Movie Review : Big Night

Big Night is a great film from the mid 1990s written by Joseph Tropiano and Stanley Tucci. (A quick Google search didn't turn up a whole lot for Joseph Tropiano, but I did learn that he's Stanley Tucci's cousin.) Campbell Scott (now on USA's Royal Pains) and Stanley Tucci directed the picture.

Anyway, the film, set in New Jersey in the 1950s, follows two brothers; fantastic chef Primo, played by Tony Shalhoub (Monk, Wings, that guy in the X-Files episode whose shadow disintegrates people) and Secondo, portrayed by Stanley Tucci (recently, Julie & Julia, The Devil Wears Prada, and, unfortunately, The Core). The two brothers operate a struggling restaurant, Paradise. Primo refuses to compromise authentic Italian cuisine by catering toward the unrefined American palate.

Ian Holm, (Ratatouille, The Fellowship of the Ring, Alien), successful restaurateur and owner of Pascal's, and eponymous restaurant that serves spaghetti and meatballs, steak and French fries, wants the brothers to come work for him. While the brothers struggle with the choice of staying in the U.S., returning to Rome to work for their uncle, or working for the other restaurant, Pascal offers to invite his good friend, jazz singer Louis Prima, to dine at Paradise and catapult the restaurant to a premier and exclusive establishment. So, the two brothers invite their friends and prepare for their Big Night. Minnie Driver, Marc Anthony, Allison Janney, Isabella Rossellini, and Liev Schreiber also appear.

Book Review - A History of the World in 6 Glasses

Tom Standage, British journalist and author, put together A History of the World in Six Glasses, which chronicles the historical and social impact of 6 different beverages throughout known history. The book chronicles our relationship with beer, wine, spirits, tea, coffee, and Coca-Cola.

Spanning several millenia and about 300 pages, and several continents, the book both entertains and informs the reader with historical anecdotes and contextual analysis. Standage dedicates around 30 pages to each of the six beverages that nicely divide the book into sections comestible on a commute. Standage maintains an interesting and erudite narrative voice and breaks up the text with the occasional relevant image. The book is full of tidbits sufficient to whet the appetite of any history or trivia buff.

Winter-spiced French Toast

Anybody who lived at 5 South Big Bend between 2005 and 2007 can testify to my affinity for breakfast foods. I went through a serious pancake phase after my discovery that store-bought pancake mix was little more than flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. After trying the french toast at Alice's Tea Cup, I've been working on my own recipe. I'm a google search will dig up a photo. It's a pretty amazing ensemble; pieces of bread oven-cooked in a ramekin garnished with fresh berries and powdered sugar.

I've tried to replicate Alice's recipe, and failed several times. Instead, here's my Christmas-inspired French toast with a twist.



Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup of milk (skim, whole, 2%; your choice)
2 slices of Challah between 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick (or another rich egg bread)
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
dash of ground cloves
dash coriander
3 dashes cinnamon
1 dab of molasses
1 dash allspice
1 dash nutmeg
1 dab of butter

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a frying pan on medium low.
2. Beat the eggs and combine 'em with the milk and beat until the mixture reaches a uniform texture. Mix in all the other dry ingredients into the bowl, make sure they're well distributed and whisk in the vanilla and molasses.
3. Soak the bread slices in the egg mixture. Sometimes poking a bunch of holes in the bread helps with egg absorption.
4. Turn up the heat a bit on the pan, toss the egg-soaked bread into it, and cook each side until it reaches a mottled rich brown and yellow.
5. Dust the plate with cinnamon, put down the french toast, then dust with powdered sugar and add maple syrup.