An Inconceivable Roundup of Creative & Delicious Dishes for Food 'n Flix's May Pick: "The Princess Bride"

Inconceivable! There was no way I could choose one of my very favorite movies as the May Food 'n Flix film pick (if you missed the announcement post--it's here) and not be blown away with what my Food 'n Flix friends did with this not-so-foodie choice. It turns out The Princess Bride has made a lot of people happy in its 30 years of existence, and it turns out that it can inspire some pretty awesome food creations too.

Here's the roundup of the fabulous dishes everyone made! I had a blast reading and drooling over all of the posts and it would be inconceivable (You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means) if you didn't find this collection of dishes equally wonderful. So bypass the Fire Swap and stop storming the castle, and let's take a look!

Our first entry in was from Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm who found this non-foodie film fairly full of food inspiration and ended up making a tasty sandwich of Grilled Cheese with Apple. She said, "As you can see, there was absolutely no shortage of food/recipe ideas. I decided to make a sandwich and fill it with cheese and apples since these three things were seen more than once in the movie. Oh, and because I love grilled cheese sandwiches and knew the crunchy sweetness of an apple would add another layer of flavor to this classic dish."

Next up was Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla who made some delectable, Sicilian-flavored Razor Clams ala Vizinni. She said, "While this isn't a foodie movie per se, I found tons of inspiration! Given that I'm picking up my half-lamb share from a farmer friend this week, I considered a nice MLT! It, according to Miracle Max, rivals true love. ... I even drove out to an Asian market in hopes of finding some (shrieking!) eel. But they only had pre-cooked eel - in a can - and the sauce was not gluten-free. Boo. So, I settled on fresh razor clams in honor of the repartee between Vizzini and Westley. Razor clams for razor sharp wit. Get it?"

Evelyne of CulturEatz made these gorgeous Sitting Pretty Buttercups on Sand Tarts, saying "Sand and sugar were stuck in my brain after I saw the movie. How many recipe do you know that come from the concept of sand? This eventually blossomed into sand tarts, all topped with a buttercup in honor of the Princess Bride herself!" And, ...there one was scene that got stuck in my head for inspiration…a weird one. Buttercup gets swallowed up in quicksand and gets rescued by Westley. I am 100% certain they filmed it with sugar. The way the ‘sand’ stuck to the actor’s face when they got out of it…it was sugar."

Debra of Eliot's Eats is another big fan of the movie and plans to introduce a group of her coworkers--who have never seen it?! (Inconceivable!). She said, "I decided to go with an inspired recipe from Buttercup’s name. I present Princess Buttercup’s Butter Cups with a powdered sugar sprinkle (or is it iocane powder?) and flowers. ... These are sweet cakes so go easy on the iocane powder." Who wouldn't want one of these pretty and butter-filled pound cakes--any icocane powder poisoning would be totally worth it! 

Kimberly of Coffee & Casseroles found her first dish not working out as planned but regrouped with the tasty and comforting Beef Soup she made for her mother. She said, "I have to confess something. My recipe didn't work. And I did not have a back up plan. I had said in another post, I'd be back that week with this, but my recipe failed and I wasn't sure I was going to do this at all. And if you've been following this for any length of time, you know I like to think outside the box as much as I can. What I ended up doing, was going with the obvious. I ended up making a soup. My inspiration scene being where Inigo is drunk and falls face first into his soup/stew. And it used more than half the ingredients from my notes."

Next was Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures who made clever and decadent candy with her Anybody Want a Peanut Buttercup? treats. She said, "One of the classic lines from the movie is when Fezzik and Inigo are rhyming in the beginning. Vezzini says "stop it, I mean it" to which Fezzik replies "Anybody want a peanut?" ... Then, obviously, our heroine is named Buttercup, so the clear recipe choice is Peanut Butter Cups! Plus, also, we know that chocolate makes miracle pills go down easier (a movie AND book reference (though in the book the chocolate only “makes them look a lot better”)."

 
Our Food n Flix founder, Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen made an appealing concoction (thank goodness someone made a drink!) with her Fire Swamp Fireball Cocktails. She said, "I went a little outside the box and pulled inspiration from a scene where Westley and Buttercup "escape" through the Fire Swamp, a dangerous detour in which they have to maneuver their way through R.O.U.S.'s (rodents of unusual size), lightening sand, and flame spurts (aka fire balls). While they are technically called flame spurts, I've always referred to them as fire balls, so I made a cocktail featuring two different fire balls—the candy and the cinnamon whiskey. I used cream soda, thinking it would make the drink look a little murky (swampy), but it didn't really do that as much as I'd have liked (though the candy does let off a bit of red murk as it sits). Maybe a splash of cream would lend the right effect. And a little bit of sweetness from the addition of Licor 43, as a nod to the love between Buttercup and Westley."

Finally here at Kahakai Kitchen for my contribution to the party, I give you Miracle Max's Wonder Pills: Dark Chocolate-Coated Peanut Butter Energy Balls. I had my dish in my head from the beginning, mainly due to my love for Miracle Max (Billy Crystal) and his wife Valerie (Carol Kane) {I'm not a witch. I'm your wife!"} and from a pamphlet in my Buttercup Edition of the DVD entitled "Fezzik's Guide to Florin." There was an ad for Miracle Max's 'Wonder Pill' that proclaims "Death is no excuse!" I knew I wanted to make an energy ball with healthy ingredients and coated in dark chocolate because, "the chocolate coating makes it go down easier" and I used peanut butter as a base in a nod to Fezzik's peanut rhyme. 

What an amazing virtual film and food party we had! It was the greatest thing in the world--except for a nice MLT–mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe. They’re so perky, I love that. (Yes, I could do this for hours!) 

Thank you to everyone who joined in this month. As usual, my only wish is that I could have sampled all of your amazing creations!

If you missed this month's Food 'N Flix event but you like food, films, and foodie films, consider joining us in June, when Evelyne of CulturEatz will be hosting with the foreign film, Volver.

Happy June!