You ever party a little too hard? You ever wake-up really hungover? Like me, you probably then go to a greasy spoon to get a meal to help you repair. Then you might like to just lay on the couch and do nothing for the rest of the day and swear off booze forever. But, while eating brunch, I started wondering what I was going to make for dinner that night. It was a Sunday and I had to go grocery shopping for the week, anyway. Then, a very dim bulb went off in my head. The Oscars were going to be on that night. So, why don’t I make a dish based off of one of the movies?
Even though I hadn’t seen any of the movies, that would be a simple enough idea to do. I decided to be playful and make Roma tomato marinated chicken tacos. How clever a boy, I am! But then, as I kept sipping coffee waiting on my food order, the caffeine started powering up that light bulb a little more...that was so easy to think of...why not do an entire tasting menu with a dish for each best picture nominee? Why not?! Again, I had not watched ONE of these films, so I had to do a little research to even know what some of the films were about. I asked the server for an extra pen and got scribbling away. Below is how it all came out, in order of how I prepared the tasting menu, with a little explanation for each dish.
A Star is Born - This movie was about an alcoholic musician, so might as well make a drink! I used star anise, as a play on the film’s name, both as a garnish and in the Long Winter’s Nap simple syrup which I additionally infused with cardamom seeds, cinnamon stick, ginger and clover. When I went to float the star anise at the top of the cocktail it kept sinking, so I sliced a lemon, sprinkled it with sugar and broiled it for a little texture. The drink was delicious and I need to make another one soon...but it’s mid-April now, so maybe later this year, I guess!
BlacKkKlansman - This one, I must admit, I’m pretty damn proud of. This was long before my food blog/Instagram days where I was trying to be creative on a much more regular basis. The movie portrayed how a black undercover officer infiltrated the KKK. So, I decided to make black sesame dumplings cloaked in white. This is more like a dessert and the syrupy dipping sauce was useful in chewing because these were otherwise a bit gummy. Think of these like an unfrozen Mochi ice cream treats.
Black Panther - How do you get inspired to make a meal from a superhero movie? These types of movies are not my cup-of-tea and, apparently, give me a little trouble (as you’ll see in my 2020 retrospective with Joker - coming next week). “Wakanda” just kept running through my head - which somehow conjured up A Fish Called Wanda (admittedly, another movie I’ve never seen)...so, naturally (of course!), the dish idea morphed into “A Fish Called Wakanda”. Since the superhero was a person-of-color, I made a black cod with miso and pickled ginger.
Roma - As mentioned above, the name itself led me to incorporate roma tomatoes. Since it was based in Mexico, I decided to marinate some chicken thighs in a tomato-lime mixture, seasoned them with smoked paprika and cilantro and threw them on the grill. I make these ”street tacos” frequently in the warmer months of the year.
Green Book - The name screams “make a green salad”, so I did. Again this was pre-food blog/Insta days and the photo is not that great, so just envision a nice salad of greens, herbs, green peppers and cucumbers. It was a nice light break between dishes.
Vice - This one made me and my fiancé literally laugh out loud when I came up with the idea. If you’re unaware (or have forgotten), long ago Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot one of his friends in the face while they were quail hunting. So, I decided to fry quail eggs and mimic birdshot by sprinkling on some poppy seeds. While photographed separately, I paired these with the next dish . . .
The Favourite - Apparently, there’s a scene about duck racing in this film, so I made duck confit. This already rich dish preparation was even more luxurious when dressed with the runny yolks from the quail eggs.
Bohemian Rhapsody - This movie about Queen had me thinking of England. It was the last film I had jotted down and I thought “why not finish with a dessert?” Seems appropriate. I thought of trifle or Eton mess, but those are typically summer desserts and it was February. Luckily, there’s also an English dessert called Queen of Puddings, a natural fit! I had never heard of it prior to that day, but it involves brioche, fruit and toasted meringue. I paired it with some champagne to top off the night.
______________________________
Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
コメント