watch now! detail...
paul: repeat after me, okay? (paul speaking french) (julia repeating in french) oh, paul, leave me alone. bon appetit. (gasps) (speaking french) butter. oh, my goodness.
you have to taste this. here. mmm. i mean... it's... i know. but i'm... i know. i know. i know. julia: look at that!oh, paul, it's so beautiful! paul: slow down.
(julia exclaims) julia: sorry. paul: this is it.look, right...just stop. (julia laughing) i can't believewe get to live here. paul! (greeting in french) is this a mistake?should we havestayed in brooklyn? we're gonna love queens.queens is beautiful.
moving truck's here. (crashing) (julie exclaims) you okay? everythingis falling down. hey. what are we doing here? repeat after me. nine hundred square feet.
plus, it's closeto your office. plus, it's closeto my office, butwe don't have to move. we could renegeon the lease, repack everythingand live in the jeep. you're right.you're right. eric, what is that noise? what noise? is it going to belike this every night? maybe.
oh. paul: jule? it's versailles. (both laughing) i'm so happyyou like it, darling. (sighs) (julia humming) (phone ringing) female operator: good morning, lower manhattan development corporation,
male operator: lmdc. lower manhattandevelopment corporation,julie powell. woman 1: my son died in the second tower. i'm sorry. (woman crying) i'm so sorry. man 1: are you the person to speak to if i don't like the plan for the memorial that was in this morning's times? you can speak to me.
do you have any power? no. i wanna speak to someone with power. i don't like the plan. i don't like the plan either. (phone rings) woman 2: you people are a bunch of heartless bureaucratic goons. i am not a heartlessbureaucratic goon. i am justa person in a cubicle, and i am doingthe best i can, ma'am.
this is my sixth phone call and the only thing anyone ever tells me is i have to fill out a form to get in line for an insurance payment. and you do. but, i mean, if you don't wannafill out a form,i will fill one out for you, but you're still going tohave to come in and sign it. to your cubicle? yes. i feel terrible aboutwhat you're going through,mr. diamond, but... man 2: you have no idea what i'm going through, ms. powell.
you have no idea. please don't yell at me. this whole thing is completely inefficient. please stop yelling at me. it's ridiculous. my 3-year-old is more capable of helping. i am your friend. woman 3: and now the doctor says there's fiberglass in his lungs. he coughs. he never stops coughing.
(sniffling) i don't know what to do. his wife says there'sso much crap in hislungs he can't breathe, and now his insuranceis refusing to pay for this drug thatmight really work. tell her to callthe health department. that's an answering machine. andrea gomezin the mayor's office. thank you. thank you.
chocolate cream pie. you know whati love about cooking? eric: what's that? i love that after a daywhen nothing is sure, and when i say"nothing" i mean nothing, you can come homeand absolutely know that if you addegg yolks to chocolateand sugar and milk, it will get thick.it's such a comfort. bad day?
when will thispie be ready? soon, but i have to makethe whipped creamfirst and let it set. i'll be here.it's a masterpiece. ritual cobb saladlunch tomorrow. dreading, dreading, dreading. subway. hi. how are you? what can i getfor you ladies?
i will have a cobb salad,no bleu cheese. cobb salad, no beets. cobb salad, no bacon. cobb salad, no eggs. okay, tell them... are you listeningcarefully, tracy? tell them to takethe offer up to 185. repeat after me, tracy. here she goes.
1-8-5. what's going on? and call methe second you hear back. my assistant. it's almostnot worth having one. regina: i know.yesterday i said to allison, "go to the pharmacy,get me a pair ofblack pantyhose." she came back and said,"they didn't have any." i said, "did youtry another pharmacy?"i mean, really. or bloomingdale's.what's wrong withtrying bloomingdale's?
cassie: yeah, i don't get it.if only i could bemy own assistant. you can be. fire your assistantand don't hire a replacement. (cell phone ringing) no, that's notwhat i mean, julie. excuse me. oh... oh, those are cute. oh, thanks. thanks. okay, tell them 190,1-9-0. great.
"1-9-0." what?what are you up to? (women gasping) $190 million. we're assemblinga parcel at midtown. oh, wow. oh, oh,that is so great, cassie. a parcel of what? buildings. we're gonnatear them all downand put up a high-rise. regina: to your parcel.
thank you. (toasting in spanish) and enough about you,here's to me. as of yesterday,i am the seniorvice president in chargeof corporate publicity. cassie: no. which means i get a raise and i can borrowhalf a million dollarsat 2% if i want to. cassie: great.
if you want to? so how's your job, julie? oh, it's... i can only imagine.heartbreaking. so sad. painful. not in a bad way. excuse me.oh, god, i forgot. excuse me.
hello? hey, jules?i have got to interview you for this piecethat i'm writing. sure, annabelle, great.i'd be honored. call julie about interview. find out about dry cleaning.find out before dinneron thursday. saturday party. regina: i cannotcomputer-coach you every daywhile i'm with my girlfriends. what is it about?the article?
it's about our generationturning 30. people turning 30.oh, my life, i am so busy. i don't knowwhen i can fit you in. may i remind you,i don't want to see you,you want to see me? yeah. would a breakfast work? julie: i believed her.what kind of idiot am i? she said, "it's aboutour generation turning 30." what'd you expect?annabelle was always a liar. "julie powell, oncethe editor of theamherst literary magazine,
"the one we all knewwould be 'the one,' "temped for eight yearsbefore giving up on her novel, "and now works in a cubicleas a mid-level bureaucrat, "attempting to deal withthe aftereffects of 9/11." (exclaims angrily) oh, god, you memorized it?how pathetic. she left so much out. anyway, the picture was good. i looked fat.
just your face. julie: i forgot to tell you.do you know whatannabelle's doing now? sarah told me. a blog. of what? what do you mean "of what"?a blog of annabelle. of every thought thatpasses through her brain. her stupid,vapid, insipid... i could write a blog. i have thoughts.
and you're a writer,which is more thani can say for annabelle. if only that were true. you wrote a novel. half a novel. and no onewanted to publish it. you're not a writerunless someonepublishes you. see, that's what'sso great about blogs. you don't haveto be published. you can just go online,press enter andthere it is, out there. what would i writea blog about?
you're an editor, tell me. why don't you write abouthow much you love queens? a short blog. you could writeabout your job. if i wrote a blogabout my job and anyone at workever read it... i mean, hello. this is good. mmm-hmm.
this is really good. on top of which,the whole ideaof writing a blog is to get awayfrom what i do all day. the way that cookingis a way that i get awayfrom what i do all day. so write a blogabout cooking. i'm not a real cook,like julia childor mario batali. julia child wasn'talways julia child. if i really wantedto learn to cook, i could justcook my way throughjulia child's cookbook.
i could blog about that. i have a copy.i stole it from my motherlast time i was in texas. when i was eight, my father's bosscame to dinner andit was a really big deal, and my mother made boeuf bourguignon. but it wasn't just boeuf bourguignon. it was julia's boeuf bourguignon. and it was likeshe was there, like julia wasthere in the room,
on our side like somegreat big good fairy. and everything wasgoing to be all right. i'm gonna try to flip this thing over now, which is a rather daring thing to do. she changed everything. before her,it was frozen food and can openersand marshmallows. don't knock marshmallows. when you flip anything,
you've just got to have the courage of your convictions. especially if it's a loose sort of mass like... oh, that didn't go very well. but, you see, when i flipped it, i didn't have the courage i needed... she's so adorable. ...the way i should've. but you can always put it together. and you're alone in the kitchen. who's to see?
