Dinner and a Movie - Halloween Style

As I sit here writing this blog, it is a super blustery, 45 degree, overcast afternoon, actually feeling a bit more like winter than fall. The leaves are past their peak beauty and the sun makes only brief appearances throughout the day. Oh, there it is, nope, it's gone. It's definitely October.

Something I love to do in October is pair "scary movies" with dinner and wine. People are used to food and wine pairings but I like to pair movies too! So here are a couple of my favorites for this month.


The Movie: Cape Fear (1991 version)
In this thriller, creepy Robert De Niro stalks his old lawyer (Nick Nolte) who kept evidence out of his trial that sent him to jail. Now he's out and he's determined to get revenge by being yucky inappropriate with a young Juliette Lewis and doing just enough bad creepiness to drive Nick Nolte nuts without doing enough to get busted by the cops! Sneaky De Niro.

The Meal: Beer Simmered Sausages with pumpkin seed spaetzle & cabbage & apple slaw
I got the spaetzle recipe from Bon Appetit and have included it and my cabbage/apple slaw recipe below.

The Wine: This Austrian-style menu calls for an Austrian wine! Try the Andau Zweigelt! Zweigelt is the red grape of Austria, in this riper style you get a nose of ripe blue fruits and black pepper. It's quite smooth and easy on the palate. Flavors of ripe mixed berries and touches of peppery spice are pure.

How they work together: Well, honestly the wine and the meal make sense together but I could have gone for a movie that flows better with the whole European idea, like Hostel. But quite frankly I'm not one for gore in my scary movies, I much prefer the suspense, thriller style. Bloody torture, not so much.




The Movie: Stephen King's The Mist
Stephen King movie's can certainly be hit or miss. Example: The Shining, hit, Needful Things...uh miss. But The Mist is a delightfully disturbing movie in which a bunch of people get trapped inside a grocery store as a Mist comes rolling into town containing some things that are, well, pretty lame CGI monsters. But the creepiness in this movie is less about the misty monsters and more about how people act in dire situations. Excellent acting and an ending that is straight up crazy, like batshit crazy.

The Meal: This movie calls for something to bring the comfort back into your soul. And a hot bowl of Carrot and Sage Risotto with roasted chicken (recipe below) should do the trick. It's soothing food, to take the edge off, plus I use a convenient store bought rotisserie chicken. Just don't get trapped in the store when you go get your chicken!

The Wine: Chateau Ollieux Capucine from the Languedoc is a lovely pairing with this meal. A blend of 25% each Carignan, Grenache, Syrah and Merlot it exudes aromas of plum, cinnamon, black raspberry and graham cracker. It has plenty of juicy acidity to balance the ripe fruit.

How they work together: As I mentioned before, this movie is going to make you feel like you need a big hug. Risotto is like a hug on the inside and this wine with its ripe fruit and bits of spice will warm the chill off your goosebumped skin.





Pumpkin Seed Spaetzle:

Ingredients
1/2 cup shelled raw pumpkin seeds*
2 cups all purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon pumpkin seed oil** plus additional for drizzling
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
Ground nutmeg

Special Equipment
Potato ricer or spaetzle maker

*Also known as pepitas; available at many supermarkets and at natural foods stores and Latin markets.
**Available at specialty foods stores and from culinarydistrict.com.

Preparation
Finely grind pumpkin seeds with 1/2 cup flour in processor. Add 1 1/2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt; process just to blend. Whisk 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, eggs, egg yolk, and 1 tablespoon pumpkin seed oil in large bowl. Stir in flour mixture.
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Working in batches, spoon batter into potato ricer or spaetzle maker. Slowly press batter into boiling water, shaking ricer occasionally to release spaetzle. Stir to prevent sticking, then simmer until cooked through and tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Using skimmer or large slotted spoon, transfer spaetzle to colander; rinse with cold water. Transfer to large bowl.
Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add spaetzle; sprinkle lightly with nutmeg and stir until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer spaetzle to large bowl. Drizzle pumpkin seed oil over and serve.

Cabbage and Apple Slaw:

Ingredients
6 cups finely shredded green cabbage
4 Granny Smith or MacIntosh apples, halved, cored, and cut into julienne (skin left on)
1/2 of a small red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Combine the cabbage, apples and onion in a large bowl and mix well. Toss with the sugar and allow to macerate for 15 minutes.

For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Toss the vegetables in the dressing to coat and serve.

Carrot and Sage Risotto with Roast Chicken:

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups peeled and diced carrot
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup white wine
3 cups good-quality canned chicken broth
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, about 1/2 cup
1 pre-cooked Rotisserie Chicken, cut into pieces


Directions
Bring chicken broth to simmer in large saucepan. Cover and keep warm over low heat.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add onion; season with sea salt and pepper and sauté until beginning to soften, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add rice, stir until rice is slightly translucent, about 4 minutes. Add carrot and sage; stir until carrot begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add wine and stir until absorbed. Add 1 cup warm broth; stir until almost all liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes. Continue adding broth by cupfuls until rice is just tender but still firm to bite and risotto is creamy, stirring almost constantly about 20 minutes total. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Divide evenly among bowls. Top risotto with chicken pieces and extra Parmesan.