Date I made these recipes:
February 26, 2017 – Academy Awards (Oscars)
2017
TCM (Turner Classic
Movies) Movie Night Menus – Dinner and Drink Recipes Inspired by Films We Love
by Tenaya Darlington and Andre Darlington
Published by Running Press
ISBN: 978-0-7624-6093-9/© 2016
Recipe: Bowtie Pasta with Spicy Vodka Cream Sauce –
p. 35 (Menu intended for the 1933 movie, "Female" along with a Vodka
Tonic and Boozy Olives, the last two recipes not listed here.)
The Lifestyles of the
Rich and Famous™ Cookbook – Recipes and Entertaining
Secrets from the Most Extraordinary People in the World by Robin Leach
Published by
Viking Studio Books
ISBN:
0-670-84245-1; © 1992
Purchased at Barnes and Noble (Used) – Roseville , MN
Recipe:
[Wolfgang Puck's] Whole Wheat Pizza with Chanterelles and Eggplant – p.
117
Sometimes it is a
good thing to be woefully behind with these posts because it gave me the
opportunity to talk about the kerfuffle at the end of this year's Oscars when the Best Picture winner was
announced.
In case you
missed it, here's what went down: Warren
Beatty and Faye Dunaway (a/k/a Bonnie and
Clyde, the movie of which is now 50 years old), came on stage to announce
the winner of the Best Picture. They read
the list of nominees, then Warren
opened the envelope but appeared puzzled by the envelope's contents. After turning the envelope practically inside
out, he showed it to Faye. She thought
he was stalling, said "You're impossible," and announced the
"winner," the film La La Land.
And so there was
much rejoicing and the La La Land
crew came up to give thanks and a couple of them started their acceptance
speeches. Suddenly, the stage was filled
with other people all looking at the envelope as well as some of the show's
staff talking into headsets, and then the third speaker from the film finished
up his speech by saying "We lost by the way."
What? What was he talking about? Turns out, there was an envelope mix up and
the Best Picture went to Moonlight,
not La La Land. So the La La people cleared the stage, the Moonlight people took the stage, gave
short and stunned acceptance speeches and then the program ended.
Immediately,
people went to work figuring out what went down and it wasn't long before we
learned that Warren and Faye were given the wrong envelope by the team
representing the accounting firm, Pricewaterhouse
Coopers, the firm that has been tabulating the Oscar votes for the past 83
years. Oops. Turns out PwC keeps two sets of each
"winning" envelope on hand which is a good idea, unless the envelope
handed to Warren and Faye was the envelope of an already-announced award (Best
Actress, Emma Stone), in which case it was a bad idea.
So okay, to
recap: Warren and Faye did not read the
right name, PwC goofed with the envelope, the producer for La La Land took the bull by the horns and practically shoved the
correct envelope into the camera showing that Moonlight won (way to take control of the situ, dude), the show
ended, everyone went to the after-parties and so the end, right?
Wrong. Within hours, there was call for an
"investigation" and I'm sorry, what?
This was not Watergate. This was
not a matter of national security, this is the Oscars folks. Oscars are
about films. And in the end, this
incident, unintentional as it was, likely helped Moonlight more than it hurt.
Historically, most people have a hard time remembering who won Oscar's most prestigious award, but not
this year. This is the year that Moonlight made history on many levels
(African-American picture, African-American cast and director of a movie about
African Americans and LGBT issues), and to me, this boo-boo only ensured we
will remember this film and so it's a win-win all around.
Still, this was
not my favorite award show snafu moment, not by a long shot. In 2010, a very stoned
(drunk? other?) Elizabeth Taylor (she
had trouble with pain meds and, apparently, alcohol) was selected to present
the 2001 Golden Globe for Best Motion
Picture – Drama, and to this day, that debacle is my absolute favorite award-announcement-gone-wrong
moment.
First, she
thought the nominees were listed inside the envelope and so started to open it
(the winner is inside the envelope). When
the audience clued her in, she said "Whaaaat? I don't open this?" and then "I'm
new at this. I usually like to get them
[awards]!" Ha!
Then host Dick
Clark stepped in to help her out saying "read the nominees
first." Then she said "What
is this [envelope] for? Oh I see." Oh dear God.
So then she read
the nominees (finally) and then opened the envelope and started pulling it
apart looking for the name. (I am
laughing as I write this). And finally,
she said "And the winner is...and it's flashing 'envelope'." Yes,
Virginia, she read the message on the teleprompter, the message that said
"envelope" as in "Read it already" and seriously, I about
slid out of my chair.
