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What’s cooking?
Just finished flipping through my issue of Country Living that arrived today (I always do a good flip-through before settling into the articles I want to linger on) and just adored this photo of a simple bright kitchen. My favorite part? The antique cutting boards. I love how their warm patina looks against the stark white walls. Don’t they just make you want to whip out a loaf of oven-warm french bread and cut through it’s crustiness right then and there? I may be waxing poetic about food because I also just finished watching the film “Julie and Julia” which is not only a very romantic love story about Julia Child and her husband Paul, but a love story about food. And of course, a story about blogging (although I slightly felt that it gave blogging a bad name). But the food… the food was to die for. Every pan and dish looked absolutely delicious. Meryl Streep said she gained 15 pounds during filming! Made me want to melt some butter just watching it. Of course, since moving in together and really since the lay-off, Ryan has been the cook around here. Tuesday night he tried a pad thai recipe that I found on A Chow Life, another Seattle-based blog that is rather addicting and equally butter-melting tempting (seriously gorgeous pictures of food!). And we had our “first cooking disaster of 2010″ as Ryan has dubbed it. I think somehow the sauce got screwed up, like our tamarind wasn’t the same kind or something. The sauce was bitter. Or sour. Or something. We ended up making pizza. But it got me thinking about it tonight, watching Julia Child suck it up chopping onions for the first time. And watching Julie Powell drop a whole stuffed chicken on the floor. Cooking is full of mistakes waiting to happen. You just have to pick up and move on. Dust that bird off and stick it in the oven, so to speak. Kind of the way life can be too. So we’re going to try the recipe again sometime, make a few tweaks, and experiment. Today was just a cooking-themed day, I guess, because I also finished the book “Kitchen Confidential” by Anthony Bourdain. And let me tell you, the floor isn’t the only place that chicken has been. Yep, the one you just ordered for dinner. But Tony is another one of those people that loooooves food. And that butter-melting urge totally comes through in his writing. (Side note: I have a totally gross crush on Anthony Bourdain considering he is twice my age and the quintessential bad boy. But a guy that can cook, loves food, loves travel, and can WRITE? Call me, Tony!). It’s been a tough week, heading back to work for my first “full” week since the holidays and since my “full” week turned into four days due to staff reductions. I am definitely not a morning person and my current commute requires that I be one. So I’ve been grumpy and not very productive. But nothing beats the nights that I come home, open the door while totally exhausted, and smell whatever wonderful concoction Ryan has going on in the kitchen. My favorite time of day is coming home. What about you? What cooking experiences have you had lately? Do you wish you did it more? And have you ever made anything from Mastering the Art of French Cooking? (If you haven’t had enough “Julie and Julia” lately, Design Sponge’s ‘Living In’ series just featured the same film! Check it out.) 8 comments to What’s cooking? |
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I loved Kitchen Confidential. I read it back in 2003 when I was 23 and working at a 5 star restaurant. I thought it was a great expose on the restaurant industry, but for some reason it made me want to eat in restaurants even more. And I TOTALLY feel you on Anthony Bourdain! I love a man who has no fear when it comes to food and knows what he’s doing in the kitchen. I love it that Andy and I can have so much fun together in the kitchen. Yay for cooking!
I loved the movie Julie and Julia – so much more than the book. I watched it on the way to Vegas and the smells from first class were wafting my way… combined with all the food shots I was dying with hunger by the time I got off the plane! And I have Kitchen Confidential on my bookshelf… haven’t read it yet though! I totally get your crush on him
Hi Maggie,
Well, you may not have really liked the movie, but I couldn’t help noticing that you wrote a great deal more on this blog entry than you have for a long time, and I, for one, have always most enjoyed the blogs where you write more about your thoughts and feelings. Perhaps that was a result of watching the movie? Please continue to grace us, your readers, with your deeper thoughts in writing.
Your dad and I also coincidentally just watched “Julie and Julia” this week for the first time, and enjoyed it very much. We had just watched another movie called “Sunshine Cleaning” (not nearly the same quality) which featured many of the same actors and actresses (with the notable exception of Meryl Streep), so that was kind of odd for us. We totally loved Meryl’s performance–we just had to laugh out loud at her magnificent rendition of Julia Child–kind of right on and over the top at the same time (like Julia herself, perhaps).
Anyway, good job on today’s blog.
Much love,
Mom & Dad
Ha ha! I am totally with you on the inappropriate Tony Bourdain crush! He just rocks. And while I LOVED Julie & Julia (especially Meryl Streep as Julia Child! WOW!), I also agree that the way the blogging side of the story was portrayed was not totally positive…ah well.
Happy weekend, Maggie!!!
I loved Julie and Julia in the sense that it told the story of Julia and Paul and their adorably loving relationship, something I didn’t know much about.
My Mom actually has an older copy (not original publishing date) of Mastering The Art Of French cooking and not even she (My Mom is a FABULOUS cook!) will brave some of those recipes. They look hard! I’d love to try one eventually, but I think I’ll stick to my Better Homes Cookbook for now-it’s a classic and a must have for any aspiring cooks!
And yes, I also have a crush on Mr Bourdain! I believe you were the one who originally “introduced” me to him, Maggie. Thanks!
I loved that movie so much! I saw it twice in fact
I’m currently finishing up Julia Child’s memoir! Happy Weekend!
OH funny- I came across your blog accidentally and this is my kitchen! wowee. It’s from the country house I designed. I must say the cutting boards were supplied by stylist Natasha Louise King for the photo shoot. I too loved the idea but the only place I’ve seen good boards like that is ABC Carpet and Home where they run about $100 each- expensive! Natasha got the ones above from a props place but suggested checking Ebay or Etsy for good, affordable ones. Anyway, for those interested, here are more photos of the house: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizzetta/ (slideshow of house on right hand side.) So glad to be introduced to your lovely blog!
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