16 May 2015

Weekend Cooking: Movie Menus by Francine Segan

Weekend Cooking hosted by www.BethFishReads.comWeekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

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Movie Menus by Fancine SeganLike movies? Like Food? Then you're bound to get a kick out of Francine Segan's Movie Menus.

Author Segan sounds like someone I should meet: Her biography notes that she's a food historian, a good cook, and a movie fan. What's not to like? Plus we'd have a lot to talk about.

The concept behind Movie Menus is to match Hollywood films to recipes in terms of time period, place, and cultural norms. But Segan goes further by including all kinds of cool movie trivia scattered among the recipes.

Rather than match a single menu to a single movie, Segan organized her book by movie genre, pairing dishes and movie recommendations. For example, in the "Knights and Kings" chapter, which covers the Middle Ages, the recipes include meat pies, fruit pudding, and penne (a medieval Italian invention). Becket, several versions of the King Arthur story, and a number of Robin Hood movies are found in the list of recommended films.

The recipes in Movie Menus range from "Ancient Times" (stuffed figs) to modern times (shrimp with sugar snap peas) and the movies run the gamut from historic (Amistad) to romantic (Breakfast at Tiffany's) to perfect for the whole family (The Princess Bride).

All the recipes are doable and have been adapted to the modern kitchen. I thought it was fun to see the wartime recipes that were developed during times of rationing, dishes that Shakespeare might have eaten, and the hearty fare downed by cattlemen and pioneers in the Old West.

Here's a recipe for Prohibition Punch from the "Gangsters to Greasers" chapter. Make a batch and settle in to watch The Untouchables or Chicago. BTW, Segan notes that this tame recipe is excellent "with a generous splash of hooch."

Prohibition Punch
Serves 8
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 5 tea bags
  • 1/2 cup mint jelly
  • 1 cup grapefruit juice
  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • Juice of 4 lemons
1. Bring 3 cups of water and the sugar to boil in a small saucepan. Cook until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags, and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. Stir the mint jelly into the hot tea until completely dissolved.

2. Pour the tea mixture into a large pitcher along with the grapefruit, pineapple, and lemon juices and refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice.

Published by Villard Books, 2004
ISBN-13: 9780812969924
Source: Bought (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)


15 comments:

rhapsodyinbooks 5/16/15, 6:08 AM  

This sounds totally fun, and would make a great gift for movie buffs!

Jackie McGuinness 5/16/15, 7:30 AM  

I think I'd add the hooch!!

jama 5/16/15, 8:02 AM  

I have this book but have never tried any of the recipes. It's a fun book for sure and makes a good gift.

Sarah (Sarah's Book Shelves) 5/16/15, 8:26 AM  

Oooh - what a cool concept for a book!

Kay 5/16/15, 9:45 AM  

That book sounds fun. Think I'd enjoy looking through it at my leisure. :-)

Katherine P 5/16/15, 10:56 AM  

This sounds so fun! I love the idea of incorporating a menu into a movie night. I'll have to look for this one - especially with the mention of Princess Bride!

Esme 5/16/15, 11:51 AM  

this sounds like a fun read.

Vicki 5/16/15, 12:28 PM  

Fun! I love food and I love movies so I think I need to find this book!

Claudia 5/16/15, 2:33 PM  

An interesting book concept. Would definitely add the hooch.

Anonymous,  5/16/15, 4:55 PM  

This reminds me of that TV show in the 90s called Dinner & a Movie. They showed a different movie each week and found a recipe to match the movie. They showed clips and cooking tips right before and after the commercial breaks. It was one of my favorites as a kid.

shelleyrae @ book'd out 5/17/15, 6:48 AM  

An interesting theme for a cookbook :)

Anonymous,  5/17/15, 9:55 AM  

Such a clever & fun book!

(Diane) bookchickdi 5/17/15, 12:19 PM  

This sounds like fun for the movie and cooking fan. A great idea for party night too!

Shaina 5/17/15, 7:42 PM  

Oh my, this sounds absolutely delicious. I love boozy, citrusy drinks. ;)

Today's my first time linking up (yay!) and I've made some delicious blueberry muffins.

Melynda@Scratch Made Food! 5/18/15, 10:59 AM  

Good morning, we have a new blog! thanks for hosting.

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