It’s official, spring time is here! Spring is my favorite season: the warmth, sunshine, & fresh veggies make me feel so good. So naturally for this next entry I wanted to choose the perfect movie that makes me feel like ‘spring time’ whenever I watch it. My choice, a 1936 classic that is one of my favorite movies, “Follow the Fleet’ starring the amazingly talented duo Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers. This is the 5th of the 10 movies they made together, with a delightful score by Irving Berlin, & dance numbers galore Fred & Ginger give us something a little different in this movie. Fred plays “Bake” Baker, a former hoofer-turned -Navy Sailor looking for his former dance partner Sherry Martin (Ginger); whom he finds in a cheap night club now twirling around with sailors for 10 cents a dance. They instantly reconnect & Bake is determined to get Sherry a more suitable gig, & maybe make her fall in love with him along the way. Too bad his fleet has to take sail the same night he looses Sherry’s current job. Now this couple has some things to work out, but they’re not even the main romantic story line in this movie. That would be Randolph Scott & Harriet Hilliard as Bilge Smith & Connie Martin. Bilge is Bakes’ ship mate, & Connie is Sherry’s sister. Bilge & Connie meet, he’s not interested, she gets a makeover, & he’s immediately smitten. They have a lot in common despite all their initial differences. She has a ship of her own left to her by her father, & she wants Bilge to Captain her ship. That sounds great to Bilge, until she starts talking about husbands & what not. Then just like a man Bilge gets scared off & on his way back to the ship falls right into the arms of a wealthy, already married woman.
‘I don't often try to apologize 'cause I seldom make any mistakes.’ -Bake Baker
At this point only two things are certain in the movie, two sisters are in love with two ship mates, & their boys will be back in the Spring. So as the sisters prepare for the boys return, I want to prepare a meal that says ‘the sea’ & ‘springtime‘. First, Blackened tuna steaks cooked rare served on a bed of brown rice with diced tomatoes, & alongside fresh spring asparagus & portabella mushrooms. Then it's time to cool off with some dessert, a ‘Chocolate Sundae with Whipped Cream, & Plenty of It’ straight from the film.
Movies inspire me to do all kinds of things, like the basis of this blog here, but this movie made me want to join the navy, become a hoofer, by a boat, & oddly drink bicarbonate of soda. I did none of those things, thank heavens for the latter, but I was inspired to come up with all of these dishes. I wanted a seafood meal that was spicy like the characters in the movie. And it’s all just as easy to make as the classic is to watch. So yell out ‘all hands on deck!” & get your friends together to see some of Fred & Gingers best numbers & enjoy some great food. Also with appearances from Lucille Ball, & Betty Grable, Ginger in a solo tap number & the memorable “Let’s Face the Music & Dance” where the duo actually step out of character this is definitely a feel good movie that will have you longing for the sea. Luckily, you won’t have to go very far to get it. Just to your local supermarket.
‘It isn’t really that gentlemen prefer blondes, it’s just that we look dumber.’ -Sherry Martin
Brown Rice with Diced Tomatoes:
1 ½ cups water
1 cup Vegetable Stock
1 cup Brown rice
Half of a 14.5 oz can of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Garlic
1 tsp Salt
Heat salted water & vegetable stock in a saucepan until boiling. Stir in rice, cover & reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed & the rice is tender. (Hint: Don't touch the rice while it's cooking! Just walk away for all that time & let the rice do its thing.) With heat still on pour in can tomatoes & just heat slightly.
Blackened Tuna Steaks: (Recipe for two, then yield accordingly)2 12 oz Tuna Steaks
1/ 4 cup Blackened Seasoning
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cooking Spray
Pour blackened seasoning into a shallow bowl. Coat steaks with cooking spray & dredge tuna in seasoning. Put oil in a pan. Add tuna once the pan is piping hot. Cook on each side for a minute & a half for rare, 2 on each side for medium, & 3-4 minutes on each side for well-done. Plate tuna over rice. (Hint: The seasoning produces a lot of smoke, so you may want to open a window or the smoke detectors will be going off. I speak from experience.)
Sautéed Asparagus & Portabella Mushrooms:1 Bunch Fresh Asparagus, washed with the light ends cut off
8 oz Portabella Mushrooms, sliced
½ Tbsp Shallots, diced small
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
S & P to taste
Heat oil in a large sauté pan, add shallots & sauté for just a minute, then add asparagus & desired salt & pepper & cook for 2-3 minutes or until slightly tender. Add mushrooms & cook another 2-3 minutes. Serve hot!
Chocolate Sundae with Whipped Cream & Plenty of It (Recipe for four):2 Snickers bars, chilled
¼ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
Chocolate Ice cream
Hot Fudge
Whipped Cream from a Spray Can
4 Maraschino Cherries
‘Sherry tells me you're leaving. Well, that's probably the wisest thing to do. Run away! All this stuff about fighting for your man and all that makes things so complicated. Now, if all girls would just give up and run back to Bellport, then we'd definitely see the end of family life, little Junior would remain just an idea, and every man would burn his own toast. I thank you!’ -Bake Baker
Heat heavy cream in a small sauce pan. Chop up Snickers bar & add to cream & melt continually stirring. The sauce may be a little lumpy. (Reserve some pieces of candy bar for garnish at the end) Heat hot fudge jar in microwave. In a long glass that you can layer in, place some hot fudge at the bottom of the glass. Then a scoop of ice cream. Next Snickers sauce, ice cream again, & pour on the whipped cream. Add a cherry & some snickers pieces for garnish.
‘I’m putting all my eggs in one basket, I’m betting everything I’ve got on you. I’m giving all my love to one baby. Heaven help me if my baby don’t come thru.’ -Irving Berlin
‘Follow the Fleet‘: Released by RKO Radio Pictures in February 1936. Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, Astrid Allwyn Betty Grable, & Lucille Ball. Directed by Mark Sandrich. Based on a play by Hubert Osborne, Screenplay by Allan Scott. Score by Irving Berlin. Genre: Musical, Comedy, Romance.
*Photos by Jared Thomas Payne
