On the Edge of the Weekend
she was a country girl, and she did, in fact, grow up on a farm, eating fresh vegetables and meat that she helped her mother and her sisters cure to store for the winter. Maybe because I’m a lot like my mother, I find myself liking what might be considered “country cooking” the best. It tastes delicious, reminds me of home, childhood and dishes that made my mom happy to see us eat. I cooked my stew all day, then right after work, I whipped up some easy biscuits to go along with it. And I broke out some canned sweet pickles from my mom’s recipe to eat on the side (my brother and sister-in-law made the pickles; I haven’t been brave enough to try the arduous process, yet. But they did, and their pickles are on the mark). And of course, there was lots of leftover stew. It’s another one of those two-day meals you gotta love. If you don’t like eating the same thing two nights in a row, store in individual containers in the freezer, and you have a ready-made lunch anytime you want. HEARTY BEEF STEW 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces 1⁄4 cup flour 3or 4 potatoes, cut into chunks 1 stalk celery, sliced 1 1⁄2 cups beef broth 1 garlic clove 1 onion, chopped 2 teaspoons Kitchen Bouquet (optional) Salt and pepper, to taste Place meat in crockpot. Mix flour, salt, pepper and pour over meat; stir to coat meat. Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 to 6 hours. Stir stew thoroughly before serving. In this column, Bennington shares her love of food and all that entails, from special dishes at local and regional restaurants to new trends and fads, and things to try at home. Contact her at vbennington@sbcglobal.net with comments, ideas or suggestions.
• Thursday, November 25, 2021 • 19
There’s plenty to get you to the movies again By Robert D. Grubaugh You might not have heard about it or seen an adequate amount of news coverage on the topic, but moviegoing is back! No, it’s never going to be what it was pre-pandemic, but there are real movies coming out every week and most of them are worthwhile for your cinematic needs. I know of this -- my cinematic needs are great. Just this past week I saw three amazing movies that had me glad I found three opportunities to get out of the house to see them. Kristen Stewart does her career best work in “Spencer” as the heightof-her-suffering Lady Diana. She also does it as a blonde, which I think flatters her more than what I remember as the pouty vampire in all those decade-old “Twilight” flicks. Her take on the embattled “Peoples’ Princess” is raw, a bit blue and incredibly desperate. It’s also hard to imagine that we can take any accuracy at face value. I’ll continue to be fascinated by the machination of the House of Windsor. “Dune” also slays my expectations. The special effects and world-building were up to snuff. This is important since it will become a sequel in future, with installments to give us the whole story of the battle for Arrakis. I’d welcome spending more time with Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya in their young royal roles. Marvel also put out their newest movie, “Eternals,” on the big screen. It’s not their best effort, but it shows that the largest in ticket sales still has faith in selling them at your local box office. “Eternals” is a gettingthe-band-back-together picture. The main difference between it and the other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that these
band members (including Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, and Gemma Chan as ageless intergalactic superbeings) never had their own individual movies made with their back stories, like “The Avengers.” For the first half of “Eternals,” a three-hour epic, we get to know each member’s specific power, motivations and the dynamics of their relationships. Despite living together on a mission for thousands of years, the various Eternals don’t all get along or even care for each other all that much. The second half explores a rather convoluted plot by the 10 co-leads to defend Earth from an ulterior motive planted a millen-
nia ago by their boss, Arishem (a vague, hyper-charged superbeing voiced by David Kaye). Harry Styles has a cameo during a mid-credits scene that also introduces Kit Harrington (of “Game of Thrones” fame) as future additions to this world that is built in less-interesting-than-”Dune” fashion. In-person movie attendance continues to be thwarted by streaming. Netflix and Disney Plus are constantly putting out new content to give you reasons to stay away from movie theaters. I get it. Home-viewing is comfortable and easier than ever. But don’t give up on your local neighborhood theater.
One thing I’ve noted while screening a lot of holiday movie trailers lately is that marketers are going out of their way to mention how a hot prospect is being released “Only in Theatres.” The popcorn is amazing, too! I say that just in case you weren’t already planning to check out “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and “King Richard” (both open Friday), “West Side Story” (Dec. 10), “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (Dec. 17), or “Sing 2” (Dec. 22). I’m also betting that there won’t be a theater in St. Louis that doesn’t want to show “American Underdog” around Christmastime when the Kurt Warner story finally hits the big screens. I can’t wait!
