Dear Friends,

I have made a new friend. She’s pretty awesome, inspirational, funny and even though I’ve only really connected with her recently I feel we’re kindred spirits.

Any guesses as to who my new friend might be? Her name is Julia Child. Yes, I do realize she is deceased. No, I am not crazy or talking to a ghost … well, I kind of do - but not really. I probably should explain.

A couple weeks ago I was enjoying a lazy Saturday morning, looking online for something to watch and the movie “Julie and Julia” showed up under “movies for you”. I have seen this movie before, but it had been a while. I was also half-heartedly cleaning, folding laundry and doing some work so what I really wanted was a movie I didn’t have to “watch”.

Right from the start, I found myself captivated and drawn into the story. So, I snuggled up with a blanket … my work, laundry and vacuuming forgotten.

I have always loved to cook, and I was so enamored by Julia’s story, more so than of the other main character, Julie. If you are not familiar with the story, it’s about a young woman living in NYC, not long after the 9/11 attacks, who decides to learn to cook from the “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” cookbook, in which Julia Child was a key contributor of and it helped launch her notoriety as a chef. The movie bounces between Julie and that of Julia (in the mid 1950’s) when she is living in France with her husband and wants to learn to cook French meals. Besides needing to first learn the French language, she is a woman attempting to train to be a chef at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Women just did not do this.

After the movie was over, I immediately went to Amazon and made an impulse purchase of the Anniversary Edition of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. Thanks to prime, I received my new books just a couple of days later and immediately began skimming through, and plotting my first “French Masterpiece”.

As I began reading the book, including a special anniversary message from Julia Child herself, and the original forward, I immediately saw what captivated so many people for the over fifty years and a made her a household name.

She was a funny woman! You can see it throughout the cookbook, and in the recipe notes. In her forward message, she talks about wanting to bring these masterful dishes to Americans, and making it achievable. “… the Servantless American Cook”. She felt that regular, everyday people should be enjoying the culinary masterpieces that she was experiencing in France and wanted a way to bring her joy back home to America.

“This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!”

In addition to advice on cookware, how to properly slice vegetables (there is a difference by the way between “cutting” and “slicing”), and countless ways to use her favorite ingredient – butter – you can see Julia’s humor come through.

I have never in my life read a cookbook before; I have created quite the collection over the years – mostly for a specific need like crockpot recipes, dinners in under 30 minutes, low carb meals, appetizers … but I never read a cookbook.

Part of what makes this cookbook so great is when you read it, you feel like Julia is there with you, helping you. There’s advice, things to watch for and tricks she learned through her experiences to help you. “See, when I flipped it, I didn’t have the courage to do it the way I should’ve. But you can always pick it up, and if you’re alone in the kitchen, who is going to see? But the only way you learn how to flip things is just to flip them.”

So, there I was, armed with my heavy and very thick new book and ready to tackle something fabulous. In the movie, Julia attempts to make ‘Beouf Bourguignon’, which is a beef stew in a red wine sauce. It’s not an overly complicated recipe, but it needs to bake for about three hours, so it really needs some planning. The other great thing about these recipes, is they give you tips on how to make something part of the way and finish cooking it later, which is helpful to the working parent. For this first attempt, I was not taking any chances so I dedicated an entire Sunday to creating this meal. Also, this is where Julie messed up her first try, and I was not falling for that!

I meticulously shopped for the right ingredients, settling for some short cuts like dried thyme instead of fresh, and opting to not include the mini pearl onions as no one in my family (except for me) likes them. I also made an executive decision on which type of wine would be best.

On Sunday morning, I was armed with my book, ingredients and ready to devote my day to this project. It was fantastic! I fretted here and there (unsure once or twice on a step), but deciding Julia was correct when she said “The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” Also, my entire adult life I have been sautéing mushrooms the incorrect way. “Don’t crowd the mushrooms” is a real thing – and it matters.

I think there are some life lessons you can draw from Julia’s teachings. I like to think that was her purpose – to instill some humor and advice through her recipes. One of my favorite quotes is “Keep your knives sharp”. You can figure out the literal meaning, but I like to think this was also her way of telling us to keep ourselves “ready” for anything. Make sure your “tools” are always ready to go, always be prepared and in the end what will be, will be. Great advice, to those willing to take it.

Remember, “A party without cake is just a meeting”.

~ Kerri