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Thursday, August 25, 2016

Bucket of Garlic (Fries) | Hotel Transylvania 2 #FoodnFlix

Bucket of Garlic Fries | Hotel Transylvania 2 #FoodnFlix
This month's Food 'n Flix pick is the family-friendly, animated Hotel Transylvania 2, which (surprise!) picks up where Hotel Transylvania left off. Drac has accepted that his daughter loves a human, and Mavis and Johnny are married. Humans and monsters are coexisting throughout most of the world—even in Drac's hotel.

Fast forward a bit to a pregnant Mavis, and eventually baby Dennis. Dennis has big, curly ginger hair like his dad does, and seems human. But Vampa ("vampire grandpa"), aka Drac, believes that Dennis is just a "late fanger", since fangs might not pop out until a vampire's fifth birthday. But Mavis wants her dad to accept that Dennis is human and thinks that they should move to America, to be near the human side of the family.

While Mavis and Johnny are visiting his family, Drac is watching over Dennis. And by watching over, I mean enlisting the help of his monster buddies and doing everything he can to get Dennis's fangs to pop out. After he pulls a dangerous stunt that was captured on video and uploaded to the internet, Mavis goes ballistic and announces that they are definitely moving after Dennis's 5th birthday party in a few days.
Bucket of Garlic Fries | Hotel Transylvania 2 #FoodnFlix
Since Mavis believes that Dennis should meet his great grandpa before he leaves, she invites him to the party not knowing that Drac has kept him away for so long because of (among other things) his inability to accept humans. All heck breaks loose at the party, which leads to a big showdown. And maaaaaybe (okay definitely) we find out whether or not Dennis is a vampire.

But aside from being cute and funny, there's also a LOT of food mentioned and seen throughout the film. Heck, there's even a monster food blogger. A lot of the food seen and mentioned has a monster twist like Monster Ball Soup, Screaming Cake, Coffin Cake, Blood Beaters, and scary or gross (in a fun, eeeewwwww-inducing way) plates filled with gooey things, fish with long, sharp teeth, a whole dead pigeon (uncooked), etc.

But there's also "normal" things like apples sitting in a bowl on a side tible, avocado, Slurpees, potato chips, meatballs, weinie bites, and cupcakes. There's also an espresso shop and even some canned dog food. There's even a moment when somebody looks at Drac and says "love your chocolate cereal!".
Bucket of Garlic Fries | Hotel Transylvania 2 #FoodnFlix
My inspiration this month came from a scene early on where Mavis asks her dad if he wants to fly with her (they go flying in their bat forms) and he replies,

I would eat a bucket of garlic to fly with you!

Big words from a vampire. And well, as a parent, I understand. Plus, I'm not a vampire and I love me some garlic, so I latched on and made a bucket of garlic (ummmm, fries) as a nod to the loving parent-child relationships celebrated in Hotel Transylvania 2.

Garlic Fries
These irresistible fresh-cut fries are tossed with fresh garlic, parsley and garlic salt as soon as they come out of the hot oil.
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Garlic Fries
by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez
Prep Time: 30 minutes (mostly unattended)
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Keywords: fry side snack vegetarian garlic potatoes

Ingredients (serves 4)
  • 2 pounds Russet potatoes, cut into 1/3-inch thick fries
  • vegetable oil, for frying
  • 6 garlic cloves - minced, pressed, or grated
  • small handful of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • Garlic Sea Salt (preferably one you grind yourself, for ultimate taste and freshness)
Instructions
Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl and cover them with ice water. Allow them to soak for at least 15 minutes to remove the excess starch. Drain the cut potatoes and use a clean, non-fuzzy kitchen towel to thoroughly dry them.

In the meantime, heat 3-inches of vegetable oil in a deep pot (or fryer) to 325° F (if using a pot, clip a hot oil or candy thermometer on the side). Line a large baking sheet with a couple of layers of paper towels.

Fry the potatoes in batches, so they aren't overcrowded, until they just start to get golden, ~10 minutes. Lift out of the oil and set on the paper towel lined tray. Allow to sit until cool, but no longer than 2 hours.

Heat the oil again, this time to 375° F. Fry the potatoes, again working in batches, until crisp and golden, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a large stainless steel bowl (or similar) and immediately add the garlic and parsley, and sprinkle with garlic salt; toss until all of the fries are coated. Enjoy immediately.

Notes:
Serve in a small metal bucket if throwing a Hotel Transylvania inspired party!

-adapted from Williams Sonoma

Food 'n Flix club logo
This month's edition of Food 'n Flix is hosted by Kimberly at Coffee and Casseroles with her pick, Hotel Transylvania 2. Submissions are due August 29, 2016 at 6pm ET if you'd like to participate this month.

Next month, we'll be watching Frida, which is being hosted by Debra at Eliot's Eats.