Julia Child

I have been working with Cooks of Crocus Hill on a setting up a wild game cooking class and earlier this month, my first class took place. It was a huge step outside my comfort zone and I will admit that I was nervous as hell going into it. I think as a cook I am always afraid that I don’t know as much as I think I do and that I am going to fail. Or worse, one of my dishes is going to fail. 

Its tenderness and flavor, size and cheapness were the themes of universal admiration. Edged out by apple-sauce and mashed potatoes, it was a sufficient dinner for the whole family…”

~Charles Dickens, ‘A Christmas Carol’

We came to poultry later in our grand scheme than we had originally intended. After purchasing day old chickens from the Murray McMurray Hatchery, and having some success with eggs and meat, we decided to try our hand at ducks. While attending a local auction, we ran across our fainting goat breeder (more on that story later) and found she had brought a hatch of Muscovy ducklings to the auction.

It's book club time again! Tonight we're gathering to discuss My Life in France at Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op’s Selby location from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. and near Harmony Co-op in Bemidji from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 

Paris in the 1950’s. Le Cordon Bleu. Food in France. It’s a good thing these book club posts aren’t supposed to be objective, balanced journalism. Turns out I tend to like pretty much any book that has to do with making, eating, or enjoying food. (I guess that's not all that unusual here on SGT, right?) But when you add Julia Child, France and her beautiful, delicious story into the equation? Forget it -- I’m in love.

Spring has sprung, which means it's time for eggs. Colored eggs are used to celebrate spring in general, as well as the Christian observance of Easter or the Persian new year, Nowruz. And a hard-boiled egg is one of the items on a seder plate at Passover dinner.

In pursuit of the perfect spring egg, I tested several different methods for hard cooking -- not hard boiling -- eggs, all of which had fans swearing up and down that theirs was the best and most foolproof method for easy-to-peel shells and yellow yolks. Common to all was that eggs should not be boiled; overlong heating produces an unpleasant gray line around the yoke and a strong smell. Instead, eggs should be put in a pan, covered with one inch of cold water, brought just to a boil over high heat, then removed from heat and covered. How long they remain covered, and what happens next, differ widely among methods, though.

With this morning’s announcement of 2009’s Academy Award nominees, it seems appropriate to look at food from the perspective of a movie goer. Last year, two broadly released movies featured food in a starring role: Food, Inc. and Julie and Julia. We’ll find out today if either of them garners any nominations.

In the meantime, I’d like to look back through the years and pick the films that most successfully incorporate food into the plot. I’ll include the most recent first, then continue moving backwards in time. Then on Thursday, I’ll select the most memorable food-related scenes from the history of cinema.