Reel People: Amy Adams is Julie Powell

The movie is Julie & Julia directed and written for the screen by Nora Ephron, based off the books Julie and Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Childs.

Julie Powell

Julie Powell was born and raised in Austin, Texas and attended the Amherst College where she received a double major in fiction writing and theater.

With an eye for adventure Julie and her husband to-be, Eric, moved to New York City. Where Julie Powell worked a variety of temp jobs.

Julie's last job of this nature was with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation which was responsible for distributing funds post-9/11. Powell's need to work jobs of this nature gladly became a thing of the past after Julie took on a unique project. In 2002 Julie Powell created a unique blogging project, "The Julie/Julia Project" a blog which was chronicling her attempt to cook all the recipes in Julia Child's famous cookbook, Mastering The Art of French Cooking. This in itself a huge project being that Julie had never even cooked an egg before, and had a small poorly equipped apartment in Queens.

Julie claims to have started the project because she had an intrinsic feeling about Julia Child’s book: “Though it had been there as long as I could remember, I’d never seen Mom take this particular thick, cream-colored tome out of the pantry. Actually, it was one of a matched pair: two fat books, both called Mastering The Art of French Cooking, both with a pattern of spangled floral shapes on their covers.”

Of the course the experiment not only did Julie Powell's cooking skills improved, but her unique, open, and often-coarse style captured a large blog audience, as she shares about her husband, friends and family.

Julie never met Julia Child in the process of creating this book, but instead through the project begins to imagine about not only the cooking of Julia Child, but also her relationships with her husband Paul.

This blog audience resulted in a book deal for Powell with Little, Brown and Company. Powell reformatted the work she had done on her blog and crafted the 2005 published book Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen . (The book was later retitled Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously)

Julie's popularity only grew with the movie a deal for a movie adaptation of her story in 2009, making the movie, based on her book, based on her blog, the first movie ever to be based on a weblog.

Julie Powell's second book Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession is set to come out in conjunction with the release date of the film. This book focuses on Julie's attempt to learn butchery.

Julie & Julia

Writing a bio for Julie Powell is complicated, not because she doesn't have a life, but because the film, the story, and the premise are so tightly woven, that I feel like the power of the blog and book are based on the experience and Powell's writing, while so much of the power of this film relies on the way that Nora Ephron will find a way to tell this story in a way that fits the medium.

In the film, Amy Adams plays Julie Powell, Chris Messina plays her husband, and Mary Lynn Rajskub plays her friend Helen. The story of Julia Child and Paul Child some how gets intermingled into the film (Meryl Streep plays Julia while Stanley Tucci plays Paul).

Julie Powell describes her reaction to the film at an early screening last November on her current blog and said: "somehow seeing yourself - or a Rom-Com-ed, slimmed-down, considerably less foul-mouthed version of yourself - on a movie screen is a whole different thing. Well, it's not so much that, even. 'Julie Powell' is a character, played by Amy Adams, who is lovely and great - I understand that, ingest it, am fine with it. It's stranger hearing Chris Messina (Yummy!!) referred to as 'Eric Powell,' and see him in an office tricked out with posters and books poached from Eric's actual office. It's stranger to see a set of our apartment, built by people who never saw our apartment, and see how creepily right it is in some particulars - the red cowboy hat, the brand of digital kitchen timer, the particular lamp or cookbook or poster on the wall. "

Amy Adams, a two time Oscar nominee (Junebug and Doubt) is one of Hollywood's hottest commodities, but also someone who has been criticized for playing the same sugar-sweet roles. Will Amy Adams receive critical attention or even an Oscar nomination/win for portraying this Real (Reel) Person?

Related post: Julie & Julia, thoughts on the book (that is, the book based on the blog, that is the source material for the major motion picture)

Julie & Julia, thoughts on the book (that is, the book based on the blog, that is the source material for the major motion picture)

I will say up front, I did not enjoy Julie & Julia as much as I expected.

After doing the "Reel People" post about Julia Child and Julie Powell, I instantly became interested in Julia Child. I felt like Julia Child's life had such an interesting course of events.

