Julia Child’s Soupe à L’oignon Gratinée
It was a day for cheesy baked onion soup if ever there was one. I did take a stab at driving out to Red Deer this morning, the car loaded down with Boeuf Bourguignon, roasted tomato soup, chocolate-hazelnut-espresso shortbread and hot fudge sauce for 16, and managed to head out of town right when the storm hit. I did make it off the highway and turned around in Airdrie, although I pondered sitting in the Boston Pizza parking lot with a dozen or so other people sitting bewildered in their cars wondering what to do – instead I stuck it out and made it back, and in fact once back in the city pushed on to IKEA, since I was on the Deerfoot anyway and thinking no one in their right minds would attempt to go pick up a tree in all this. Apparently many other pre-weekend tree shoppers had the same idea. We now are the proud owners of a slightly malformed but delightful tree that will hopefully stay alive until Christmas. (Can’t complain, it was pretty much free.) If the needles start to prematurely start to fall off, we’ll spray it with green spray paint and call it fake.
The rest of the day was a marathon attempt at pulling the house back into some semblance of order, and looking back it’s a good thing we were shut in by the storm, because I have events tomorrow and brunch Sunday morning and then everyone arrives for our Julie & Julia party Sunday night. (We were hoping for advance copies of the movie to watch, but since they don’t ship out until Tuesday, Pierre has promised copies of Julia Child’s The French Chef on VHS.) So I’m proud to say that I’m lying on clean sheets right this very minute, and I cleaned off the top of the fridge (also known as our junk drawer) and even scrubbed the little space beside the oven where the cookie sheets go. As for the walls, we’re just going to have to paint them.
And of course on days like this, when stuff gets pulled out of cupboards and you’re so bent on getting everything dusted off and straightened out already that you don’t want to create the slightest new unnecessary mess, you get in the mindset of wanting something fast and easy for dinner, like a frozen pizza or grilled cheese sandwich, or maybe some cereal. And here we are smack dab in the middle of a generation that would hardly consider baked French onion soup something simple and fast, which it probably was in the pre-microwave day – I mean it’s onions and stock and bread and cheese, how much more basic can you get? (Don’t say chicken fingers.)
But it really was. I sliced a few onions and set them to caramelize in a bit of butter and oil while I went about my stuff. I stirred it now and then, at one point adding some flour and stock. I let it simmer again while I organized (!) the mudroom, which is most deserving of its name this week. Then I ladled the soup, which made the house smell fantastic as we worked, into bowls, topped it with roughly torn rounds of toast, grated over some cheese and ran it under the broiler. Really not much more work than making grilled cheese sandwiches, and there are few meals better than hot soup topped with crisped cheese when the snow is howling sideways past your window and your compost looks like a yeti.
And if it weren’t for Julia I would have thought I couldn’t make it, that I shouldn’t bother without Gruyère or something similarly meltable in the fridge. But she instructed Swiss or Parmesan, and I had Parmesan. The only thing I didn’t have was a nice crusty loaf; we made do with grainy sliced sandwich bread, crisped up in the toaster. No one complained. (Except W, who defaulted to oatmeal and raisins for dinner.)
Julia’s Soupe à L’oignon Gratinée
AuthorJulie
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions, stir them about to coat with oil and butter, cover the pot and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, turn the heat up to medium and add the sugar and salt. Cook for another half hour, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deep golden.
Sprinkle with the flour and stir for a couple minutes, then stir in the stock and wine. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Just before serving, stir in the cognac if you're using it. Julia suggests you place rounds of bread in soup bowls or a tureen and pour the soup on top; I ladle it into individual ovenproof dishes, top each with the toasted bread and sprinkle with grated cheese. Put them all on a baking sheet and brown under a hot broiler until golden and bubbly. Serve immediately.
Ingredients
Directions
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions, stir them about to coat with oil and butter, cover the pot and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, turn the heat up to medium and add the sugar and salt. Cook for another half hour, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deep golden.