Finally –
finally, she read the winner's name and the way she said "Gladiator"
(Best Motion Picture – Drama) was hilarious. She sounded half surprised, half
delighted and again, half out of it. And
as if that wasn't enough, she tried to close out the show, thanking everybody
for coming and Holy Snort-able Moment, Batman, can someone get this woman
offstage and quickly? Here's the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGT-NUBNTZc
Naturally, and
just like this year's Oscar debacle,
this video went viral. Saturday Night
Live did a spoof of it as did an actor friend of mine who used to throw his
arms out dramatically while at the same time saying
"Glaaaaaaadiator." You might
have had to be there but it was hilarious.
Poor Elizabeth . Still, every year without fail, I not only
re-watch the clip, but I do my own imitation of her presenting the award. Priceless!
So sorry, Warren
and Faye, as good as this moment was, Elizabeth
takes the day!
And now on with
our story, (already in progress) - the 2017 Oscars
and what I made on movie night.
Actually, we need to take another slight detour because one of the books
I used on Oscar night was TCM Turner Classic Movies Movie Night Menus
and Robert Osborne, long-time host of the TCM
channel passed away last week at age 84.
Turner Classic Movies was a start-up cable station that was
owned originally by media mogul Ted Turner (thus, the name). If memory serves, Ted initially wanted to
colorize classic black & white
films, something that had the film community up in arms in two seconds flat. You think this year's Oscar kerfuffle was bad, you ain't seen nothing!
At any rate, that
idea went apparently by the wayside and today you can find a wide variety of
classic films, in black and white and color, on this station with commentary
and interesting trivia provided by Robert Osborn who signed on with TCM from the beginning (1994). I loved Robert's commentary as he had great
things to say about great films. He also
had insightful things to say about some not-so-great films as well. He'll be
missed.
Unlike the other
"dinner and a movie" cookbook I used for the SAG Awards, this one highlights only 30 films that have stood the
test of time and then provides a menu for us to follow that is tailored to each
movie. Just like the other book,
specialty cocktails are provided in every category.
Here's a sampling
of some of the movies in this book:
- The
Divorcee (1930)
- Grand
Hotel (1932)
- The
Thin Man (1934) - This
film's menu featured a dry martini, naturally. Nick and Nora fans will know what I
mean!
- The
- Adam's
Rib (1949) –
possibly my favorite Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy movie of all
time. Added bonus: the hilarious actress, Judy Holiday,
played Kate's legal client and she played it to perfection.
- The
Sting (1973) – This
movie is memorable to me because it was the first time I was asked out on
a date to go to the movies. I was
15 at the time, the guy, 16.
Unfortunately, and due to conditions of out of my control, the date
never happened and it was years before I watched this movie. (For the record, the boy was not the
problem. Just had to clarify that!)
- The
Big Chill (1983) –
"We took a secret vote. We're
not leaving. We're never
leaving."
- Moonstruck (1987) – Andy and I so loved this
movie, we walked back up the aisle at our wedding to the tune "That's
Amore." This easily could have
been a family documentary.
I am also happy to report that out of the list of 30 films,
there are only a few of the ones I have seen that I don't like: the aforementioned The Philadelphia Story (and also the musical that followed a few
years later, High Society, staring
Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra); Giant (1956); and An American
In Paris (1951). Let's parse these!
It is rare that I hate on Katharine Hepburn, but I just did
not like her character in The Philadelphia
Story. She played the very snotty and spoiled Tracy Lord and I just could
not deal. That said, I did like the way
she said Cary Grant's character name: "C.
K. Dexter Haven." Nice ring to it,
no?
Then there's Giant,
a film staring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean, a movie that was
sort of the precursor to the TV show, Dallas Hudson 's
character in particular just drove me nuts.
He played a Texas cattleman with an ego
as big as the state of Texas . At any rate, put me down for "no, thank
you."
You may be shocked to see An American in Paris on the list but try as I might, I just cannot
get into this story because there's just too much music and dance and this is
hilarious because I like music and dance!
That said, the movie's music, written by George Gershwin, is the stuff of legend and I've performed many of
the movie's songs both in my community band and as a vocalist at various and
sundry performance venues.
I could go on and on also about some of the rest of the
movies but we would be here all night so let's move on to the second featured
cookbook, The Lifestyles of The Rich and
Famous Cookbook by [the show's host] Robin Leach.
The title of the cookbook is the same title as this show
that aired pretty regularly from 1984 to 1989, and then very sporadically until
1995 before disappearing from the airwaves.
The show was hosted by a Brit – Robin Leach – who brought us into the
living room and lives of the rich and famous so we could all see how the other
half lived, lucky us.
The thing that I remember most about the show was not who
was showcased but Robin Leach himself.
