The Graduate (1967) - our February movie

Anne Bancroft's Tamale Pie recipe and a cooking playlist

Are you worried about your future?

Do you want it to be… different?

Do people keep asking you what you are going to do with your life?

When all you want to do is float on a lilo?

Ah, what a gorgeous-looking film The Graduate is.

I’d forgotten how funny it is too.

Anne Bancroft is superb and Dustin is kinda cute.

I suppose it is a morality tale as well as a love story of sorts. Could this be your Valentine’s Day movie? Mayyyyyybbeeeeee?

The Graduate Cooking Playlist

My beloved, Mr Rathbone has put together a playlist that you can enjoy in the background as you rustle up Anne’s Tamale Pie. Here is a link to it on Spotify.

Anne’s Signature Dish - Tamale Pie

2 tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped onions
⅓ cup chopped green pepper
1 can (19 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce*
1½ teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
1 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 egg
⅓ cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 x 10 oz package of frozen corn, thawed
½ cup grated cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 350 ℉ / 175 ℃ / gas mark 4. Grease a 9-inch pie plate or 9-inch square pan. In a medium skillet, melt all 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Pour half into a medium bowl to be used later. Saute onions and green pepper in a skillet with two tablespoons of butter until tender. Remove from heat and stir in beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, oregano and cumin. Set aside.

In a medium bowl with 2 tablespoons of melted butter, add egg and milk and beat well. Stir in cornmeal, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir in corn. Press mixture into prepared pie plate or pan. Bake 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and spoon bean mixture onto crust. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake 5 minutes more.

• this doesn’t mean what we here in the UK call tomato sauce (ketchup) but something like passata can be used as a substitution. I used a newish Heinz product called Frito Tomato Paste.

Although the original recipe stated that this serves 6, I would say more like 4-6 depending on what you serve with it. I made half the recipe and got 2 hearty portions from it.

I was very chuffed with how mine turned out, especially as I have never made a tamale pie before, let alone eaten one. Not a “thing” here in the UK, but I thought this was delicious. It’s a veggie recipe too and I know a lot of my readers are vegetarian or vegan.

Beverages?

To drink with this movie? I would suggest bourbon (or Scotch),

a martini

a can of beer if you are watching it in bed

or a Mrs Robinson #1.

A video demo of this fine beverage will be going out to members of the Silver Screen Suppers Club (aka paid subscribers) on Friday. Along with a recipe from the kitchen of Dustin Hoffman and an extra one from Anne’s too.

A shopping list for the cocktail

Bourbon

Raspberry liqueur

Lemon juice

Sugar syrup

Fizzy water

Fresh raspberries

Ice

Don’t fancy cooking? Some other movie-appropriate accompaniments

Barbecued bits and bobs

Drive-through burger and fries

Scrambled eggs

Watch Party Checklist

1 - Get your diary/calendar out and make a date with yourself.

2 - Decide if you will watch the movie solo or with others.

3 - If it’s the latter, here’s an invite you can email to your chosen ones, letting them know the time and date of your screening.

It’s your call what a “watch party” actually is. Just watching the film with some salty snacks is totally acceptable. But if you want to go the whole hog for this film, you ask guests to dress as if they are going to a 1960s pool party. Even if you don’t have a pool. I wonder if anyone will be game enough to come in the whole scuba outfit?

I admit, my preference is always a watch party for one! But also, if you owe someone dinner, this could be an excuse to get them over…

4 - Source the film on DVD or via a streaming service so you’ll have it to hand when the appointed time comes. Some streaming services offer watch party features, so you can even share the experience with friends or family who are miles away, discussing the good bits in a chat box. You could do this via a WhatsApp group or something similar too. The possibilities are endless!

5 - If you plan to cook Anne’s tamale pie, pop everything you’ll need on a shopping list. You could cook it in advance and heat it up when you are ready to eat. Can tamale pie be eaten cold? I have no idea, but I admit to eating the second portion of this straight from the fridge without even putting it on a plate. What would Mrs Robinson think?!

Wood or wire? They have both…

In-Person Events

I’m going to be at the Hippfest Silent Cinema Festival in Bo’ness, Scotland in March. I’ll be introducing a screening of some silent cinemagazine material and hosting a Joan Crawford cocktails and canapés workshop. It would be so lovely to meet some of you, the Hippodrome is my favourite cinema in the whole world. Skip over here for details

Like movie stars? Curious about their favourite recipes?

My books are available worldwide via Amazon. Here’s a link to my UK author page, where you will find them all.

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