Tackling Julia & other things

One of the perks (ha!) of being a coffee house owner is meeting a wide array of people. One larger than life character who has been with us since the beginning is Agnus (her blog name). She is a widow in her 80's who still dyes her hair jet black, wears dark, heavy eye makeup and sports bright red lipstick that leaves quite a mark on our white coffee mugs. She always enters our side door which is perpendicular to our counter. The door opens, Agnus walks in, stops and waits for our attention. When she receives our eye contact, she waves hello with her whole arm and uses her loud, melodic voice to say something often unpredictable to announce her presence. Anything from "I don't know how I got here. My car just pulled up to the curb, so I thought I better come in." to "Hiya, honey!" to "I'm here. Now the day can begin!", all said with a twinkling eye and a big guffaw that reverberates off our four small walls.


I often sit and chat with her, ready for stories galore. One of her standard questions is, "Have you read any good books lately?" I share mine and then ask her the same question knowing in general what the answer will be. As long as I've known her she only reads biographies and autobiographies. From Andy Rooney to Marilyn Monroe to Barack Obama, if it's a biography and she can find it at the library, Agnus will read it. I love that about her.

Recently I felt very Agnus when I picked up my latest read: My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme. I read it in anticipation of the movie "Julie & Julia" which is based both on the book by the same name and on My Life in France. I read Julie & Julia when it first came out several years ago. I bought it at an airport bookstore -- I tend to buy lots of books on layovers -- and read the whole thing in an airport and on a plane. I loved it for its insight into Julia Child's life and for it's inspiration to find something enjoyable out of your life when you feel stuck. I'm not here to do a book review, so I won't. But if I were to recommend which book to read, it would be hands down My Life in France. If you want to be inspired, read about Julia. That woman amazes me.

Because I was so excited, I had plans to see "Julie & Julia" two days in a row. The second night Husband and I double dated with our friends, Josh & Laura. Laura suggested that we cook a fully French meal before the movie. Because we seem to be foodie kindred spirits, we had the same menu in mind -- one that I discovered in Bon Appetit and she found on Epicurious. You can find the complete menu on her blog.

This menu required us to cut apart a whole chicken, which we did with the assistance of Husband and The Joy of Cooking. We did it, but not with out some squirming and squeals (only mine, I believe). One chicken down...more fowl to come. See how pretty it turned out...

As a time saver, we both chose to make two dishes ahead of time. My dish helped me tackle more food fears (the aforementioned chicken being one): homemade crust & anchovies. I made Pissaladiere Nicoise, a onion tart topped with anchovies and black olives. In the past, a successful homemade crust has always alluded me. I typically just avoid making them. Likewise, anchovies have been my foe since my trip to Italy when I thought I knew enough of the Italian language to order a salad off the menu. What came instead were anchovies fanned out on a plate, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and tomatoes and swimming in olive oil. I tried my darnedest to eat my mistake but I failed and soon found the correct words and ordered a lettuce salad. Since then, I have wanted to make something with anchovies and eat it with enjoyment. With this tart, I can say that I accomplished that. The anchovies brought a saltiness to the sweetness of the onions and crust (a successful one, no less) that balanced the whole dish.

I thought I would include the crust recipe that yielded my first successful crust. A little piece of Julia accessible to us all.

Pate Brisee Tart Crust
adapted from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume One


1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teapsoon granulated sugar
6 tblsp chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tblsp plus 3/4 tsp chilled Crisco
4 tbsp cold water (more if necessary)

Whisk flour, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Add butter and shortening and rub in with your hands until there are no more big clumps and the dough resembles coarse meal. Add the cold water and mix until dough comes together, adding more water if needed. Form dough into a ball and place on a sheet of plastic wrap. Press dough into a disk, wrap and chill for an hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough on a floured surface and roll to a 10-inch round. Transfer the dough to an 8 or 9-inch springform tart pan. Press dough onto bottom and into crevices along the sides. Chill for 20 minutes.

Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place on center rack in the oven and bake until sides are set about 18-20 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Pierce bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Continue to bake until bottom is completely set and pale golden, about 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and cool in pan on rack.

Fill with any desired veggies cooked and spiced on the stovetop and put it back in the oven for 15 more minutes.