The Quiet Man and Irish Soda Bread

We really do have to give old weather sayings and folklore their due. Nearly everyone has heard the expression that March comes in like a lion and goes out a lamb. Actually, what most people don't realize is that the expression is conditional: if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. If, however, it comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion. That has certainly been true this year in Boston.

Yummy Irish Soda Bread batter

March blew in gently, all soft breezes and dandelion-scented air. Towards the middle of the month, the temperatures hit seventy and eighty degrees. I walked around in my capris and sandals. I opened windows and admired the dappled sunlight streaking across my hardwood floors. It was too good to last, though. Boston has been stuck in a cold spell the past week, and some snow is even predicted for tomorrow, the last day of March. It seems as if March is exiting more like a polar bear than a lion.

Yummy Irish Soda Bread, front view

However, the nice thing about the month of March is that I know it is spring, no matter how cold it is. The crocuses and dandelions are blooming in my yard. Beautiful robins hop around the grass, celebrating the new life around them. Everything is green, green, green...including one of my favorite holidays, St. Patrick's Day. I celebrated St. Patrick's Day this year just the way I like it, surrounded by good food and family. I honestly don't understand people who want to get completely drunk on St. Patrick's Day. I think that's demeaning to Irish culture and a waste of an opportunity to observe such a lively spring holiday. This St. Patrick's Day, surrounded by my family and my fiance, I danced to The Pogues, laughed at my dad's funny green hat, devoured my mom's potato croquettes, and made my signature Grasshopper Pie. Moreover, I tried a great new recipe for a simply delicious Irish Soda Bread.

Yummy Irish Soda Bread slice

The movie I picked for today was The Quiet Man, but Dan hasn't had a chance to write the thought piece for that. And I haven't had a chance to watch it. I know, I know, shocker, but I've never seen The Quiet Man. I know it's directed by John Ford and it stars the iconic John Wayne. I've seen many of their collaborations in my Western film classes and elsewhere. I'm very curious to watch this film because I heard that it offers a lot of talking points. It is immensely popular around here during St. Patrick's Day, and some hold it up as a celebration of Irish-America and a love letter to the Old Country. However, others say that it enforces outdated stereotypes of a poor and rural country inhabited solely by "quirky" characters. As I said, I haven't seen the film, but I am excited to view it and better understand both sides of the argument.

Yummy Irish Soda Bread coming at you!!!

There's no argument, though, about this delicious soda bread. I adapted it from a Taste of Home magazine...I love that magazine to pieces; it never steers me wrong. What attracted me to this particular recipe was the fact that it contained sour cream, which I knew would give the bread a soft, creamy texture. My mother and I both hate foods that have really dry textures, so I decided that this was the bread for me. I also liked the addition of the caraway seeds. I wasn't too familiar with them, but they added the perfect hint of spice and tang to the bread. They reminded me of the fennel seeds my Nonna uses in her taralli, which are these savory, hard Italian pretzel-like treats. (I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that two days after St. Patrick's Day is St. Joseph's Day, a celebration of Italian-American culture. The pastries of the day are zeppole, or Italian donuts filled with cream. Yum!)

Yummy Irish Soda Bread
Adapted from Kerry Barnett-Amundsen's Taste of Home recipe
Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp caraway seeds
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups (16 oz) fat-free sour cream
• 3/4 cup raisins

1) Combine flour, caraway seeds, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and the sour cream. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until it is just moistened. Fold in raisins.

2) Spoon batter into a greased 9-in springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for ten minutes. Remove the sides of the pan to release bread. Cut into wedges, serve warm.

Next time: No clue. Any suggestions? I welcome all ideas. I only ask two things: (1) I cook on a budget, so no outlandish or expensive ingredients that would be hard for the average cook to obtain (2) I like to cook fresh and in season...if you suggest a pumpkin dessert, I will wait until October or November to make it because pumpkin is not in season now. By all means suggest any dessert you like, but know that you might have to wait awhile to see it! 

Happy birthday, Nonna! Felice compleanno!

