Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon and Chocolate Almond Cake with Butter Frosting

I've watched Julie and Julia three times now between the movie theatre and the DVD. It was only a matter of time before I would try to make Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon and her Chocolate Almond Cake with her Butter Frosting. Who am I kidding except myself? I needed the appropriate motivation to begin this endeavor, which I found in the guise of my foodie friend Christy.

It had been awhile since we had spoken, and while we were chatting on the phone and pondering our next get together, on a whim I suggested we make Julia's Beef Bourguignon. We set the date. At the appointed time, Christy brought her Le Creuset, French oven and all the ingredients and went to work. I began to document our adventure with my camera when Christy pulled out Julia's cake and frosting recipes and said she thought we could use a nice dessert to go with the meal. We exchanged a smile, both thinking of that scene from the movie where Julie's husband starts eating the cake with his bare hands, sans fork.

I began to make the cake while Christy continued with the main dish. While we were working, I couldn't help but admire the cooking saavy of my friend. Mouthwatering smells filled the air, seared beef, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and the scent of melting chocolate. Christy knew the terminology and what would happen if you manipulated ingredients, temperature and time. Long story short, I learned quite a bit that day, like the fact that preparation plus determination and hard work yield a world of meaty deliciousness followed by a velvetey and chocolatey ending.  Yummo.

As an added bonus, my ambitious friend organized my pantry and cooking appliance rack while we waited for the meal to finish cooking.  She orgnaizes as a side-business while she's waiting for a contracted teaching job, in addition to nannying. Did I mention that she's really good at it?

It was a food-friendly, fellowshipy, organizationally fantastic kind of day!