From PEOPLE Magazine Click to enlarge
Take Hollywood's most Oscar-nominated actress (Meryl Streep), combine with one up-and-comer (Amy Adams), add a heaping helping of gourmet cuisine and—voilà!—a recipe for a summer movie treat. In Julie & Julia Streep, 60, plays the legendary Julia Child as a newcomer to '50s Paris, while Adams, 35, is blogger Julie Powell, who tries to conquer Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In real life the pair let loose—"This dress is 35 years old!" Streep confessed upon seeing Adams's designer duds—and shared some tasty surprises with PEOPLE's Natasha Stonynoff. Bon appétit!

So, I made Julia's Roquefort quiche yesterday from Mastering the Art of French Cooking ...

STREEP: Did you use a bought pastry? Tell us the truth!

Honest, from scratch. But I used my own pastry recipe instead of Julia's.

STREEP AND ADAMS: [In unison] What? Ooooooh! Noooooo!

Did either of you put on weight from all the eating you do in this film?

STREEP: I gained 15 lbs. We ate tarte tatin and chocolate cake and roast chicken and goose ...

ADAMS: ... soup, lobster thermidor ...

What did making this movie teach you about being a great chef?

STREEP: That boning a duck is not that easy, never mind what Julia Child says. It's complicated and it slips out of your hands.

ADAMS: That I can't get the knack of holding the knife right. Everyone kept saying, "Amy, your fingers! Watch your fingers!"

At least today's women don't have to cook in 3-inch heels, like Julia wore.

ADAMS: I cook in heels! I pretty much jog in heels. [To Meryl]

Have you ever seen me in a pair of flat shoes?

STREEP: This is true.

ADAMS: I'm either barefoot or in high heels. I don't have a lot of in-between.

Amy, you got engaged [to actor Darren Le Gallo, 35] during the shoot. Did he hide the ring in a Julia-inspired dessert?

ADAMS: I don't really eat dessert. He knows better than to put it in nachos, 'cause I would have eaten the ring for sure.

So how did he propose?

ADAMS: He got down on his knees. He was begging! [Both laugh]

Julia Child and her husband had a passionate romance. Most people don't really think of her in that way.

STREEP: Julia and Paul had a lifelong love affair. Love comes in all shapes and sizes, and people who share it are very lucky. They have a little halo around them.

This is your second film together. But you don't share one scene!

STREEP: We saw each other once in the hallway. We were ships passing in the night.

You both love to sing. Did you sing a few tunes together shooting Doubt last year?

ADAMS: Well, it wasn't a burst-out-in-song kind of movie. As much as I was tempted to at times.

STREEP: For our third in a series of films together, we're gonna do a musical!

Meryl, you just celebrated your 60th birthday ...

ADAMS: Happy birthday!

Did you do anything special?

STREEP: My girls made me dinner at home and this amazing cake.

From Julia's book?

STREEP: Hmm ... I think it was a Martha Stewart cake.

ADAMS: Oh, noooooo!