Red Velvet Cupcakes and Casablanca

It's one of the most exciting days of the year...Oscar day!

I love watching the Oscars. Even when the shows have been complete disasters, there is something mysterious and alluring about this night. I enjoy being cocooned in a world that, just for a while, stops what it is doing and focuses on the quasi-mythical force of film. I know that in real life Hollywood is probably not a very fun or shall we say authentic place, but on the night of the Oscars, we can pretend that the Old Hollywood of our imaginations really existed. Doesn't the very name "Oscar" conjure images of flat cap-clad directors shouting into a bullhorn, starlets posing under a spotlight, and sound stages cluttered with a heap of exotic sets? I can't help it. I'm a cinephile of the highest order.

To celebrate this day, Reel Bakers will focus on my favorite Oscar-winner (and movie, natch) of all time: Casablanca. From the sheer star power of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, to the classic romance and adventure elements of the plot, to the copious mythology surrounding the movie (Casablanca was built on the back lot of a studio!), I can think of no other film that better epitomizes Old Hollywood and the pinnacle of movie-making than Casablanca. To honor this movie are Red Velvet Cupcakes, quintessential romantic treats. I originally made these cupcakes for Valentine's Day, but they work well as "red carpet" desserts as well. So here are Dan's thoughts on Casablanca:

Casablanca


Why Casablanca? What has made this the most beloved, (mis)quoted, admired, and memorable film of all time? Casablanca is too grand a film for a simple answer, but of those attempted, Umberto Eco has come closest. Quite simply, it’s the ultimate movie about movies in an unusual sort of way. 


Every emotion that draws us to the movies is packed in this seemingly routine tale of romance and intrigue against the backdrop of German occupation in North Africa in the early years of WWII. There is mystery, adventure, thrills, romance, and tears.

But even more importantly, Casablanca is made like a prototype of a product of the Dream Factory. It is an icon of classic Hollywood precisely because it looks and feels so much like one. The cast includes Warner’s titans of the day. Humphrey Bogart leads the cast as the cynical Rick Blaine, an American ex-pat hiding out in Morocco while Vichy officers patrol the markets. Running the most popular café not only in Casablanca but also in all the movies and maybe even the public consciousness, Rick is hinted to be hiding from a past ruffling of wrong political feathers, but he is later revealed to be hiding at least in equal measure from heartbreak. And what a powerful scene it is when the woman who broke his heart walks into his gin joint out of “all the gin joints in all the world”. I cannot think of a better example for the case that some movies improve with repeat viewing. 

In part the power of this moment is due to the striking features of Ingrid Bergman, who was just beginning to sweep American cinema off its feet. Bergman, who none other than Roger Ebert labeled his favorite actress, had real-life qualifications for the role of Ilsa, the freedom fighter. She was an outspoken anti-Nazi pundit and demonstrated great skill in previous works for Alfred Hitchcock. But what’s truly important is what we can see on film and she makes Ilsa the strongest heroine Bogart ever came across. She has her political convictions and has made great sacrifices for them along with her contrabandist husband Victor Lazlo. But she is also human and has never stopped loving Rick. That she even has to think about following her heart or sense of duty says something about the weight of the film.

Many of the supporting actors would frequently appear in future Bogart projects, including Peter Lorre, who had had a successful film career in Germany, Sidney Greenstreet, and Edward Arnold. Claude Rains, of course, was a well-established actor by the time he appeared in Casablanca would continue to be long after. Still, he was immortalized as the morally and ideologically ambiguous (all the more fascinating a character because of this) Captain Louis Renault. Despite all the subplots going on, Casablanca pulls off the miraculous feat of allowing everyone in this amazing ensemble shine.

Casablanca is, in many ways, the movie of movies and the embodiment of the magic of movies. We love it for many reasons, not the least of which is for the way it knows how to be a movie.

Thanks, Dan! Now on to the recipe.

