Blue Valentine

Our movies have been somewhat depressing lately, with no change this week. Blue Valentine (2010) stars Michelle Williams (in an Oscar-nominated role) and Ryan Gosling as Cindy and Dean, who have fallen out of love and struggle daily to maintain their relationship in rural Pennsylvania.

Flashbacks to the happiness of their early romance make the collapse of their relationship even more poignant, and though the movie was seriously sad, I found myself thoroughly enjoying many of the scenes from the couple's younger days for their quirkiness and lighthearted feel.

The music (soundtrack by Grizzly Bear) was outstanding throughout, and my favorite takeaway from the movie was a featured song by Penny and the Quarters (listen to it here). Movie still found here.

Movie Rating

Plot: 3.5 stars

Cinematography: 4.25 stars

Acting: 3.75 stars
Average: 3.83 stars

We award Blue Valentine the prize for:

BEST CLOSING CREDITS SEQUENCE--a beautiful selection of clips that fade in and out in the background through fireworks.

On to dinner...

Cordon Bleu Stuffed Portobellos and Blueberry Syrup over Vanilla Ice Cream

Researching "bleu/blue" foods provided a lot of options, but I had a hankering for roasted portobello mushrooms, so I ended up devising the recipe for this twist on Chicken Cordon Bleu myself. I substituted mushroom caps for the chicken and made the ham/swiss/breadcrumb into a stuffing. The results were pretty good, but if I made it again I'd add couscous, rice, or bread to the stuffing to give it a bit more body. The movie takes place right around the Fourth of July, making the blueberry syrup an even more appropriately seasonal pairing!

Dinner Rating

Movie Relevance: 4 stars

Taste: 3.5 stars
Average: 3.75 stars

CORDON BLEU STUFFED PORTOBELLOS

Makes 3 large stuffed mushroom caps

Ingredients

3 large portobello mushrooms

3 TB extra virgin olive oil, divided

salt and pepper

1 shallot, minced

6-7 oz. ham, diced small

1/4 cup minced parsley

1/2 cup shredded cheese (we used emmentaler, but gruyere would be tasty too!)

1/3 cup panko

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove stems from mushrooms and scoop out gills with a spoon, reserving both. Brush mushroom caps with 1 TB of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the mushrooms by themselves for 3 minutes, then remove from oven (but keep the oven on).

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat 1 TB oil over medium high heat. Add the minced shallot and cook for 1 minute. Mince the mushroom stems and gills and add to the pan. Add the minced ham and cook for an additional 5 to 8 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated from the pan. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.

In a small bowl, stir together panko, remaining 1 TB of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste, until the oil is evenly distributed.

Now it's time to assemble the 'shrooms: fill each cap with 1/3 of the ham mixture, top with 1/3 of the shredded cheese (this acts as a binder once the cheese melts, holding everything together), and finish with a scoop of panko. Return to the hot oven to finish roasting, about 4 minutes or until topping is golden brown and cheese has melted.

BLUEBERRY SYRUP

Makes about 4 cups (we halved it)

Ingredients

5 cups blueberries, rinsed

3 cups water

1 cup Turbinado sugar (white sugar works fine too)

1 lemon

Directions

Peel three or four strips of lemon zest from the lemon. Pieces should be about 1/2" wide and not have too much of the bitter white pith on them. Juice the lemon and set both zest and juice aside.

Place blueberries and 1 cup of the water in a medium saucepan. No need to worry about stems--they will be strained out later. Using a potato masher (or the back of a large serving spoon if, like me, you don't have a masher!), crush the berries.

Bring the berries and water to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture will almost immediately develop a gorgeous, deep purple hue.

Turn off the heat and ladle berries into a fine-mesh sieve set over a heat-proof bowl. Press on the berry solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard solids.

Rinse out the saucepan, then add remaining 2 cups of water, lemon zest, and sugar. Bring to a boil and continue to boil rapidly, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes or until the mixture thickens.

Add 2 TB of lemon juice (or to taste) and stir to combine, boiling another minute or two. Remove from heat and allow syrup to cool. Discard lemon zest.

