The Great Outdoors

 

As summer makes its way here, I feel a bit of nostalgia for The Great Outdoors.  Maybe it's the woodsy cabin and lake setting or the family piled in the car singing on their way to their destination.  It could be the overall 80's vibe or even just the familiar faces of John Candy and Dan Aykroyd that seemed to fill the TV screens of my childhood.  Whatever it is, I wanted to kick off June with a John Hughes classic, The Great Outdoors.

Chicagoan Chet Ripley (John Candy) packs up his family for some good old-fashioned family fun on Lake Potowotominimac in Wisconsin.  When his constantly scheming brother-in-law (Dan Aykroyd) and his family show up unexpectedly, personalities clash and Chet's peaceful vacation turns into a battle of one-upmanship with frequently disastrous results.

The first display of one-upmanship is seen when Chet (Candy) says he's going to grill up some hot dogs and Roman (Aykroyd) says "no relative of mine is gonna eat hot dogs as long as he's sharing my cabin!"  The scene then shows Roman grilling lobster tails.

I've eaten lobster, but I've never prepared it myself.  As it turns out there are a ton of ways to get the job done.  I read through this How to Cook Lobster Tail guide from Jessica Gavin and decided to broil my lobster tails.  I was intimidated because lobster is a bit pricey and I didn't want to mess it up, but aside from the minor struggle to get the meat out of the shell it was so simple.  Of course, if lobster isn't your thing spring for the hot dogs.  Chet ends up getting a few from a vendor before their boating excursion despite Roman's feelings about them.

Our next item is mentioned after a disastrous day boating on the lake.  Chet is about ready to pack up and go home.  His wife convinces him to stay and promises he's going to have fun for the rest of the trip.  As she's leaving the room she says, "Roman's making goat cheese pizza and we'll take it over to the lodge."  Chet instantly starts questioning the pizza saying, "you said a 'goat' in there. Is he making goat pizza or something? What is this? Hey!"

The movie never shows the goat cheese pizza.  I imagine it was an actual pizza and not a dip, but this has all of the components and it's too good to pass up!  I've made it so many times over the years that I don't even remember where I originally saw the recipe, but this Baked Goat Cheese recipe from the Wicked Noodle has the right idea. So simple and so delicious!

The next item for The Great Outdoors menu is inspired by the scene at the Bear Dump.  Chet tries to create a more memorable experience for his son by offering Zagnut bars to the bears.  It works a little too well and before they know it they're surrounded.

If you can get your hands on a Zagnut bar, that's great! You're set.  I, however; could not find any.  I even went to an old time candy shop that had them listed on their inventory, but they said there was a shortage and they hadn't received a shipment in months! I decided to look up the main ingredients and see what I could do.  Zagnut bars are mostly made of peanut butter and coconut so I decided to make these No-Bake Peanut Butter Coconut Cookies from Tasty.  I used regular sugary peanut butter and sweetened coconut because that's what I had on hand.  They were really good and can be eaten straight out of the freezer for a refreshing summer treat.

If you've already seen the movie, you might be able to guess the last food pairing.  It's inspired by the dinner scene when Chet tackles the "Old 96er", which is a 96 ounce steak!

As you can see, I did not prepare a 96 ounce steak!  I think mine are closer to . 96 ounce pieces. I followed this Garlic Butter Steak Bites recipe from Jo Cooks and tossed the pieces on a skewer just for fun.  Like all of the recipes above, this one is easy, quick, and delicious which means less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the movie.

Lastly, we'll top off our menu with a drink.

I found a few lake-inspired drinks - Lake Lemonade Cocktail,  Lake Day Punch, and even one called The Great Outdoors, but often throughout the movie the characters are drinking beer.  Either grab your favorite or find one that just reminds you of summer.

And there you have it.  That's it for our menu for The Great Outdoors!  As always, I hope you enjoy the menu and I hope it helps you take your movie night to the next level.

See you next time!

Looking for more movie-inspired menus?!  Check them out here!