Honey, I Shrunk the Kids– a classic family film that made every child in the 1980’s crave Little Debbie’s. Also the movie that made me realize grown ups should ALWAYS listen to their pets. QUARK KNEW EVERYTHING THE ENTIRE TIME SZALINSKI. Set in an unspecified …
It’s like. Duh. One of the best 90’s movies EVER. It’s also way smarter than you might think. Starring Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion is a comedic alternative to Thelma & Louise and a wonderfully lighthearted balm for anyone (and …
This past weekend was the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the Indiana Jones trilogy, Raiders of the Lost Ark! (We do not acknowledge any subsequent Indy productions on this blog– they are blasphemous and shameful.)
I have too many thoughts on this, one of the best adventure movies of all time. I’m not even going to try to offer up a brief summary of Raiders of the Lost Ark, because if you haven’t seen this movie, I don’t know where you’re from or what you’ve been doing with your time.
What I WILL do is rattle off some of the trivia tidbits I’ve picked up over the years: for example, DID YOU KNOW that the moment where Indiana responds to the flourishes of an enemy in the streets of Cairo with a single gun shot– that was improvised because Harrison Ford had the flu that day and actually didn’t give AF? Or, DID YOU KNOW that Tom Selleck was a lead choice for the role of Indiana Jones, can you imagine?? And, DID YOU KNOW that, in the Well of Souls scene, the snake handler had to shave his legs and wear a skirt to stand in for Karen Allen’s stunt double, because the stunt double refused to do the scene??? It goes on, and on, and on.
I will also share that, though Raiders of the Lost Ark is wildly inaccurate when it comes to its portrayal of the archaeological profession, the film should be praised for making things like history and learning about other cultures cool– and it definitely made my 8 years of Catholic school slightly more tolerable. John Rhys-Davies said that he had met over 150 lecturers, professors, and archaeologists who told him their interest in the field began with the film. But this is the magic of most Steven Spielberg films, am I right? The practical and special effects, the nail-biting action/stunts, and the droll humor make what would otherwise be homework a fascinating (and commercial, in a good way) watch! Plus, this is the Indiana Jones movie that has my favorite heroine– yah, Marion Ravenwood screams, but she isn’t a Nazi and can throw hell of a punch.
Now for the foodstuffs! This one took a while to formulate, because there’s SO much going on in Raiders of the Lost Ark– but since the movie is the first of a trilogy that takes place largely in the Middle East, I went for a version of a mezze platter that references the people, places and things we’ve come to know and love.
So go cook, watch, and dig in. GET IT?
The Movie
The Menu
A Snake Bite & Shots for Marion
Yield: 2 Drinks
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour5 minutes
Why'd it have to be snakes???
Because apparently Indiana is a big light weight that can't hold his whiskey. Thus, the snakebite-- a delicious and refreshing apple-y drink perfect for Professor Jones.
And then of course the real booze is for Marion-- the badass barkeep who can drink any man under the table. I couldn't find any Nepalese Raksi, but a chilled vodka, lychee juice and sake shot goes down real easy.
Ingredients
Sake
Vodka
Lychee Juice
Lager
Hard Cider
Instructions
Slowly pour beer into a pint glass tilted at a 45o angle. Stand the glass upright and wait for the beer to settle. Pour the cider slowly over the back of a spoon and into the glass of beer.
For the shot, mix equal parts very cold vodka, sake, and juice in a cocktail shaker with ice-- shake until chilled. Pour into as many shot glasses as you want and get the score card ready.
Peruvian Boulders with Green Sauce
Yield: 12 balls
Prep Time: 1 hour30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour45 minutes
Raiders of the Lost Ark begins with Indie (and a youthful Alfred Molina, what?) in the jungles of Peru with an epically famous boulder chases-man-scene.
So, thought I, why not start the meal off with a cultural and visual tribute to that sequence. I promise that, though heavily flavored, these delighful meatballs won't crush you. And the green sauce-- MWAH, chef's kiss.
