Cooking... Blogging... and Meryll Streep

I’m really excited about this upcoming film starring my all-time favorite Hollywood actress Meryll Streep and newcomer funny gal Amy Adams. The movie’s title is “Julie & Julia” and is directed by Rom-Com Genius of the ‘90s Nora Ephron. Remember “Sleepless in Seattle” “You’ve Got Mail”… okay, you get the picture. I love it because it’s about three things that I absolutely adore: Cooking… Blogging… and Meryll Streep. Here’s the basic plot:

Frustrated temp secretary Julie Powell (Amy Adams) embarks on a year-long culinary quest to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child's “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” She chronicles her trials and tribulations in a blog that catches on with the food crowd.

The film by the way is based on a real life story of Julie Powell herself who really blogged about her cooking attempts. The blog became such a hit that she eventually published it into a book entitled "Julie & Julia". Hmmm, now there's a great idea. Do you think "Memoirs of a New Missus" would fly off the shelves? (thought bubbles hover me now)

Anyway, Julia Child is played by Meryll of course, and in case you don’t know who Julia Child is… before there was a Martha, Giada, Rachael and the Barefoot Contessa, Julia Child was the TV Chef that all housewives in the ‘50s emulated.


(left) Meryll as Julia Child and the real Julia Child (right)

In the film, we would be seeing two eras in juxtapose as present day Julie struggles with gourmet cooking in a tiny New York apartment while Julia begins to build her culinary brand in the ’50s. Cooking then becomes the metaphor for their life and love issues. That’s just my literary analysis. (Me and my penchant for metaphors!)



I was kind of inspired with the story and made me think about putting up blog posts of my own kitchen adventures. I usually just post resto finds & recipes that I have tried and tweaked but I have never written about my experience in making them, and the whole drama that went behind it (if there were any). I actually have 2 new beautiful cookbooks (Martha Stewart's Cooking School and Classic Recipes book set by Hershey’s, Campbells and Eagle Brand) sent to me as presents by my secret “sweet” kitchen fairy. I call her my kitchen fairy because she has been so generous in sending me trivets, kitchenware and cookbooks every time she does some spring cleaning in her home. This famous lady loves to spread the love on homemaking. Thanks to her, I’ve been able to make cupcakes with my favorite gadget – a yellow Kitchenaid Mixer – which I named after her. I’ve told her that she should put up her own brand of home ware like Martha. She’s already got the name. Anyway, that’s enough about her. You might already guess who she is. Hehe. :-)


(left) My yellow Kitchenaid Mixer, a gift 2 yrs ago... (right) and cooking for hubby's bday

Anyway, I really can’t wait for this new film. I love Meryll Streep’s movies. Be it drama, comedy, and even theater… she’s done it all. I love her best in comedies. Here are my FAVE FIVE MERYLL STREEP COMEDY MOVIES: “Postcards from the Edge” (I love the mother-daughter issues of this story)… “She-Devil” (Her character seriously made me think about wanting to become a romance novelist when I was a kid)… “Death Becomes Her” (two words: Goldie Hawn)… “The Devil Wears Prada” (She was so deliciously evil!)… “Mamma Mia” (Again, this really reminded me of my mom and I during my own wedding. Mama drama galore! And her character Donna, is so like my mom. She’s funny like that. Haha!)



Of course, she ain’t Meryll Streep if not for the tear-jerking Oscar worthy roles. HERE ARE MY FAVE FIVE MERYLL STREEP DRAMATIC FILMS: “Kramer vs Kramer” (Again, she reminded me of mom when she left my dad and our family)… “The Bridges of Madison County” (I’ve really always wondered about falling in love in that age)… “Adaptation” (with director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman, need I say more?)… “The Hours” (There was a time back in my melancholic years that I loved Virginia Woolf’s works)… “Angels in America” (An HBO mini-series that had her playing 4 roles. Wow talk about versatility)



But more than her craft, I am more delighted about the fact that she’s been married with 4 children for 30 years to the same man. Now, that’s a rarity in Hollywood. She’s really proof that fame and fortune don’t always destroy families.