Julie & Julia. Passion. Ambition. Butter

                           The “REAL” Julie Powell               The “REAL” Juilia Child

I AM MARKING MY CALENDAR!!! Those were the first words out of my mouth when I saw the Julie & Julia movie trailer online. I read the book which was incredible. It’s about a nearing thirty year old Julie Powell, who has a monotonous secretarial job in New York City. One day Julie decides to change her life by cooking her way through 524 recipes in Julia Child’s celebrated Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The catch: she must cook all the recipes within one year. It is during this year that Julie gains a new  perspective on her own life, which is now filled with livers and omelets.

                                    Amy Adams as Julie Powell in “Julie & Julia”

The movie  coincides with My life in France written by Julia Child.  I have yet to read My Life in France but I plan on it before the release of the movie (if I can finish my summer reading for school first). What I do know is that the book tells of Julia Child and her adventures in France. Before she wrote Mastering and starred in her own television cooking show The French Chef, Julia Child had no clue about cooking or France. Shopping in local French markets, attending Le Cordon Bleu, Julia weaves the story of her rise to fame.

                                       Meryl Streep as Julia Child in “Julie & Julia”

The movie is directed by Nora Ephron who wrote and directed Bewitched  and Sleepless in Seattle. If I had the chance to talk to both Julie and Julia, I would thank them for being an inspiration to me. When I was in eighth grade my english class was assigned a project to write a paper on someone who is not living, yet is an inspiration to you. Without hesitation I chose Julia Child. Along with the essay I made her renowned Coq Au Vin,  Riz A L’orientale (vegetarian rice bowl) and Mousseline Au Chocolat (chocolate mouse).  As soon as I told my teacher I was cooking for my project she decided to tell other teachers who then told their students and so on...There were many mouths to feed.  I want to thank Julia, first for getting me an A on my project, but most importantly being an inspiration. Lastly I would like to thank Julie, I never truly understood what a blog was until I read her book and I probably would of never been inspired to write one myself.

Julie & Julia cooks its way to theaters August 7

                           Two Great books I would recommend for anyone interested 

                                                        in Food or Cooking.

Leftover Pasta.

 

OK, how many people have leftover pasta in their fridge... tons of people! Whether it’s Penne, Linguine, the ever so popular Spaghetti, its in a container on a shelf in your fridge. What to do with it though? You could create just another typical pasta dish (which there’s no problem with that, I do it), but how about frying pasta. I wanted something new to do with my leftover pasta so I searched for a recipe and (as always) Jamie Oliver came to my rescue.  Frittelle di Spaghetti ( spaghetti fritters) was a dish I’ve always stopped to look at in Jamie’s Italy, but I’ve never actually made it. Its simple, real simple, but it does require a longer/stringy type of pasta ( Spaghetti, Angel Hair, Linguine). The following is my recipe for Frittelle di Spaghetti since I added and took away some things from the original. You also might want to consider the measurements of my recipe depending on how much leftover pasta you have or you can make a fresh pot of pasta, both works!

Remember be creative as you want, the following seasonings are just suggestions:

1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 cups Pecorino Ramano, grated
 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
 Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 pound of pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
A Pinch of Sea salt

In a large bowl  mix all the ingredients until well blended. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Then, using a fork, add piles ( as big or as little as you like) of the spaghetti mixture to the pan and fry until golden and crisp on both sides. Once finished frying drain them on a paper towel. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.

If you do anything different with your leftover pasta let me know and post your comments below.

Happy National Penuche Day!!

Not so long ago Dunkin Donuts was giving away free donuts on National Donut Day and yesterday (July 21st) was National Junk Food Day! I got a little curious and wanted to know if there was a national food day for July 22nd. Apparently there’s a national food day for every day of the year (no joke)!  Today (July 22, 2009) is National Penuche Day, now some of you might be really lost and have no clue what penuche is. Well, I was right there with you. I have never heard of penuche in my life. According to resources, penuche is a fudge type candy, its lighter than fudge and is made from brown sugar. Penuche is popular in New England as well as some southern states. Penuche is also used as a frosting which is known as Panocha, typically used on a Hawaiian prune cake. As odd as the name sounds I decided to make it. It was INCREDIBLE!  A salty, sweet, fudge like candy. It was penuche gone wild. I definitely recommend you make this (see recipe below), the original Martha Stewart recipe called for toasted walnuts but I added chopped pecans instead. Remember to wish all of your family and friends a Happy National Penuche Day!

                                                      

                                                        5 ounce can evaporated milk

                                                  1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

                                                      10 tablespoons unsalted butter
                                                     1/4 teaspoon salt
                                                     1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
                                                        1 teaspoon vanilla
                                                     1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a medium saucepan, combine the evaporated milk, sugar, butter and salt - bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until a candy thermometer registers 236 degrees.

Carefully pour mixture into a mixing bowl - add the confectioners' sugar and beat the mixture, scraping down the sides as needed, until it has thickened and is smooth, about 2 to 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.

Grease a 5"x 9" loaf pan and line it with plastic wrap. Pour the mixture into the pan, smooth the top and place pan into the refrigerator until the fudge is firm, about 25 minutes. Use the plastic wrap to pull the fudge out from the pan and cut into pieces.

