Baking with Julia

Who knew there were so many food geeks? Perhaps the local cinemas' showings of Julie and Julia at 12:01 am on opening day should have tipped me off. But still, I thought, 20 minutes ahead of show time the evening of opening day should get me a good seat. Alas, the show was sold out.

So home we went, with plans to return for one of the eight showings today. Instead, we immersed ourselves in home renovation projects, which do expand to fill all time available. But thanks to Create TV, we had Julia for company while we worked. They ran a marathon of Baking with Julia. Bagels, bread by Berkeley's Acme Bread Company, lady fingers and petit-fours, pita bread, and more. Many of her guests noted that they use unfinished quarry tiles in the oven; and not once did she say, "I brought that technique to America in Mastering the Art of French Cooking volume 2, you know." Which I thought very gracious, as one would expect. The year she filmed this show for PBS, she was elderly and couldn't do as much in the kitchen, often leaning on a counter for support. But her indomitable spirit shines through; and she does a fine job of hosting, asking the right questions to make sure the audience learns from her guest the techniques she herself already knows.