You Should Watch Alice in Paris

If you were to turn the movie Amelie into a travel show, you'd probably get something pretty close to Alice in Paris.

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Chocolate Candy Cane Smoothies

I'm so excited to share this holiday smoothie recipe with you!

As you may know, I recently teamed up with Netflix to create a series of family-friendly recipes inspired by movie themes.

The December theme is "To Grandmother's House We Go," and features a selection of fun holiday movies and TV episodes for kids of all ages.

Since many of us will be hitting the road to visit family this winter, the movies have been organized by length of time. Whether you're traveling several states away, or just going on a quick 30-minute ride, there will be something perfect for you and the kids to watch.

Since these movies are meant to be watched while on the road, I figured a delicious and healthy smoothie would be the perfect on-the-go movie treat. This Chocolate Candy Cane Smoothie recipe is inspired by one of my favorite holiday treats--peppermint hot chocolate!

It's a thick and creamy chocolate smoothie with just a tiny hint of peppermint flavor.

Even better? Though it might taste sweet and almost dessert-like, it's actually a super healthy protein-packed treat that will keep the kids full and energized...without the sugar rush.

There is absolutely NO refined sugar in this smoothie.

(There aren't any actual candy canes in it either, so don't worry about that. I'm not Willy Wonka!)

The sweetness in this drink mainly comes from pureed dates, which provide a lot great natural sweetness as well as a whole bunch of other vitamins and minerals.  Your kids won't even realize how healthy this is!

Thick Greek yogurt provides loads of protein and creaminess, while the unsweetened natural cocoa powder gives the whole thing a rich, chocolate flavor.

The festive candy cane flavor comes from a few drops of peppermint extract.

Another great bonus is that while the smoothie is nice and creamy, it actually is not too thick so drinking it from a sippy cup will be totally possible. (Yup...I totally tested it out for you!)

AND it can be prepared up to 8 hours in advance, so you can whip up a batch and have it ready in the fridge to grab as you're heading out the door. One less thing to worry about!


Note: This post is sponsored by Netflix. Thank you for supporting cool companies like Netflix who make it possible for me to keep creating fun new content for you to enjoy. All photos, opinions, and recipes are (of course!) my own.

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!     

Chocolate Candy Cane Smoothies
Makes approx 2 (8oz) servings

Ingredients
8 large medjool dates, pits and stems removed
1 1/2 cups milk (dairy or substitute your favorite non-dairy milk like almond or coconut)
2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 teaspoons honey (+ more if desired)
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

Directions
Combine pitted dates and 1 cup warm water in a bowl, and let sit 5 minutes.

While dates soak, combine milk, yogurt, cocoa powder, honey, and 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract in a blender, and puree until completely smooth. Add the soaked dates (without the soaking water), and puree again until completely smooth (about 3 minutes, depending on your blender). Taste and add additional honey or peppermint (one tiny drop at a time), if desired. The peppermint extract can vary in strength, so best to add a tiny bit and increase as desired.

Divide into sippy cups or mugs. Can be prepared up to 8 hours in advance and refrigerated (just give it a good shake before serving).

Playing Around: If desired, garnish with a small sprinkle of crushed candy canes.

NOTE: While this recipe calls for regular milk, you can also easily substitute a non-dairy option like almond milk or coconut milk if that's what your children drink. You can also use a non-dairy yogurt, too.

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Mini Peach Pie Pockets

As the weather gets cooler, I find that there are few things better than spending a warm and cozy night in with the family.

Curled up on the couch in comfy pajamas with a good movie and a tasty treat close at hand and, it's pretty much the perfect way to spend a chilly Fall evening.

I'm super excited to have partnered with Netflix to create a series of movie-inspired treats for you and your family to make and enjoy together.

Each month, Netflix will be sharing a themed playlist of family-friendly movies and TV shows that you can stream right in the comfort of your own home through your computer or television.

And, because we all know that movie snacks are just as important as the movie itself, I'll be sharing a monthly recipe inspired by one of the films on the list!

