"THE JERK": NAVIN'S BIRTHDAY DINNER.
Huzzah! We have finally reached recipe No. 50!!! I can’t believe it! What an amazing quest, and I’m so glad you all are joining me on it!
I wanted to do a recipe from one of my favorite movies of all time, “The Jerk,” starring the one and only Steve Martin. Everything about this movie is perfect beyond words, and no matter how many times I watch it I can’t help but busting up. Everything from when he finds out he’s adopted, finding his name in the phone book, tying a gang of thieves’ car to a church, a crazy man shooting at him while he exclaims, “He hates these cans!!”, losing everything and taking his thermos and paddle game…the list goes on! I would say “spoiler alert,” but the movie is almost 40 years old!
In one scene during the beginning of the movie, Navin’s family celebrates his birthday. His mother fixes him a tuna fish salad on white bread with mayonnaise, a Tab, and a couple of Twinkies. His brother eventually wraps it up in cellophane, just how he likes it. I felt like it was my duty to recreate this meal to pay homage to one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.
I hope you all enjoy this recipe, and here’s to many many more!
LOOT: 4 BIRTHDAY DINNERS.
MATS.
TUNA FISH SALAD.
1 lb. cooked and flaked fresh albacore tuna, or canned if unavailable
1/4 cup minced shallot
3 tbsp. minced celery
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
8 slices white bread
8 tsp. mayonnaise
8 Twinkies
8 birthday candles
4 cans Tab
EQUIPMENT.
knife
large bowl
spatula
lighter
STRAT.
1.) In a large bowl, mix together all of the tuna fish salad mats. You can adjust the consistency by adding more mayo to make it more creamy, or more lemon juice to make it not as thick.
2.) Spread 1 tsp. of mayonnaise on each piece of white bread. Spread tuna salad 4 pieces of bread and top with 1 piece of remaining bread each to form iconic sandwiches.
3.) Serve on a plate from the 70s with 2 Twinkies fitted with 1 lit birthday candle each, and a can of Tab. You can also wrap the sandwich in cellophane, if that’s how you like it.
