A Day at the Movies..."Julie & Julia"

This weekend I decided to take off from cooking and had nice afternoon movie date with my wife. Any opportunity that we have to do something without the kids is usually few and far between, so today was a nice treat for both of us. We went to see 'Julie & Julia', the new movie that's is based on two true stories: the first being about the start of Julia Child's cooking profession, and the second being about Julie Powell, who challenges herself to make every recipe published in Child's famed cookbook within a year, and to blog about her experiences. Now, I'm not a movie critic, so I will not get into an in-depth review. But I will say that we both enjoyed the movie very much.I was fairly warned before we went that it was a 'chick flick', but I have to say, not-so-much (granted, I did also spend quality 'man time' at the bar this weekend with my best bud, watching the Phils and shooting the shit over quite a few beers). Yes, it's a fun, light-hearted movie. Yes, there's cutesy husband-wife scenes. However, there's also great food, great restaurant scenes and great cooking scenes. Lots of 'em! So, if you have an interest in food and cooking, I highly recommend checking it out.

Aside for the food aspect, what really appealed to me was the idea of Julie blogging about her cooking experience. Although I have never set any timeline goals for myself like Julie does, I do find lots of joy and pride working on my blog. It's been very therapeutic for me. While I still haven't found a way to track exactly who or how many of you are looking at my blog, I do enjoy the feedback that I receive, and I have made many more Facebook friends because of it. It's very gratifying, and I thank you for that!

WIth that said, there are two remaining Chillin' and Grillin' recipes to come: Apple Cinnamon Chicken, and my surprise entry in the Friendship Road Labor Day Cook-off Competition. I've already started to compile a bunch of recipes for the fall and look forward to experimenting with many more ideas and sharing them with you.

Cheers!