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 …
HEEYYYY YOUUUU GUYYYYYS, it’s National Junk Food Day! Which could really be any day for me, especially if pizza is involved. And I’m relatively certain this would be the case for The Goonies too– which is why you now have a pirate-y, Chunk-y, highly fattening set …
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 you have to ask what the others are, read my previous and upcoming posts. Or read this article. But no arguing.
Released in 1993, Jurassic Park is actually based on a book (you know, those box shaped things filled with paper sheets covered in writing) by celebrated sci fi author Michael Crichton. Described by the New York Times as “a true movie milestone, presenting awe- and fear-inspiring sights never before seen on the screen”, the film took huge steps forward with regard to animatronics (the T-Rex weighed about 12,000lbs and would malfunction/come alive in the rain eep) and cgi. But let’s not stop with the visuals– although SOME critics felt that the character development needed work, I always felt that the priority was, as it should have been, the “science”.
For those who might not have seen the OG Jurassic Park, the plot follows cranky paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and his gf Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), who are persuaded by bajillionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) to vet his almost opened theme park featuring real life cloned dinosaurs. They are joined by Hammond’s grandchildren, a bloodsucking lawyer, and the sexy mathmetician Dr. Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldblum), who together all end up fleeing from the dinosaurs that (of course) escape their habitats and do what they do best at the top of the food chain.
I won’t go into more detail about the plot here, because really, you should have seen this movie by now. What I will say is that Jurassic Park always leaves me with a very palpable feeling of humility, and frustration with the human race’s overwhelming arrogance which is fundamentally at odds with nature. If you want to know what I mean, just listen to any of Jeff Goldblum/Dr. Malcom’s eloquent and uniquely cadenced speeches. It’s worth noting that, like Indiana Jones with archaeology, Jurassic Park generated so much interest in the science and history of dinosaurs that the study of paleontology had a record increase in students in the year of its premiere. Let’s hope some of those students are out in the world helping mitigate human egotism and NOT working for Elon Musk.
Ok, must go faster, must go faster. The Food: I’ve made a menu that features actual foods from the movie (human AND dinosaur foods), with a few creative twists. It’s a big menu for a big movie, so give yourself a little time– to those of you who ask, “Anna, how’d you do this?”, my response is (in a dramatic whisper):
Hold on to your butts!
The Movie
The Menu
Dino DNA
Yield: 2 Cocktails
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Based on a quintessential amber colored tiki cocktail called the Jungle Bird (get it? cause of the similarities between dinosaurs and birds?), this cocktail also features syringes filled with dark aged rum. Because BINGO: Dino DNA! Drink enough and your genetic makeup might be irreversibly altered...
Ingredients
3 oz Dark Rum
1/2 oz Campari
3 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Agave or Simple Syrup
Extra rum in plastic syringes for extra fun
Instructions
Mix up all of your ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Pour over ice of your preferred shape (I prefer round like Hammond's amber cane topper), garnish with a few pineapple spikes, the aforementioned rum filled syringes, and keep your eyes out for impact tremors.
Hard Boiled Raptor Eggs
Yield: 4 Eggs
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours30 minutes
Life will not be contained! Life finds a way!
Unless... you hard boil it. But that's preferable to having an actual raptor pop out, amiright?
Ingredients
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
4 large eggs
1 large avocado halved, pitted, and peeled
1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
2 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt to taste
Chili crunch, Momofuku preferred or chili oil and sesame if you don't have access/patience
Fresh chopped herbs and micro greens for garnish
Instructions
Begin with your not yet hatched baby dinosaurs-- bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, and add eggs. Cook for 10 minutes and drain, running the eggs (shells still on!) under cold water. Once cooled to room temp, roll lightly on a hard surface until small cracks appear, but not enough for bits of the shell to fall off. Add to a ziploc together with your soy sauce and seal, turning to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
When ready, gather your other ingredients:
Remove the eggs from the soy sauce marinade and peel away the shells-- the result of the soaking process should be veiny brown lines where the soy sauce "dyed" the egg whites. Using a sharp knife, cut into the top of the egg at a zig zag-- remove the egg tops and and the hardened egg yolks with a small spoon.
Add the yolks to a small blender together with the ingredients 3 through 7, pureeing until smooth (you can add a LITTLE splash of water to help the texture along). Pipe or spoon your dinosaur-y green filling back into your hollowed out egg whites. Top with a drizzle of chili crunch for a firey kick and bone crackly texture and serve on a plate of green stuff. So yummy you'll need two for yourself.
Just don't let them sit for too long OR ELSE.
