Hanna (2011)

Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a 16-year-old, genetically mutated, and trained killer who is raised by her father (an ex-CIA agent played by Eric Banna) in the woods of Finland and trained to be the perfect assassin. Instead of a sweet-sixteen party however, she is sent into the world to confront the woman who will try to murder her—CIA agent Marissa (Cate Blanchett). Outside of the Finnish woods, she finds herself longing for a regular life all the while being locked in the ultimate chic fight with Marissa. I have to give this movie props for its plot originality: Lets pit two ultimate warriors against each other (we all know this has been done before) but this time, lets make it a 16-year-old girl battling a badass Cate Blanchett.

movie stills found here 

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 4.5 stars

Cinematography: 4 stars

Acting: 4 stars 

Average: 4.167 stars

We made a GLORIOUS dinner to accompany this movie: Finnish Oven Baked Pancakes. 

I highly recommend that everyone try this recipe!!

INGREDIENTS:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cut into 3 or 4 pieces

4 large eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup milk , preferably whole

1 pinch of salt

up to 4 tablespoons sugar, optional

splash of vanilla extract, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. When the oven temperature reaches about 300 degrees, place an 8- or 9-inch cake pan or 10-inch pie plate in the oven with butter in it. The butter should melt, but not brown, while the oven finishes heating.

Place the eggs, flour, milk, salt, sugar, and vanilla (if using) in the carafe of a blender, Fix the cover in place and blend on high, stopping to scrape the sides, if necessary, until the mixture is smooth and even.

When the oven is fully heater, and the butter is melted, pull the oven rack out far enough to work safely and pour the batter into the hot pan. 

Push the rack back into the oven and bake for 30–40 minutes, or until the oven pancake has puffed quite high and is a deep golden brown. You can test the doneness by inserting a knife or toothpick–if it comes out clean, it is done. Remove the pan from the oven, cut immediately (it will deflate some, so dont worry!) and serve topped as desired.

Here are some topping ideas:

If you add the sugar and the vanilla:

Powdered sugar (We tried this-yum!)

A handful of fresh berries

A sprinkle of brown sugar and drizzle of maple syrup (we also tried the syrup-yum yum!)

A dollop of fruit jame (we used my favorit blueberry jam-yum yum yum!)

Apples sauteed in butter and caramel sauce

A dollop of sweetened whip cream

If you omit the sugar:

Sausage gravy and chopped green onions

Beef or Venison stew (Venison stew would be PERFECT for Hanna who kills and skins a Reindeer-ew)

Gravy

Other menu ideas for this movie: Any kind of woodland game-venison, reindeer, rabbit, etc.

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 4 stars

Taste: 5 stars

Average: 4.5 stars

Win Win

movie still found here 

I was really hoping I would get to say this and I can!: Win Win was a win win! This was one of the best modern dramas I have seen in a while. The acting was superb, the plot original and identifiable, and the cinematography made everything that was stale about the characters lives seem fresh and hopeful. The movie tells the story of a lawyer struggling to make ends meet for his family whilst coaching the local high school wrestling team.  To alleviate his financial woes he finds a loophole with one of his clients and signs up to be his caretaker for the monthly stipend. Trying to juggle careers and families, his secret becomes harder to keep under wraps when the client's grandson comes into his life. Win Win is a poignant tale of love and morality.

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 5 stars

Cinematography: 4.5 stars

Acting: 5 stars 

Average: 4.83 stars

Power Foods: Sweet Potato with Kale and Ricotta

INGREDIENTS

4 medium sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced crosswise

1 bunch kale (about 1.25 pounds) thick stems removed, leaves torn into large pieces and washed with water left clinging

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and rub with 1 tablespoon oil. Bake until easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife (I always use a fork...), 45 minuted to an hour

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. 

Add as much kale as will fit in the skillet; season with salt and pepper. Continue to add kale as the leaves cook down. Cook, tossing frequently until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and red-pepper flakes. 

Open each potato; add salt and pepper. Top with ricotta and kale. 

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 3.75 stars

Taste: 4.5 stars

Average: 4.125 stars

Somewhere

Somewhere (2011, directed by Sofia Coppola) chronicles the life of Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff), who's a successful Hollywood actor with tons of money but not much else going on in his life. The exception is his 11-year old daughter, Cleo (Elle Fanning), who comes to stay with him unexpectedly for a couple of weeks.

