Eat What You Watch: A Cookbook for Movie Lovers

1 cup rainbow sprinkles

For the frosting:

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

5 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons whole milk

Pink food coloring (or other color of your choice)

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with butter.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together the butter and the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla and eggs. With the mixer running at low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and mix until combined. Once the flour mixture has been added, slowly add the milk while the mixer runs. Add the sprinkles and mix until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Invert the cakes onto a wire rack, remove the pans and let cool completely, about 2 hours.

Make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together the butter, vanilla, confectioners’ sugar and milk. Transfer about one-fourth of the frosting to a bowl and blend in the food coloring, a small amount at a time, until it’s the desired color. Transfer the pink frosting to a pastry bag fitted with the tip of your choice.

If necessary, cut off the domed tops of the individual cakes with a serrated knife. Place a small amount of frosting on the bottom of a cake stand and place the first cake on top. Frost liberally with the white frosting, top with the second cake and repeat. Cover the entire cake with an even layer of frosting and decorate as desired with the piped pink frosting. Cut into slices and serve.

Jake: “Happy birthday, Samantha. Make a wish.”

Samantha: “It already came true.”

OSCAR-WORTHY

FOOD PERFORMANCE

No. 10

THE CUBANOS

— FROM —

CHEF

2014

Chef is, at its core, a film about the virtues of preparing food passionately. And family and whatever. It’s got its fair share of cheffy platings and mmm-ridden tastings, but it ultimately tells the story of why chef Casper cooks, not what he cooks. Nowhere is this better illustrated than during the first service undertaken by his newly minted food truck, hurriedly assembling Cubanos and lecturing his son about quality control. The motivation and drive behind great food is often what makes it great.

BLUEBERRY PIE (#ulink_ed15c22e-a0a3-5a00-b7b0-9c6663e8f829)

INSPIRED BY

STAND BY ME

In Rob Reiner’s coming-of-age classic, a gang of boys is on a mission to find a dead body in rural 1950s Oregon. When night falls, they tell stories around the campfire, and Gordie, the leader of the group, recounts the story of a pie-eating contest. Lardass Hogan, a bullied overweight fellow, entered the competition not to win but to exact vomiting revenge on his bullies. What follows is maybe the most revolting vomit sequence in cinema food history. Even that scene, however, won’t curb one’s desire for homemade blueberry pie with a lard crust, just like they made in rural Oregon. (Do not combine with castor oil.)

Makes 1 double-crusted pie

Ingredients

For the crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

10 ounces leaf lard, chilled

⅓ cup ice water, plus more as needed

For the filling:

6 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup cornstarch

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 whole vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped, or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Salt

For assembly:

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon coarse sugar, such as turbinado

Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, granulated sugar and salt. Cut the lard into ½-inch cubes and add them to the food processor, pulsing until it is cut into pea-size pieces. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and gradually sprinkle with the ice water while gently folding the dough with a rubber spatula. (Start with ⅓ cup of water and add more as needed until a shaggy dough forms; do not overmix the dough.) Pat the dough into two 1-inch-thick discs, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

While the dough chills, make the filling: In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla seeds (or extract), lemon zest, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold the ingredients together until well mixed.

Preheat the oven to 500° and place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack. Remove one dough disc from the refrigerator, unwrap it and place it on a well-floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, pound the disc down to half its thickness, dusting it with flour as needed. Roll the dough out into an 18-inch round. Transfer the dough by rolling it loosely over the rolling pin and unrolling it into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim the edges of the dough so that it hangs over the pie pan by at least ½ inch. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Pound and roll out the remaining dough into a 16-inch round. Retrieve the prepared pie pan from the refrigerator and fill it with the blueberry mixture, slightly mounding the filling in the center. Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the bottom crust lightly with water. Top the pie with the second pastry round, pressing around the edges until the crusts are sealed together. Trim the top crust to the same length as the bottom crust and tuck the edges under. Using your fingers (or a fork), crimp a decorative edge around the crust. Cut an X (or other design if desired) into the top of the pie crust for ventilation, and brush liberally with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with the coarse sugar and place in the oven, immediately reducing the temperature to 350°. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the crust is deeply browned all over. If the edges of the pie begin to get too dark before the rest of the piecrust, wrap them in aluminum foil.

Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let rest for at least 4 hours. Cut and serve (or eat whole without the use of your hands).