This interest in Julia Child was only reinforced by her posthumous biography My Life in France. If I was having a dinner party and I could invite anyone, I would easily consider inviting Julia Child over, not just to cook, but for the conversation.

Julie Powell's book, Julie & Julia is largely the inspiration, and half the source material for the upcoming motion picture.

As mentioned in the "reel people" post on Julie Powell's life, Julia Powell began a blog in 2002 called the Julie/Julia project, where she was going to try to make every recipe (524 apparently) in Child's Mastering The Art of French Cooking.

Enough introduction to this post. Here's some thoughts on the book, based on a blog, soon a major motion picture.

1. If you were going to read one of the source books to the upcoming movie, I'd actually recommend My Life in France by Julia Child, the story is more captivating, and I think the character of Child is more...endearing, shall we say?

2. Julia Powell's quest is ambitious. Not just kind of ambitious, but super ambitious in so many ways. The more I think about what she did, the more amazed I am by it. Julia Powell in essence made a Thanksgiving-esque dinner every night she came home from work (usually picking up the ingredients on her way home from work) so that she could complete her project.

3. As a blogger, I find her story interesting, because I think a lot of people may not understand the connection/reaction Powell has to her bloggers, and their comments, and readership without experiencing it themselves.

4. One of the most surprising aspects of this book is Julie Powell's "coarseness" shall I say...she is shameless in her discussion of her less than fascinating love life, her experience with pornography as a young child, and consistently aggressive language with multiple uses of the F-word -- hardly family reading...and clearly something that isolated and attracted blog readers.

5. The book interestingly enough mentions Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci who will be in the upcoming film adaptation. Powell was supposed to see Stanley Tucci in "Frankie and Johnny" on Broadway (with Edie Falco) to celebrate her Father's birthday but was unable to go due to a day of bad moving experiences. Merly Steep is mentioned because one of the first times Powell is breaking eggs she mentions the grace that Streep cracks eggs in the film The Hours. (In the film Streep and Tucci play Paul & Julia Child).

6. While Julia Powell mentions this two actors in the book it is clear that her heart really belongs to David Strathairn (who she has baked for twice, including the second time when she saw him in a reading of Solome during the project). As a child, Powell's crush was on Jason Bateman (I couldn't help but wonder if she's had a chance to meet him yet since her fame...now that would make a good segment on Ellen or another talk show -- have Julia Powell read her pervie thoughts about Bateman she had as a child, while he's sitting in a chair next to her)

7. Julie Powell never had a chance to meet Julia Child -- it's a tragedy, especially since Powell had/has the impression that Child didn't care for her interest and work she was doing.

8. I think it's relatively easy for some blogs to get turned into books -- but for a blog to get turned into a movie, I think this is an uncommon occurrence.

9. I thought that in many way Powell's husband Eric was very very very supportive of Julie's project. In fact, it was his idea she start a blog in the first place, and not only did the blog provide her with eventual fame, it also provided her life with meaning, structure, and freedom from many of the personal frustrations she was experiencing in her own life, specifically physically and professionally. I felt like Julie Powell did not embrace Eric's support in the same way Julia Child embraced Paul's support...in many ways it's a pity.

10. There are many things that Julia Powell makes that I would never ever consider making, any ingredients I never want to work with - props to her for doing the project so completely, bone marrow, kidneys, eggs in aspic and all.

Final note: I wonder how Nora Ephron wrote the part of Julie Powell in the movie, and how Amy Adams plays this role. With the "coarseness" of Powell (point #4) be toned down in the film? Will Adams bring her light & fluffy? Or will be surprised with Adam's starts throwing around sexual analogies for how she is preparing her duck dish?

Julie & Julia - Movie Thoughts

Am I done with the Julie & Julia post now that film has come out?

It's hard to say, and I make no promises.

As I have lunged into the 2009 film season, no film has been so pleasurable to research that this film. At the conclusion of this post you will see links to related post that have led me to read both books this film is adapted from, research both of these women's life stories, and make recipes from Julia's cookbook. It even led me to watch another film related film from the 1940s (Christmas in Connecticut).

