A River Runs Through It

I chose installment #2 in our pre-vacation movie series for its fly fishing focus as well as and the beauty of the Montana landscape and the Big Blackfoot River. Watching all that casting has to have helped our chances for success fishing the Flat Creek in Wyoming, right?!

A River Runs Through It (1992) is directed and narrated by Robert Redford, won the Best Cinematography Oscar in 1993, and was nominated for two others. The movie tells the story of the Maclean boys, Norman (Craig Sheffer) and Paul (Brad Pitt), centering around their love of fly fishing which was instilled in them by their father (Tom Skerritt). It was an all-around great movie. I've got a new insult up my sleeve--Norman calls his future brother-in-law Neil a "world-class peckerwood". Great.

Movie stills found here.

Movie Rating

Plot: 4.5 stars

Cinematography: 4.75 stars

Acting: 4.5 stars

Average: 4.58 stars

Naturally, we had to have trout for dinner. Now, trout is not a fish I would have typically been drawn to for prepping at home, but it certainly will be from now on. It was affordable and so tasty, and I know it would be good with an even simpler preparation--not that this was difficult in the least.

Trout with Lemons, Capers and Croutons with Roasted Vegetable Tian

Slightly adapted from this recipe

Serves 4

I suggest starting with the Tian. The trout can be started and finished while the veggies roast away in the oven, smelling all delicious.

INGREDIENTS

Trout:

4 TB olive oil, separated

2 slices good-quality white bread, cut into 1/8" cubes

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 brook/mountain trout, filleted

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 TB butter

2 lemons (1 segmented and finely chopped, 1 juiced)

1 TB capers

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Tian:

2 zucchini, thinly sliced

2 tomatoes, thinly sliced

2 baking potatoes, thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup finely chopped chervil (or sub parsley, like we did!)

salt and freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

Tian:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush an 8-inch baking dish with olive oil and arrange the vegetables in the dish, alternating rows of the different vegetables. We had great success alternating zucchini, potato, tomato.

Drizzle all over with olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with minced garlic. Bake for 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chervil/parsley and more salt and pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature. NOTE: This makes a wonderful left over meal with an over-easy fried egg on top!

Trout:

Heat 2 TB of oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat, and saute bread cubes until golden brown and toasty. Remove to a plate. Season each fillet on both sides with salt and pepper to taste. Season the flour with salt and pepper to taste. Dredge each fillet lightly on the skin side and tap off excess flour. Heat 2 more TB oil in the pan over medium high heat until just smoking. Place each fillet flour side down in the oil and cook until golden brown. Turn the fillets over, reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until opaque.

Remove fillets to serving plates. Add butter to pan and cook until just browned. Add lemon segments and juice. Remove pan from heat, stir in capers and parsley. Top fillets with sauce and reserved croutons.

Dinner Rating

Movie Relevance: 5 stars

Taste: 5 stars

Average: 5 stars--this was a winner!!

There was quite a bit of other food and drink in the movie, including oats, a roast beef sandwich, a ham sandwich with sardines, speakeasys, martinis, gin & prune juice, whiskey, bread and jam, watermelon, chicken salad sandwiches, baked chicken, homebrew, Boilermakers, and a homemade breakfast of bacon, milk, and muffins.

Rrrrrrrrango!

"Get your dirty, webbed phalanges off of my boots!" -Beans

RANGO was the first movie in a series of movies leading up to our sure-to-be epic Guest Ranch vacation at the end of the month! What can i say about this movie-I LOVED it and watched it once for movie night, once by myself, and twice with the kiddos all before returning it to Netflix. Its the tale of a chameleon who finds himself thrown from his cushy caged life into the dry, hot Mohave desert. He makes his way to the town of Dirt were he finds himself to the be much needed hero the townsfolk there are in need of. The animation is INCREDIBLE. The details in everything from the water to the sand to the various scales and feathers of each varmint made my jaw drop.

To accompany this true western we made Bean's Burrito Bowls and then Dirt Puddin' cups to cool our tongues afterward. Both were mighty tasty vittles.

movie stills found 

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 4.75 stars

Cinematography: 5 stars

Acting: 4.75 stars 

Average: 4.833 stars

Chipotle Yams and Black Bean Burrito Bowls
(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:
2 cups cilantro lime rice, warm
1 cup seasoned black beans, warm
1 cup chipotle yams, warm
1 cup pico de gallo
1 large avocado, stones, scooped and sliced
1 cup jack or cheddar cheese, shredded
4 tablespoons sour cream
1 handful cilantro, chopped

Directions: Assemble and enjoy!
Adapted from this recipe on closet cooking

Chipotle Yams
(makes 4 servings)

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion (sliced)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 chipotle in adobo (chopped)
2 teaspoons adobo sauce
2 tablespoons sauce/ketchup
4 cups yams (peeled and chopped)

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add the chipotle, adobo sauce, tomato sauce and yams. Toss everything to coat, cover and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. (We actually tossed in some water occasionally to better cook the yams and not dry them out).

Jalapeno Spiced Black Beans
(makes 4 servings)

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 jalapeno (minced)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (19 ounce) can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 cup water (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oil. Add the onion and sauce until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeno and cumin and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the beans and water, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. Mash some of the beans with a fork if desired.

Cilantro and Lime Rice
(makes 4+ side dish servings)

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 cup long grained rice (white or brown)
2 cups water
1 handful cilantro (chopped)
1 lime (zest and juice)

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion. Saute until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant about one minute. Add the rice and toast in the oil for a few minutes. Add the water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes for white or 45 minutes for brown. Remove from the heat and mix in the cilantro, lime juice, and zest.

Pico de Gallo
(makes 2 appetizer sized servings)

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups tomatoes (seeded and chopped)
1/4 cup onion (chopped)
1 jalapeno (seeded and minced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 lime (juiced)
1 handful cilantro (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS: Mix everything.

Oreo Sand and Dirt Cups

INGREDIENTS:
1 package (3.4 oz) JELL-O vanilla flavor instant pudding
1 package (3.4 oz) JELL-O chocolate instant pudding
4 cups cold milk
1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Topping
20 OREO cookies, finely crushed

DIRECTIONS:
Prepare the vanilla and chocolate pudding mixes separately with milk as directed on packages. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir 1/2 cup cool whip into each bowl of pudding.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cookie crumbs into bottom of each of 8 (6-oz) dessert cups. (OR be piggies like us and divide it between two glasses!) top each layers of 1/4 cup vanilla pudding, 1 tablespoon cookie crumbs and 1/4 cup chocolate pudding. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. Refrigerate at least 1 hour until ready to serve.

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 4 stars

Taste: 5 stars

Average: 4.5 stars

The Other Guys & Pretzel Nirvana

Having been crazy busy the last few weeks straight, The Other Guys (2010; starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, The Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Keaton) was a last-minute movie selection since Lindsey had the DVD in hand and neither of us had seen it.

It made me laugh a few times, like during the scene with whisper fighting, and had some street food references built right in:

In addition to the ice cream truck and hot dog stand, there's also: coffee, fresh strawberries, sugar balls, Arnold Palmers, Guinness, water with cucumber, mustard, bourbon, and mike's hard lemonade.

Movie Rating:

Plot: 1.5 stars

Cinematography: 1.5 stars

Acting: 1.5 stars
Average: 1.5 stars

Movie stills found here

For dinner, I ran with the NYC street food idea. Searching through tastespotting.com, I found this recipe for pretzel-wrapped hot dogs and paired it with big dill pickles from the deli and a new cole slaw recipe, found here.

Honestly, I still can't quite believe it. We made amazing soft pretzels from scratch. And they were easy! Wrapped around a hot dog, dipped in mustard, I'd even say they were divine.

