Cooking with Hollywood: Julie and Julia V

One of Julie's "sayings" in this movie that I hear often repeated is, "You can never have too much butter!" That one, however, I have to disagree with. When something is swimming in butter, it becomes a greasy, unattractive dish, not to mention the unnecessary nutrition and cholesterol issues. "Mounting" butter is the best way to add it. That means you add a bit at the end so that although you have minimized it, the delicious taste of the butter comes through.

Cooking with Hollywood: Julie and Julia IV

One of my favorite parts of this movie is the reaction of both women when they made a decision about what to do. Julie became obsessed with her project. She told her mother it was about "having a regimen...It gives you something you have to do, every day. Julia told Simone Beck that she "lept out of bed to get to school early". That's what goals do to you. It was the same with me. Suddenly I could get up at 5 am and get to school by 6, bright eyed and ready for action. I even did it on icy roads. Even that was an accomplishment. In all cases, we were encouraged to try new things at every bend. That's fulfillment.

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: 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.