Movie Menus pairs classic movies with easy recipes updated from historic cookbooks to help you create a sensational dining experience for any film genre.

Both foodies and film buffs will find their passions fulfilled in this deliciously cinematic cookbook, which gathers authentic recipes from the cultures and eras portrayed in your favorite films: Old-Fashioned Southern Fried Chicken with Gravy to savor with Gone with the Wind; Spaghetti and Meatballs with Eggplant for The Godfather; Pan-Seared Steak and Onions with The Alamo; a Victory Garden Salad for Patton.

The chapters are organized into ten distinct film genres--everything from "Pharaohs and Philosophers" and "Knights and Kings" to "The Wild West" and "Romantic Dinner for Two"--with a dozen or so recipes each. Treat your family to a complete meal served in popcorn bowls while watching Shrek, or enjoy a Renaissance feast with Shakespeare in Love. Spiced with film factoids, black-and-white movie stills, famous lines, and bloopers, Movie Menus is as fun to read as it is to use, and promises to be a classic.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

pharaohs and philosophers: ancient times

coming attractions

milk and honey griddle bread • herbed olive puree

chickpea dip • minty garlic spread • assorted stuffed figs

feature presentation

lamb on skewers with mint marmalade • chicken from ancient africa

shrimp with feta • pea and dill puree

closing credits

stuffed dates • peaches in spiced wine

lights, camera, action! finger-food buffet

movie suggestions

Hollywood epics inspired by the Bible and ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome include some of the best films ever created. Pyramids, mummies, gladiators, Roman conquerors, and the Greek myths make for exciting adventures. Who can forget scenes like the parting of the Red Sea in The Ten Commandments, the chariot race in Ben-Hur, and Russell Crowe's battles in Gladiator?

These spectacular movies help bring the past to life, and sampling a meal of that time can further enhance the experience. This chapter explores the foods and dining customs during that vibrant age and serves up a tasty menu created from ancient writings and archaeological finds. Many recipes come from the Roman On Cookery, thought to be the oldest surviving cookbook. Other recipes are taken from The Philosopher's Banquet, written by a Greek living in ancient Rome, detailing the foods and dining customs of Greece's golden age.

The ancients dined reclining on couches, and although they ate some admittedly strange things, like stuffed mice, roasted flamingo tongue, and grilled cow womb, they also enjoyed familiar favorites such as pizza, focaccia, and lasagna. There are many interesting taste combinations to rediscover from their time.

So, sit back--or rather, lie back--and dine like a Roman emperor while you watch your favorite epic and try some of these succulent dishes, which can be served meze-style, on shared platters, eaten with fingers, as was done in antiquity.

MILK AND HONEY GRIDDLE BREAD

SERVES 6

No son could have more love for you than I.

CHARLTON HESTON, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, 1956

III

In The Ten Commandments, Charlton Heston's real-life infant son played the baby Moses.

This recipe for moist and flavorful griddle bread is a reminder of the flatbreads that the Jews, led by Moses, ate during their exodus from Egypt. Delicious alone or wrapped around salami or grilled asparagus, it's also great for scooping up stews and dips.

4 OUNCES FETA CHEESE

3 TABLESPOONS HONEY

1/2 TEASPOON SALT

1/2 CUP ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR, PLUS MORE AS NEEDED

OLIVE OR VEGETABLE OIL

1.In a large bowl, mash the feta, honey, and salt together with a fork until well combined. Add the flour and mix until a dough forms. Using your hands, knead the dough in the bowl until smooth. Cover in plastic wrap and allow to rest, at room temperature, for about 20 minutes.

2.Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and on a very lightly floured work surface roll each section into a very thin circle, about 3 inches in diameter.

3.Lightly oil a nonstick pan and over medium-low heat cook the circles until golden, about 1 minute per side. Serve warm.

And I felt His words take the sword from my hand! -CHARLTON HESTON, BEN-HUR, 1959

Ben-Hur was the first film ever nominated for twelve Academy Awards and ties for the record of most won, eleven, with Titanic. Ben-Hur earned actor Charlton Heston his only career Oscar.

Theaters did not sell food during the showing of Ben-Hur, as the movie was considered too important to allow for the...

 

"Food and film, a marriage made in heaven,With this book it gets its proper leaven."

 

"Francine Segan has given us a gift by providing us with ideas for many memorable evenings. Food, like movies, brings us together and allows us to share romance, adventure, and laughter. From the first bite to the last, Movie Menus will help every cook write his or her uniquely sumptuous script."

 

"This delightful book will conjure up fond memories of great movies and the meals that accompanied them--both on and off screen."

 

Food historian and lecturer FRANCINE SEGAN is a supremely accomplished cook and ardent film and theater fan. She has appeared on many television programs, including the Today show, and is the author of Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook (available from Random House). Segan lives with her husband and their two children in New York City.

From the Trade Paperback...