Holiday Movie Snack-a-Thon: Scrooged

Night 3 featured a holiday classic I'd never seen before: Scrooged. But at friends' insistance, I added it to the list. Plus, it was highly praised as one of the best holiday movies of all time by the Great Pop Culture Debate (you can listen to the whole episode here), and I trust their judgement when it comes to iconic (take a drink) pop culture-y things. Definitely a little weird and dark at times, but Bill Murray makes the movie both heartwarming and hilarious.

The menu was a little trickier to come up with, but we managed to eat pretty well. I kept things simple since I was putting everything together after working at the office all day.

Appetizer: Scrooged Pretzel Cigars & Hummus

Between the movie poster, and chain-smoking taxi driver, we decided "cigars" was a good way to go. I used pretzel rods and dipped them in roasted red pepper hummus. Yum!

Main: Chinese Takeout

Took the easy way out on this one too -- Claire asks Frank if he wants to go get some Chinese food. We did and ordered from our favorite place around the corner -- lo mein and egg rolls.

Dessert: Payday Popcorn

Had to get a little creative on this one. I microwaved some popcorn, then topped it with chopped up Payday bars. It didn't combine as well as I would have liked, but the flavor was good - buttery, salty and sweet. Who can resist that combination?

Drink: Scrooged Sparkler

Pour 1 oz apple brandy in a champagne glass, then top with champagne (we used Proseco). A little sweet, but still tasty.

Tonight's film is a classic -- "It's a Wonderful Life." It was my mom's favorite growing up, so we watched it every year. 

 

Holiday Movie Snack-a-Thon: Home Alone & Home Alone 2

Home Alone was a classic holiday movie I grew up watching -- specifically a recorded copy on VHS, which included a now-vintage Dominos commercial urging people to "Avoid the Noid!" As a kid, there was nothing funnier than slapstick humor of the two bumbling burglars getting beat up by a kid. The sequel, though it definitely has its darker moments, is also thoroughly enjoyable and has become a staple each year. We don't speak of the other ill-fated ... um ... sequels? (Can they be called that since they don't star Macaulay Calkin?) Anyways, there are lots of food opportunities with this one -- here's what we did:

(Most of) the spread for our evening.

Appetizer: Shrimp Cocktail

It was a little hard to find an appetizer, but Uncle Frank (yes, THAT Uncle Frank), runs around the hotel in Paris offering the kids shrimp cocktail, only to be scolded by his wife "those are for later!"

We used frozen shrimp and made our own cocktail sauce with ketchup and horseradish.

Mains: A lovely cheese pizza, just for me & microwave macaroni and cheese

Kevin's dinners may not be overly nutritious, but they are tasty, and super easy to make. We made frozen pizza (alas, Little Nero's doesn't exist... or at least they don't deliver to us). Unlike Buzz and Kevin, we shared this one.

We had to serve our "nutritious" microwavable macaroni and cheese dinner with a glass of milk -- served in a wine goblet of course. Thank you Stouffer's for making this one super easy.

 

Desserts: Kevin's Ice Cream Sundae, Tic Tacs, & Chocolate Tarantulas

The first two on this list are pretty self explanatory (go nuts on that sundae!), but making the chocolate tarantulas took a little trial and error.

Ingredients

• Chocolate Turtles
• Pretzel Sticks*
• Chocolate Candy Melts (or chocolate chips) 

Directions

1.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set out your chocolate turtles.
2. 
   Microwave chocolate candy melts for 30 second intervals on 50% power until just melted. Stir every 30 seconds. Do not overcook!
3. Stick pretzel sticks into the chocolate turtles (this may take a bit of finesse). Alternatively, I used leftover Chinese noodles (the dried/fried kind) and stuck them to the top of the chocolate turtles with a bit of melted chocolate.
4. Drizzle melted chocolate to cover pretzel sticks. 