For the month of November, the theme is movies based on children's books, both old and new.

It's a pretty fantastic list that includes some of my own childhood favorites like The Baby-Sitters Club and A Wrinkle in Time. For the younger kids, there are selections like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Me, Eloise.

This month's movie snack was inspired by one of my other favorites on the list--the Roald Dahl classic James and the Giant Peach!

These individual Mini Peach Pie Pockets are super simple to make, and are perfect for enjoying while watching James get carried away on one adventure after another.

Starting with a flaky, buttery pie crust (I include a recipe below, but you can also start with a store-bought crust), the mini hand pies are stuffed with a totally no-fuss filling made with sweet diced canned peaches (in season all year long!) and just a touch of cinnamon for that perfect Fall touch.

Cut into mini rounds, they're perfect for little hands. And with no messy cutting, forks or plates required, the whole family will be able to eat and enjoy without missing a single scene.

Enjoy the show!

Note: This post is sponsored by Netflix. Thank you for supporting cool companies like Netflix who make it possible for me to keep creating fun new content for you to enjoy. All photos, opinions, and recipes are (of course!) my own.
 
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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!    

Mini Peach Pie Pockets Recipe
The flaky all-butter crust is quick and simple to make, but if you're extra tight on time, you can easily replace with 2 store-bought 12-inch pie crusts or sheets of puff pastry. This series is all about enjoying precious moments with your family so I encourage you to do what works best for you!

Yields: 12 individual mini pies
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
For the crust:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
6 tablespoons ice cold water

For the filling:
1 1/4 cup drained diced canned peaches (*drain before measuring and see note below)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 egg yolk
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions
First make the crust (if using a purchased crust, skip to the next step):
In a food processor or large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse or whisk together until combined. Add the cold butter and pulse 6 times or until the flour resembles course crumbs (this can be done by hand with a pastry cutter). Add the water and pulse or stir just until the dough starts to stick together when pinched. Dump onto a clean surface and gently knead into two disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour, or overnight.

Make the pies:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the diced peaches, sugar, salt, cinnamon, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Set aside.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and let come to room temperature on the counter for about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle some flour on the counter and on your rolling pin, then working with one disc of dough at a time, roll out the dough about 1/3" thick. Use a round 3 1/2" cookie cutter  (or an upturned glass dipped in a bit of flour) to cut out circles from the dough and arrange them about 1 inch apart from each other on the baking sheet. Knead and re-roll out any scraps of dough until you have 12 circles.

Repeat this step with the second disc of dough (these will be the tops of your pies), and then poke each one with a fork a few times to create vents.

Drop about one heaping teaspoon of filling into the center of each circle. Top with one of the perforated circles of dough, and use a fork to tightly crimp the edges.

Whisk together the egg yolk and cream, and use a pastry brush (or your fingertips) to brush onto the top of the mini pies.

Bake 17-20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the pie filling is bubbling through the vents. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving (test one first to make sure the filling isn't too hot for the kids!).

Note: I use Dole diced peach fruit cups in 100% fruit juice; if you can only find the kind in light syrup, rinse it first to remove excess sugar. Diced frozen or fresh peaches will also work when in season.

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My 10 Favorite Food Films (with accompanying recipes!)

I wanted to watch a movie today, but my wifi wasn't working well so I decided to instead use this time to share with you 10 of my favorite food-related films, along with a recipe suggestion for you to make along with it!

1. Chocolat

Chocolate, Johnny Depp, and France. Do we really need to get into this further? Juliette Binoche's character opens up a chocolate shop and slowly loosens up the uptight residents of the small village with her decadent treats. I actually haven't seen this one in years, but I need to again. It's absolutely stunning. I saw it with my mom, and I remember that immediately afterwards, she went home and made herself hot cocoa with a dash of cayenne. Don't attempt to watch without a good chocolate bar or box of truffles within easy reach!

