By now anyone who's interested in food and foodies will have seen Julie and Julia, Nora Ephron's block-busting film about Julia Child's years in France and the modern-day blogger who idolized her.

I have old recipes written by hand on index cards by aunts, cousins. I have recipes from my late stepmother. I have recipes sent to me years ago by a good friend from grad school then living in Italy. I have them still, stained, curled, faded ... and still in regular rotation.

Here's a parenting conundrum for you. Do you get the kids to school on time, or do you let them be 10 minutes late so they can enjoy the highly-touted chocolate croissants you've spent the previous 12 hours preparing?

Even as I stood over my stove stirring the stuff my neighbor inquired skeptically, "Why are you going through the trouble? Your kids aren't gonna eat that, you know."

Emmanuel Delcour isn't the thinking woman's crush. He's not the thinking girl's anything. He's just a beefcake, or whatever the French equivalent is.