Chilean Sea Bass (I spared some expense)
Yield: 4-6 small plates
Cook Time: 1 hour30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour30 minutes
One of the first real food scenes in the movie (excluding human followed by cow a la raptor) features Jurassic Park's renowned Chef Alejandro's signature dish-- Chilean Sea Bass. But do you know how much this stuff is per lb? And do you know how much super high quality free range steak we're making later? A lot, that's how much.
So I decided to scale this larger dish down to littlesaurus size-- makes for a lovely appetizer plate. If, however, your happen to be a veggiesaurus like Lex, feel free to spare no expense and multiply the below recipe by a bunch.
Ingredients
1 Small Sweet Potato
1 1/2 tbsp Corn Starch
2 cups Vegetable/Canola Oil, plus 1 tbsp
1/2 lb filet Chilean Sea Bass
2 tbsp Minced Shallot
2 tbsp Salted Butter
1/4 cup White Wine
1/4 cup Chicken Broth
1 tsp Minced Parsley
Squeeze Fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 cup Green Beans, sliced in half at an angle
Salt & Pepper
Instructions
Using a mandolin or a spiralizer (check out my post for Ferris Bueller's Day Off for a product recommendation!), get your sweet potato to look like this:
The appropriate blade size for the mandolin is 3mm, fyi. Toss your potato match sticks with corn starch and allow to sit for a moment while you heat up your oil in a medium skillet. When the oil pops with a drop of water, your ready to fry your potatoes! Shake off excess cornstarch and toss your potatoes into the hot oil in batches, keeping the pieces as separated as possible to prevent sticking. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle immediately with salt.
Next, pat your fish filet dry and assemble the rest of your ingredients.
In the same skillet (sans old potato oil), heat 1 tbsp of new oil over medium high heat. Add your fish skin down to the pan, cooking for roughly five minutes to allow the skin to crips up. Flip, and cook for another 5 minutes or so until the fish is cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside in a warm place.
Returning to your skillet, add butter and shallot and reduce heat to low. Caramelized for roughly 7 minutes until the shallots are softened, then add your wine and broth. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce is reduced by half-- mix in minced parsley and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Now, time for assembly-- in small appetizer plates (or one bigger plate if you prefer), spoon a layer of white wine butter sauce. Add a few green bean slivers at a spiky angle, followed by a heft chunk of Chilean sea bass. Top with some fried sweet potatoes for additional crunch and voila! Alessandro would approve. Despite the lack of purely superflous cherry tomatoes.
Notes
If you have some extra time, I highly recommend soaking your fish in a salted water for 30 minutes or so. Helps mitigate some of the fishiness you might taste from store bought fish.
Coffee Rubbed Cow with Dinosaur Kale and Gigante Beans
Yield: Big. Large. A Lot.
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour
Well, a couldn't find goat, so I made some gargantuan Costa Rican coffee-rubbed ribeye steaks with the bones frenched for easy pick up and utensil-free gnawing. Remember how I said this part of the meal would be pricey? Well, it will be WORTH IT! Don't get cheap on me Dodgson.
For those brachiosaurus types out there, I've accompanied this hunk of medium rare beef with a dinosaur kale and gigante bean salad. It's way simpler to figure out than a Unix system, and hearty enough for an entree if you're inclined to avoid raptor food.
2 cups dinosaur kale, stemmed and leaves finely chopped (1/4 inch thick slivers)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp cumin
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tbsp Vegetable/Canola Oil
Instructions
Guys, did I say this steak was good? Because it might be the best cow I've ever eaten. And it's mostly due to the Costa Rican inspired coffee spice rub:
Pulse the coffee and fennel seed in a spice grinder until fine. Mix with the rest of your seasonings and set aside.
Unwrap your steaks and cut away the meat at the angled botton of the bone. This is what makes your steak a mini-tomahawk or cowboy steak-- you're creating a little handle! Continue to trim meat and fat away from the bone until your handle is clean. VERY IMPORTANT: Don't throw away your meat trimmings (SEE NOTE)!
Rub a little more that 3/4 of the spice mix into the meat (SEE NOTE AGAIN), including the sides. Set the steak aside, uncoverd, for another 35-40 minutes, allowing it to come to room temperature and the rub to crust on the outside of the steak.
While your steak is hanging out, assemble your super simple side salad. This photo was taken BEFORE I slivered the kale because, whoops, editorial error.
Whisk your olive oil, honey, cumin, and lime juice until emulsified, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with slivered kale and beans, rubbing the dressing into the kale a bit with your fingers to help it soften. Set aside to further marinate at room temperature while you preheat your oven to 450.
