Giant Movie Night: Cairo Station Rations

GMN Week nine
Film: Cairo Station (1958).
Snack: All bought in Cairo, Egypt, on our recent vacation: Choco Wafer (coconut cream and chocolate wafer made by National Food Company Americana CAKE of Saudi Arabia); Hazelnut Cream KitKat (made in Albania, as far as I could tell from the packaging); and Miaow Miaow 108 Chicken Crackers (Keropok Perisa Ayam), made in Malaysia and containing "vegetarian chicken powder"
Guests: Dan.
Outcome: A story of unions and union-busting, foreign chocolate candy bars being superior to U.S. chocolate candy bars, love, rage, fiery women, train travel, and lameness.  It was a passion-filled evening!

Also, Miaow Miaow Chicken Crackers are probably not meant to be cat food, but the packaging is confusing.  They look and taste a little styrofoam-y.

And -- the director's mini film on Cairo in the 90s that is included with the Cairo Station DVD is worth watching.



Several Egyptian snack purchases remain. I'll be eating more soon.

Giant Movie Night Breaks the Aboriginal Curse!

GMN Week eight
Film: The Last Wave (Criterion).
Snack: Anzac biscuits (made by Carolyn), Tim Tams (slammed or un-slammed).
Guests: Carolyn, Moss, Hero, Dan.
Outcome: Tomorrow is Australia Day, but it's already tomorrow in Australia. We thought we'd celebrate with another Giant Movie Night. Like an Australian Angel Heart from 1977, The Last Wave left me befuddled and haunted. Also, it turns out that Anzac biscuits are quite good -- flaky and buttery and sweet. I assumed they'd be dry and hard, and am thrilled to have been wrong.



Carolyn also brought along a dictionary of Australian slang, which is how I know what "a packet of poo tickets" means. Do you?

Happy Australia Day, everyone!

Blade Runner made Funner.

(Replicant's Rocky Road Rice Pris-y Treats at the movies)



(That's chocolate, Nutella, salted and toasted almonds, mini marshmallows, and rice cereal. Yes.)


GMN Week seven
Film: Blade Runner ("Final Cut" version)
Snack: Double Deckard Cheese Melts, Replicant's Rocky Road Rice Pris-y Treats, wine, flourless chocolate tart, something like tiramisu (?).
Guests: Dan, Molly, David.
Outcome: This is one of my favorite movies, and we finally own it on DVD (and Blu-Ray, to boot). Molly and David brought a well-chosen wine and desserts from Il Passatore. The movie was a little gorier than I remembered, but I didn't miss the voice-over.



If you'd like to make the cheese melts, which were amazing, follow this recipe. I used shallot salt instead of onion salt, and added a little red onion and hot mustard to the cheese mixture. We also topped them with parsley before baking.

Giant Movie Night -- Accidentally Awesome

 

 GMN Week six Film: Boogie Nights, starring Luis Guzmán, as far as I'm concerned. With Thomas "Mr. Patricia Arquette" Jane of Hung, interestingly enough. 

Snack: Spotted Dick (a gift from Rusty), ice cream. 

Guests: Dan. 

Outcome: It was another quiet Giant Movie Night. I appreciated the film on this re-viewing. Like Casino, it's the sort of stylish epic (with just enough humor) that I don't get tired of.

 

Canned Spotted Dick was a frightening and exciting treat. I may have mentioned I'm not too big on raisins, and this is basically a stiff sponge cake with raisins (if only it had been currants, as described on the Wikipedia page). However, once steamed in the microwave it wasn't half bad. It was a little like slightly dry pumpkin bread (with raisins). I didn't even need to cover it with ice cream to make it palatable. Perhaps the non-canned version is grosser? I thought it would be grosser. In short: this snack was not terrible at all. Thanks, Rusty! It was only due to your thoughtfulness that I had the chance and encouragement to try it. Still, the cake does manage to look unappealing. You could work on that, Brits. But don't let me tell you your business.

Giant Movie Night -- Bowie Bars Fwends!

GMN Week five
Film: Labrynth, starring David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, and a fake baby.
Snack: Bowie Bars, carrots and hummus, taro chips.
Guests: Dan, Dave Johnny, Kevin D.
Outcome: This was a great Giant Movie -- nutty and sweet and soft like the Bowie Bars, as well as silly and dated in a pleasing way. Why didn't I notice how tight Bowie's pants are when I first watched this as a child? It's awful hard to miss.


Bowie Bars
Adapted from Ruth Wakefield's Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, a recipe found in The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook

2/3 c. (5.3 oz) unsalted butter, melted
2 1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. bread flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. peanut butter chips
1 c. chopped pecans

Stir together (I used my KitchenAid mixer) the melted butter and brown sugar until combined and smooth. Add vanilla and stir to combine. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set dry ingredients aside.

To the wet ingredients, add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition until incorporated. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, while stirring. Add baking chips and nuts. Stir to incorporate.

Press this dough into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

Bake the bars roughly 30-35 minutes at 350 F, until set and golden brown. Cool before cutting into squares. The center of the bars will be set and baked through, but squishy and not dry. You can also use all-purpose flour in this recipe (as called for in the original). Bowie wouldn't use all-purpose, though. I'm pretty sure. He might also throw in some glitter, which I wouldn't recommend.

Giant Movie Night: Hot Stuff!

Meet Cholula and Jackie!

GMN Week four
Film: Ian loaned me Jackie Brown, which I hadn't seen before.
Snack: Mexican! Chips and stuff, hot sauce, salsa.
Guests: Dan.
Outcome: The movie was giant; the guests were few (one). I think the story and acting were stronger than the director (no fan of Tarantino, I), but it was a good flick.

Giant Movie Night: Thrills and Chills

Last week's film was a comedy, so I felt we needed something different this time around. We cranked up the fans and settled down with some chilled treats and a chilling flick.

GMN Week three
Film: Shallow Grave, one of my most-watched movies. I've probably seen it 6 or 7 times and it does not disappoint.
Snack: Vegan cranberry pomegranate gelatin, chocolate peanut butter pudding pie, frozen grapes, prosecco.
Guests: Dan, Rachel, Hero.
Outcome: The film's from 1994 and hardly seems dated at all. The pie recipe's my mom's, and it never gets old.

Giant Movie Night Strikes Again

GMN Week two
Film: from some of the people who brought you "The State," it's Wet Hot American Summer.
Snack: stuffed hot American jalapenos (see this post), Red Hot Blues tortilla chips and salsa, Ciao Bella gelato (chocolate jalapeño or chocolate mint).
Guests: Dan, Carolyn, Rachel, Moss, Hero.
Outcome: Funny movie, good friends, amazing jalapeño gelato? What could be better? I got the lighting wrong and didn't get a good screen shot (the picture below manages to look like porn, not that I know what porn looks like), but the movie was definitely giant. Don't you worry about that.

A very good idea

This week, I held my inaugural Giant Movie Night, in which I watch movies projected on the wall while eating food. If someone wants to stop by, that's cool. Y'know. Whatever.

GMN Week one
Film: Woody Allen's Love and Death
Snack: Green Tomato Mincemeat Pie (with green tomatoes from my CSA share)
Guests: Dan
Outcome: Awesome!