I Always Love...

how many people visit this site looking for the location of Tom Selleck's avocado farm!

Vicky Cristina blah, blah, blah...

Okay. So my anaylsis? The soundtrack is great. Go out and buy/download the soundtrack. The movie? It was awful! The Husband was surprisingly more generous than I (which may have been influenced by the Scarlett Johannsen/Penelope Cruz kiss scene), but alas... it really wasn't funny and the damn narrator! Between this and Jesse James... what's with these narrators?? You don't mind a narrator when it's actually one of the characters or if its a person with a voice that's interesting... but this narrator was like someone who would be narrating an instructional video for insurance adjusters. Oy! If Woody Allen had narrated it would have at least been interesting to listen to.

Overall assessment? Lame! And it's hard for me to picture Javier Bardem *without* the bowl haircut from "No Country for Old Men".

Movies!

As the ye old Facebook status update says-- I think it was the narration that killed "The Assasination of Jesse James..."

Also on tap? Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

And, as usual... Cinemax (the only premium cable channel we don't get) has a movie I want to watch-- "In Bruges". Damn! When's it coming to Redbox?

Risotto!

Tonight we had risotto thanks to Jamie Cooks! The recipe was for gorgonzola, walnut and apple risotto but I mixed it up a bit. I used D'Anjou pear instead of apple and I added in two table spoons of gorgonzola dolce in addition to the crumbled gorgonzola and goat cheese that the recipe calls for. I also dispensed with the marjoram.

I would like to try this again with apple-- I think it would bring a nice crisp flavor and might make this a good spring or fall risotto. But, that being said, with the pear and the extra cheese it was very creamy and very good!

I first started making risotto after watching a Jamie Oliver show on tv where he prepared risotto with peas, pesto and shrimp. It looked easy so I thought I would give it a try. Then, when I got the Jamie's Italy cookbook I followed his recipe for risotto and it came perfectly. Tonight's was no exception-- if you want to try risotto I definitely recommend his method. After the success of this week's gnocchi and the risotto I'm thinking about going back to Jamie's Italy and see if he's got a recipe for polenta!

Tomorrow? English Onion Soup.

Sunday? Superbowl snack foods... maybe fondue will be in our future.

Thursday.

Tonight I'm very thankful that the Husband brought home Chipotle for dinner. I was too tired to continue with JO week. So, we'll try our hand at the gorgonzola, walnut and apple risotto tomorrow and "English" French Onion soup on Saturday!

Gnocchi, Step by Step!

Tonight's Jamie Oliver dinner was home made gnocchi with gorgonzola dolce sauce! I have to say, this was a hit. The recipe came from the "Jamie Cooks" cookbook and is something I'm totally going to make again!

First you bake 6 potatoes for an hour. Once they're out of the oven for about 10 minutes (but are still hot) you cut them in half and scoop out the potato into a ricer. Once you have all of your potatoes riced, add in a bit of nutmeg, fresh pepper, salt a handfull of flour and one egg yolk. Mix together the ingredients with your hands to form a dough. Tread lightly though as you don't want to make your end product too dense.

Once you have your dough ball, divide it into three separate balls and roll them out on a lightly floured surface by hand. Once you have a long roll (like a sausage) you can cut your individual gnocchi in about one inch lengths. I then put the gnocchi in the fridge for a few hours until we were ready for dinner. The gnocchi cooked in salted, boiling water in just a few minutes and they were perfect! (Of course, I did manage to overcook the first batch which essentially disentigrated into the cooking water-- but I had reserved extras and those cooked perfectly!)

The gorgonzola dolce sauce was also super easy and very tasty-- made with two tablespoons of gorgonzola dolce, 6 tablespoons of heavy cream and three tablespoons of butter (simmered over low heat)... I topped the gnocchi and gorgonzola sauce with chopped walnuts and served a side salad (with slices of d'anjou pear and goat cheese!) One word: YUM!

Gnocchi!

We're going to give J.O.'s gnocchi a try. I've got 6 potatoes in the oven roasting.

All I have to say is:

"This is how we fix things on RUSSIAN SPACE STATION!!!"

AMNH!

