Millie Lammoreaux Dinner Party

One regular feature of magdaZINE has always been the “magdaLICIOUS” section where I experiment with recipes made from canned ingredients. I also started a segment called “Dinner and a Movie” that dovetailed into this series shortly before the original site closed in 2005. Here is the first dinner taken from “3 Women” directed by Robert Altman.

3 Women is my favorite Robert Altman film and one of my top ten favorite movies of all time. It is one of those rare films that can truly be called “art,” because there are no words to describe how perfect it is. The ambiguity speaks to the viewer in volumes that can only be perceived through images, emotions, and that intangible something our little brains have no way to process into language. Don’t try to define it, just bask in its beauty.

The character of Millie played masterfully by Shelley Duvall is the cornerstone around which the movie revolves. The DVD release of the film has an excellent commentary by Altman in which he reveals that Duvall was actually responsible for defining Millie through her obsession with menus and recipes clipped from McCall’s magazine among other things. I am amazed she didn’t receive a writing credit for this and other key contributions that she made to the film. Altman also added that she actually went to the store and did the shopping for the dinner scene. You gotta love that.

Anyway, what follows is the menu for one of Millie’s “famous dinner parties.” I have tried to duplicate all the ingredients as they were in the film and actually taste tested all of them in the magdaLICIOUS test kitchen. Low-Carb Dieters be damned! Bon Appétit!

The Millie Lammoreaux Dinner Party

Menu:
Pigs in a Blanket
Pringles
“Cheez Whiz” on Nabisco Sociables with Olive on top
Chocolate Pudding Tarts
Pre-made Shrimp Cocktails

Wine: Tickled Pink (Some type of Rosé ??)
Lemon Satin (Some type of Chardonnay ??)
Serve in Florentine Wine Goblets

Pigs In A Blanket
1 package of weiners
1 tube of Pillsbury Crescent Dough
1 can of Spreadable “Cheese” product

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make a slice down the middle of each weiner. Blast them in the microwave for 30 seconds to allow the slice to flare open up a bit. Spread a thin line of “cheese” product into the opening. Be careful. Too much “cheese” product will bubble over in the oven. Wrap one triangle of crescent dough around each weiner. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven until the dough browns.

These actually tasted pretty good. The balance of bread, to weiner, to “cheese” product works really well. Aesthetically I had problems with it, but I managed to get over that after a few bites. This must be what astronauts go through when sipping their meals from a straw. I had expected the “cheese” product to do weird things in the oven, but it remarkably held its shape and puffed up nicely.

By the way, the “cheese” product is found in the snack isle and does not require refrigeration. Scary!

Chocolate Pudding Tarts
Frozen Puff Pastry Shells
Pre-made Chocolate pudding (or make 1 package of instant pudding mix.)
1 Can of Whipped Topping

Bake the puff pastry shells as directed and let cool. Add pudding to each shell. Spray each pudding filled shell with a mound of whipped topping. (See movie still above.) Make sure to get the whipped topping and not the whipped cream. Stay true to the movie. Keep it “unreal.”

Pre-made Shrimp Cocktail
1 pre-made shrimp cocktail from the supermarket deli

I had a difficult time finding the exact brand used in the movie, although I do remember those as a child. I ended up with one made by Laseeo that I found just above the weiner section. Funny thing is, I also had the same problem opening the jar as Pinky does in the movie, so be careful. It spills easily after you pop the top off. This shrimp cocktail is so bad, I can’t imagine that there is actually a business selling these things. It tasted like baby shrimps slathered in ketchup except a lot saltier. I ate the whole thing, though. Man, the things I do to generate content for this site. Who eats these things?

Cheez Whiz appetizers
1 can of Spreadable “Cheese” product
Green Olives
Nabisco Sociables or similar circular shaped cracker.

I could not for the life of me find Nabisco Sociables. I used a plain water cracker instead. In the film, Pinky has some difficulty pressing the cheese product out in an aesthetically pleasing fashion and needs to use her finger to help arrange it. I had the same problem. Maybe I just have weak wrists. Millie also tells Pinky to use only the whole green olives and not the pieces. Good advice. It tastes OK, but after awhile I think you need to detox from this cheese product stuff.

Pringles
1 can of Original Flavored Pringles

I was surprised that Pringles were still around. I actually remember when these first debuted on the culinary scene back in the ’70s. It was miraculous! Much to my dismay, the Pringles franchise has branched out into flavors, “low-fat” (yeah right,) and little snack-packs. The original flavor now sports a bilingual english and spanish label. “Ay dios mio!” I guess it’s the sign of the times.