Recipe Suggestion: Beet Chocolate Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze-- this rich dark chocolate cake has just a little touch of mystery to it that will enchant all who taste it. (You don't have to reveal the secret ingredient; I promise they won't be able to tell!)

2. Sabrina

Food is by no means the focus of this movie, but I have to include it because I think of it every single time I crack an egg. One Two Three CRACK!

In the movie, Sabrina (played lovely Audrey Hepburn) goes off to Paris to attend Le Cordon Bleu and forget the handsome wealthy playboy David. There are some delightful cooking school scenes (she learns the proper way to crack an egg). She comes back to America a few years later, sophisticated and mature. Romance, stunning ball gowns, and Humphrey Bogart, ensue. This movie was later remade with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond, but they cut out all the fun culinary school bits so make sure you get the Audrey Hepburn version!

Recipe Suggestion: I was going to suggest a souffle, but really I think this movie is best with a cocktail (or several). Make a batch of these Gin & Honey-Soaked Mandarin Champagne or Pomegrante Rose Champagne Cocktails to sip on while watching Audrey at her loveliest. 

3. Tortilla Soup

This delightful movie starring Hector Elizondo (I love him. LOVE him.) as a cranky-yet-lovable chef and father of three daughters with different personalities, dreams, and problems, is actually a Mexican-American remake of an Asian film called Eat Drink Man Woman. Most people consider the original one to be best, but I actually don't like it at all. Why? Mostly because I don't like Chinese food so the food scenes in the original did nothing for me. I'd MUCH rather eat (and watch!) Mexican food. You'll need some homemade tortilla chips and fresh salsa to snack on while watching this one!

Recipe Suggestion: Homemade Tortilla Chips with Black Bean, Corn & Red Pepper Salsa
or Easy Restaurant Style Blender Salsa. Nothing like salty chips and good homemade salsa. A few beers or a crisp, cold wine are also advised!

4. Christmas in Connecticut

A classic! Barbara Stanwyck is a food writer who presents herself in her writing to be a skilled, perfect homemaker, wife, and mother. The truth is that she can barely boil water, doesn't have a child, and isn't even married! All is well until her boss invites himself over to her house along with a returning war hero, expecting the perfect Christmas Dinner. Hilarity, romance, and 1940s fashion ensue!

Recipe Suggestion: Pomegranate-Braised Baby-Back Ribs and Parsnip Carrot Puree -- a hearty meal to enjoy while watching this winter-time story. (And if you need dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding will do the trick!)

5. Heartburn

I mentioned this movie in my post about Nora Ephron a couple weeks ago, and definitely had to include it here. In this movie, loosely based on Nora Ephron's real-life marriage to Carl Bernstein, Meryl Streep stars as a cookbook author who cooks her way through her romance with a dashing, but  philandering journalist, played by Jack Nicholson.  There are a few brilliant scenes, especially as the marriage starts to crumble, but my favorite is at the end involving a key lime pie. I won't say more as I don't want to spoil it for you, but it's absolutely fantastic! I'm also obsessed with the Carly Simon soundtrack, and the original novel features recipes, which you should try.

Recipe Suggestion: Green Pasta Carbonara (make it with spaghetti, and serve it in a big shared bowl)

6. Woman on Top

Penelope Cruz plays a successful Brazilian chef with a terrible motion sickness problem, which means that she can only handle motion if she is in control. When driving, and...also in bed. This causes problems with her macho husband, who cheats on her in order to assert his masculinity, so she leaves and goes to the US where she starts teaching cooking classes and is soon given her own food TV show. Her husband follows her to find her and she has to decide between her new Hollywood life, and her restaurant back in Brazil.

Recipe Suggestion: Pan-Seared Shrimp with Mango Cucumber & Peppadew Salsa -- Fresh, colorful, spicy and Latin--just like the movie!


7. Five Senses

I love movies with multiple interconnecting story lines, and this is one of my favorites. In Five Senses, Mary Louise Parker plays a pastry chef who makes stunning cakes that don't taste good. She goes to Italy on vacation and meets a sexy Italian chef who comes back to America with her. He barely speaks English, but they communicate through food. There are other story lines, each featuring different senses, and they all weave together beautifully.

