TCM in their partnership with Running Press have teamed up with film critic and movie historian, Leonard Maltin and his daughter (and wonderful host and interviewer herself), Jessie Maltin to release Family Movie Night Menus: Recipes & Films for Unforgettable Times Together. The Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide was an annual purchase for me from the late ’80s until the turn of the century. His capsule reviews were influential for my video-store trips and perusal of the weekly TV Guide. Jessie and Leonard host “You’re Still Wrong, Leonard Maltin” at each year’s San Diego Comic Con, and it’s still one of the highlights of each year.
Buy Family Movie Night Menus: Recipes & Films for Unforgettable Times TogetherThe book’s concept was made for me. I love films. I love food. I love sharing both with my family. We buy snacks at every movie, we make bowls of popcorn at home, and family gatherings are centered around when we are going to eat and what movie we’re going to watch afterwards. The structure is simple. There are 25 films in chronological order. The films aren’t meant to be anything more than 25 good films that can be shared with the whole family. There’s a description of the movie along with some interesting behind-the-scenes stories (the exact thing we like to share as a family when watching movies), and then there’s a recipe inspired by the film. The book works well as both a film guide and a cookbook.
The Kid (1921) (Directed by Charlie Chaplin): If this book inspires more families to watch Chaplin films, they it’s worth every penny that went into the production of the book. It’s not usual to see films of the ’20s (the 1920s!) in movie guides these days, but I’m all for it. The background info is succinct enough to give context without giving away the whole film. The recipe is for Coogan Cakes. Sitting around the living room watching movies and eating pancakes with syrup is something I’m not brave enough to do as an adult, let alone with children. I remember thinking I needed to hook up a hose to clean up after serving pancakes to my young children. A good recipe for pancakes is always appreciated though.
Sounder (1972) (Directed by Martin Ritt): This story of the Morgan family during the Great Depression is one that I often recommend to parents with 10- to 12-year-old children. It’s not often mentioned with the other great family films of the ’70s. Cicely Tyson is a tour de force. The recipe is for Dog-Gone Good Gumbo. I haven’t had a chance to make any of the recipes in this book, but this may be one of the first that I attempt. I’ve always wanted to say “I’m making a roux.” and I do love soups and stews.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) (Directed by Steven Spielberg): It’s interesting to see write-ups for what I consider “good but lesser known today” films. It’s more interesting to see how the Maltins would handle a film like this that has had books written about it. At five pages, the treatment here hits the right note of mostly talking about the cultural significance of the film instead of getting bogged down in the symbolism inside it. The recipe is for Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. It’s thematically nice to play off the one food everyone associates with the film, Reese’s Pieces. This is one recipe that I hope someone else makes for me because it looks like there are too many places that I could go wrong.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) (Directed by Chris Columbus): It’s not my favorite of the Harry Potter films, but I guess you wouldn’t start with the fourth film in a series for a book like this. The text discusses the series of films as much as this particular entry. I appreciate that in many of these profiles, there is an encouragement to read the books upon which the movies are based. The recipe is for Potter’s Pumpkin Pasties. The picture on the recipe and what I would eventually make, I’m sure are world’s apart. I love to think I could make them look so professional, but reading the recipe, I’m sure I could throw something together. They sound more like a snack for watching our English Football on weekend mornings, but I could watch a movie with them too.
I come to this book more as a fellow who reads lots of books about films and has always had a movie guide within arm’s reach. I am not the person in this household who owns cookbooks. I respect that the charming Maltin family has brought these two things together and done it under the TCM brand. I feel like I should report back in six months after I’ve attempted a dozen recipes to tell you if these are as simple as they seem on the page. I will be watching for the films to cross my path (or pull many of them from my personal library). Bring the generations of the family together, eat together, and watch films. That’s the best advice anyone can give you in 2026.