Today we visited the American Museum of Natural History with Thisbe and the Wee Kraken! After the museum we hit up the Shake Shack which I have to recommend. *LOVED* the chocolate milk shake and the burger and fries were fab!!

Jamie Oliver Strikes Back!

It's Tasty Tuesday and Jamie Oliver week continues! Tonight's dinner was Asparagus soup from Jamie's cookbook "Jamie at Home". Here's the recipe, with a few minor modifications...

I sauteed a diced onion and two stalks of diced celery, together with sliced leeks (2 good sized leeks) in a bit of olive oil and butter. Once the veggies are soft and starting to become a bit translucent you can add in the asparagus. First trim off the ends of the asparagus and the tips. Reserve the tips and then cut up the rest of the asparagus spears into 1/2 or so bits. Add the cut up asparagus spears to the veggies, together with one box of low salt chicken broth and half a can of vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. After the soup has been boiling for a bit lower it to simmer for 25-30 minutes. Add in a bit of salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. I also added in a touch of garlic salt, a bit of white wine. After the 25-30 minutes are up, I used my immersion blender to blend the soup. I kept it a touch chunky and then Jamie has you adding in the asparagus tips. Keep simmering until the tips are tender. At this point I added in a bit of lemon juice and a touch of cream.

I served the soup together with goat cheese toasts and a nice salad. I was impressed that even Miss B. enjoyed the soup! This was a winner... so Jamie's off the hook for tonight and out of the dog house. We'll have to see how the rest of Jamie Oliver Week turns out. Tomorrow-- either gnocchi or "English" onion soup. We'll see what kind of mood we're in tomorrow!

Jamie Oliver Week Starts Off with a Bust...

Sadly, this week's theme has not started off very auspiciously. I tried out Jamie's recipe for Pappardelle with polpette and tomato basil sauce (from the Jamie Cooks cookbook). Jamie doesn't specify what type of meat he'd like you to use for the mini meatballs and I should have known better than to buy the veal/pork/beef mixture from Wegmans. I should have gone with 85/15 ground beef from Whole Foods. For that matter, I should have just used my own meatball recipe. Jamie's got you adding in nutmeg and cinnamon and it just wasn't the right flavor or texture. I guess I should have taken it as a sign of things to come when Wegman's didn't have any pappardelle and I had to settle for farfalle. Wish us luck for the rest of the week.... we're trying out Jamie's recipe for Asparagus soup, "English" onion soup, risotto with walnuts, apples and gorgonzola and the piece de resistance... home made gnocci (with gorgonzola dolce sauce...). Jamie's shortbread is also on the list. Here's to hoping the rest of the week's choices will be better.

Shout out though to the Husband for making us some jello-pudding for dessert. (I think I made need a small PB&J sandwich before bed though)...

Weekend Update.

Last night the Husband and I watched "The Visitor". It was well told and everyone in it was good. I have to say though I think Richard Jenkins' Oscar nom was more of an acknowledgment of a 35 year acting career rather than a real shot at the award. His performance was understated, but I would have to give the Oscar to Brad Pitt... that being said, who knows what the academy will do, what with Sean Penn (egads!) and Frank Langella and all.... but I digress.

Today I went into the city and visited with Miss Em! We had a lovely lunch at Le Pain Quotidien and then saw Bride Wars! Bride Wars was cute-- got to love wedding humor. Some of the previews though were a little odd. One of them was for a new Sandra Bullock/Bradley Cooper vehicle-- it looked bad. Kind of along the lines of "Forces of Nature" except Poor Sandra is ten years older and Bradley Cooper is a poor-man's Ben Affleck, at best. (Her other movie that's due to come out, "The Proposal", with Ryan Reynolds looks a heck of a lot more promising...). Night at the Museum 2-- looks good. Monsters vs. Aliens... could be good (it is from the folks who brought us Kung Fu Panda, after all).

