Throughout the world sounds
one long cry from the heart of the artist: Give me the chance to do my very
best.
Babbette's Feast
It's Oscar night and as I'm watching, I'm thinking (naturally) of food. More specifically, movie food.
No, not this kind
 |
| well, okay. Maybe I am also thinking of this kind. Would someone please pass the popcorn? |
Not food that's at movies, food that's in movies. Like this-
 |
| The Great Race. Best food fight ever. |
 |
| Hook. Second best food fight ever. |
 |
| Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. When the food fights back. |
And these. Movies that celebrate all the art and work and wonder that's served up in a glorious meal:
Stanley Tucci and Tony Shaloub (aka Mr. Monk, in his pre defective detective days) in The Big Night.
The mountain in front of them is the real star of the show, a mythic pasta dome called a timpano. Here's the recipe, but I warn you, it is for neither the faint of heart or the short of time.
Doubt me? Take a look inside:
And a movie that is for me a universal, never-ending inspiration:
 |
| The luminous Babbette's Feast. In my list of fictional heroes,Babbette's right up there with Wolverine, Owen Meany, Jane Eyre and the crew of the Serenity. |
You're only a quick google search away from list after list of all time greats of the genre- or you would be, if I hadn't already searched. Now you're even closer than that. Check out your own favorite food movies or investigate new ones here at epicurious or on the list at Bon Appetit, pop some popcorn, put on a movie and wait for kitchen brainstorms to strike.
I myself wrote our foodscript this week, and yet whole pages of it were thrown to the winds of chance and practicality. We did manage roast chicken, and had a whole henhouse of leftovers; according to the dictates of the weather, it'll be either a cool chicken salad (thanks Liz- that's another inspiration I owe you) or a hot chicken pot pie tomorrow.
Gumbo was stewed up on Friday night, with a plateful of its components left unstewed for the preschool set (who prefer food that isn't touching other food). And do you know what we discovered?!?
Look at that okra. Did you know that it is exactly the right size to form a finger ring for a nearly two year old? Well it is. Food that turns into jewelry. Way, way cool.
On Saturday, a trip to the food artists at Dean and Deluca for a well deserved piece of edible art:
 |
| I won't tell you what difficult obstacle she'd overcome, but it was a pretty big deal. Actually, I think that she's a pretty big deal too. |
And, my fellow food/chemistry/design/art nerds, Dean & Deluca, together with the departments of wowee and gee whiz, bring you this little overpriced-yet-somehow-worth-it toy:
 |
| sorta makes you want to run home, put on a lab jacket and start experimenting. Of course, there may be a problem finding test subjects for the human trials..... |
 |
| Dinner in technicolor. Thankyou, eyes.You may not be all that great at focusing, but I'm glad you can give me moments like this. |
The brisket we'd planned for Sunday invited rejection by placing its not-on-sale self right next to the on-sale pork roast in Harris Teeter's meat cooler, so we rejected it, and on Tuesday we'll give the pork roast a go with this very promising recipe for pulled pork. The recipe is there, I promise. Just scroll slowly past all those lovely pictures (try not to drool) and you'll find it.
On Tuesday night, I'll try to come up with an ingenious plan for the inevitable pork roast leftovers; on Wednesday, you'll find out what it is.
For now,
I hope that you remember.
I hope that you remember that you are, if you wish to be, an artist.
And as the comedies and tragedies of every day occur,
I hope you discover in yourself the writer, the producer, the director,the supporting actor, the star.
I hope that this week you step into a world in need of beauty
and find that in your mighty soul and your hard working hands
you posses all the talent your art requires.
No comments:
Post a Comment