Drinks: Pepsi, Champagne & Filthy Animal Cocktail

Again, the first two are pretty self-explanatory, and go back to quotes in the movies from Uncle Frank (he's big on food and drink, apparently): "Go easy on the Pepsi, Fuller!" and "Champagne. It's free, isn't it?"

Filthy Animal Cocktail: 2 oz Kahlua, 2 oz Bailey's Salted Caramel, Splash of Milk 

Tonight's movie is one I haven't seen before, but which came highly recommended (including by the Great Pop Culture Debate's Best Holiday Movie Podcast): "Scrooged." I'm a Bill Murray fan, so how could I resist? 

Holiday Movie Snack-a-Thon: The Grinch

These little (ok, maybe not-so-little) movie marathon/snack-a-thons are starting to be my "thing" and honestly, I'm having a lot (maybe too much) fun putting them together. I'm learning from mistakes as I go and amassing new recipes to use year-round. Plus, I get to watch some favorite movies and new movies at the same time.

In keeping with the learning bit, I'll get right to the recipes from night 1 of my 12 Days of Holiday Movies Snack-a-Thon, featuring "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (the 1966 original -- don't @ me). 

The spread!

Appetizer: Grinch Guacamole

I just used store-bought guacamole (I only have so much time), but Alton Brown's is my go-to recipe for homemade guac. I tried to draw a Grinch face on the container, but FAILED miserably (I am no artist). Still tasty.

Main: Rare Who Roast 'Beast' Sliders

Ingredients

• Hawaiian Buttered Dinner Rolls (not the sweet ones)
• 1/2-3/4 lb Sliced Beef
• Horseradish
• Caraway seeds & course kosher salt
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 2-3 cups beef broth 
• Bread & butter pickles (optional) 

Directions

1. Slice Hawaiian rolls in half and place on a baking sheet. Put in the oven, cut side up under the broiler for 1-2 minutes. Watch closely so they don't burn. 
2. In a sauce pan, heat beef broth over medium high heat. Once hot, place slices of beef in the broth for 20-30 seconds.
3. Remove beef using tongs and place onto bottom half of rolls.
4. Spread thin layer of horseradish on inside of top halves of buns.
5. Melt butter in microwave. Then spread onto tops of the top half of rolls. Sprinkle with salt and caraway seeds.
6. Assemble sandwiches, serve with pickles and enjoy.  

Side Dish: Pepper & Potato Who Hash

Ingredients

• 2 medium potatoes
• 2 bell peppers (I used one green, one red)
• 1 medium onion
• Salt, pepper & garlic powder to taste

Directions 

1. Dice potatoes, peppers and onion. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet over high heat.
   
2. Sautee peppers & onions for 2-3 minutes, seasoning with salt & pepper, and any other seasonings you like (I used garlic powder).
3. Add potatoes to mix and cover to help steam the potatoes through. Add 1-2 tbsp water as needed to continue steaming the potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender on the inside, and golden brown on the outside, about 5-7 minutes.

 

Dessert: Grinch Mint Brownies

Ingredients

• Brownie Mix
• Vegetable Oil
• Eggs
• 1/4 tsp Peppermint extract
• Mint Oreos
• Vanilla frosting (I used green food coloring to make it more "Grinchy")
• Heart sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix brownie batter according to package instructions. Stir in 1/4 tsp
   peppermint extract.
2. In a greased pan, add half of the brownie mix. Top with a layer of mint Oreos, then top with remaining brownie batter.
3. Once cooled, remove from pan and frost. Add 3 heart sprinkles atop each brownie and enjoy.

Drinks

Grinch Punch - equal parts green Hawaiian punch & sprite + 1 scoop lime sherbet

Cindy Lou Who Spritzer - 1 part orange juice, 3 parts raspberry ginger ale, a dash of grenadine (for color), topped with whipped cream & a cherry

Next up, a double feature of Home Alone & Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Lots of great food opportunities in this one. Stay tuned!