Moneyball (2011)

Moneyball (2011) is nominated for 6 Oscars this year, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Brad Pitt as Billy Beane), and Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill as Peter Brand). We were lucky to sneak it in this week before the winners are announced!

still found here

Other recognizable actors in the film include PSH (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and Chris Pratt, from Parks and Rec. Oh, yes, and let's not forget Robin Wright, who played Jenny in Forrest Gump.

still found here

still found here

The movie, based on the true story of Billy Beane, tracks his moves as the Oakland A's general manager in 2002, as he attempts to field a winning team on a low budget, based on computer-generated stats rather than traditional scouting tactics. Beane and Peter Brand, a Yale grad, face abundant criticism and a rocky road as they work to change the way the game is played. The timing was perfect for a baseball movie, with spring training newly underway. It rekindled the excitement of the game, whether you're at the stadium, watching on tv or just listening on the radio. Now when's Phillies opening day?!

Movie Rating

Plot: 5

Cinematography: 4.25

Acting: 5

Average: 4.75

Dinner was "Moneyball" sandwiches, which were made with meatballs tinged green with a bunch of minced herbs. We added sharp provolone melted on the rolls and a side of marinara for dipping. Yum! We had mint chip ice cream for dessert—but sundaes with chocolate sauce and canned whipped cream would have been more appropriate. A couple other dinner ideas are "Beane" burritos, ballpark hot dogs (or maybe these, instead?), or Cup-o-noodles... for the super classy among us. Twinkies and cold cereal both make appearances as well.

Moneyball Sandwiches
Adapted from this recipe
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
4 cups fresh basil
1 cup fresh parsley
1 cup fresh chives
2 thin slices white bread
1/2 cup milk
1/2 lb ground lamb
1/2 lb ground sirloin
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 TB olive oil
4 bakery rolls, sliced
8 thin slices sharp provolone cheese
Your favorite marinara sauce, for serving

DIRECTIONS
Place all the herbs in a food processor to combine. Soak the bread in the milk for 5 minutes, then gently squeeze any excess milk from the bread; discard the milk. Combine the bread with the meat, the minced herbs, the salt and pepper to taste. Shape the mixture into 2-inch balls, you should get about 12.

Pour the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the meatballs in a single layer, working in batches if necessary. Cook, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides, about 10–12 minutes.

When the meatballs are nearly finished cooking, place the rolls under the broiler (or in a toaster oven) to toast lightly. Add two slices of cheese to each roll and broil another 2 minutes until cheese is melted. When meatballs are fully cooked, place three in each roll and serve with a side of marinara sauce.

Dinner Rating

Movie Relevance: 4.25

Taste: 3.875

Average: 4.0625

Warrior (2011)

movie still found here

Nick Nolte is nominated for an Oscar this year for his portrayal of recovering alcoholic father, Paddy Conlon. His two sons Brenden (Joel Edgerton) and Tommy (Tom Hardy) use their tumultuous childhood memories as fuel for the fire as they battle it out in the Ultimate Fighting Ring. Nick Nolte gave the best performance I have ever seen from him and the brothers were not so shabby themselves.

If you are like us, you will wonder where did these guys come from? What have I seen them in before? Its driving me crazy! So here it the low-down:

photo found here 

Joel Edgerton (handsome dude on the right in above picture) has appeared in: Animal Kindom (previously posted by MND2), Star Wars Episode II and III (Owen Lars), King Arthur and other films

photo found here

Tom Hardy (handsome dude on the left in the above picture): will be playing Bane in two upcoming Batman movies and has had a big year appearing in Warrior and Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy. He was also in Inception, Black Hawk Down, and others.

I look forward to catching their performances in these and upcoming films. As for Warrior, we would all recommend it to anyone-it had all the necessary components, great plot, action, superb acting, and lots of tugging on the heart-strings.

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 3.75 stars

Cinematography: 3.5 stars

Acting: 4.25 stars 

Average: 3.8 stars  

Black Eyed Pea Soup with Sage Sausage and Kale

adapted from this recipe

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound bulk pork sausage with sage

1 stalk celery, diced

1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

4 cups chicken stock

1 package brown and wild rice seasoned mix (we used Seeds of Change Persia Seven Whole Grain Pilaf Blend)

2 cans black eyed peas, drained

2 cans diced tomatoes with liquid

1 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

6 ounces kale

parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and cook until all traces of pink are gone. Add one cup chicken stock, celery, sweet red pepper, and onion. Stir well, scraping the bottom to release browned bits. Cook until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, in a large soup pot over medium-high heat, add the remaining 3 cups of chicken stock, the rice mix with seasoning packet and the black eyed peas. Bring to a boil.

