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!