Recipe Suggestion: Orechiette alla Norcina--this luscious bowl of creamy and spicy pasta is one of my favorites! Another one that's perfect for sharing.

8. Waitress

I am not a big fan of pie (I prefer cake!), but after watching this movie, all I wanted to do was head to the nearest diner and order a slice of their best pie. In this movie, Keri Russell invents new pies each day, naming them after the various troubles going on in her life. (Example pie names: "BABY SCREAMING IT’S HEAD OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND RUINING MY LIFE PIE," "FALLIN’ IN LOVE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE PIE," "BE KIND TO YOURSELF ALWAYS PIE.")

Recipe Suggestion: Banoffee Pie --bananas, toffee, chocolate, and whipped cream in a shortbread crust. Pie heaven!

9. Simply Irresistible

This is one of those kind of cheesy, but kind of amazing romantic comedies, with just enough magical realism tossed in to make it interesting. Sarah Michelle Geller plays a woman who inherits her mother's restaurant, even though she can't cook. She tries to save it anyway, and after a meeting with mysterious stranger, suddenly becomes an incredible chef who transmits whatever she's feeling into her food (yes, it's reminiscent of Like Water for Chocolate). There is a romance with a department store executive who falls for her, but then gets freaked out because he thinks she is a witch. Lots of great food scenes (especially some amazing looking cream puffs!).

Recipe Suggestion:  Vanilla Bean & Anise Poached Pears -- This movie features one incredible dessert after another, poached pears being one of the specialties. I recommend serving these with a homemade caramel sauce.

10. Big Night

Primo and Secondo are immigrant Italian brothers whose restaurant is about to go under. In order to save it, they plan an elaborate feast in honor of the singer Louis Prima, who is coming to town. One stunning dish after another is prepared (like the glorious timbale pictured above), but it's perhaps the simple omelet eaten in the silent restaurant kitchen at the end of the film that is the most memorable of all.

Recipe Suggestion: Pizzagaina-- this totally over-the-top Italian meat pie is made with a pizza dough crust and stuffed with pounds of Italian charcuterie, cheese, and eggs.  Perfect for feeding a crowd (and it freezes really well if you have leftovers!).

Have you seen any of the films of this list? Did I leave out any of your favorites?

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My Nora Ephron Problem

A few years ago, when I was working as an editor at Hearst, one of the writers from the international magazine I worked with emailed and asked me if I would answer a few questions about New York for a travel article they were writing from the point of view of a young local woman in her 20s.

“Of course!” I replied, because I love to talk about myself.

I eagerly shared my tips for getting around the city and my favorite places to eat. At the end of the questionnaire, they included a few short questions like: “What’s your favorite New York City song?” and “What famous woman embodies what New York City means to you?”

I don’t remember what I wrote for the song, but I do remember choosing Nora Ephron as my inspiring successful woman who embodies what New York City means to me. I sent it back and forgot about it, until the next day, when my editor mentioned the interview and asked to read my answers.

“Nora Ephron, Alejandra?” she asked, and I realized that the answer was perhaps not exactly the right one for the hip young target.

When the magazine went to print, they ended up replacing it with some other girl’s choice: Carrie Bradshaw. (She's not even real!)

But my answer still stands. Because Nora Ephron wrote the New York that inspired me.

Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my mom, listening to her music and watching her movies. I didn’t really know the connecting thread just yet, but there was something about the lifestyle depicted in movies like When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle that drew me in. When You’ve Got Mail came out, my mom bought the VHS and we watched it over and over again. My dad rolling his eyes each time and asking, “How many times have you seen this?”

If any of those movies is ever on, we stop and we watch.

Of course I enjoyed and wanted the love story, but even more, I wanted to be Kathleen Kelly, with a life surrounded by books, a large plush bed, rugs to warm up hardwood floors, funny colleagues, and a smart man to meet up with for ice cream and conversation.

