The Shop Around The Corner

movie stills found here and here and here

Who knew that "You've Got Mail" starring Tom Hanks was actually based on this adorable little 1940 gem: "The Shop Around The Corner"? Ok, so maybe some of you knew it, but Barb and I had no idea! Basically, in almost the exact same plot line, Alfred Kralik (Jimmy Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullivan) find themselves working at the same retail shop (and incessantly bickering of course) not knowing that all the while they were falling in love with each other through anonymous love letters. I would highly recommend adding this movie to your Christmas Movie list if only to change up the same old selection. It was a great little story then as it was in "You've Got Mail" (Only I have to say, that the ending in the Tom Hanks version where he meets her in the park with the dog sent my heart a little more aflutter than the ending in this 1940's version).

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 4.5 stars

Cinematography: 3.5 stars

Acting: 3.5 stars 

Average: 3.83 stars

Hungarian Goulash

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds boneless pork butt or shoulder trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1/2" pieces

Salt, Pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed

1 pound Polish sausage or kielbasa, cut into 1/2" pieces

1 large onion, chopped

3 cups slices button mushrooms

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds 1 1/2 quarts chicken broth, divided

1 cup flour

3/4 cup water

1 bunch parsley, chopped

2 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces

DIRECTIONS:

Place the pork pieces in a large bowl and season with 1 teaspoon salt and one-fourth teaspoon pepper, tossing the pork so that it is evenly coated.

In a 4-quart, heavy-bottom pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the pork and sauté, stirring frequently, until all the pieces are browned on all sides, about 15 minutes. This may need to be done in batches. Remove the pork to a bowl and set aside.

Add the sausage to the pot ans sauté until the pieces are lightly browned on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Strain and set aside with the sauteéd pork.

Add the onions and mushrooms to the pot, along with a little extra oil if needed. Sauté the vegetables until the onions are lightly colored, stirring frequently. Stir in the garlic, caraway seeds and paprika and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic and spices become fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste, coating the vegetables evenly, and cook for a minute or two until the paste begins to darken in color.

Stir in 2 cups of broth and increase the heat to high. Cook, stirring the contents of the pot and scraping any flavorings from the bottom of the pot, until the mixture coms to a good simmer. Add the pork and sausage back into the pot, along with the rest of the stock.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and water to form a slurry, making sure there are no lumps. Whisk the slurry into the pot, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a strong simmer and cook until the meat is tender and the pork almost falls apart, about 30 minutes. Stir frequently, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot so the flour does not burn.

This goulash was mighty tasty! and sticks right to the ribs for a great winter meal. The only thing I would suggest would be to reduce the slurry by half as well as substituting the kielbasa for bacon or pork belly!

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 4 stars

Taste: 3 stars

Average: 3.5 stars

Billy Elliot

Billy Elliot (2000) was a great, wholesome movie about a boy who simply preferred ballet to boxing. Growing up in a blue-collar household and without a mother, Billy struggled to fit the mold his father had in mind. Jamie Bell plays an adorable Billy... it's too bad he didn't mature a little better, he had such potential...


The soundtrack (heavy on T-Rex and also including the Clash) and overall plot of the movie are wonderful, a definite must-see!

Movie Rating
Plot: 5
Cinematography: 4.375
Acting:4.5
Average: 4.625

For dinner, classic Fish & Chips with a new-to-us side of Mushy Peas.

Fish & Chips
Makes 4–6 servings

INGREDIENTS
For the chips:
2L vegetable oil
2 lb flour potatoes, like russets, peeled and cut into large chips

For the batter:
1 cup plain flour
1 cup beer
2 egg whites, whipped to soft peaks
Salt
4 cod fillets (around 6 oz each)

DIRECTIONS
Pour all of the vegetable oil into a deep pan or deep fat fryer and heat to 300 degrees F. Blanch the cut potatoes in the heated oil until soft, but not colored, about 4 minutes. Remove potatoes from the oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Mix together the flour and beer, then fold in the whipped egg whites.


Turn up the heat of the oil to 350 degrees F. Dip the fish in the batter and fry for a few minutes, adding the potatoes back in to finish up to a nice golden brown.

Remove all the food from the oil and drain on paper towels or kitchen paper. Serve with cider vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Minty Mushy Peas
Serves 4–6

INGREDIENTS
2 TB olive oil
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 handful fresh mint, leaves picked
1 lb frozen peas
2 large knobs butter
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a pan and add the chopped onions, mint, and peas.


