Unless you are a chef or a foodie, the name Julia Child may not hold much significance for you. But that may change once you see "Julie and Julia," a movie released this month. It stars Meryl Streep as Julia Child, the chef who got Americans hooked on French cooking through her books and TV show, and Amy Adams as Julie Powell, the famed blogger who cooked all of the 524 recipes from Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in 365 days.

It's like a French version of the Italian foodie movie "Big Night" in that the cooking scenes could make even a strictly Stouffers cook want to open a bottle of wine and fix a big-night dinner. Watching Julie and Julia, you'll start craving Bouef Bourguion and Queen of Sheba cake before you leave the theater.

The movies both have interesting non-food story lines, but the mouth-watering food scenes really add another dimension - especially if you turn it into a party and combine the movie with a dinner, as personal chef Michelle Nelson of St. Joseph did recently.

Ms. Nelson is French Canadian and remembers watching Julia Child's cooking show, "The French Chef," on TV when she was a teenager. The show was in English, and she spoke French - a language problem similar to what Julia Child faced when trying to learn French cooking while in France.

"I can relate to her," Ms. Nelson says. "Although I didn't understand what she was saying, I watched. I figured if she can do it, I can do it."

Once she found out the movie was coming out, she decided to have a Julia party and invited a few fellow cooking aficionados to come over. The group went to see the movie first, then came back to her house and discussed it over a Julia Child-themed dinner.

"Foodies kind of stick together," laughs Carol Myers, one of the guests. "When Michelle suggested we do this, everyone was just thrilled."

Ms. Myers is a chef in her own right (Two Carols Catering and long-time volunteer cook at the Albrecht-Kemper) and has all of Julia Child's cookbooks. (Coincidentally, she even knew Julia Child's sister, Dorothy, who is a character in the movie.) Although Ms. Myers has literally close to a thousand cookbooks, Julia Child's are some of her favorites, she says, because they cover the basics of good cooking in terms you can understand.

"When you are looking up something you aren't sure about, hers is one of the references to go to," Ms. Myers explains. "She writes so well, you get it right from the beginning."

For the Julia dinner, both women deviated from the recipes made in the movie, making some of their own French favorites. Ms. Nelson made a koulibiac, which is of Russian origin, adapted by the French, and made with layers of rice, spinach, hard boiled egg and salmon, all wrapped up in puff pastry. Carol Myers made crab cake salad, using fresh crabmeat she got from Sam's Club. Guest Bea Dobyan made a white gazpacho, which is a chilled cucumber and grape soup.

For a heartier fare, get out your "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook and make Julia Child's Bouef Bourguion and Queen of Sheba cake. According to the book, boiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish, although buttered noodles or steamed rice may be substituted. Serve with a fairly full-bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, Bourdeaux-St. Emilion or Burgundy. Or for a simpler Julia meal, foodandwine.com suggests making quiches, such as bacon and leek, and serve with a lightly honeyed, citrusy white wine, such as 2007 Clos FloridÃne Graves Blanc.

Food and Wine also suggests taking the Julia theme a bit further, making aprons and T-shirts for guests to wear and keep (Spreadshirt.com lets you create your own designs). Decorate them with some classic Julia quotes: "If you're afraid of butter, use cream" or "The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook."

Then top it all off by wearing pearls. Julia Child always wore pearls, at least in every scene of the movie. Pearls go with everything. And just like Julia Child, they're a classic.

Lifestyles reporter Sylvia Anderson may be reached at sylviaanderson@npgco.com.