She was my kind of lady: talkative and witty. Heartfelt and honest. Playful and unapologetic.

In fact, all of Ephron's women were my kind of ladies. They made me laugh. But, more importantly, they felt familiar.

In college, armed with my first credit card and an eBay account I started buying stacks of musty magazines from the 1960s and 70s. I liked the old yellowed Esquires, full of smart writing and outdated advice that I followed anyway. It was in them that I read Nora Ephron’s essays, which somehow said a whole lot while in the guise of talking about little nothings. I loved how her words bounced from one idea to another to another with digressions and personal asides, like friends lingering at a table long after the check has arrived. Even when I couldn't relate to the specific subject (small breasts, for example) I could relate to that kind of thinking.

The magazines made me crave more, so I ordered her books, like Heartburn, her roman à clef (with recipes!) about a food writer who catches her husband cheating, which I read while cooking my way through my own broken heart. Or Crazy Salad, a terribly interesting collection of essays about women and women-things, which I still keep buried at the bottom of my purse, ready to reread during the dull moments.

(Actually, I didn’t even buy that book; I borrowed it from a library half a dozen years ago and never returned it. A crime I admit to having committed on multiple occasions.)

I’ve always been a bit odd and nostalgic; as a teen I’d spend hours watching AMC, back when it was American Movie Classics and played nothing but black and white movies all day long. I once watched 5 movies in a row on a summer weekend and mentioned this to a friend in my 7th grade classroom, still buzzing on snappy dialogue and happy endings.

"That's 10 hours of movies," she exclaimed, horrified.

While my friends longed for the guys from *NSYNC, I nursed crushes on Gregory Peck and Cary Grant—handsome men who had long since died (or were just about to). I carried stacks of strange books around, and listened to an awful lot of old people music. Once, my parents had my favorite radio DJ wish me a happy birthday on air in the morning before school; I excitedly walked into class that day, eager for the reaction from friends, but the only person who had heard the announcement was my middle-aged teacher.

I had fantasies of going off to the city to write clever and important things while typewriters clacked in the background.  At night, I imagined, I’d go on dates with a charming, yet infuriatingly neurotic man, who wore a suit well, ordered a good cocktail, and would ultimately win my heart with his conversation.

I think I love Nora Ephron so much because both her stories and her story made those black and white dreams seem possible and—even more importantly—not the least bit silly. Those Ephron ladies that were my kind of ladies? They were each a little bit nostalgic, a little bit old-fashioned, a little bit odd.

It is always something of a relief to see a bit of yourself on paper.

I live in New York and I've created my own way here. It’s not Nora Ephron’s on-screen New York; real New York is rarely that continuously charming. But there are bits of it here and there that remind me:

A front stoop. A brownstone. A conversation at the next table over.

I can’t pass the stunning Apthorp without thinking about her New Yorker essay about living there (until her $1500 rent went up to $12,000 and she and her family were forced out and across the park to the East Side).

[I love that story, by the way. I love that even Nora Ephron was priced out of her New York. God, this city!]

In her essay on Dorothy Parker, Ephron wrote:

"The point is the legend. I grew up on it and coveted it desperately. All I wanted in this world was to come to New York and be Dorothy Parker...the woman who made her living by her wit.
I have spent a great deal of my life discovering that my ambitions and fantasies--which I once thought of as totally unique--turn out to be cliches, so it was not a surprise to me to find out that there were other young women writers who came to New York with as bad a Dorothy Parker Problem as I had.
I wonder, though, whether any of that still goes on."

I didn't come to New York with a Dorothy Parker Problem; I came here with a Nora Ephron problem. But I don't think that's very much of a problem at all.

When I read that she had passed, I heard myself say "Oh no!" out loud even though I was sitting here alone. I rarely care about "celebrity" deaths. It sounds terrible, I know, but it's the truth. It's possibly because the celebrities I most admire are very old (so it's expected), and the ones that die young usually do after several years of living their lives in incredibly stupid ways (so, once again, it's expected).

