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Tangled

Culinary Movie Night Guide

Difficulty Level: Medium

Table of Contents

Equipment

Here is a list (with links) of all the equipment and decorations I used for my Tangled Culinary Movie Night. I would be incredibly grateful if you used my links. I will make a little commission, and that would really help with the cost of the website and related expenses. You can find my full Amazon List here!

Sundrop Flower

Edible Glitter (for flower)

Fajita Skillet

Wooden Board for Flower Bread

Flower Butter Silicone Mold

Coaster Lights (for lanterns)

Lantern Sun Stencil

Tips
  1. Personalizing the Menu– When planning your menu for your movie night, don’t feel pressured to serve exactly what I chose to serve. Feel free to remove/add/replace dishes so it makes sense for you and your guests. I’ve included an editable menu in this guide to make it your own!
  2. Managing Your Time– These movie nights can take a lot of time to prepare, especially if you plan on doing everything yourself. If you are planning a culinary movie night with a group, I suggest doing a potluck style. Have each person contribute a dish or two, and it’ll be very manageable. If you are planning on preparing everything yourself, here are some things I’ve learned while doing these often:
    • Make A To-Do List– I can’t stress this enough! It’s very easy to forget simple things like opening a bottle of prosecco before you start the movie so you aren’t fumbling with the seal before serving. I have done this so many times! Your to-do list should include absolutely everything you need to do leading up to pressing play.
    • Start Early– I learned this after a few very long days of trying to cook, prepare, and host all on the same day. Anything that can be done in advance should be done during the days leading up to the movie night. Some examples include pre-mixing cocktails, making desserts and other foods like soup that hold up well in the refrigerator, and pre-making any handmade decorations. Hosting is stressful enough without having to make a multi-course meal in one day, so get as much done as possible before.
    • No Pausing– The question I get asked the most is “Do you pause the movie to bring out the next dish?”. It’s important to me that I don’t disrupt the flow of the movie, so I do not pause. It’s also important to me to enjoy the movie with my guests. Setting up everything I need before the movie helps me bring out each dish efficiently. The setup usually includes plating each dish and storing it in the refrigerator, so all I have to do is quickly microwave it before serving. I set out any garnish or decoration on my kitchen counter so it’s easily accessible. I even pour the cocktails into their cups and store them in the refrigerator, so all I have to do is add ice and any finishing touches before serving. Always think about how you can do the bare minimum during the film. I always include the setup in my to-do list as well, so I don’t forget about any aspect of the preparation.
    • Optional– If your budget permits, I recommend ordering food that you may not be confident in cooking or food that may take a lot of time to cook. I do this occasionally, and it helps cut down the preparation time and supports local businesses. Win Win!
  3. Decorations- Have fun and decorate your space and serving tray! Add elements from the theme of the movie, but make a budget and stick to it! I usually use things I already own because these movie nights are DIY, and I don’t need to spend a fortune to make it fun. If I do buy decorations for the movie night, I try to find cheap or reusable things. If you are curious about some of the things I’ve used during the movie nights, here is a link to my Amazon List. All these items are things I bought with my own money and enjoyed using.
  4. Manage Stress- Culinary Movie Nights are fun and a great way to show your friends and family you love them. Sometimes, things you envision in your head will not come out perfectly. When this happens to me, it can be discouraging and stressful, but the people I do these for have NEVER expressed anything but appreciation. Go easy on yourself and remember that your guests are just happy to be there and to experience something you put so much thought and time into making.
Menu

I have created a free, editable, and printable menu for all the dishes I served for this Culinary Movie Night! Feel free to change it to what will work for you and your guests.

Click Here!

Cues

These are the cues I used during the movie night so I knew when I had to get the next dish ready to serve.

Please note: Each cue describes a scene that happens a few minutes before I have to serve the dish. It does not describe the scene the dish is based on. Some people get confused with that, so I thought I should specify. Because the cues only give you a few minutes to prepare the dish, it’s very important to have everything cooked and set up before the film starts. Review the “Tips” section above for ways to make this seamless.

I often get asked why I don’t use time stamps to keep track of when to serve the next dish and the simple answer is, I don’t find those helpful. If I used timestamps, I would have to have a separate timer going or keep disrupting the movie to check the timestamp. It makes much more sense to have cues to indicate when the next scene is about to happen. This allows me to enjoy watching the film with my guests.

Below is the link to the cues I used. This document is editable, so you can make updates if you decide to take out or change dishes.

Click Here!

Recipes
Sundrop Flower Elixir

For this first drink, I served this Lavender Lemonade Recipe.

To make the Sundrop Flower, I used a plastic yellow flower that looked like the Sundrop flower from the movie. I painted the inside of the flower with lavender colored paint and then sprinkled edible glitter on top. I used edible glitter so it wouldn’t be toxic if some fell into the drink. I also made these flowers the day before movie night to save time and to allow the paint to fully dry.

