Big
Happy bday to Tom Hanks! Naturally I had to celebrate with some kid friendly party food and a screening of 1988’s Big– a very absurd, but well-deservedly loved 80’s fave directed by the great Penny Marshall.
If you haven’t seen it (she types scornfully), a quick overview: after making an ill-fated wish to be “big” on an apparently magical Zoltar machine, 13 yr old Josh Baskin wakes up the next morning to find a grown ass man staring at him in the mirror. Fleeing a mother who is convinced her young son has been kidnapped by sexual deviants (this movie is kinda dark when you think about it), Josh has to make his way through the big bad NYC as a kid trapped in an adult’s body– which, of course, leads to all sorts of professional and romantic (in kind of a creepy way) shenanigans with the true adults he encounters.
Big is a relatively early film in Tom Hank’s long and distinguished repertoire– but it is a favorite for a reason. In addition to Hanks’s hilarious performance (apparently he had the actor playing young Josh act out all his scenes so he could mimic his childlike behavior), you have the wise cracking bestie Billy as a foil (Jared Rushton), and John Heard playing a superb asshole antagonist as Paul. Elizabeth Perkins is also wonderful as a jaded convert and, despite the ick factor, the final scene between Josh and Susan is truly heartbreaking in the best way. I swear it’s mostly endearing and nostalgic. Remember the giant living room trampoline? One day, you guys… one day.
So, assuming you’re around my age, please come and relive this 80’s childhood classic with me– and eat until you feel like barfing up silly string all over your bestie. Because that’s real friendship.
The Movie
The Menu
As they say in Big: The space goes down, down baby, down, down the roller coaster, sweet, sweet baby, sweet, sweet, don't let me go. Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop! Shimmy, shimmy, roooock. Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop! Shimmy, shimmy, rooooock. I met a girlfriend - a triscuit! She said, a triscuit - a biscuit! Ice cream, soda pop, vanilla on the top. Ooh, Shanita, walking down the street, ten times a week. I read it. I said it. I stole my momma's credit. I'm cool. I'm hot. Sock me in the stomach three more times.,., Couldn't be simpler-- spoon vanilla ice cream into tall glasses (these happen to be for champers). Top with Pepsi cola (the product placement in this movie is RAMPANT, might as well be authentic), bourbon, whipped cream and a cherry. Serve chilled, and try not to get too hyper/disgusting. There's nothing like walking through a county fair with a warm toasty cone of kettle corn-- and this particular recipe pays homage to the cartoonish carnival machine that started it all for Josh Baskin. Be careful what you wish for... In a medium sized heavy bottom pot, heat vegetable oil and sugar over medium heat-- swirl, until sugar starts to dissolve. Add your kernels and stir to coat them in your sugar oil. Cover the pot-- the trapped heat inside is what will pop your corn! Shake the pot every 8-10 seconds to prevent the sugar from burning. Sprinkle with za'atar seasoning, adding more if you like a stronger flavor, and toss thoroughly to coat. Because maybe the most memorable scene in Big (or any Tom Hanks movie for that matter) is him "playing" Heart and Soul + Chopsticks on a giant floor piano at FAO Schwarz. Am I going to keep the one I used as a background prop in my Big movie menu post? Yes, probably. Suck it downstairs neighbors... Start by squishing your tofu between several sheets of paper towels to absorb excess water-- you want your tofu to be VERY dry, so let it sit, switching out paper towels as needed, for about 10 mins. Once dry, crumble with your fingers. In the meantime, lay your kimchi and your shrimp on paper towels of their own to dry a bit, patting softly. In a small food processor, pulse tofu, shrimp, kimchi, white parts of the green onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and salt. You want a relatively smooth paste. