12 Aug
Top-down view of the chocolate-dipped cherry almond biscotti. The Biscotti is stacked and you can see the glass plate below it and the red ribbon and bells that color the glass plate.

Home Alone

May 04, 2024munch

“You can be too old for a lot of things, but you’re never too old to be afraid.”

– Marley

What are we doing watching a Christmas movie in the middle of the summer? Well, I (Leanna) had never seen Home Alone, and we decided now was the perfect time to watch a movie about being stuck at home, unable to see your family or friends. Like us, Kevin’s situation is largely the fault of some irresponsible adults who made some very egregious mistakes like entrusting responsibilities to people who were ill–equipped to handle them, lacking empathy in difficult situations, and ignoring problems when they first arose.

But you’re probably screaming, “Wait, wait, wait! Back up! Leanna never saw Home Alone? Is she really a child of the 90s?” Yes, dear reader, I was born just two weeks after this movie premiered, and yet I didn’t watch it for 30 long years. Why? Because my entire childhood I remember my mother repeating, “I hate those Home Alone movies. They are so stupid.” And, like many things my mother has told me that I now regret taking at face value, I didn’t watch any of the Home Alone movies because I assumed they were stupid.

So, I finally asked her why she hated it, and her response did not disappoint: “I like all the actors but the jokes seemed a bit too juvenile and not funny like Uncle Buck, Blazing Saddles, Seinfeld, My Cousin Vinny, Galaxy Quest – real comedy classics to me.” Quite an unexpected mix there! And also some pretty wild comparisons considering Uncle Buck inspired Home Alone…

I digress. Like many things I cannot change my mother’s mind on, I can’t convince her Home Alone is a good movie. But we did have a lot of fun watching it. This might have been because we made a menu entirely comprised of cookies.

We all recounted holidays spent at home with a seemingly endless supply of Christmas cookies. If we were stuck at home like Kevin, we’d probably have just gorged ourselves on cookies. And each of us had a signature cookie that we always remember making, eating, and sharing with our friends and family.

For me, it was the white chocolate and cranberry cookie. My dad is a white chocolate fan, so this was always the cookie my mother would make for him to give her free license to try whatever new cookie recipes she thought looked interesting. It’s the basic bitch of Christmas cookies, but we still very much enjoyed them.

  • Straight-on view of a stack of five White Chocolate and Cranberry cookies we made for our Home Alone post. The cookies are stacked on a small silver platter seated on a holiday-themed pad.
  • Close up of the White Chocolate Cherry Cookies that are stacked on top of a small silver plate. The five cookies are set against a black background.
  • Three-quarters view of a stack of White Chocolate Cherry Cookies that we made for our Home Alone post. The cookies are set against a black background and are stacked on a silver plate that sits on a round white coffee table.
  • A stack of White Chocolate and Cherry Cookies casts a shadow on a round white surface as part of our series for Home Alone. The Cookies are stacked on a small silver plate, which sits on a holiday-themed pad.

For André, it was biscotti dipped in chocolate. His mom has made a tradition of baking dozens of these cookies and then wrapping them nicely and bringing them with her to every Christmas party to share. They do not disappoint, and neither did these. We especially enjoyed them for the next couple of mornings dipped in our coffee.

  • Vertical photo of the chocolate-dipped cherry, almond biscotti we made for our Home Alone post. The Biscotti is stacked on a glass plate with holiday designs on it. The plate is sitting on a white round coffee table with a black background behind it.
  • Three-quarters view of a biscotti stack. This stack sits on a clear glass plate and there is a very clear white circular table that covers 2/3rds of the image. The background behind that is black.
  • The sun is nicely lighting up the Chocolate-Dipped Cherry, Almond Biscotti we made for our Home Alone Post. The Biscotti sit on a clear glass plate with ornamental designs etched into it.
  • Top down view of the Chocolate-Dipped Cherry, Almond Biscotti we made for our Home Alone post. You can clearly see the Christmas patter on the glass plate that the Biscotti sits on. The Glass plate sits agains a white round table and is surrounded by a black surface.
  • Close up on the Cherry and almond Biscotti. This shot highlights how the biscotti has been dipped on the bottom half in chocolate. The biscotti is set against a black backdrop and is stacked on a glass plate on a white surface.
  • For our home alone post we made Cherry and Almond biscotti. There are four biscotti stacked on top of each other against a clear glass plate with a little bit of color added in a pattern. The plate is set against a white surface with a black background.

For Ben, it was butterballs. These dense, almost savory cookies are difficult to stop eating. The flavor is simple but so satisfying. Ben has continued to make these cookies every year and share them with us, and it is always such a treat.

  • Close up straight-on view of the Butterball cookies we made for our Home Alone post. The cookies are stacked inside of a small amber glass that is placed on a simple striped teacloth on top of a white round table. The background behind the cookies is black.
  • Top-down view of the amber glass of Butterball Cookies that we made for our Home Alone post. The amber glass casts a Lon shadow on a round coffee table and the glass is placed on top of a simple teacloth. Towards the bottom of the photo you can see the round white coffee table that both of these are placed on.
  • Three-quarters view of the Butterball Cookies we made for our Home Alone post. The Butterballs are stacked in an amber glass that casts a long shadow on the round white coffee table. Behind the coffee table is a black backdrop that we used for all of our Home Alone photos.
  • A collection of four Butterball Cookies sit in a clear amber glass that sits on a washcloth on top of a round white coffee table. The cup of Butterballs is set against a black backdrop.

