Julie and Julia or 1 Pan 50 Muffins

Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen: How One Girl Risked Her Marriage, Her Job, & Her Sanity to Master the Art of Living

Author: Julie Powell

With the humor of Bridget Jones and the vitality of Augusten Burroughs, Julie Powell recounts how she conquered every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and saved her soul.

Julie Powell is 30 years old, living in a tiny apartment in Queens and working at a soul-sucking secretarial job that's going nowhere. She needs something to break the monotony of her life, and she invents a deranged assignment. She will take her mother's worn, dog-eared copy of Julia Child's 1961 classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she will cook all 524 recipes -- in the span of one year.

At first she thinks it will be easy. But as she moves from the simple Potage Parmentier (potato soup) into the more complicated realm of aspics and crepes, she realizes there's more to Mastering the Art of French Cooking than meets the eye.

And somewhere along the line she realizes she has turned her outer-borough kitchen into a miracle of creation and cuisine. She has eclipsed her life's ordinariness through spectacular humor, hysteria, and perseverance.

About the Author
Born and raised in Austin, Texas, JULIE POWELL has resided in one place or another in the outer boroughs of New York City for the past eight years. Currently, she lives in Long Island City, New York, with her husband, Eric, three cats, and a snake.

The New York Times Book Review - David Kamp

When she's focused on the cooking itself, Powell shows signs of being one of our better, loopier culinary thinkers, more in the iconoclast mode of M. F. K. Fisher than the rhapsodic, sun-dappled vein of Saveur magazine at its most-perfect-peach fetishizing.

The Washington Post - Lauren F. Winner

Toward the end of the book, unfortunately, Powell's descriptions of the journalists who get interested in the Julie/Julia Project begin to overwhelm the project itself…Still…Powell is offbeat, eccentric and never too self-serious. Moreover, she understands something important. In an era when our bosses expect us to spend our lives at the office, she understands that life can't be all about your job. In an era when hostesses are praised for the food they picked up at Zabar's, she understands that there is something glorious and elemental in cooking. She has introduced ritual and meaning into an ordinary life. Not everyone will find her ritual and meaning with Julia Child, of course, but this book will inspire and encourage readers to find it somewhere.

Publishers Weekly

Powell became an Internet celebrity with her 2004 blog chronicling her yearlong odyssey of cooking every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. A frustrated secretary in New York City, Powell embarked on "the Julie/Julia project" to find a sense of direction, and both the cooking and the writing quickly became all-consuming. Some passages in the book are taken verbatim from the blog, but Powell expands on her experience and gives generous background about her personal life: her doting husband, wacky friends, evil co-workers. She also includes some comments from her "bleaders" (blog readers), who formed an enthusiastic support base. Powell never met Julia Child (who died last year), but the venerable chef's spirit is present throughout, and Powell imaginatively reconstructs episodes from Child's life in the 1940s. Her writing is feisty and unrestrained, especially as she details killing lobsters, tackling marrowbones and cooking late into the night. Occasionally the diarist instinct overwhelms the generally tight structure and Powell goes on unrelated tangents, but her voice is endearing enough that readers will quickly forgive such lapses. Both home cooks and devotees of Bridget Jones-style dishing will be caught up in Powell's funny, sharp-tongued but generous writing. Agent, Sarah Chalfant. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Life wasn't working out the way 29-year-old Powell had anticipated-working a dead-end job at a government agency; living in a cramped, dingy apartment in Queens; and worrying about a health condition that could make it impossible for her to have children. Reaching a point of emotional meltdown, she visited her parents' home in Austin, TX, where she rediscovered her mother's old copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. A short time later, she made the instinctual, yet somewhat arbitrary, decision to give her life direction by making all 524 recipes included in the classic cookbook. She set out to do this in exactly 365 days while maintaining a blog that chronicled her culinary attempts. This very funny work reflects on Powell's experience, but listeners should beware: this is not for conservatives or those unable to tolerate a hearty smattering of the "f" word, nor is it a dignified tribute to Child. In fact, the strength of the author's humor resides in her blunt, irreverent tone and mordant descriptions of meals consisting of unconventional ingredients such as kidneys, brains, and homemade jelly boiled from calves' hooves, which she describes as making her kitchen "smell like a tannery." Powell provides a well-executed narration of her entertaining memoir; recommended for all collections.-Dawn Eckenrode, Daniel A. Reed Lib., SUNY at Fredonia Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A gratifying year spent tackling the art of French cooking. On the eve of her 30th birthday, Powell realized that she hated her life: She worked at a job with a bunch of Republicans she (mostly) loathed and she was nearing the moment when she would have to make the jump to have a baby. Her life was not on the trajectory she imagined, and she was growing increasingly depressed. In a moment of desperation, she decided to take on a project that might help distract her-and what an undertaking it was. Powell would prepare all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Over the course of the next year, this project served as her lifeline. For each elaborate (or elaborately named) dish that she created-dishes like tournedos sautes aux champignons and quartiers de fonds d'artichauts au beurre-there were family and friends (and one very patient husband, Eric) to share them with. At the Eric's suggestion, Powell started a blog to chronicle her successes and disasters, her triumphs and crises (there were many, in each category). Eventually, the media was drawn to her quest, but celebrity was not what Powell was after (unless it got her out of a lousy job). For all her fussing and neuroses, Powell is a softy a heart, appreciating Child because, she says, Child "wants you to remember that you are human, and as such are entitled to that most basic of human rights, the right to eat well and enjoy life." Powell clearly enjoyed hers, with all its madness and pleasures. Indulge in this memoir of marrow and butter, knowing there is always a bitter green to balance the taste. Film rights to Columbia; author tour

Book about: Steeped or Moms Secret Recipe File

1 Pan, 50 Muffins(Quick and Easy Series)

Author: Radu Spaeth

The Quick & Easy series features small, compact cookbooks, emphasizing everyday--quick and practical--cooking. Readily available ingredients are used to produce mouthwatering and visually appealing dishes for daily meals. The books feature contemporary content. Well-designed layouts, and beautiful color photography throughout. A useful table leads each book, doubling as both a table of contents and recipe description. Information such as number of calories, recipes with big portions, take-along food, fast recipes, and ultra-simple recipes, are highlighted. Helpful hints and cooking tips punctuate the text offering sensible strategies for everyday eating. 50 new deliciously sweet and savory recipes for some muffin fun--and all you need is just one pan! From couscous to chocolate mint muffins, these little cakes are always the perfect companion to a tea party, Sunday afternoon snack, or just for fun. Done in a flash, beautifully decorated and wonderfully sweet, they're the perfect companion to an afternoon coffee or glass of lemonade. Also includes decorating tips and recipes for glazes, syrups, and sauces.