Pour syrup into clean jar(s) and store in the refrigerator. Drizzle over ice cream, pancakes, waffles, or whatever you prefer!

Some of the other foods featured in the movie:

instant oatmeal with raisins

meatloaf with green beans and mashed potatoes

chocolate ice cream cone

salad

spaghetti (with a glass of milk)

Another Year

Another Year (2010) directed by Mike Leigh is a film we didn't want to wait another year to watch. (ha! I know, that was terrible writing...) With an Oscar nod for best writing and several other Award nominations for acting, we had high hopes for a wonderful film. Set in London, the story revolves around Tom and Gerri, a blissfully married couple and their interactions with their closest friends and family over the course of a year. Having seen the trailers, I did not expect that Tom and Gerry's friend Mary (played by Lesley Manville) was such an integral part of the film–I must say Lesley's performance was phenomenal. While this was a lovely film and the acting was superb, there was some dozing off during many of the slow segments which I believe stemmed from the lack of a substantially interesting central plot. 

We give this movie the prize for: 

BEST MAIN CHARACTER NAMES—Tom and Gerri—too cute!)

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 3 stars

Cinematography: 3.125 stars

Acting: 4.125 stars

Average: 3.42 stars

Movie stills found here.

Toad in the Hole

definition: a traditional english dish consisting of sausages in a batter, usually served with vegetables and an onion gravy. The name derives from the dish's resemblance to a toad sticking its head out of a hole.

I could translate this from the English way it was written, but that would take away its charm. I have provided the conversion though!

Ingredients:

100g (7/8 cup) flour

1/2 tsp English mustard powder

1 egg

300ml (1.5 cups) milk

3 thyme sprigs, leaves only

8 plain pork sausages

2 TB sunflower oil

2 onions, peeled and sliced

1 tsp brown sugar

500ml (2.1 cups) beef stock

Directions:

Make the Batter: Heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius (420F). Tip the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir in the mustard powder with a good pinch of salt. Make a well in the center, crack in the egg, then pour in a dribble of milk. Stir with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporating some of the flour, until you have a smooth batter in the well. Now add a bit more milk and continue stirring until all the milk and flour has been mixed together.

The batter is ready: You should now have a smooth, lump-free batter that is the consistency of double cream. Tip it back into the jug you measured your milk in, for easier pouring later on, then stir in the thyme. Use scissors to snip the links between the sausages, then drop them in a 20 x 30 cm roasting tin. Add one tablespoon of the oil, tossing the sausages in it thoroughly to coat the base of the tin, then roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

Cook the batter: Take the hot tray from the oven, then quickly pour in the batter—it should sizzle and bubble a little when it first hits the pan. Put it back into the oven, then bake for 40 minutes until the batter is cooked through, well risen, and crisp. If you poke the tip of a knife into the batter in the middle of the tray it should be set, not sticky or runny.

Make the gravy: Soften the onions with the remaining oil in a large non-stick frying pan for about 20 minutes, stirring often, until they are golden brown. Sprinkle in the sugar for the final 5 minutes. Add the spoonful of flour, then cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes so it coats the onions and there is no dry flour left. Gradually pour in the stock, stirring well to make a smooth sauce. Bubble for 4–5 minutes to thicken, then season. Cut the toad in the hole into large wedges and serve with gravy spooned over.

We served this with pan-seared tomatoes, simply prepared by cutting plum tomatoes in half vertically and placing them cut side down in a hot, oiled, skillet for 5–10 minutes.

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 3.75 stars

Taste: 4.5 stars

Average: 4.125 stars

Tom and Gerri were adorable while working in their vegetable garden or cooking together in their kitchen. Other foods that would pair really well with this movie are:
wine, tea, thyme, french press coffee, tomatoes and other garden vegetables, salad, curry, cake

Biutiful

Last week's movie night featured Biutiful (2010), starring Javier Bardem and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (who also directed Babel). This one's been on the list since Oscar nominations were released--it was nominated for two: Foreign Language Film and Actor in a Leading Role. Bardem's character, Uxbal, is a single father raising his son and daughter amongst the gritty underworld of modern-day Barcelona. Plauged by prostate cancer, his ex-wife, and some serious guilt, we watched his haunting deterioration.

