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)