Bacon and Legs – X-Men: Days of Future Leftovers

Fontina Turner

Fontina Turner

I was all set to write this column raving about X-Men and how it’s the best comic book film series we have and how they can do no wrong (so long as you deny the Wolverine movies).

But something happened.

It’s not relevant to the new movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past, which is coming out in theaters next week. Instead, it’s relevant to the sequel, which is due out in 2016: X-Men: Apocalypse.

I was clicking along, reading X-Men gossip on the Internet (as we all do) and I, excitedly, read that Gambit will be featured in the upcoming film. For those of you who don’t know, Gambit is a pretty special son of a bitch. Late to the game, he started appearing in the comic books in the 90s. Dude is a bad ass Cajun with a gambling addiction and a sordid past. He can manipulate kinetic energy, forcing it into objects and, as a result, he can throw cards like a motherfucker. Between his awesome mutant abilities, his attitude and his relationship with Rogue (all of Rogue’s relationship stories are captivating because of her mutant powers), he’s a definite fan favorite. I have a lot of love and respect for this character: his gimmicks and his complexities.

He showed up in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, played by Taylor Kitsch. Honestly, I thought he did a pretty good job and I really liked his look for Gambit. I mean, I don’t know this guy. I know he was in Friday Night Lights (which I’ve never seen) and he has a handful of other credits that I don’t really respect. But for the love of all that is mutant, bring him back.

I read … that Channing Tatum was cast as Gambit in X-Men: Apocalypse. Channing. Fucking. Tatum. They haven’t revealed the plot of that film as of yet, but if I am to guess, I think Gambit will have a pretty large role. One that alters his being into someone even more bad ass than the Gambit I’ve described to you. They are going to set this all up, this beautiful storyline, and Magic Mike is going to be walking into my comic book movie and playing my character with his cocky attitude and bad acting? Where is the justice in this? I need vengeance. We’ll have to see how the movie plays out. Talk to me in 2016.

In the meantime, in the present … let’s talk Days of Future Past. It’s gonna be fabulous. Early reviews have been pretty promising and I’m very excited about the two casts coming together. I love when Marvel does that shit in the books. We’re definitely going to have screen time with the amazing Ian McKellan and the beautiful Jennifer Lawrence. In anticipation of two of my favorite characters that ride the line of good and evil, I have made food. Obviously.

Feast your eyes on some iron-rich Magnetomato Pie (a delicious flaky pie crust filled with heirloom tomatoes, basil and melty cheeses) and some naturally blue Mystiquecicles (a unique frozen treat of blueberry, coconut, pineapple and a touch of Hpnotiq).

Take a deep breath. Don’t let Channing Tatum ruin your day. Eat good food and go see X-Men: Days of Future Past to comfort you in these cold, dark days.

X-Men: Days of Future Leftovers

Magnetomato Pie

Ingredients

  • 1 prepared pie crust (recipe here or from frozen and thawed)
  • 12 oz heirloom tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 tsp coarse kosher salt
  • 1 vidalia onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • a handful of fresh basil leaves (about a cup)
  • 2 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 cup shredded fontina
  • 1 cup shredded gruyere
  • 1/2 cup mayo
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Place sliced tomatoes in a colander and sprinkle kosher salt over the top. Place on a plate and set aside. You want to drain some of the moisture from them. Leave them set for about a half hour, then toss to readjust. Let them set another half hour.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Melt butter, over medium heat, in a large skillet. Add in onions and garlic. Cook until onions have caramelized, around 10 minutes.  

In the meantime, place the pie crust in a small casserole dish or a pie plate.

In a small bowl, mix together mayo, shredded cheeses, thyme and parsley. Spread on the bottom of the uncooked pie crust.

When onions are done cooking, spread them on top of the cheese mixture. Put a layer of basil leaves on top, followed by the sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and liberally drizzle with olive oil.

Bake in oven, about 35 minutes, until pie crust is gold and crispy and tomatoes are slightly shriveled and yummy.

Mystiquecicles

  • 1/4 cup Hpnotiq
  • 1/2 cup coconut water
  • 1/4 cup coconut cream
  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries
  • 2 tbsp sugar

In a small saucepan, combine blueberries and sugar. Heat over medium heat for 7-10 minutes, crushing blueberries with the back of a wooden spoon as you stir. Mixture will become liquidy. Remove from heat and let cool. Mixture will become gelatinous.

In a blender, combine blueberry mixture with the rest of the ingredients. Liquify until fairly smooth and blue (you’ll have remaining blueberry chunkles).

Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

HTC-Magnetomato-HR01

Fontina Turner, a food blogger and graphic designer from Philadelphia, makes classy-as-fuck comfort food and consumes an unhealthy amount of cheeses and craft beers. She can be found in the kitchen, at the bar, on Twitter or trying to make H. Jon Benjamin love her. Contact her at thelegs@baconandlegs.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *