In 2006 I read the books Julie & Julia and My Life in France – both books about Julia Child. In fact my first introduction to blogging was with the book Julie & Julia.
This fall my friend Marsha and I went to see the movie based on the two books. We both loved it and left the movie craving Boeuf Bourguinon! We decided on the way home that we were going to have a Julia Child dinner party.
Marsha turned 50 last week (hope she doesn’t mind that I just told the blogosphere!) so I decided that her birthday was a perfect time to host a Julia Child dinner party.
First I had to get a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking – fortunately Costco had them in stock!
I discovered that reading one of Julia’s cookbooks is more like reading a textbook – you can learn a lot!
Her recipes are very detailed and fairly labor intensive. Let’s just say I spent A LOT of time cooking the two days before the party but it was worth it and fun!
To set the mood for the meal I decorated the dining room table with some fall decorations.
I got out the good china, silverware and crystal!
My friend Jane provided the appetizers. She put together a wonderful selection of french cheese, crackers, breads and a yummy fig and orange jelly to serve with it. There was also the Barefoot Contessa’s sun dried tomato dip!
We served appetizers on the kitchen island – everyone always loves to gather in the kitchen as I put the finishing touches on dinner. I also set up a little fall/Halloween vignette on the kitchen island to make it look festive.
Our first course was Soup a L’Oignon with Croutes au Fromage(French Onion Soup with cheese toasts.) It was delcious and one of my guests commented that it was the best french onion soup they had ever had and they’ve had a lot of french onion soup.
From there we moved onto the Boeuf Bourguinon. The Boeuf took about 5 1/2 hours from start to finish and was a fun dish to prepare. It tasted amazing too!! I served it over some small boiled potatoes. Because it uses stew meat it is a fairly inexpensive dish to prepare which is nice if you are serving a lot of people.
My favorite was dessert – no surprise there! I fixed the Reine de Saba (Chocolate and Almond Cake). The same cake you see in the movie. I have been dreaming about it ever since I saw the movie. I have to say it tasted as good as it looked – maybe even better!
The cake is made with pulverized almonds and only 1/2 cup of cake flour. I used Julia’s Creme au Beurre, Menagere recipe (Butter Cream I with powdered sugar). The recipe calls for 1 1/2 sticks of butter to only 2/3 cup of powdered sugar. It was so buttery that I added another 2/3 cup of powdered sugar. It was amazing!!! Julia sure liked her butter!!
After frosting, the edges of the cake are sprinkled with sliced almonds. It makes a beautiful presentation.
There are a lot of Julia knock off recipes out there on the web but if you want the real Julia you’ll have to pick yourself up a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking!
I have to agree with Julia when she said:
“It’s fun to get together and have something good to eat at least once a day.
That’s what human life is all about – enjoying things.”
I found a lot of enjoyment in preparing this meal for my friends but I found even more enjoyment in sharing it with them at my table! Good food and good friends – the perfect combination!
What have you enjoyed today?
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
That looks so fun. What a wonderful tribute to women, both Julia and your friend. Despite Julia’s love of butter, she did live a long and full life:) Thanks for sharing.
Everything looks so pretty and delicious!!!!!
Your table and food look so inviting. I’d like a slice of the Reine de Saba
right this minute! I think I’ll run to Costco today to see if they have any copies
of the cookbook left. Thanks Leigh Anne for sharing your dinner party
pictures and ideas with us. It all looks wonderful!
Yummy! If I hadn’t just spent all day Friday making 14 pies, I think I would feel more motivated to try some French cooking. Somehow, I’m still motivated to eat it… Are you doing any cooking for Thanksgiving?
Oh my goodness, it all looks so yummy!!!
What a great party. I am enjoying cinnamon applesauce this morning. I had my wisdom teeth out yesterday, so hopefully it doesn’t get old by the end of the week!
I want a BFF like you to spoil me. I”m the one always doing the spoiling. I just have to ask, where did you find that amazing wrought iron piece that is in your kitchen holding the book?
Michelle,
The cookbook stand came from Southern Living. I’ve had it a few years now but think it is still available. They are a direct sales company.
Leigh Anne,
Your post was a visual and sensory treat! Just seeing your beautifully set table must have made your friend feel very special. The centerpiece is so unique and creative. I’m sure she appreciated all the time and effort you invested in that delicious dinner to help celebrate her milestone birthday.
What a fabulous birthday dinner! I haven’t cooked many of Julia Child’s recipes (yet!!) but the ones you picked look delicious. I definitely need to get this cookbook to add to my collection! I read My Life In France last year and absolutely loved it.
It all looks so heavenly. Beautiful. Not to mention so mouth watering, just looking at the pictures.
After seeing the movie Julie and Julia, I came home and cooked dinner in my pearls. Beef Bourguinon was the one recipe from the movie that I really wanted to try. It looks so yummy.
Beautifully prepared and displayed…and photographed. I’m sure your friend appreciated your effort beyond measure. Delicious!
Wow, what a lovely dinner! The cake looks perfect.
I wonder if Beef Bourguignon isn’t the most requested dish these days? I had to make it, too, after seeing the movie. And then decided to devote a whole blog to Julia’s recipes from the book. It really is like a text book, and cooking from it is like going to cooking school at your own pace.
Have fun cooking!
Karen
I picked up Julia’s book from Costco and gave it to my sister for her birthday. I don’t know if she’s tried anything from it yet, but we sure liked the movie.
I am planning on having a dinner and a movie night. A Boeuf Bourguinon and perhaps the Chocolate cake. I googled ideas for a Julie and Julia dinner party and came across your site. Plans are to have it in the middle of January when there’s not much going on. Thanks for sharing.
I watched the movie a couple nights ago and tonight Boeuf Bourginon is in my oven. My house smells delicious and I can’t wait to taste it. We are planning a Julia Child party as well. What fun we are having!!