This recipe was as fun to bake as it was to eat. Quite simply, they are the best red velvet cupcakes I've ever had. A pretty red color, a soft consistency, an incredibly creamy cheesecake frosting...yum! This recipe came from McCormick's spice/extract company. I will keep trusting them because this was so good.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Adapted from McCormick 

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup fat-free sour cream
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 bottle (1 oz) red food color
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 stick butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 box (16 oz) confectioners' sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Mix cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, food coloring, and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Be careful not to overbeat. Spoon batter into 30 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for five minutes on wire rack. Remove from pans and let cool completely.
5. To make frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Frost cupcakes when cool.

 Next Time: Irish Soda Bread and The Quiet Man 

Rum Cake and The Apartment

Hello, bloggers! I am back and I have great news…I am engaged! I am very excited about this, of course, and eager to start this new chapter in my life. But don’t worry. I have not forgotten about my other true love: baking. And in the month of January, I find that I love baking even more, though I usually don’t have enough time to actually bake something from scratch. After the holidays, the public schools have a long period of uninterrupted vacations and then I have to give out midterm exams to my students, leading to many days where I want nothing more than to drink chamomile tea and head straight to the warm covers of my bed. But that just makes the pleasure of taking a fresh-baked cake out of the oven, when I do have the time to make one, so much more enjoyable.

Unlike many people, I actually love the month of January. It is crackling with the anticipation of the coming spring. The nights are hushed and still, with the moon providing lacy-white and sophisticated illumination through the bare tree branches. The stores in the local shopping mall start displaying jaunty sundresses and pastel windbreakers to signal the coming spring. One of my favorite January traditions occurs at the beginning of the month, on the holiday of the Epiphany, when I make a splashy King Cake decorated with green, yellow, and purple sugars (I make another King Cake on Mardi Gras). To me, the cake, with its bright jeweled tones and circular, sun-like shape, reminds me that life is bursting through underneath the snow. So to celebrate January, I chose one of the most life-affirming movies ever: Billy Wilder’s The Apartment. Here are Dan’s thoughts.

The Apartment

Much was made of Billy Wilder’s boldness in directing The Apartment, a film that so forcefully knocks down the barriers of the Production Code. Credit should be given where credit is due, but the initial shock stirred by the film buried its humane qualities. The label “dirty fairytale”, while comically not unfit, detracts from the ultimate message about becoming a mensch, a human in other words.

 It’s no easier to dislike C.C. Baxter than it is to dislike Jack Lemmon himself, but the fact of the matter is, he will do anything to move up in the business world, including loaning his flat to philandering higher ups at his firm. He never sees the women being hurt by the flings he is enabling, until Ms. Kubelik, the sweet elevator girl at his firm played by Shirley MacLaine, puts a face on them. Every man at the firm has his eye on her, but only Baxter’s love is sincere. The conflict arises when Baxter discovers that Ms. Kubelik is his big boss’s mistress.

 

            No, no one in The Apartment is entirely innocent or blameless for their misfortunes. But the object of the movie is to watch Baxter and Kubelik evolve into decency and discovering that there are more important things in life than success. Throughout there are tears and smiles, as well as insight into what it meant to be a man toward the end of the Eisenhower years.

After striking gold with Some Like it Hot the previous year, Wilder was eager to work with Jack Lemmon again. In The Apartment he pulled more out of his performance, showing sides of Lemmon not seen before and this is where the heart of The Apartment lies. We can see from the start that Baxter is a good man with the all too human fault of letting his desire for success cloud his integrity. It takes a special woman to bring out his inner mensch. Because of what Baxter and Ms. Kubelik bring out in each other, we can forgive them their past mistakes and applaud the happy ending. For once, a movie has taken sympathy on two people who truly deserve it.

 Thanks, Dan!

In honor of The Apartment and its martini-drinking characters, I made a swanky old-fashioned rum cake. Normally I’m not crazy about rum cakes, but Dan likes them, and this was a birthday present for him. I must say that I was very impressed with the cake. It’s unbelievably soft and balances the rum flavor very well. It’s also healthy and has a creamy texture, a must for me when it comes to cakes (there’s nothing I hate more than a dry cake. Yick!) So enjoy…responsibly!

