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Movie Preview: “The Little Mermaid”

BY RANDAL C. HILL

“The Little Mermaid” is a fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen in 1837. This year’s offering comes to us as a live-action remake. It also breaks down some long-established barriers, especially with its diverse casting. As the star, powerhouse vocalist Halle Bailey (half of the R&B sister duo Chloe x Halle) debuts as the titular character.

In Disney’s 2023 release, we again follow Ariel, the beautiful and resolute young mermaid possessing both bravado and a thirst for adventure. The youngest daughter of King Triton (Javier Bardem), headstrong Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond her familiar sea. In doing so, she becomes smitten with the dashing human prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). Mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, but Ariel chooses to follow her heart and makes a deal with the evil sea

Perfect Hollandaise Sauce

Although it seems very fancy, Hollandaise is actually very easy to make. Simply heat up some butter (and it needs to be hot!) and stream it into the blended egg yolk mixture to create a velvety smooth sauce.

Ingredients:

• 3 egg yolks, room temperature

• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Melt the butter on the stovetop (or in a microwave for about 1 minute) until very hot.

2. Combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt and cayenne pepper

• pinch of cayenne pepper

• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick) in a high powered blender (or immersion blender) and blend for 5 seconds. witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy).

3. As the blender is running, slowly stream the piping hot butter into the mixture.

4. Transfer to a small bowl.

This gives the underwater adventurer a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately it also places Ariel’s life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.

Director Rob Marshall and the scriptwriters, happy to shatter stereotypes, also seized the opportunity to better flesh out Ariel’s love:

“The role of Eric in the animated film – I’m sure the original creators will agree with this – is a wooden, classic prince character with not a lot going on,” says Marshall. “There’s a whole story that’s developed in our film. He has a very similar trajectory in a way to Ariel: he doesn’t feel like he fits in. These two kindred spirits find each other and really teach the world about prejudice and about breaking down barriers and walls between these two worlds.”

“The Little Mermaid” opens nationwide on May 26.

How to Fix Broken Hollandaise Sauce

The key to getting the consistency right is the hot melted butter. This recipe emulsifies butter into an egg yolk and lemon juice mixture. So you want to make sure you’re streaming in butter that’s very hot.

If it does break, try slowly blending in 1-2 tablespoons of boiling water until the consistency is right. Or, with the blender on, add an extra egg yolk + a teaspoon of hot water and process until creamy.