The guy had a booming voice, prompting one comedian, I don't remember
who, to mimic the guy in a sketch:
"I'M SHOUTING AND I DON'T KNOW WHY!" I still use that line from time to time even
though nobody ever knows what I am talking about!
Since it had been a long, long time since last I saw the
show, I went to YouTube to reacquaint
myself with Robin's intro and was surprised/not surprised to see it
featured a brief clip of a very young Donald Trump walking
with a much younger Michael Jackson.
Wow. Talk about doing the Time Warp again! Indeed, this book is stuck in a time warp and
so let's discuss the who's who and the what's what of my second featured
cookbook.
The book's recipes are broken into categories, and within
each category is a recipe submitted by someone a) rich, and b) famous because
that's how this thing works. Our
categories for best rich and famous people's recipes are: "Extravagant
Affairs;" "Casual Entertaining;" "Relaxing at Home,"
and "Favorite Recipes of the Rich and Famous." I feel like I'm playing a special edition of Jeopardy!
Under "Extravagant Affairs," we have an entry
titled "Congratulations Elizabeth and Larry," and what do you know,
no sooner did I talk about Elizabeth Taylor above than here she is featured
with her 8th (and final) husband, Larry.....somebody. (Had to look that one up.) Actually, Larry Fortensky to whom our Liz was
married from 1991-1996. Larry and Liz's
wedding feast was featured in the book and included "Fettuccine with
Seafood" and "Roast Chicken with Morel Sauce."
Alas, Larry and Liz were unlucky at love as were two other
celebrities listed in the "Casual Entertaining" section: Ivana Trump, The Donald's first wife, and
Wolfgang Puck and Barbara Lazaroff. Wolfgang is known as the official caterer
of the Academy Awards Governors Ball
and up until they got divorced, wife and business partner, Barbara Lazaroff worked
in the business with him. No matter as
Wolfgang's food is good and was a perfect pairing to go with the TCM Cookbook's pasta dish.
Another couple who bit the dust were the "Relaxing at
Home" team of Bruce (now Caitlin) and Kris Jenner, and unless you've been
living under a rock, you know how that whole story played out so no need to go
there. Also found under the
"Relaxing at Home" category were former pro baseball player, Steve
Harvey, and his wife Candace Garvey and wow, you want to read the saga of
someone who "played the field" (sorry, I could not resist the pun),
check out his bio on Wikipedia. Let's just say the man had a lot of women and
children in his life, plural.
Then we have "Favorite Recipes of the Rich and
Famous," and I don't know why some of these people were listed here and
not elsewhere in the book, but I did not write the book so there you go. It is here we find recipes from actress Joan
Collins, actors Jerry Lewis and Roger Moore as well as Regis and former TV show
partner, Kathie Lee (now Kathie Lee Gifford).
Rounding out this category was a submission from The Beverly Hills Hotel
that made me laugh because the book is all about rich and famous people and
then, inexplicably, a building appears.
Given that tonight was a night celebrating movies, I really
wanted to make a recipe from someone associated with Hollywood versus someone who made a name in
another field, but that was somewhat hard to do as the latter outnumbered the
former. So I decided finally that
Wolfgang Puck was close enough because of his famous Oscar party connection and so I was good to go.
I was all set to make a Wolfgang pizza (he's famous for his
pizza) and even selected one – "Black Forest Ham and Goat Cheese Pizza"
- as that sounded delicious, but I started getting a nagging feeling I made
that before, and sure enough, I did!
Check out my blog postings from February 2009 and there you will find
it.
Since I knew I wanted to make pasta from the other cookbook,
I just simply substituted another of Wolfgang's pizzas and it was a
winner. The recipe is for a Whole Wheat Pizza with Chanterelles and
Eggplant and it was great even if I did make a few adjustments that are
noted in the recipe recap below.
And so, dear reader, we had ourselves a pizza and pasta Oscar-viewing night and it was grand but
I have to tell you that I felt like I was dining out at a Sbarro restaurant. Anybody
remember Sbarro? It was a fast-casual pizza and pasta place,
popular in the 1980's and maybe early 90's.
And do you know what kids? They
are still operating! And not only are
they still operating, but apparently they are in the food court in the Rosedale
Mall, a mall I just visited this afternoon.
I guess I don't get out much anymore.
This then concludes Oscar
Night 2017 with its attendant trauma-drama as well as all the dirt that's fit
to print about some of the celebrities involved in this and past Oscars.
Good times.
Until next year....
