The Princess Bride
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 Princess Bride 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!
Tips
- 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!
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
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.
Recipes
Andre the Poet
For this peanut scene, I decided to serve Cajun Boiled Peanuts because I recently tried them fo rthe first time on a trip to the North Georgia Mountains and I fell in love! They are so incredibly flavorful and delicious.
Here is the Cajun Boiled Peanut video I followed to make them. It’s important you buy raw peanuts to make this, so make sure they aren’t roasted when you buy them.
The Battle of Wits
For this scene, there looked to be bread, cheese, and apples to accompany the wine at the table, so I served crostinis with cheese, salami, and apples. For the wine, I used powdered sugar as the “iocane powder”. It is fine enough to dissolve quickly.
To make it easy to serve, I recommend having the plate and wine already prepared.
Falling in Love
This scene always makes me cackle, so I knew I wanted to serve something here. Since they are rolling down the grassy hill, I thought spring rolls were the perfect choice! I also served them with peanut dipping sauce as a nod to Fezzik’s peanut joke. You’ll see a recurring peanut theme throughout the menu. LOL!
I ordered these Vietnamese ham spring rolls from a local restaurant to save time and money, but if you want to make the rolls yourself, here is a good Spring Roll Recipe. You can use any meat of your choice with these.
For easy serving, make sure to prep these ahead of time. I had it already plated, so I just had to quickly grab the plate and serve.
The Fire Swamp
For this dish, I wanted to replicate the fire swamp, so I served a flaming cocktail and giant, ugly, rat meatloaf.
For the cocktail, I served a vodka cranberry. Make sure to premix it ahead of time so you can quickly serve it. One serving is 2oz of vodka and 4 oz of cranberry juice. If you want to set the drink on fire, you will need high-proof alcohol. I used a 110 proof. Using a spoon, gently pour the high proof on the top of the drink and immediately light it. I had ice in my drink, so the flame didn’t last long. I recommend not using ice if you want a longer burn.
Make sure you have a fire blanket or extinguisher for safety, and make sure the glass you use can withstand high heat.
For the Meatloaf, I just made a simple meatloaf recipe and used my hands, molding it into the shape of a rat. I added olives at the top as eyes, and almonds for the teeth. When you are happy with the shape, bake it, and it’ll hold its shape.
Here is a simple Meatloaf recipe you can use to make the rat. I personally did not make the glaze that goes on top, but you definitely can for an even better flavor.
Drowning in Sorrow
The most delicious-looking movie stew! Fezzik’s Beef Stew! I served the stew with ale in wooden barrel mugs to add to the atmosphere.
This is a great beef stew recipe. Just make sure to leave out the peas since the one in the movie didn’t have peas. I recommend making this stew the day before. It will save you prep time the day of movie night, and stew actually intensifies in flavor in the refrigerator. You can reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop before serving.
Miracle Max
This entire scene had us cackling! Miracle Max was definitely my husband’s favorite character. For this scene, I served a “Mutton” lettuce and tomato sandwich and the chocolate-covered miracle pill.
For the “mutton“, I didn’t actually serve mutton. I went with something a lot easier to source, corned beef. You could buy mutton and roast and slice it into deli meat if you want something more authentic, but we were perfectly happy with the corned beef sandwich. I made the sandwich ahead of time to save time while serving. I lightly toasted the bread so the sandwhich wouldn’t get soggy, I layered mayo and mustard on the bread, and then stacked a generous amount of sliced corned beef, the lettuce, and tomato. To hold the slices together, I used these cute sword food picks.
For the miracle pill, I served peanut butter-stuffed, chocolate-covered dates. Stuff pitted dates with peanut butter and dip them in melted chocolate. Place them in the refrigerator so the chocolate can harden, and then they are ready to serve! I recommend prepping these ahead of time so you can serve everything quickly.
Pwincess Pweanut Buttercwups
For this scene, I served a peanut butter mousse cup with peanut butter chips and cups on top. Here is a good Peanut Butter Mousse recipe.
This is a great dish to make ahead of time. I made it the day before and stored it in my refrigerator. Make sure to have it already set up in the cups with the garnish before you start the movie, so you just have to quickly grab it from the refrigerator and serve.
Revenge of the Spaniard
Feel free to buy premade sangria to save time, but I personally love to make it. It doesn’t take that long to make, and it’s a million times better than store-bought! Make it ahead of time and store it in your refrigerator. Then you just have to add the fruit and ice before serving.
I had the apple garnish set up ahead of time, too, so I didn’t have to waste time slicing the apple. I used these sword food picks to bring the scene all together.
