Once/Sing Street
MY FIRST EVER DOUBLE FEATURE! It’s St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow and I figured there’s no better time to subject myself to a roller coaster of emotions– after all, you have Irish stew and all the alcohol you need to balance everything out.
Consequently, here are two non-musical music films from Irish director John Carney: Once (2007) and Sing Street (2016). Both are set in Ireland and follow the emotional journey of a young singer/song-writer pursuing his dreams while also pursuing a woman (respectively, Markéta Irglová as empathetic and talented “Girl” and Lucy Boynton as the elusive and damaged Raphina). But where one film ends sad-ish-ly, the other has a much more optimistic conclusion. Or does it? I shan’t spoil more, you’ll have to decide for yourself.
What I will say is that 1) Once, which was shot in just 17 days, is so authentic in its poignancy it hurts my soul– in a good way. Not only are Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová REMARKABLE musicians, their portrayal of Guy and Girl help make a storyline relatable and natural where it otherwise might have be trite. And, 2) Sing Street is just so much fun. The music is also incredible– somehow John Carney wrote stylistically iterative 80’s songs that feel unique, and they are the vehicle Connor/Cosmo (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) uses to grow up, into himself, and out of his small Irish town. Watching both films, you’re earnestly rooting for character wins because Carney does such a good job of making loneliness relatable– and when his characters manage to find their people, be it a lover, a brother, or a band, you feel like you’re being included in that same tribe. Even if only temporary, that feeling is magic and something to be treasured.
Now on to the food! Sure, it’s always a little daunting to take on two films in one sitting. But, as big brother Brendan insists, rock and roll is a RISK. Also this menu is not the hardest I’ve ever concocted, as long as you allocate a couple of hours of stewing/rising time. Hopefully you think it’s a hit.
The Movie(s)
The Menu
According to Google, this cocktail "was first seen in 'Taste Magazine', published by BC Liquors." No idea if that's actually the case, but I looked up St. Luke (having repressed all of my eight formative years in Catholic school) and apparently he's the patron saint of artists, bachelors, and students. Pair this with the "love song" element and it's almost as though Jesus Christ himself meant for this cocktail to be made for these two films. That said I changed the recipe a bit. I'm a rebel. It's an odd ingredient, but trust me-- get some lavender tea bags and brew a cup. Once your tea is ready, muddle together with cherries, whiskey, bitters, and triple sec. Pour into a glass filled with ice, and garnish with a final cherry. I always make Irish stew around March, but when I watched Once last I realized that there are harmonies among the Eastern and Western European countries that mirror the compatibility of "guy" and "girl" in Once. And so here you have a traditional lamb stew paired with Knedlíky-- a Czech bread/dumpling normally served with goulash that (and I'm not exaggerating) is the BEST complement to Irish Stew I've ever had. <3 Start with the dumplings, as they need a good 2 hours to rise. Combine the warm milk, sugar, and yeast and allow the yeast to bloom for about 10 minutes. Next, combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Beat the egg lightly with a fork, and add it to the milk mixture. Finally, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and knead together for a few minutes until smooth. The dough can be a bit tacky but shouldn't be sticky-- if you need to, add a bit of flour. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm spot for 2 hours or until doubled in size (see below for what it will eventually look like). IN THE MEANTIME, preheat your oven to 350. Trim your lamb meat from the bones, and cut into one-inch cubes (reserve the bones). Toss salt and pepper with 1 tbsp flour, and dredge your lamb pieces. Gather together your stew's base ingredients! Heat a tbsp of oil in a dutch oven and sear the lamb cubes in two batches, until all pieces are seared golden brown. Transfer to a plate. Add another tbsp of oil to the pot, and toss in your onions. Allow to caramelize for 3 minutes or so, after which you can add your carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute together for five more minutes before adding in the remaining tbsp of flour. Toss to coat. Add lamb to the pan along with your