Bowtie Pasta with
Spicy Vodka Cream Sauce – serves 2 – from TCM
(Turner Classic Movies) Movie Night Menus
1 jar (12 ounces) roasted peppers in olive oil, drained (Ann's Note: it would figure that the minute I needed to
find roasted peppers in oil, I couldn't, not even from an Italian grocery
store!)
1 small clove garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup vodka
½ pound bowtie pasta
¼ cup heavy ream
1 sprig fresh basil, leaves sliced into ribbons, for garnish
Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
(Ann's Note: notice that tomatoes are nowhere to be found
in this recipe. Instead, it's red
peppers and tomato paste. I must say
though, I thought it was refreshing!)
Puree the peppers and garlic in a blender until smooth, then
pour the mixture into a saucepan over medium heat and add the tomato paste,
pepper flakes, and vodka. Stir. In a separate pan, start cooking your pasta,
according to the box instructions.
Simmer the vodka sauce for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the
sauce tastes sweet-hot, without being too bitter. (If it still tastes bitter, cook it a few
minutes more or add a teaspoon or two of sugar.
The cream will also mellow it.)
Add the cream to the sauce and stir. Heat gently.
Drain pasta and separate into warmed bowls. Ladle sauce over the pasta and top with fresh
basil and black pepper.
Whole Wheat Pizza with
Chanterelles and Eggplant – serves 4 – Wolfgang Puck's recipe is from The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous™ Cookbook – Recipes and Entertaining
Secrets from the Most Extraordinary People in the World
For the Whole
Wheat Dough
Ann's Note: I
cheated an purchased an already-made and non-whole wheat pizza dough to save
time, but if you like to make dough, then rock on.
1 enveloped
active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 cup cool water
1 tablespoon
olive oil
1 tablespoon
honey
Pinch salt
3 ¾ cups whole
wheat flour
For the
topping
1/3 cup olive oil
2 medium
eggplants, trimmed and sliced ¼-inch thick
Salt and freshly ground
pepper
½ pound
chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and sliced ¼-inch thick
2 cups freshly
grated mozzarella cheese
¼ pound fresh
goat cheese, cut into ¼-inch cubes
3 to 4 garlic
cloves, minced
1 medium leek,
cleaned, trimmed, and thinly sliced
4 plum tomatoes,
thinly sliced
1 tablespoon
finely chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon
chopped fresh oregano
Fresh thyme
sprigs
Ann's Note:
As you'll see, the recipes calls for you to sauté only the eggplant and
mushrooms, but I took it up a level and sautéed all but the tomatoes and I
loved the result. Leeks are great when
softened and I wasn't sure I wanted that full flavor that raw ones bring. It's up to you but I think you'll like the result.
That said, the by-the-book instructions follow.
To make the
dough
In a small bowl,
sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let proof for 5 to 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the cool water
with the olive oil, honey, and salt.
Place the flour in the bowl of a food processor. With the motor running, slowly pour the olive
oil mixture, then the yeast through the feed tube. Process until the dough forms a ball around
the blade. Transfer to a buttered bowl,
cover, and let rise until doubled in bulk.
Punch the dough
down and knead it on a lightly floured work surface for about 1 minute. Divide into 4 equal parts and roll into tight
balls. Place on a tray, cover with a
damp towel, and let rest for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Ann's Note:
Hmmm....interesting that he suggested to refrigerate overnight because
here's what often happens: chilled dough
does not roll out very easily. Ours was refrigerated when I bought it and then
got stored overnight in the fridge and Andy had a hell of a time rolling it
out. This is not the first time this
has happened and after this, I will make a mental note not to do that. If at
all possible, buy it fresh or make it fresh.
Roll or stretch
each ball into a circle 7 to 8 inches in diameter.
Place a pizza
stone in the oven and preheat to 500F.
Lightly dust a wooden pizza paddle with flour or semolina. Working with one circle at a time, place the
pizza dough on the paddle. Ann's Note: Okay....no.
We don't have a pizza stone and we most certainly don't have a pizza
paddle, are you kidding me, Wolfgang? So
here's what we did instead: we set the
oven to 450 and cooked the pizza 10-12 minutes (Wolfgang's cooking time for the
whole thing), and then we lowered the temp to about 350 and baked it another 10
minutes or so. And we used a
"regular" pizza pan because that's what is in most people's kitchens. Worked fine.
One final Ann's
Note: My grandmother used a boxed hot
roll mix for her pizza dough and to this day, I can still taste how glorious
that crust was. It still contained yeast
but the dough ended up being thick without being deep-dish thick and I loved
that. She was also a master at spreading
that dough out on the pizza pan; I am most decidedly not a master at that. In fact, so frustrated do I get by that
endeavor that I turn that job over to Andy who does a much better job with
it.
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