Add in the sausage and vegetable mixture along with the tomatoes, water, salt and peper, and red pepper flakes. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the rice is done. 

Add the kale and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Garnish with shaves parmesan cheese.

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 4.8 stars

Taste: 4.8 stars

Average: 4.8 stars

Baked Oatmeal Recipe

I just needed to share this AMAZING recipe for baked oatmeal with you all. Barb's mom made it for us a few weekends ago and i just halved the recipe and made it for Ben and myself this past weekend. I can't get enough! I am looking for any excuse to make it for a movie night-might be great paired with Oliver! or Breakfast at Tiffany's...any other suggestions?

Here is the recipe! Enjoy!

Baked Oatmeal

In a large bowl, beat together 1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil with 3 cups of sugar

Add 6 eggs

Add 2 tablespoons of baking powder

Add 3 teaspoons of salt

Add 8 cups quick oats

Add 3 cups of milk

Add raisins if you like

Pour mixture into a 9" x 13" pan and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick comes out clean. [oil pan if non-stick] Serve with brown sugar, raisins, butter, milk, fresh fruit, etc. I LOVE to add bananas! 

 

50/50 (2011)

50/50, based on the real-life experience of the movie's writer, Will Resier, grapples with cancer and all the crap that comes with it. Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is diagnosed at 27 with a rare spinal cancer, and journeys through the treatment process with the support of his best friend, Kyle (Seth Rogen), therapist (Anna Kendrick), and mom (Anjelica Huston). The movie is both believable and funny, and we stayed awake!

Movie Rating

Plot: 5

Cinematography: 4.7

Acting: 4.8

Average: 4.8

For dinner, I was trying to come up with something made up of two different halves and landed on pizza. I had NO IDEA there would be so much pizza in the movie. Practically every time there was a food scene, pizza made an appearance.

Win-win-win! I picked up the dough from Luigi's Pizza Fresca near work, and we made up the "recipe" for both sides as we went with a few ingredients I wanted to feature. Each side turned out to be surprisingly delicious. A few other food options pulled from the movie: green tea, macaroons—extra points if they're laced with medical marijuana, anything shaved (parmesan? asparagus?), wheatgrass juice, pancakes.

50/50 (White/Red) Pizza

Makes 8 pieces

INGREDIENTS

1 ball of raw dough (next time, I might try this recipe and make it from scratch)

olive oil

flour

White Side:

3 oz. goat cheese

12 raw shrimp, peeled and cut in half lengthwise

1 red bell pepper

3 oz. baby arugula

2 TB olive oil

splash of balsamic vinegar

salt & pepper to taste

Red Side:

1 TB olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

15 oz. fire-roasted crushed tomatoes

salt to taste

1/4 lb. raw mild italian sausage, removed from casing

4 baby portobella mushrooms, sliced

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced

Seasonings:

crushed red pepper

pinch sugar

thyme

oregano

DIRECTIONS

Roast the red bell pepper: turn the broiler on and brush the pepper's skin with olive oil. Place the pepper under the broiler on a rack positioned a few inches away from the heat and rotate as each side is blackened (about 5-8 minutes per side). When the pepper is fully blackened, remove it and place in a bag for a few minutes to steam the skin off. Peel the pepper and slice the flesh into thin strips.

Meanwhile, adjust the oven heat to 500 degrees and place a pizza stone (if using) on a center rack.

Brown the sausage in a saute pan until fully cooked, crumbling into small pieces. Remove crumbled, cooked sausage to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

Wipe the saute pan clean and heat 1 TB olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic clove and saute for a few minutes. Add the can of tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook for approx. 20 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, arrange the dough on a work surface sprinkled lightly with flour. Toss, roll, stretch, etc. to fit the shape of your pizza stone or baking sheet.

When the oven and pizza stone are fully heated, place the dough on the stone with a bit of flour to pre-bake for about 8–10 minutes.

Remove the crust from the oven to arrange the toppings. (Our dough somehow picked up on the tumorous theme of the movie! We're terrible, we know.) On the white side, spread the goat cheese evenly over the crust. Evenly distribute the shrimp and strips of roasted red pepper atop the cheese.

On the red side, spoon the tomato sauce onto the crust and spread out. Sprinkle crumbled sausage over the sauce and top with mushroom slices. Finish this side off with slices of fresh mozzarella cheese. Season the whole pie to taste with a variety of seasonings. We used crushed red pepper, a light pinch of sugar, thyme, and oregano.

Place the pizza back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the fresh mozzarella cheese has melted and begins to bubble. The crust should be a nice golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow the pizza to rest for about 5 minutes before slicing.

