The Origin Of My “Dinner And A Movie” Series…
Over the weekend, probably due to the Oscars airing on TV, I got a number of questions about my “dinner and a movie” series: where I watch a classic film and make a dish that is featured in or inspired by the movie!
What promoted me to do this? Well, it all started with the meatball, as many things do!
This is Clemenza, teaching Michael Corleone how to make a meatball dinner for a bunch of mobsters holed up in a house together…so I made this recipe and watched my favorite film of all time, “The Godfather”…here is that recipe:
That started it all…I began to look for dishes that are featured in movies, make that dish and watch the film!
I’ve made a number of dishes that were inspired by cinema….for example, as part of the “Dinner And A Movie” series, I cooked “Downton Abbey”-style, in honor of this terrific TV series that became a film!
I love cooking food from different eras as well, which is another reason I wanted to make a dish from this show – and I had just the cookbook to help me do just that!
The “Unofficial” Downton Abbey Cookbook!
First thing about this book, as you can see, the cover goes to great lengths to point that that this is not an officially sanctioned cookbook, but it’s still a terrific collection of recipes that evoke the “Downton Abbey” era – with dishes from both “Upstairs” and “Downstairs” – yes, the staff would have traditional fare like “Toad In The Hole” and “Bubble And Squeak”, while the family upstairs in the formal dining room would feast upstairs on “Squab with Fig Foie Gras” and “Lobster Newburg”, which is described this way in the cookbook:
“This modern and spicy entree would be different from what most Edwardians would expect – just like Lady Sybil’s own personality!”
Jessie Brown Findlay played Lady Sybil Crawley, a free spirit who fell in love with the family Chauffeur – spicy indeed!
Time to see if we can match it!
Sybil’s Seafood Newburg!
So that’s the recipe as presented in the cookbook, let’s get this “Dinner And A Movie” feast going!
“Spicy” Indeed!
The key to the color and richness of this dish is the Paprika, so I brought out the authentic stuff that Alex and I bought in Budapest last fall…along with three of my favorites: garlic, garlic and garlic!
The first step is making the roux for the sauce…I combined my garlic along with shallots and butter and sautéed them in a pan:
I added my Paprika, which was mixed with curry powder, nutmeg and flour, and added the two together, also adding tomato paste, sherry, etc as the recipe states…once I had my Roux smooth, I added the rest of the liquid to give it a smoothness and body…
Time For The Lobster!
Next up, time to prepare the seafood that will go in this dish, beginning with these Lobster Tails…I also added Shrimp AND Scallops as well!
While the recipe called for boiling the seafood, I chose to put it all raw in the sauce – except for the Scallops, which I seared in butter over high heat for several minutes to give them color:
Add all of the seafood to the sauce and let it simmer until the Lobster and Shrimp are cooked – meanwhile, make some buttered noodles to ready:
The last touch: ladle a lot of that rich seafood sauce over the noodles and add a sprinkle of fresh parsley – and guess what? It’s time for a feast!
Well, I loved the rich decadence of the sauce – real Hungarian Paprika just can’t be beat – and virtually ANYTHING over butter noodles is. a winner for me!
There’s my “Dinner And A Movie” recipe from the “Unofficial Downtown Abbey” Cookbook – I plan to dig in and try a few other recipes as well…
Recently I shared this recipe for “Tampopo!”
This “dinner and a movie” celebrated the power of ramen noodles!
Click here for recipes and a look at this terrific, delicious movie!
Of course, making food from a film is only as good as the movie itself – but don’t worry, this one delivers!
These “eggs in a hole” come courtesy of Cher and Nicolas Cage – click here for the recipe from the classic comedy “Moonstruck!”
Food and Hollywood have a very long relationship – and here’s a legendary restaurant that’s been part of both for more than 100 years!
Musso & Frank serves the best food in town to the biggest stars in the world!
See why by clicking only story here:
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Movies, Recipes, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Hi John, I remember the meatballs post and the Downton Abbey recipe book. I didn’t recall the dish which sounds delicious.
I enjoyed your dinner and a movie series, and look forward to the next ones.
Best wishes, Pete.
I’ve never watched Downton Abbey, but The Godfather Part 1 is one of my all-time favourite films too. “Ya trow in the meatballs, add a little wine… and tell that nice girl you love her. I love you with alla my ‘art… if I don’ see you soon I’m a gonna die!” Lol, I’ve watched that film so many times!
I always enjoy your dinner and a movie combo posts –
Thank you!