Creamy Lemon Spot Prawns #MoviesandMunchies

This month I invited the Movies and Munchies group to watch either or both: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2. I had never seen either and happily watched them both. I will say that at one point or other, all of my boys walked through the living room. Their collective response: Ugh. Really?

On the Screen

This post was inspired by watching The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (the OG). Let me back up. This movie, from 2005, is a coming of age tale about four best girlfriends whose moms were friends in a prenatal yoga class.

They don't remember a time in their lives when they weren't together. This is the first summer they are not spending together in Maryland. This movie has Lena in Greece visiting relatives, Bridget in Mexico for soccer camp, Tibby at home filming a "suckumentary" while she works at a local store, and Carmen going to visit her dad in South Carolina. Before they scatter across the globe, they find a pair of jeans in a vintage store that - magically - fits and complements all of the girls' body shapes and sizes! They decide to share the pants and come up with a schedule to wear and send them on to the next gal. They have a multitude of rules...

1. You must never wash the Pants.

2. You must never double-cuff the Pants. It's tacky. There will never be a time when this will not be tacky.

3. You must never say the word "phat" while wearing the Pants. You must also never think "I am fat" while wearing the Pants.

4. You must never let a boy take off the Pants (although you may take them off yourself in his presence).

5. You must not pick your nose while wearing the Pants. You may, however, scratch casually at your nostril while really kind of picking.

6. Upon our reunion, you must follow the proper procedures for documenting your time in the Pants.

7. You must write to your Sisters throughout the summer, no matter how much fun you are having without them.

8. You must pass the Pants along to your Sister according to the specifications set down by the Sisterhood. Failures to comply will result in a sever spanking upon our reunion.

9. You must not wear the Pants with a tucked-in shirt and belt. See rule #2.

10. Remember: Pants = love. Love your pals. Love yourself.

You can tell just by reading those rules that these are teen girls who are peering longingly at adulthood; so they are definitely fully entrenched in discovering who they are and who they want to be.

I did end up watching the second movie as well. Stay tuned for that post.

On the Plate

There wasn't a ton of food inspiration in the movie. But the fact that the girls are in a different locations, there was a lot of ideas you could make. I was thinking Mexican food, inspired by Bridget tracking down her coach in a cantina. Or proper Southern cuisine, inspired by Carmen visiting her dad in South Carolina. In the end, unsurprisingly, I ended up making something that drew inspiration from Lena and Kostas' relationship. Greek food is always a family favorite.

Lena falls into the ocean while wearing the magic pants. Kostas dives in to save her. They meet and start spending time together until her grandmother forbids it as their families have been feuding for three generations. Kostas insists that the feud doesn't apply to them and they end up falling in love. I mean, is there anything more appealing to a teen girl than forbidden love?!? Clearly not. Ha! I speak from experience.

In any case, Kostas is a fisherman who sells his catch to the local market and restaurants. I was inspired by some packets of locally-caught spot prawns from Monterey Bay. I have always loved that this CSF (community-supported fishery) honors the hands and boats that catch the bounty. I wonder if the markets in which he sells credit: "caught by Kostas Dounas."

I decided to make a Greek-inspired recipe...

Spot Prawns in Lemon Sauce with Olives

This features juicy prawns, a silky - through dairy-free! - lemon sauce, and rich, briny olives.

Ingredients

• 1 pound spot prawns or large shrimp, peeled and deveined

• olive oil

• 4 egg yolks

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 cup fish stock

• salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

• 1 cup mixed olives (I ended up using a mix of marinated olives, mini pepper, and garlic cloves)

• fresh thyme leaves and organic lemon strips for garnish

Procedure

Whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together until smooth and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Cook the prawns for 90 seconds or up to 2 minutes on each side. You want them opaque and pink, but not overcooked! Remove the prawns from the pot and cover to keep warm.

In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a boil. Spoon a ladle full of the stock into the egg yolk mixture to temper them. Then pour the eggs back into the pan, whisking constantly until it starts to thicken. Note that this doesn't get super thick like a hollandaise, but it does get gorgeously smooth and silky.

Pour the sauce into a shallow rimmed dish. Place the shrimp in the sauce. Top with the olives and thyme. Serve immediately with rice, couscous, or crusty bread.

That's a wrap on my offering for Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants part I. I will have a second post before the end of the month. And stay tuned for a round-up of all the other inspired recipes.