Julie And Julia Page #6

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Beurre blanc. What's beurre blanc?

- Butter in a white wine vinegar reduction.

- I love butter.

You whisk them together,

and the acid in the vinegar

works on the milk solids in the butter

so that the butter, instead of melting,

becomes this

creamy, light, frothy,

with kind of a fantastic subtle kind of...

Tangy.

It has a tanginess.

Tanginess?

Yes.

Well, that's...

That's who I married.

Anyway,

you serve it on fish and it's splendid.

I'm going to make it for you.

- That'll be divine.

- Yeah.

And, Dort, we're going to throw you a party.

- Really?

- Very exciting.

By the way, there's a man

that I want to 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.

Hello, ladies. Anybody want anything?

Yes.

Help yourself. The tapenade is marvelous.

Julia, there you are.

John!

There you are.

Now, where is this sister of yours?

She's right over there. Hi, John.

- Hi, Paul.

- There.

So we've told her a lot about you.

Well, I don't want to

interrupt her conversation.

With Ivan Cousins? They just met.

I can't imagine Dorothy running off

with Ivan Cousins.

Dearly beloved...

John, this is lovely.

I've never been to a wedding like this before.

Here, Julia.

- What a beautiful wedding.

- Thanks, Pops.

I am not enthusiastic about this marriage.

Well, you weren't very enthusiastic

about ours, either.

True.

How are things at the embassy, Paul?

Fine. Thank you, Phila. Thank you.

Well, not fine, really, because

they've cut our library allowance by 90%.

It seems that Senator McCarthy

has very long arms.

Senator McCarthy is a man

who knows his mind.

I admire a man who knows his mind.

Well, we know lots of people in Washington

who have lost their jobs,

after years in government service,

for no reason whatsoever.

And Paul had to make a list of

every single book in the embassy library.

Surely you're not suggesting that

the French government is any better.

- And...

- Shall we dance?

Come on, dance with me.

Excuse us.

You said you didn't want to talk about it,

then you went and talked about it.

I know, I never learn.

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 send this recipe to Avis.

I'm very excited about it.

- I think it's a breakthrough.

- Well, it tastes like it.

Dorothy is pregnant.

Paul.

Isn't that wonderful?

Yes.

Okay.

Okay.

- I'm so happy.

- I know.

I know.

If you warm the bowl slightly

before you beat in the egg yolk,

it changes everything.

Foolproof mayonnaise. Absolutely foolproof.

I typed it up.

- You disagree?

- About the mayonnaise? Not at all.

I'm sure you're exactly right.

Scientific workability. That's my motto.

Julia.

We have a little problem.

- Our editor...

- For our cookbook.

...thinks our book is not in English.

But your book is in English.

They are giving it a rejection.

But they suggest that

if we are continuing with it,

we should get a collaborator

who could take what we have

and make it work for American cooks.

Would you do it, Julia?

Would I do it?

Yes.

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 Mastering the 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.

- How long does it take to cook?

- Two and a half hours.

Welcome.

I'm Julia Child.

And today we're going to make

a holiday feast, or les ftes d'holiday.

And we're going to start with half-boned

chicken or poularde demi-dsosse.

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.

Saltine.

Or if you have a pet, a cat or a dog,

they love liver.

Save the liver.

- 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!

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 apptit.

No, no, no!

Well, it's just a big, dry collection

of recipes.

It doesn't work at all.

I'm just gonna have to throw

most of it out and start all over again!

This has got to be a cookbook

that makes French cooking accessible

to Americans who do not have cooks.

Who are servantless.

Is that a word?

Servantless.

I think it is a word.

Julia?

- What if we had to leave Paris?

- Why would we have to leave Paris?

Because my assignment was for four years.

So then we still have time.

Eight months.

And this cookbook is not something

you can finish in eight months.

No. But two years seems possible.

Julia.

What if they transfer me someplace else?

Would they do that?

Yes.

They don't really care about me.

Paul. Of course they do.

They don't, really.

Well, if we can't stay in Paris,

then I'll just mail the pages

to Louisette and Simca

and they can mail them back to me.

That's why they invented the mail system

and carbon paper and onionskin copies,

or I can just jump on the train to Paris

whenever the three of us

absolutely have to work together, you know.

Or the two of us, actually, because as

we know, Louisette does next to nothing.

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