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Hollywood-style chef
Compiled from Times Staff, Wires
Published November 7, 2007
Comedian Dan Aykroyd's impersonation of Julia Child on Saturday Night Live is among his most enduring TV moments. Thankfully, his slapstick version of TV's first celebrity chef won't make it to the big screen.
That role will go to Meryl Streep, who will play Child in the movie version of the book Julie & Julia by Julie Powell. Amy Adams (Enchanted, Junebug) will play Powell, the New York secretary who spent a year cooking each of the 524 recipes in Child's 1961 cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Powell's project started as a blog and then became the bestselling book. Film production is scheduled to begin next year.
Pumpkin vs. pumpkin pie
Make sure this Thanksgiving that you read the label when buying canned pumpkin so you get what you want. Libby's, the most popular brand of canned pumpkin, probably doesn't mean to mess you up, but the slice of pumpkin pie on the label of unsweetened pumpkin puree is confusing.
For baked goods, look for the words "100 Percent Pure Pumpkin"; if you want sweetened pie filling, pick up the can that claims "Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix." Don't judge what's inside by the photo on the label.
We liked it better when it said Libby's, Libby's, Libby's.
Butter or shortening?
Besides the obvious taste differences, butter and vegetable shortening give different results in baking.
Cookies made with shortening tend to be softer than cookies made with butter, which usually are crisper.
Some cookie recipes use a combination - shortening for that soft texture, butter for unbeatable flavor.
Cakes are more complex than cookies, so it can be risky to substitute one for the other. A cake recipe that was formulated to work with shortening wouldn't turn out the same if you substituted butter.
Shortening does tend to hold more air bubbles when you beat it, so it can give cakes a lot of lift. But if you use too much, it has a flatter flavor and can give a cake a heavy or greasy feel in your mouth.
Compiled from Times staff, wires
[Last modified November 5, 2007, 15:41:38]
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