When it's time to return to your steak, heat vegetable oil in a large oven proof skillet on high. add steaks to the pan, reducing heat to medium high. Sear, undisturbed, for 5 minutes. Flip the steaks and finish off in the preheated oven, for another 4 minutes (internal temp should be at about 115 for medium rare)-- steaks will have developed a crispy brown spicy crust!
Remove from the pan and tent with aluminum foil, allowing the meat to rest for 10 minutes. Using a sharp knife, slice thickly from the end opposite the bone handle. Seriously, look at that:
Serve with dinosaur kale and gigante bean salad for them extra nutrients and dinosaur vibes.
Notes
If you only have access to dried gigante beans, no worries! You just soak in water for 6-8 hours/overnight (or quick soak them), and then add to a small pot with chicken broth, a bay leave, and whatever else you wanna throw in (old carrots, celery stems, herbs, anything savory). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover-- simmer like that for about 40 minutes, or until softened to the degree you prefer.
AND, regarding those leftover pieces of meat + spice rub: the day after you make this Jurassic Park meal, I highly recommend slicing your steak bits up, tossing them in the remaining spices, and making steak tacos with pickled onions and guac.
Passionfruit Ice Cream w/Fossil Biscuits
Yield: 4 Small, 2 Big Servings
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Additional Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 1 day18 hours
Yeah, yeah, everyone probably expected Barbasol whipped cream on a cherry pie or that god damn green jell-o. But instead I paid homage to that one scene where John Hammond passionately (see what I did there?) talks about his first flea circus over a big tub of melty ice cream. It's sad and sweet and looks delicious. Plus, bonus points for the fun activity of uncovering shortbread fossils under a layer of shortbread biscuit (or cookie for us non-Brits) dust.
Note: since I forgot to store my ice cream maker bowl in the fridge, I figured this was as good a time as any to try a no churn ice cream recipe. If you're curious about the difference, see more deets here. The concept gets a bad rep, which I think is accurate in some cases-- but when it comes to this recipe, the acid of the passionfruit cuts through the sweetness of the condensed milk in a way that proves cheating the natural order of things sometimes pays off.
Ingredients
7 oz sweet condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream, very cold
pinch of ginger
Pinch of salt
Innards of 3 passionfruits, with any long stringies broken up a bit
7 tbsp salted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
Start by whipping up your cream with a stand or hand mixer in a medium bowl. You should end up with some stiff peaks.
Add your salt and some powdered ginger (as Jurassic Park's own Chef Alejandro would wish it) to your condensed milk. Fold one third of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture to lighten it a bit, then fold the lightened milk back into the fresh whipped cream-- very gently with a rubber spatula-- until blended. You don't want to be heavy handed with this, or your ice cream will be a creamy ice cube.
Pour into a pie tin or small metal loaf pan and smooth. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for about two hours.
After the first round of freezing, your ice cream should be about the consistency of soft serve. At this point you can add the passionfruit and lightly stir until incorporated. Continue to freeze, covered, until solid and scoopable, for at least four hours.
Now for your biscuits! I feel British already...
Using the same stand/hand mixer, beat 5 tbsps of butter and vanilla on high until light and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar and beat on medium speed until mixed.
Scrape the sides of the bowl down, and add flour-- continue to beat on low, scraping as you go, until fulled combined.
On a cutting board, shape the dough into a cylindar a little over 4 inches long. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until more firm, between 30 minutes and an hour. While you wait, preheat your oven to 350F.
Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into roughly 1/2 inch thick slices (they don't have to be perfectly round, we're going for a natural, stoney look). Using artistic skill (or in my case, very cheap dinosaur toys) cut/press whatever fossil shapes you choose into your cookies. It's all good if some of the impressions aren't perfect here either-- you're going to crumble 3 or 4 of the least attractive cookies into dust. FUN.
Place cookies, spaced at least an inch apart, onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire sheet to cool, and pick out your least desirable ones-- these you're going to CRUSH. In a small skillet, melt remaining 2 tbsp of butter and add the brown sugar, strring until melted. Add your cookie dust and stir until fully coated in butter. Continue to stir until cookie dust is golden brown and toasty-- set aside to cool.
When ready to stir, spoon ice cream into cups and stick a fossil cookie in. Spoon a hefty portion of cookie crumble over the fossil cookie and hey presto-- an interactive Jurassic Park themed treat that even cranky Dr. Grant might even appreciate. Probably not, but at least Dr. Sattler would think mmm... that's good.
