Food-O-File

Toward the end of 1996, the movie that inspired theme dinners was the charming little independent film Big Night, directed by and starring Stanley Tucci. On the absolute opposite end of the financial spectrum, this year's cinematic inspiration for theme dinners could be director James Cameron's $200 million epic Titanic. Dinner hosts inspired to re-create some of the culinary delights served on the ill-fated luxury liner will be aided by a thoroughly researched dining history and cookbook titled Last Dinner on the Titanic (Hyperion Books, $24.95 hard). Written by historian Rich Archbold and recipe developer Dana McCauley, Last Dinner draws from previously recorded eyewitness testimony, as well as menus from the final meals in the first and second-class dining rooms and some of the on-board restaurants. McCauley extensively researched the rich cuisine of the Edwardian era, then adapted the recipes for modern kitchens. The class distinctions so prominently featured in Cameron's film also appear in the cookbook, where you can compare the lavish 11-course French haute cuisine menu from the first-class dining room to the hearty, simple bill of fare served in the two spartan third-class dining halls below decks. Released in April of 1997 to coincide with the anniversary of the Titanic's tragic sinking, the interesting little volume contains actual photos from the White Star Lines promotional material, biographical sketches of some of the more famous passengers, colorful illustrations of period costumes and meals, and descriptions of table settings as well as menus and a short chapter on hosting a Titanic dinner.

Former Herb Bar owner Connie Moore was in Texas visiting friends and family over the holidays and made a quick stop in Austin for an impromptu tamalada. It seems the one craving that Moore has been unable to satisfy in her new Honolulu home is the hunger for good vegetarian tamales, so she prevailed upon friends Ruben and Juanita Rodriguez of Botanitas (6400 S. First St., 441-2424) to teach her how to make them herself. The Rodriguezes closed early on New Year's Eve and hosted a small tamale-making class for Moore, her longtime Chronicle ad rep Carolyn Phillips, and freelance editor Fran Moody. Moore was able to return to Hawaii with a freezer full of Botanitas' signature black bean and white cheese tamales, plus complete instructions for re-creating them at home.

While Schlotzsky's is busy expanding its franchises around the globe (China, Bosnia, Malaysia, Germany, Saudi Arabia), it's also nearing completion of two new local outlets. Look for a Schlotzsky's Marketplace restaurant to open on the former site of the Night Hawk at 20th and Guadalupe any day. Then in late January, an upscale Schlotzsky's outlet is set to open on the ground floor of the historic Littlefield building at Sixth and Congress. Executive pastry chef Rebecca Rather is hard at work developing new pastry menus for both the downtown and South Lamar locations.

During the holidays, I received some frantic phone calls and e-mail messages from readers who had a problem duplicating the Sour Cream Apple Pie recipe that was published in the issue just before Thanksgiving ("The Pies That Bind," Nov. 21, 1997). Because of the way the two pie recipes were laid out on the pages, several readers apparently missed the final paragraph of directions for assembling the topping. (They were printed directly to the right of the rest of the recipe but on the adjoining page.) If you are among the confused, check the complete recipe here.