Rum Cake

Adapted from Taste of Home: Healthy Cooking Magazine

Ingredients:

• ½ cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 1 package yellow cake mix (kind with pudding in the mix)
• ½ cup skim milk
• ¼ cup dark rum
• ¼ cup canola oil
• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 eggs

Glaze:

• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup butter, cubed
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp dark room

1)      Coat a 10-in. fluted bundt cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with a little bit of flour. Sprinkle pecans evenly around the bottom of the pan.

2)      In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, milk, rum, canola oil, applesauce and eggs. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds; then beat on medium for about 2 minutes.

3)      Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before inverting from a pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

4)      In a small saucepan, combine glaze ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook and stir for 4-5 minutes or until thickened. Drizzle over cake.

Next time: Red Velvet and Casablanca

Holiday Madness!

Hi Readers:

Okay, so I planned to do an Eggnog Bread Pudding and review the film Brazil for my December recipe. But alas, the plethora of other baking for the holiday season and the craziness of my teaching job caught up with me this month. But don't worry! I plan to review Brazil and do the recipe some point next year because I love them both. I'll come back 2012 with lots of other recipes and reviews.

So have a happy holiday season and a great New Year!
Keep baking!

World War II Cupcakes and Saving Private Ryan

This will be a rather short post. I just got back from work, dealing with 13-year-old students all day, and I'm exhausted. A good kind of exhausted, but exhausted nevertheless. But in many ways, the movie of the week, Saving Private Ryan, needs no words. As one of the most powerful and realistic war movies ever made, Saving Private Ryan captures the horror of war through haunting images and melodies (this is a Spielberg film after all, and in his best movies, Spielberg is above all a painter on a celluloid canvas). Besides the famous D-Day scene, the sequences from this film that stand out in my mind are those of melancholy simplicity: a close-up of raindrops spattering on a pond, flickering lights in an abandoned church, a lilting Edith Piaf song rising above the rubble of a former town.

That's one of my cats in the background, fyi

I first saw this movie in the History Through Film class I taught last school year. When my students initially began watching Saving Private Ryan, they weren't sure how to react. They giggled nervously during moments in the D-Day scene like when a soldier's helmet saves him from a bullet...and then he gets hit again and killed when he takes the helmet off. Keep in mind that most of my students were teenage boys who never saw war images outside of a video game. By the end of the film, though, many of my students were tearing up. If anything, I hope that this film taught students that war isn't a grand adventure but rather a whirlwind of tragedy and sacrifice for those involved. I'd like to dedicate this post to our veterans...thank you for your bravery in face of such horror. Thank you to Steven Spielberg for exposing these horrors to new generations with his films. And now for Dan's thoughts.

Saving Private Ryan


By the 90s Steven Spielberg had established himself as a filmmaker worthy of tackling the historical dark spots closes to his heart. Schindler’s List surprised many and silenced others who said he could never grow up. There were some flops in between, (Amistad failed to make an impression and for good reason), but five years after Schindler’s List, Spielberg once again built a solid monument to his fascination with WWII.

 Saving Private Ryan, a harrowing story of eight soldiers searching through war-torn France for the soul-surviving Ryan brother in order to send him back home, is his second masterpiece of the 90s. The most shocking part of the movie, actually, has little to do with the central plot. The first twenty minutes or so are the most brutal and heartbreaking recreations of the battle of D-Day ever filmed. Although The Longest Day was clearly an influence, Spielberg’s vision is far purer than Hollywood typically allowed.


This is a film of many virtues and the performances are not the least of them. Tom Hanks’s Capt. Miller blows his other memorable performances, even his work in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, out of the water. It’s fun to se how many future stars got a running start here including Edward Burns, Matt Damon, Giovanni Ribisi, and even Vin Diesel.

In between brilliant scenes of valor and humanity are great moments of camaraderie and brotherhood. The final product is both the most vivid depiction we have of one of history’s darkest moments outside of the memories of those who lived through it as well as perhaps the greatest testament to Steven Spielberg’s ingenuity as a filmmaker.

