One staple of the American holiday season is the almighty roll. Whether you use them to clean up your plate, make a leftover sandwich or both, having a roll recipe on hand is essential.

And when I thought about rolls in movies, the first one that came to mind was “The Gold Rush.” In the movie, there is a fantasy scene where Charlie Chaplin’s character does a little dance/puppetry scene involving two forks and two rolls.

Because last week’s recipe was a little more on the complicated side, I am going very easy this week and having you make frozen rolls.

The rolls we found are dairy-free and gluten-free. I’m sure you can find some frozen vegan rolls as well. This recipe makes 6 “servings.”

Ingredients
6 frozen rolls
toppings/accompaniments of your choice

Instructions
Prepare your rolls according to your packaging instructions. Ours needed to be baked at 400°F for 10 minutes.

Once prepared, serve them alongside your holiday feast with a little butter or make some tasty leftover sandwiches.

When doing the recipe testing, I enjoyed them three ways:
1) With some vegan eggs for breakfast.
2) With some melted cheese for lunch.
3) With a little strawberry jam as a snack (pictured above).

The Easy Route
This is already a pretty easy “recipe,” but you could also get fresh rolls from your grocery store or a bakery.

The Pairing
“The Gold Rush” exists in two versions, one from 1925 and the other from 1942. The later one is shorter but adds sound to the story of The Lone Prospector (Chaplin).

I’ve seen them both, and they are both great if you can only get your hands on one of them. Criterion bundled both of them together and I was able to check that edition out from my local library a few years ago.

The movie really showcases Chaplin’s talents as both a performer and director. The story follows the misadventures of a variation of his Little Tramp character during his perilous journey west in search of gold, documenting the people he meets and the hijinks he gets into along the way.

As I mentioned up top, one of the most iconic scenes in “The Gold Rush” is the roll dance. It is a good demonstration of how precise Chaplin can be while also being entertaining and a little silly.

The movie is just one example of why Chaplin is such a gifted filmmaker and performer. If you’re wanting to check out more from this film icon, I recommend “Modern Times,” “Monsieur Verdoux” and “One A.M.”

I’m limiting myself to three favorites, otherwise this list would be endless. I anticipate that this is the first of many Chaplin appearances on the Veg Out blog.

What is your favorite Chaplin film? What food would you pair with it? Let us know in the comments.

Let us know if you make rolls and/or watch “The Gold Rush!” Tag us in your Instagram posts & stories, tweets or TikTok videos: @veg_out_recipes