Segan - Movie menus : recipes for perfect meals with your favorite films

Movie Menus celebrates the foods and dining customs of the past, inspired by our favorite movies, with recipes from authentic historic cookbooks, re-created and modernized for contemporary tastes.

If you have ever wondered what Russell Crowe might really have eaten if he were a gladiator, or imagined what Gwyneth Paltrow would have dined on with Shakespeare, or asked yourself just what would have been sizzling on John Wayne's campfire at the Alamo, this is the book for you.

Besides tempting recipes from the past, Movie Menus is seasoned with interesting film and culinary trivia throughout every chapter. Movie Menus will answer movie and food lovers' questions such as:

Which was the only sequel ever to win a Best Picture Oscar? What was cherries jubilee originally created to celebrate? What hit movie was the first completely computer-generated full-length feature? Which is the highest-grossing Western of all time? What was a cowboy's favorite put-down for lousy grub? Which star of a classic war film refused his Academy Award? What did the real Marc Antony do to impress Cleopatra? How did Kirk Douglas persuade other stars to join the cast of Spartacus? What movie has the line I'll have what she's having? What was the first food to be rationed during World War II?

Divided into ten chapters, each featuring a different film genre, Movie Menus includes recipes for and trivia on historic epics, Westerns, war stories, gangster flicks, romantic comedies, and family films. Each chapter also contains a how-to section on giving a themed movie party and a detailed list of suggested films in each genre.

So, if you like good movies and great food, whether you want to host an Oscar party or just want to serve something different for dinner, you'll find Movie Menus as fun to read as it is to use.

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

H ollywood 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 backor rather, lie backand 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.

SERVES 6

No son could have more love for you than I.
CHARLTON HESTON, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS , 1956

I n The Ten Commandments