Music To Cook To And Films To Watch For March – All With A Cowboy Theme
“That’s my steak, Valance. Pick it up.”
John Wayne, in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
This month we’re working to a bit of an equine theme so here are a few suggestions for music to cook to and best Western films to watch for March.
| film | music | recipe – food or drink |
| Shane:Ex-gunslinger befriends a family, in particular their son, against ranchers who are trying to drive cattle through their homestead. Or alternatively Red River: in which John Wayne plays a man determined to build up the largest cattle range in America. He locks horns with his adopted son and vows to kill him… does he? Will he? | The Red River soundtrack is pretty standard western stuff – not a patch on the Moricone. So instead listen to Micah Blue Smaldone – The Red River. The Red River album by Knife in the Water is also pleasant. | It’s got to be beef with all that cattle being rounded up, so let’s go for some oyster-stuffed beef |
| For a fist full of dollars:For a few dollars more:The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:Once upon a time in the West All classic stuff, all with Clint Eastwood, except Once upon a Time in the West with Charles Bronson and Claudia Cardinale | Any original Ennio Moricone music composed for Spaghetti westerns. Especially The Man with the Harmonica from the score of Once Upon a Time in the West. | They’re riding all over the West, so start with angels (the good), and devils (the bad) on horseback. You could argue that maybe the chicken livers wrapped in bacon were ‘the ugly’.After that… well, of course… spaghetti |
| Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Robert Redford and Paul Newman learn to ride a bicycle… Katherine Ross undresses… | Burt Bacharach composed some great music for this film, including the well-known Raindrops keep falling on my head | He-Man meatballs preceded by quail’s eggs with macho celery salt |
| The Magnificent Seven: based on the original Japanese story of the Seven Samurai, a group of seven band together to protect a Mexican village | Try this song from the film, Desperado, set in Mexico, in fact, the whole soundtrack is rather fun. The basic plot revolves around a gunman who adopts a clear strategy for settling a score – shoot people until there’s no one else to shoot. There’s not much more to this film other than well-staged albeit over the top carnage. So instead watch the Magnificent Seven, see below, but listen to this music while you cook the meal. | Taco-topped beef pie is the nearest Mexican-style dish you can eat and still enjoy a decent bottle of wine… otherwise there’s always chilli con carne |
| True Grit:A young girl hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track down the man who has killed her father…. | Anything from disk one of the album Back in the Saddle Again. I wanna be a cowboy’s sweetheart is appropriate… Or for something a bit gritter (sic) you could try The Rolling Stones’ Wild Horses – see below | It’s got to be grits… what the hell are they? Go here to find out. Try some shrimp and bacon cheddar grits in lobster tomato sauce… want something gritier than grits? Try polenta. Can’t get grits? Make a risotto with the shrimp and bacon instead.Or you could try Red Rooster chicken…. |
| The man who shot Liberty Valance:James Stewart plays a senator who helps bring law to the West – partly due to having killed an outlaw | Anything from disk two of the album Back in the Saddle Again – particularly the song of that name. | Ah – about shooting then? Start the evening with a Revolver cocktail accompanied by Russian Roulette pimientos de Padrón.And then, well, after the quote at the top of this post, we have to go for steak don’t we? |
| Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid:The aging Pat Garrett is hired to bring down his old friend, Billy the Kid. | The soundtrack to this film is better than the film… most of it by Bob Dylan, and it includes Knockin’ on heaven’s door. | Go here for a recipe for braised kid…. |