Thanks, Dan. And now for the recipe.

In an homage to the home front lives of WWII, I made applesauce cupcakes without sugar or butter, since those items were rationed during the war. I got the recipe from the American Girl website, as I am still a fan at age 22 of this historical fiction series for girls! With an appealing blend of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves, these cupcakes are perfect for the holidays. Honey replaces sugar and gives the cakes a nice golden color. I don't usually like raisins but they work well in this recipe; the original recipe calls for walnuts as well but I leave them out so I don't clutter the taste. Finally, I find that cream cheese frosting best tops of this recipe. Remember: rationing didn't mean you had to cut sugar completely, just limit how much you used.

World War II Cupcakes

Adapted from American Girl: Molly's World Recipes  

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 1 cup raisins, unsweetened
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I leave this out)
• Frosting (cream cheese frosting recommended)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake tray with paper or aluminum liners.
2. Put sifter into a medium mixing bowl. Sift together into the bowl the sifted flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add honey and continue to beat for 2 more minutes. Stop occasionally to scrape sides of bowl with spatula. 
4. Add half the applesauce and half the dry ingredients into the shortening mixture. Mix at medium speed until flour disappears. Add the remaining applesauce and dry ingredients. Mix until everything is blended.
5. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the raisins and walnuts. 
6. Spoon batter into cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full.
7. Bake cupcakes for 25 to 30 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out smooth, remove cupcakes from oven and place on a rack to cool.
8. After 10 minutes, let cupcakes out of the pan and let cool completely. Spread frosting on top of cakes before eating.  

Next Time: Eggnog Bread Pudding and Brazil 

Pumpkin-Sage Scones and Psycho

Happy Halloween!

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. Even if you pretend there is nothing special about this night, even if you go about your daily business, you can just feel the aura of mystery crackling in the air. Most everyone now knows that Halloween comes from Samhain, the old Celtic holiday dedicated to honoring the dead. I love the sublime sense of spookiness that envelopes Halloween night: the out-of-the-ordinary sensation that hits you when masked goblins and witches show up at your door. The way the dark night seems especially still, as if all the secrets and spirits of time past are suspended in the atmosphere. The flickering orange glow of jack-o-lanterns, which are perched upon windows like sentries standing a solemn vigil. And, of course, honoring the life, death, and rebirth of the Earth by cooking with late-harvest food. Like pumpkin.

It's also a modern Halloween tradition to scare yourself silly with horror movies. I'm not a fan of horror movies, as I happen to be really squeamish, but I make an exception for the classic flick Psycho, helmed by none other than the Master of Suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock. I love everything about this movie, from the characterizations to the retro-hip low-budget look, but most of all I love how Hitchcock made the film so scary without showing a lot. A lesson many modern horror directors should learn? You decide. But now enjoy Dan's thoughts:

Pyscho


The most amazing thing about Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is its simplicity. Everything that could be considered a production value-splurge exists only to create atmosphere and never extravagance. Although Hitchcock had been making color movies since 1948's Rope and used them to great effect in The Trouble with Harry, he knew the best way to shoot Psycho was in black-and-white. The infamous shower scene was behind this decision. Red blood is just plain gruesome. Suggested blood is far more nuanced and, ultimately, shocking. Indeed, much of the film is suggestion rather than explanation. The misunderstanding of this or the importance of black-and-white were the two most blatant mistakes in Gus Van Sant's garish remake. The Bates Motel, where weary traveler Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) meets her untimely demise, is only as dark and gothic as the secret its scrawny and creepy manager (Anthony Perkins, in the role that immortalized him) harbors in the house atop the hill.

