Dinner and a Movie
by Francine Segan



Maybe it's just me, but doesn't watching most movies make you hungry? Almost as soon as I pop the DVD into the player I salivate. Well, maybe not when I watch Silence of the Lambs, Tales from the Crypt, or Alien but for most other flicks. But I don't just crave any munchies; I want realism on my plate, just like I want it on the screen. I crave foods that really would have been eaten in the time period the movie is set in. I want a totally sensory experience.

This movie-food fixation all started back while I was working on my first book, Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook. Random House wanted me to test a bunch of the recipes in the book, all of which dated back to Shakespeare's time. I thought it would be fun to invite friends over to be my guinea pigs while we watched Shakespeare in Love. They loved the food, but almost more, they loved eating what would really have been eaten in the time period of the movie they were watching. At some point between the tortellini sprinkled with a sweet nutmeg-Parmesan topping (a surprising Renaissance staple) and the apple tarts with candied orange (apple pie it turns out is an old English NOT American invention!) my friends started asking for future tasting parties. They threw out suggestions like a pre-Civil war meal with Gone with the Wind, an authentic Victorian high tea with Age of Innocence, and a Roman feast with Ben-Hur. I loved their suggestions, and tossed out a few of my own (a funny family movie night menu with all the food served in popcorn bowls and a romantic dinner from Morocco with Casablanca). I realized that my second book was being conceived before my very eyes and stomach. I got to work the next morning and wrote a 12 page proposal for MOVIE MENUS. My editor at Random House loved it and I so began a wonderful year shuttling between the library, to research historic cookbooks; my kitchen, to try out the recipes; and the video store, to rent hundreds of movies for inspiration on quotes, bloopers, and film trivia.

Here is an easy-to-make dessert from one of my favorite film genres-- Westerns. The recipe from an early 1800s chuck wagon cook's diary and it's perfect with The Alamo; Dances with Wolves; or The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Of course, you can eat a can of beans first, if you've watching Blazing Saddles.

Brown Betty
Serves 6

  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 cups apple juice or water
  • Juice of 1 lemon, about 1/4 cup
  • 10 ounces dried apple slices
  • 2 tablespoons whiskey, optional
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs, about 5 whole crackers crushed Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

    In a large ovenproof skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, apple and lemon juices and bring to a boil. Add the dried apples and simmer, stirring frequently, until the liquid is nearly absorbed, about 15 minutes.

    Remove from the heat. Stir in the whiskey, if using. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs evenly over the apples. Dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and bake until browned, about 5 minutes.

    Serve warm topped with your favorite ice cream or whipped cream.

    I hope this recipe inspires you to try your hand at cooking up something to match the time period of your favorite flick. Take a peek at my cookbook: MOVIE MENUS for more inspirations. Divided into ten chapters, each featuring a different film genre, Movie Menus includes recipes and trivia on historic epics, westerns, war movies, romantic comedies, family films, and gangster movies. Each chapter also contains a how-to section on giving a themed movie party and a detailed list of suggested films in each genre. So next time you rent a DVD try 3-D glasses for your stomach.


    • ©2006 Francine Segan.
    All rights reserved.