pearls. the womanis wearing pearlsin the kitchen. ...you've just got to practice, like the piano. i'm julia child. bon appetit. male announcer: julia child is coauthor of the book mastering the artof french cooking. eric: bon appetit. "for the servantlessamerican cook."that's me, all right. okay, here's a problem.i've never eaten an egg.
and i have a hyperacidicstomach. we'll deal. so i'll cook my way throughthe julia child cookbook and write a blog about it. but i'll probablyneed a deadline. why? because otherwiseit'll be likeeverything else i do. 'cause let's face it,i never finish anything. well, it's true. you know why i think it is?
add. you have add? yes. that's whyi'm so bad at housework. oh, is that it? i'm just saying,a deadline would be good. so a deadline."i love deadlines. "i love the soundthey make as theygo whooshing past." hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. i mean it.
okay, so a year, or so. a year? (chuckling) this thing weighslike two pounds. i have a full-time job. sometimesi don't get homeuntil 8:00 or 9:00 and... it's crazy. it's crazy. is it crazy? yes. yes.
okay, you wantto do blog z? blog z it is. nobody here but us servantlessamerican cooks. "servantlessamerican cooks." what do you think? love it. "start blogging." julie: "the julie/julia project."
the book,mastering the artof french cooking. first edition, 1961 by simone beck, louisette bertholle, and, of course, julia child, the woman who taught america to cook and to eat. it's 40 years later and no one can touch her. the challenge, 365 days, 524 recipes. the contender, julie powell. government employee by day, renegade foodie by night. risking her marriage, her job, and her cat's well-being,
she has signed on for a deranged assignment. how far it will go, no one can say. (chattering in french) paul: dear charlie, we're settled in finally, and julia loves it here. she wants to stay forever. you know how famously grouchy the french can be, dear brother. everyone hereis so delightful. but julia brings out the best in a polecat. so charming.
so she thinks they're the most wonderful people in the world. i feel that i am french. i just must be. well, you might be. as for staying here forever, i have to say, i wouldn't mind it myself. paul: i'm so gladthat you came, i can't tell you. woman: it wasa very nice show. julia: thanks for coming.
woman: i enjoyed it. paul, congratulations.excellent exhibit. thanks so much, jack. jack donovan,this is my wife, julia. it was such a wonderfulexhibition, paul. thank you.thank you. i am so proud of you. oh, good. french peopleeat french food!
every single day!i can't get over it. they do. (sighing) you know i love you so much,i'm gonna let youtake the first bite. that's so good. before i even had...it's good, is it? what should i do,do you think? about what? i don't reallywant to go backinto government work.
you know, but i...shouldn't i findsomething to do? these wives don'tdo anything here. that's not me.it's just not me. i saw a noticeon the bulletin boardat the embassy for hat-making lessons. you like hats. i do, i do. i do. what is it that youreally like to do?
eat. (both laugh) it's what i like to do. i know, i know.i know. i know. and you are so good at it.look at you! i am good at it. now. how good you are. i'm growingin front of you. i was thinking oftaking bridge lessons.
you like bridge. i do. i likethe idea of bridge. four points for an ace,three points for a king, two points for a queen,one point for a jack. and breast your cards. do you have anyfrench cookbooksin english? i'm afraid not. oh, gosh. the salesperson. she...
(speaks french) had no idea...because, you see, there is no frenchcookbook in english. and all i have isthis joy of cookingby irma rombauer, which is an excellent,excellent cookbook,but it's not french. so i did askmy friend avis de voto to look aroundin the united statesto see if she could find... right. right. gosh, i thought i wasspeaking french to you!
(people chattering) oh, my goodness! man: what do we have here? it's a copy of... it's my memoirs. (all laughing) oh, look. (all exclaiming) oh, it's fantastic!but it's in french!
you'll get there.you'll get there. thank you, darling. i know. i'm learning.i'm trying. i'm really... ooh. happy birthday to me. man: happy birthday. julia: what can this mean? paul: what? (reading french) "wash the thighs."
no, "bathe."bathe the thighs. look, but then... where? "in butter." i know that.but what is the... "bathe the thighsin butter and thenstuff the..." what's that word? the hen! right. hen. "until she justcan't take it anymore."
(laughs) it doesn't say that. it does. i'll show you laterin the dictionary. i'll go throughthe whole recipe with you. why don't i goto cooking school? why don't you? i'm serious. so am i.
oh, my god. what if you hadn'tfallen in love with me? but i did. (alarm ringing) julie: yesterday was tuesday, august 13th, 2002. day one. 364 days to go. i cooked artichokes with hollandaise sauce which is melted butter that's been whipped into a frenzy with egg yolks until it's died and gone to heaven.
and let me say this. is there anything better than butter? think it over. every time you taste something that's delicious beyond imagining, and you say, "what is in this?" the answer is always going to be "butter." it's incredible. it's been whiskedinto submission,that's why. the day there's a meteorite heading toward the earth and we have 30 days to live,
i am going to spend it eating butter. here's my final word on the subject. you can never have too much butter. august 24th, day 11. is this what you meanwhen you say, "don't crowd the mushrooms"?is this a crowd? 353 days to go. a horrible day at work. an old grandma who looked as if she wouldn't harm a fly called me a pencil-pushing capitalist dupe.
but then i came home and cooked chicken with cream, mushrooms and port, and it was total bliss. here's the big news. i had been cooking mushrooms the wrong way my entire life. don't crowd the mushrooms, otherwise they won't brown. are you listening, whoever you are? you're gonna love that one. day 22. this one's really goodwith fig jam.
i got carried away in dean & deluca last night and spent half my take-home pay. and the first thing i realized when i got to the subway with my groceries, a bag of cat litter, a bottle of olive oil i absolutely could not live without, and a huge bunch of branches was that the branches were probably not a good idea. sorry. they were slapping folks in the face right and left
and i was sweating like a pig. not surprising, since i've been way too busy cooking fattening food to bother exercising. and then i came home and got a big vote of confidence from my mother. julie's mom: remind me again why you're doing this... blog. whatever it's called. it's a regimen, mom.like doing sit-ups. well, it's just adding pressure.
what pressure? you have a full-time job, you have a husband, and now you're gonna get sick from blogging. it's sort of likebeing in aa. what are you saying? it gives you somethingyou have to do every day,one day at a time. how do you know this lingo? honey, are you an alcoholic? i'm sayingit's good for meto have short-term goals.
well, that is silly. that is just plain silly. who's reading this blog? people. people arereading it, i'm sure. well, it's something you decided to do, and you can decide not to, and not one single person's gonna mind. no. don't you get it?i just started. i can't stop,i have to finish.it's all i've got. (phone beeps) hello? hello?
stupid dead phone. hey, it's not all you got. i know. i know.i didn't mean that. julie: yesterday, i poached an egg. it seemed like the perfect thing to do on perhaps the second worst workday in recorded history. explain to me howyou've never eatenan egg in your whole life. i've had eggs in, like, cakes. never had an "egg" egg.i was a very willful child.
it's simmering. i had this notion, god knows why, that poaching eggs would be simple. but i was deeply wrong. "immediately and gentlypush the white over the yolkwith a wooden spoon "for two to three seconds."immediately. both: ew! disgusting. oh, maybethe eggs aren't fresh.
julia says the eggshave to be fresh. they are fresh. okay. you don't haveto bite my head off.i'm just quoting julia. julie: it took three of us, crammed into the kitchen over a pot of simmering water, but, eventually, we nailed it. hello. welcome. how cute is that?
