Babette's Feast for Food'N'Flix {Round-Up}

from imdb.com

This month I invited bloggers to join me for February's Food'N'Flix event to watch - and cook from - Babette's Feast.

It's a fantastic foodie flick that culminates in a haunting dinner: the titular Babette's Feast.

Babette is a French refugee who is living in Denmark and working as a servant for two sisters. During this veritable parade of haute cuisine, and celebration of the sisters' father, we discover that Babette was once the head chef at Café Anglais in Paris.

Babette spends her entire lottery winnings on the ingredients and wines for this dinner. When the sisters ask her when she'll be leaving them to enjoy her winnings, she reveals that she has no money left; a dinner for twelve at Café Anglais costs 10,000 Francs. I read somewhere that 10,000 Francs (in 1871) would equal about $60,000 in today's dollars, taking inflation into consideration. What a dinner!

Speaking about an impressive dinner, look what the Food'N'Flixers brought to the table this month. Here's our virtual feast...from appetizers to salads and soups, from a hearty main dish to two decadent desserts. Nice job, everyone. Click on the titles to go to their recipe posts! Enjoy.

Evelyne from Cheap Ethnic Eatz had originally gone to Chinatown in search of turtle meat; she had seen it there a couple of years back. But, alas!, it wasn't to be found. She opted for this fresh, elegant salad. I wish I lived closer to Evelyne. I would definitely crash her annual Food Film Marathon!

Watercress Endive Salad with Walnuts and Vinaigrette

Caroline from Caroline Makes baked a beautiful cake with her deep, dramatic Nordicware bundt cake. Think rhubarb, custard, and a rhubard-custard sweets drizzle! She had me at 'rhubarb.' I, however, have never ever seen canned rhubarb. So, I will have to wait till rhubarb makes its appearance at our markets this Spring.

  Rhubarb and Custard Cake

Sarah from Well Dined brings a low and slow cooked beef stew to the party that has an entire bottle of red wine in it! Cheers! I laughed at her "brown food = flavor" instruction. My mom used to say "Cook it till it has a tan." Same concept, I guess!

Daube Provençal

Debra from Eliot's Eats baked an impressive rum-soaked cake. She writes: "To cover my bases, I decided to douse the dried fruit with rum." That, my friend, is always a good plan. I steered clear of Babette's desserts, but this might inspire me to get baking.

Kugelhopf

Rachel of The Crispy Cook shared her husband's easy aoili. Color me impressed...all with an immersion blender and a drinking glass! I can do that. And what a great basic recipe to use as a canvas for some creative culinary add-ins. Here's...

Dan's Easy Homemade Aioli

Deb from Kahakai Kitchen adapted the Blinis Demidoff into a veg-friendly version. I absolutely love her take with the addition of seaweed and a dollop of cashew cream...and I had no idea you could buy pre-made blinis. That's a great shortcut tip. These look fabulous, Deb.

Beluga Lentil Caviar with Cashew Sour Cream on Blinis 

Heather from girlichef went the other direction with her submission. Instead of focusing on the food from Babette's feast, she cooked the simple, modest soup that the sisters and Babette eat all the time.... Heather is always surprising!

Øllebrød (Danish Rye Porridge) 

aka Ale and Bread Soup

I - Culinary Adventures with Camilla - was also intrigued by the turtle soup, but knew that I wouldn't be able to find any turtle meat and, really, wouldn't be able to get my boys to eat it even if I could find it. So, I opted to go the 'mock turtle' route and kicked off the dinner with some blinis. My kids were horrified enough that I kidnapped their stuffed animals for a photo op.

Blinis Demidoff au Caviar et Potage à la Tortue Faux

And that's a wrap on this month's Food'N'Flix. Thanks so much, all, for watching and participating! Deb from Kahakai Kitchen is hosting next month. She selected Stranger Than Fiction. That's a new one for me. Can't wait! Keep an eye out for her official invitation.