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I am a Julia Child fan. I mean, really - how could a cook NOT be? I recently recorded taped some of Julia’s old cooking shows from the Food Channel. My budding foodie teen daughter 
watched the old TV show and said she thought her technique was horrible, (and sometimes it is) and my husband said he doesn’t like “that creamy rich French crap.” But I don’t think Julia gets enough credit. She was the first Food Celebrity and her TV show aired in the early 60's. Her first book, Mastering the Art of French cooking was published fifty years, YES, FIFTY years ago!!!! It was designed to bring French cooking and make it more accessible to American Housewives. (Note: Housewives - this was even before Women’s Lib took off!!!!) She taped this show in an era before Food Network TV, Bobby Flay, fusion cuisine, sushi bars on every corner and local Wegmans where you can get organic produce, truffles, and cheese imported from around the world on your way home from work.
Several years ago, by some coincidence - I happened to find a copy of the book Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, at the flea market right before the movie came out. I’ve always loved collecting old cookbooks and I think I paid about $5.00. It was a homey copy, with recipe clippings and notes in the margins. That was very lucky, because prices of that book skyrocketed after the movie Julie & Julia came out. On Ebay copies currently list for anywhere from $15.00 to $450.00 for a signed copy.
At the time I didn’t know the value of the treasure I had found. Shortly after buying it, I tried an easy recipe, scrambled eggs. (Oeufs Brouilles) I thought I’d start simple, and picked scrambled eggs. How hard could it be to make scrambled eggs? I’d done it hundreds of times before. I am not the best when it comes to following directions, but in deference to Julia, I thought I would follow the recipe exactly. 
I started the recipe. The first thing I noticed was the unique chart method of describing the recipes. Rather than listing all the ingredients at the top, and all the instructions at the bottom, the ingredients were listed along side the instructions in an easy to follow, logical progression. The instructions were very specific and I did exactly what she directed. What resulted was.....simply the best scrambled eggs I EVER HAD. Granted, I am a big fan of dairy and especially custard. If you are used to hard cooked scrambled eggs or Diner fare you might not like them. But these eggs were different from anything I had ever made or tasted. The recipe describes them as “creamy soft curds that just hold their shape from fork to mouth.” The consistency was produced by the method of stirring that until they “slowly thicken as a mass into a custard.” They were absolutely delightful. It became evident the care and time that went into editing every recipe to perfection.
Shortly thereafter, the movie "Julie & Julia" came out. It was a story of the blogger Julie Powell who decided to do every one of Julia’s recipes, (one each day) for a year and then blog about it. The movie was also interspersed with scenes from Julia Child’s life, played by Meryl Streep. Julia Child evidently did not approve of the blog, and her editor, Judith Jones, said in an interview: "Flinging around four-letter words when cooking isn't attractive, to me or Julia. She didn't want to endorse it. What came through on the blog was somebody who was doing it almost for the sake of a stunt. She would never really describe the end results, how delicious it was, and what she learned. Julia didn’t like what she called 'the flimsies.' She didn't suffer fools, if you know what I mean."
To read more about that, click here: http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/07/julia-child-considered-the-juliejulia-project-a-stunt/
I watched and enjoyed the movie. After doing more poking around on-line, I realized how much of a firestorm the blog and the movie created. Foodies galore debated about what Julia approved of, whether the biographical parts were accurate, whether they hated the blogger Julie Powell and whether it was a stunt to sell books. The only thing that I think is clear is that sales of Mastering the Art of French Cooking soared, and a whole new generation of cooks became interested in the cookbook due to the movie. And I must say, that is a wonderful thing, because this is a truly amazing cookbook.
In the meantime, words from Julia rang in my head: end results, how delicious it was, what I learned.
To that end, I am going to start writing a new occasional series of articles called Mastering the Art of Julia or, maybe I will call it “Jane & Julia.” Unlike the original blogger, I have no book in the wings waiting to be published, (and no aspirations or time to undertake such a project), I don’t hate my real job, and I am not trying to switch careers. (At least not just yet) I am also NOT going to try to cook all the recipes in Mastering the French, and I WON’T be publishing one of these every day. I simply thought it would be interesting to do a blog - one that Julia might approve of. I promise not to curse and at the end of each recipe I will include the following comments: End results, how delicious it was, what I learned.
So here goes!!!! Scrambled Eggs. (Oeufs Brouilles) from the book Mastering the Art of French Cooking, page 125.
Summary: Making scrambled eggs by stirring them slowly and continually, all over the bottom of the pan. Then remove quickly as they thicken into a custard, stir rapidly, once they reach desired consistency, and add butter to stop the cooking.
End results: Creamy soft pillows of eggs which just held together on your fork, but barely. Totally different than your typical scrambled eggs.
How delicious it was, taste: absolutely yummy, eggy, custardy goodness. As a fan of dairy, it was absolute perfection, the little curds melted in your mouth, and the egg and butter flavor was heavenly.
What I learned: How much a simple and different technique can change the end result of a recipe.
So there it is. My first article of the series. I don’t know if Julia would approve, we will never know, - but I’d like to think she would! But I do know one thing - she didn’t suffer fools, you know!!!!
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Copyright 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission granted under copyright to reviewers to quote brief passages and reproduce not more than three illustrations to be reprinted.
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