Sprinkle with the flour and stir for a couple minutes, then stir in the stock and wine. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Just before serving, stir in the cognac if you're using it. Julia suggests you place rounds of bread in soup bowls or a tureen and pour the soup on top; I ladle it into individual ovenproof dishes, top each with the toasted bread and sprinkle with grated cheese. Put them all on a baking sheet and brown under a hot broiler until golden and bubbly. Serve immediately.
And – just in time for the first big Christmas shopping weekend of the season – it’s Free Stuff Friday!
You’ll never guess what I have for you. Or maybe the image above has given it away – copies of Julie & Julia on DVD, courtesy of Sony Pictures! Fitting, no? Be the very first one on your block to have one for your very own – they ship out on Tuesday. And I don’t have just one, I have TWO! Two copies! So I get to choose two random numbers, which is very exciting for me because I love that part.
So in keeping with the theme, unless you had something particularly spectacular for dinner last night that you want to share with the world (or at least everyone here), do you have a favourite Julia Child recipe? or a favourite food scene from the movie? or anything remotely French? ever murdered a lobster? I think I’m going to take a stab at lobster thermidor (pun totally intended) on Tuesday night, to eat instead of popcorn in front of the movie.
One Year Ago: Curried Chicken Noodle Soup with Spinach and Chickpeas
I love her chocolate mousse! Mmmmmm!
I love this movie so much! I absolutely love the bruschetta scene in the movie, it made me so hungry right off the bat!
Tonight, in honour of the Habs 100th anniversary, I made a dinner than could be eaten in front of the Tv so that we didn’t miss a moment of the celebration or the game afterwards. (I normally don’t watch the Habs until the Nucks are gone – but that was some game!!) I made a fish loaf (similar to meat loaf.) First I sliced and sautéed onions in olive oil. Once they were transparent I added finely chopped garlic. While the onions were cooking I mixed together a can of tuna and a can of salmon, well drained, with a handful of breadcrumbs and a variety of chopped herbs (I still have parsley, chives, and rosemary growing, so I used them.) Then I mixed in the onions and garlic, with the olive oil they’d cooked in, and bound it together with an egg and an extra eggwhite.
While the loaf baked up I steamed some asparagus and made my low-fat hollandaise. I whipped the left over egg yolk into a cup of skim milk, then heated it gently with a wee touch of dry mustard (not enough to taste, but enough to add that certain something) and a drop of Worchestershire sauce. I made a slurry of cornstarch and stirred it in when the sauce was warm, and once it had thickened, I added lemon juice.
I also baked a potato for each person.
The dinner was served in big bowls and was so lucious you’d never believe it had no saturated fat and very low sodium. I should have used another egg in the loaf, it came apart, but it was perfect mushed into the mashed potato with the sauce.
I don’t know any Julia Child recipes, amazingly, but I’d have to say my one French specialty (at least French Canadian) is tourtiere, which by the way I need to get making for Christmas! More on the authentic French menu, would be crepes for Christmas morning… with that scrumptious sauteed-in-butter apple filling. I would love to win a copy of that movie!
My favourite Julia Child moment is from her original cooking show. She has five raw, whole chickens in front of her to demonstrate the different types of birds. She massages, fondles and manipulates the chickens in a most unhygienic and amusing ways. Loved it.
We left going to the movie in the theatre just a touch too late and instead had to choose something else…”Inglorious Bastards”!!! Not the culinary delight I envisioned. I have yet to rent it from the video store…if it is even out. I do crave the experience. I have some old taped VHS (courtesy of PBS)of the Julia Child series (and a tattered copy of MtAoFC)…wonderful stuff especially after reading of her and Paul’s time in Paris. And yes, the parade of chicken types was classic!
