. . . to the Blazers, who, thankfully, took care of business tonight.
. . . to my brother Ryan, or Jimmy, or Rimmy (whichever you prefer) for making it to 33 and celebrating by fishing, snowboarding, kiteboarding, mountain biking, and skateboarding. All in one day. (J-Bro dubbed today "Jimmy's very extreme day") He also did it all wearing a Breakin' tee.
. . . to the interwebs for providing me with this recipe, which, halved, cooked in a loaf pan and topped with chocolate ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream, made a very serviceable birthday cake for said brother.
. . . to Jim Rome for making me laugh out loud by talking about KG's bench antics. Seriously, that is some funny shit.
. . .to Qwanty for bringing the Brain Scientist and her sweet self to PDX tomorrow. Here's to our old haunts and to reconnecting with people we haven't seen in a long time. And to Black Butte Porter and Grilled Cheese Deluxe and DJ Greg. It's going to be super fun to have you here, K-dot!
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
21 April 2009
23 February 2009
Piece of Cake
Tonight, while I was making cupcakes to take to class tomorrow morning (for my birthday), I started thinking about something that has been bothering me for a long time, but which I have not spoken about to anyone. See, I watch a lot of Food Network programing. I like watching people cook a lot. I'm not sure why I find it entertaining, but I do. And, for the most part, I find almost anyone entertaining to watch. But there are two groups of people I don't enjoying watching:
1. Emeril. I guess that he is not really a "group" of chefs. But I don't like the guy.
2. (And this is what I really wanted to discuss in this post.) The dilettante cooks. This group includes Ellie Krieger (from Healthy Appetites), Sandra Lee (Semi-Homemade), Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) and--the absolute worst--Giada deLarentiis. There are multiple reasons to dislike all of these women, but the thing that really bothers me, and what all of them have in common, is the super delicate way that they all handle food. All four of them have well-manicured nails (one of the ways you can tell that they are dilettantes) and everything that they do with food, whether it is chopping (which, by definition, is a sort of violent act, right?) to zesting, to stirring, is really gentle and ladylike. Who cooks like that? Seriously? A lot of cooking is sort of vigorous. If you are all concerned about not chipping a nail how can you appropriately mix, grate, mince, knead? Often you need to get in there and work your food. These women don't do that, and that makes all their food suspect. Lesser complaints about these women include: Ellie Kreiger puts lo-fat cheese into everything. That is gross and unnecessary. Sandra Lee 1) uses cans and mixes all the time and 2) ends every show with a themed "tablescape"--which is a word that no one should ever use. My biggest beef with Ina Garten (besides the fact that she is too dainty when she stirs things) is that she has somehow managed to marry a man rich enough to keep her in a nice house and to not have to work so that she can just cook food for all her fabulous gay friends. I am sort of jealous. I want a gay gardener friend, a gay foodie friend, a gay shopping friend, a gay florist friend, just to throw fabulous luncheons for. (I mean, I've got Dr. Awesome, but he doesn't have a whole lot of time for me now that he is busy saving children from disease.) But Giada. Don't even get me started. Who can't boil pasta and make 4-ingredient sauces and salads? There's no talent needed for that. It's ridiculous. I agree with Jeffrey Steingarten that the only reason that she has a cooking show is that she is sort of pretty.
That's it. I feel better now that this is off my chest. But don't take my word for it. See for yourself. It just seems wrong.
(By the way--I made devil's food cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting, and polenta cupcakes with lime cream cheese frosting. I do not use boxed cake mixes. That's another rant all together.)
1. Emeril. I guess that he is not really a "group" of chefs. But I don't like the guy.
2. (And this is what I really wanted to discuss in this post.) The dilettante cooks. This group includes Ellie Krieger (from Healthy Appetites), Sandra Lee (Semi-Homemade), Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) and--the absolute worst--Giada deLarentiis. There are multiple reasons to dislike all of these women, but the thing that really bothers me, and what all of them have in common, is the super delicate way that they all handle food. All four of them have well-manicured nails (one of the ways you can tell that they are dilettantes) and everything that they do with food, whether it is chopping (which, by definition, is a sort of violent act, right?) to zesting, to stirring, is really gentle and ladylike. Who cooks like that? Seriously? A lot of cooking is sort of vigorous. If you are all concerned about not chipping a nail how can you appropriately mix, grate, mince, knead? Often you need to get in there and work your food. These women don't do that, and that makes all their food suspect. Lesser complaints about these women include: Ellie Kreiger puts lo-fat cheese into everything. That is gross and unnecessary. Sandra Lee 1) uses cans and mixes all the time and 2) ends every show with a themed "tablescape"--which is a word that no one should ever use. My biggest beef with Ina Garten (besides the fact that she is too dainty when she stirs things) is that she has somehow managed to marry a man rich enough to keep her in a nice house and to not have to work so that she can just cook food for all her fabulous gay friends. I am sort of jealous. I want a gay gardener friend, a gay foodie friend, a gay shopping friend, a gay florist friend, just to throw fabulous luncheons for. (I mean, I've got Dr. Awesome, but he doesn't have a whole lot of time for me now that he is busy saving children from disease.) But Giada. Don't even get me started. Who can't boil pasta and make 4-ingredient sauces and salads? There's no talent needed for that. It's ridiculous. I agree with Jeffrey Steingarten that the only reason that she has a cooking show is that she is sort of pretty.
