Food 'n Flix Roundup: Letters to Juliet

A romantic comedy with beautiful scenic views of the Italian countryside, Letters to Juliet, was my pick for July's Food 'n Flix event. It appears the movie left everyone craving sweet, light, refreshing dishes perfect for summer. 

Let's have dessert first, shall we?

 Elizabeth of The Law Student's Cookbook got swept up in the romance of the movie and made a beautiful and deep pink Strawberry-Buttermilk Gelato.   Elizabeth says, "Sophie enjoys gelato in the movie and I can't deny how jealous I was when watching. I'm not only jealous of the gelato, but I want to go to Italy so bad and enjoy all the food."    I'm right there with you, Elizabeth!

Heather of girlichef made a very inspiring Mixed Berry Gelato.  Heather says, "While there were many food inspirations for me in this film, such as homemade pasta and a perfect risotto and cheese...olive oil...bread...truffles...I chose to make gelato.  Inspired by the the scene in which Sophie and Charlie sit and eat gelato and find themselves getting along."   I have to say it sure would be hard to eat gelato and not get along, especially after eating Heather's version made with blueberries and strawberries.

 Next up is Deb of Kahakai Kitchen who was inspired to make two recipes to share.   First up is a wonderfully refreshing creamy lemon ice cream, Gelato al Limone, which looks dreamy and all...but

Deb's pièce de résistance is this sunny-hued Sgroppino, a tall glass of creamy lemony ice cream, Prosecco, and Limoncello.  Deb says, "The only thing more appealing than a big bowl of creamy gelato is combining it with prosecco and vodka (or limoncello in my case) into the best kind of adult "milkshake." Who knows......Charlie and Sophie probably would have warmed up to each other much quicker if they had shared a few sgroppinos....

Transitioning us from the dreamy world of ice cream we have Roz of La Bella Vita who made two versions of a Veronese specialty, Gnocchi con Zucchero e' Cannella.   The gnocchi can be served as a dessert option with butter, sugar, and cinnamon or as an entree option with the addition of Parmesan cheese.  Roz says, " set in Verona, Italy, a young American woman is inspired by the real-life activity of people writing letters to Juliet and inserting them into the walls of Juliet's courtyard.  'Secretaries of Juliet' reply to those who wrote the letters.   The story unfolds about the romantic lives of two women, one young and one in mid-life and how their endeavors play out in the hills of Italy. That last sentence sums up the movie perfectly, Roz.

Tina of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor has a rather fun and comical approach to her recipe choice.   Tina says, "As Claire is searching for “her Lorenzo” one of the men she speaks with is quite taken  by her. He suggests, “…if you don’t find your Lorenzo, come back and let me cook you a fish dinner.” I thought that was pretty cool. An old Italian man still trying to put the moves on a woman. After watching the movie and discussing the meal, my man says to me, "'Let me cook YOU a fish dinner,"   and yeah....I was sold.  Tina's man cooked her Grilled Fish, Saffron Risotto, Roasted Asparagus with a little white wine on the side. I think Tina's man should be giving lessons.  

Glennis from Can't Believe We Ate made a beautiful plate of Fresh Off The Vine Tomatoes.  Glennis says, "Since this is a love story…and tomatoes were once known as “love apples…” my offering for this flick is a simple plate of fresh off the vine, sliced tomatoes, dressed with extra virgin olive oil and a chiffonade of just picked basil…"  I love the way you think, Glennis.

Here at Stirring the Pot, I said, "It soon becomes clear to Sophie that Victor's top priority is not Sophie, but his new restaurant.  Poor Victor doesn't even realize his ways.  He's so obsessed with food and everything regarding it that he doesn't even realize he's losing Sophie."  Victor's lack of attention to Sophie made me think about how we should all make more time for our loved ones so I made a super quick pasta dish, Fettucine Limone Parmeggiano.  The sauce is fragrant with lemon and Parmesan and can be made in the time it takes to boil the pasta.  

Thank you to all who participated and also thank you to Heather of girlichef for asking me to host this round of Food 'n Flix! 

 The upcoming flick for August is Fried Green Tomatoes and is being hosted by the lovely Glennis from  Can't Believe We Ate.  Fried Green Tomatoes is a classic and I know you will draw much inspiration from it. Head on over to check out the announcement!

Fettucine Limone Parmeggiano

Sophie and her chef fiance, Victor, are going on a pre-honeymoon trip to Verona, Italy where they plan to spend some time together before their wedding.  Instead of the romantic vacation she planned, Sophie finds herself traipsing all over Italy with Victor while he does culinary research for his new restaurant.  It soon becomes clear to Sophie that Victor's top priority is not Sophie, but his new restaurant.  Poor Victor doesn't even realize his ways.  He's so obsessed with food and everything regarding it that he doesn't even realize he's losing Sophie.

As soon as I observed Victor's behavior I completely identified with it.  How hard would it be to love food and not get consumed by it while in Italy?  I don't really fault him.  I would most likely behave in a similar way.  Maybe not to the extreme he did, but still.  Poor Sophie.  If only she were a noodle, or a great vintage wine, or perhaps a truffle then maybe then she would get some attention from Victor.

The movie inspired me to keep my priorities in check and not be so consumed with food.  I decided to make a quick dish, one that can be made in the time it takes to cook the pasta.  Don't you just love those types of meals?  I've always wanted to make Pasta Limone, a dish redolent with lemons, parmesan, and lots of fresh basil.  I picture this as the type of thing I would eat if I traveled to Italy.

Fettucine Limone Parmeggiano

Adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow's My Father's Daughter

Serves 4

3/4 pound fettucine

Coarse salt

1 lemon

1-1/2 cups finely grated fresh Parmesan, plus extra for serving

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2-1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3-5 tablespoons of pasta water, to thin

Handful fresh basil leaves

Boil the fettucine in salted boiling water, according to the package directions.  

Meanwhile, using a Microplane, grate the zest from the lemon into a large mixing bowl.  Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl.  Add the 1-1/2 cups Parmesan, pepper, and a pinch of salt, and mix in the olive oil to form a wet paste.

When the fettucine is perfectly cooked, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of the cooking water to the lemon and cheese mixture.  Add the fettucine to the bowl and toss thouroughly, adding another tablespoon or 2 of pasta water if necessary so that the sauce coats each strand.  Roughly tear in the basil leaves.

Serve each portion with a sprinkle of coarse salt, a fresh grind of black pepper, and a few gratings of extra Parmesan.

Notes/Results:  This pasta dish was so fragrant.  The smell of lemon and basil just permeated the kitchen.  We could definitely taste the lemon, which we loved, and we found this dish to be refreshing and light.  At the same time, there was a certain creaminess to the pasta (from the cheese and the addition of pasta water) and it was very satisfying.  Another selling point was that I was finally able to showcase some of my opal (purple) basil.  Purple is one of my favorite colors and I searched high and low for purple basil this season.  I didn't notice a difference in the flavor of the basil, but the color sure does make me happy.  All in all, a great and quick pasta dish!

Food 'n Flix is being hosted right here at Stirring the Pot this month.  It's not too late to submit your recipe inspired by the movie Letters To Juliet.  For information regarding a submission, please click HERE.