Ingredients
1 ¼ cups fresh cilantro leaves and stems tightly packed (about 1 medium size bunch)
1 tbsp jalapeño, stemmed and seeded, cut in chunks
2 tbsp crumbled cotija (feta is a good substitute, you'll have PLENTY)
1 tbsp ají amarillo paste (optional)
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tbsp)
1 tbsp canola oil
½ cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp honey
1 medium clove garlic
kosher salt to taste
1 lb ground chicken
3 scallions, green and white parts divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1" piece ginger, peeled and grated
½ tsp paprika
1- tsp ground cumin
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp Morton kosher salt, plus more
1/4 cup panko
1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
To make the green sauce, get your verdant ingredients together:
To clarify, this means the first 11 ingredients. Add them to a food processor or blender. Roughly chop scallion greens and add those to the mix as well. Puree until smooth, and refrigerate until 30 mins before you're ready to eat.
For the meatballs-- thinly slice white parts of the scallions, and add them to a medium mixing bowl with the remaining ingredients. Mix lightly with your hands until just incorporated (but don't overmix or your meatballs will be solid as a literal bolder). Refrigerate for 1 hr.
About 20 mins before eating, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Roll chilled meat mixture into balls about 1½ in diameter. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake your meatballs for 20 mins until firm.
Serve warm with sauce drizzled and/or on the side.
Then RUN.
Good Dates
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
So simple, yet so delicious-- with the tangy cheese, baharat spiced honey, and crunchy almond, these are WAY better than bad dates... I think the monkey would agree.
Ingredients
Pitted Dates
Goat Cheese
Baharat Spice (see note)
Honey
Whole Almonds (I prefer salted)
Instructions
Slice your dates lengthwise down the seam. Stuff each with about a tsp of goat cheese, followed by an almond.
Drizzle with honey, and dust lightly with baharat spice mix. Enjoy-- but maybe still keep an eye out for assassins.
There's a long long history behind "manna" bread and the Bible, but suffice it to say the real manna wouldn't have been very appetizing (despite the fact it was a gift from God). So I went with a fresh baked pita, which I've always wanted to learn to make-- accompanied by a traditional Egyptian dukkah. While dukkah might look like the Ten Commandment tablets crumbled to dust after a thousand years, the flavor combo is so beautiful it belongs in a museum.
Ingredients
3 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
3 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted
1/4 cup cashews
2 tbsp pistachios, toasted
2 tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted
1 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted
½ tbsp fennel seeds, toasted
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1 /2 cup warm water
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/8 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
High-quality Olive Oil
Instructions
For the dukkah-- pulse the first 9 ingredients in a mini-food processor until roughly ground into a chunky dust. Alternatively, chop the nuts and crush together with a morter and pestle. Set aside until ready to eat, or alternatively store in an air tight container for up to a week. But first, make sure you sift it through your hands and pretend like you're handling something very very very old...
Now, time for your bread. In a large mixing bowl, add yeast and sugar to 1/2 cup of lukewarm water. Stir very lightly and allow a minute or so for the yeast to "bloom" (that is, to get FOAMY). Add the flours, salt, and olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
Dust a cutting board with a little reserved flour, and knead the dough for about a minute until smooth. Cover and let rest 15 minutes, then knead again for 2 minutes. Try not to add too much reserved flour; the dough should be soft and a bit moist.
Clean the mixing bowl, lightly oil it, and put dough back in. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with a towel. Put bowl in a warm (not hot) place.
Leave until dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. On bottom shelf of oven, place a heavy-duty baking sheet, large cast-iron pan or ceramic baking tile. Punch down dough and divide into 4 pieces. Roll the piecees into balls, cover with a damp towel, and let rest for 10 minutes.
Remove 1 ball (keeping others covered) and roll to an 8-inch diameter, about 1/8 inch thick, dusting with flour if necessary. Carefully lift the dough circle and place quickly on hot baking sheet. After 2 minutes the dough should be nicely puffed. See below for a very fuzzy visual demonstration.