But hers was a life full-lived. And her absence on the page and on the screen is one that I, and many, will feel.

It breaks my heart that there will be no new stories to delight and inspire. But I am ever so thankful for the ones that did.

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Julie & Julia & Alejandra: Adventures in Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian

"There was no question of where to make the drop-off -- at the center of the exhibit, beneath a large black-and-white photo of Julia in chef's apron and wild seventies polyester shirt, one hip cocked, grinning. There was even a narrow shelf running along under it, as if it really was a shrine, and pilgrims really were expected to leave their offerings there."

Julie Powell, Julie & Julia

I caused a bit of a ruckus at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History the other day. Those of you who have seen or read Julie & Julia will probably understand why.

The brilliant idea struck me late on Friday night as we were packing for our weekend getaway. My friend Lindsay had invited us down to the city and was throwing a dinner party in our honor. Even though we were coming in from five states away, I certainly wasn't about to show up empty-handed so I promised that I would bring a homemade dessert. I chose Molly's "Winning Hearts and Minds Cake" as it's an easy (but amazing) chocolate cake that actually tastes better on the second day.

That night, in the midst of the packing and scrambling that usually occurs before a trip, I popped into the kitchen to stir up the copious eggs and butter and chocolate that basically constitute the entirety of that recipe. Once the cake was in the oven, I noticed the now-empty box of butter.

"I'm bringing this to Washington!" I announced, running into the living room with the butter box in my hands. "And we can go to the Museum of American History and I can recreate that scene from Julie & Julia where Julie takes the awkward picture with the butter!"

I ran to the computer to Google image search "Julie Powell Butter Smithsonian" while Eugene gave me that look that he gives me when it's already midnight and we have to get up in 4 hours and instead of packing I'm Googling things about food. The picture came up and I dragged the laptop over to my mirror so that I could practice mimicking Amy-as-Julie's awkward pose.

"This is going to be great!" I told him, while I dismantled the box to keep it from getting crushed in transit. I think by this point, Eugene was just glad I wasn't bringing actual butter to DC with us.

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We actually didn't make it to the museum until our last day in Washington (although that wording implies the scheduling wasn't intentional...which it absolutely was).

We started at the Air & Space Museum (long been my favorite of the Smithsonians) and then walked across the National Mall to American History. It was only once we were inside that I realized I'd completely forgotten to bring along tape to put my butter box back together again. As soon as we got past security, I dragged Eugene to the gift shop in search of "some gum or something sticky" that I could use to seal the box. Unfortunately, there were no gum or stickers or tape of any kind anywhere in the store.

I started to despair until no other than Julia Child came to my rescue. Near the back of the store there was a display of Julia Child cookbooks. I turned one over and realized that the sticky price tag on the back of the book would be perfect. With Eugene blocking me from view, I slowly pulled off the price sticker off the book and ran out of the store. In the main hall I ripped the sticker in half and used it to tape the box back into shape. We were now ready for phase two of our mission.



The Julia Child exhibit at the Smithsonian has always been a popular one, but even more so since the movie opened. The exhibit was teeming with tourists taking pictures and watching the Julia videos playing on a constant loop on a TV screen near the front. I suddenly started getting a little nervous that my plan wasn't going to be as easy as I imagined. We walked around trying to find the exact spot in the movie where Amy Adams/Julie Powell left the butter, but it quickly became apparent that the movie had lied. There was no neat little corner with a guest book and framed portrait of Julia. The location from the movie didn't exist in real life.

"Hollywood lied!" I hissed at Eugene as we realized that we weren't going to be able to recreate the scene. Disappointed, I pushed past the throngs of people and pressed my face up against the plastic window looking into Julia's kitchen. It was smaller than I remembered, but really lovely. All the elements where there: the beautiful peg board with Paul's outlines, the pictures of cats, the gorgeous copper pots. Close to the window, there was a memo pad and Julia's phone with little bits of tape stuck to it. I looked at it closely and realized something remarkable! On the speed dial pad, next to some names I didn't recognize, there was a button clearly marked "Dorie. G."