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. Next, cut your dumpling/wonton wrappers into hearts with a cookie cutter or sharp knife, laying each heart on top of a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out as you work. When you're ready, wet the edges of your dumpling skin hearts with water and drop a teaspoon of filling into the center. Place another dumpling skin heart on top of your filling and press the edges to completely seal, using more water on your fingers if needed. Repeat as necessary and refrigerate until ready to cook, making sure that the dumplings don't touch each other as they chill. About 10 mins before you eat, heat the pan with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add your dumplings in batches, again making sure they don't touch each other, and fry for about 2 mins until the bottoms are golden brown and slightly crisp. Add 1/3 cup of water to the pan, and cover immediately with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium low, and steam for roughly 4 more mins. Slide your finished dumplings onto a plate and keep warm next to the stove burner as you cook your next batch of dumplings. When you're ready to nosh, mix all of your sauce ingredients together until sugar is completely dissolved. Drizzle a tbsp or so over your dumplings, and include for further dipping. Sprinkle dumplings with green onion slices, and serve with chopsticks! You can also freeze your dumplings before cooking! Just steam for a bit longer when you're cooking them to ensure the innards are fully done. Apparently no cocktail party is complete without beluga caviar. But since that stuff is kinda gross, here's a kid friendly alternative-- a deconstructed cowboy caviar with tortilla "blinis", mexican crema/cotija instead of creme fraiche, black bean "fish eggs", and roasted tomato and bell pepper "lox"-- all marinated in a Mexican spiced vinaigrette. Accompany your caviar with some grilled Mexican baby corn, and you can be as Tom Hanks faux fancy as you want. Start with your "lox". Cut your tomato in half and rub both halves and your bell pepper with veggie oil, sprinkling with salt and pepper. Broil for roughly 5 mins until skin is blackened-- transfer to a bowl and cover tightly with the same foil you use to broil it on. Allow to rest for 5-10 so that the steam will loosen the skin further. Remove the skin and discard, leaving only the softened bell pepper and tomato flesh-- slice this thinly to mimic seasoned lox. Gather your remaining caviar ingredients, including your vinaigrette (veggie oil to honey in the ingredients list) and your faux "creme fraiche" (ie your crema mixed with 2 tbsp of cotija). Add 1 tsp of your vinaigrette to your tomato, and 1 tsp to bell pepper, allowing the seasonings to infuse your "lox". Pour the rest over your black beans and let sit to marinate. Cover until ready to assemble. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400 and cut out your tortilla "blinis". Spread out on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and brush lightly with oil. Bake for 7 mins until golden brown. Set aside. Now time for baby corns! Dry briefly on paper towels and toss with your oil and seasonings. Heat a griddle pan on high, and sear your corn, about 2-3 mins per side. When ready to serve your caviar, spread your crema mix on your toasted blinis and top wiith "lox", followed by black bean "fish eggs" and sprigs of cilantro. Serve alongside baby corn with a healthy squeeze of lime juice and cotija-- which you can also dip into your crema for a nice street corn flavor. If you need instructions, see below. Just no double dipping, it's gross. Pull and shape your pizza dough into 10-12 equal balls. If you have extra, you can always try a nice game of catch? Cut your mozzarella string cheese into 1 1/2 inch chunks, and place into the center of each dough ball wrapping them tightly. Place onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Melt your butter and mix in your garlic powder, basil and salt. While you wait for your oven to preheat to 400, brush your dough balls with melted butter mixture. Bake for roughly 30 minutes until golden brown, brusing with more butter if needed. Serve hot, with some yummy pizza sauce, and make sure to brush your teeth after if you plan on seeing your girlfriend at the end of the night EWWWWWWWWWW.
Ice Cream Soda Pop Vanilla (and Bourbon) on the Top!
Ingredients
Instructions
Zoltar/Za'atar Kettle Corn
Ingredients
Instructions
When the popping has slowed to once every 2 to 3 seconds, uncover the pot and remove from the heat. Ideally you'll have a slightly sticky and sweet batch of lovely kettle corn.
Heart and Seoul Dumplings
Ingredients
Dumplings
Sauce
Instructions
Notes
Kid Friendly Caviar w/Grilled Baby Corn
Ingredients
Deconstructed Cowboy Caviar
Grilled Mexican Baby Corn
Instructions
Big Birthday Pizza Dough Bombs
Ingredients
Instructions
Epilogue
If any of you are foolish enough to be all, “I don’t get it” when I praise Tom Hanks, watch him reenact his Big rap below. The man is a gd American treasure.
For more menus, check out my movie directory here!