Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously

From Strand Bookstore

Nearing thirty and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, Julie Powell resolved to reclaim her life by cooking, in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's legendary "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Her unexpected reward: not just a respect for calves' livers and aspic, but a new life - lived with gusto, giving the lowdown on what it's like to really try to do something new with one's life. 336p.

From the Publisher

Recounts how the author escaped the doldrums of an unpromising career and lackluster Queens apartment by mastering every recipe in Julia Child's 1961 classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a year-long endeavor of humor and accomplishment that transformed her life. Reader's Guide included. Reprint.

Review

Kirkus Reviews
"A gratifying year spent tackling the art of French cooking."

Review

Publishers Weekly
"Her writing is feisty and unrestrained....[H]er voice is endearing....Both home cooks and devotees of Bridget Jones-style dishing will be caught up in Powell's funny, sharp-tongued but generous writing."

Review

Guardian (London)
"Julie Powell is an admirable writer, candid, racy, fast-paced and immediate..."

More about the book

Julie Powell set herself the daunting task of preparing all 500+ recipes in her mother's tattered copy of Julia Child's classic MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING--and to describe her experiences in a blog called "The Julie/Julia Project." Now that blog is a book chronicling Powell's sometimes wacky, sometimes harrowing, ultimately satisfying excursion into fine French cooking, from sweetbreads and kidneys to Gateau à l'Orange and Clafouti. Powell never met Julia Child, but when Julia died in the course of the project, Powell grieved deeply, saying, "She left a great six-foot-two hole in my world."