Sunday, October 9, 2011

VeganMoFo V: MMMS-American Dreamz


So a funny thing happened on the way to this blog.  Train derailment.  I have a Vegan Essentials order, with crucial ingredients, that was supposed to arrive on Friday.  However, the tracking had "trail derailment" listed for Friday!  I can't get mad at that at all.  It just means, Mandy Moore Movie Sunday has arrived!

kentucky fried tofu, baby!
Today's movie is American Dreamz.  How should I describe this thing?  It's a spoof of American Idol, the Bush-Cheney presidency, reality tv, the war(s), and a lot more.  The cast is pretty random: Mandy Moore, Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Jennifer Coolidge, Marcia Gay Harden, Willem Dafoe, Chris Klein, and Sam Golzari.  Somebody on Rotten Tomatoes put it best: they try to satirize so many things, that it becomes completely ineffective.  This is a train wreck, y'all.  A sweet, deliciously painful train wreck.

Mandy plays Sally Kendoo, an AD contestant with dreams of stardom at any costs.  Grant pretty much plays Simon Cowell.  Golzari plays a jihadist with a love for Broadway plays.  I told you this thing was weird.

When making the menu, I had to think of what the American dream is.  Decidedly, I think it's combo meals.  And since this is the land of cultural fusion, I opted to grab something from the culture of the three main leads (Moore, Grant, and Golzari).  Oh, but it's wrapped up in a very American package.

beer battered tofu, southern green beans, hummus potatoes
Bomb Explosive Menu
Bucket of Fun (Vegan Brunch Beer Battered Tofu)
Southerners Kendoo Green Beans

The beer battered 'fu is, obvi, for Grant's character.  I dredged it in flour to make sure the batter stuck to it.  I also sprinkled on some malt vinegar.  Golzari's character is from the Middle East, though I don't think they ever say where.  Things that remind me of that cuisine: kebabs, hummus, parsley, lemon, mint.  When I saw the Sabra recipe, I knew I had to make it.  Sabra is the only store bought hummus I can eat with a spoon.  SO good.  Finally, Mandy's character is this small town, Southern girl.  I decided to make Southern green beans (onion, garlic, tempeh bacon, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper) because it was easy.  I even used...GASP...canned!

This was a fun one!  I especially love the graphic I begged Era to make for me!  Tomorrow, I'll be making something from The Gambia!

20 comments:

vegan.in.brighton said...

Ha, I remember going to see that movie. It was so SO ridiculous!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, I WANT that tofu!!!!! Looks amazing!

celyn said...

That meal looks so good! Your tofu, oh my yum!

Rose said...

I love your Kentucky Fried Tofu container! Too awesome.

This meal sounds perfect...I'm getting the ingredients together to make it tonight. I was trolling around the blogs looking for some Sunday meal inspiration and yours totally got my stomach grumbling.

I like Hugh Grant, but based on your review, probably won't bother looking for the flick.

You are totally rockin' the MoFo.

Katie said...

Ezra is the best husband. You ARE doing Saved, right?

Katie said...

P.S. Please don't tell Era I typoed his name!

x said...

Train wreck is the perfect description of that movie, I remember being really confused, ha!

I really want to try hummus mashed potatoes now and I love that you got Ezra to make that graphic for extra authenticity.

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

Katie-Hell yes! I'm totally doing Saved. I'm saving that one for last.

Sarah said...

Your food looks awesome and I want to eat my food out of things with your face on it :D

Anonymous said...

Ha, I love this! Both the recipe and the container are so clever.

~ Regan said...

Looks so yummy! Great job!

Luciana said...

That bucket of fried tofu is amazing, but everything looks delicious! I can't wait to see what you come up with for Saved!

John McDevitt said...

Ha ha! Awesome KFT Bucket!!!

Jen Treehugger said...

That is one bucket of deiciousness and I love the Mo logo - move over Colonel Sanders, there's a new fried bucket Queen in town!

mollyjade said...

I'm cracking up at hummus mashed potatoes. That's straight out of You Don't Mess with the Zohan. And you're bucket is awesome!

Kelly Peloza said...

That bucket is the greatest thing ever!

GiGi said...

I can eat any brand anytime hummus with a spoon. Definitely one of the food items I will be taking with me to a desert island. That and a tweezer and I'm set. SO hummus mashers, OMG. And you are a bucket of fried fun. That container Era made is perfect. Great meal, Mo!

Katie said...

Hahaha, I LOVE that graphic on your tofu container!

omgoshimvegan said...

Put a smile on my face so early this morning. I love the Kentucky Fried Tofu container!

Dawn said...

Does KFT deliver? Loving that bucket!

This menu is ridiculous. I have yet to try that beer-battered tofu recipe but clearly I'm missing out.

And I need to see this movie too! Thank you for informing me about all these Mandy Moore films that I (somehow) missed in theaters.