If you've conversed with me long enough about film you know that Vertigo is my favorite Hitchcock movie, but Psycho is the one that best justifies his title as "Master of Suspense." It works almost flawlessly, the extraneous explanation at the end notwithstanding. The key to Psycho's success is how joyfully it pops each cliche it presents. Norman is hardly intimidating, not even when Marion upsets him when she mentions his dear mother might do better in a mental institution. The motel itself looks more disturbing than frightening. One of the heroes, or rather, one of the protagonists (since heroism is not celebrated in this movie) was first seen breaking the old Production Code taboo of premarital intercourse. In fact, Psycho, Some Like it Hot, and The Apartment are often labeled as the three films which brought down the Production Code. The lead character, in whom we invest so much, is knocked off before half the movie is over and, finally, motherly love has never been quite like this.

Best scene? Possibly the lead-up to the first murder. Hitchcock was by now so masterful at creating suspense that each cue--the silence, Marion's solitude, the abandoned motel--all spell doom. Our anticipation is rewarded when we see a foggy figure through the shower curtain opening the door and moving towards the shower. The curtain is pulled...and the rest is history!

*Shiver.* It's a classic. Thanks, Dan! Now for the recipe.

These pumpkin-sage scones were scarily good. They came from my trusty Baking: A Commonsense Guide book. Soft, buttery, with the perfect blend of creamy pumpkin and tangy sage...mmmm. Definitely more of a treat than a trick. They were devoured in a very short time. But enough of words! I bet you want the recipe, so here it is:

Pumpkin-Sage Scones
Adapted from Baking: A Commonsense Guide 
Ingredients:

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 3/4 oz butter
• 1 Tbsp chopped sage
• 1-2 tsps milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. 
2. Sift the flour into a bowl along with a pinch of salt. Rub the pumpkin and butter into the flour using your fingertips. Stir in the sage.
3. Add the milk to make the mixture smooth and cohesive. Place the mixture on the tray. Shape it into a ball and roll it out until it is about 1 1/4-in. thick.
4. Cut the top of the round into eight segments (do not cut too deeply into it). Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through. Serve warm.

Next time: World War II Applesauce Cupcakes and Saving Private Ryan

Double Apple Strudel and Inglourious Basterds

October is here! I am full of excitement. This is the month of spooky stories, golden late-afternoon sunlight pouring through flaming trees, and dark, still nights when you can practically feel the spirits that supposedly walk the Earth on Halloween surrounding you. In terms of baking, though, do you know what I love best about October? APPLES! Apple season is largely in September in my part of New England, and during the month of October I love to think of new recipes featuring the fruit I harvested the past month. I went apple picking last Thursday, September 29th, a date which coincidentally contains two apple-related holidays this year: Michaelmas (an old European harvest festival honoring St. Michael the Archangel) and Rosh Hashana (the Jewish new year, where apples and honey are eaten to ensure a sweet year). It rained that day, but I had a ton of fun scampering through the misty fields with my family, picking the juiciest-looking apples and enjoying cider donuts in the farm's rustic wooden kitchen. No other fruit says harvest or autumn to me quite like apples.

I decided to make an apple strudel to honor my favorite fall fruit. And I can think of only one movie that suitably displays this recipe: Quentin Tarantino's Oscar-nominated epic Inglourious Basterds. That film, if you remember, showcased a absolutely delicious strudel in a scene which otherwise radiated with suspense and apprehension. Inglourious Basterds is one of my favorite films. I didn't think that I would like it, because I am very squeamish when it comes to blood (I once had to leave my sixth-grade classroom because we were watching a documentary about prehistoric animals attacking each other. It was embarrassing), but Tarantino doesn't rely on violence as much in Inglourious Basterds as he does on clever conversations regarding how cinema distorts images of war. I know some people had problems with the film's historically inaccurate ending, but Inglourious Basterds is supposed to be a fable, a revenge fantasy. I think Tarantino has made an excellent movie about World War II movies. Here are Dan's thoughts.

Inglourious Basterds


Think of The Dirty Dozen as only Quentin Tarantino could see it and you have Inglourious Basterds, an ingenious reimagining of WWII which ends the way many wish it could have. Yes, Inglourious Basterds is fantasy wish-fulfillment in the same way that the flag-waving cartoons from the era were. But it's much more than that and what makes the movie so special is precisely its untidy category.