Oh, Julie! I have to submit an entry for this one, not for myself, but for my sister, Karyn, who has seen the movie at least 7 times, and it’s all she wants for Christmas! Let me clip a small portion of what she wrote on her Tea House’s blog:
“…The thing I LOVE about this movie is not the cooking –although it does make me want to close the TH as a business and cook only for people who truly love to eat! — or the creating of the classic cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking (or the sidebar story of Julie who seeks and finds temporary direction for her life, not to mention a book deal, by cooking through the tome in a year and blogging about it) ; but it’s the enormous joie de vivre Julia Child, as portrayed by the incomparable Meryl Streep, experiences. It’s about a buoyant spirit rising to the challenges and living to the fullest despite changes, set-backs and disappointments. It’s truly a paean to the love story of life.
And it’s not that Julia merely stands by and waits for life to come to her; she anticipates it and plans for it and generates it. She starts by thinking about what it is she’s good at, what she would like “to DOOOO.” …
… I also love this movie because I see it as a paean to women I know personally who are intelligent, talented, charismatic, resourceful, perhaps slightly diffident beneath their mantles of accomplishment — and to the quietly confident men who stand behind and alongside of them, supporting them, encouraging them to shine, letting them know that it was them all along.”
And so it goes… http://nilgiristeahouse.blogspot.com/2009/09/recipe-for-joy-okay-i-confess-i-have.html
Besides, just tonight, as you’ve written this, Karyn got stuck in the country due to the storm and couldn’t come in to hear The Messiah, which she has done every year since since she came to Canada. She gave me her ticket. I’d love to be able to give this, her favourite movie to her! 🙂
Loved the movie. All those yummy food scenes, and the sights of Paris They all took such Joy in eating and experiencing the food.
Best scene -Julia Child going home and cutting a pile of onions to learn the technique. She showed them she could do it!!
One of my two favorite baking books is Baking with Julia. And since I’m now thoroughly snowed in & inspired by these wonderful posts I think I’ve found my project for the day 🙂
In the past 2 weeks I have had 3 different trips out east for work and at least once on each of those trips, I watched Julie/Julia on the inflight movie selection. This is in addition to having seen in twice in theatres. My favourite food scene is right at the beginning when Julia and her husband arrive in France and she orders fish cooked in butter. The food itself looks sublime, but it’s her reaction and the way she shares it with her husband. Sigh, just so simple and so lovely…
I just saw the movie a couple weeks ago (read the book back when it came out), and while I have my doubts bout Julie Powell, I love Julia and Meryl.
That onion soup looks fabulous—I’m thinking I might need to make that today (will have to use half chicken broth because I only have a couple cups of beef broth since I used the rest to make Julia’s beef bourguignon earlier this week).
I haven’t had a chance to see the movie yet – yay for DVDs! But some lovely french food sounds just right as I stare out at snow in our backyard – that melted cheese is really calling to me!
My favorite Mastering recipe at the moment is Chicken Fricassee. It’s so comforting and in this weather, we sure could use a nice dish of warm comfort food — especially since I doubted the weather forecasters and didn’t flock to the store to pick up food before the storm started. Yikes
I would love to see this movie, but I only got rolled eyes when I suggested it around my house. How did I end up with such a house full of heathens! Julia Child is very inspiring; I love her passion for all food.
I really want to see the movie. I’ve never tried any Julia Child recipes nor do I have any particularly “French” dishes that i make.
I used to make French Onion Soup all the time in my university days…maybe I should try it again (although I am pretty sure the kids wouldn’t touch it)
My favourite French meal is the basic breakfast: not a croissant (though those are great), but crusty baguette with butter and/or chunky, homemade jam, and a café au lait.
I haven’t seen the movie due to 3 small kids and no babysitter . But when you mentioned lobster you brought back a childhood memory of camping in South Africa and eating freshly prepared lobster caught by my father.
Well I guess the most “French” thing about me at the moment is that I just finished writing an 8-page French paper on food blogging (specifically those with some connection to France – I chose Orangette, Chocolate and Zucchini and David Lebovitz). Though I finished it at 23:58 last night, and it was due at 24:00, meaning that I couldn’t even look it over – I don’t know how French that is, but it’s definitely me. And something tells me it might be a little Julia too – I mean, who needs to know when I finished it, really? (Except you and your entire readership).
