Game Day: Remember the Titans Movie Night Menu

This movie hits right in the feels. It’s a wonderful movie night option especially during the autumnal season. My Remember the Titans movie night menu is perfect for a warm night in with a delicious array of food on offer. It also works as a great game day feast for those of you who are so inclined. It’s game time, friends.

Contents

• Remember the Titans (2000)
• Remember the Titans Movie Night Menu
• Cook & Bake with Me ASMR Video
• Act One
• Tzatziki Recipe
• Act Two
• Mac & Cheese Recipe
• Act Three
• Skillet Cookie Recipe
• Bonus Features
• Epilogue
• Remember the Titans Movie Night Menu Printable Graphic

Remember the Titans (2000)

This powerful film is inspired by a true story. It follows a high school football team formed by newly integrated students in 1970s Virginia. 

Players from different racial backgrounds are pushed together and, with the guidance of Coach Boone (Denzel Washington), unite as one team despite prejudice and resistance coming at them from all directions, including within their own sport.

I said it in my Ultimate Fall Movie Bucket List, but movies that give us the coming together of characters who come from varying backgrounds are so important. At our core, we are all the same, friends. The more we blend together, the more our lives are enriched.

Remember the Titans opens with shots of autumn leaves. You don’t need much more of a hint that it’s a great option for a cosy autumnal movie night, do you?

My menu inspired by this film brings together food that the state of Virginia is recognised for, as well as a few game day staples. Keep reading for tips, recipes and a free printable graphic of my menu!

Remember the Titans Movie Night Menu

Here is the menu in text form, in case you prefer to see it in a format other than an image:

Movie Night Menu

Act One

Salted peanuts

Game night chips & dip

Act Two

Virginia state mac & cheese

Titans mixed salad

Act Three

Skillet cookie & ice cream

Bonus Features

Apple juice

Pepsi mixer

You can find the free printable version of this menu graphic at the bottom of the post!

Cook & Bake with Me ASMR Video

Act One

If you’ve seen Remember the Titans recently, you may be aware that there is actually little food that features in the movie. Not enough to inspire a snack or two, let alone a full menu.

So, I had to get a little creative and do some research. I wasn’t tempted by the idea of including grits in my menu, but by all means include them if that’s your thing.

Act One of my Remember the Titans movie night menu is composed of two savoury snacks. Nice and simple to start.

According to my research, peanuts are among the many foods that Virginia is known for. Salted peanuts make a great drinking snack, too, if you’re planning on indulging.

Chips (or crisps, to my fellow Brits) and dip is a game day staple, so I couldn’t omit this tasty combo from my themed menu. This one is all about getting what you like to eat. There are no rules, so simply buy your favourite crispy snacks and an accompanying dip or two. 

I actually made tzatziki as one of my dips and then bought salsa as another option.

Tzatziki is an incredibly fresh yoghurt dip with Greek origins. If that seems random to you, allow me to show you the connection.

Titans. Greek mythology. Done.

If you are interested, below is a recipe that you can use to make your own tzatziki, but know that you can pretty much do this by taste. As long as you have plenty of cucumber flavour and mint flavour, you’re good to go. Lemon juice is optional.

Tip: this act can be the last to prepare before you’re ready to serve, as it’s the quickest to put together.

Tzatziki Recipe

Makes: enough to fill a cereal bowl

Ingredients

• 5 heaped tbsp 0% fat greek yoghurt
• ⅔ fresh cucumber
• ½ clove garlic
• A palmful of fresh mint leaves

Method

1. Shred the cucumber using a cheese grater. Gather the shredded pieces and squeeze the cucumber as much as you can over a bowl, making sure the bowl catches the liquid. Depending on your preference of texture, you can add the cucumber shreds in with the yoghurt, or leave them out.
2. Spoon in the greek yoghurt and mix well.
3. Finely chop the mint and mix into the yoghurt mix. Refrigerate (covered) until ready to serve.
4. Be sure to eat this within three days of making it!

Note: Some tzatziki recipes online aren’t specific about what you do with the cucumber components. Some say that the water needs to be squeezed out and left out, but I found that adding it doesn’t split the yoghurt so long as the yoghurt you use is good quality. I recommend Fage greek yoghurt for this reason. The water from the cucumber is also where most of the flavour comes from, so why leave it out if you don’t need to? Adding the shreds of cucumber can be down to your preference of texture, so don’t feel like the rules are rigid.

Act Two

Okay. Act Two is where we get to the soul food. 

Mac & Cheese is another dish that Virginia is recognised for. There are lots of ways to make it, but honestly, I find simply cooking it to taste will yield you a delicious result.

I have to be honest, here. Mac & Cheese just ain’t it for me. I’ve never been partial to it. But I will say… my own version was enough to make me start to reconsider.

The key is to go ALL IN on the cheese, friends. No skimping here. I kid you not, I put a full block in mine. If you think you’ve put too much cheese in, you probably haven’t put enough in.

Because this is proper comfort food, I needed to include some nutrition on the side. A mixed salad provides some leafy goodness to this Act, so be sure to include it, whatever your preference of greens are. Your body will thank you for it.

Tip: you can add multiple cheeses to your mix depending on your preference, just make sure they are hard cheeses for a rich flavour.

Tip: cook your mac & cheese before anything else on this menu, then cover with tin foil and keep warm until ready to serve.