Turn over with tongs or spatula and bake 1 minute more. The pita should be pale, with only a few brown speckles.
Transfer warm pita to a cloth-lined plate and cover-- this will prevent the bread from drying out. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
To serve, sprinkle dukkah dust into a shallow bowl of olive oil and use as a dipping side for the warm pita!
Wrath of God Cheese
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours10 minutes
Every mezze platter needs at least two cheeses, especially if it's in celebration of a movie that has a few wonderfully cheesy moments. And it's even better when one of those cheeses is ON FIRE.
And yet it still doesn't melt under high heat...unlike the faces of the Nazis who incur THE WRATH OF GOD. Hehe.
Note, you can use feta or halloumi for this Saganaki-esque dish. I've sampled both, and both are delicious.
Ingredients
2 tbsp Olive Oil, divided
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1 tbsp Fresh Parsley, minced
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 tsp Lemon Juice
Block Halloumi/Feta in brine, sliced into 1/2 inch thick slabs
2 tbsp Flour
1/2 tbsp Brandy
Grape Tomatoes on the Vine
Instructions
First, whisk 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil, oregano, parsley, red pepper flakes, garlic, and lemon juice. This will be your finishing vinaigrette!
To prep the cheese, remove from brine and cut (if you haven't already) into 1/4 inch thick slices.
Dredge in flour until lightly coated.
In a small cast iron skillet, heat remaining olive oil over high heat. Add cheese and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes, then flip, using a slotted offset spatula, to fry the other side. Remove from heat, leaving cheese in the pan, and add tomatoes to one side of the pan.
Now it's time to recreate lightning. Fire. Power of God or something. Pour brandy into the pan and, USING A LONG LIGHTER, ignite the alcohol.
Be careful, as there is still some residual fat in the pan and you don't want to light your kitchen on fire.
Pour vinaigrette over the cheese and tomatoes, and serve immediately!
Medallions
Prep Time: 1 hour30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour45 minutes
Normally I don't like to make foods that look like props, but this recipe has some historical relevance-- technically, it's for Hamantaschen, a Jewish shortbread cookie that commemorates the defeat of a very bad dude in First Testament history. Traditionally the cookies are triangular in shape (to resemble the cut off ears of Haman, DAMN) but I've sacriligiously shaped them into rounds to mimic the topper on the staff of Ra.
Don't judge the janky pattern on the edges, I'm not a friggin' pastry chef.
Ingredients
3/4 cup dried pitted apricots and cherries
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp orange juice
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Pinch salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten and divided
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp grated orange zest
3/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
Begin with the red jammy filling-- see below for your sunny Ra-esque ingredients.
Roughly chop the fruit, combine with the next five ingredients in a saucepan. Stir and bring to a boil for one minute. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Stir every so often to prevent the fruit from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender or mini food processor, roughly puree your filling into a more jammy consistency.
Refrigerate until ready to fill your cookies!
The cookie dough is next-- in a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy.
Add the salt, vanilla, and half of your beaten egg and mix to fully incorporate. Lastly, add flour and zest and mix until a cohesive dough forms.
Form into a disc, wrap it well, and refrigerate it for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Flour a cutting board lightly, and roll dough into a rectangle approximately 1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough into circles with a 2 1/2 inch round cutter or glass. Then, using a shot glass or knife, cut a smaller circle into half of the cookie rounds, creating a donut shape. Using your finger, lightly brush the exterior of your full circles, and place your donut shaped cookie dough rounds directly on top of the full cirlces (the egg will help seal the two layers together). Drop about a tsp of the jam into the center hole you've created. Then, using your fork, it's time to get creative-- press to create birdlike indents that almost ("almost") look like the birdwings on the actual medallion.
Just go with it, ok?
Bake the not-quite hamantaschen cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom and edges. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool; just don't be an idiot and pick them up with your bare hands like that unnamed Nazi dude.