Baked cucumbers! It tastes like warm dill pickles and is strangely good, at least I think so. Most of the people I have serves this to don’t share my enthusiasm!
Should my random number come up – send it to Cathryn’s sister Karyn re comment above. She had me yelling DITTO!!!! at the top of my lungs. The dog thinks I’ve finally lost it. Mmmm maybe so.
Can’t say I have a favorite French, cause it’s all wonderful but maybe a bottle of Cote du Rhone and my old Edith Piaf album -useless now without a record player. Ah… merdi
Here’s the chicken episode of the French Chef! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ohiUbQyDhk
I loved the movie and liked parts of the book. I think the part in the book where Julie gets her lobsters and what she goes through to get them into the pot is very amusing!
Hey Julie
Was glad to read that you didn’t go to Red Deer — what a storm we had!
I don’t have a favourite JC recipe, but “The Way to Cook” is my go-to guide when I’m unsure of how to cook something (like roast goose). I’ve always found the information I need in it.
Stay warm!
French, French, I make a mean french toast (the stalest of breads combined with heaps of cinnamon)…last night I made a comforting cream of chicken stew (chicken, wild rice & sweet potato) which I can say is French just to stay with the theme – Soup de Poulet et creme…There. Who says high school French isn’t useful?
I’m undecided about my favourite recipe…. but this is my least favourite/funniest Letterman ever.
Of course, I loved all the cooking scenes…but particularlly touching were all scenes with Julia and her husband. They had such a wonderful supportive partnership!
Do not laugh. I made mushroom bourguignon last night. It was great, but very rich, and my local Food Critic said it was okay – good for a cold day but just too rich – he prefers tomatoey or spicy. The wine was really fabulous, though – I enjoyed a couple of glasses after dinner.
I think I am, deep down, Julie Powell pre-blog. I never finish anything either.
I made mushroom bourguignon a couple weeks ago for a charity dinner I was cooking – it was fantastic! Thanks for the reminder – I have to make it again sometime!
Actually, you inspired me! I made the Smitten Kitchen recipe you linked to, complete with butter. And no lie, you really don’t miss the beef at all.
I can’t wait to see the movie! I read both books (Julie & Julia; My Life in France) when they were first published, so I was really excited when I learned they were combining them into one movie. Please please please pick my comment as a winner!
My current favorite Julia Child recipe is from her “Baking with Julia” book…just the standard white bread. Nothing standard about homemade white bread. Sooooooo yummy!
(now I need to go out in the snow to get the ingredients for French Onion Soup)
Haven’t seen the movie yet. This weather is great for soup making – made borscht (mainly with beets) last night and am making Sopa de Frijol estilo Tlaxcala (a Mexican bean soup made with pinto beans) and Asapao de Pollo, a Puerto Rican rice and chicken stew tonight. Yum!, plus we’re going to a party tonight -looking forward to everyone’s variety of finger foods!
A transplanted Vancouver Islander who is still not used to the snow, I worried most of the day that my daughter in Edmonton would have problems on her long afternoon commute. To take my mind off that, I of course cooked, but it had to be something easy that didn’t make me think of snow. So last night for dinner we had jumbo prawns sauteed in garlic with a splash of vodka, rice pilaf, and a mixed salad with avocados. As I was finishing up, my daughter phoned to say that she was home (her 45 minute commute took two hours), so we sat down to a rather celebratory meal!
I laughed myself silly during the movie. Meryl had at the beginning when eating at the restaurant and having a Harry Met Sally moment over the taste of butter. The other scene was when she was practising chopping onions before her next cooking class. Your French Onion Soup reminded me of this.
As for a favourite French recipe: we make gougere which is simple but tasty.
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but would love to be able to just watch it at home!
I spent the month of July in France and have been saving all the ingredients for a truly French dinner – confit du canard, lentils and fried potatoes with garlic. I had never had duck before and was truly surprised at how really good it was. Maybe this dinner will transport me back to France and memories of hot, hot weather.