and i ate my very first egg of my whole life, ever, ever, ever. i thought eggswere going to be greasyand slimy, but it tastes like cheese sauce. yum. julia child,you are so good. cheers. and, may i say,excellent wine? do you thinkjulia knows about you? i wish. i have this fantasythat she comes for dinner
and i show hermy new lemon zester. we become very close. the truth is,no one knows about me. i feel likei'm just sending thingsinto this giant void. which reminds me.annabelle's blog.have you read it lately? it's sort of funny. is it? she's datingthis rich guywho owns a plane. his name's lester.
and they do itin the air. people love it.it's a huge hit. what do you thinkit means if you don'tlike your friends? it's completely normal. men like their friends. we're not talking about men.who's talking about men? julie: so it's five weeks down, 47 to go, and i feel fantastic. sometimes, i can't help but wonder. is there anyone out there reading me?
but i'm sure you are, aren't you? somebody? (bleeps) anybody? ernestine, i have a comment. my mother. doesn't count. today we will beginby learning to boil eggs. first, you must make surethat the egg is fresh. i was so hoping that... well, for somethinga little more advanced,madame brassart.
but you arenot an advanced cook. but i do knowhow to boil an egg. do you know howto bone a duck? no, but that's exactlythe sort of thing that i'm very interestedin learning how to do. there is one other class,but you will not like it. it's for professionnel,which you willnever be, i'm sure. all men. all gis. and very expensive.
i cannot imaginethat you would everwant to pay the tuition. how much? max: so the onionis ready, but... you must hold the knife,first of all, like this. wrist, easy.leave the thumb here. the hand andthe knife are one. and the hand,the other hand,you must protect it. here, you must cutonly the onion. yes? not me.
and then, you putyour thumb here andthe other fingers here. jule? you're being a littleover-competitive,don't you think? well, you should'veseen the waythose men looked at me. as if i were somefrivolous housewife, just lookingfor a way to kill time. well... where are you going? not here.
you hungry? good. ta-da! well done, madame child. julia: dear avis, i'm in my third week at le cordon bleu, and i'm in utter bliss. every morning the alarm goes off at 6:30, and i leap out of bed. i'm up! by 7:30 i'm in class, in my apron, peeling potatoes.
then we cook stock and we bone fish. we dress pigeons. we make pastry with so much butter, it almost stops your heart just to look at it. my teacher moves so quickly i'm sometimes lost. but i'm way ahead of the others in the class, all of them men, and all of them very unfriendly, until they discovered i was fearless. something i realized about the same time they did. morning class ends at 12:30, then i go home and make lunch for paul.
then paul takes a nap. and later in the afternoon, he goes back to the embassy and i go back to school. you must havea mortar and pestle. incidentally, my father is horrified i'm going to cooking school. offered to give me extra money to hire a cook. go on. fun! joy!this is what matters. i'm probably the only american i know in paris who thinks shopping for food is as much fun as buying a dress.
course, you'd think so too, if you lived in a country where absolutely nothing comes in my size. by the way, did you know that if you don't dry meat, it won't brown properly? irma rombauer doesn't say a word about it in the joy of cooking. avis, i am in heaven here. i've been looking for a career all my life... happy valentine's day. ...and i've found it.
we met in ceylonwhen we were in the oss. but he nevernoticed me at first. well, that's not true.i noticed you. i noticed your legsstraightaway. oh, you were such a roue. all the womenwere mad for him. can you blame them? anyway, we weresent off to china. absolutely delicious,if i do say so myself.
julia. when you finishyour term, you'll beteaching at cordon bleu. no, i don't think so. the woman who runs itabsolutely hates me! come on.oh, no one couldpossibly hate you. that's true. but she does. were you spies? no. yes. no. oh, so cagey, right?
you were in the officeof strategic servicesand you were not spies? i was only a file clerk. but paul? paul designed all ofthe secret war roomsfor general mountbatten. well, just maps andexhibits and things.it wasn't... he did!he single-handedlywon the war for us. well, i had to. someone did.i mean, it wasdragging on, wasn't it? anyway,so there we were in china,just friends having dinner, and it turnedout to be julia.
it turned out tobe julia all along. (glasses clinking) julia, you arethe butter to my bread,and the breath to my life. i love you, darling girl. paul: dear charlie, julia in front of her stove has the same fascination for me as watching a kettle drummer at the symphony. the oven door opens and shuts so fast, you hardly notice the deft thrust of a spoon as she dips into a casserole,
and up to her mouth for a taste check like a perfectly-timed double beat on the drums. then with her bare fingers, she snatches a set of cannelloni out of the pot of boiling water, (exclaims) and she cries, "these damn things are as hot as a stiff cock." she said what?
julie: i know. julia child said,"hot as a..." i know, i'm shocked. it's from a letterthat paul child wrote to his twinbrother charlie in 1949, when julia was juststarting classesat le cordon bleu. so julia and paul, beaucoup, beaucoup. i know.just goes to show you. what?
you can never tell abouta person's sex lifeby looking at them. they were so in love. hot sauce from a reader. and today i had12 comments from readers, and i didn't knowany of them. julie: thanks to all my faithful readers for this loot. i have now completed 65 recipes in 47 days. (julie reading) on track with 103 recipes in just over two months.
looks like a cupcake. lobster thermidor is coming up, and i am going to have to murder and dismember a crustacean. how will i ever do this? last night our sleep machine, the one we have by our bed to drown out the noise of freight trucks rumbling past our apartment, was speaking to me. and it was saying, "lobster killer. "lobster killer,lobster killer,lobster killer."
one of my readers saidthat if you putlobsters in the freezer, it sort of numbs them. then i got anothercomment that said, "man up,kill the damn lobster. "just take a knifeand do it." (psycho killer playing) ♪ i can't seem to face up to the facts ♪ i'm tense and nervous and i can't relax it's alive!
eric. ♪ i can't sleep, 'cause my bed's on fire ♪ don't touch me i'm a real live wire oh, god. "a note on dealingwith live lobsters. "if you object to steaminga live lobster," yes, "plunge the pointof the knife "into the headbetween the eyes." oh, julia,you make it sound so simple.
eric: (in singsong tone)lobster killer. (humming) get out of here. i don't need you at all.you are completely useless. i'm just gonna throwthem into the water and put the lid onand that will be that. fine. goodbye. (singing in french)
♪ psycho killer ♪ (shrieks) (julie continues shrieking) eric: you okay? okay. okay. all right. all right, boys. there's a new sheriffin town. (in singsong tone)lobster killer.
lobster killer. under control. you are a saint. thank you. thank you,thank you, thank you. you're welcome. i can't. i can't. you can. no, i can't.i have a lot to do. eric, i can't.
i'm good. just give me one more,give me one more. just one more. fine. go, i have so much to do. get! out! hey, thank you so much. hey, man. how you doing? happy birthday.
yeah, terrific.good to see you. cake. cake. brother-in-law. love you so much. garth: hey, man. sarah: hi, hi, hi, hi. all: bon appetit. sarah: happy birthday, julie. garth: happy birthday.
hi! thanks, sweetheart. oh, thanks for comingall out here. hey, you. here's an incredible thing.when julia and paul met,she was a virgin. really? wow. she was, like,practically 40. annette: you serious? how does anyoneeven know that? there were all theseletters that julia wroteto her friend avis de voto.
