The Only You Round-Up + Oven-Roasted Black Bass #FoodNFlix

This month I am hosting the Food'N'Flix group and I invited them to watch Only You. You can read my invitation here. Here's what the bloggers shared...

Pasta

Debra of Eliot's Eats offered a Roman Pasta and Only You, sharing, "This was a new film for me, even though it would have been a film the girlfriends and I would have sought out in 1994.   I loved the vintage wedding photos during the opening.  That set up the plot well.   This is the October film so the Ouija board, candles  and fortune tellers help set a seasonal vibe." Her Bucatini all’Amatriciana looked amazing and was something that I made often when I lived in Rome. 

Pizza

Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm made White Clam Pizza. Her synopsis of the movie reminded me of how much travel has changed since 9-11: "What ensues is a fun escapade through airports, onto planes and into Italy.  You could tell that this film was definitely pre 9-11.  There were no security stops and Faith's friends are able to bring her a suitcase of clothes as she runs onto a plane heading to Europe.  

While searching for Damon Bradley, Faith loses a shoe that is recovered by Robert Downey Jr.  As he places the shoe back onto Faith's foot, Cinderella fashion, she explains that she is looking for her soulmate, Damon Bradley.  Downey acts flabbergasted and says that he IS Damon Bradley.  And so the romance begins.........." Thanks for joining the fun, Wendy!

Pie

Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures posted The Adventures of Pie-kachu. She wrote, "Oh, boy, this one took the whole soulmate thing to next level corniness. It was traipsing across the ocean and then across Italy for an unknown soulmate.  It was pretty silly.  But, it was also lighthearted and didn’t take itself too seriously, which is a welcome reprieve from many of the stresses of the world today." It was corny, for certain. But I loved it...and I know I would love this fun pie, too. Thanks for the adventure photos of your pie through all its travels.

As I didn't get my act together early enough in the month to post my recipe, you'll get it here. But first, a few thoughts about the movie..

On the Screen

Only You is a truly silly - in the best ways possible - romantic comedy that stars Marisa Tomei, as Faith, and Robert Downey, Jr., as Peter, about three decades before they would share the screen as Aunt May and Tony Stark in the Marvel Universe! I do enjoy the corny love story, but the real reason I never tire of this movie is its glorious Italian sites: the Grand Canal of Venice and the famed Hotel Daniele; the thirteen towers of San Gimignano as the backdrop of Kate and Faith's impromtu picnic when they run out of gas in Tuscany; all the fountains and buildings of Rome as they traipse around the eternal city; and the dramatic coastline of the Amalfi coast when they make one last effort to find Damon Bradley in Positano. All of those make my Italian-loving heart flutter with joy. But, my absolutely favorite scene was at a trattoria in Trastevere that was actually right around the corner from my apartment when I lived in Rome! 

The ladies go to a trattoria where Damon Bradley is supposed to meet Anna. They are seated at the table and approached by the waiter. This scene makes me laugh every time. Every. Single. Time. Kate just agrees to everything without understanding anything.

Buona sera. Vino? [Good evening. Wine?]
Sì. [Yes.]

Per due? [For two?]

Sì. [Yes.]

Rosso o bianco? [Red or white?]

Sì, sì,  [Yes, yes.]

Okay.

I never really saw what kind of wine he bring her. I suspect red. And it's that scene that inspired my recipe, too. Faith goes into the building to introduce herself to Damon and ends up toppling a tray of seafood that a waiter is carrying to other diners. You see panic in Faith and fish all over the floor.

Oven-Roasted Black Bass

I know there are a lot of people who don't like to eat whole animals: fish with eyeballs, shrimps with heads, etc. But we love it! So I decided to share whole oven-roasted black bass. That's what was fresh at the market the day I made this dinner.

Ingredients serves 3 or 4

• 2 whole black bass, gutted, but head and tail intact
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper
• organic herbs (I used parsley)
• organic lemon wedges or slices
• olive oil
• Also needed: parchment paper-lined baking sheet

Procedure

Lay your fish on a parchment paper and preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Sprinkle the inside cavity of the fish with salt and pepper. Place the lemon slices and herbs along the inside. You can secure the fish with a toothpick or twine. I just folded it closed and placed it on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. 

Place some lemon slices on the top. Then sprinkle the outside of the fish with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes - until the flesh is opaque and the skin is browned and crisped. Serve immediately.

I served this along side from leftover paella and a skin-fermented Pinot Grigio. Che squisito! 

And that's a wrap for our October Food'N'Flix event. We'll be back next as our group's founder hosts Friendsgiving. I won't spoil it because I did make something tasty that was inspired by the movie, but I couldn't get through it. Stay tuned...