Loved Julie & Julia and I gotta say my favorite line in the movie when Julie looks at her bf and says “I could write a blog–I have thoughts!”
Love it.
I don’t have a fave recipe but I loved the scene in the movie when she is reunited with her sister. They seem to absolutely love everything about each other. What a wonderful relationship. I think her sister (in the movie) is the same actress who now plays the mean coach on Glee.
Don’t you find it curious that both women hooked up with shorter men?
Allison
Sadly, I haven’t seen the movie or made a Julia child recipe. But if I win, I promise to make something good!
Oh, I’ve wanted to see that movie since I watched the trailer many months ago; for some reason, never got around to seeing it in the theater. I think the “Frenchest” recipe I make regularly is fish soup. Maybe it’s more Catalonian. I don’t know. But leeks, teeny cubed potatoes, cod, shrimp stock, tomatoes and bacon sounds French to me, and is certainly delicious.
Yumbellini, how synchronistic we all are!! I have been planning French Onion Soup for weeks now, and tonight’s the night! The weather could not be more accommodating — a cheesy, toasty, savoury, brothy soup is the perfect choice for a snowbound evening. Bon appetit! I have yet to view the movie, but hope that Santa sees fit to pop it in my stocking.
I’m mostly a baker, so have not tried a J.Child recipe or anything french for that matter but man oh man I can just about smell & taste that fr. onion soup. I think I’ll give that recipe to my husband to try!
The souffle dish in the baking aisle of the “all-purpose” store started it. Well, that and the question have you ever made a souffle before? Four ramekins and a 6 inch souffle dish later….Julia Child’s Souffle au Fromage. Puffy, beautiful and yummy. Next challenge from Julia, how to truss a chicken 🙂
Wow that soup sounds good! I’m trying out your pumpkin chocolate chip loaf x 2 as a thank you for my neighbors who have helped me with shovelling the last 2 days.
I hate to admit that I haven’t tried any Julia Child recipes but I have the movie on my Christmas list and I loved the book!
I do make myself a latte every morning…that’s kinda french…and very necessary!
That’s awesome Julie! My favourite scene of the movie is when the lid pops off of the pot and goes flying, scaring Julie (the Julie in the movie that is).
Sounds like a yummy recipe – perfect for cold days!
I have been so busy moving and with kids etc. I have yet to see the movie. But I would LOVE to. My daughter is named JULIA (do I get brownie points). I did meet a wonderful French woman in my mom’s group. She is here for a couple of years. She has a fancy new crepe maker. I asked her to teach me how to make real french crepes…. does that count?!
Well I’m sad to say, first off, I haven’t seen the movie yet!!! My mom and I had full intentions of going but just couldn’t find a time!! Secondly, I’ve never made anything by Julia Child!!! My vow is this … I will have seen the movie AND made a Julia Child recipe by the end of the year!! Looking forward to both!!
Yesterday was leftover night, which I actually love. It cleans out the fridge and gives me a free(-er) afternoon with the kids as I don’t need to prepare dinner. We had navy beans and buckwheat stew with rice. It was very tasty the second time around. I look forward to the movie, whenever I will get a chance to…it might be awhile though, unfortunately.
I remember seeing Julia on TV, and being riveted by this woman, not a beautiful face and perfect hairdo with designer clothes, but someone so real and enthusiastic. She was INTO it, convincing the viewer that she could do it too. No apologies for making a mess or not reaching perfection. Calories, cholesterol, what?
Oh, I would love to win a copy of the movie, as I have not seen it yet! I used to watch Julia’s cooking shows on PBS every Saturday. Her enthusiasm was contagious. The closest I’ve gotten to French cooking was going to a French “buffet” every Sunday morning when my daughter was growing up. Sadly, it’s closed now. The onion soup looks divine! Thanks for a chance at the giveaway.