Cover and leave for a few minutes to steam. Mash with a potato masher. You can do this in a food processor instead, just pulse it until smooth. When finished, add the butter and season carefully to taste.

*Note: We mashed the peas in the pan with a fork, but I think I would have liked them better processed into a more uniform consistency.


Dinner Rating
Movie Relevance: 5
Taste: 4
Average: 4.5

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

movie stills found here and here

This movie was highly recommended by surprising sources: dudes. Shockingly, this seemingly romantic comedy is in fact not like the others in its category. Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is a middle-aged guy whose wife has an affair and is scooped up while at a bar wallowing in his misery, not by a woman, but instead by Jacob (Ryan Gosling) who helps him man up, dress up, and get back in the dating game. Its a nice story about the many different types of love and is one of those rare movies that you can watch again and again.

And now, for some great quotes from the movie:

Emily to Cal: "You know, last week, you know when I told you that I had to work late. I really went to see the new 'Twilight' movie by myself, I don't know why I did that, and it was so bad, Cal."

Jacob: "The war between the sexes is over. We won the second women started doing pole dancing for exercise."

Jacob to Cal: "Lets talk about how many women you've been with."
Cal: "Sexually?"
Jacob: "Yeah, no. I mean break-dance fighting."

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 4.375 stars

Cinematography: 4.25 stars

Acting: 4.5 stars 

Average: 4.375 stars

Peanut Butter and Bacon Burgers with Zucchini Fries: A dish we were hoping would be so "Crazy" that we would "Love It"

BURGERS

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 lbs ground sirloin
1 teaspoon (about 6 sprigs) fresh thyme
1 small shallot, very finely minced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons grill seasoning (we just went with some S & P)
4 hamburger buns
4 tablespoons of peanut butter
4 slices of thick-cut bacon, cooked until crispy

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, combine all the sirloin, thyme, shallot, worcestershire sauce, paprika, and seasoning until well mixed. Form into 4 patties. Cook the burgers on a pre-heated grill approximately 3-4 minutes per side until desired doneness. Top each burger with one tablespoon peanut butter and a slice of bacon.

FRIES

INGREDIENTS
Tomato coulis
1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, cored, and diced
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon minced shallot or onion
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Fries
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
3 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 2-inch long and 1/4 inch thick pieces (peel first)

DIRECTIONS
Combine all the coulis ingredients in a blender and purée. Transfer to a sauté pan and cook over medium heat until fragrant and warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Place the flour in another medium bowl and the beaten eggs in a smaller bowl.
Dip the zucchini sticks first in the flour and then in the beaten eggs. Roll them in the breadcrumb mixture until well covered.
Transfer the zucchini sticks to a nonstick baking sheet and bake until the zucchini is tender, but the coating is crisp, about 20 minutes. Serve with the coulis.

PLEASE NOTE: These fries were NOT good. Please do not make them, or if you do, try a different recipe? They were kind of soggy and bitter. Alas, I hate when my side dish choices bring down the ratings of the entire meal, because the burger was quite tasty!!

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 3.5 stars

Taste: 3 stars

Average: 3.25 stars

Tree of Life

movie stills found here and here

I dont think I will spend too much time reliving this movie.

To describe it, here is some loose word association:
Brad Pitt; amoebas; volcanoes; Brad Pitt; Sean Penn; dinosaurs; cosmos; Brad Pitt's kid is angry.

What? Did that make any sense to you? It didn't make any sense to us either.
Although this movie was VERY beautiful, we were so close to turning the movie off half-way through–which would have been a Movie Night and Dinner Too! first... but we stayed the course to make sure we would give it an accurate review. And here it is: Dont watch this movie it was TERRIBLE. 

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 0 stars

Cinematography: 3 stars

Acting: 2.5 stars 

Average: 2.75 stars

However, the dinner was AMAZING! Must make soup for the holidays.

Celery Root Bisque

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup coarsely chopped shallots (about 3 large)
2 pounds celery roots (celeriac), peeled, woody parts trimmed and discarded, cut into 1/2" cubes (about 5 1/2 cups)
1 10-ounce russet potato, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

1/4 cup whipping cream
Additional chopped fresh thyme

DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add celery; cover and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add shallots; sauté uncovered 3 minutes. Stir in celery root cubes and potato, then broth and 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme. Increase heat to high; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly.
Working in batched, transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate.)
Stir cream into soup and bring to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with additional chopped thyme and serve.

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 3.5 stars

Taste: 5 stars

Average: 4.25 stars