Orange & Fennel Chopped Salad – 2022 Red Carpet Menu for Oscar®!

It’s the 2022 Red Carpet Menu for Oscar®! For Licorice Pizza, it’s Licodiced Pieces!

It’s salad time at our Mid-Century Dinner Party!

Paul Thomas Anderson gave us this gift of a nutty movie. Licorice Pizza is actually the name of a video store chain in Southern California around the 1970’s/’80’s. 

The vibe of the film was right on. You felt like you went back in time. All kudos Mr. Anderson and the cinematographer, Michael Bauman. It had the perfect blend of grittiness and brightness.

The relationship of the main characters was such a sort of tug of war. He goes after her – no DICE. She goes after him. Nope. And it’s the back and forth, their growing friendship, the glimpses into who they really are behind the facades they exhibit for the benefit of the world around them and each other, that really makes this movie gold.  

The acting was so good, you just fell into it and never had to think you were watching people act. The performances of Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman are just wonderful. It would be hard to see them in 2022, they were that good.

And that brings us to the salad to honor this film. Clearly the first thought would be pizza or licorice as if it’s a “gimme” title for a dish. Oh no. Here at KitchAnnette, we scoff at such simplicity. What I saw here was some story-telling that seemed really chopped up but all the pieces together creating a wonderful tapestry of a burgeoning and enriched relationship. Much like this salad! Chopped, a little nuts (added), fresh like fennel (nod to licorice), sweet like orange, and little sharp brightness like the onion, and a simple finish – the apple cider vinegar and olive oil with salt and pepper seasoning. Ordinary ingredients that come together to be more than the sum of it’s parts. 

Definitely embrace this movie. And enjoy the sweet flavors of this incredible salad!

Happy Oscars!

 

 

 

Annette