I watch Julia Child exactly ONCE on TV. She steamed an artichole, then pulled off all the good bits, then poached an egg and made a sauce for it and put it on the artichoke. Surely that constitutes artichoke abuse! I was completely and utterly turned OFF for life. I admit though, to a perverse fascination hearing about the 17 page recipe for French bread, but since I’ve mastered N0-Knead bread (especially with the Cook’s Illustrated improvements)… there’s not much point, is there?
Perhaps I need to see the movie the MOST?
Was going to see the movie tonight – but alas, snow, bad stomach and non stop yawning put it off (for now)
I have some French Onion Soup frozen – ready to reheat in a snowy winters day notice – and no –its not today – I think there will be a better moment somewhere down the road. MMMMmmmmmm French Onion Soup!
My favorite part of the movie was when Julia finally mastered chopping the onions … I am terrible at chopping onions …
In terms of my favorite recipe, it has to be this soup.
We always use Julia’s recipe for Buche de Noel to serve on Christmas eve.
Oh I would love to see this movie!!! I used to enjoy watching her on t.v.
Well I’ve never murdered a lobster, but I did take out a crab once and let me tell you they do not just go to sleep peacefully as the cooking water begins to heat. They fight like anything to get out of there. It was a nasty experience. Ah, alas, I shall stick with the precooked crab.
If I ever have to have a “last meal” I want Lobster Thermidor and Baked Alaska (preferably made by a professional not me as it would be better).
I so enjoyed the movie Julie and Julia. I plan to see it again on DVD, soon I hope! 🙂 I own most of your books Julie and got you to sign one when you were in Toronto a couple of years ago.
Love, love, love the movie! Meryl Streep was able to channel the energy and joie de vivre of Julia, without reducing her to a cartoon-type character. She made me want to move back to Europe.
Yesterday, I found myself snacking on Sylvan Star smoked gueyere, fresh Cobb’s bread(and Sylvan butter)and Bonne Maman strawberry jam – to die for.
We had two sets of friends call to tell us we MUST see the movie as they knew we’d love it. My husband and I love to create, er cook — together, at the same time, in the same kitchen!
One treasured memory around French food and atmosphere is a quaint little hotel in Paris that served the best strong hot coffee with hot milk ever imagined. This was complimented with pastry from the baker down the street, which of course (mon deau) was made that morning. Nummers!
We’d love to prepare a French theme dinner, then enjoy J&J for the first time while savoring a toothsome red, French of course!
Thanks for the opportunity to see it J.
That soup. It looks like a perfect comfort meal! I adored Julie and Julia, I saw it with a friend at an old theatre with no heat, and wrapped in jackets, we watched this food and relationship unfold. Definitely one of my favourites =D.
Years ago, our company was having our potluck Christmas party and the big boss decided he wanted lobster. He contacted one of the local fish stores and voila (see, french!) cases of live lobster showed up at the hall on the day of the party. There was only one problem. Nobody wanted to cook them! Finally, my husband took off his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves and started plunking lobster out of the crates and plopping them into large pots of boiling water, much to the horror of some of the more tenderhearted employees. The rest of us hunted down serving trays and platters and made them ready to accept the cooked lobsters. We had a feast of delicious lobster, along with alot of other wonderful dishes and during the ‘big speech’, my husband was commended for ‘his bravery’.
The bruschetta scene was so visually delicious I could almost taste the tomatoes, toasted bread, delicious olive oil…while sitting in the theatre with my stale tasteless popcorn. I loved this movie.
I too felt we needed a nice brothy soup to eat while we watched the wind blow snow drifts up our front steps – we’re in Edmonton. I made a Thai soup (a modified Tom Yum soup)- chicken broth, lemongrass, lime, mushrooms, bok choy and shrimp. It’s as quick and easy to make as your soup was. Funny you posted a recipe for french onion soup, as it’s one of my absolute favorites (if it’s not too salty) and I have been wanting a recipe for it.
Thanks once again
oh i loved this movie so much… i am so julie in this movie! i loved the part where she was so excited about receiving her first comment on her blog. i think many of us can relate to that! please please please let me win!!! i have not had the desire to buy a movie in forever, but this one i must have. thanks Julie!
