EPISODE FOUR: ALEXANDER PAYNE & VEGETABLE GRATIN AND BECHAMEL
"There's a huge similarity between cooking for others and making a film."
-Alexander Payne on the process of creating a two hour experience for others that follows a rhythm.
Celery gratin and béchamel sauce
Academy Award-Winning screenwriter and director Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways, About Schmidt, The Descendants Downsizing) makes a vegetable gratin and discusses a pivotal moment in his life when he left the movie industry briefly to become an intern at Chez Panisse.
BECHAMEL INGREDIENTS:
-2 cups milk
-4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
-3 tablespoons all-pupose flour
CELERY GRATIN INGREDIENTS:
-1 head celery
-Fresh thyme and/or tarragon
-Salt and pepper
TOOLS:
-2 medium saucepans
-Whisk
-Cup measure
-Tablespoon measure
-Wooden spoon or rubber spatula
-Knife
-Cutting board
-Big mixing bowl
-Casserole or other oven-going vessel (cast iron skillet can work)