(movie stills found here)

There are many slow, quiet scenes in the film that almost verge on boring, however, you see a lot of Hollywood/LA surroundings including Chateau Marmont, where Johnny lives. Eric's favorite parts were Johnny's Black Flag t-shirt and black Ferrari 360 Modena. Other actors making appearances: Chris Pontius of Jackass fame and Benicio Del Toro.

Movie Rating

Plot: 2.75 stars

Cinematography: 3.75 stars

Acting: 3.25 stars
Average: 3.25 stars

Our meal was taken straight from the movie, specifically a scene where Cleo calls room service for the ingredients to make macaroni and cheese rather than ordering the finished product. We used a slightly more grown-up recipe--including bacon and beer! Even our snack and dessert find tie-ins this week: we roasted chickpeas in a za'atar-like spice blend to mimic an item on Bar Marmont's actual appetizer menu. For dessert, we had tea and shortbread cookies (inspired by Cleo and Johnny's underwater tea party).

Crispy Chickpeas a la Bar Marmont

Slightly adapted from this recipe

Serves 4 as a snack

INGREDIENTS

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 TB olive oil

1 TB dried thyme

1 TB lemon pepper seasoning (check salt content)

1 TB sesame seeds

1 TB oregano

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 450.

Toast the sesame seeds lightly in a nonstick pan, then transfer to a blender along with the thyme, lemon pepper, and oregano. Blend until combined.

Spread the chickpeas out on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil to coat. Top with a thick coating of seasoning blend, adding salt if needed.

Roast at 450 for 20-30 minutes or until the chickpeas are crunchy and brown.

Cleo's Mac and Cheese (but with beer & bacon)

Serves 4–6

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups uncooked whole wheat pasta shells (or elbows)

2 TB butter

2 TB flour

1 cup milk

1 cup beer

8 oz. freshly grated cheddar cheese

4 oz. freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp paprika

pinch of black pepper

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup panko

10 large basil leaves, chopped for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Prepare water for pasta and boil according to directions, shaving 1–2 minutes off of cooking time since pasta will continue to cook in the oven. Return cooked noodles to the pot.

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat and add butter. Once melted and sizzling, whisk in flour to create a roux and cook until bubbly and golden, about 2 minutes. Add milk and beer to saucepan and whisk constantly, then add cheeses and stir until melted. Turn heat down to medium and continue to stir, cooking for 5-6 minutes while the mixture thickens. Stir in pepper, paprika, and nutmeg.

Pour cheese sauce and bacon over cooked pasta, stir, and transfer to a casserole dish. Top with panko and additional cheese if desired. Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes, then top with fresh basil and serve.

Dinner Rating

Movie Relevance: 5 stars

Taste: 3.5 stars
Average: 4.25 stars

There was a ton of other food in the movie--Cleo also makes eggs benedict, they eat gelato, french fries, there's a breakfast scene, and toward the end Johnny makes (way too much) spaghetti with marinara sauce. He drinks Corona throughout the movie and orange juice makes a few appearances as well.

Bridesmaids

As soon as I heard about Bridesmaids, I knew it would make for a great movie night.

(movie images found here)

I invited Janette so that my two local bridesmaids would be in attendance, and my mom even came down for the affair. Granted, my mom's visit was mostly to pick up the grand-dog so they could watch her while I spent a long weekend with Eric in Oklahoma for graduation and his winging ceremony (yay!!!).

Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph star as best friends Annie and Lillian (the bride), with a cameo by Tim Heidecker (who plays the groom), and a great new face--Chris O'Dowd--as Officer Nathan Rhodes. Jon Hamm is in it, but truthfully, he plays such a sucky character it's hard for me to remember he was in it. It's funny, it's touching, and it's over the top. We enjoyed it for sure. Who knows, maybe we'll all jam out to Annie Lennox/Walking on Broken Glass after our ceremony?!

Movie Rating

Plot: 4.75 stars

Cinematography: 4 stars

Acting: 4.875 stars

Average: 4.5+ stars

A Brazilian meal seemed most fitting since the scene showing the aftermath of the Brazilian meal in the movie is EPIC. Luckily our food didn't have the same effects!

I personally was less than pleased with the dish, mostly because I came across more than a few bones and practically nothing makes me more irritated while eating than finding fish bones in my food. It didn't help that hunting down the red snapper was a bit of a challenge in the first place and made the meal slightly pricey. I do, however, think it was the best fish for the stew as it held together really well and had a good texture and flavor.

