Welcome to week four of my New Years resolution! I've been very excited about this week. This is the first week that I found a recipe from Movie Night Menus to go with the film from 52 Must See Movies! I could not wait! PLUS! I get to watch Grand Hotel. Crawford! Beery! Barrymore(x2)! Garbo! Stone! Woop! I've seen this film before, but couldn't remember much about it except that it I really enjoyed it, so this was like a fresh movie.
So Movie Night Menus called for German Pancake with Ham and Gruyere, a Louisiana Flip to drink, and German Pancake with Berries and Cream for dessert. They also recommended an arugula salad dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. This was going to be pretty easy to make vegetarian and alcohol free. I have never made German Pancakes before, so I had no idea what they were supposed to look like. One of the problems that I have with this book is that there often aren't pictures of the food! How am I supposed to know that it's right? But the instructions are pretty easy to follow, so I just kinda guessed that was doing it right. Here we go!
The German Pancake with Ham and Gruyere, I just replaced the ham with vegetarian lunch meat. It does not look appetizing. I gotta be honest, most veggie meat doesn't. The Louisiana Flip, well that was a bit harder. It required a raw egg, orange juice, grenadine, rum and triple sec. Well, I just ended up omitting the booze...and the egg. Sorry, I was not going to drink a raw egg without some alcohol to kill the germs. Not gonna happen! So I served just orange juice and grenadine. The salad, well, I did add some walnuts, dried cherries, and parmesan cheese. I wanted more flavor than just olive oil and lemon. I thought it would be too sour. Finally, dessert, easy! Berries and cream. No replacement needed!
So how did it turn out? BEAUTIFUL! Check out what I did:
Fluffy beautiful German Pancakes and salad with a virgin Louisiana Flip!
Everything was so good! The pancakes were light and fluffy and crunchy. They were perfect! There's so much you can do with these. Gruyere cheese(which I've never had before) is stinky but really has a smooth flavor, and the veggie meat worked out very well. It became crunchy and almost like bacon. The salad was sour, but it was a perfect contrast to the savory pancake. The dessert pancake was the best part, but maybe it's because I love whipped cream and berries so much and I haven't had it in forever. It was the same exact recipe, you just swap the savory and sweet ingredients. Really easy! The pancake was a perfect addition to the berries and whipped cream, it was seriously like pastry. My virgin Louisiana Flip was very sweet, but I haven't had OJ in a long time, so it was a nice change. Great great dinner, and it was fun to make. I got to use my cast iron skillet, which I haven't used in years!
On to the movie! I love all of the actors in this film. I really don't get the Garbo thing, BUT I do enjoy watching her a lot, there are times when she is just luminous. As for her acting though...meh. I did love her with John Barrymore, but I think John Barrymore makes everyone better. Barrymore was his typical charming self. He does roles like this so very well.
I know it's cliche, but that profile.....
Lionel Barrymore was his usual reliable self. He just is whatever character he plays. He never stands out for me too much, but he is always believable. Wallace Beery, my dear Wallace Beery. I just love him. He's always gruff and loud and lovable to me. Yes I know he was a jerk in real life, but I can't help it. He did so well in this part, his interactions with Crawford and John Barrymore were very powerful.
Finally....Crawford. OK, I'm not very objective when it comes to Crawford. She is flawless. In everything. Even Trog. I just appreciate how much she put into her characters. Even the crap she took seriously. She steals this movie. Everyone else fades into the background when she is on the screen. There's a scene where she's walking around a crowded room of screaming men closing the windows and she is what you notice. Dunno how she does it, but she does. Her character has the real arc and goes through so many changes and weird situations and emotions. She masters each one. I know I'm not alone in my opinion on this one! Watch this movie just for her.
Such a powerful performance.
Seriously?
That face! No one else exists when Crawford is on the screen.
OK enough Crawford love. Overall, the movie was pretty darn good. I'm not so sure that it is do die for, but I did really enjoy it. It was a bit long, but so much was going on! There really was no way to make it shorter. This was the first film to have multiple story lines and an "All Star Cast". It was very skillfully done. And dinner was fabulous!
Can't wait for next week!
Love,
Olive
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