"It's Dorie!" I said out loud to nobody in particular, and stood in amazement at seeing Dorie Greenspan's name listed on Julia's speed dial. I pointed it out to Eugene who didn't know what I was talking about, but I figured you guys would (I can always count on you!), so I took a picture. Now if I could only figure out the rest of those names...


By this point it was pretty clear that we weren't going to get the photo I'd wanted. Just as we were ready to move on to the next exhibit, a group of people watching the videos cleared out and, like a glorious mirage, Julia appeared.

"Oh my God!" I called Eugene over and pointed out the large photo of Julia in a crazy polyester shirt and apron. "It's a picture! I can do it here!" Beneath the portrait, just like in the book, there was a little ledge. The perfect spot for my butter.


I gave Eugene the camera and walked over to the spot. There were still a lot of people around so I had to summon up my nerves, but I did it. I pulled the butter out of my bag and placed it on the ledge while Eugene snapped away. I did my best to recreate the awkward pose from memory: one hand straight, one hand towards the photo, chin scrunched into my shoulder.

While I was posing, people suddenly started to recognize what I was doing. I kept hearing them whisper "butter" and "Julie & Julia."

"You brought your own butter!" One man finally said to me when I finished with the shoot.

"Did you see the movie? I'm a food blogger. I'm trying to recreate the scene," I explained hastily. He laughed appreciatively, noting that he loved the movie, and I gave him my business card so he could check the site out later. A mini crowd had gathered by this point so I told them all about the blog and handed out a few more cards.

Eugene turned to me after the crowd moved on. "Are you satisfied now?" he asked.

"Oh yes!" I said, and took his hand as we headed over to the next exhibit.


Back in New York the next day, I pulled out my copy of the book and flipped to the end where Julie makes her pilgrimage to Washington. I laughed because her description of the moment was actually a lot like what I experienced. And from her words, there is no doubt that the picture I saw was the same one she took her photo with. The movie may have lied, but ultimately my recreation of it ended up being a lot closer to the original than I'd imagined.

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Julie & Julia: An Edible Movie Review

I wasn't sure what to expect from Julie & Julia, Nora Ephron's lively film based on the book of the same name. The book chronicles a year in the life of Julie Powell, a bored temp who decides to cook and blog her way through all 534 recipes in Julia Child's book Mastering the Art of French Cooking...in just one year. The movie version took the book further by paring Powell's story with Julia Child's in a bit of a flip-flop parallel structure that I originally expected to hate, but didn't.

On paper it seemed perfect: a Nora Ephron movie about food set in Paris and New York with a clearly (even from just the previews) brilliant portrayal of Julia Child?! How could that possibly go wrong? I love Nora Ephron and I love movies that have to do with food and cooking, and though I knew very little about Julia, I figured it's hard to mess up a story about learning to cook in Paris.

The part I was a little iffy about--the part everyone seemed a little iffy about--was the Julie Powell side of the story. I read the book about a year ago and I enjoyed it, but it definitely wasn't one of my favorites. I found myself skipping over parts and bristling over the harshness of her language. Nothing about the book ever made me want to run to the kitchen to cook, the way other food memoirs have. In fact, I remember finishing the book feeling exhausted and sweaty and, more than anything, just glad that it was over.

What it came down to is that I never felt a passion for the food itself in Julie's words. It seems ironic given the subject, but really what she had was an obsession and a determination. It was as if she made a choice and decided to stick with it come hell, but had no true love for it. She battled her recipes. She tackled them the way people tackle packing up books for a big move or tiling the bathroom floor. As incredible as her feat was, it failed to seduce me. And when it comes to food, I want to be seduced.

The movie was a different beast entirely. It opens in post World War II Paris, where Julia Child (played by the ever-brilliant Meryl Streep) is trying to figure out what to do with herself while her husband Paul is stationed at the US Embassy. Talking it over with Paul (Stanley Tucci) she determines that the only thing she really loves to do (and the only thing she is really any good at) is eat. Julia signs up for a tough French culinary course where she warbles and charms and fearlessly cooks her way to the top of the class (and beyond).



