Included Recipes
This time of year is ideal for getting together as a family and watching a movie. While I’m not going advocate having dinner in the Living Room every night, I’m not against eating in front of the TV every once in a while. And if you’re going to do that, why not match the fare to the flick?
With that in mind, every so often I’ll post about a movie I’ve recently watched and the food inspired by the film.
As a kid, we didn’t watch blockbuster movies at home. Sure, we have TV…but the small screen just wasn’t the same. We actually had to leave our house to see a movie. It was practically the Stone Age!
Most of the movies I remember going to were at an outdoor drive-in theater. Sure, we had indoor cinemas, but for some reason those trips weren’t nearly as memorable as the excursions to the drive-in. There’s just something about a drive-in movie experience that was practically historic.
And the best part of going to the drive-in was the food. Ah, the glories of the drive-in theater snack bar. They had it all:
- Popcorn
- Hot Dogs
- Ice Cream
- Candy
- Soda Pop (no battles about what it was called…it was Soda Pop regardless of region)
To a young kid it was a veritable cornucopia of delight. All the junk food you could imagine…but we didn’t even label it junk food. It was Snack Bar food and it was what you ate when you went to the drive-in. If you didn’t get food before the movie or during the intermission you were doing it wrong.
I know some of you reading this have no idea what I’m talking about. You might’ve seen a drive-in theater or even been to one…but I don’t think you can really understand how, back in their heyday, the limited menu was amazing to us. If you do remember those days…what was your favorite food? Mine was a toss-up between snack bar hotdogs and Slo-Pokes. The latter are no longer manufactured in their original format nor formula…but the damage that they did to my teeth is still very evident. On the other hand, it wouldn’t surprise me if there are still hotdogs from that era tumbling about on the roller cookers in various corners of the nation. Those dogs could probably have lasted through a nuclear devastation unscathed. But to my pre-teen tastebuds they were the best thing on the planet!
Today we watch movies at Hectic Manor on either a gigantic LCD TV or a projection system. DVD and Blu-Ray quality rivals that of the nicest theater, and our sound system can create the same bone-jarring audio (if I let the kids crank the volume). The fare is also greatly expanded. Sure, we still have popcorn, and I’m always experimenting with new ways to replicate the old flavors. But we’ve broadened the menu with:
- Nachos
- Chex Mix
- Chips & Dip
- Puppy Chow
- Trail Mix
We also have a variety of ice cream delights we often savor…and there’s never a lack of pop (it’s “pop” here in Kansas in the great Soda vs. Pop wars). And because we’re well into the 21st contrary we’ve got all sorts of juices, sparkling drinks, and sports drinks.
As you can tell, we never lack for snacks when we break out an old-time DVD or start streaming a movie from Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video.
So keep your eyes open for our Dinner and a Movie posts. If you do make any of the recipes, post photos on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #HecticKitchen and tag us @HecticKitchen and we’ll share your post with all our followers.
Let’s have some fun, eat some great food, and watch some great movies!
Make it a great day in the kitchen (and the living room)!