Films that are already 20 years old...gasp!

Remember these?

It is a really strange feeling, looking at the above images and realising that they are all already 20 years old?! How time flies by, and how old I must be getting! Hocus Pocus was one my top films as a child and who didn't have a crush on Omri Katz as a child!? Bring back Eerie Indiana I say! I also learnt that Wallace and Gromit -The Wrong Trousers, is also 20 years old and it feels like only yesterday that it was released.

Now who can forget Jurassic Park...and the theme tune? It has a habit for sticking in your mind for a really long time aarghhh! That was the highest grossing film in 1993 and for a long time after that but the crown now belongs to Avatar. Ultimately it has grossed over $900,000,000. Below is an interview with Spielberg talking about Jurassic Park, the legend Ray Harryhausen and why it's much more exciting to see a T-rex in familiar, modern day surroundings.

 

Marie Antoinette Chocolate Tea Cups Recipe

So this is the first recipe post I have published and also my first attempt at 'proper' food photography using my trusty DSLR. Well today's recipes is 'Chocolate Teacups' inspired by the film Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola. Sure, I could have made Macaroons but that would have been so obvious, plus I needed something a little bit classy and had to put these Doulton cups to good use instead of gathering dust. Don't worry, I cleaned them out before I filled them with chocolate.

In the historical context, Marie Antoinette apparently loved chocolate and in the 18th Century, it was primarily taken in liquid form much like a thick Majorcan hot chocolate. This recipe is chocolate set in a cup and it is rich in taste, hence the tiny cups. It has a more creamy than mousse like texture to it.

Prep time: 10 minutes      Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients 

• 170-200 grams of chocolate ( I used Green & Blacks Organic Milk Chocolate )
• 1/2 oz. butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon coffee essence ( optional or any other flavorings that you like )
• Chocolate to decorate

Instructions

1. Break up the chocolate and place the pieces and butter in a bowl placed over a pan of hot, not boiling water. Leave to dissolve whilst stirring often. 
2. Once the chocolate and butter have completely dissolved, remove it from the heat and beat in the egg yolks and add any flavoring or essence you are using. 
3. Whisk in the egg whites till stiff then fold them into the chocolate mixture.
4. Pour into 4 small cups ( or 2 larger ones ) and leave in a cool place to set.
5. Just before serving, top them up with chocolate curls 

Notes

• After pouring the chocolate into the cups and letting them cool, I put them in the fridge for a couple of hours for a nice chilled chocolate desert. This would be nicely accompanied with short bread and Marie Antoinette in the DVD player.

 images above of Marie Antoinette Film Grabs via tumblr.com