and paul wroteto his brother, and no one threwanything out,as far as i can tell. when they got married,she could barely boil an egg. isn't that amazing? braised cucumbersare a revelation. i'm obsessed with her.i'm totally obsessed. she's totally obsessed. well, it's good that you are,because this is amazing. seriously. so good.
well, savor it,because that's all there is.i mean, lobster, major bucks. why don't youput a paypal thingon the website? people could send in moneyif they felt like it. garth: oh, yeah. absolutely. you have fans,your readers love you. i do? i have fans? yeah, you do. well, i can'task them for money. annette: why not?
i think you shoulddo the paypal thing. that way we couldhave more lobster. (all chuckling) tim: harder. get them.get them. hey, hey, hey! eric: thirty. thirty.thirty. thirty. thirty. happy birthday,sweetheart. just like julia's. aww. only hers wereprobably the real deal.
they're beautiful. help you put it on. let's give this a shot here. how's that? yeah. i'm 30. i thought it wasgonna be terrible, but thanks to you,and thanks to julia, it feels like i'mgonna get through.
more cake.how do you like that cake? hey, you. i'm going to bed. ernie, 53 commentson my lobster blog. shut up. (phone ringing) julie powell. eric: (in disguise) this the person i speak to if i got a problem?
yes, sir.what is your problem? (in normal voice) too much food, not enough sex. eric, that's not funny. i thought it was pretty funny. okay, it was. hey, guess what? you are the thirdmost popular blogon salon.com. i am? yes, you are.
i am! so i figurefor every onewho writes in, there are, i don't know,hundreds that don't.don't you think? it's like there's thiswhole group of people who are sort ofconnected to me. they need me in some way. like, if i didn't write,they would really be upset. they'd probably take,like, poison,try to kill themselves. (snoring)
are you still making hats? oh, no, i abandoned it. but i am readyto graduate fromthe cordon bleu. i can't get the damn womanwho runs the schoolto schedule the test. madame brassart?is that the womanyou are speaking of? she is a bitch. she is, you're right. i think she's almostthe only personin the world i honestly can't stand.
she is not the onlyperson i can't stand. do you two know each other? you should. julia child,simone beck. simca. simca, how do you do? and this is my friendlouisette bertholle. i can't believeyou haven't met. simca and louisetteare writing a cookbook. for americans.
why do you need totake a stupid test? so i can get a diploma.so i can teach. you don't needa diploma to teach. you're probably right. avis says the same thing. who is avis? my friend, avis de voto,who lives in cambridge,massachusetts. she's very wise. but i can't help it.i want a diploma.
i am very conventional. i don't know what to do. well, why don't youwrite to the horriblemadame brassart and threaten her? threaten her?with what? the united states of america. yes! tell her theamerican ambassadorpersonally wants you to take the examination.
julia: no, no,no, no, no, no. i couldn't do that.heavens, no! the american ambassador.hardly even know the man. of course you can. julia: dear madame brassart, everyone at the american embassy, including my dear friend the ambassador, will be very surprised if i'm not allowed to take my examination. you will write the recipes
for oeufs mollets. cotelettes de veau en surprise, et creme renversee au caramel. cotelettes de veau en surprise. i had no idea whatveal en surprise was. none. cooked it in class.it's a veal chopwith mushrooms in a bag. (chuckling) a paper bag.that's the surprise. you open the bag, surprise! veal and mushrooms,it's just i've never flunkeda test in my entire life. i am an a student.
you can askto take it again. i can? of course. meanwhile, you cancome teach with us. gosh! is it trueyou plan to teach? yes, we're goingto teach americansin paris how to cook. madame child,i must tell you, you have no realtalent for cooking.
but the americanswill never knowthe difference. (laughing) (sputters) julie: we are, i am sorry to say, entering aspics. an aspic is sort of a beef-flavored jell-o mold. doesn't that sound delicious? i can't imagine why no one makes them anymore. you begin with a calf's foot, which i am in possession of thanks to my sainted husband,
and you boil it until your kitchen smells like a tannery. and then it gels in the refrigerator and you flip it onto a plate. which, according to julia child, is supposed to be easy. and all i can say about that, no offense intended, julia, is the bitch lied. shit. shit! how many moreaspics are there? seven.
no one will knowif you don't do them. it's not like there's,like, the aspic policeor something. you could lie. i can't. i just can't. julia will know.it's like she's watching me.i'm under her influence. i'm becoming a muchbetter person because of her. yuck! the sink!look at this! (exclaiming disgustedly) i hate it here!did you putsomething down the sink?
you hate it here? how am i supposedto cook anythingin this kitchen? it's no wonder thatmy mold fell apart. i don't supposewe have any drano. not unless you bought it. i do all of thisand i'm supposedto buy drano, too? right now,you are so not underthe influence of julia child. what if i don'tmake my deadline, eric? i'll have wasteda whole year of my life.
i used to be thinand now i'm getting fat. fat? on top of which, i have to bone a whole duck. when? at some point. can you even conceiveof boning a duck? no, i can't. of course you can't.
julie: i'm sure you all remember, because it was only a few days ago, that i had a meltdown over my aspic and vowed to transform myself into a better human being. and then i was trussing the poulet rotia la normande, which is roast chicken stuffed with chicken livers and cream cheese, and it fell on the floor and the stuffing fell out into a big gooey mess. (muttering) so, long story short, another meltdown. this is crazy.
worse than the last. (crying)i can't even truss. and i cried like a small, emotionally disturbed child. i'm a mess. i got it. i got it. yeah, who's this? can you hold onjust one second? i'm not sure if she's here. she might've stepped out.hold on.
(sobbing) hey, it's a reporterfrom the christian science monitor. he wants towrite about you. he does? i should tell himto call back, right? no, no, i'll take it. yes? you want to bringwho to dinner? no, of course,i know who that is.i know exactly who that is.
who? who, who, who, who? that would be great,that would becompletely amazing. who? guess who'scoming to dinner? to les trois gourmandes. one for all and all for one. all right.i had such a horrible time converting these recipesfrom the metric system. measurements do not matter.
oh, but they do! they absolutely do. this is one ofthe biggest arguments louisette and i hadwhen we workedon our cookbook. which is finally finished. sent off to the publisher.soon simca and iwill be famous. we'll be the nextmrs. joy of cooking. maybe. all right.well, let's try.let's just give it a... can i help?
yeah. it is mieux. oh! so, yes. they're early.americans! julia: dear dorothy, your sister, julia, is now a cooking teacher. we have three students who pay $2 a class. barely enough to cover the cost of the food, but who cares? simca, louisette, and i are les trois gourmandes. although sometimes we are onlyles deux gourmandes because louisette turns out to have headaches
and doctor's appointments she schedules during class. i have a little headache. you'll meet them both when you come here next month, unless, of course, louisette is having a stomachache. perfection.and even if it isn't,never apologize. no excuses!no explanations. julia: louisetteabandoned us,another stomachache. and the day before that, she left classbefore we even finished
making the chocolatebavarian cream. i can't believethat's the only timeher dentist could see her. keep an eye out,we don't wantto miss dorothy. it's impossibleto miss your sister. i don't see her! there she is. dorothy! (both exclaiming) hi, julia!i missed you!
so good to see... hi. hi, sweetie. i've had an adventureon the ocean liner! i didn't get sick once! good girl!how about your legs? people were droppinglike flies all around me! look.oh, my goodness. look at that. all i think aboutall day is food
and then i dreamabout it all night. it is true, she's obsessed. if i didn't sitin the kitchen,i'd never see her. last week, i dreamed thati made cassoulet for dad, and he hated it, of course. he doesn'tunderstand any of this. i almost feel sorry for him. he wanted so muchfor us to stay in pasadena, marry republicans,and breed like rabbits.