Moqueca (Brazilian Fish Stew)

Slightly adapted from this recipe

Serves 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

For the Piri Piri:

1 TB + 1/2 cup olive oil

5 cloves garlic, smashed

4 cayenne chile peppers, stemmed, ribs and seeds removed, roughly chopped

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

For the stew:

2 1/2 pounds red snapper, cut into 2-inch pieces (or sub with grouper, red fish, flounder, striped bass, escolar or any other white fleshed fish)

1 cup roughly chopped onion, plus 1 cup julienned onion

2 cups roughly chopped tomatoes, plus 2 tomatoes sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

2 cloves garlic, plus 1 TB minced garlic

5 TB chopped fresh cilantro leaves

3 TB fresh-squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup Piri Piri (recipe included)

1 (14.5 oz) can coconut milk

salt

steamed white rice (for serving)

DIRECTIONS

Start with the Piri Piri. Heat a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 TB of the olive oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and peppers to the pan. Saute, stirring often, until the edges of the garlic start to turn brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the lemon juice to the pan and remove from the heat.

Place the contents of the saute pan in a blender and add the salt. Puree the peppers and garlic in the blender until mostly smooth. Drizzle the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil through the feed tube of the lid of the blender. Let cool before using, and store unused portion in an airtight container in the fridge.

Next, make the marinade for the fish by blending together the chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 TB cilantro, 1 tsp salt, and lime juice. Put the fish in a large plastic Ziploc bag and pour the marinade over. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Once fish has marinated, heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, and once hot, add the julienned onions to the pan and saute, stirring often until translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic to the pan and saute an additional 30 seconds. Pour the fish and marinade into the saute pan and add the remaining teaspoon of salt, the Piri Piri, and the coconut milk and stir to combine. Once the liquid comes to a boil, dot the top of the pan with the sliced tomatoes and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until the flesh starts to flake, about 10 minutes.

Remove the cover from the pan and sprinkle the remaining 4 TB of cilantro over the fish. Serve accompanied by steamed white rice.

Dinner Rating

Movie Relevance: 4.625 stars

Taste: 3.875 stars

Average: 4.25 stars

Thanks to everyone for attending!

The Ninth Gate

Well, I finally caved in and we watched one of Ben's picks for movie night this past week. The Ninth Gate, (directed by Roman Polanski and starring Johnny Depp) follows Dean Corso as the stony-hearted rare book dealer paid to seek and compare three copies of demonic texts thought to be co-authored by Lucifer himself. This movie, albeit strange and fairly predictable, was still very entertaining. I just wish Roman had spent just a smidgen of time researching how archivists would handle such documents. Ashing on them-really? To accompany this demonic film, we made Deviled Egg sammies (found via TasteSpotting.

Movie Still found here.

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 3.5 stars

Cinematography: 3 stars

Acting: 2.5 stars 

Average: 3 stars

DEVILed Egg Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS:

6 hard-cooked eggs

1/2 cup mayonaisse

1 tablespoon jalepeno mustard

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon mustard powder

2 tablespoons hot/sweet peppadews, minced

parsley

nutty wheat bread

lettuce

pickled onions (recipe below)

salt and pepper 

DIRECTIONS: 

Halve each hard-boiled egg lengthwise, scoop out yolks, and place in a bowl. Add mayo, jalepeno mustard, paprika, curry powder, salt and pepper, mustard powder, parsley, and peppadews. Mix until creamy. Chop the egg whites then stir into the mayonnaise mixture. Serve atop the toasted bread with pickled onion rings and lettuce.

Pickled Onions

INGREDIENTS: 

2 red onions, sliced

1 cup cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

Blanch 2 sliced red onions in a small saucepan of boiling water, cover for one minute, drain in a colander. Return them to the pan, add the vinegar and salt plus just enough cold water to cover the onions. Bring to a boil over high heat and simmer for one minute. Transfer onions to a bowl and chill.

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 4 stars

Taste: 3 stars

Average: 3.5 stars

Miller's Crossing

"What's the rumpus?" Miller's Crossing was yet another passive movie choice on my part—it happened to be at the top of my Netflix (or wait, isn't it Qwikster now?!) queue and before I thought to update it, it was in the mail. It found its way to my queue in the first place because it is an early Coen brothers film and I'd heard good things about it.

(image found here)

Some expected faces appear: Gabriel Byrne as lead character Tom Reagan, John Turturro as Bernie Bernbaum—Steve Buscemi even has a small part—as well as Marcia Gay Harden as Verna. The character I based our dinner on, however, was Johnny Caspar. Played by Jon Polito, Johnny is the only Italian guy in the midst of a gang of Irish mobsters. The movie is set probably in New York/north Jersey during Prohibition. The beautiful scenery throughout is courtesy of New Orleans but the film doesn't take place there. Too bad, I love Cajun food!