So some might wonder...what did I think of the movie?

Two Source Materials - Did it work? Should they have been separate stories? Should Julie Powell's story been left out?
I make no qualms in my review of the two source books that Julia Child's life is far more engaging and interesting that Powell's life story.

Originally I thought the movie was only going to be about Powell, but instead Nora Ephron crafted a delicious treat in covering both of these stories.

I have read some reviews that praise Meryl Streep's performance and claim that the film should have just focused on Child and left Amy Adam's portrayal of Julia Powell out completely.

I say "no." Child's story is far more engaging and interesting, but it is Julie Powell who helps create some contemporary relevancy to this story that makes Child's life work taken on modern importance, and accessibility for any one.

And to be honest, if it wasn't for Powell's work, there would probably be no film at all, and with no film, how would I have ever had thought of researching Julia and Paul Child and become utterly enthralled with their incredible story.

Accuracy to the books?
More or less the story was accurate. The biggest inaccuracy I saw was in the taming down of Julie Powell, and eliminating some of the course language and attitudes that come through in her blog and book.

Additionally, I felt like there was certainly some story-line adjustments for Julie Powell in the order recipes were cooked, and completed, as well as her inspiration for writing a blog.

Who deserves praise in the film?
Praise is deserved by Meryl Streep of course, who is so talented -- Oscar nomination 16 is surely on the way. Streep is amazing for her versatility of roles, is any other female as bankable as her (think Devil Wear's Prada, Mamma Mia, Julie & Julia) what other female is bringing in the dough like Meryl? And not just that, she's 60 years old!

Also Nora Ephron deserves praise for her exceptional story telling - there is a lot of story to tell, and she uniquely ties these two stories together, and with Streep & Adams sharing no screen time, she tells this story is such a logic and cohesive way.

Additionally, I was impressed with Alexander Despalt's film score, as well as the set and production design between the two settings.

Finally, Adams does a great job. And hats off to Stanley Tucci who should always co-star with Meryl Streep (Devil Wears Prada and now this film). They have unique and adaptable screen chemistry.

Previous Post on StrangeCulture that are in some-way related to this film:

• Reel People: Meryl Streep is Julia Child (March 5, 2009)
• Reel People: Amy Adams is Julie Powell (March 7, 2009)
• 10 Favorite Things on My Life in France by Julia Child (April 15, 2009)
• Julie & Julia, thoughts on the book (that is, the book based on the blog, that is the source material for the major motion picture) (May 26, 2009)
• Attempting the Art of French Cooking: Le Marquis with Glaçage au Chocolat (May 31, 2009)
• Attempting the Art of French Cooking: Supremes de Volialle a la Milanaise with Beurre Noisette and Choux Broccoli Etuves au Beurre (June 1, 2009)
• Attempting the Art of French Cooking: Clafouti aux Myrtilles (June 10, 2009)
• Attempting the Art of French Cooking: Reine de Saba with Crème au Beurre, Ménagère (June 17, 2009)
• Why Food Movies? (August 6, 2009)
• Another Food Writer Flick: Christmas In Connecticut (August 14, 2009)

Reel People: Meryl Streep is Julia Child

The film is Julie & Julia, directed and written by Nora Ephron based on the books Julie and Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child.

Julia Child

Julia McWilliams was born in Pasadena, California in 1912. Daughter of wealthy parents, she grew up eating fine food prepared by the family maid. At 6 feet, 2 inches tall Julia was a basketball player on her college team at the prestige Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. In 1934 she graduated from Smith with a Bachelor's degree in history.

Upon graduating from college, Julia McWilliams worked in advertising and copy writing for W. & J. Sloane, the high-class furniture store known for furnishing the homes for the wealthy, as well as The White House, the breakers, and model homes in the 1939 World Fair. Julia worked as the assistant to New York ad manager A. W. Forester. Julia McWilliams returned to California in 1937 where she freelanced and worked in advertising for local publications.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor Julia McWilliams tried to enlist in the Navy but was rejected because she was too tall, and instead took a job with the Office of Strategic Services in Washington D.C. working directly under General William J. Donovan, who ran the OSS as the COI (Coordinator of Information), the predecessor to the CIA. One of her greatest contributions during this time was assistance in developing a shark repellent that would minimize interference with sharks and bombs intended for German U-Boats.