why didn't we? too tall. let's face it, it's true. from the beginning,you just don't fit in.literally. so then you don't. i know, it's true. do not bait fatherabout politics when he comes. or he won'tpick up the check. he won't, will he?
i can't make any promises. he loves senator mccarthy. oh, i know. pasadena. jinx. dort, do you have...you have the brie. is this the brie? yes. yes, that's the brie. is that notthe most wonderful cheeseyou ever had in your life?
the answer's yes. i got the chefat chez la mere michel to give me the recipefor beurre blanc. beurre blanc. what's beurre blanc? butter in a whitewine vinegar reduction. oh, i love butter. you whisk them together, and the acid in the vinegarworks on the milk solidsin the butter so that the butter,instead of melting,becomes this
creamy, light, frothy, with kind of a fantasticsubtle kind of... paul: tangy. it has a tanginess. tanginess? well, that's... that's who i married. anyway, you serve it on fishand it's splendid.i'm going to make it for you.
that'll be divine. and, dort, we're goingto throw you a party. very exciting. by the way, there'sa man that i wantto introduce you to. i think you'll really... he's... tall. he's very tall. pardon? tall. he's very.
extremely tall. i'm extremely tall. but he's even taller,so that's good. he is even taller. well, that's good. all right. pretty good. but not great. (french music playing)
hello, ladies.anybody want anything? help yourself.the tapenadeis marvelous. julia, there you are. john! oh, there you are. now, where isthis sister of yours? she's right over there.hi, john. hi, paul. oh, there.
paul: so we've told hera lot about you. well, i don't want tointerrupt her conversation. with ivan cousins?they just met. i can't imaginedorothy running offwith ivan cousins. (indistinct chattering) (classical music playing) dearly beloved... (upbeat music playing) oh, john,this is lovely.
i've never beento a weddinglike this before. here, julia. what a beautiful wedding. thanks, pops. i am not enthusiasticabout this marriage. well, you weren'tvery enthusiasticabout ours, either. true. phila: how are thingsat the embassy, paul? oh, fine.thank you, phila. thank you.
well, not fine, really, because they've cut ourlibrary allowance by 90%. phila: oh. it seems thatsenator mccarthyhas very long arms. senator mccarthy is a manwho knows his mind. i admire a manwho knows his mind. well, we know lotsof people in washingtonwho have lost their jobs, after years ingovernment service,for no reason whatsoever. and paul hadto make a list
of every single bookin the embassy library. surely you're not suggestingthat the french governmentis any better. and... shall we dance? come on, dance with me. excuse us. (julia sighs) you said you didn'twant to talk about it, then you wentand talked about it.
i know, i never learn. (slow music playing) paul: where's my big sprig? up here, whipping away. and for dinner,mayonnaise? that's good. that is good, isn't it? very. from your sister. i'm going to sendthis recipe to avis.
i'm very excited about it. i think it's a breakthrough. well, it tastes like it. dorothy is pregnant. oh. paul. isn't that wonderful? (crying) i'm so happy. if you warm the bowlslightly before youbeat in the egg yolk,
it changes everything. foolproof mayonnaise.absolutely foolproof. i typed it up. you disagree? about the mayonnaise?not at all. simone: i'm sureyou're exactly right. scientific workability.that's my motto. we have a little problem. our editor...
for our cookbook. ...thinks our bookis not in english. but your book is in english. they are giving ita rejection. but they suggestthat if we arecontinuing with it, we should get a collaboratorwho could take what we have and make it workfor american cooks. would you do it, julia? would i do it?
julie: we are now going to play a round of "guess who's coming to dinner." this wednesday, i am going to be playing host to a distinguished guest. clue number one. the degree of separation between julia child and me is about to shrink by a factor of about a thousand. a thousand. in answer to your questions, no, it is not amanda hesser of the new york times
or nigella lawson, or ina garten. but here's clue number two, i will be making boeuf bourguignon, which was the first dish our distinguished guest cooked upon reading masteringthe art of french cooking for the first time. boeuf bourguignon.julia child's boeuf bourguignon. well, since no one guessed my mystery guest, i'm going to have to tell you all. it's judith jones, the editor who's responsible
for getting julia's cookbook published way back when, the woman who recognized history in an onionskin manuscript. she's older and probably not used to eating at 10:00 at night, which is why i'm being diligent about this and making the stew the night before. and as i cook it, i almost feel as if julia and i are communicating over space and time on a deep, spiritual, mystical level.
although, mostly, i'm just talking to myself. eric: how long doesit take to cook? julie: two and a half hours. (people applauding) welcome. and today we're going to make a holiday feast, or les fetes d'holiday. and we're going to start with half-boned chicken or poularde demi-desossee. now, first, remove the liver and fry it up with some onions for a little snack
or perhaps a delicious liverwurst which you can spread on a cracker, a ritz cracker, a saltine. (imitating) saltine. or if you have a pet, a cat or a dog, they love liver. save the liver. (imitating) save the liver. save the liver. now, you place the chicken on its stomach
and cut along the backbone to the pope's nose, like so. crack! oh! now i've done it, i've cut the dickens out of my finger. well, i'm glad, in a way, this happened. you know, accidents do occur from time to time in the kitchen. we've never really discussed what to do. first, you must stop the bleeding. the best way is with direct pressure on the apron, like so. you want to raise your hand over your head.
i recommend natural coagulants, such as chicken liver. another reason not to throw away the liver. oh, god, it's throbbing! a tourniquet, that's it. why are you all spinning? well, i think i'm going to go to sleep now.bon appetit. (beeping) (beeping continues) (siren wailing) no, no, no!
julia: well, it's just a big,dry collection of recipes. it doesn't work at all. i'm just gonna have tothrow most of it outand start all over again! this has got to be a cookbook that makes frenchcooking accessible to americanswho do not have cooks. who are servantless. is that a word? servantless.
i think it is a word. julia? hmm? (clears throat) what if we hadto leave paris? why would wehave to leave paris? because my assignmentwas for four years. so then we still have time. eight months.
and this cookbookis not something you can finishin eight months. no. but two yearsseems possible. what if they transfer mesomeplace else? would they do that? they don't reallycare about me. oh, paul.of course they do. they don't, really. well, if we can'tstay in paris,
then i'll just mail the pagesto louisette and simca and they can mailthem back to me. that's why theyinvented the mail system and carbon paperand onionskin copies, or i can just jumpon the train to paris whenever the three of usabsolutely have towork together, you know. or the two of us, actually, because as we know,louisette doesnext to nothing. but we would still besomewhere in europe.
don't you think? it's very hard to say,given the currentpolitical climate. hmm. senator mccarthydoes not likepeople like us. (chuckling) us? why?what have we done? we haven't done anything.that's not the point. the point is,we were in china. and that'spractically sufficient. well, meanwhile,we're still here.
yes, we are.you're right. here's to the book. french cooking for all! or french home cooking.do you like that?which one do you like? i like them both. julia: dear avis, enclosed is part of our cookbook from the chapter on sauces. naturally, it must not be shown to anyone unless you are sure they are not, never have been, and won't have anything to do with the publishing business.
