The Mummy
Post Indiana Jones, 1999’s The Mummy might be one of the best adventure films made. If you feel compelled at any time to watch the sequel tho (or the crap retry with Tom Cruise), think again. But this one is aces. Set in 1920’s Egypt, …
Here it is: my favorite Halloween movie and perhaps my favorite Mel Brooks film, Young Frankenstein. Fans of the director will immediately recognize hilarious throwbacks (and throw forwards) to his other movies– walk this way, wasn’t your hump.. on the other side?, etc. But of his library, Young Frankenstein was always particularly special to me, and stands out as unique within his opus. Maybe it’s the well-known origin story? Mel does have a way with outsider characters. Or maybe it’s the ballsy commitment to black and white footage? (I gave it a shot below, not bad).
Or maybe it’s Inga’s pronunciation of the word MOOCHAL? I couldn’t say– I just know that I’ve spent every Halloween (and many non-Halloween related days) finding ways to quote the film. PUT. ZE CANDLE. BACKH.
If you want a stellar critical review, there are many (here’s one). Otherwise, just believe me when I say Young Frankenstein, starring Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Teri Garr, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, and Cloris Leachman, is funny, whimsical, wonderful, and FUNNY.
And so, I made a lovely German/Transylvanian/Ritz-on-fire dinner to go with it! Trust me, you’ll be making yummy mmmmmMMMMMMMMMM noises while eating.
Sometimes, true, FIRE BAD. But in this case, it's the opposite. As the Creature eventually learns, a bit of flame can really accentuate the ritzy things in life-- including the complex and elegant Ritz cocktail. Mix the first four ingredients in a cockatil shaker with ice-- shake until chilled and pour into a coup glass. Top off with as much champagne as you'd like. Now it's time for the FIRE GOOD part. Orange peels have natural oils that ignite when spritzed onto an open flame. All you have to do is light a match, and hover it just above your Ritz cocktail-- squeeze your orange peel next to it in order to release the oils in a spray-- you'll see the flame bloom as the oils make contact, and taste the orange essence in your drink! PS it might take a few tries. My own BTS photo of the aftermath here: If you want to attempt other cool tricks with alcohol and FIRE, here's a fun article that tells you what not to do. ie don't like alcohol on fire. The schwanstucker-- a word Mel Brooks invented that translated perfectly into a Two Crumbs Up menu item. While these brats are not enormous (potentially to Elizabeth and Inga's disappointment) you'll find that they are still flavorful and juicy-- especially when braised in beer with onions. OOOOH MYYYYSTERY OF LIFE AT LAST I'VE FOOOOUNND YOUUUUUUUU Add butter to a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat. Add onion slices along with red pepper flakes, garlic, salt and pepper. Sautee for two to three minutes until just starting to caramelize. Pour beer into the pot and bring to a boil, scraping up any and all crispy bits. Reduce heat and add brats to the saucepan-- simmer for roughly 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan to medium high. Remove brats from the saucepan and place directly onto the griddle pan. Continue cooking the onions and beer until liguid is reduced to a gravy like consistency-- you can do this simultanesouly while grilling your brats. Both should take an additional 10 mins-- brats should be turned 5 minutes in. When ready to serve, spoon onions over brats and perhaps some polenta (in which case, don't clean out your saucepan!). Who knew polenta was a (kind of) traditional Transylvanian dish? Normally it shows up in that part of the world as dumplings, but I do like a creamy base for sausages and gravy. And if you don't get the pun, you don't deserve Mel Brooks. This recipe is SUPER simple-- only a few ingredients required. In a saucepan (or alternatively, the same pan you used for your sausages and onions, with the sticky bits still in), combine half and half and sour cream. Bring to a simmer, and add corn meal and cheese. Sir until thickened (you can add a bit more half and half or chicken broth if it becomes to firm. Add salt and pepper to taste. ...or perhaps they belonged to Hans Delbruck. You'd have to ask I-gor, Froderick. Either way they're a delicious accompaniment to sausages and creamy polenta. GIVE MY CREATION LIFE. Assemble ingredients. In a small saucepan, combine liquids, seasonings, and mustard. Bring to a boil, and remove from heat-- you want the salt and sugar to be completely dissolved. Peel garlic cloves and cut scallions into 2-3 pieces (white and pale green parts only)-- these will season your pickling liquid. Add cauliflower, garlic, and scallions to warm liquid and allow to cool completely. Pour into a sealable glass jar and allow to rest, at least 3 hours or overnight (can keep up to a week). One of the few dishes actually featured in Young Frankenstein, Schwartzwalder Kirschtorte is really a Black Forest Cake filled with brandied cherries and topped with whipped cream. But I didn't feel like making an entire cake, so I thought cupcakes... IT. COULD. WORK. And I had to pay homage to my favorite moment, 20 minutes into the movie. I don't know why, but the way Frau Blucher (neeeeeigh) pronounces Ovaltine has always made me giggle. Preheat your oven to 350. Change the poles from plus to minus, and minus to... shit wrong recipe. Sift first five ingredients together in a small bowl. Next, mix oil, half and half and sour cream. Add sugar to the dairy mixture and whisk until fully incorporated. Gradually stir in dry ingredients. In the now empty dry ingredients bowl, whisk egg, coffee and vanilla briefly so that the yolk is broken up. Add to batter, and stir to fully combine. You should end up with the below, ovaltine-y goodness. Using a 1/4 cup, pour batter into paper lined cupcake pans. Bake for 17-18 minutes-- you can tell they're done when you stick a toothpick in and it comes away batter free. Now for the cherry filling! Roughly chop your cherries and add them to a saucepan with sugar and brandy. Bring to a boil and reduce heat-- simmer for 10 minutes until liquid has reduced to a syrup. Set aside to cool completely. Scoop out the innards of your cupcakes, and fill with cherries. Feel free to reserve the juice for future cocktails and/or general slurpage. On to the whipped cream topping. Beat cream, vanilla, powdered sugar and corn starch with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form-- the latter ingredient will help stabalize the cream so that it doesn't melt or bleed (and so you can pipe it onto your cupcakes if you're fancy!). Top your cherry filled cupcakes with whipped cream-- as previously mentioned, if you are fancy you can "pipe" it with a piping tip and a ziploc bag that has one of the bottom corners cut off. Finish by shaving a bar of bittersweet chocolate on top of each cupcake and a final maraschino cherry.Puttin' on the Ritz/FIRE GOOD
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Adequately Sized Schwanzstucker
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Gouda Muenster Polenta
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Abby Normal's Pickled Brains
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Schwartzwalder Kirschtorte Cupcakes (w/Ovaltine)
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Outtakes from Young Frankenstein below. You’re welcome.
Also. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! (Unless you’re reading this in May. In which case I encourage you to watch Robin Hood: Men in Tights next. That’s my second favorite Mel Brooks film. Movie menu is forthcoming.)
For more menus, check out my movie directory here!
I loved and feared The Witches as a child. It’s always been that moment early in the film, when “Ereeka’s” father sees the painting. CHILLING. But this is why I love late 80’s and early 90’s movies for children– they were often dark and absurdly …