3 Easy Christmas Movie Dinner Pairings For All The Christmas Feels
I love pairing edibles to my favorite films and shows. I am a sucker for those cookbooks inspired by shows and movies. Dinner and a movie? Count me in. Here are three easy classic Christmas movie dinner pairings that will bring you all of the Christmas feels.
1. Little Women (1994) with Old-Fashioned Donuts, Black Coffee, and Oranges
I have always thought of the 1994 adaptation of Little Women as a Christmas movie. If you haven't watched it around the holidays - or ever - do yourself a favor and cozy up for a movie that touches on societal female norms, female authorship, New England winters, and a smoking hot young Christian Bale. (I said it.)
So why old-fashioned donuts, black coffee and oranges? Because of that Christmas morning scene when the girls are persuaded to bring their breakfast to the poor neighbors, of course.
I know the old-fashioned donut might be one of the more unpopular donut varieties, but have you ever dunked one in a cup of black coffee... Dunkin' doesn't hail from Quincy, Mass for nothing: there may be nothing more heart-warming than that plain fried bread soaked and dripping in some hot coffee in the dead of winter.
Plus, I love that the orange is thought of as a winter delicacy and harks back to simpler pleasures, reminding us in a time rampant with commercialism to perhaps savor the more quiet luxuries of our lives.
2. Elf (2003) with Spaghetti and Coke
I'm not referring to the spaghetti doused in maple and chocolate syrups, crushed Pop-Tarts, marshmallows, and M & M's that Elf has for breakfast. I am referring to the Italian version that his new family introduces to him the night before.
Why Coke? Because of Elf's epic belch after downing a whole liter at the dinner table, but also because: don't knock it until you try it.
3. Home Alone (1990) with Mac n' Cheese
While the first Home Alone also makes me think of a "lovely cheese pizza just for me," there's the more sentimental pairing that comes to mind: Kevin's lonely, somewhat homemade mac n' cheese dinner that he enjoys on Christmas Eve before the burglars show up.
I found not just the perfect imitation of Kevin's mac n' cheese but perhaps the best somewhat homemade mac n' cheese you'll ever have at Trader Joe's. It's called, Joe's Diner Mac n' Cheese, and it does not disappoint. Plus, you have got to give it to Trader Joe's for having the gumption to outright call it Mac n' Cheese. Forget the "and." They know their market.
There you have it: three easy dinner pairings that anyone can prepare, with three Christmas classics that are both showing my age, but also age so damn well.
Plus, here's a little round-up of some other festive content I've written over the years. Much like the three films on this list, they're some oldies but some goodies.
Holiday Hosting Tips from Cookbook Author Tim Mulligan
What I Told my Son When he Asked me to tell him the truth: "Are you Santa?"
3 Solid Christmas Albums That Don't Require Skipping (Still Holds up)