there are people who would love nothing more than to steal this hollandaise recipe. julia: (exclaiming)we're late! do yousuppose she'll be there? louisette? of courseshe'll be there.it's at her house. i was makinga little joke. what's this about, anyway? louisette wouldn'ttell me. she saidit was a surprise. maybe she's droppingout of the project.that would be heavenly.
well, it would. my friends,this is irma rombauer. mrs. joy? (gasping) the first editionof the joy of cookingtook me a year to write. only a year? includingtesting the recipes? well, i didn't reallytest all the recipes.there were so many of them. and then i found a publisher,a small printer in st. louis. how much moneydid he pay you?
i paid him. $3,000. $3,000? a small fortune. but i had a littlelife insurance moneybecause my husband... no! he killed himself? and i thought,"well, what else am i "gonna do withthe insurance money?" and then,the book began to sell
and bobbs-merrillpicked it up, so now i hada real publisher. and they gave yousome money? absolutely not. they swindled me.they stole my copyright, and now there'sa new edition,and guess what? the index isa complete calamity. if you're lookingfor city chicken, you're not gonnafind it under "c."
it's under "drumsticks, mock." both: no. all she wantedto talk about was how her publisher had cheated herout of thousands ofdollars in royalties. it just made merealize this... not going to be simple,this gettingpublished business. this is from avis, for you. (exclaiming)
oh, my. well. what does she say now? oh, avis lovesmy sauce chapter. oh, that's wonderful, darling. oh, no. she showed it to someone.which i specificallyasked her not to do. she showed it toan editor at houghtonmifflin in boston, and the boston editorshowed it to the headof publishing and... paul! paul!
paul: yes? what, what,what? what, what? they want to... they want topublish our book. oh, that's great news! and they want togive us an advance. $250! and when the bookis finished, $500 more! i'm so proud of you. the editor loves the book!
she just loves it. julie: "so withthe smell of burned stewstill in the air, "i woke up dyingof stomach cramps. "i called in sick." and went back tobed for several hours. put it in. put it in the blogin case someonein your office reads it. and went back to bedfor several hours. julie: by noon, i was somehow able to straighten myself up to a standing position.
butcher: what are you making? bought the ingredients for boeuf bourguignon all over again. boeuf bourguignon. dragged myself home. and made another boeuf bourguignon. and for dessert, a raspberry bavarian cream. by the end of the day, i felt fine. i was cooking dinner for a legend, even though i'd never really heard of her until a few months ago.
maybe she'll offeryou a book contract. what if she does? i mean, what would that mean? that would meani might be a writer. eric: how much moneydo people make for books? like an advance?i have no idea. $100,000? don't even say it. i know. i know, i know.
it is here, too.cats and dogs. well, thanks. bye. so not coming. that was the guy from the christian science monitor. it's raining. (scoffs) and we live inlong island cityand she's, like, older. it's mortifying.
but on the bright side,more stew for us. just for once, could you notlook on the bright side? yeah. well, it's notthe end of the world. i thought, i reallydid think, i just did.i thought "book contract." me, judith jones,happily ever after. and thenwe'd have a little money and we wouldn'tlive over a pizzeriafor the rest of our lives. how am i gonna explain this? my readers aregonna be really upset.they were so into it.
your readers aregonna be really upset. i never should'vetold everyone. they'll live. somehow, your readers will live. is it bland? not anymore. thank you fortelling me that. you almost let me feedjudith jones bland boeuf bourguignon.
this is a nightmare.i told everyoneshe was coming. they will survive. and when this year's over,and i cannot wait until it is, your readers will somehowget on with their lives. and i won't, is thatwhat you're saying? i don't know. i have no idea. i mean, what's gonna happenwhen you're no longerthe center of the universe? oh, that's just great. i am finally totallyengaged in something.
okay, maybe i'm beinga little narcissistic. a little? on a scale of 10? okay, a 9.3. but whatdo you think a blog is? it's me, me, meday after day. i thought it'd be fun.how stupid is that? it just turns outto be a lot of whatyou call "meltdowns," but they don'tfeel like meltdowns. they feel like i'mliving with a totallyself-absorbed person who writes this stufffor a bunch ofcomplete strangers.
and it's supposedto be a big adventure,but it's not. it's our life.it's our marriage. and, here,in this room, it doesn't feellike an adventure,it feels like shit. it was your idea! i know, i'm so sorry. what the hellwas i thinking? and i'll tell yousomething else. i am not a saint.
oh, yes, you are. no, i'm not! yes, you are! and it makes mefeel like an assholeevery time you say it! and do not writeabout this in your blog. about this fight! i'm outta here. you all right, julia? yes, fine.
i'm perfectly fine. julia: dear avis, we finished packing today, and tomorrow we leave beloved paris for marseilles. paul has been appointed cultural affairs commissioner for the south of france. i'm having a hard time pretending to be anything but devastated. i'm going to gobuy some bread. the advantage of marseilles is that it won't have the distractions of paris. so we'll be able to finish the book.
although not on deadline. at least we're still in france. dear avis, i don't know what we've done to deserve it but here we are in germany. actually in a suburb of bonn called plittersdorf on the rhine, which sounds much more picturesque than it is. by the way, there is no chance we'll meet our new deadline. we'll be at least two more years. meanwhile, paul has been called to washington.
we have no idea why. well, they're going topromote you, finally.they have to. well, i don't know whythey have to call me backto washington to tell me that. they could justsend a telex.it'd be a lot cheaper. well, they're goingto reassign you, then. they'll ask you whetheryou prefer paris or paris. (camera snaps) (both chuckling) it's a possibility.it's not likely,but it is a possibility.
and if they aremoving us back to paris, i can look for an apartmentwhen i'm there next week. good idea, yes? i promise i'll call youthe minute they tell me we're being transferredback to paris, all right? (laughing) all right. i know, darling. i know. i think it could happen. it could happen, i know.
paul: stay right there.that's perfect. julia: say cheese, ducky. move your hand. good. great. put your legs together,darling. julia: it's very simple. we're just going totell her she should have a smaller shareof the royaltiesbecause it is clear she can't put inthe 40 hours a week youand i are spending on it.
sixty is more like it. eighty. exactly. you and i are vaches enragees. that's exactlywhat we are. mad cows. but i can't bring myselfto say this to louisette. you're going tohave to do it. i will do it.we must be cold-blooded. i shall love her much morewhen this is settled.
it isn't that you're nothelping to some extent. but i am helping. it was my idea to add peasto the coq au vin recipe. julia: we know, and thatwas a wonderful idea, but the bookhas becomea magnum opus. but we are a team. we are les trois gourmandes.one for all. yes, it's absolutelytrue, louisette.yes, it's true. and you have been veryvaluable to the project.
but... i am getting a divorce. jean-luc is leaving me. i'm so sorry. louisette.just forget thati even mentioned it. but it isn't fairfor louisette to get the same amountof money that we do. simca, this is notthe time to discuss this.she's getting a divorce. but she doesn't do the work. you don't do the work,so your share should be 10%.
ten percent? you're not doing the work. twenty-five. fifteen. twenty. eighteen andnot a penny more. and where it says our names,i think it should say, "by julia childand simone beck,with louisette bertholle." "with"?
and in smaller type. no, no, no, no, simca. our names exactly the...exactly... and alphabetical.alphabetical. but it was not evenher idea to put the peasin the coq au vin. but it bothers me. for me? julia: dear avis, we've been through our own version of kafka. paul went off to washington, and in my innocence
i thought it must be because the united states government had finally realized how valuable he was. far from it. he was being investigated. he spent three days being grilled in a windowless room with a foot-high stack of papers ominously sitting on the table. they asked him about our friends, our books, our china years, our patriotism. they even asked him if he was a homosexual.