Notes
You can store these covered at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to a month.
Epilogue
I learned a lot about Middle Eastern cooking for Raiders of the Lost Ark! In particular, it was lovely drooling over all of Chef Ottolenghi’s cookbooks. Highly recommend.
Grumpy Old Men– the perfect movie to help you transition from Thanksgiving turkey time to whatever December holiday you choose to celebrate. The sixth of ten films in which great friends Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau costarred, Grumpy Old Men is set in the freezing …
I don’t really like musicals. Yep, I said it. But I LOVE Hamilton. I saw it twice—the first time as a favor to a person unloading a ticket in LA (the fool! Sorry Jess), and the second time with my Ma in Chicago. If you’re …
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 the pizza. Evidence from the year 2007 below, where a friend and I decided to have our own Ferris moment at the Sears Tower:
In the end, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is an almost perfect means of indulging in a little cinematic escapism. I still listen to the soundtrack on a Saturday afternoon drive when I’m trying to ignore the fact that I’m an adult (Flower Pot Men A+). And of course you know you’ve reached your 30’s when Cameron is a more preferable romantic interest than Ferris — but then there’s also Charlie Sheen to keep you honest/self destructive. Sloane, you bitch, you’re gonna do well in life. Jeannie, you badass– I hope you do even better.
So here it is, one of THE top John Hughes movies paired with a Chicago-y meal. If you’re a Chicago native, don’t get pissy about the brat dog– Ferris is SUPPOSED to be irreverent.
The Movie
The Menu
Gummy Bear Jello-usy Shots
Yield: 12-14 Shots
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Additional Time: 5 hours3 seconds
Total Time: 5 hours16 minutes3 seconds
Yes, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is primarily about Ferris and friends, but there's almost as much comedy derived from the people who SEETHE with Ferris-related jealousy. So here's a retro 80's shot for them. Eat it, Rooney-- with some gummy bears too. They're real warm and soft.
PS for my Chicago peeps: I considered a Malort cocktail. I really did. But I couldn't do it. I just couldn't.
Ingredients
1/2 Envelope of Gelatin
1/4 cup Midori
6 tsp Vodka
4 tsp Lime Juice
1/4 cup Pineapple Juice
1/4 cup Cold Water
30 gummy bears (2 per shot)
Instructions
To make your shots, you can either use individual shot glasses or an ice cube tray. I ended up switching to shot glass method pre-final assembly for presentation purposes, but ice cube trays definitely work better for bulk orders-- see below.
Lightly spray shot glasses OR an ice cube tray with baking spray-- this will allow them to slide out more easily once set. Place a gummy bear at the bottom of each shot glass or tray compartment.
Mix Midori, vodka, lime juice in a separate bowl and set aside.
Add gelatin to cold water and allow to sit and "bloom" for five minutes. Then add pineapple juice-- don't stir. Pour the gelatin mix into a small saucepan and heat, simmering until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Add your hot gelatin mix to the alcohol mix and pour immediately into your shot glass/tray. Dont worry if your gummies begin to melt a bit-- this will add a very cool bottom layer effect to your shot.
Refrigerate shots for an hour and a half until partly set. Feel free to add another gummy to the top of your shot at this point-- it shouldn't sink to the bottom, but sink slightly into the top. Continue to refrigerate for another two hours until fully set.
Chicago Brat Dogs
Yield: 2 Dogs
For the devaSTATINGLY handsome Sausage King of Chicago. If you've never had a Chicago Dog, wow-- here it is amped up with a German brat twist in celebration of the Ferris Bueller parade scene. This recipe makes two, and I ate them both. Danke schoen Chicago.
Ingredients
2 German Style Bratwurst Sausages
2 Poppy Seed Buns
2 Dill Pickle Spears
4 Slices Tomato
2 Tsp Relish
2 Pickle Spears
1 Tbsp Chopped White Onion
2 Pinches Celery Salt
Yellow Mustard
4 Sport Peppers
NO KETCHUP. DO. NOT. PUT KETCHUP ON THIS DOG.