That's it. I feel better now that this is off my chest. But don't take my word for it. See for yourself. It just seems wrong.
(By the way--I made devil's food cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting, and polenta cupcakes with lime cream cheese frosting. I do not use boxed cake mixes. That's another rant all together.)
15 July 2008
After the Party
Tonight I had Laura, my cousin and his very wonderful boyfriend over for dinner. It has been a long time since I've cooked for anyone. I forgot how it is one of my very, very favorite things to do.
And not to be a "self-tooter" (that is, according to ZAD, a person who toots his/her own horn), but I was super pleased with dinner. It consisted of: risotto with a bunch of different cheeses and cherry tomatoes and basil; grilled swordfish (for the vegetarian ladies) and grilled pork steaks (for the meat-eating carnivorous menfolk) over a bed of field greens and green beans dressed with a lemon/olive oil dressing. For dessert, polenta cake (oh how I love the gritty & sweet polenta cake!) with mixed berries and whipped cream. The guys said that the pork was well cooked. I hope that was true--I couldn't verify it. But the risotto was really, really good.
Here's the thing--I used Jamie Oliver's basic recipe which calls for celery (I don't know why this makes it taste better, but it does. And it adds a little extra texture) and vermouth. You must use the vermouth. It is better for risotto than plain white wine. Trust me. Or don't. Trust Jamie Oliver. He's rarely wrong about these things.
Dinner seemed like a success, and it helped to get rid of stuff in my cabinets that has to disappear shortly--a box of arborio rice, half a bottle of Bombay Sapphire, a bottle of wine, flour and corn meal, the end of a bottle of Mexican vanilla.
AND, since I made ZAD promise not to bring a bottle of wine, Sean made me a new mix as a hostess gift. He almost called it Kristin-nacht, which is in horribly bad taste, but is kind of funny nevertheless. Instead it is just labeled "Kristin's Dinner Party Mix." And I'm going to listen to it tomorrow as I'm packing. YAY!
***
Perhaps some of you have heard me tell the story that my mother always tells--when my parents started going out after I was born, my mom would come home at night, no matter how late, and tell me about their night--where they ate, what they ate, what kind of wine they had. This is when I was a baby. I remember being very little--maybe five or six--and her waking me up smelling like perfume and lipstick and wine. I think that this is one of the most endearing things about my mother--that even though I couldn't understand what she was talking about, she had missed me enough over just the course of the evening that she wanted to make that contact with me, and to share what she had been doing while we had been separated.
So, dear readers, imagine that I have come to check on you and tuck you in. And I smell of Aveda lotion and Bonnie Bell lemonade lip balm and white wine and I'm whispering in the dark: risotto, chardonnay, swordfish, raspberries, Naked Chef, mixed CD . . .
Now go back to sleep. Tomorrow it will seem like a dream--
And not to be a "self-tooter" (that is, according to ZAD, a person who toots his/her own horn), but I was super pleased with dinner. It consisted of: risotto with a bunch of different cheeses and cherry tomatoes and basil; grilled swordfish (for the vegetarian ladies) and grilled pork steaks (for the meat-eating carnivorous menfolk) over a bed of field greens and green beans dressed with a lemon/olive oil dressing. For dessert, polenta cake (oh how I love the gritty & sweet polenta cake!) with mixed berries and whipped cream. The guys said that the pork was well cooked. I hope that was true--I couldn't verify it. But the risotto was really, really good.
Here's the thing--I used Jamie Oliver's basic recipe which calls for celery (I don't know why this makes it taste better, but it does. And it adds a little extra texture) and vermouth. You must use the vermouth. It is better for risotto than plain white wine. Trust me. Or don't. Trust Jamie Oliver. He's rarely wrong about these things.
Dinner seemed like a success, and it helped to get rid of stuff in my cabinets that has to disappear shortly--a box of arborio rice, half a bottle of Bombay Sapphire, a bottle of wine, flour and corn meal, the end of a bottle of Mexican vanilla.
AND, since I made ZAD promise not to bring a bottle of wine, Sean made me a new mix as a hostess gift. He almost called it Kristin-nacht, which is in horribly bad taste, but is kind of funny nevertheless. Instead it is just labeled "Kristin's Dinner Party Mix." And I'm going to listen to it tomorrow as I'm packing. YAY!
***
Perhaps some of you have heard me tell the story that my mother always tells--when my parents started going out after I was born, my mom would come home at night, no matter how late, and tell me about their night--where they ate, what they ate, what kind of wine they had. This is when I was a baby. I remember being very little--maybe five or six--and her waking me up smelling like perfume and lipstick and wine. I think that this is one of the most endearing things about my mother--that even though I couldn't understand what she was talking about, she had missed me enough over just the course of the evening that she wanted to make that contact with me, and to share what she had been doing while we had been separated.
So, dear readers, imagine that I have come to check on you and tuck you in. And I smell of Aveda lotion and Bonnie Bell lemonade lip balm and white wine and I'm whispering in the dark: risotto, chardonnay, swordfish, raspberries, Naked Chef, mixed CD . . .
Now go back to sleep. Tomorrow it will seem like a dream--
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