In 1944 she was stationed in what is now Sri Lanka, and then she was stationed in China. During her time overseas she met Paul Child, a OSS Cartographer. In 1946 Julia married Paul Child.

After WWII, Paul joined the United States Foreign Service and the US State Department assigned Paul to Paris, where Julia Child was introduced to fine French cuisine. She joined Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and then later studied privately with individual chefs. Two of Child's cooking friends Simon Beck and Louisette Bertholle were writing a cookbook and pulled Child's into the project to help the French cookbook appeal to American women.

These three authors (Beck, Bertholle, and Child) would not see their book, Mastering The Art of French Cooking, published until 1961 after the original manuscripts were rejected by Houghton Mifflin, for it's "encyclopedia qualities." Instead the 734 book was published by Alfred A. Knopf upon which it became a highly respected book as well as a best-seller, launching Child's status an expert in French cooking, writing articles, and appearing on television. Her first regular television program began in 1963, the Emmy-winning show The French Chef which aired for 10 years.

By the 1990s Julia Child was not only a household name, but many of her cooking shows aired in her own household kitchen which was set up to accommodate television cameras. The kitchen was designed largely by her husband to accommodate her height as well.

Paul Child died in 1994, after living in a nursing home for 5 years. Julia continued her work, but retired in 2001 moving to a retirement community in Santa Barbara and donating her house to her alma mater Smith College, and her kitchen was donated to the National Museum of American history.

Julia Child died in 2004, at the age of 91.

Julie & Julia

The film Julie & Julia is a film based off the blog and book by Julie Powell who chronicled her experience cooking her way through Julia Child's entire book Mastering The Art of French Cooking, while blogging about it along the way. While Meryl Streep plays Julia Child, Amy Adams plays Julie Powell, and Stanley Tucci (pictured above with Streep) plays Paul Child.

An incredibly interesting person played by an incredibly talented and highly acclaimed actress, will Meryl Streep receive critical attention or even an Oscar nomination/win for portraying this Real (Reel) Person?

In Honor of the DVD Release: A Visit to Julia Child's Kitchen

In honor of the DVD Release of Julie & Julia, a movie based on two memoirs (one based on a blog) and a cookbook, I thought I would share the joys of visiting Julia Child's Kitchen as presented by the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington DC.

I wanted to pretend I flew out to DC over the weekend just to get these, shots. But, these are from a couple months ago when earlier in the fall my wife and I visited DC. While there, we had the chance to see Julia Child's kitchen.

Julia's kitchen has it's own life and history. If you read My Life in France by Julia Child, you find that Julia's obsession and dedication to fool proof French cooking led her down an interesting path of kitchen gadgetry. This led to some bizarre tools, giant pestles and expensive copper cookware.

Paul Child, who to me is just as interesting to me as Julia herself, helped design and organize the various kitchen's that the couple lived in, particularly in helping Julia have access and organization to her many tools.

By the time they retired in Santa Barbara, California, Paul was able to design Julia's dream kitchen with high counters and spot for every knife, cookbook, and skillet.

One of pop culture events that define this past decade is the stories of Julie Powell and Julia Child, individually and intertwined in this film.

Nora Ephron's film adaptation has reintroduced people to the first television chef, a crazy tall American woman who's love of French food convinced her that she wanted to figure out how to make and teach the craft, with American ingredients and measurements. Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci's portrayal of this crazy couple was comedic and pleasurable.

And perhaps Julie Powell's story (and Amy Adams) portrayl was less positive, perhaps because Powell is her own modern foul-mouthed woman with a less sophisticated life, as some continue to find out in her affair detailing follow-up to Julie & Julia, titled Cleaving, which in addition to telling the story of her attempts to learn about buthcery also details the failings of her own marriage with Eric.