Instructions
Gather your Chicago Dog toppings-- if you can find the "official" Chicago style condiments (peppers and relish pictured below), all the better.
Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill over medium low heat. Grill brats for 9-10 minutes on each side, pressing every once in a while to test done-ness.
Place your brats your buns. Then, proceed with toppings. Tomatoes go on one side, pickle spear on the other. Next, relish on the tomato side, onions and celery salt sprinkled on top, followed by as much yellow mustard as you want. Finish with sport peppers and attempt to twist and shout whilst eating with abandon.
Notes
If you can't find poppy seed buns, a helpful trick: brush a regular hot dog bun lightly with egg wash (egg white with a splash of water all mixed up). Sprinkle poppy seeds over the coated buns, and bake at 375 for 5 minutes until the poppy seeds set in the egg wash. That's what I did here!
Fringe Fries with Thyme
Yield: 2 Servings
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
There are a ton of memorable 80's fashion trends showcased in this film, but we needed an homage to Sloane's fringe-y jacket. With just a dash of thyme. Cause life moves pretty fast and stuff. RELEVANT PUNS.
Ingredients
1 Russet Potato
4-5 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
2 Cups Canola Oil
Flaky Salt
Instructions
Peel your potato and, using a mandolin (appropriate mandolin blade is 3mm), julienne the potato into very thin matchstick strips. If you don't have a mandolin, use a very sharp knife to slice your potatoes as thin as spaghetti noodles. Pat your potato strips dry with paper towels.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add potatoes in batches, with a thyme sprig or two per batch. Be careful not to let the potatoes crowd in the pan, stirring ever so slightly to keep them separate.
When potatoes reach a light golden brown color, lift them gently from the oil and set them on more paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with flaky salt, and keep warm. If need be, you can always reheat briefly in a toasty oven for a few minutes-- but they should stay crisp like potato chips. Yum!
Notes
Pro tip: save your potato peels! They're delicious when seasoned and roasted on their own.
24 hours beforehand, place your ice cream maker bowl in the freezer-- place it in the coldest part to get best results.
Also a day ahead: start your New York style vanilla ice cream base. In a small sauce pan, simmer heavy cream, milk, sugar and salt until thoroughly mixed and sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat but keep milk mixture warm.
Whisk your yolks together, and add about 1/2 cup of the heated cream into the yolks, continually stirring. This will heat the yolks before you add this mixture back to your sauce pan-- otherwise you might get scrambly egg bits.
Whisk the yolk mixture back into your sauce pan with the remaining sugared cream and return to medium low heat. Stir until mixture coats the back of your spoon and stays separated when you run your finger down the middle.
Strain your mixture into a freezer proof tupperwear. Chill for at least 4 hours to allow your mixture to thicken.
Next, add your Palmer House ingredients-- vanilla, cherries, and walnuts.
Add your mixture to your ice cream maker and churn baby churn (mine took about 30 minutes all in to get a nice soft serve consistency).
Refreeze for another hour or so to further set.
Now it is time to mix all your Chicago cone flavors. Using a freezer proof container, create two layers of scoops in a random flavor pattern from each flavor of ice cream.
Allow to soften for a few minutes, and use a knife to swirl the mix. Don't overswirl, or you'll end up with soup instead of a water color situation.
Refreeze for an hour before scooping into a waffle cone. Enjoy, and think existential thoughts.
Notes
There are more than a few ice cream makers out there-- I've owned a Cuisinart and it was great for bigger batches. But I don't eat ice cream that often, and for just me a pint size maker made much more sense (plus, so affordable!). Check out the recommended product below.
If any studio execs ever read this– please for the love of all that is cinematically holy do not make a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off remake with a Zac Efron wannabe. Learn and derive sufficient joy from the ill-fated TV series co-starring Jennifer Aniston before she knew better: