2009 brought the movie version of Julie Powell’s book “Julie and Julia–My Year of Cooking Dangerously.” The movie is terrific, much more about choosing personal challenges and accomplishing things than anything else. As stated: 520-odd recipes in 365 days!
Interesting and somewhat ironic that Meryl Streep played Julia Child. Back in the 80s they were on very opposite sides of a public food safety issue now related to a chemical called Alar. I really have no idea who was actually right on that particular issue, but I noticed that it pointed out a big generational change in how people thought about the world. Meryl Streep publicly took the position that food safety is no trifle–our food needs to be absolutely safe and zero chemistry is best. Julia Child, on the other hand, sided with some scientists who said there was no problem–she felt that the food industry had done the science and were using a safe product.
Quick Score:
Julia Child’s Generation: Yes. Trust in science and institutions.
Maryl Streep’s Generation: Nope. Don’t put that stuff near my food!
…and by the way: Meryl Streep did an excellent job with the role–though I’m sure they had her stand on a box for many scenes to appear taller since Julia Child was 6 foot 3 inches tall!