Eat What You Watch: A Cookbook for Movie Lovers

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

Maple syrup, for serving

Preheat the oven to its lowest setting and cut the brioche slices into 1-inch sticks. Arrange the bread sticks on a baking sheet and bake until mostly dried, about 20 minutes (alternatively, leave the bread out overnight so it becomes stale). Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the bread cool completely. Leave the oven on, and place a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire rack inside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, granulated sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and bourbon until well mixed. Pour into a dish wide enough for dipping the bread. In a large nonstick pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat until the foaming subsides. Working with two pieces at a time, dip the bread in the egg mixture until fully coated, let the excess run off, then place in the hot pan. Cook until browned on all sides, then transfer to the baking sheet in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining bread, adding a tablespoon of butter to the pan before each batch.

Stack the French toast sticks on a plate and use a fine-mesh sieve to dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve with maple syrup.

“What you don’t know is that French toast is always folded. You go into the best restaurants anywhere in the world, and you see folded French toast. You get more bites that way, right?”

—Ted Kramer

BREAKFAST DESSERT PASTA (#ulink_de80f360-7c99-5405-91df-ac81a442651d)

INSPIRED BY

ELF

This high-glycemic dish, concocted by Will Ferrell’s character in Elf, has a strange allure to it. On the one hand, it’s the mishmash of all your favorite childhood treats sprinkled wildly atop a steaming plate of spaghetti. On the other hand, it’s absolutely disgusting. Making this pasta might actually be more fun than eating it, but you might surprise yourself when you start shoving it in your mouth with your hands, all hyped up on sugar.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 pound dried pasta such as spaghetti or linguine

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup M&Ms

½ cup mini marshmallows

2 fudge Pop-Tarts

¼ cup chocolate syrup

¼ cup caramel sauce

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the water and cook until al dente. Drain, transfer to a large bowl and toss with the butter.

Divide the pasta among 4 bowls or plates and evenly distribute the M&Ms and mini marshmallows among the servings. Crumble half a Pop-Tart over the top of each serving. Drizzle with chocolate syrup and caramel sauce and serve—if you dare.

“We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup.”

—Buddy

OSCAR-WORTHY

FOOD PERFORMANCE

No. 9

THE STRUDEL

— FROM —

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

2009

Pastry is put to nefarious work in one of the many scenes that won Christoph Waltz his well-deserved Oscar. Playing Colonel Hans Landa, he uses food as a means of torture when he intimidates Shosanna, a young Jewish theater owner. She is to eat her strudel exactly as he instructs (“attendez la crème”). Murder and war crimes take a backseat when the flaky confection is finally eaten: a satisfying plop as the whipped cream is doled out, an audible crunch emanating from the layers of pastry and butter, and the sounds of our hearts breaking as Hans plunges a cigarette into his dessert.

BUTTER-POACHED LOBSTER WITH LEMON-BUTTER SAUCE (#ulink_5a1d6ca2-872b-5f17-9ab1-46719443001f)

INSPIRED BY

ANNIE HALL

In Annie Hall, Woody Allen and Diane Keaton wrestle these crustacean sea spiders in a kitchen scene that provides comedic relief to their otherwise complicated relationship. But lobsters weren’t always so entertaining: they were once considered trash food, served to prison inmates and the poor. Like so many modern delicacies, what was once discarded is now treasured—and expensive! As such, lobster should be prepared simply, joined by modest accompaniments that only serve to accentuate its flavor. Once you’ve mustered the courage to pick the little beasts up off the floor, that is.

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter

Two 1½- to 2-pound live lobsters

¼ cup white wine vinegar

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and cook until the foaming subsides, about 2 to 3 minutes. Strain the butter through a fine-mesh sieve lined with several layers of cheesecloth into a bowl and let cool to room temperature, skimming off any impurities that rise to the surface. Set aside.