Various Fun Stuff

Well, yesterday I thought that the subject of today's post would simply be foodie films. But all of that changed since I finally took a picture of my new immersion blender. And while I was having fun taking a photo of my new toy, my cat Toejam was looking so cute that I had to take a picture of her, too.

Here is my lovely new blender, as modeled by my accommodating son. It is a Bamix, which I had never heard of, but according to my husband is supposed to be a really good brand. I am looking forward to trying out a few things with my blender. First, I want to make smoothies. Since I like them so much from the Jamba Juice, I just have to try making them at home. Second, I want to use my blender to make jams and jellies. And the last thing that I want to do is use the nifty little cup attachment that came with it. It has blades inside the cup and a lid which the blender then goes on top of and voila, mini food processor!

Here is little Toejam herself. She looked so pretty with the light from the outside making her pupils shrink down to little slits.

OK, down to business! On the topic of foodie films, I discovered something interesting. While there are films that mainly focus on food or cooking, many of my favorite food scenes are simple moments instead of full films. Another thing that I discovered is that I should be ashamed of the fact that I haven't seen Tampopo, Babbette's Feast and others. These appeared again and again on the foodie film lists on the web.

And while I have not seen some key foodie films, there are still many moments that I feel are noteworthy.

In Like Water for Chocolate, the quails with rose petals that Tita prepares makes me long to taste one. Having never eaten quails or rose petals makes no difference...I am sure that they must be divine! The looks on their faces...the heat that rises in the skin of those who are eating...the uncomfortable way Tita's mother is shifting in her seat...and the way that Pedro and Tita seem to be experiencing each other from across the table. Boy, it makes me hungry in a couple of ways.

Big Night, which featured Tony Shalhoub (before he became Monk) and Stanley Tucci, is a tale of two brothers who try to save their failing restaurant by risking it all on one big dinner. The dish that caught my eye was called timpani. They made it in a large dish, with a crust on the bottom and then layered with veal, beef, pork, chopped sage and marsala wine. In the center, after the first ingredients are layered, they add another layer of crust and stuff the middle with hardboiled eggs, mushrooms, prosciutto, penne and mozzarella. When it is served, the pan is inverted and it is sliced like a pie.

And of course, the kid in me is patiently waiting for a mention of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When I was younger, the scene where Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) takes a bite out of a buttercup after drinking whatever was inside of it made my mind go into overdrive. What did it taste like? Was it sweet or flowery? And if watching Violet Beauregard taste that three course meal in a piece of bubblegum didn't drive your imagination wild...well, I don't know what to say to you besides, good day sir!

And one last small mention to finish off this post. The film Amadeus was brilliant. I have enjoyed it many times. And every time, the scene that I loved the most was when Constanze Mozart goes to Salieri's home and enjoys a confection of some sort. Soft, round, powdery white little buns with a bit of filling peeking out of the top. The scene is also somewhat sensual in that the buns she eats match the soft, powdery, round shape of her bosom, at which Salieri is staring.

Enough of my rambling for one day! If you'd like to find out anything more about these films (or others), you should check out the IMDB (internet movie database) at www.imdb.com.

Dawn