potatos, thyme, and rosemary (I like to tie these latter two ingredients with some twine to prevent the stems from floating about during the cooking process). Throw in your broth and guinness and bring to a boil. Cover, and place in oven-- brainse for two hours and/or until lamb is tender. Now, back to your Knedlíky! Once your dough is risen, divide into two and shape each piece nto a 2-inch thick "loaf". Cover with a towel, and let the shaped dumplings rise for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot (at least 10-inches wide), bring salted water to a soft boil. When ready, boil the dumplings uncovered for 20 minutes flipping them over halfway through. They will swell quite a bit. Remove from the boiling water with a large slotted spoon or spatula, and immediately poke them with a toothpick in a few spots to let the steam out. Cool for at least 5 minutes (or up to 30 if you're still waiting for your stew to finish, just keep 'em in a ziploc) before slicing into 1/2 inch thick slices. KNEDLIKY LOOKS A LITTLE WEIRD GUYS. But they slice just like bread. When your stew has finished cooking and your lamb is fork tender, remove the herb satchel and lamb bones. Serve with Knedliky slices and if you don't have anyone else to cuddel up with at least know that your insides appreciate you and the effort you've taken to please them. FYI my favorite character in Sing Street is Eamon-- the John Lennon to Cosmo's Paul McCartney. His weird affection for his rabbit friends was such a randomly quirky and hilarious add-on that I had to acknowledge it. So here are some simple greens that you and some furry friends can enjoy, drizzled with a light, homemade green goddess dressing. No store bought allowed on Two Crumbs Up-- per me AND Sing Street's resident goddess Raphina, you should never do anything by halves. Puree the first ten ingredients in a mini food processor-- season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange your lettuce, carrots, radishes and shallots as artiiscally (or not) as you want, and drizzle with salad dressing. Top with a few sprigs of fresh dill and enjoy! Apparently a "sad cake" is a thing? Though, a cake that doesn't over-rise and is deliciously gooey just like a brownie sounds anything but sad to me-- and when combined with some blueberries for Cosmo's baby blue cadillac, I figure this recipe has the perfect ratio of happy to sad. ANECDOTE: I saw Sing Street for the first time when I was going through a really REALLY bad breakup. I was on an international flight at the time, and plane travel has always been a really weird emotional trigger for me, despite how often I fly. So you can imagine what the passenger next to me thought when I started crying uncontrollably while watching this film. That said, the moment Cosmo started singing Drive It Like You Stole It I had my first post-breakup moment of "fuck you, I'm gonna be fine". And so, long anecdote short, I'm dedicating this cake to everyone in a similar situation. THIS IS YOUR LIFE, YOU. CAN. GO. ANYWHERE. YOU GOTTA GRAB THE WHEEL AND OWN IT. AND DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT. Preheat your oven to 350-- coincidentally the temperature at which your Irish stew is currently cooking! Assemble your ingredients: Melt butter and brown sugar in a 3 qt sauce pan until fully incorporated. It should be a lovely dark caramel color. Remove from heat. Stir in white sugar, vanilla, baking powder, and flour. Whisk eggs in a separate bowl, and add slowly to the pot with the other ingredients, stirring quickly to prevent eggs from cooking. Once fully mixed, add blueberries and nuts and gently incorporate. Grease and flour an 8x8 baking pan and pour your batter into that sucker. Bake for roughly 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the center of the cake clean. Allow to cool, before cutting into squares and enjoying while listening to the Sing Street soundtrack 
St. Luke's Love Song
Ingredients
Instructions
Irish Stew with Knedlíky
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Rabbit Greens with Green Goddess Dressing
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Instructions
Happy-Sad Cake
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Instructions
Epilogue
I feel I have to conclude this post with a profession of my love for Glen Hansard (who won an Academy Award for Once’s “Falling Slowly”). His voice is mind-blowing. If you can, I highly recommend giving his solo records a listen.
And, if you need access to the official soundtracks for Once and Sing Street, I gotcha:
For more menus, check out my movie directory here!