Unfortunately, our slaw didn't quite hit the mark--we both wanted it to be sweeter, so I'd tweak the recipe to add honey or sugar next time. It was really pretty though, made with green cabbage, granny smith apple, and slivered almond and the tiny black poppy seed specks that provided a nice texture as well.

PRETZEL DOGS

Makes 16 wrapped half-dogs

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 TB sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

1 package active dry yeast

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 TB unsalted butter, melted and cooled

8 hot dogs, cut in half (Nathan's to be supremely accurate)

For boiling (where the pretzel magic happens!):

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

To finish:

1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 TB water

Pretzel salt (or kosher salt), for topping

Directions

Combine the warm water, sugar, and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. If you use active dry yeast, let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, until it's foamy and begins to smell of yeast. [If using instant yeast, let the mixture sit for a couple minutes to dissolve the yeast and then proceed--it won't be foamy.]

Add the flour and butter to the yeast mixture. Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and, on medium-low speed, combine the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and appears shiny, roughly 4 to 5 minutes.

Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray (or lightly grease with vegetable oil) and place dough in bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, place bowl in a warm area, and let dough rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Place the dough on a greased surface, and divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope, roughly 12 inches long. Carefully wrap each piece around a half hot dog. Pinch the ends together to seal the dough and keep it from unravelling.

In a large pot, combine 10 cups of water and the baking soda, stirring to dissolve. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil.

Carefully place a couple of pretzel-wrapped hot dogs in the pot and allow them to boil for 30-45 seconds. Using a slotted spatula, remove each pretzel dog from the water and place it on a drying rack to allow any excess liquid to drip off.

Once all the pretzels are boiled, place them on parchment lined baking sheets. Brush each with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with salt. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer pretzel dogs to a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving. Dip in your favorite mustard(s) and enjoy!

P.S. The Kosciusko mustard was our favorite! Also, if you have leftover dough, plain pretzels can be made by simply omitting the weiner halves and forming the dough into sticks, twists, nuggets, etc., boiling and baking. Yum!

APPLE & POPPY SEED COLESLAW

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the dressing:

Juice of 1 lemon

2 TB mayonnaise

3 TB olive oil

1 TB apple cider vinegar

1 TB poppy seeds

1 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

1 green apple, cored and julienned

4 cups sliced cabbage (from one small head)

1 cup slivered almonds

Directions

Whisk the dressing ingredients together until well combined. Place the apple and cabbage in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Cover and let stand for about an hour. Just before serving, toss in the slivered almonds.

Dinner Rating:
Movie Relevance: 4.5 stars

Taste: 5 stars

Average: 4.75 stars

Barney's Version

Barney Panofsky is a Jewish Canadian tv producer who loves to drink, watch hockey and be married–3 times??

This movie was really great, despite its almost unbelievable love story–I mean, really, who would willingly marry this guy? Jam packed with a great story line and fantastic acting, this movie sucked me right in and I found myself completely invested in all of the characters, even the pitifully vexing Barney Panofsky.

We give this movie the prize for: 

BEST FATHERLY ADVICE: "In the beginning it's all briskets and blow jobs, ain't life grand, yada yada, but then real life happens"— Izzy Panofsky (Dustin Hoffman)

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 3.33 stars

Cinematography: 3.33 stars

Acting: 4.16 stars

Average: 3.5+ stars

movie stills found here

Eggs Benedict with Kale, Roasted Tomatoes, and Canadian Bacon
(modified from this recipe)

Ingredients:
4 English Muffins
8 large eggs
8 slices Canadian Bacon
1 bunch of Kale, washed and dried
4 tomatoes
Hollandaise Sauce (recipe follows): 3 egg yolks, 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter, salt and pepper
Chives

Directions:
Slice the tomatoes vertically and place them open side down on a oiled baking sheet. Roast in the oven until desired doneness. Set aside.
Cut stems from kale and coarsely chop. Blanche in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and place in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, drain and saute over medium heat with olive oil, salt and pepper until warmed through. Set aside.