The Queens side of the story is somewhat less fanciful. Accordion music doesn't waft through the air in Long Island City, where Julie Powell and her husband live in a cramped studio over a pizza parlor. This isn't the charming New York City of Ephron's You've Got Mail or When Harry Met Sally. In fact, the city barely exists here at all, save for a few sweaty subway rides and the shots of Ground Zero outside Julie's office window.

The New York story takes place almost entirely in Julie's tiny kitchen where she diligently attacks lobsters and melts copious sticks of butter with the determination of a soldier, interspersed with her regular tantrums over poorly-trussed chickens and slippery aspic.

The eating is less pretty than at the Parisian dinner parties, but this part I actually liked. I relished watching Eric Messina, who plays Julie's ever-supportive husband, shove large spoonfuls of cake and entire slices of bruschetta in his mouth. It was that kind of real, honest, big-mouth eating that happens in home kitchens and tiny dining tables where the plates might be chipped and the trucks roll by all throughout dinner, but it’s no matter because the food is really, really good.

Other critics have said they thought the Julie story wrested time from Julia’s, but I enjoyed the modern contrast. Had the two stories been turned into individual films, I doubt that I would have been so drawn to either of them. What I found most intriguing, was the way that Ephron rewrote Julie as a much softer and likable person (all the whining and weird, bushy hair aside). While I actually liked the movie-Julie much better than the book version, I question whether someone with the temperament of the girl in the film could have actually accomplished such a task. I think one would need the fiery harshness of the real-life version to actually get through it.

I also thought it odd that neither of the characters gained any weight throughout the course of the story, even though that was a constant theme in the book—and one with which the real Julie Powell still admits to struggling. At one point, upon seeing Eric Messina shove another handful of cake in his mouth, my own boyfriend, who is very aware of the reality of living with a food blogger who constantly cooks and serves him delicious things, leaned over to me and asked “well why doesn’t he gain any weight?” Even though there were points where movie-Julie complained that she was “getting fat,” she could have just as well been complaining about being a giant green elephant, since either claim would have been equally absurd. I couldn't help think about those wonderful scenes in the Bridget Jones movies where her mood and the events in her life are actually mirrored in the pounds that come on and off her bottom. It would have been fun to see a bit of that realism injected into this movie, too.

As a food blogger with dreams of bigger things, I couldn't help being absolutely enchanted with the scene where a profile by the New York Times' Amanda Hesser causes Julie's phone to explode with calls from reporters, publishing companies, and literary agents. It was several years ago, when the food blog market was much less saturated, but I couldn't help but stare wide-eyed and think "Damn! I want that!"

Aside from the "book deal porn," one of the most lust-inducing scenes in the movie was the one where Julia walks around a cookery shop with Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck, casually picking up and dropping breathtakingly gorgeous copper pots into her shopping basket the same way one might randomly grab an apple at the supermarket. I was drooling over her gorgeous collection of shiny copper cookware and those perfectly outlined peg boards that Paul lovingly assembled for their Cambridge kitchen. “Can you make me one of those?” I whispered to Eugene when I saw them.

Despite all the warnings, we made the mistake of not having dinner before the movie. When it ended (two hours and change later) we rushed out of the theater and walked straight up Broadway to the nearest French bistro, where we quickly ordered warm goat cheese over frissee, duck pate, hanger steak in a red wine shallot sauce, garlic frites, and lots and lots of French bread and butter. At the table we talked about the film, and I was surprised that my boyfriend actually liked it; we never agree on movies so this was quite the event. Like me, he loved Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia the best. Once the bread was gone, the waitress came back to ask if we’d like to see the dessert menu. I nearly laughed as I dove for the menu. We chose the chocolate fondue, which is not technically French, but I can’t imagine Julia ever objecting to a dessert that requires you dip delicious things in hot, melted chocolate. Can you?

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