For We Servantless American Cooks

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I had the best day yesterday. It started with a homemade hazlenut iced coffee, Tommy Dorsey in the car and off to see Julie/Julia with mom. Sure, I had a dress needing a new zipper and hemmed, but chores needed to wait. It was girl time and we had so much fun!

The movie theater was nearly empty, given it wasn't quite noon, but bless them, we're pretty certain we were the youngest people in there. What a nice change -- not a pip or a ring or a cell phone screen light anywhere in sight! (We mostly frequent the theater adjacent to OSU campus. Oh what a joy that is...ugh.) The movie was endearing -- especially the "Julia" storyline. You really just fall in love with her. Meryl Streep did an amazing job. The "Julie" storyline? Well. It was OK. At times, Julie seemed to grovel and took on a bit too much self-loathing for my taste. In more than one scene, I wished her husband to keep his mouth shut *while eating AND in general. But don't let that stop you from seeing it. It's well worth it!

Now. I'm no cook. I'll bake and candy-make anything under the sun, but when I was a kid, I had a bit of a kitchen fire and it put me off of cooking completely. Honestly, I want to learn and get creative and make delicious things. I have a great collection of vintage recipe books and everything, but I just can't seem to take that first leap. Until now. Julia Child has inspired me.

This Sunday, it's Boeuf Bourguignon, to honor my grandpa (because it was his favorite and ate it every day he and my mom were in France.)

And I'm not going to tackle just any Boeuf Bourguignon...non, mes amis. It's going to be Julia's famed Boeuf Bourguignon, thanks to Random House/Knopf Doubleday, the recipe is here for the world to try. I took that as a sign to get off my keister and give it a go.

(Below, I've linked their PDFs taken directly from Mastering the Art of French Cooking)

· recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon (beef burgandy)

· recipe for Champignons Sautés au Beurre (mushrooms sautéed in butter)

· recipe for Oignons Glacés à Brun (brown-braised onions)

I hope that your weekend is filled with adventures, in the kitchen and out.
Let us all be fearless! Bon appétit!

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{edit: What are the odds that I just got my Martha Stewart newsletter via email and they're featuring Julia Child's Beef Bourguignonne recipe? Take THAT, Martha!}