Julia & moi: Quiche aux Oignons

I was in a frugal state of mind the other day when I decided to make Julia Child's quiche aux oignons. Actually, the recipe called for Swiss cheese and whipping cream, whereas I only had sharp cheddar, Parmesan, and half-and-half, but this is cooking, and one should always feel free to improvise. Besides, it's a delightful way to use onions, flour, and butter.

The other evening we were joined for dinner by Rhonda and Chuck Adams and his parents, Maxine and Roy. The conversation turned to Julia Child and the new movie, Julie & Julia. Like me, Chuck likes to cook. Rhonda supports him in this endeavor, although she, too, can whip up some mighty tasty dishes, her homemade ice cream and potato salad leap to mind. Chuck decided that he and I ought to prepare something from Julia's cookbooks on a regular basis.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I love to cook. My mother once told me that if I liked to eat I would be a good cook. I believed her. In retrospect, it was odd advice from my mother since she also said that there were two types of folks on this earth, those who lived to eat and those who ate to live. She was one of the latter. But my father loved to eat so I guess it's in the genes. I have never taken a cooking lesson in my life, but I did happen to come of age (i.e., get married) when fine dining in America was experiencing a Renaissance, thanks to Julia Child, WGHB, and Bon Appetit magazine.

I was reminded during the dinner with the Adamses the other night that Mary Anne Kennedy's mother gave me an autographed cookbook signed by Julia Child and her husband. These are the Julia Child shows I watched, Julia Child & Company . Do you remember her description of the monkfish? It was hilarious.



As for the movie, it is delightful. The theater was packed for the 4:10 pm showing. At first, Bill feared he was the only man in attendance, but I did count a few of them in the audience. They all had gray hair. Of course, Bill has a lot of gray, too, it's just that he's a very young gray-haired gentleman.

Much of the movie deals with Julie's blog. As of this writing, I have not checked it out. I don't have the readership that the movie suggests she has, but once I did receive a comment from a Swedish lady, which is kind of cool. I do like to blog, and, yes, it is rather narcissistic, but there are worse things in life. Besides, when I am dead and buried, my children will be able to look back on this blog and find out what interested me in life (assuming that the technology and blog site remain).

There's another aspect to the movie with which I find it easy to identify--Julia's delight in finding herself living in Paris (for me, it's Roma). As for the young heroine, Julie, I have visited Dean & Deluca's in New York; as with the Campo de' fiori, I passed up the truffles.

Well, my savory bread pudding with Swiss cheese and leftover brown rice is about done. This is another creation based on Paul Prudhomme's bread pudding and on the leftovers I have in the fridge.



You know, it was pretty darn good! Bon appetit! (I wish I could find an accent in the font.)