Have you ever watched a movie that made you hungry? There are countless movies that showcase food that looks so good, you wish you could reach out and take it. There’s the school wide feasts from Harry Potter, the pizza and sundaes from Home Alone, and even Buddy’s spaghetti from Elf (depending on what you’re into). After seeing so much delicious food in films, I decided to recreate a few classic foods from iconic movies. Each meal I eat will be inspired by a different movie scene known for its food. To watch the scene from each movie, click the name of the food in each meal. I’ll be eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Of course, I started with breakfast.
Breakfast
Mulan: Mulan’s Porridge
I was tempted to make a full spread for breakfast just like every movie in the early 2000s. You know what I mean– the mom makes pancakes, eggs, bacon, oatmeal, sausage and more. Then the kid comes running down the stairs, grabs a price of toast and runs out the door. Unlike a movie set, I don’t have a crew to make a me a full breakfast spread, so I chose to recreate Mulan’s classic porridge, traditionally known as Congee.
Congee is rice cooked with seasonings and stock until it become a tasty porridge. Wushu makes congee for Mulan on her first day of training in the shape of a smiley face, with two eggs for the eyes and bacon as the smile. I’ve never had congee before so I’m excited to try it.
Making the congee was fairly easy. Frying my eggs so they look as good as Wushu’s was another story. Nonetheless, I was able throw together my best Mulan congee bowl and it tasted delicious. I broke the yolks and mixed it in with the rice. A bite with the rice, eggs, and bacon, was a perfect way to start my day.
Snack
Alice in Wonderland: Tea with sugar
I was pretty full after breakfast, but I still wanted some caffeine. I drew inspiration from Alice in Wonderland and made myself a cup of tea with sugar.
Although there are rumors that the tea in Alice in Wonderland had a little something extra in it, I can assure you that the only stimulant in my tea was a little bit of caffeine.
I usually add creamer or milk to add volume and flavor, but the Mad Hatter only adds sugar to his tea. The slightly sweetened tea helped me warm up on a cold day.
Lunch
The Breakfast Club: Clair’s Sushi
Ironically, I’m pulling inspiration for my lunch from a movie called The Breakfast Club. While the kids are stuck in detention, they all pull out their lunch, revealing some interesting options. I could eat Andrew’s Lunch: three sandwiches, a quart of milk, one banana, one apple, a package of cookies and a family size bag of potato chips (you know, bulking season). Brian’s lunch is a little more reasonable, consisting of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (without the crust), soup and a juice box. I could even try Basket-Case’s sandwich filled with Pixy Stix and Cap’n Crunch. I’m definitely not having what Judd had: nothing.
I landed on Clair’s lunch of sushi and a Coke. Clair’s sushi is specifically rockfish, rice and seaweed. I couldn’t find rockfish sushi, so i got yellowtail sushi instead. I was still pretty full from breakfast, so this lunch was nice and light after a heavier breakfast.
Dinner
Ratatouille: Ratatouille
I’m not going to lie. I was nervous to make this. The recipe itself was pretty simple, but the presentation in Ratatouille is a lot to live up to. I love the flavors and ingredients in ratatouille, so I was excited to taste this for the first time.
Ratatouille is made up of sliced eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and tomato. The vegetables are baked in a tomato based sauce until the sauce begins to bubble.
The finished product looked delicious and smelled absolutely amazing. In the movie, Remy removes the serving of ratatouille for the food critic, Anton Ego, and presents in a beautiful swirl. I have to admit my finished product didn’t look quite as aesthetically pleasing, but I was starving and could not wait to dig in.
Ratatouille is SO GOOD. I was concerned that it wouldn’t be filling because it’s essentially just vegetables and sauce, but I was more than satisfied. I loved that there was so many different vegetables throughout the dish.
Dessert
Pulp Fiction: $5 Milkshake
Ah the infamous $5 milkshake. Pulp Fiction is known for the constant shooting scenes and witty banter, but it’s also known for the $5 milkshake. Pulp Fiction takes places in 1982. That means that a $5 milkshake, adjusted for inflation, would cost $13.33 today. That’s an outrageously expensive milkshake.
I was fortunate enough to find a milkshake that was less than $5 in 2020. I was considering making my own, but there’s just something about drinking a milkshake in the classic 50’s diner glass that makes it so much better.
This cookies and cream milkshake hit the spot and was the perfect end to a picture perfect day of eating.