Epilogue
Long ago when I was a youth (ie the Jurassic Period), I had fun creative friends who made really cool shit and I wanted to too. So I started a backyard film project with said friends and we would all make short films themed to movies we’d screen. Here is one I made for Jurassic Park. It is ridiculous. But my friends and I, like Dr. Ian Malcom, can sometimes suffer from a deplorable excess of personality.
Little Miss Sunshine is one of those films that you’re thrilled exists– a wonderful family dramedy that is so well written and so well acted that it leaves you with hope for the film industry. The movie opens with a relatively dark montage. Mom Sheryl …
This past weekend was my oldest friend’s birthday. Coincidentally, he’s also the person who helped me start this blog. So I figured what better way to celebrate him than to attempt (for the fourth or fifth time) a menu perfectly matched to his favorite movie: …
ON THIS DAY 30 years ago, Thelma & Louise drove across the country in a blue Thunderbird and into the annals of feminist film history. It’s one of those movies I rediscover every 10 years– funny, tragic, and (sadly) still so relevant, Thelma & Louise was written by Callie Khouri and unfolds like a fantasy for women in the 1990’s aching to be free of the BS society doles out. You wouldn’t think the movie’s two main characters would be the “murdering type”, but turns out that (like most badass women in this world), they’ve always been “crazy”– this is just the first chance they’ve ever had to really express themselves.
But let’s back up a minute. For the unfamiliar, Thelma & Louise (directed by Ridley Scott) begins innocently enough– two young women who need a break from men and (as applicable) dead end jobs decide to take a fishing vacation together. No matter that they can’t fish– they’ll figure it out and/or have fun trying. Shit hits the fan, however, when Thelma’s (played by Geena Davis) flirtation at a truck stop bar leads to a sexual assault– and Louise (played by Susan Sarandon) IS NOT HAVING IT. Now our besties are on the lamb, and what ensues is an epic road trip toward Mexico and self-discovery.
With a little tasty treat in the shape of Brad Pitt along the way.
… though that encounter, like most other encounters with men in this film (and in life, let’s be real) becomes just another bump in the road for Thelma & Louise. But I’ll let you watch the movie to find out how.
On to the food! After all, one does need fuel for a road trip of this magnitude– I figured cocktails, tacos, and some Rocky Road ice cream would do the trick. With, of course, the end goal of drinking margaritas by the sea, mamacitas (just be sure to make a few extra).
The Movie
The Menu
Girls' Night Out
Let's kick things off right-- Thelma orders a Coke up front with a Wild Turkey back. Louise orders a margarita and a Cuervo on the side. I'm sure there's a Buzzfeed quiz that would tell you which you would like more, but I'm sticking with both + refills.
Ingredients
2 oz Wild Turkey
Coke to fill
Maraschino Cherry to garnish
Shot of Wild Turkey on the side...
2 oz Jose Cuervo Silver
1 oz Triple Sec
2 oz Lime Juice
1 tsp Agave Syrup
Ice
Salt for the Rim
Slice of Lime
Shot of Cuervo on the side...
Instructions
Louise's order is relatively simple-- girl doesn't have time for anything fancy, she wants to DANCE. Pour whiskey over ice, top off with coca cola, and garnish with a cherry.
For Thelma's margarita, first run a slice of lime around the rim of your glass to moisten it. Then, dip the glass in salt to coat the rim. Next, mix tequila, triple sec, lime juice, agave, and ice in a cocktail shaker-- shake vigourously until fully chilled, and pour into salted glass. Add more ice and garnish with a slice of lime.
Serve both drinks with their respective shots and get ready to BEAT A MAN'S ASS.
Peach & Pepper Salsa
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour15 minutes
Each of the male characters in Thelma & Louise is a different version of "that guy": super villain Harlan; Thelma's pig husband; sweet talking JD; jealous and kinda violent Jimmy; even Harvey Keitel's well-meaning-but-still-part-of-the-system police officer role. But let's be real, they're all just "on the side" when it comes to true love between best friends.
So here is a recipe that celebrates the best of those "on the side" male characteristics-- sweet at first, can even be super hot, and always fun with chips and a beer. But definitely not the main course.
PS the code word is peaches.
Ingredients
1 1/2 tbsp Lime Juice
2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tbsp Honey
1/8 tsp Cumin
Pinch of Chipotle Pepper
1 cup Peaches, diced
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1/4 cup Red Onion, chopped
1/2 Jalepeno, minced
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1-2 tbsp Cilantro, chopped, to taste
Instructions
Whisk together lime juice, oil, honey, and cumin until all of the honey is incorporated. Next, get all of your chopped ingredients together, like so:
Toss in peaches, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper and jalepeno until fully coated-- season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Allow to sit for an hour or more to let the flavors meld into a climax of sweet, spicy, and smoky mmmmmmm...
