Rising Interest in all Things Food
by Spence Cooper on 08/11/09 at 9:53 am
by Julia Child
On Amazon.com, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” shot to No. 1 on its most-popular list over the weekend, according to the LA Times. Bookstores have reported sellouts. Box-office take for “Julie & Julia” over the weekend was $20 million. New foodies have signed up for French cooking classes and made reservations to dine at bistros. “The sudden popularity reflects a rising interest among Americans in all things food,” said Alice Waters, chef-owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley. “It has tapped into our longing for joie de vivre in the kitchen,” she said. “Cooking is not drudgery; cooking is about pleasure.”
Hat tip to The Chicago Tribunes’ Bill Daley for two of Child’s classic recipes Daley says has special significance to the film.
Sole meuniere
Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 10 minutes Makes: 4 servings
The movie “Julie & Julia” begins as it should; with the arrival of Julia Child in France and her fateful encounter with a dish of butter-sauteed sole at the Rouen restaurant, La Couronne. In the movie, the fish is served whole and bubbling hot. “Butter!” gasps actress Meryl Streep, who plays Julia. Interestingly, there’s no sole meuniere in “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” the 1961 book that triggered the Julie/Julia Project blog on which the movie is partially based. Here’s a “shorthand” version of the recipe from “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom,” a compendium of recipes, techniques and tips published in 2000:
–For 4 fillets up to ½ – inch thick and 5 to 6 ounces each. Season the fish with salt and pepper and turn in flour, shaking off excess. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon oil in a pan until the butter foam begins to subside. Lay in the fillets and saute for about a minute on each side, just until the fish begins to take on a light springiness to the touch. Do not overcook; if the fish flakes, it is overdone. Remove to a hot platter and sprinkle a tablespoon of minced fresh parsley over the fish. Rapidly wipe the pan clean with paper towels (so the flour residue will not speckle the butter to come — or use a fresh pan). Heat 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in the pan, swishing it about and letting it brown lightly. Remove the pan from heat, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and, if you wish, toss in a spoonful of capers before spooning the hot butter over the fish.
Baked potato pancake
(Pommes de terre Byron)
Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Nobody’s perfect, not even Julia Child. Although segments of her cooking series, “The French Chef,” were taped in advance, she insisted they be aired as though shot live, mistakes and all. One of her most famous flubs involved this recipe for a large mashed potato cake. She tried to flip the cake in its frying pan and failed miserably. Portions of the cake landed on the stovetop. “You can always pick it up,” Child famously remarked as she coolly smooshed the remaining pieces together. “You’re alone in the kitchen — who is going to see?” The segment, with Meryl Streep playing Child, is one of the highlights of the “Julie & Julia” movie. Here is the measureless recipe from 1968’s “The French Chef” cookbook; try it with four baking potatoes:
–Split potatoes as soon as baked. Scoop out flesh and break up in a bowl with a mixing fork. Fluff in salt, pepper and softened butter to taste, and moisten slightly with heavy cream. Saute in a frying pan in hot butter until bottom is crusty, then either flip over and brown the other side; or slip into a lightly buttered baking dish, sprinkle with grated Swiss cheese, cream and melted butter, then brown under a moderately hot broiler.
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