Mac & Cheese Recipe

Makes: 4 large portions or 6 smaller portions

Ingredients

• 1 large onion
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp plain [all-purpose] flour
• Milk of your choice
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp mild chilli powder
• 400g grated cheddar
• 500g dried macaroni pasta

Method

1. Bring a saucepan of water to boil, then add the macaroni and bring the heat down to medium. Cover with a lid and leave to cook for around 10 minutes.
2. Dice the onion and fry off in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and stir until melted.
3. Sprinkle over the flour, then add a splash of milk until a paste has formed. Add more milk to loosen it a little (keep adding as you go through the recipe steps).
4. Spoon over the nutmeg and chilli, then mix in. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.
5. Add a little more milk until the consistency is thick and smooth, like a pancake mix. Sprinkle in ¾ of your grated cheese and mix in until it’s melted and incorporated in the mixture. Preheat your oven to 180°C [325°F] on the grill setting now.
6. Once the macaroni is cooked, drain the water then add the pasta straight to the cheese sauce. Mix in well, until the pasta is coated evenly in sauce.
7. Pour the mac & cheese into an ovenproof dish i.e. a casserole dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Season the top with more black pepper if desired.
8. Place under the grill for around 5 minutes or until the cheese is golden and crisp.
9. Cover with tin foil and keep warm until ready to serve.
10. Serve with freshly washed mixed salad leaves seasoned with a little black pepper if desired.

Act Three

Sweet treats are optional, of course, but a nice change of pace after all that savoury.

When I was researching game day snacks, cookies were a treat that came up often. Rather than making a batch of cookies – which can be time consuming when you account for the necessary chilling time – I decided on a cookie based dessert.

I’m calling it a skillet cookie because you can absolutely bake it in a skillet. But, I don’t actually have a skillet, so I used a pie dish instead. 

Honestly, whatever you cook it in, it’s a cookie pie dessert and it’s DELICIOUS.

If you’ve read my Percy Jackson blue cookies post or my Shrek inspired cookies recipe, you’ll know that I’m a fan of putting three different types of sugar in. Including dark brown sugar in a cookie mix really levels up the end result, so I highly recommend doing it.

This cookie dessert is so quick to whip up and only needs half an hour to bake. What you end up with is a crispy outer shell and a soft and gooey interior. This one is perfect when warm and served with ice cream.

My recipe below is adapted from this one by Jane’s Patisserie.

Tip: make this second, after your mac & cheese, and leave to cool slightly before serving. If needing to reheat, you can pop each slice in the microwave for 20 seconds before topping with ice cream.

Tip: I used Cadbury dairy milk as my chopped chocolate option, but you can add any chocolate that you prefer. Alternatively, you can add chocolate candy like Reese’s Pieces or M’n’Ms instead.

Skillet Cookie Recipe

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 150g unsalted butter  slightly softened
• 100g light brown sugar
• 70g caster sugar
• 30g dark brown sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract   optional
• 220g plain [all-purpose] flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda [baking soda]
• ½ tbsp cornflour   optional
• Pinch of sea salt
• 180g chopped chocolate or 250g chocolate candy

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C [325°F] or 160°C fan. Grease a 23 cm pie dish or skillet with butter and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs and beat in. Add the vanilla (if using) and beat again.
4. Sieve in the flour, then spoon in the bicarbonate of soda, cornflour (if using) and sprinkle in the salt. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon until a soft dough has formed. The cornflour is optional but helps achieve a delicious texture.
5. Chop the chocolate into rough pieces now, then fold into the cookie dough mix. Alternatively, add your chosen chocolate candy and fold through.
6. Bake on the middle shelf of your oven for 30 minutes. Check the centre isn’t wobbling noticeably before determining that your skillet cookie is baked.
7. Leave to cool slightly before serving, or allow to cool then portion and reheat each slice in the microwave for 20 seconds before topping with ice cream.

Bonus Features

As usual, my Bonus Features section is dedicated to the drinks of the event. 

I will never stop saying it: hydration is so important, so be sure to have water or something rich in electrolytes to drink whilst you enjoy the mostly savoury elements of this Remember the Titans movie night menu!

Coconut water and cow’s milk are both high in electrolytes, just in case you were wondering.

In the case of my Remember the Titans inspired movie night menu, I have included apple juice and the option of a Pepsi mixer.

Apple juice because apples were listed in my research on foods connected to the US state of Virginia.

Pepsi because the high school’s football ground in the film is sponsored by Pepsi. At least, that’s what I deduced from the Pepsi stickers visible in shots of the ground in the movie…

Now, you can either have Pepsi as is, or you can make it a mixer by adding alcohol. If you’re of the legal drinking age in your country of residence and are that way inclined, feel free to add a shot of your favourite spirit to a glass of Pepsi.

Rum is my favourite for two reasons: it’s delicious (especially spiced dark rum) and because I want to be a pirate when I grow up. I said the latter in my Treasure Planet marmalade biscuits post and it remains true.

For pepsi cocktail recipes, try these.

Epilogue

That about wraps it up, friends. My Remember the Titans movie night menu is ideal for the autumnal season, just like the film. It also works as a pretty satisfying game day spread.

From savoury snacks and mac & cheese to a skillet cookie and ice cream, you can’t go far wrong. It’s a menu of food that’s good for the soul.

I hope your Remember the Titans movie night is super cosy and warms you right down to the cockles of your heart. It’s what this season is for, wouldn’t you say? 

If you’re whipping up these dishes for a game day, I hope your heart and your stomach end up happy.

Remember the Titans Movie Night Menu Printable Graphic