Make the hollandaise sauce:
Place the butter in a small, heavy bottom pan, and set it over low-medium heat to melt. Once melted, let it gently bubble for about ten minute to evaporate any residual water and to consolidate the milk solids. Pour through a cheesecloth lined sieve into a measuring cup, once all the butter has passed through, carefully press on the cloth with the back of a spoon to extract all of the butter fat. OK so I must confess i skipped all of this and nuked the darn butter in the microwave to to lack of space on my tiny stovetop and lack of a cheesecloth. This may be why my sauce did not turn out so good so I wrote in the actual directions if you are so inclined to try it.
In the container of a blender, combine the egg yolks, mustard, and lemon juice. Cover, and blend on low for 15 seconds.
Set the blender on medium speed and pour the hot butter into the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream. It should thicken almost immediately, switch to high speed for about 5 seconds and then turn off the machine.

Poach your eggs. We used these poachpods which make the process so easy! Bring water to a boil, oil the inside of the poach pods, set them adrift on the water like little boats. Crack one egg into each and cook 3–5 minutes to desired doneness.

Split and toast your english muffins, place them on your plate. Top each muffin half with a pile of kale and some roasted tomato. Top with a poached egg, hollandaise sauce and chopped chives. Eat!

We also made this sauce to top our dessert of maple walnut ice cream.

INGREDIENTS
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 quart vanilla ice cream (we went with a maple walnut)
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (we skipped as they were in our ice cream)


DIRECTIONS
Simmer maple syrup and salt in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes (do not stir). Add 1/2 cup ice cream and whisk until smooth, about one minute. Spoon sauce over ice cream and serve!

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 3.66 stars

Taste: 4.416 stars

Average: 4 stars

Special thanks to our special guest and judge–Jessica! Thanks so much for bringing the Canadian beer! You are welcome any time ;)

Driving Miss Daisy

Finally!

A great movie that wasn't depressing and kept us entertained throughout. It's been awhile, I know.

Miss Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy) is a Southern Jewish woman who isn't keen on relinquishing her independence. When her son Boolie (Dan Aykroyd) hires handy Hoke Colburn (Morgan Freeman) to be her driver she stubbornly resists, doing her best to ignore him altogether. As Daisy and Hoke age, the pair develops a friendship that deepens and endures for years. Driving Miss Daisy (1989) won four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Makeup, and Best Writing Adapted Screenplay.

The movie takes place in Atlanta, Georgia--The Peach State--and is filled with food references ripe for the picking (couldn't resist!). Choose from homemade pickles, grits and gravy, canned salmon, pork chops, ambrosia salad, deviled eggs, Coke in glass bottles, shelled peas, fried chicken & biscuits, iced tea, okra, garden tomatoes, pumpkin pie or anything peachy and you have a winning dinner match-up.

Movie Rating

Plot: 4 stars

Cinematography: 4 stars

Acting: 4.25 stars

Average: 4+ stars

We award Driving Miss Daisy the prize for:

BEST DRIVING MUSIC

The little ditty that plays off and on throughout the movie while Miss Daisy and Hoke are in the car sticks with you and fits the mood perfectly.

I took a simply Southern tack when choosing the meal and am excited to finally be able to share a smittenkitchen (sk) recipe on the blog. Seriously, I read her blog and want to make every. single. thing. The handful of sk recipes that have been tried in my kitchen have been PERFECT and I'm happy the stars aligned so that I can pass along a great blog link to our readers.

Corn Bread Salad. Sounds overly simple, maybe even soggy--right? Wrong.

WOW. This unimposing dish was so delightful! I cannot even imagine how other-worldly it would be if we had garden fresh tomatoes on hand to throw in. Honestly, the early July tomatoes found in the store were pretty darn good anyway. Due to a time crunch, we used Whole Foods cornbread from the bakery--a winning substitute that shaved a solid 20-30 mins off the meal prep with mildly sweet, perfectly crumby results.