But whether it's video's of Julia Child cooking, the cookbook, the movie, or the biography, some how Julia Child has left her mark and found her way back into American homes and kitchens.

With all this rediscover, having a chance to see her actual kitchen on display was a real treasure.

And no, I didn't leave any butter as a memorial to her.

Attempting the Art of French Cooking: Supremes de Volialle a la Milanaise with Beurre Noisette and Choux Broccoli Etuves au Beurre

The other day you saw my attempt at the chocolaty semi-complicated cake Le Marquis. If you have been following this blog, you have seen that I have taken a chance to delve into the world of Julia Child, Julie Powell, and their books Child's biography My Life in France and Julie Powell's book Julie & Julia.

Well here's what happens when I get my hands on the book Mastering The Art of French Cooking.

Last night I attempted something more ambitious than Le Marquis - a chicken dish called Supremes de Volaille a la Milanaise.

This dish is a Chicken Breast that is rolled in a flower mixture, then an egg mixture, then a Parmesan and bread mixture and then sauteed in a lot of butter. Not just any butter, but butter that has been "clarified." (Julia Powell's blog post when she made this recipe can be found here).

I have never clarified butter before, but it worked out alright.

In fact the whole recipe of the Supremes worked out pretty well.

When these were done I continued to make the brown butter sauce (Buerre Noisette)...which was relatively simple, and gave me an excuse to chop up some fresh parsley.

Julia Child is all about fast cooking, and I think she would be disappointed that this took me about an hour and twenty minutes to complete -- but if it's any constellation, I also made Blanched Broccoli braised in butter.

I have never blanched or braised before -- but it worked out really good, and I feel like I successfully accomplished Julia Child's specifications of getting the vegetables impregnated with butter.

It was a lot of fun. One thing I am enjoying is the new techniques I'm learning how to do. Child's cookbook while complicated and sometimes composed in a complicated way, also is at least written in a way I can learn new things, and make some fabulous (and rich -- yes I used 2 1/2 sticks of butter here) to make this meal.

(And just wait, until you see what I made for desert - that post is coming next)

Attempting the Art of French Cooking: Le Marquis with Glaçage au Chocolat

If you have been following this blog, you have seen that I have taken a chance to delve into the world of Julia Child and Julie Powell including reading Child's biography My Life in France and Julie Powell's book Julie & Julia.

Well I got my hands on a copy of the book that really set both these books in motion, the cookbook Mastering The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Simon Beck, and Louisette Bertholle.

I have no intention of cooking the entire cookbook, in fact, it didn't take me long to discover that this cookbooks dedication to technique is far from simple, and that Julia's prose is very uncookbookery. Additionally, MOST recipes require the cook to flip back and forth from the "variation" to the "master recipe" to other recipes that serve as ingredients for what you are making.

I imagine that Julia Child expected people to attempt to cook through the whole book as if they were enrolled in one of the early cooking classes that the three authors put together.

My first recipes were from the end of the book -- the desert recipes. In fact, I cooked the very last cake recipe Le Marquis, which like most of the cake recipes required separating the eggs, "making a ribbon" as Julia calls it with the yoke and the whipping up the eggs real big.

It was in the egg white whipping that I think I did not live up to Julia's expectations, and frankly, my whipped eggs were not as "peaky" as I imagine she would have wanted.

I also had the joy of melting chocolate in a double boiler, and then mixing it all together (actually my wife joined me in this process, she's a great whipper). I also bought cake flour which I used for the first time -- kind of fun. This cake only has 1/3 cup of flour in it, it's actually very light.

As the pictures show my cake actually was pretty stout when all was said and done, so my wife and I cut it in half and layered it to give it some more height.

Julia gives a variety of icing and filling recipes in the book, but I decided to go with her final recipe in volume I, the chocolaty Glaçage au Chocolat...which I like the refer to as Mocha Butter.

