Get ready to salivate– Chef is one of those foodie films that opens with food, closes with food, and has all the cooking, plating, and eating you could want in between. A 2014 indie darling by Jon Favreau, Chef follows Carl Casper, a high-end LA …
While the initial intention was to time this Jurassic Park menu to the release of the sixth (and dear god we hope) final movie in the Jurassic Park/World franchise, I’ve also realized that I’m slowly making my way through the Steven Spielberg “top five”. If …
A fool proof guacamole recipe that goes well with chips, tacos, and alien burgers ala Independence Day!
Guacamole
A simple, refreshing guac recipe. NO TOMATOES ALLOWED.
Ingredients
1 Avocado
1 Clove Garlic, grated
1 tsp Red Onion, minced
1 tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
1/4 tsp Oregano (dried)
1 tsp more Cilantro
Salt, to taste
1/2 tsp Jalapeño, minced (Optional)
Instructions
Cube your avocado and mash with your remaining ingredients. A few lumps are certainly welcome in this recipe. And, if you like a KICK to your guacamole, add jalepeno as well. Enjoy with chips, on burgers, etc-- you know what to do.
Yesterday was World UFO Day, tomorrow is the 4th of July, and today it’s the 25th anniversary of Roland Emmerich’s badass alien blockbuster, Independence Day. So I mean, I HAD to take yesterday off to get this menu out there. Just don’t tell my boss. …
I’m now back in Los Angeles after an almost 6 month hiatus in my home state of Florida– and yes, it’s often as weird there as the internet says. However, now that I’m back to my regular life on the West Coast, I’m finding that …
Here it is: Die Hard. Possibly the most well-known of the unconventional Christmas movies, and one of Alan Rickman’s greatest roles as super villain Hans Gruber (note I said “one of”. I have very strong opinions about this. Sheriff of Nottingham <3).
If you’ve never seen Die Hard, man, are you in for a testosterone filled, bullet ridden, explosive holiday flick. The plot centers on John McClaine (Bruce Willis)– a New York cop visiting his estranged wife in Los Angeles during a Christmas work party that JUST HAPPENS to be interrupted by a group of terrorist thieves looking to steal a bunch of $$$ . Said group of terrorists is led by (you guessed it) Alan Rickman– a “very slick” evil genius who has apparently accounted for everything but a shoeless rogue cowboy shooting up his crew.
I went with cocktail appetizers and finger foods for this one– after all, holiday party hostages gotta eat. Just remember, if at any time during Die Hard you begin to feel anxious, take your shoes off and make fists with your toes. Welcome to the party, pal.
The Movie
The Menu
Christmas Punch with a Kick
Yield: 2 Cocktails
Prep Time: 30 seconds
Cook Time: 30 seconds
Total Time: 1 minute
The work year's over-- time to kick back with a spiked glass of holiday punch, avoid conversation with smarmy bro dudes like Ellis, and then kick bad dudes in the face with your bloody feet!
Ingredients
4 Shots Chilled Champagne
4 Shots Chilled Cranberry Juice
2 Shots Chilled Vodka
2 Splashes Orange Bitters
Instructions
Pour/dash ingredients equally into two champagne flutes/cocktail cups if you're being authentic. Do not accept any watered down versions. Might as well anesthetize yourself. Things are about to get bloody.
Smoky Cowboy Caviar
Yield: 6 Caviar Cups
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Additional Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
A party appetizer for just another American who saw too many movies as a child-- another orphan of a bankrupt culture who thinks he's John Wayne, Rambo, Marshal Dillon, or better yet Roy Rogers. So what? YIPPEE KI YAY MOTHA FUCKAAAAAAAS
Ingredients
6 Street Taco Flour Tortillas
2 tbsp Canola or Other Neutral Oil, + more for greasing
3/4 tsp Chipotle Powder, + more for tortillas (much better than cigarette smoke)
1/4 tsp Salt, + more for tortillas
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Lime Juice
1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp Honey
1/4 cup Black Eyed Peas
1/4 cup Black Beans
1/4 cup Chopped Red Onion
1/4 cup Chopped Red Pepper
1/3 cup Corn Kernels (preferably grilled)
1/3 cup Chopped Tomato
1/3 cup Chopped Avocado
1/4 cup Roughly Torn Cilantro
Cotija Cheese for topping (optional)
Instructions
Begin by making your tortilla cups. Preheat your oven to 425 and lightly grease six cupcake tin cups. Fill each with a tortilla, smushing to fit the small rounds into a cup shape (see below).