But we didn’t stop there. Ben developed a brand new cocktail (recipe below) that tasted like a boozy thumbprint cookie in the best way. The tough thing about a thumbprint cookie is that it has a distinct look to it that needed to be recreated in cocktail form. It’s clear that the name comes from the indent in each cookie that is usually filled with a jam or jelly, so it is was kind of a requirement to have a similar effect with the drink.

To get this effect we placed a brandied cherry and a little bit of its syrup in a coupe glass. Then, using a bar spoon, we poured a mixture of rum, Amaretto (for the nutty flavor), cherry liquor, and allspice dram (for complexity), and topped it all off with St. Germain (to imbue a little bit more of a cookie sweetness). All of this resulted in a surprising and thematic cocktail perfect for the holiday season.

  • Close up of a bar spoon where you can see the ripples of the cocktail being poured on to it, cascading into the coupe glass below. To the left you can see a hand out of focus holding the bar spoon.
  • Close up of a hand pouring a stirred cocktail onto a bar spoon and into a couple glass for our Home Alone post. The coupe glass sits on a round white surface against a black background.
  • More top down view of the Thumbprint Cookie Cocktail we made for our Home Alone post. In this photo you can clearly see the brandied cherry and its juices around it creating a nice circle in the center of the couple glass. The Couple glass is casting a long shadow on a white round table.
  • Straight-on view of our Thumbprint Cookie Cocktail that features a light brown cocktail in a coupe glass. There is a distinct shadow of the coupe glass cast on the round white surface below it.
  • For our Home Alone post we made a Thumbprint Cookie Cocktail that features a light brown liquor in a coupe glass and cherry and its juices sitting in the bottom of the glass. The glass is standing on a white round table against a black backdrop.
  • Three-quarters view of the Thumbprint cocktail we made for our Home Alone post. The clear light brownish cocktail is sitting in a coupe glass. In the center is a circle of red and a brandied cherry sitting in the center. Shadows cover the white table below it and there is a black background behind everything.

Like our holiday cookie traditions, Home Alone holds up. It’s a zany, family-friendly, holiday comedy that is very 90s in its costuming, set design, dialogue, and themes. Each character plays an archetype you’d expect in this genre of movie from this decade (like the bully, the angry parent, the suspicious older neighbor, etc.), so rather than get into the practicality of Kevin’s pranks or even the likelihood that a parent could really forget their child at home, I thought it would be more fun to examine how these characters would react to our current pandemic.

So, here is our definitive list of characters in Home Alone who would wear a mask:

Image of Kevin Mcallister

Kevin McCallister: Definitely. He proves himself a resourceful, responsible child who understands when something is dangerous and must be taken seriously. This kid would probably fashion a makeshift mask out of a Christmas sweater if he had to (after lamenting about how his parents took all of his on the trip) and may even add a few additional ~ features ~ to help him combat anti-maskers if encountered.

Image of Harvey and Marv

Harry and Marv: Yes. The Wet Bandits would probably just opt for a pair of those full head coverings that just have holes for your eyes. It would be effective and practical, not only for their line of work but also for keeping those pesky particles under control. I could even see Harry having a compulsion for using hand sanitizer and always reminding Marv, “Safety first!” before offering him a squirt.

Image of Kate Mcallister

Kate McCallister: Yes, and with style. Kate would always have a mask that matched her outfit. It would probably have a fun 90s pattern and maybe even a gold chain as a nice accent. Would she be 100% consistent in wearing a mask? Probably not, but she would be open to reminders and understand that each person has a personal responsibility to right their wrongs and improve.

Image of Buzz Mcallister

Buzz McCallister: Yes, but only over his mouth. Buzz’s parents would make sure he was safe, but he’d make it difficult. His parents may be on the verge of just giving up altogether if it wasn’t for the fact that the virus may have lasting effects on lung health and they are committed to teaching Buzz the importance of caring for other people.

Image of Uncle Frank

Uncle Frank: No. This guy is the worst, and we are pretty sure Frank is a conspiracy theorist. He would definitely deny the existence of COVID-19, chalking it up to an attempt for the government to control all of us. He walks outside proudly without a mask and frequently shares posts from a certain subset of Facebook groups that honestly should have been reported and taken down for spreading misinformation.

Image of Marley

Marley: Absolutely. The rest of the neighborhood may be afraid of him, but Marley will nevertheless do his part to care for the community and flatten the curve. As we learned from the movie, Marley learned to accept when he is wrong and the importance of making up for past mistakes. He would forgive the CDC for not initially understanding the importance of covering one’s face and embrace face masks going forward.

Image of Officer Balzak

Officer Balzak: Nope. Perhaps this movie was just accurately depicting a police officer disregarding genuine concerns and failing a citizen in need. Regardless, it is immensely clear that we need a more robust system of social services to handle everything life can throw at you, and putting more money into the racist system of policing isn’t the right approach. ACAB.

In conclusion, MASK UP. It’s the simplest, kindest thing you can do to keep everyone safe. Also, it 100% makes you a more trustworthy person.

And now for the cocktail recipe you have all been waiting for:

The Thumbprint Cookie

2Oz.White Rum
1/2Oz.Amaretto
1/2Oz.Cherry Liqueur
1/4Oz.Allspice dram
1/4Oz.St. Germain

Prepare a coupe glass by adding a brandied cherry in the bottom and spooning a little more syrup around it. Stir the rest of the ingredients over ice and pour into the coupe glass over a bar spoon. Enjoy!

Top-down view of the Greek Fisherman's Stew we made for our Snowpiercer menu. The frozen stew sits in a clear glass bowl and a spoon sits in the center of the horizontal image. The stew is surrounded by a white faux-fur background.