By the time we finally got to eat the cake after the cooking, cooling, chocolate melting, egg white whipping, then we found it to be very good. In fact, I loved it. My wife told me my love for it was part "cognitive dissonance" and that my effort made me like it more. But that is not all true, I truly found it taste delicious, although are final product and presentation was lacking.

StrangeCulture 4th Blogaversary!

So, I had a hard time choosing my blogaversary cake online, and settled on this one from Mani's Bakery in LA. Apparently Mani's made it without an artificial colors, prety sweet...unless the frosting taste like green beans.

Anyways, I decided in this cake because, I have a one-year old daughter and so I can have the fairy princess cake.

Actually, if there has been one film that seems to have had a large role on this blog over this past year, Strange Culture's 4th year...it's Julie & Julia.

I was going to make a cake out of Mastering the Art of French Cooking as I have done a few times over this past year for my blogaversary art, but decided I was done with my Julia Child/Julie Powell posts.

In addition to those posts, this blog also saw more posts about films from the 1930s and 1940s, a "What Movies Do Christians Want" Series, a Peace series in October, as well as the annual Reel (Real) People series.

Here are some additional highlights from 2009...

* I Am A Horrible Person: Saying "No" To Girl Scouts & Their Cookies, Too [January 18, 2009]
* Book Adaptations & Best Picture Nominations: Trend Revisited [January 26, 2009]
* 3D: Whoop-di-dee [February 2, 2009]
* Will Blockbuster Survive in 2009? Should it? [February 12, 2009]
* First Thoughts on the 81st Academy Awards [February 22, 2009]
* Reel People: Amy Adams is Julie Powell [March 7, 2009]
* Why We Love Hospital TV Shows [April 2, 2009]
* Vomit Inducing Summer Movies (2009 Edition) [May 3, 2009]
* When I think of Michael Jackson... [June 25, 2009]
* Are there More Outdoor Weddings in Movies Than In Real Life? [July 14, 2009]
* Grant/Hepburn and New Thoughts on Romantic Comedy [August 9, 2009]
* Robin Hood, Sequins, & Technicolor Birthday Cake Costumes [August 23, 2009]
* Reel People: Quinton Aaron is Michael Oher [August 28, 2009]
* Airports and Up in the Air [September 3, 2009]
* Strange Culture - Post Number 1000 [September 24, 2009]
* Peace or Conflict - The Challenge of Peace in Storytelling [October 13, 2009]
* A Modern Horror Film Soap Box [October 31, 2009]
* A Little About The 15 Documentaries on Oscar's Radar [November 21, 2009]
* My top 20 Films Of the Decade (2000-2009) [January 1, 2010]

Here's to another great year at StrangeCultureBlog! Thanks for reading, commenting & linking!

Previously blogaversary post: 1st, 2nd & 3rd.

Real (Reel) People Win Oscars: 2009 Edition

When it comes to win an Academy Award, recent years have shown that not any bio-pic performance means a guaranteed nomination, but if you get nominated for your performance playing a real person, then there is a good chance you will win.

Of the past 18 Lead Actor/Actress winners, 11 of these winners have won for playing real life people. That's 61% of winners since 2000.

• In 2008 Sean Penn played controversial politician Harvey Milk and won the Oscar for Best Actor.
• In 2007 Marion Cotillard played French singer Ediath Piaf and won the Oscar for Best Actress.
• In 2006 Helen Mirren played Queen Elizabeth II and won the Oscar for Best Actress.
• In 2006 Forrest Whitaker played Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and won the Oscar for Best Actor
• In 2005 Reese Witherspoon played country music celeb June Carter and won the Oscar for Best Actress.
• In 2005 Philip Seymour Hoffman played author Truman Capote and won the Oscar for Best Actor.
• In 2004 Jamie Foxx played musician Ray Charles and won the Oscar for Best Actor.
• In 2003 Charlize Theron played prostitute/serial killer Aileen Wuornos and won the Best Actress oscar.
• In 2002 Adrien Brody played Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman and won the Best Actor oscar.
• In 2002 Nicole Kidman played author Virginia Woolf and won the Best Actress oscar.
• In 2000 Julia Roberts plays the unlikely activist Erin Brokovich and won the Best Actress oscar.