Spritz your tortillas with more oil, and sprinkle lightly with a few pinches chipotle powder and salt. Bake until crispy and tortillas hold their cup shape, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
Now it's time for your cowboy caviar! Mix up your vinaigrette-- ingredients chipotle through honey-- until emulsified.
Next, toss everything together.
When ready to serve (ideally within 20 minutes of mixing so that your avocados don't brown), fill your tortilla cups with caviar and top off with a sprinkling of cotija cheese.
Dark and Twisted Swiss Stuffed German Pretzels
Yield: 6 Pretzels
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours15 minutes
Die Hard's Hans Gruber deserves a dark and twisted finger food to match his cold, black heart. And yet, he also merits a touch of class and sophistication-- benefits of a classical education. So here is a gourmet Bavarian pretzel, stuffed with smooth gooey swiss and topped with a sprinkling of black truffle salt.
Ingredients
3/4 cup Warm Water
1/2 tsp Dark Brown Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 1/8 tsp Active Dry Yeast
2 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Dark Cocoa Powder
2 tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted
1 tbsp Canola or other Neutral Oil, for greasing a bowl/pan
1 cup Swiss cheese or Emmental
5 cups Water
1/3 Cup Baking Soda
1 Egg
Black Truffle Salt
Poppy Seeds (optional, for low sodium peeps)
Whole Grain Mustard, for serving
Instructions
First, assemble your pretzel dough ingredients-- you might think cocoa powder is a little weird, but trust me. It adds a bit more darkness to the dough without contributing a chocolatey flavor.
Add the salt, sugar, and yeast to your warm water, and allow to sit for five minutes. You will notice the yeast begin to activate-- it will look slightly frothy in the water.
Add your yeasty liquid with the flour, cocoa powder, and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low for several minutes until the dough pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
Place dough ball into a lightly oiled bowl (or the same bowl) and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set in a dry, warm place (like the interior of your oven!) to rise for 1 hr, 30 mins. I know it's a long while to wait, but the best schemes require patience.
Five minutes before your dough has finished rising, grate your cheese.
Divide your dough into six equal portions (about 1/3 cup of dough). Roll into a rope of about 12 inches in length, and press to flatten, about 1 1/2 inches of width. Sprinkle a line of grated cheese down your flattened length of dough, and seal back up into a rope shape, pinching and rolling to ensure the seams are fully cloased. Pull one end around so that it meets the middle of your rope, and do the same with the other end, overlapping the two into your pretzel shape as pictured below. Make sure to wrap the rope ends all the way under the bottom of your pretzel so that they do not separate while boiling/baking-- you can press gently to seal.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and bring 5 cups of water and baking soda to a boil. Gently drop pretzels into the water one at a time, boiling for 30 seconds each. Place onto a baking sheet lined with lightly greased parchment paper.
Whisk your egg to create an "egg wash"-- sometimes you can add a splash of water, but I've found that straight egg leads to a darker crust as the pretzels bake. Brush your pretzels lightly with egg, and sprinkle with black truffle salt. It's classy AF.
NOTE: if you are trying to go light on sodium, poppy seeds are a great, crunchy alternative.
Bake your pretzels for about 13 minutes-- don't stress if you see some of the cheese bubbling through the dough, it'll create a nice gooey crust on the outside of your pretzels.
Serve warm, with some whole grain mustard and consume while speaking in a civilized matter to 30 hostages you have no problem murdering for the sake of millions going into your Swiss bank account.
Dynamite Shrimp
Yield: 10 Individual Shrimp Skewers
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
MMMM a tempura shrimp skewer that explodes with detonator level siracha sauce. Yes this is some Americanized PF Chang copycat Japanese ish. But let's face it, it's not that disimilar to business in Los Angeles's Nakatomi Tower.
