Tuesday Five – Five Foodie Films I Love

I was able to catch Julie & Julia this weekend. It was fabulous! Meryl Streep is sure to get a nod from the Academy, and Nora Ephron deserves a prize for melding two books – Julia Child’s My Life in France and Julie Powell’s Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously – into a marvelous screenplay. Ephron also directed the film. Someone give the woman a prize now! I love Nora. Not too long ago, I read her book of personal essays, I Feel Bad About My Neck: and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman. There was something in all of her experiences that I could relate to, but that’s a topic for a different post.

This film is a three-pronged love story: there is the love the women have for food and cooking; the love each woman has for her husband, and the love each husband has for his wife. You can’t help but walk away from the film feeling good about these relationships, and I dare you to walk away without a strong urge to make Boeuf Bourguignon (recipe courtesy of Knopf).  Since seeing the film I have tried to purchase Julia’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in two different bookstores. At each store the book had sold out. Apparently, the film has boosted sales. I now have one on order.

If you have not seen The Big Night, your life is incomplete. This film, above all other foodie films, makes you salivate and groan. I still remember how the audience moaned when every course was introduced to the diners on “the big night” – the night Louis Prima was to make an appearance at the restaurant. Your senses will truly be tested by this film. At its end, you’ll not only want to gorge yourself on some extraordinary Italian food, you’ll want to jump and jive to the sounds of Mr. Prima.

I need to only say three things about Chocolat: Johnny Depp, chocolate, and magic.

Bottle Shock is the little film that could. Everyone who loves wine, competition, and surprises should see this. If you’re an Alan Rickman fan, like I am, you’ll definitely want to watch it.

Here’s another film that includes fermented grapes – Sideways. Touching and humorous performances make this film worth cuddling up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn.

Food – Making Homemade Tomato Sauce

Not too long ago, I planted several tomato plants. My plants have been bountiful, and I’ve been eating tomatoes harvested from my garden in a variety of ways. Today, I wanted to “get rid of” a large harvest easily, so I decided to make a sauce. If you’re overwhelmed by the tomatoes you’re reaping in your yard, you might want to try this recipe. I’m pleased to say that the fresh herbs in this recipe also came from my garden.

Step 1 - Set oven to 350 degrees. Wash, then cut the tops off of your tomatoes. Place on a baking sheet covered with foil. Slather each tomato with olive oil. Use your hands to be sure the entire tomato gets a light coating. Salt and pepper each tomato. Bake for 60 minutes.

After your tomatoes have roasted in the oven, you'll see that their skins are wrinkled and soft. Let the tomatoes cool until you're able to handle them. You don't want to burn your hands.

Now that the tomatoes are cool enough for you to handle, gently remove the skin. It's easier than you think. Hold your tomato over a bowl so that juice escaping during the skinning process is captured. After the skin is removed you can leave the tomato whole or cut/tear it into a few pieces.

My efforts yielded 3 cups/24 oz. of roasted tomatoes. Now, I'm ready to make sauce. You'll have to adjust the recipe if you have more or less than 3 cups/24 oz.

Put the tomato sauce into a sauce pan. Add 1/4 c. of brown sugar and 1/4 c. of red wine to the sauce. Saute 1 large shallot, a few fresh oregano leaves, and some fresh thyme (about 1 tbls) in some olive oil (about 1 tbls). Once the shallot is opaque, add this mixture to the sauce. I also added a frozen cube of homemade pesto sauce. You can learn about freezing pesto here - http://www.instructables.com/id/Pesto-Freezing-Method/.

Simmer all together until you're ready to serve it. I'm serving mine with homemade meatloaf and roasted root vegetables.

Endangered Foods – Eat ’em before they’re gone!

Tomorrow there is an unusual banquet in Newcastle, England. The banquet will include ten ingredients from around the world from the “Slow Food” Ark of Taste list, the “endangered species” of the food world.

You can find a complete list of endangered foods here.

American endangered foods are listed here.

To learn more about the banquet go here.

