BIG NIGHT DINNER – THE PRELUDE

In addition to being totally addicted to good food, Louise and I are also into movies.  Although our tastes in movies generally differ (Louise liking comedies and musicals and I liking action films), they also overlap in many areas as well.  Most importantly, we both love foodie films.  Although we have many in our collection one has always stood out as the best of the best.  “Big Night” which came out in 1996 has an incredible all-star cast, including Tony Shalhoub, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini, Minnie Driver, Allison Janney, and Ian Holm.  Oh did I mention Isabella Rossellini?  Set in the late 1950s in a coastal town in New Jersey, two brothers come from Italy to open a restaurant.  Despite producing some of the most incredible regional Italian food, those Americans seem only to want meatballs and spaghetti.  In a desperate attempt to keep their restaurant afloat, the two brothers produce the most incredible Italian feast in the hopes that a famous musician and the media will re-vitalize their business.  

Not only is this movie a realistic depiction of the difficulty introducing new and wonderful culinary experiences to unsophisticated palettes, but it is also a metaphor for many experiences in life.  Sometimes someone can put in front of you something new and wonderful but fear of change or fear of the different precludes you from experiencing new opportunities, and as in the case of Big Night, to your own detriment.

Now that the “stage is set,” we decided to invite 15 folks, most of who have not seen the movie, to come watch it at our house.  Of course, it is physically impossible for us to show a movie without also cooking something for our guests to eat.  The movie makes it both easy and difficult to decide on a menu for the dinner.  On the one hand the movie presents multiple wonderful dishes.  On the other, many are complex and time consuming to recreate.  Of all of the dishes featured in this movie the one that is most prominent, and rightly so, is the Timpano.  Describing this dish is not easy.  I think of it as “What would an Italian grandmother do with a massive amount of wonderful leftovers and the need to feed 20 or more people?”

So influential was this movie in foodie circles that in 1999 the cookbook Cucina & Famiglia, authored by Joan Tropiano Tucci and Gianni Scappin, came out.  Not only is there a recipe for a Timpano but it is an all around good Italian cookbook.

With the Timpano as our starting point we devised a buffet style menu to celebrate this movie.  Included are the following:

·        A salad of plum tomatoes and mozzarella, with basil and balsamic vinaigrette.

·        The Timpano

·        A Porchetta

·        A Tourte Milanese

·        Tiramisu

·        Ricotta Chocolate Chip Pie

It is now about a week out from the party so the cooking must begin.  Not being an Italian grandmother I have to start making all of those leftovers to include in the dishes.