Note to readers: I STOLE the tempura technique (with a couple of small modifications) from Serious Eats. Like Hans, at times I consider myself to be an exceptional thief.
Ingredients
10 Large Shrimps (peeled, deveined, tails off)
1/4 cup Mayo
1 1/2 tbsp Siracha
1 1/2 tsp Honey
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Egg, whisked and divided in half
2 tbsp Vodka, chilled
1/4 cup Ice Cold Soda Water
1 quart of Canola or Vegetable Oil
2 tbsp Slices Scallions, green parts only
1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
Instructions
PRO TIP: Soak your shrimps in salted water for 30 minutes before cooking. Helps get rid of any fishiness/iodiness.
Next, mix up your dynamite sauce-- a sweet and spicy combo of mayo, siracha and honey. Set aside.
Dry your shrimp on a paper towel, and heat your oil in a deep pot until it pops when you splash water in it-- it needs to be maintained at about 350 degrees.
Then, quickly prep your batter ingredients. Combine dry ingredients, and separately whisk one half of your whisked egg with the vodka. KEEP THE OTHER HALF OF YOUR EGG YOLK FOR YOUR PRETZEL EGG WASH (see a couple recipes down).
Pour egg vodka and ice cold club soda/soda water into your flour mix. Using chopsticks (or a fork, you philistine), vigorously stir until the wet and dry ingredients are just barely combined-- there should be clumpies of flour and bubbles in the batter.
Fold shrimp into the batter with hands to coat. Drop, 2-3 at a time, into your hot oil and fry for 1 minute, disturbing with a slotted spoon to prevent shrimp from sticking to one another or the side of the pan.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Your tempura batter should be a pale blonde (see below).
While still warm, add shrimp to siracha mayo mix and toss to fully coat. Skewer each shrimp with a toothpick and top with green onion and sesame seeds. BOOM! Two points!
Twinkie Cake Pop Pop Pops
Yield: 4 Cake Pops
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
I learned how to make cake truffles at LA's famous Milkbar. Coat 'em in chocolate, put 'em on a stick, and you have a cake pop! Even better, these are custom tailored to Al. Sure, Al SAYS the twinkies are for his wife, but his first scene in Die Hard 2 indicates otherwise.
Personally, I'm not a huge twinkie fan, but when you add holiday pop rocks ammo to the mix you get a surprising minty pop pop POP that helps cut the overpowering sweetness.
Ingredients
4 Twinkies
2-3 Packs Candy Cane Pop Rocks
4.4 oz of White Chocolate Bars
Thick Toothpicks/Wooden Skewers, trimmed to 6 inches
Instructions
Get your ingredients together!
Mash your twinkies into a homogenous dough-like mix-- the icing will help bind the dry twinkie dough together into a moldable mush.
Form into twinkie "patties", and press your thumb into the center of each to make a shallow indentation. Pour about 1/4 tsp of pop rocks into the indentation. Then, fold the edges around the pop rocks center-- roll each into a smooth ball.
Using a double boiler method (see below), melt your white chocolate until smooth-- in a small saucepan, boil about 1/2 cup water and place a shallow bowl over the boiling water, ensuring the the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. The steam will help heat the chocolate from below.
Toss each ball one at a time into the melted chocolate and turn to coat. Place coated balls on a piece of parchment paper, and sprinkle top of each with more candy cane pop rocks. Chill until chocoalte is fully set, trimming off any excess chocolate at the bottom. Pierce your pops with toothpicks or wooden skewers to serve.
Notes
You may need to coat each cake pop with white chocolate a second time for a smooth, thick skin of chocolate-- just make sure the cake pops are fully set between coats.
Epilogue
Guys, I miss Alan Rickman. He was such a gent, even when he was killing people in Die Hard. Happy trails, Hans.
After twenty years (!!!), Almost Famous is still on my list of all time favorites. What do I like about this movie? To begin with… everything. An autobiographical showcase of director Cameron Crowe’s misspent youth, Almost Famous focuses on the experiences of a fifteen year …