Pink Chewing Gum Art by Italian artist Maurizio Savini

Edible Art? Well, maybe not. You have to admire an artist who uses a medium that wouldn’t normally be thought of as art-ready. And, you also have to appreciate his skill! Learn more about Maurizio Savini at PASTIFICIOCERERE and see more of his art at Dump Trumpet. I originally found out about this artist at Slashfood.

Food as Art – Carved Food

Visit this site to see more beauties.

Christmas Cheese Log

Handmade Christmas Goodies – Chili Beer Bread

I decided to make all of my gifts this Christmas – to save money and to create something meaningful. I wrote a post earlier about making candles. That is one gift I am delivering. I’m also providing mixes for chili beer bread and jambalaya.

The bread mix is a kitchen-tested recipe. It’s very good. Here’s what you need:

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seed powder
• 1 12 oz. beer
• 1/4 c. of melted butter

You’ll find the instructions for making Chili Beer Bread on the recipe tags I created. If you’re making the mix for gifts, put all of the dry ingredients into quart-sized ziploc bags. Squeeze out the air as your zipping the bags closed. Cut out the instructions, paste on to the back of recycled Christmas cards, punch holes in the cards, and tie to your homemade gift bags. I also included my own label. All gift bags were made from scrap fabric.

I packaged the chili beer bread mix with a mix for jambalaya and a candle. Everyone in my family is getting a custom package.

State Fair of Texas 2007 – Fried Food

Every year food vendors at the State Fair of Texas redefine what foods can be fried. This year is no different.

Below is a short list of FRIED FOOD that Big Tex recommends you try. [source]

Best Taste
Texas Fried Cookie Dough – Fresh cookie dough, made from scratch with pecans, chocolate chips and coconut, lightly battered and deep fried. Dough comes out the fryer warm and gooey, just like oven baked! Topped with chocolate syrup or whipped cream. Location: Nimitz Drive near the Embarcadero.

Most Creative
Deep Fried Latte – A delicately fried, light puff pastry, with a hint of coffee, is topped with cappuccino ice cream, sweet syrup, whipped cream and instant coffee sprinkles. Location: Nimitz Drive.

Honorable Mention
Fernie’s Fried Chili Frito Burrito – A flour tortilla, dipped in chicken broth for extra flavor, is loaded up with a heaping spoonful of spicy Texas chili & smashed Chili Cheese Fritos and deep fried until golden. Served hot & spicy with a choice of toppings. Location: Dock Restaurant inside the Embarcadero Building.

B.W.’s Original Fried Banana Pudding — Chilled, specially-made banana pudding is ladled into a grilled tortilla and fried to a crisp golden brown. It’s dusted with powdered sugar while warm, then surrounded by a cloud of whipped topping. Location: Tower Building.

Zesty Fried Guacamole Bites – Creamy avocado mixed with cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses and salsa is dipped in a zesty batter and fried to perfection. Served with ranch dressings or salsa. Location: Midway in the Thrill Zone.

Country Fried Peach Cobbler-on-a-Stick — Made-from-scratch peach cobbler is cooked thick with dumplings, rolled into a thin pastry dough and quick fried to a golden brown. It’s topped off with brown sugar, cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg. Location: Tower Building .

Mama’s Fried Sweet Potato Pie – A generous portion of third-generation-recipe sweet potato pie filling is spread on a soft flour tortilla and lightly fried to a crisp. Served plain or with a light sprinkle of cinnamon and powdered sugar. Location: Cotton Bowl Plaza & Midway

Tuesday Five – Cool Food for Hot Summer Days

• CoolFoodKidz – food fun for little ones
• Cool Food Summer Guide
• Cool Summer Pie
• Cool Food at Squidoo
• Cool Food Video (not for the squeamish)

Tuesday Five – Yummy Food Sites

Cooking with flare, now made easy -

• Becks and Posh
• startcooking.com
• Slashfood
• Cooking for Engineers
• Candy Blog (Sure, it’s not a perfect fit, but who can resist candy?)