Now that the cusp of winter is upon us in Winnipeg, I am always looking for excuses to get my butt out of the house.  Otherwise I would be perfectly content to get into my jammies and watch TV until spring.  Approximately once a month the Metropolitan Centre holds special Dinner and a Movie evenings.  I visited with a fan of these events in the lobby as I was waiting for “Beep” (as Daughter #1 has now been renamed by the Wee One).  This movie fan shared that her favourite evening was “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” when the theme for the evening’s menu were recipes from the British Isles.

The lovingly restored theatre is a joy to be at.

I am not sure if there was a food theme for the screening of “The Princess Bride” but they did feature a Buttercup Cocktail (Butter Ripple and Frangelico liqueurs mixed with milk).  Beep though that it was delicious.  My glass of Annabella South African merlot suited me just fine.  I tried to be fairly discriminating when I arrived at the buffet table, skipping the bun selection and then scooping up just about everything else (I always have good intentions).

I particularly enjoyed their cheese array which I would have loved as a separate course.

The salad selection was lovely and I especially enjoyed the Roasted Butternut Squash & Arugula Salad.

So too, I appreciated the Pan-Seared Pickerel with Creamy Leeks and White Wine Butter Sauce.

I treated myself to an outside cut of the Maple Braised Beef Brisket.  It was tender and so juicy from the lovely marbling that a brisket offers up.

This was my well-laden plate that I did my very best to finish.  There were others sitting around us who had no trouble whatsoever and even went back up for seconds.  The gentleman besides us went back for thirds and then didn’t even stay to watch the movie.  He must have concluded that he had already gotten his 35 dollars’ worth.

Dessert was a chocolate cup filled with almond cream and caramelized apples.  Had I known that popcorn would come around just as the theatre lights were dimming, I would have been happy with just the popcorn as the dinner had already been rich and satisfying.

Not far from us was a table set up for a large party.  I was thinking that it would be good fun to celebrate a special occasion at Dinner and A Movie especially when December’s movie is “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

“The Princess Bride” is one of my all-time favourite movies.  Did you know:

• Director Rob Reiner left the set during Billy Crystal’s scenes because he could not stop laughing.

• The Cliffs of Insanity are actually the Cliffs of Moher in Country Clare, Ireland, a place we were thrilled to visit a couple of springs ago.

• Courtney Cox and Meg Ryan auditioned for Princess Buttercup.  How could any actress on earth play her better than Robin Wright?
• Cary Elwes (Westley) and Mandy Patinkin ( Inigo Montoya) learned to fence (both left and right handed) for the film.  They actually performed all the fencing in the sword fight scene (author’s note: Inconceivable!)

It is likely to be a long winter folks, so start making plans for all the cozy activities that Winnipeg has to offer.

Kath’s quote: “Death cannot stop true love.  All it can do is delay it for awhile.” The Princess Bride

Love-that is all.

 

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