Like thousands of other Mad Housewives, as soon as I saw the movie, I dashed out and bought a copy of Julia’s cookbook. First I called my sister. I thought she might have Mom’s old edition, which had sat for forty years unused between her Joy of Cooking and Betty Crocker Cookbook. She didn’t have it. Where did it go?
I felt this desperate need to have a copy, as if it were a long lost treasure, an heirloom, the secret to domestic bliss that was promised but has long eluded me. I felt as if I were in a fairytale, and that if I found and opened the book, I would finally take my rightful place in the world.
I admit, I got a little weepy at Julie and Julia—I can’t be the only one—both because Meryl Streep (more Julia than Julia) made me laugh until I cried, but because of Julia’s unwavering passion for her art, and the doting support of her dear husband Paul (not entirely believable, I realized as my tears dried and the cynic in me returned). Most of all I cried because of Julia’s pure gluttonous joy.
Julia’s unadulterated greed for food embraced all the joy there is in the world, joy in creativity, joy in the bounteous fruits, vegetables, and meats of the world, joy in human ingenuity, joy in the chemistry of food, joy in eating and sharing good food.
To me her gluttony was entirely beautiful.
There are no seductive pictures in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, no mouth-watering gourmet ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes or prosciutto. The cooking times are appallingly long. Many of the recipes—Creamed Calf’s Brains with Mushrooms!—are things I wouldn’t eat in ten thousand years. And the butter and cream! The quantities of which should be illegal! Yet on every page you feel Julia’s passion, her dedication, her joy. Her precise instructions make you feel that she wants very much for you to be a successful cook. Her tone is that of a gentle mentor who knows that few, if any, of her students have talent, but that all will benefit from her discipline. You feel as you read her recipes that she believes in you.
In 1948, Julia Child’s husband Paul was assigned to the American embassy in Paris. She tagged along. At thirty-six she had never been to France, and as far as cooking went, she could barely boil water. Her first meal in France was sole meuniére in Rouen. Her soul opened, her senses awakened—this was food! With insatiable curiosity, she explored French cuisine like a culinary detective until she finally enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu. Paris was still very much recovering from World War II, and, instead of being a lofty institution, Le Cordon Bleu was barely holding together in a crowded, rundown building. Yet her master chef was one of the best—Chef Bugnard (his importance to her career was oddly left out of the movie). She became obsessed—preparing dishes over and over until she got them right. Then with the balderdash of a recent graduate, she and two friends opened up a little cooking school in one of their kitchens. From there, she started THE book, and from THE book, her cooking show.
Admittedly, her timing was fortuitous. By 1961 when her book came out, America was bored with the fish sticks and meatloaf of the fifties. Jackie Kennedy—who idolized all things French, and in turn was idolized by every American housewife—had hired a French chef for the White House. Julia Child’s cookbook went into its third printing within a few weeks.
Julia started her career at thirty-seven, and didn’t get any real financial compensation until her book was published when she was forty-nine. Her career didn’t take off until the second season of her show when she was in her fifties.
So there is hope for those of us who continue to struggle over what we want to do with our lives, hope that our passions will be discovered, nurtured, and rewarded—perhaps before we are eligible for social security.
The Mad Housewives of the world will come into their own!
Surely we will see a glimmer of this as we prepare one of Julia’s recipes—if we can succeed here, is there anything we cannot do? Pour yourself a glass of Mad Housewife wine (to steady your nerves) and let us enter the kitchen.
Nothing says French food to me so much as a soufflé, that impossibly light, fluffy, rich eggy delight. Here is Julia’s recipe (modified a bit, of course). I found that using individual ramekins works a little better when it comes to serving up your soufflé, but a single soufflé or casserole dish will work, too. Served with a salad, it is a lovely thing for brunch, and perfect with Mad Housewife White Zinfandel. For dinner, you might serve it with grilled Jumbo shrimp.
A soufflé may look complicated, but once you get it down, it is really is quite easy. Read the recipe first, and set out all the ingredients you’ll need.
(Serves four)
First things first:
1. Take out 5 eggs from the refrigerator and let them warm to room temperature.
2. Prepare a simple salad to go with your soufflé—greens, fresh and dried fruits (figs, apricots, dried cranberries, pears, peaches, avocado). Arrange around the rim of your serving plates, and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and oil. (Your soufflés will go in the center of the plates.)
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4. Measure out 1 cup milk in a glass measuring cup.
5. Grate 4 ounces of Swiss, white cheddar, or provolone cheese. Set aside.
6. Place blades for electric hand mixer and a 2 quart aluminum (or copper) bowl in the freezer (for the egg whites.)
7. Butter 4 eight-ounce ramekins, or one 6-cup soufflé mold, and dust inside with grated parmesan cheese or breadcrumbs. Place on a cookie sheet.
8. In a medium frying pan, sauté until lightly browned:
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic or two scallions, chopped
¼ cup prosciutto or ham, finely diced
¾ cup asparagus, finely diced (or any green vegetable such as broccoli, or blanched spinach)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary or thyme
9. Dump cooked vegetables into a bowl. In same pan, stir together for two minutes with a wooden spatula on medium heat (do not brown):
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
10. While the flour is cooking, quickly boil milk in cup in microwave (2 minutes).
11. Take pan off heat, and pour all of the milk into the pan. Whisk vigorously until thick. (It will be very thick). Place back on burner and cook, while whisking, for another minute. Take off heat.
12. Separate your egg yolks and egg whites, whisking the yolks one at a time into the white sauce, and putting the egg whites into a separate bowl. After all the yolks have been stirred in, mix in the cooked vegetables and season with:
Black pepper
Pinch of cayenne
Pinch of nutmeg
(do not add salt as the ham and cheese have enough salt)
13. Your sauce is done. Move on to the egg whites. Take your bowl and egg beater blades out of the freezer. Crack one more egg, and put the egg white into the bowl with the four other egg whites (for five egg whites). Beat until frothy, then add:
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Continue beating until you have stiff peaks.
14. Fold one third of egg whites into your cream sauce, and add all but a handful of the cheese. Mix gently but thoroughly. Then add the rest of the egg whites, folding carefully to try to keep the egg whites fluffy. Do not be concerned if some of the egg whites appear not to be mixed in. Pour into the ramekins, filling to the top, sprinkle with cheese and nutmeg, and place into the oven.
15. Immediately lower the heat to 375 degrees. Cook for 25 minutes (do NOT open the door to peak). When done, the soufflés should be 2 or 3 inches above the top of the mold and lightly brown.
16. Serve immediately (have your guests waiting).
Take a big breath and smile with pride. You have presented a lovely soufflé. Pour yourself a glass of Mad Housewife Zinfandel, and enjoy!
I finally decided to write a comment on your blog. I just wanted to say good job. I really enjoy reading your posts.
This is something to try in weekend. I'll let you know the experience after trying this. Thanks for recipe.
Posted by: sante | October 01, 2009 at 10:51 PM
Beautifully written Ruth! I enjoyed your insightful synopsis of Julia's career and the legacy she leaves for all mad housewives.
Posted by: Tobie | October 02, 2009 at 06:03 PM