Here is a list (with links) of all the equipment and decorations I used for my Nonnas 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!

Cocktail picks

The Halo wine glasses I bought from TJ Maxx. I tried to find a link on Amazon, but it’s not there. ☹

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.

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!

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!

For this movie night, it was important to me to be as authentic as possible and pay proper respect to the cuisine it featured. Nonnas, as a story, is all about celebrating Italian culture and Italian stories. For that reason, I did not create any of my own recipes for this movie night. I will be linking the recipes I used from Italian creators because they know best!

I also purchased the mini tiramisu and cannoli from a local Italian bakery/grocery that I’m happy to report has the same three Nonnas working the counter every time I’ve been. I recommend, if you have the ability, you visit your local Italian bakery/grocery store when shopping for this film, because you will find the best ingredients there. It’s also where I bought the pasta and Italian sausage I used because they make it in-house. If you’re lucky, you’ll also have a similar experience to the main character in the film, who also visited a local Italian market.

Zeppoles

Zeppole is a deep-fried dough ball topped in powdered sugar. Here is the recipe I used

Zeppoles are better fresh, and because it’s the first item to be served, I recommend that this is the last thing you make before filming. Time your dough to be ready to fry right before you start the film, though, because it will need time to rise.

When serving, I placed the Zeppoles in a paper bag to match the bakery our character bought them from.

Lasagna

The lasagna scene happens soon after the Zeppole scene, so I served it at the start of the film as well. Because of this, I also served the lasagna fresh out of the oven. Make sure you plan your baking time accordingly, so you start baking your lasagna so it’s ready when you plan to start the film.

This is the recipe I used. The recipe calls for 3 quarts of sauce. The sauce I used is “Nonna’s Sunday Gravy” that uses her secret ingredient, apples. This is the recipe I followed. For the tomatoes, make sure to use canned San Marzano tomatoes. This sauce plays a big role in the plot so I decided to use it for any dish I served with red sauce. This includes the lasagna, Nonna’s pasta, meatballs, eggplant parmesan, and the final course, Nonna’s Sunday Gravy. I made a big pot of the Sunday gravy and using it for every red sauce dish saved me a lot of time and effort since I didn’t have to make several different sauces.

Please note: Because I used this sauce for everything, I made the sauce without meat. I then cooked the meat in a separate pot and added half the sauce to the meat so I had one pot with meat and one without. This allowed me to use the non-meat sauce for the meatballs, eggplant parm, and Nonna’s Gravy dip for the bread. And I used the meat version of the sauce for Nonna’s pasta and lasagna.

Nonnas Pasta

In the film, this dish is homemade pasta with pork cheek, Pecorino cheese, and vine-ripened San Marzano tomatoes for the pomodoro sauce.

I made a few adjustments to make it work for me and this movie night. I bought rigatoni pasta from my local Italian market. Instead of making a pomodoro sauce, I used Nonna’s gravy. My store had a Pecorino and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese blend so that’s what I used. I also added some cooked pork sausage chunks in the place of the pork cheek because I already had the sausage on hand and I wanted to save some time and money on the prep.

To make the dish, cook your pasta per the product instructions. Then, drain the water and mix in some of Nonna’s gravy, cheese, and sausage chunks.

I recommend making this in advance, plating it, and storing it in your fridge. Then, when it’s time for you to prepare to serve, all you need to do is microwave the dish. Very simple!

Italicus Spritz & Spitz

For this scene, the Nonnas are fighting about their hometowns in Italy, and they start spitting on the ground. I thought it would be funny to serve a “Spritz & Spitz” since Italy is also known for its Spritz drinks. I went with an Italicus Spritz, but another Italian Spritz like Limoncello Spritz or Aperol Spritz would work too!

Here is the recipe I used

Limoncello

I was so happy this film featured a Limoncello scene, because it’s one of my favorite drinks! I purchased Sogno di Sorrento Lemoncello. It was fantastic!

Mini Tiramisu

I purchased the tiramisu from my local Italian Bakery and I’m really happy I did because it saved me time and it was amazing! If you do want to make it at home, here is a recipe you can follow!

Family Style

It was so hard to decide which dishes to serve during this scene! There were so many great moments and beautiful cinematic close-ups of food. I ended up settling on Eggplant Parmesan, Meatballs, Italian Pasta Salad, Cannoli, and red wine. All classics when you think of Italian cuisine.

Here is the recipe for Eggplant Parmesan.

Please note: After making the breaded eggplant, I topped it with Nonna’s Sunday Gravy and a slice of Mozzarella cheese. I then baked it in the oven until the cheese starts to melt. This is optional, but you can also use a kitchen torch to give the cheese some color.

Here is the Meatball recipe. For the sauce on the meatballs, I also used Nanna’s Sunday Gravy.

Here is the Italian Pasta Salad recipe.

Cannoli– For the Cannoli, I purchased them from my local Italian market, but if you would like to make them at home, here is a recipe.

Serving tips: To quickly serve each dish, I recommend having everything already plated and stored in the refrigerator. Then, when it’s time to serve, just reheat the eggplant parmesan and meatballs in the microwave before serving. The cannoli and pasta salad are served cold.

Nonnas Sunday Gravy

I was crying for five minutes into this movie, and the tears kept coming and going throughout. However…. THE ENDING OF THIS MOVIE! My husband and I were both sobbing. The clip I used in my video was pretty much the only usable one. LOL!

This scene in particular is so touching because the main character has been trying to recreate his Nonna’s Sunday Gravy as a way to keep her and his mother’s memories alive. He finally figured out the secret ingredient, and the scene of him in the kitchen remaking it broke us.

This is the recipe I followed. For the tomatoes, make sure to use canned San Marzano tomatoes. This sauce plays a big role in the plot so I decided to use it for any dish I served with red sauce. This includes the lasagna, Nonna’s pasta, meatballs, eggplant parmesan, and the final course, Nonna’s Sunday Gravy. I made a big pot of the Sunday gravy and using it for every red sauce dish saved me a lot of time and effort since I didn’t have to make several different sauces.

Please note: Because I used this sauce for everything, I made the sauce without meat. I then cooked the meat in a separate pot and added half the sauce to the meat so I had one pot with meat and one without. This allowed me to use the non-meat sauce for the meatballs, eggplant parm, and Nonna’s Gravy dip for the bread. And I used the meat version of the sauce for Nonna’s pasta and lasagna.

For the bread, I cut up long pieces of a baguette, so they were easy to dip.

Serving Tips: I recommend that when you are preparing to serve “Family Dinner”, you put the bread pieces in the oven at 350 degrees F so they can get crispy before serving. I also recommend having the sauce already in the serving bowl. Then you just need to reheat the sauce in the microwave.