Rapunzel’s Skillet Cookie

Here is the Skillet Cookie Recipe!

Pascal is so cute with the little cookie in his mouth, so I took a screenshot of him, printed him out on cardstock paper, and taped him onto a toothpick. When the cookie was done cooking and cooled a bit, I stuck him onto the skillet.

Here is the screenshot in case you want to print him out too.

To save time, I baked the cookie in advance and stored it on my countertop so it was easy to grab and serve.

Mother Gothel’s Soup

Here is the Parsnip & Hazelnut Soup Recipe.

I did add some ingredients, though, because I was not happy with the taste. I added mashed potatoes from 2 russet potatoes, and two bouillon cubes to add more flavor. It tasted way better in my opinion after these additions.

I made this soup the night before to save time the day of the movie night. Soup also develops in flavor when it sits in the fridge overnight.

Before I started the movie, I set up my small bowls with the soup and stored them in my refrigerator. Then I just had to microwave the soup really quickly and add the hazelnut garnish on top before serving.

Flynn’s Smoldering Fajitas

Here is the Chicken Fajita Recipe.

The veggies and chicken were the very last thing I made before starting the movie, so I could serve them fresh.

To make the smoldering sizzle effect as they do at the restaurants, you’ll need your cast iron pan very hot and a sizzle sauce. The sizzle sauce I made was equal parts soy sauce (1 tablespoon), oil (1 tablespoon), and lime juice (1 tablespoon). I had that sizzle sauce in a squirt bottle by my oven, so it was ready to use.

To make the Fajita pan really hot, I left it CLEAN in my oven, set to 425 degrees F. When it was time to serve, I very quickly transferred the chicken and veggies to the very hot Fajita pan. Please note that the pan was so hot, I needed to double up on oven mitts.

I then added some of the sizzle sauce I made in the squirt bottle on top. It will immediately start smoldering, so serve right away.

If you want to add the funny cutout of Flynn making his smolder face, here is the screenshot I printed out on cardstock paper and taped to a toothpick. I recommend sticking the toothpick into the chicken before adding the sizzle sauce.

Sweet Dreams

For this scene at the Snuggly Duckling, I wanted to showcase the juxtaposition of the rough Vikings with their surprisingly sweet nature. I served the cupcakes that Attila the Viking made and Sparkling Mead.

Here is the Vanilla Cupcake recipe I used.

Here is the Vanilla Buttercream recipe I used.

Add the cherry on top. Make sure to pat it dry first, so the juices from the cherries don’t trickle down the butter cream. I made these cupcakes ahead of time and stored them on my kitchen counter so I could serve them quickly.

Sport Mode

The famous braided hair scene! A lot of people who do themed movie nights serve braided bread for this scene, but this is my little twist on it. To save time, I bought challah, which is a Jewish braided bread, from Trader Joe’s. The bread is naturally light and fluffy, so it’s perfect to serve room temperature, which I had to do so the butter wouldn’t melt.

I topped the bread with honey and then a mixture of thick flacky salt and dried lavender buds. I wanted to add a floral flavor to tie in the scene.

To make the butter flowers, I used these Silicone Flower Molds.

I made sure I had room-temperature butter by letting it sit in my microwave overnight. You’ll need 4 small bowls to make the different colors. When the butter is completely softened, add about 1/4 cup of the butter to each small bowl. I used the food coloring gels I had from a variety pack from the grocery store. They usually sell them in the baking section. Add a drop of the gel to your bowl and mix well. if you want to make the color more vibrant, add another drop. Continue this process for each bowl of butter until you have 4 vibrant colors.

Using a small spatula, start adding the butter to the silicone mold, making sure to scrape the top of each flower so it’s smooth and compact in the mold. I ended up making 4 green leaves, 4 pink roses, 4 purple flowers, and 4 yellow flowers. Place the silicone molds in the freezer so they can harden. I did this the day before movie night and left them in the freezer overnight.

Before starting the film, I placed the Honey Lavender Challah on this serving board and then popped the frozen butter molds out of the silicone. I arranged them on the bread and left the board on my kitchen counter for easy access. By the time the scene came to serve, butter was soft and ready to eat with the bread.

I See The Light

I served lemonade for this scene because the liquid needed to be very translucent for the light to shine through the paper lanterns attached to the glass.

To make the paper lanterns, I used parchment paper because it’s semi-translucent. I used this stencil of the sun to trace the sun, and then I painted it with lavender paint. The same one I used for the flowers.

I taped the “paper lanterns” to the serving glasses during my prep before the movie, so they were ready to serve. To create the light, I used a flat laying flashlight I already had, but I also recommend these light coasters so it can shine from the bottom of the glass, like a lantern would.

Fruit Cup Treat

For the final scene, I wanted to include the fruit our little heroes enjoy. Maximus eats a green apple, and Pascal eats purple grapes and an orange slice. I made a fruit cup with these fruits that I chopped in advance. Then I just added some canned whipped cream before serving.