What else has been going on? Not too much. I finished the Rayski hat, with some pattern modifications (pictures to follow)... I also recently hosted a play date for a group of our Gymboree compatriots. I'm still recovering. It was truly amazing to see just how much food five toddlers and a four year old can consume. We easily went through 24 mini blueberry muffins, 8 large chocolate chip cookies, a pound of ham, four little debbie cakes, countless bagels, 10 juiceboxes and 6 YoKids yogurts... not to mention a few assorted pieces of fruit. Keep those calories coming we're growing little people over here!

Things We Love...

Bean Sprouts. (Tonight's dinner is stir fry...).

My ye old Messermeister Chef's knife that the Mom got me when I took Cooking at Cornell. It's still *really* sharp. (See Stir Fry above).

"I Will Remember You" (one of my favorite Eurythmics songs).

The soundtrack to "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (see Stir Fry, music for).

Zucchini.

Olivewood spoons.

"affected" rather than "respective" (see Loan Agreement, comments to).

Mandarin oranges.

Our little red rice cooker.

Spicy Chinese mustard.

Yellow rice.

New in Town

It appears that Governor Patterson has just appointed Renee Zellweger as the junior Senator from New York. Did you hear the speech, am I wrong?

Breakfast for Dinner!

In honor of Forever Wherever's Tasty Tuesday blogroll, today's Tasty Tuesday offering is "Breakfast for Dinner!"

Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to take any pictures... but here goes!

We started with Eggs Benedict! I made poached eggs, toasted up some of these newfangeled sandwich sized Thomas' English muffins and fried up some pieces of ham steak. Additionally, I used a Knorr Hollandaise sauce mix for the Hollandaise. Once the components are done, it's just a matter of stacking. (But beware, poached eggs can be slippery!).

For our side dishes I steamed some asparagus spears and I also made three pepper potatoes ala Sarabeths. For the potatoes I sauteed diced red, orange and green pepper, together with a bit of diced yellow sweet onion in olive oil until softened. Once the veggies have become soft, I added in a bag of diced potatoes from the grocery store. I proceeded to fry up the potatoes and the veggies on medium-high heat, adding a bit more olive oil as needed and liberally seasoning with fresh ground black pepper and kosher salt.

Go ahead, have breakfast for dinner!

More Burp Cloths!

Tonight's Dinner!

Tonight we had roasted asparagus wrapped in proscuitto (Giada's recipe)



as an appetizer and then for the main dish, fettucini with a veggie and tomato pasta sauce. I made the sauce by first sauteeing in olive oil one clove of garlic, minced, together with two small zucchinis which I sliced and cut into quarters. I also cut up a red pepper and added that to the pan, together with a handfull of sliced baby bella mushrooms. Once the veggies started to soften, I hadded a hand full of fresh arugula. Once the arugula was wilted, I added in a can of san marzano crushed tomatoes. I simmered the sauce and added a bit of fresh pepper, some salt, a touch of cream and some balsamic vinegar. By the time the pasta was cooked the sauce was ready to go to. It was light and fresh. Next time I think I would probably use a different pasta shape (maybe pappardelle?) but I certainly liked the veggie tastes.

Extreme Weather Conditions!

Today it snowed a bit. Not so much that you'd think too much of it, but the Husband and I were hanging out up in our bedroom while Miss B. took a nap today and all of a sudden we hear a thud and then Husband notices out the window a mass of snow fall out of one of the trees across the street.

Turns out, a car ran off the road across the street from the house. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the local PD showed up and then a tow-truck a little while after. I can say, I hadn't expected that!

Goop!

Here's a new blog from Gwyneth Paltrow called Goop. It's a Lifestyle blog (and it's got a lot of wacky "detoxification" stuff, but it also has neat fashion ideas, cooking tips and gift suggestions.

I Can't Get...

the smell of cheese off my hands! Scary! ;) Tonight we hit the grocery store en familie and then came home and had a food stupor inducing dinner. It was simple-- just sandwiches (lots of sandwiches)... we do love Giada's Tallegio, Pear and Arugula paninis and then the Husband made a good old fashioned italian sandwich with mortadella and fontinella. I also made a salad with fresh spring greens, goat cheese, dried cranberries, sourdough croutons and Newman's Own Balsamic Vinagrette. Quite simple and quite tasty. Tomorrow? Pasta with fresh veggies and asparagus wrapped in proscuitto.