15 minutes before serving, toss in cilantro (you don't want this to sit in the salsa for a long time or it'll get all soggy). Serve with tortilla chips or on tacos.
On the Lamb Tacos
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours
Ok I did it-- a food and movie pun. But it makes sense right? Also the recipe is delicious so you're welcome.
Ingredients
2 lb boneless lamb shoulder
1/2 tbsp salt
2 dried arbol Chile
3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup Mexican Lager
1/2 tbsp white vinegar
4 tbsp canola oil, divided
1 orange, 1/2 juiced and the other half thickly sliced
1 bay leaf
Corn Tortillas
Quick Pickled Onions (see "On The Side" Recipe)
Sour Cream
Cotija Cheese
Cilantro
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325F. Generously season all sides of the lamb shoulder with salt and set aside while you make the marinade.
Slice the top of the chiles off and shake the interior seeds loose-- discard (you don’t need to remove every single one, a few strays are ok). Break the chilies apart into smaller pieces and add to a mini-processor with garlic, spices, vinegar, juice from 1/2 orange, beer, and 2 tbsp canola oil. Process until very smooth.
Heat a medium dutch oven to medium-high heat and add 2 tbsp canola oil. Sear the salted lamb shoulder, browning each side to create a crust and lock in those nummy juices.
Once all sides are seared, nestle the orange slices around the lamb and add bay leaf. Pour the marinade over the meat and shake the pan to ensure the marinade gets all the way to the bottom.
Cover tightly and bake for 2 1/2 hours-- you'll know it's done when the meat pulls apart easily. You're looking for this:
Before serving, tear the lamb into smaller pieces and place into an oven proof serving dish. Skim the remaining marinade, removing fat, and pour about 1 cup over the meat to keep it moist and flavorful-- adjust with salt to taste. Serve with quick pickled onions, sour cream, cotija and a sprinkle of cilantro. And if youre in a rush, wrap in parchment paper or aluminum foil and eat while you drive!
In addition to giving me all the badass feminist energy, I can now thank Thelma & Louise for indirectly prompting me to try Mexican chocolate for the first time. Depending on the brand, you might get a kick of cinnamon and vanilla, or in this case chile-- either of which adds a MUCH appreciated level of complexity to what would otherwise be plain sweet chocolate.
Plus, hey look another food/movie pun. I'm starting to feel like I got a knack for this shit.
Ingredients
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch kosher salt
Pinch Cayenne Pepper
Pinch Cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 1/2 ounces dark Mexican chocolate (see note)
1 1/2 ounces mini marshmallows
Instructions
Get all your ingredients together-- but note, the base should be refrigerated for a minute before you can mix up your ice cream.
In a medium saucepan whisk together egg yolks, cocoa powder and sugar until there aren't any lumps. Then, whisk in cream and milk. Put pan over medium heat and cook, whisking frequently, until a custard thickly coats the back of a spoon, but a swiped finger leaves a clean line.
Stir in vanilla and salt, and pour into tupperware. Refrigerate overnight, or freeze for an hour until completely chilled. You'll end up with a thick yummy pudding consistency:
Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions (see notes). Transfer ice cream to a large container and quickly stir in nuts, chocolate, and marshmallows with a rubber spatula until thoroughly mixed in. Return to freezer and chill for at least 3 hours before serving.
Epilogue
Taking this epilogue opportunity to double down on Thelma & Louise’s feminist message. In the 1990’s it was still a novel idea to cinematically celebrate women who “hit back” so to speak, and I love that Callie Khouri stood her ground not only on the characters of Thelma & Louise but also the men in her film. Per Geena Davis: “I heard [the screenwriter Callie Khouri] being interviewed and they told her, ‘We don’t think the men’s parts are good enough,’ and she said ‘So what?’”. Hehe.
So if you’re in the film industry and you find the topic of feminism and Hollywood as HUGELY important as I do, watch this movie a second time and maybe also check out the informative research at the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media.
And then maybe find the Thelma to your Louise (or vice versa), kick back with a bottle of Wild Turkey and make a plan to burn the world down.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has always reminded me of my youth visiting family and friends in Chicago. I’m a Florida kid, so I always appreciated the cold weather and fireflies. And the Shedd Aquarium. And the Adler Planetarium. And the trains. And the river. And …