Dinner Rating

Movie Relevance: 3.5 stars

Taste: 4.5 stars

Average: 4 stars

CORN BREAD SALAD

Adapted (only a bit!) from this recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 cups of 1-inch cornbread cubes (Whole Foods bakery cornbread is great)

1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (4 to 6 medium)

6 cups roughly torn sturdy fresh lettuce, such as Bibb, butter, or Boston

2 cups arugula

1/2 large Vidalia onion, trimmed, peeled, sliced crosswise as thinly as possible and separated into rings

1 recipe Buttermilk-Lime Dressing (below)

Directions

Toast cornbread cubes until lightly browned, about 7 minutes (we used the toaster oven).

Chop the tomatoes into 1-inch pieces, discarding any large seedy globs.

Place lettuce, greens, 3 cups of toasted corn bread, onion, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Drizzle with buttermilk dressing, season with salt and pepper and toss gently until the dressing is evenly distributed. Serve immediately.

Do ahead: If you won't be eating the salad within 30 minutes of preparing it, keep the corn bread, salad, and dressing separate and toss just before serving.

BUTTERMILK-LIME DRESSING

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole buttermilk

5 TB freshly squeezed lime juice (or bottled in a pinch!)

2 TB olive oil

1 TB apple cider vinegar

1 TB honey

1/4 cup finely minced fresh basil

1/4 cup finely minced fresh parsley

1/4 finely minced green onions

1/2 tsp salt, plus more as needed, to taste

Directions

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl until combined. Will keep covered tightly and stored in the refrigerator for up to two days.

Fail-Safe (1964)

Hope everyone enjoyed some breathtaking fireworks this past Independence Day! There certainly was nothing "spectacular" about watching this week's movie: Fail-Safe. I am not sure if the beautiful weather outside was a distraction that clouded my judgement of this film, or perhaps my generation requires more thrilling action sequences, brilliant color, and epic sound in its thrillers, but I was ready to turn this film off about halfway through. Our Atomic Burgers, however, were sensational!

A little more about Fail-Safe for you movie buffs: 

1. The plot follows American bombers that are sent to deliver a nuclear attack on Moscow, but it is a mistake due to an electrical error. Tension between the two countries climb as they try to avert nuclear disaster.

2. There are two versions of this movie. The 1964 version directed by Sidney Lumet and the 200 version starring George Clooney, directed by Stephen Frears.

3. The day after we watched this film, the New York Times published an article regarding the death of Robert H. Widmer, the designer of the bombers that helped to enforce the strategic balance with the Soviet Union during the cold war.

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 2 stars

Cinematography: 2 stars

Acting: 1.5 stars

Average: 1.8 stars

ATOMIC burgers a.k.a. Andouille and Beef Burgers with Spicy Mayo and Caramelized Onions

INGREDIENTS:
Spicy Mayo
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning blend
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Burgers
1/2 pound andouille sausage
3/4 cup pecans, toasted, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground beef

6 large hamburger buns

8 ounces crumbled blue cheese

Caramelized Onions
1 1/2 pound onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for brushing grill rack
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:
For mayonnaise:
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill.

For burgers:
Toss first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add beef; blend gently. Shape mixture into six 1/2 inch thick patties.

For onions:
Toss onions and next three ingredients in a large skillet. Cook until onions are golden, stirring often, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Brush grill rack with olive oil. Grill buns, cut side down, until golden about 2 minutes. Transfer buns to work surface. Grill burgers until brown on bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn over, sprinkle with cheese. Grill until burgers are cooked to desired doneness. Spread mayonnaise on cut side of bun tops, place onions on top of burger. We served with a side of salad.

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 3.75 stars

Taste: 4.75 stars

Average: 4.25 stars

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)