It's easier to say what the film is not and that is a war picture, at least not in the strictest sense of the word. There are no battle scenes and minimal geopolitical babble. Instead, it focuses on the individuality of the characters and it's one of the first movies about WWII in which I can boldly remember the names and personalities of the characters.

Of course, no one who sees Brad Pitt's Lt. Aldo Raine could forget this grizzled war maverick. A renegade who wears his Appalachian origin and Native American heritage on his sleeve, Raine fights his own war and organizes a Nazi hunt employing a motley crew of Jewish-American soldiers who are ordered to find Nazis and bring back their scalps.

This would be enough to satisfy any movie and it did once, the aforementioned The Dirty Dozen. But if you know Tarantino you know his movies are layered labyrinths with no one character hogging the spotlight. Predominant in our memories is Christoph Waltz as the despicable Col. Hans Landa, nicknamed "the Jew Hunter." He is a snake with slow-killing poison. He not only kills but seems to enjoy tormenting his victims. So horrifying is this character, made especially frightening by Waltz's brilliant performance, that his final comeuppance actually leaves us wanting more. It comes in the hands not only of the titular Basterds, but also with the help of a young woman (Melanie Laurent) who lost her family to Landa's men.

Revenge is sweet. But since Tarantino has made it one of the major themes in his canon of work, it has also become fascinating and Laurent's revenge on the Third Reich is an ingenious scheme with gripping suspenseful moments. And because this is under the direction of the most brilliant movie junkie in the world, you can be sure it will contain references to films as far-out as The Wizard of Oz. Oh, and if the alternate history presented here troubles you, there are many other explanations drawn from real-known facts to make the ending more compatible with the history books. So do yourself a favor and enjoy Inglourious Basterds. It's in many ways Quentin Tarantino's magnum opus and, ironically enough, the more you know about WWII the more fun you are bound to have.

Thanks, Dan! And now for the strudel.

This apple strudel came from The Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook. Whoever says diet recipes are blah will eat their words (ha ha) after they try this strudel. Trust me, while it doesn't look as pretty as the strudel in Inglourious Basterds, it is delicious. I have never tried a better strudel in my life. I don't know what gave it the extra-oomph, if it was the dried apples that were added along to the fresh apples or the gingersnap cookie crust. I just know that it was delectable. My family bemoaned its loss. So if you're going to watch Inglourious Basterds, make sure that you make this strudel first to accompany it. It's a must.

Double Apple Strudel
Adapted from Weight Watchers: The New Complete Cookbook 
Ingredients:

• 3 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 18 slices coarsely chopped dried apple
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. dark raisins
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 4 gingersnap cookies
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 12 sheets phyllo dough, room temperature

1) To make the filling, combine the apples, dried apple, raisins, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and water in a large nonstick skillet. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally until the apples tenderize and the mixture becomes thick. Stir in the vanilla. Let the mixture cool completely.

2) In a blender, combine the walnuts and gingersnap cookies until they resemble crumbs.

3) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a big cookie pan with nonstick spray. Reserve 2 tsp. of the melted butter for later. Place a sheet of phyllo dough on a dry towel (keep the remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel). Brush the sheet lightly with a little bit of butter. Top with another sheet of phyllo. Brush that sheet lightly with a little bit of butter, then sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. of the crumbs. Repeat this using all of the phyllo sheets, crumb mixture, and butter, ending with the phyllo.

4) Spoon the apple filling over the phyllo, making sure to leave a 2-in. border. Starting at the wide end, and using the towel to help you, roll the strudel jelly-roll style, making sure the filling is enclosed. Place seam-side down on the pan and brush the top with the reserved 2 tsp. of butter. Make 11 shallow cuts through the top layers of the phyllo dough, being careful not to cut down into the filling. Baking 40-45 minutes or until golden. Cool for at least 10 minutes. Cut at the scored sections.

Next week: Not sure yet, but something involving pumpkin and a Halloween-themed film