I was very surprised when the July Food ‘n Flix feature was announced. Not to be gross, but isn’t all the food in Jaws of the human variety for sharks? Yes, it might be an odd choice but Amy’s Cooking Adventures thought it would be a fun July feature film. (You know, Shark Week mania and all that.) I tend to agree.
It was fun to revisit the 1975 classic. I remember when the film came out and even being scared to wade into a very much inland swimming pool as my older male cousins hummed the theme song—you know, da-DA-da-DA-da-DA. I was too young to see the film but from all the cultural references, I was still scared to death.
I was surprised at how suspenseful the film actually was. Yes, it was campy and Quint was over the top,
but let me tell you, I kept jumping out of my skin and screaming (just a bit).
Here’s the food (and beverages) I spotted during my viewing (when I wasn’t having a panic attack). Some of these observations might be conjectures…
- Seaweed (from opening)
- Falstaff beer from the beach bonfire
- Alka seltzer? (in police station after they find what’s left of Chrissy)
- Tab and Sprite on the beach (vintage cans)
- Muffin man (song on the beach)
- Quint munching on crackers at the council meeting
- Bourbon
- Holiday roast (as bait)
- Family dinner (indistinguishable food)
- Wine (red and white)
- Pretzels
- Hot dog stand on the beach
- Coca cola
- Coffee ice cream
- Two cases of brandy (for Quint)
- Moonshine
- Heinze ketchup, Campbell soup, other canned goods (at Quint’s outpost)
- Narragansett beer (on the Orca)
- Crackers (or whatever Quint is eating)
None of this food was instrumental to the plot or sparked me to create something creative so I defaulted to fish. 🙂
We have quite a few hybrid bass fish fillets in the freezer from an early June fishing trip that The Hubs and his family took. He asked the guide the best way to fry up the fillets. He got a rough recipe and then improvised a bit. Depending on the heat of your Cajun spice, you might want to add a bit of cayenne pepper. It’s up to you.
Fried Fish Coating
The Hubs came home with about 35 hybrid bass fish fillets from a recent guided fishing trip. The guide gave him this recipe (loosely).
Ingredients
- 1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
- 1 T. sugar
- 2-3 T. Cajun spice
- Cayenne pepper (optional)
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients together in a large shallow bowl.
- Coat fish fillets in the coating. Be generous.
- Fry in about 2 inches of oil in a large cast iron skillet.
- Drain on paper towels. Serve with tartar sauce and/or hot sauce.
NOTE: This recipe makes a lot of fish coating. My advice is to put a bit in a bowl and coat as needed. Then the rest you can save for your next fish fry.
OK. I totally failed at trying to take pleasing photos of fried fish.
Just try these, though. I guarantee you will like them. (And, this coming from someone who is not a huge fish.)
Come hang out with us next month when the feature film is Moonrise Kingdom hosted at Literature and Limes. I love that quirky little film so it should be fun!
It’s also the next to the last day to vote! Have you voted yet for my Maple-Chai Pumpkin Muffins? I’m a finalist in the Taste of Home Ready, Set, Bake! Contest. You can find the voting form here. 
If you’ve been voting everyday, THANK YOU! If not, please consider voting today and tomorrow! I appreciate your support.
I think those fried fish look pretty awesome!
Thank you. It’s the only way I fix them. If we don’t have the corn bread mix on hand, I just use cornmeal and a little flour.
OMG! Jaws! What memories this brings back. I read the book shortly after it came out then the same with the movie. Scary, camp and so funny at times. The phrase “we’re going to need a bigger boat “ it still used over and over in this house for many things. Your list of food and drinks mentioned or consumed in the movie is spot on. So jealous of those bass fillets. They look so very delicious!
Totally camp now. I wonder in 1975 if it was thought to be so. We use that phrase a lot around here too.
Thanks for participating! I think you’re pictures are great – fried food is so difficult to photograph!
Thanks for hosting Amy. It was a fun round.
Fried fish (or most brown foods) are not very photogenic but those of us that love fried fish are still drooling at your pics.
True that. Try to stay away from posting those kinds of foods just because they’re not photogenic.
You did well! That’s funny, Jaws for FnF
It did stretch me a bit….but not really since I just did fish.
It was such an odd, but fun pick for Food’n’Flix, wasn’t it?!? Your fried fish looks tasty.
I thought it was great fun and I loved your Jaws pie (but it was quite scary)!
i don’t think i’ve ever seen jaws. i am not very keen on those kinds of films cos i am too chicken:) i love how you said you are not a huge fish- did you mean fish fan? tee hee how i laughed.
HAHAHA. I am neither a huge fish nor a huge fish fan. Guess I deleted “fan” and half of my smiley-face.
I haven’t seen this movie in a long, long time. Probably would think it was really corny if I saw it again. 🙂 But anything seafood related would be appropriate food for this dish, so you chose well (and a good looking recipe!).