I have never tried any of Julia’s recipes. I’ve never thought of myself as much of a cook. But I’ve been looking at this onion soup recipe and I think I could manage it! I’d be very proud to tell my husband that I made Julia Child’s onion soup gratinee recipe! It looks delish! Thanks Julie and Julia!
If it’s not too late (Sunday night), here is my two cents:
Spent three weeks in France with a friend’s family over Christmas and New Years when I was 22 and my favourite part was all the beautiful food. The incredible baguettes that we bought everyday and just carried in our arms, the wine that I went down to the cellar for every day, with a skeleton key, the brie that was kept on the top of the cupboard where it would keep soft at the best temperature, and the oysters (my first) in a big crate, shucked for New Years Eve.
YUM.
I think I will ask my husband for this cookbook for Christmas! Have not seen the movie but maybe next Friday night!
I loved the movie. Especially the Paris bits. My Paris story of course involves food. We stopped in a little bistro and my husband wasn’t very hungry so he just ordered a cheese sandwich that was on the menu. The waiter told him he shouldn’t order the cheese sandwich and he should order a Croque-Monsieur, so he did and it was fabulous! Julia would have been proud!
I love all the fattening foods that Julia child made. I used to watch her with my grandma, what great memories!
I was “shown out” of the restaurant at the Eiffel Tour (I think it was called the Jules Verne restaurant or something tooth-achingly touristy…). Pourquoi was I shown out? Because, bien sur, I did not show enough class to order the prix fixe lunch, instead I just ordered a coffee and dessert (I was 18, poor and living on cheap sugary carbs). The waiter switched to English, ripped the crusty roll from my hand and said, “We are NOT serving bwead — his version of bread — here! Au’voir mademoiselle.” Apparently I wasn’t worth the time or the seat at this half-empty tourist establishment. Ouch.
The movie was awesome – but I remember watching Julia and Jacques Pepin cooking on public tv in the late 90s – she was pretty frail then, but it was very engaging to watch them both talk about french cooking.
I still catch it every now and again on the random PBS station. 🙂
Would love to win the dvd of this movie. Fav french dish is Quiche Lorraine.
I would love love love to have a copy of Julie & Julia! In fact, I was mentioning to my husband last night how much I would like to have the movie (hint. hint), and he thought I was talking about you Julie. He said “Is that that blog you read all the time” Such a cutie 🙂
Pick me please 🙂
I am a late comer to the Julia party — I really did not discover her until a few years ago. What I adore about Julia is her kitchen. I have a couple of photos of her kitchen with all the hanging utensils on my refrigerator … for inspiration.
I would love to see the movie. I read “Julie & Julia” and enjoyed it.
K
I brought my daughter to see that movie, and we LOVED it. I have the book on my list of books that I must read this year. I’ve never attempted a Julia Child recipe, but if I did, it would have to be this French Onion soup, because I love this soup! What could be better than homemade!
I have a copy of “LaBonne Soupe” which is a simple basic French bistro cookbook.
I’ve liked everything I’ve tried so far, but it isn’t the “haute couture” of French cooking. Salade composé is one of my favorites… anything goes and I love it.
Last night was Sunday soup night before study and the three families brought together a French potato/leek/kale soup (thickened with cream cheese by an ad lib move to get it thicker/creamier), a German Brötchen bread and an American warm apple pie swilled down with a Spanish Brut (Freixenet) and a Malbec (Trumpeter) from Argentina. It was United Nations for dinner.
My fav Julie recipe is the one you posted – French Onion soup. It was my first real foray to ‘fine cooking’ that I made for my family when we lived in Montreal. The Montreal Gazette published it around 1976/78 and it still is my go-to recipe all these years later. Would love the DVD!
PS – didn’t have a chance to respond about a post-Christmas get together – count me in!
I just finished reading the book AND saw the movie on the weekend. The book sucked – I found it boring and Julie Powell unlikable – but I loved the movie. I have never seen anything of Julia Child’s, but Meryl Steep did a good job of portraying her.
From what I saw in the movie, I would love to try make the French Onion Soup. It just looked so ooey, gooey and cheesy. Mmm.
K
I’ve just finished the book and it was so funny. I love the lobster recipes the most – those bits were so funny and odd at the same time! I’ve not seen the movie yet nor have I tried to cook lobster – maybe that should be a new years resolution to cook a lobster Julia style – maybe, maybe not…
(I love French Onion Soup, we had some on Friday although it was Delia’s recipe not Julia’s but it was so tasty!)
I haven’t (knowingly at least) made a Julia recipe yet BUT I adored the book and then the movie… and was totally inspired to go through my mother and grandmother’s cookbook collections in search of a copy of MTAOFC. my favorite french dining experience has to be a whirlwind, last minute, insane night in paris- our flight from paris to boston was canceled, and we were put up in one of the disneyland paris hotels. we only had 5 hours and about 30 euros between 3 of us but decided the 2 hour roundtrip commuter train into paris was worth it and we literally ran around the city, pausing only to have steaming hot crepes in front of notre dame… i went for the basic sugar and lemon.. probably the most delicious and memorable SNACK ever 🙂
My husband and I have been watching old episodes of Julie Child. She is such a hoot! The last episode we saw, Julia was showing how to carve a roast chicken, very informative! Seeing as you asked about lobster . . . only occasionally have we cooked it. One time when we first moved from Montreal to Ottawa we bought lobster for dinner and kept the little fellas in the bathtub before boiling. Named them and everything. Cooking them was just the worst. The last time we cooked lobster was a few years ago and we vowed never to do that again. Dropping those babies into a vat of boiling water is just not for us. We are getting way too soft — in more ways than one :-0
I read Julia Child’s memoir (My Life in France) this summer. Her descriptions of her first few days in France were hilarious! Especially when she described the “tasteful” decor of the apartment they first bought. I love her opnionated and excited way of talking (writing?) and her use of words that I’m sure are made up, but seem to fit her high energy style perfectly!
I would highly recommend the book for any foodie! A wrod of caution though, reading that book makes you verrrryyyy hungry….kind of like reading your blog!
how does free stuff fridays work?
You leave a comment, and on the following Tuesday I use the random number checker to pick a name (or in this case, names) and they get the goods!
I don’t have Julia’s cookbook, and I haven’t seen the movie (for shame!), but I remember the part of My Life in France where she and her husband were trying to recreate french bread at home. It was fascinating!
It’s Tuesday! Am I too late?! I have no French recipes, that I can think of…..
It’s Tuesday! Am I too late?! I have no French recipes, that I can think of…..
I borrowed a copy of The French Chef with Julia Child from the library and I just finished watching YOUR OWN FRENCH ONION SOUP on Disc 1. I really enjoyed it. She makes you feel like your in the kitchen with her and she is giving you your own private lesson. She makes learning to cook fun. I can watch her over and over again.
This was a great movie. As a kid I would sit and watch almost any cooking show (Pre Food Network). I was just so fascinated by what they would create. Must try this soup, sounds deliciously easy! Thanks! MG
But in 1990, the Food and Development Authority had made a research on the dog foods in the market and confirmed that there are indeed euthanized
bodies of animals as ingredients. Stick to a one or two fonts on your product
labels while keeping the style changes on the label to a
minimum. Excessive and insensitive food preparation decreases food energy
and reduces vitality. The ingredients are local and they’re close to where our processing plants are located.
Therefore, by implication food becomes a primary focus of any
effort to heal Leaky Gut Syndrome. You can find Omega 3
fatty acids in oily fish like salmon, sardines,
and tuna. If you Google ‘food truck’ in Mexico you
will see my name. Juice Fast is a fasting method
and a detox diet where a person consumes only fruit and vegetable juices to obtain nutrition while otherwise
abstaining from food consumption.
All about people? Lame!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!