Movie Rating

Plot: 2.5 stars

Cinematography: 3.5 stars

Acting: 3 stars

Average: 3 stars

Our dinner, Wiseguy Spaghetti (Squash) and Meatballs, was eye-opening and tasty even though we did a pretty bad job of following the recipe. Neither Lindsey or I had ever made spaghetti squash, but I can tell you confidently that we both will make it again. How cool that when you roast this big yellow beast, its flesh turns into vermicelli-thin strands! I still can't get over it. I'll give you the recipe as it was intended. Our mistake was using ALL the onion in the meatballs which made them pretty potent. We ended up breaking them up to form more of a hearty meat sauce so we could tolerate (and disperse!) the flavor. Even with our flub, I ate all the leftovers--yum!

Our snack was a simple tray of marinated fresh mozzarella balls, grape tomatoes, olives and peppadews with sliced baguette. Delish! We also tried spreading some of the minced sun-dried tomatoes on the baguette—very good indeed.

Wiseguy Spaghetti (Squash) and Meatballs

(adapted from this recipe)

INGREDIENTS

1 large spaghetti squash

1 lb. Italian sausage, casing removed (I used mild)

1/2 lb. lean ground beef

1 cup drained and rinsed cannellini beans

1 medium red onion, roughly chopped, divided

3 large carrots, roughly chopped, divided

5 cloves of garlic, peeled, divided

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

2 TB pre-minced sun-dried tomatoes, jarred

2 eggs

1/2 cup chopped parsley, divided

1/4 cup chopped basil

2 28-oz. cans crushed tomatoes

1 14-oz. can tomato sauce

1 1/2 TB balsamic vinegar

3 TB olive oil, divided

2 1/2 tsp salt, divided

Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, length-wise, scrape out and discard the seeds. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the squash cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the beans, 1/2 the onion, 1 carrot, and 3 cloves of garlic in a food processor. Puree until completely smooth. In a large bowl, place the sausage and ground beef along with the bean puree. Add crushed red pepper, 1 1/2 tsp salt, both eggs and 3 TB of the parsley. Mix by hand until completely blended.

Shape mixture into 12 meatballs and place on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Place in the oven along with the squash for 30 minutes.

To make the sauce, add the remaining onion, carrots and garlic to the food processor. Pulse until well chopped but not pureed. Heat 2 TB of olive oil in a large sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add teh chopped veggies and saute for 5 minutes to soften. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tsp salt, pepper, remaining parsley and basil. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Cover and continue to simmer until meatballs are finished baking.

Remove the meatballs from the oven and carefully transfer them into the sauce. Add the balsamic vinegar and simmer another 15 minutes so the flavors combine.

Once the spaghetti squash has cooled, use a fork to scrape the flesh into strands and place in serving dishes. Top each pile of squash with sauce and meatballs.

Serve with a nice crusty baguette. Mangia!

Dinner Rating

Movie Relevance: 3.5 stars

Taste: 3.5 stars

Average: 3.5 stars

The Searchers

We're back from our western adventure vacation to Flat Creek Ranch in Jackson Hole Wyoming! The Searchers was our last movie in honor of the west before we packed up and went out WEST! 

The Searchers was classic. John Wayne was by far the BEST actor in the bunch in addition to having the best 'mosey'. He plays Ethan Edwards, a civil war veteran, who dedicates years to the search and recovery of his niece who was abducted by Indians. 

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 2.5 stars

Cinematography: 2.5 stars

Acting: 2.75 stars (Personally, I thought John Wayne's performance was pretty great, but the rest of the cast was just terrible!)

Average: 2.5 stars

We made Cherry Chipotle Chili-YUM!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive olive

1/2 pound lean ground turkey

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 medium carrots, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes

Directions:

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook turkey with salt and pepper, stirring, until browned, 5–10 minutes. Add carrots, onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots soften, 3–5 minutes.

Stir in chili powder. Add tomatoes, cherries, chipotles, bay leaves and 1/3 cup water; bring to a boil. 

Reduce to a simmer; cook, stirring once or twice, until chili thickens, 10–15 minutes. Add beans; cook 2 minutes. Flavor with chipotle sauce to taste. Remove bay leaves. Divide chili among 4 bowls. Top each with one tablespoon yogurt and garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 3 stars

Taste: 4 stars

Average: 3.5 stars