are you a homosexual,mr. child? i am not a homosexual. this is not a joke. i'm well aware of that. julia: he came home exonerated but thoroughly bruised. julia, it was a nightmare. what am i going to do? i feel like my entirelife has been a waste. oh, paul.
i have one more posting, then i'll retireand then what? we'll figure it out. i just don't knowwhat it was all for. you know? you at leasthave the book. well, it's your book, too. it is. without you,it wouldn't be a book.
not that simca andi'll ever be done with it. someday you'll bedone with it. i'm beginning to wonder. julie: so to wrap things up, at 6:22 last night, guess who wasn't coming to dinner? that's right. it began pouring down rain and judith jones canceled. i was utterly crushed. and then on top of everything,
i had a horrible fight with my husband and he left me. the boeuf bourguignon was delicious, not that i ate it. as for the raspberry bavarian cream, i am taking it to the office. morning. misher: julie,could you come in here? i didn't tell him,i swear. julie? feeling better? much.
so you burned the stew? but that's not whyi didn't come to work. i didn't come to workbecause i had... stomach flu. listen, it's a free country. but this little thingof yours on the internet, i do not want toshow up in it. okay? and if you don'tfeel like coming into work, let me know. somebody will want this job.
we're trying to dosomething here. anyone elsewould fire you. a republican would fire you. i'm not a schmuck. i'm in shock.i can't believe it. you're like "the ones."if you and eric can'tmake it work, who can? oh, all sorts of people can. just not mebecause i am a bitch. i am, sarah. i'm a bitch.
i know. i know you are. by the way,garth and i broke up. oh, god, i didn't even ask.i am a one-way street,just like eric says. it's okay.i wasn't in love with him. do you really thinki'm a bitch? well, yeah. but who isn't? julie: i've been thinking about me and julia. she was a secretary for a government agency and i am, too.
a really nice guy married her. a really nice guy married me. both of us were lost and both of us were saved by food in some way or other. so major overlaps. but let's face it, i am not julia child. julia child never lost her temper just because something boiled over, or collapsed in the oven, or just plain fell through. and she was never horrible to her husband, i'm sure. and she never behaved like, "who has time to be married?"
which is how i behave sometimes, i'm sorry to say. i wish i were more like her. she deserved her husband and i don't. that's the truth. well, anyway, that's the truth for now. yogurt for dinner. (stop the train playing) ♪ for a while ♪ all we did was smile
♪ we laughed at our mistakes ♪ eating cake ♪ to our heart's delight (on answering machine) hi, you've reached eric powell at archaeology magazine. leave a message. julie: i hated sleeping without you last night. where are you? i miss you. ♪ don't throw this away
♪ don't you throw it away ♪ 'cause if you do ♪ it's you who'll be crying ♪ honey pie ♪ there's something on my mind ♪ i thought i must convey ♪ a word to the wise julie's mom: honey, is something wrong? why would you think that?
are you and eric having some kind of problem? of course not. (whispering) is he there and you can't talk? he's not here. i just read your blog, and it was strange and uncharacteristically thoughtful. where is he? out. he went out to get pizza.
have you stopped cooking? just temporarily.just taking a littlebreak from cooking. well, get back to it. it's gonna be good for you to finish something for once in your life. julia didn't give up. who says i'm giving up? well, i'm just saying don't. ♪ don't throw it away ♪ just hold on
♪ till i come back ♪ don't throw it away now ♪ let the train roll down the track are you back? please be back. ♪ just let that train what's for dinner? ♪ roll away ♪ julia: well, avissaid she'd be here.even if we were late.
simone: well,if she's not here,we can take a taxi. they probablyhave taxis in boston. oh, she'll be here.wearing a plaid jacket. that's how i'mto recognize her. what do you mean,"recognize her"?has she changed? uh... "look forthe middle-aged womanin a plaid jacket." so... you and avishave never met?
we're just pen pals. you don't knoweach other? well, we do. we write. but how did you startwriting one another? oh, that's a long story. avis' husband,bernard de voto, now dead, was a wonderful,wonderful writer. he wrote an articlein harper's magazine all aboutstainless steel knives
and how he absolutelydetested them. and so i wrote hima fan letter becausehe was 100% right and avis wrote me back. and so i wrote her back.and she wrote me back. well, it's beeneight years, i think. avis. my darling friend. look at you. brilliant friend.bless you.
this is a veryimpressive undertaking,mrs. child and mrs. beck. well, thank youvery, very much. and your editor loves it. i do. i think it's brilliant. there's reallynothing else like iton the market. the problem isnot just the length. it's 700 pages. yes, we know. it is long. yes, we know it's long.
you have 700 pagesof just sauce andpoultry recipes. mmm, we were thinkingthat you could publish itin a series of volumes. volume one, sauces. volume two... poultry. volume three, fish. meat,vegetables, and desserts. that's one, two, three...that's six volumes. eggs. eggs. seven.seven volumes.
but we don't want topublish an encyclopedia. i thought this wasintended for housewives. yes, housewives wantsomething quick, with a mix. like this. but if i mayspeak for everyone, if you were willingto revise it, i'm sure we wouldall be interested. oh, simca,i am so sorry. you just pickedthe wrong collaborator.
yes, i should haveworked with this woman, "baked alaskain a flower pot." avis: we'll justtake the book away from houghton mifflinand find another publisher. we have justbegun to fight. julia, your bookis a masterpiece. what is marshmallow fluff? and keep the advance,by the way.keep the entire $250. don't give them backa penny of it.
why did we ever decideto do this anyway?what were we thinking? who can remember? i can. we wanted to writea french cookbook for american womenwho do not have cooks. so then,that's what we'll do. we'll just do itall over again. and that's that.it'll be easy. it will.the dessert section is done.
thanks to simca,it is brilliant. i just haven'ttyped it up yet. but that will give mesomething to do in oslo. (a bushel and a peck playing) ♪ i love you a bushel and a peck ♪ a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck ♪ a hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap ♪ a barrel and a heap and i'm talkin' in my sleep ♪ about you, about you
♪ 'cause i love you a bushel and a peck ♪ you bet your purdy neck i do ♪ a doodle-oodle-ooh-doo eric, come seethe world's mostbeautiful chicken. naughty. ♪ though you make my heart a wreck ♪ make my heart a wreck ♪ and you make my life a mess ♪ it feels so good.no, i'm serious.i love it!
i just want tosavor this moment. the moment whenanything is possible. the moment thatyou can just imagine they're going tolove everything you did and it's going to sella million copies andchange the world. yes. but i thinkit calls for a greatbottle of wine. what if she doesn't eat pork? she's a food writer.of course she eats pork. you'll be fine.you'll be fine.
you're right.i know you're right.i'm sure you're right. (doorbell buzzes) is she early? she's right on time. i'll finish, i'll finish. thank you, thank you. you area terrible human being. and very difficultto live with. who is it?
amanda hesser from the new york times. come in. julie: you have sucha sense of julia when you dosomething like this, as a teacher, as a voice. i have conversationswith her while i'm cooking. and i feel likeshe is there with mein the kitchen. she's like yourimaginary friend. and, of course,she is the personi write for every day.
although, i don't thinkshe ever reads it.i don't know. i'm dying to meet her. i would like to bea bridesmaidin her wedding in 1946. i realize that that would takean inexplicableepisode of time travel, but that is the sort of thingthat i think about. we're planning a pilgrimageto julia's cambridge kitchen in the smithsonian museumwhen this is over. but first, i have to finish.i have 15 days and 24 recipes,
and i still haveto bone a duck. mmm. i read somewherethat it was bad form to say "yum" whileyou're eating, but "yum." lower manhattandevelopment corporation, this is julie powell.please hold. this is julie powell.can you hold? woman: yes. great. lower manhattan development...
julie, it's sarah. the new york times. i can't believe it! i know. i know,i know, i know, i know.can i call you back? i have to call you back.hold on. hello, this is julie powell.how can i help you? eric: hey. guess what?messages on machine? sixty-five. sixty-five?
