Star Wars Marathon Party

I’m waiting on the development of some film, so for the time being, I give you– Baby Darth Vader!  Hello, young padawan . . .

Over Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend, I hosted a Star Wars marathon watching party at my boyfriend’s house.  Yes, that epic, epic space opera by George Lucas.  You know the guy.  The same Star Wars that is coming out with Episode VII this year, 38 years after the first Episode came out.

Coincidentally, the Disney Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend happened to be the same weekend.

I swear, I didn’t plan it that way.*

*My friend A. had to miss our epic, 12+ hour veg-fest because she’s better than the rest of us and actually ran the half-marathon.  Kudos, A., kudos.  You make the rest of us all feel like Jabba the Hutt.  To be honest, after all the food we ingested that day, we all kind of look like Jabba the Hutt now, too.

Our schedule for the day:

• 10:30 a.m. – Episode I: The Phantom Menace
• [the first few stragglers show up]
• 12:45 p.m. – Episode II: Attack of the Clones
• 3:00 p.m. – Episode III: Revenge of the SIth
• [everyone else shows up; we begin eating dinner]
• 6:00 p.m. – Episode IV: A New Hope
• 8:30 p.m. – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

We didn’t make it to Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.  Call us old, or blame it on our butts feeling like mush after many, many hours of sitting (or, for some people, lying), but when The Empire Strikes Back ended at 10:30 p.m., we called it a night.  To be continued, I suppose . . .

EDIT: There is some controversy as to what order to show the movies in.   I opted for a straight 1-6 shot showing because no one wanted to watch the first three anyway, and no one was going to show up until the evening showing at 6:00 p.m.  It worked out, and since everyone had seen the movies anyway, there weren’t any ruined surprises.

I encouraged everyone to don Star Wars outfits (my friend promised that he would wear his Slave Leia costume as long as I wore one; unfortunately (?) he couldn’t make it, and that didn’t happen . . . this time), but no one showed up in costume.  Actually, that’s not true.  D. showed up with a Darth Vader mask.  Hm.

Anyway, there weren’t many photos of the day– just the one you see up above of a merry Darth Vader in a Santa Hat sitting among the drying needles of our homemade wreath.  I am still in holiday-season-denial!  But yeah, most of our time was spent sitting like statues in front of the television, so I’ll spare you those pictures. 

Star Wars Food

It’s no party without food!  And when you have a Star Wars themed party, you have to have Star Wars Themed Food!  Here’s what I made, with accompanying recipes:

• Jar Jar Links in a Blanket

Ingredients: Two, pre-made 9″ pie crusts; 14 sausages, cut in half; one egg, beaten; sea salt

Directions: Preheat an oven to 300 deg F.  Let the two pie crusts defrost, and then roll them out.  Cut each pie crust into six strips (the two outside strips should be slimmer than the middle four), then cut the middle four strips in half diagonally so they form a triangle shape.  Take a half-sausage, place it at the base of each triangle, and roll until it makes a sort of croissant shape.  Repeat with each sausage until all pie crust pieces are used, including the two end pieces, which you can reshape as you will.  Brush each rolled up pie doe with a layer of egg, and then sprinkle sea salt on top.  Place the links in a blanket on a lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or longer as necessary for them to brown.  (Makes 28)

• Bow-ba Fett Bowtie Pasta with Peas and Prosciutto

Ingredients: 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 lb petite peas; 1/2 cup water; 2 oz. prosciutto, torn into small pieces; 1 lb bowtie (farfalle) pasta; 2 tbsp butter; salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan on medium-high.  Add the yellow onion, some salt and pepper to taste, and saute it until it’s translucent just beginning to brown.  Add the peas and 1/2 cup water and cook until the water begins to boil.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Cook the pasta per the box instructions.  Dump the water, and then put the pasta back into the pot and add the butter, mixing until the butter is melted and incorporated.  Reheat the pea and onion mixture and add the prosciutto.  Cook, stirring to break up the pieces of prosciutto, for another 3-5 minutes.  Add the pea, onion, and prosciutto mix to the pasta, toss, and serve.  (Serves 4-6)

• Grilled Cheese and Ham Solo Quesadillas

Ingredients: 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese; 1/5 lb brown sugar ham; 1 package tortillas; 1 Millennium Falcon sandwich cutter (*I’m not sure if you can do this without the Millennium Falcon sandwich cutter, because without it, the pun just doesn’t really work.)

Directions: On a plate, assemble your sandwich/quesadilla: One layer of quesadilla, one layer of cheese, a couple slices of ham, a second, thin layer of cheese, and another tortilla.  Use the sandwich cutter to cut a Millennium Falcon-shaped quesadilla/sandwich.  Repeat as needed for number of quesadillas/sandwiches desired.  Heat griddle or frying pan on medium-low heat.  Place the quesadillas on the griddle and heat until the cheese is melted– approximately 2-3 minutes– and then flip.  Serve.  (Serves 4-6)

And now you all know my love for Star Wars.  May the force be with you.