ENJOY!

A convention to remember.

Black and white seeed to be the ongoing theme at this past weeks ACF (American Culinary Federation) Convention in Orlando,FL.  Everyone was wearing black and white chef attire.  The ACF convention takes place once a year usually in Las Vegas (I wouldn’t mind playing some poker) but this year they had it at the Marriott World Hotel & Convention Center in Orlando. There where countless things to do like attend a grand chefs dinner, interesting seminars, cooking demos and a culinary trade show.  At the trade show there were lots of vendors. They had Tyson chicken, U.S. Foodservice, Wisconsin Cheese, Chefuniforms.com and M&M Mars (yes they make more then just candy) and the list goes on. The best part of the trip (I’m being sarcastic here) was discovering at the entry way to the trade show that I wasn’t allowed in since I was under 16 years old!  “ Your meaning to tell me that we drove 3 hours, booked a hotel room, printed out hundreds of business cards to be let down like this!!!” is what I wanted to say to the women checking the entry. However, my dad used a bit of diplomacy and a few phone calls later we got in, whew!!! 

Goat Cheese makes the world go round!

    I scream, you scream, we all scream for goat cheese! I love goat cheese (Chevre in French) with an undeniable  passion. Chevre is a great cheese that practically goes with everything. Just last night I put Chevre from Elodie Farms on my hamburger. Elodie Farms is a producer of goat cheese. I got to visit the farm during my stay at C’est Si Bon in North Carolina with the Teen Chefs. Elodie Farms is just one of a hundred goat cheese farms in America. There are over 37 goats, 2 dogs, one horse (Sadie) and is operated by the owner, Dave Artigues.

When at the farm, Dave explained the cheese making process. First the goat’s utters are wiped and checked for Mastidic (inflammation of the utters). Then the goats are milked. Once the milk is obtained it goes through a solidifying process. Once in the machine, Rennet (an enzyme which is found in the stomach of goats and humans) is added to the milk to make it solid.  The Chevre must be at a temperature between 80° and 90°F and takes up to 24 hours to make.

Elodie Farms produces 70 pounds of Chevre a week, that’s over 3,500 pounds of Chevre a year. Elodie Farms also makes a variety of other cheeses including Camembert and Cheddar. This is the Chevre making process in a nutshell but there’s way more to it.  One of my all time favorite snacks, maybe even a meal is goat cheese on a  French baguette, with a drizzle of honey (its HEAVENLY).  If you haven't tried Chevre yet I suggest you do, whether in a recipe, on a baguette, or the best way…by itself!

More than meets the eye

                                      Thomas Keller                                Bobby Flay

  

Emeril, Rachel and Bobby! Does Food Network come to mind? Ok, how about Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Alice Waters? Maybe, no? Well, for those of you who don’t recognize the second group of names we have some talking to do. A lot of kids who are interested in cooking know Emeril Lagasse if not Rachel Ray and her 30-minute meals. The reason I bring this up is because there is so much more than just the Food Network and its stars. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Food Network, in fact it’s the reason I started getting interested in cooking. However, great Chefs, cooking, and “foodies” did not just start 20 years ago with the premier of the Food Network; it really began more than 3 centuries ago. I mean food and cooking have always been around (heck! The cavemen didn’t eat their meat raw after the discovery of fire!). I’m talking chef, a whole staff, with lavish banquets and extremely detailed food. Here’s a little history, (hold on!! don’t change websites so fast, if you like to cook or want to be a chef I suggest you know this, BIG TIME) it started out with Marie-Antoine Careme (the first real celebrity chef). Careme was around in the 18th century; he created what chefs call Haute Cuisine, which is an elaborate meal of food (I wouldn’t even call it just food, it was art). Then came Auguste Escoffier, who was the creator of both Grande Cuisine (the refined haute cuisine) and the Kitchen Brigade System (the way in which the kitchen is set up and works).

                                  Auguste Escoffier                              Emeril Lagasse

Next was James Beard (have you ever heard of the James Beard Awards?) who really defined American cooking. Soon after, the famed Julia Child came into the picture. Julia taught America that French cooking can even be done by the average Joe. (if you want to learn more about Julia Child, read the book and/or see the upcoming movie, “Julie and Julia”) Those were the big names of the past and are still influential today.

                                      Julia Child                                  Rachel Ray

Some of today’s big name chefs are Thomas Keller who is the owner and chef of the French Laundry (in Napa, Ca) and Per Se (in NY), which can take up to a year for a reservation. There’s also Daniel Boullud who is the owner and chef of Café Boullud, Daniel’s and other various restaurants. Alice Waters is the owner and chef of Chez Panisse. Alice has also been fighting to bring back local and fresh foods to the table. These are just some of the hundreds of chefs that are out there today that are beyond the Food Network. There’s a whole world of culinary out there just waiting for you to explore. You can Google any of the above mentioned Chef’s to learn more about them. I have listed some books in the Amazon Widget next to this blog. You can also check out www.ACFchefs.com for more information about culinary events that take place in your community.