By Denise Reynolds, Examiner.comWelcome back to our series of articles: 7 scenes that make Julie & Julia a feast for the culinary traveler. In this, the second piece in our series, we continue to delve into specific scenes that are sure to make culinary travelers lick their lips with delight.

Early in the movie, we realize that significant culinary obstacles to Julie Powell’s success existed way before she ever contemplated cooking through Julia Child’s 524 Mastering the Art of French Cooking recipes in 365 days. We see this in the scene from Julie & Julia where Julie Powell, played by actress Amy Adams, goes out to lunch with three of her high-powered professional gal pals. Although they all order Cobb Salad, each one has a different special request:

Friend #1: Cobb Salad. No bleu cheese.

Friend #2: Cobb Salad. No beets.

Friend #3: Cobb Salad. No bacon.

Julie: Cobb Salad. No eggs.

While “No eggs” is the operative phrase here, I couldn’t help but think back to the scene from the 1991 movie L.A. Story, the scene where everyone at the table drives the waiter crazy with their own variation when it comes time to place a coffee order:

Tom: I’ll have a decaf coffee.

Trudi: I’ll have a decaf espresso.

Morris: I’ll have a double decaf cappuccino.

Ted: Give me decaffeinated coffee ice cream.

Haris: I’ll have a half double decaffeinated half-caf, with a twist of lemon.

While this level of specificity may work at Starbucks, it certainly doesn’t bode well for Julie, who subsequently commits herself to cook anything and everything contained in Julia Child’s cookbook. She doesn’t get very far (Chapter 3) before she has to confront one of her childhood food fears: eggs.

“I was a very willful child,” she confessed to her husband, Eric, as she admitted to never once having eaten an egg in her 29 years. And poaching an egg is not exactly easy—unless you know egg-actly how to do it. According to Julia, the following factors must be present to produce a perfectly poached egg:

• The egg must be very fresh

• The water must be simmering, but not hot enough to boil, about 3 inches deep

• A tablespoon of white vinegar should be added to the water to help the white coagulate nicely

• A whirlpool, or vortex, must first be created in the water by swirling a spoon around

• The egg should be broken into a separate cup first, then carefully slid into the swirling water

• The egg white must be folded over the yolk repeatedly with a wooden spoon to form a robe that completely ensconces the yolk

• The egg should be cooked about 4 minutes, or until the white is set but the yolk remains liquid

• The egg must be carefully lifted from the pan with a slotted spoon and transferred to a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking

• Any trailing bits of egg white should be trimmed off to give the egg a nice oval shape

• Immediately before serving, the egg must be reheated in hot salted water for no more than a minute

• The egg should be removed with a slotted spoon and dried with paper towels held beneath the spoon to remove any excess poaching liquid

The poached egg scene in Julie & Julia is one that culinary travelers will cherish. Fans will also enjoy watching Julia Child cook eggs in this 1964 episode of The French Chef. Because once you’ve had the (increasingly rare) opportunity to taste farm-fresh eggs, you’ll realize that the eggs you buy in your local grocery store can’t measure up to eggs that were just gathered from happy hens.

Your turn: Where were you when you had the freshest egg you’ve ever tasted? Have you ever eaten eggs that were so fresh they were actually warm before they were cooked?

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Author

Denise Reynolds is an Examiner from the National Edition. You can see Denise’s articles at: “http://www.Examiner.com/x-10799-Culinary-Travel-Examiner”