blog, I learned how to spell it. :)

Cooking with Hollywood: Ratatouille 6

Another point the movie Ratatouille brings up is about presentation. Remember when the ratatouille was placed before the critic? He had ordered the dish and and obviously had an idea in his mind about what it should look like, but something distinctly different showed up. His reaction was surprise that bordered on displeasure. He did not expect to like it. When he tasted it, however, he loved it and it evoked all of the memories he had of the wonderful taste of the ratatouille he had experienced while growing up.

This is the interesting thing about presentation. Particularly with traditional dishes, it's important not to go too far when changing a presentation. It must still be appealing in a way that people will try it. What ultimately matters is how it tastes, but you have to be sure your guest will at least try it in order for the taste to come through. Make your dish beautiful and even different, but not too bizarre.

Cooking with Hollywood: Ratatouille 5

In the Ratatouille movie, the little rat has a highly developed sense of smell that allows him to identify different ingredients. If you're not good at this, don't worry about it. I'm not so sure each individual ingredient is as important as being able to sense with the overall combination tastes good. Holding yourself to identifying ingredients is like expecting yourself to be able to able to identify wines like the Expert, Robert Parker. People have different abilities at most everything.

When you’re trying to get your taste mix right, remember to think about salt and acid. They are the two ingredients you can add that will enhance the flavor of the others.