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The next movie in the Best Picture Dinners series is War Horse, which follows the relationship between young Albert and his horse during World War I. It features a glimpse into England's working rural poor around that time in history, and also that examines a time when war was on the cusp of changing, with both new and more traditional ways of fighting intersecting in a brutal fashion.
This meal will be a fairly simple one, to go with the austere times brought on by war. Albert's father, who was injured in the Boer War in South Africa, is a turnip farmer, and so our first course will give a nod to that humble, yet delicious ingredient. We'll start the meal with this turnip, rutabaga and carrot soup from Jaymee Sire of e is for eat. It's nourishing, filling, and quite budget-friendly. Alternatively, try this Turnip, Leek, and Wild Rice Soup from Chris of My Vermont Kitchen.
We'll pair this meal with a simple cocktail that's closely related to a traditional martini: The Artillery Cocktail from Bruce of Bruce and Mr. Boston. It features gin paired with sweet vermouth, rather than dry vermouth.
For the main course, we're going to go with what has traditionally been a mid-day English meal: The ploughman's lunch. Karen Booth of Lavender and Lovage has an excellent description of this traditional meal, and a great recipe for the cottage bread that's perfect to serve with it:
Although the term “Ploughman’s Lunch” was first coined in the 1930’s, as part of a very successful marketing campaign, the concept behind it goes back much further. Throughout the centuries, agricultural workers would take their lunch out to the fields with them; this usually consisted of bread and cheese with ale or cider—a perfect combination. It’s easy to prepare and should consist of at least the following: crusty bread and butter; a selection of English cheeses; pickled onions; chutney and pickles.
For dessert, we'll turn to another set of primary characters in the movie: a grandfather and jam-maker, and his granddaughter. As a nod to their storyline, we'll end the meal with cookies filled with strawberry jam. Here are a few recipes that would work perfectly to wind up this meal:
- Lemon and strawberry jam sour cream cookies from Kathryn of London Bakes
- Whole Wheat Valentine's Day Sandwich Cookies from Diana Johnson of Eating Richly
- Shortbread Sandwich Cookies from Flavia Scalzetti of MomItFoward
- Strawberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies from Heather Hands of The Flourishing Foodie
What foods did War Horse evoke for you? Share your movie-inspired thoughts in the comments below.
Genie blogs about gardening and food at The Inadvertent Gardener, and tells very short tales at 100 Proof Stories. She is also the Food Section Editor for BlogHer.
Image Credit: DreamWorks Pictures
