I find that the question, “what’s your favorite movie?,” often stumps people. I get it. There are so many really great ones.
Classics like Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Dead Poets Society, The Shawshank Redemption, Philadelphia, Slumdog Millionaire, Million Dollar Baby, Good Will Hunting, Stand by Me, The Artist…
Quirky gems like Finding Neverland, Rachel Getting Married, Chocolat, Jeff, Who Lives at Home, Amelie, Winter’s Bone, I Am Love, Juno, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Once, Lost in Translation, Blood Into Wine, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Bill Cunningham New York, Bread and Tulips, 50/50, Snatch…
Emotional loves like Say Anything, Toy Story, The Princess Bride, Up, Ocean’s Eleven, Sense and Sensibility, Love Actually, Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, Father of the Bride, The NeverEnding Story, WALL-E, French Kiss…
Hurt your sides laughing ones like Crazy, Stupid, Love, Waking Ned Devine, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Little Miss Sunshine, Office Space, Hot Fuzz, Fargo…
However, in my typical, no-holds-barred, I have a firm opinion about everything way, I know exactly what I consider to be my favorite movie. Fried Green Tomatoes. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it.
It’s a story of stagnation and inspiration, a story of saying fuck you it’s my life, a story of the deepest friendship and why women actually rule the world, a story about the most honest kind of love and the most painful kind of loss. It doesn’t hurt that it has a killer cast that includes Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Mary-Louise Parker. It’s a really beautiful movie.
Oh, I almost forgot; it’s also about food. Mostly glorious, fried goodness, smoke in your eyes, more butter means more better Southern food. Trust me. It’ll make you want to eat pie at the Whistle Stop Café.
So, when the biggest movie aficionado that I know suggested a post about pairing movies with food, I immediately thought of making fried green tomatoes – duh. And it’s a good thing that tomatoes are vegetables, because this friend happens to be vegan. When you think about Southern cuisine, don’t you immediately think vegan? No. Me neither.
But, here’s the good news – there are exactly 4.97 million websites out there now dedicated to vegan cooking. If you want to make a vegan version of roast beef tenderloin with au jus, there’s a website that’s gonna tell you just how to do it.
Thus, in honor of my requester… the Southern feast that I would pair with my all time favorite flick, Fried Green Tomatoes:
“Chicken-Fried” Tofu Steaks and Creamy Mashed Potatoes with White Gravy
Louisiana Vegetarian Gumbo
Vegetarian Southern Collard Greens
Vegetarian Maque Choux
Green Tomatoes with Pistachio Relish
Vegan Cornbread
Maple Pecan Pie
Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
And, remember, as Sipsey said, “Secret’s in the sauce.”
This is what I've been assigned... 