(machine beeps) if this is the julie powell in this morning'snew york times, this is judy clain. i'm an editor at little brown and i wanted to talk to you about whether you were interested in writing a book. you can call me at (212) 049-0067. hi, this is sarah chalfant. i am a literary agent. i don't know if you have an agent,
but i would love to talk to you about representing you. i'm a producer at the cbs morning news. eric, i'm goingto be a writer! you are a writer. (whooping) this is ruth spungen, i'm an editor atfood & wine magazine. please give me a call at (212) 157-3245. i have to makea pear tart. later.
hi. it's mom. oh, you're in the new york times! i can't tell ya, everybody is calling. and aunt jessie's cousin dorrie in abilene, the one with the husband who won the pie-eating contest and is a crossword puzzle nut, they have a subscription to the new york times. they saw it in abilene. everyone is so excited! this is ken dryer. i'm an editor at random house, and i just read your blog and it's great.
and we'd love to publish something. woman 1: i'm an editor at bon appetit. man 1: hi, i'm a producer at the food network. we'd love to meet with you. talk to you. man 2: we have some ideas. man 3: i don't know whether you're thinking of turning this into... man 4: a book. woman 2: a movie. man 5: a television series.
woman 3: a one-woman show. woman 3: call me. man 6: call me. man 7: call me. (meows) thank you, god. gimlets. here you go. (on answering machine) hi, this is julie.
and eric. julie: and we are busy cooking. eric: and blogging. julie: and other stuff, so leave a message. you make them better. i just makethem stronger. hi, it's barry ryan from the santabarbara news-press, and i'm writing an article about julia child's 90th birthday and i asked her about your blog,
and, frankly, she was kind of a pill about it so i thought maybe you'd want to comment. yes, it is. she said that? julia child said that? has she read my blog? no, i don't reallywanna comment. but thank you for calling. julia hates me.
(door opening) they hate us. houghton mifflin. they don't hate you. they do.they absolutely do. no, they saythe book is good. but they don'twant to publish it. well, they thinkit's too expensive. they think it's"economically prohibitive."
eight years of our livesjust turned out to besomething for me to do so i wouldn't havenothing to do. oh, well. boo-hoo. now what? you're a teacher. you can teach. right? we'll go home and... mmm. where's home?
where do we live? home is wherever we are. all right? and we'll work it out.we'll figure it out. you can teachin our kitchen. you can teachon television. (chuckles) television? me?
no, julia. i think you would beexcellent on television. i do. i do. don't... i'm not kidding you.i'm not. someone is going topublish your book. someone is goingto read your book and realizewhat you've done. because your bookis amazing.
your book isa work of genius. your book is goingto change the world. do you hear me? you are so sweet. you are the sweetest man. fuck them. judith, would youtake a look at this? our intrepidliterary scout,avis de voto,
is friends with somewoman who's writtena huge french cookbook. houghton mifflinjust turned it down. "french recipes for american cooks."terrible title. have fun, judith. yum. oh, my. julia: oh, here it is.of course. (doorbell rings) what...
who's that? i don't know. special deliveryfor mrs. julia child. chilly! there you are. judith: dear mrs. child, we have read your superb french cookbook, studying it, cooking from it, estimating, and so on. and we have come to the conclusion that it is a unique book
that we would be very proud to publish. what? what,what, what, what? knopf... knopf wants topublish our book. is it "k-nopf" or "nopf"? who cares? they want to offer usan advance of $1,500. (laughing)oh, my god. "we believe thatyour book will dofor french cooking in america
"what rombauer'sthe joy of cooking didfor standard cooking. "and we willsell it that way." (julia whooping) julia! judith: when we meet, which i hope will be very soon, i especially wanna talk to you about the title of the book. because it is of the utmost importance that the title distinguish this book from all the other cookbooks on the market.
is this the wayyou normally do this? "mastering the art of french cooking." well, at this point,i have no idea whatsoever. julia, that won't do. all right, then. i love it. she said "hate"?julia child usedthe word "hate"? but she saidi wasn't respectful,or serious, or something. how much more seriouscould a person be?
do you thinkshe thinks i'msort of using her? she can't haveread your blog. did she read it? he didn't knowif she'd read it. but she definitelyhad an opinion about it. do you thinkit's because i usethe "f" word every so often? could be.who knows? look, there's somethingwrong with her if she doesn't getwhat you're doing.
there is nothingwrong with her. nothing. i've spent a year with her.she's perfect. the julia childin your head is perfect, the julia childthat doesn't understand what you're doingis not perfect. the one in your headis the one that matters. i'm never gonna meet her. but you already know her. you're welcome.anytime.
she saved me. you saved yourself. i was drowningand she pulled meout of the ocean. don't get carried away. julie: julia child began learning to cook because she loved her husband, and she loved food, and she didn't know what else to do with herself. and, in the process, she found joy. i didn't understand this for a long time, but i do now.
julia taught me that. but here's what julia really taught me. so here we are. one day to go and one recipe. (laughing) you may think that boning a duck is an impossible feat. and the whole procedure... nothing is impossible. ...can take as long as 45 minutes
the first time because of fear. don't be afraid. no fear, julia. no fear. take your knife, confront the duck. confronting the duck.you're my duck. you make a deep slit down the back of the bird all the way from the neck down to the tail to expose the backbone. and with a small, sharp knife, its edge always cutting against the bone...
i did it.look at that, julia.it looks just like yours. ha! ...down one side of the bird... ...pulling the flesh. thread the boned duck on a board, face skin side down. ...patting it into place. roll out the dough. ...two hours and remove it from the oven and let it cool for several hours. it looks exactly the wayit's supposed to look. here you go.can you grabthe plates, too? you sure?
i got it. uh-huh. coming around. eric: here she comes. wow! (all cheering) thank you. la piece de resistance. 365 days. 524 recipes. congratulations! thank you, guys. babe. it's fantastic.
eric: so great. i love it. i love it. (tinkling glass) eric, i could never havedone this without you. as someone once said, you are the butterto my bread,the breath to my life. man: aww. to my husband. i love you, babe.
julie: so it's over. the project has come to a close. we're back exactly where we started, eric, me, the cat, slightly worse for wear, sitting in the outer boroughs, eating. so thanks, everybody. and guess what? (time after time playing) see how the countersare raised?
she had them made special. there's her famousmortar and pestle. if you say so. perfect. take my picture. that's nice.give me something else. here we go. talking to her. one more. very sweet.
that's it.that's the one. that's the one. just give me a second. ♪ when the day is through ♪ i only know what i know ♪ the passing years will show i love you, julia. ♪ you kept my love so young ♪ so new
♪ and time after time ♪ you'll hear me say that i'm ♪ so lucky to be loving you there you are! that smells good.what are we having? navarin d'agneau. something for you. ♪ so lucky to be loving you ♪
