Receta Big Night—April’s Food n’ Flix pick
Big Night
Why have I never heard of this movie?
The stars are of the highest caliber, the dialogue is witty and well-crafted, the shooting is interestingly done (I reference Primo’s conversation with Pascal in the office of his restaurant and the desk lamp).
And, what about that food? Where have I been?
I was so glad to find Food n’ Flix from Tina at Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor. I truly enjoyed all the recipes and posts prompted by March’s film, Last Holiday. I was determined to become a part of this elite group and gladly sought out Big Night (thanks Amazon Instant Video) and started preparing for the April post. (This month Spabettie is hosting.)
The premise of this club is to find inspiration in film inspired by food and create inspired dishes!
A brief run-down of this film:
Italian immigrant brothers (Primo and Secondo) strive to keep their authentic restaurant open in 1950s New Jersey. What’s the problem? Their food is too authentic for American tastes.
Their rival (and friend) Pascal has successfully found the Italian food niche that Americans love. He offers advice and an unbelievable opportunity for the brothers—one big night to cater for famed singer Louis Primo.
This is a last ditch effort to keep the bank at bay and keep the restaurant open.
Some obvious food choices for inspiration would have to be the following:
Risotto: Risotto is so carefully made by Primo and is scorned by the American diners.
Timpani pasta: This is the signature dish of the banquet, carefully prepared from scratch by the brothers. It leaves the guests breathless.
A suckling pig: This is the piece d’resistance of the entire banquet. The guests are so stuffed at this point they all audibly moan when this gorgeously roasted pig is presented.
I would have loved to have tackled the timpani, even mini-ones, but for me, it had to be the risotto. (Obviously, I was not roasting a suckling pig.) I have posted a few risotto recipes and I decided to research an authentic one for this post. I went to my grandmother’s Leone’s Italian Cookbook (1967 with a forward by Dwight D. Eisenhower). There were quite a few risottos in this book to choose from but they all used chicken livers. I had a bad liver experience as a child. I just couldn’t go there. So much for authentic fare—just lump me in with the ugly American who wants spaghetti and meatballs.
So I went to my other Italian cookbook, A Table In Tuscany by Leslie Forbes. There I found a recipe for “Risotto Primavera” that I adapted here. According to Forbes, this is a very festive dish.
Some of my festive veggies---purple asparagus from the Farmers Market.
Risotto Primavera
Adapted from Leslie Forbe’s A Table in Tuscany
- 2 quarts beef stock (I actually used 1 quart beef and 1 quart vegetable.)
- 4 T. olive oil, divided
- 3 small zucchini, unpeeled and diced
- 1/2 lb. purple asparagus, chopped
- 1/2 c. shredded carrots
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 c. Arborio rice
- 3.5 oz. sun dried tomatoes, julienne-cut
- 1/4 c. white wine
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 c. grated Parmesan
Heat beef stock to boiling then reduce to simmer.
In a large skillet, heat 2 T. of the olive oil. Add zucchini, asparagus, carrots, onions, and garlic. Saute for about 10 minutes.
Veggies ready to saute.
While veggies are sauteing, heat the remaining 2 T. olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add rice and stir. When you can just begin to smell the rice, add 1 c. of the hot stock. Set timer for 20 minutes and start stirring. As soon as the rice absorbs the stock, add another cup. Keep stirring and adding stock. This will take about 20 minutes.
Two hands are better than one.
After veggies are sauted, add the dried tomatoes and white wine. Cook for another 5 minutes. Season veggies with salt and pepper.
When rice is done, add Parmesan and stir in veggies. Serve.
This film offers some of the best movie quotes ever:
What is this too much? Hey?! It is never too much—it is only not enough. Bite your teeth into the ass of life and drag it to you. —Pascal
Lasagna Bolognese—you can’t believe how good it is….. You eat and then you kill yourself, you have to kill yourself… you can’t live. —Primo
To eat good food is to be close to God. —Primo
Again, Food n’ Flix really intrigues me and so I decided to do some research on foodie films.
Here are two sites that both offer some definitive lists of all things foodie in film:
I hope to compile my own list (similar to my Foodie Reads) starting with this great film.