Our dinner, Dirty Rice, was inspired by the sordid, grimy world Uxbal has surrounded himself with. This was a fantastic recipe--easy, quick, and richly flavorful thanks to the combination of ground pork and shrimp. Typically, Dirty Rice is "dirtied" by chicken giblets, none of which are found here (thankfully). We have yet to approach the world of animal innards when it comes to recipe selection!

DIRTY RICE WITH SHRIMP

serves 4 generously, 6 adequately

adapted from this recipe

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground pork

1 TB cooking oil

1 onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh-ground black pepper

1 1/2 c brown rice

3 c chicken broth

1 lb medium shrimp, shelled and halved

2 scallions, chopped

Directions

In a large saucepan, over moderate heat, brown the pork. Reduce the heat to moderately low and add the oil to the pan. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the cayenne, paprika, oregano, bay leaf, salt, black pepper, and rice. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 50 minutes or until rice is tender.

Raise the heat to moderate and stir in the shrimp. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand, covered, until the rice and shrimp are just done, about 5 minutes longer. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the scallions.

The one thing I might do differently to make the recipe even more appropriate to the movie would be to swap some (or maybe all?) of the pork for a Spanish-style sausage, like chorizo. Adjust the amount of cayenne according to the spice in the sausage since it may not need much extra heat.

As is usual, a multitude of other meal and food options were revealed throughout the movie: pan fried fish, fried eggs, omelet with potatoes (or with apple), sausages, cinnamon custard, cold cereal with milk and sugar, arroz con pollo, spaghetti, tea and bread, mango ice cream (or chocolate or cookies n' cream).

Double Indemnity

Thursday, June 2 (can you belive it is JUNE already?!) we watched Double Indemnity and supped on Double-Baked Sweet Potatoes with a side of summer squash.

"You think you are such a hot potato as a claims manager; such a wolf on a phony claim... Maybe y'are. But let's look at that Dietrichson claim... accident and double indemnity. You were pretty good in there for a while Keyes... you said it wasn't an accident, check. You said it wasn't suicide, check. You said it was murder, check" – Walter Neff

Double Indemnity starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck was written and directed by the great Billy Wilder (The Apartment, Some Like it Hot, etc). Walter Neff is an insurance salesman falls madly and instantly in love with a crazy dame who is looking to get rid of her husband. Under the watchful eye of his own insurance company Walter conceives of a scheme to do just that and cash in on the double indemnity clause in her husband's insurance policy. My favorite tagline from this movie (1944) is: "From the moment they met it was murder!" While not my favorite Billy Wilder movie, it was thrilling even though the motive for murder—"love at first sight" was a little hard for me to believe.


These hot potatoes are highly recommended!! Baked fully in salt and loaded with sour cream, butter, and pancetta, they become savory instead of overly sweet as sweet potatoes can sometimes be.

Double-Baked Sweet Potatoes with chipotle chili sour cream adapted from this recipe
Ingredients:
3 medium sweet potatoes*
1 box kosher salt
3 slices pancetta, diced
3 green onions, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sour cream
handful of gouda parrano cheese, grated

Chipotle Chili Sour Cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder

*we only made 2 large potatoes, but used the same amounts for the rest of the ingredients

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a deep baking dish with foil. Fill with kosher salt about halfway full. Bury the potatoes in the salt and cover with remaining salt. Bake until soft inside, about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the potatoes.

While potatoes are cooking, cook the pancetta until golden. Add the green onions, stir and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. Once the potatoes are cooked, remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Slice in half. Gently remove the flesh, leaving a slight lining so as not to go through the skin of the potato. Put the flesh into a mixing bowl and mash with a fork. Add the pancetta mixture, butter and sour cream, stir until mixed. Stuff the skins with the mixture of sweet potatoes. Put the stuffed potatoes on a baking sheet and slide into a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Top with a spoonful of chipotle cream. We served our potatoes with sautéed yellow squash with shallots.