While the pizza bakes, whisk 1 TB balsamic vinegar with 2 TB olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the arugula in the vinaigrette. Top the white side of the pizza with the dressed arugula (easiest to do this after it's already been sliced).

Dinner Rating

Movie Relevance: 5

Taste: 4.8
Average: 4.9

We had a first-timer, my neighbor Nate, join us for Movie Night this week. He brought along dessert: a tasty, homemade, orange-cherry bread pudding with bourbon cream based on this recipe. Yum!

The Illusionist (L'illusionniste)

movie stills found here and here

To be clear from the start, no this was not The Illusionist starring Ed Norton. I have not seen that movie yet, but there is a fair chance it was more entertaining than this 2010 nominee for best animated feature. We had been so entertained by The Triplets of Belleville that we were hoping for another gem by director Sylvain Chomet. No doubt it is a beautiful film! However, the plot was slow and uninteresting and when paired with a strictly musical audial experience (a lullaby really) it lead to a big snooze fest.

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 1.5 stars

Cinematography: 4.25 stars

Acting: 3 stars 

Average: 3 stars

For this dinner I had intended to make Scotch Eggs with Croissant French Toast, however, there was a MAJOR mixup at the meat counter in whole foods and they gave me bacon instead of sausage!! Ruination! Luckily, the bacon was incredibly tasty, but I fear I lost points for my movie relevance as I really wanted to throw in a little Scottish cuisine with my French. To save the day, the french toast made with croissants was exquisite.

Croissant French Toast

INGREDIENTS:

9 day-old croissants (I picked ours up from Whole Foods)

6 large eggs

3 cups heavy whipping cream

1 shot whiskey

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS:

Halve the croissants as if you were making sandwiches. 

Whisk together the eggs, cream, whiskey, and cinnamon. Pour the mixture into a large shallow pan. Immerse the croissant halves in the liquid and let them soak for a few minutes, then flip them over and soak them for another minute.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the croissants, a few at a time, until golden on both sides, adding more butter as necessary. As they're cooked, put the croissants in a shallow pan loosely tented with aluminum foil to keep them warm.

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 3.5 stars

Taste: 5 stars

Average: 4.25 stars

Bonus: This was our wine selection for the night which we finished off without a problem.

Howl (2010)

Howl tells the story of the landmark poem by the same name, written in 1955 by Allen Ginsberg (played by James Franco). Lawrence Ferlinghetti, co-founder of City Lights Books in San Francisco, saw Ginsberg perform Howl and telegrammed him shortly afterward saying, "I greet you at the beginning of a great literary career," offering to publish the work. He is taken to court in 1957 on obscenity charges, and this is where the film focuses its plot.

In between shots of the courtroom, we see clips from Ginsberg's formative years, time spent in New York, interspersed with bits of the performance of Howl at the Six Gallery Reading in October of 1955. Pieces of the poem are also animated to add yet another dimension to the film.

There is also a documentary-style interview with Ginsberg happening throughout.

I found the film very interesting and there are a few bits that have stuck with me: Ginsberg's description of "poetry as a rhythmic articulation of feeling" and the idea that prophecy and relevant writing is simply knowing and feeling and communicating something that someone will know and feel and connect with in 100 years.

Movie Rating

Plot: 3.8

Cinematography: 3.2

Acting: 4.2

Average: 3.7

No surprise on the dinner choice, since beets are probably my favorite vegetable...

Beetnik Pasta

Serves 4–6

INGREDIENTS

2 bunches of red beets with greens attached

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

8 oz. whole grain spaghetti

1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese

2 handfuls of fresh chopped basil

4 TB feta cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the greens from the beets and wash everything well.

Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and place them on the rack in the oven. Roast for 40–60 mins. depending on size. You should be able to easily pierce them with a fork when they're done.

Meanwhile, stem the greens and chop them into small pieces or thin ribbons.

Cook the pasta according to package directions (approx. 11 minutes), and reserve the pasta water.

Let the beets cool slightly in the foil once they're removed from the oven, until they're able to be handled, then slip the skin off the beets and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add in the onions and garlic and cook for about five minutes until the onions are translucent. Add in the beet greens and season with some salt and pepper. If you need a little extra liquid, stir in some of the reserved pasta water.

Once the greens have wilted, stir in the chopped beets, fresh basil, pasta, and ricotta cheese. Gently mix until everything is combined and the cheese has coated all of the pasta. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Plate into big bowls and top each with a tablespoon of feta cheese. Enjoy!

Dinner Rating

Movie Relevance: 4.7

Taste: 4.7

Average: 4.7