The non-biopic winners: Kate Winslet (The Reader), Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), Sean Penn (Mystic River), Denzel Washington (Training Day), Halle Berry (Monster's Ball), Russell Crowe (Gladiator).

2008 had only a few bio-pic nominees with only Frank Langella as Richard Nixon and Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, and Sean Penn won.

Through 2009 I will collect the real life stories behind the cinematic performances that actors and actresses will be capturing.

A few previous Real (Reel) People entries include actors who could potentially be 2009 eligible..I'll begin the series listing those films.

2009 Real (Reel) People Performances:

• Reel People: Quinton Aaron is Michael Oher
• Reel People: Amy Adams is Julie Powell
• Reel People: Drew Barrymore is Edith Bouvier Beal (aka Little Edie)
• Reel People: Paul Bettany is Charles Darwin
• Reel People: Emily Blunt is Queen Victoria
• Reel People: Matt Damon is Francois Pienaar
• Reel People: Matt Damon is Mark Whitacre
• Reel People: Johnny Depp is John Dillinger
• Reel People: Jamie Foxx is Nathaniel Ayers
• Reel People: Morgan Freeman is Nelson Mandela
• Reel People: Logan Lerman is George Hamilton
• Reel People: Demetri Martin is Elliot Tiber
• Reel People: Helen Mirren is Sofya Tolstoy
• Reel People: Sophie Okonedo is Sandra Laing
• Reel People: Haley Joel Osment is Helmuth Hübener
• Reel People: Christopher Plummer is Leo Tolstoy
• Reel People: Meryl Streep is Julia Child
• Reel People: Hilary Swank is Amelia Earhart
• Reel People: Hilary Swank is Betty Anne Waters
• Reel People: Audrey Tautou is Coco Chanel
• Reel People: Emily Watson is Evgenia Ginzburg
• Reel People: Ben Whishaw is John Keats

See the 2008 and 2007 Real (Reel) People projects.

Attempting the Art of French Cooking: Reine de Saba with Crème au Beurre, Ménagère

So my copy of Mastering The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child is due back to the library. (Side note: It's very strange to check out a cookbook from the library, it creates extra pressure not to get the pages dirty).

I've enjoyed my three weeks of challenging cooking, and I've learned a lot, although I've focused more on the baking then on de-boning ducks and sucking out bone marrow.

So, I've made Le Marquis with Glaçage au Chocolat, Supremes de Volialle a la Milanaise with Beurre Noisette and Choux Broccoli Etuves au Beurre, and Clafouti aux Myrtilles.

This most recent recipe is very similar to the first cake I made and already I see my skills have improved because my technique in many ways improved, most notably my egg white beating a la Julia Child. (I know understand why Julie Powell's book about cooking Julia Child recipes chose to use an image of beaten egg whites)

If you click on the picture to the right you will notice some beautiful stiff peaks that were perfect for giving this chocolate almond cake the body that needed. It cooked up well, not flat and skinny like the last cake.

This cake was unique too, because I don't think I've ever made a cake where I mixed nuts into the batter. Because of the whipped yolk and the way the recipe's put together the nuts, even though I could have made them smaller, were completly suspended in the batter and mixed in evenly.

This cake, was kind of like a decadent brownie texture, with crushed almonds mixed through out. Yum.

And because we made a chocolate frosting on the first cake, we made one of Julia's butter cream frostings...this recipe, the first of three is by far the easiest, the other two look almost harder to make then the cake. But the frosting, while good, is not like any butter cream I've ever had, because it is so buttery. In fact, it's mostly butter, and eggs yolks actually.

My wife did an exquisite job frosting the cake and decorating, I think Julia would be pleased, and if she wasn't it's okay, because we were. The cake was delightful.

Certainly one of the most time consuming cakes I've ever made before, yet delightful experience. My wife and I made "Julia Cooking" into a date, and the process was as fun as savoring the delicious rich flavor of this chocolate almond cake, Reine de Saba.