Stranded at the Drive-In

“Summer sun, something’s begun but oh, oh those Summer Nights!” – Grease

When I was little, I thought that I should have been born in the 50’s. Somehow, I was convinced that I looked much better in a poodle skirt than I did in the colored leggings/ pants my mom used to dress me in (probably, because anything looked better than those leggings). Instead of following the boy band craze, my best friend and I would sing and dance to the oldies. I waited all year for the annual elementary school sock hop, just so I could spend one evening with a scarf in my hair, dancing and twisting to a little rock and roll. So, naturally, when my dad told me one day that there was a drive-in theatre only 45 minutes away in Dillsburg, I had to go! I thought about Danny from Grease, stranded at the drive-in, and I wanted to be there to.

We loaded up our car with chairs, radios and enough snacks to feed a pack of hungry teenagers, and took the drive on the highway to Dillsburg. When we arrived at HAAR's Drive In, it was everything I had imagined. We paid the minimal fee (two new movies for the price of one) and found ourselves a good parking spot in front of the giant screen. Just as we loaded our car, we quickly unloaded and arranged the gear so we had the perfect audiovisual perspective. Soon, the warm summer air began to cool as evening approached. In preparation for the start of the first movie at dusk, we divided up our snacks, bought any foods we may have forgotten at the bustling snack stand, and settled in with our blankets and chairs. Beneath the stars, surrounded by the authentic environment of an old-time drive-in theatre, I watched two movies late into the night with my family. On the car ride home at 1 AM, with my eyelids heavy with fatigue, I thought happily of the amazing night I had just spent and the memories I had created.

The movie theatre is now celebrating its 60^th anniversary. For six full decades, children and adults alike have been dazzled by the immense screen and the unique environment of HAAR’s. In honor of the unique memories and opportunities that the theatre has given to so many people I know, a close group of friends and I loaded up a van and decided to relive the excitement of the drive-in theater.  Arriving at the theatre at 6:30 (two and a half hours before the movie was scheduled to start), we picked a prime spot to set up ourselves near the projector. Once we set up our chairs and coolers outside, we huddled back into the air conditioned van to escape from the sweltering heat outside. We spend two full hours playing card games and telling stories, laughing about our summers. I felt like a kid again, just as excited as I had been as a little kid while waiting for the movie to start. Whether you’re 8 or 18, there are certain summer traditions, like going to a drive-in, that bring out the child in you and spark an unquenchable feeling of youthful excitement. 

So what does this have to do with food? As I mentioned about my first experience, part of the journey to the drive-in theatre involves packing the car with enough snacks to last for two movies. When I was younger, we packed enough food to “feed a pack of hungry teenagers.” This time, I had to bring enough food to feed an actual pack of hungry teenagers. I must admit, there is the added help of the AMAZING snack stand which sells countless mouthwatering concessions, including burgers, fries, snow cones, milkshakes, popcorn and Dillsburg’s famous Dill pickles. With such a low fee for the movie tickets, I’m convinced that the theatre makes most of its money from the continually crowded snack stand. Regardless of the aid from the stand, I had to bring snacks that were easy to pack, fun and satisfying. I chose to bring honey cinnamon bugles, sparkling grape juice jello and traditional whirly pop buttered popcorn.

Honey Cinnamon Bugles

(Modified from Farm Bell Recipes and Joy of Baking )

Ingredients

·         2 Bags of Original Bugles

·         Butter Pam (or similar cooking spray)

·         2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

·         ½ cup honey

·         ½ cup vegetable oil

·         1 cup packed brown sugar

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Directions

1.       Preheat oven to 300°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.       Empty the bags of bugles into a large bowl with room for tossing. Lightly spray the bugles with pam and sprinkle two tablespoons of cinnamon on the bugles while tossing them.

3.       Measure the honey, vegetable oil and brown sugar into a medium sauce pan. Bring the ingredients to a boil, stirring constantly, so the ingredients dissolve and combine completely. Once at a boil, remove the pan from heat, add the vanilla and quickly prepare it for pouring.

4.       (This step may require 2 people) Slowly empty the contents of the pan over top the bugles, constantly tossing them at the same time. Toss the bugles until they are coated evenly, then spread them in one even layer on both pans. Sprinkle the bugles generously with cinnamon sugar.

5.       Place the bugles in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir the bugles and return for the oven for another 10 minutes. (If the pans were on two separate racks, rotate them at this time. When the honey has browned, remove from the oven.

6.       Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes. Before it cools completely, gently break the pieces apart with your fingers.

White Grape Juice Jello

(Modified from The Jello Mold Mistress)

Ingredients

·         2 packets Knox unflavored gelatin

·         ½ Cup sugar

·         1 ½ Cups sparkling white grape juice

·         2 cups boiling water

·         1 pint raspberries

Directions

1.       Set shot glasses or plastic Dixie cups (This is what I used, but they were a bit large and ended up with SOLO written across the top of them) in a glass baking dish.

2.       Combine the packets of gelatin with the boiling water and stir immediately. Add the sugar and the white grape juice and stir to dissolve and combine.

3.       Ladle the mixture evenly into the cups or glasses. (My liquid foamed at the top)

4.       Place the baking dish in the freezer or fridge for 5-10 minutes just to cool slightly.

5.       Wash and prepare the raspberries.

6.       Sprinkle the berries evenly into the jello cups and return to the fridge until the jello solidifies.

7.       To remove the jellos, poke a small hole in the top of the cups and run the outside edges of the jello cups under hot water. Allow them to wiggle and jiggle out with a little shaking.

The bugles came out very well, especially when fresh from the oven. The honey flavor was quite strong, so if you don’t like honey, I wouldn’t recommend this recipe. (If you want to try different flavors, you can experiment with other granola recipes. Bugles make a great blank canvas for sweet toppings). The cinnamon and vanilla added a unique flavor. The only downfall was, when left out in the air for too long in the heat, the bugles began to absorb the moisture and go stale quickly.

The Jellos were a little bit hard to handle. They were difficult to remove and difficult to eat in one bite (Though the latter complaint made for a very entertaining scene when my friend attempted and failed to eat the jello in one bite) the carbonation was not maintained within the jellos and most of the bubbles ended up on the tip of the cups. Regardless, the flavor was good (probably because I just enjoy the taste of white grape juice). I really enjoyed working with the unflavored gelatin. I’m excited to use it to make jello out of all my favorite fruits and juices.