Monday, February 21, 2005
Imagine Our Prez Here...
Sunday, February 20, 2005
This is a test
Monday, February 14, 2005
Allez Cuisine!
Sorry Dok, but I'm going to embarrass you here.
Derek made us a fantastic 5 course dinner last night, featuring chocolate in every dish. Wow and WOW! He substituted the meats with tofu, seitan, vegetable broth, etc. We also didn't know what we were having, and when we sat at the table he handed us a little menu explaining what was to come. It was sort of like being a judge on Iron Chef with chocolate as the theme ingredient.
His dad set the mood by setting a beautiful table with pink tulips and floating candles. We cracked open a bottle of wine I got from my old job - Sterling Vineyards Winery Lake '98 Pinot Noir. It was delicious!
He started with the cold appetizer: Savory Chocolate Napolean. It was a small layered treat of tempered dark chocolate (and this chocolate wasn't no Hersheys crap, it was 70% cocoa Sharffen Berger) and cream cheese with chives, paprika, salt and pepper. Divine.
The second course was a warm appetizer; Tofu topped with Chocolate-Zinfandel sauce. Cut in the shape of a heart, the tofu soaked up the delicious sauce, and it was topped with dried cherries. This sauce was the first thing he cooked earlier in the day, and the house smelled so fantastic.
Next was the main course: Rosemary and Hazelnut-Encrusted Seitan with Shallot Gravy. Oh. My. God. This was so good, we could have eaten it forever. I even sopped up the rest of my gravy with my finger. He substituted some of the flour with Dagoba cocoa powder. Genius!
The fourth course was a salad. The recipe called for cacao nibs, but D couldn't find them in town to save his life, and didn't have time to order them. He improvised by shaving a little unsweetened cocoa on the salad. He substituted the kale and dandelion with cabbage and lettuce, and it was so flavorful and refreshing. It seems wise to have salad after your main course, it was light and cleansed the palate.
By now we were on wine #2 - a special Barbera/Nebbiolo from Bonny Doon. We had to drink up though, as dessert was coming and it involved beer! Ok, now, I am a big fan of dessert, and when we go out to eat I usually get it, but oftentimes it isn't as good as it sounds or looks. Derek's Chocolate Joe with Chocolate Stout was one of the most delicious things I've ever had. Seriously. It was like a warm chocolate-coffee-brownie-cake served in a mug and topped with coffee-flavored whipped cream, which slowly melted and mixed in with the gooey chocolate.
The food, conversation, and family were all fabulous. We liked the idea of eating in courses and small delicous bites so much, we may do it for Thanksgiving! And the Winner is: Iron Chef Dok!
Derek made us a fantastic 5 course dinner last night, featuring chocolate in every dish. Wow and WOW! He substituted the meats with tofu, seitan, vegetable broth, etc. We also didn't know what we were having, and when we sat at the table he handed us a little menu explaining what was to come. It was sort of like being a judge on Iron Chef with chocolate as the theme ingredient.
His dad set the mood by setting a beautiful table with pink tulips and floating candles. We cracked open a bottle of wine I got from my old job - Sterling Vineyards Winery Lake '98 Pinot Noir. It was delicious!
He started with the cold appetizer: Savory Chocolate Napolean. It was a small layered treat of tempered dark chocolate (and this chocolate wasn't no Hersheys crap, it was 70% cocoa Sharffen Berger) and cream cheese with chives, paprika, salt and pepper. Divine.
The second course was a warm appetizer; Tofu topped with Chocolate-Zinfandel sauce. Cut in the shape of a heart, the tofu soaked up the delicious sauce, and it was topped with dried cherries. This sauce was the first thing he cooked earlier in the day, and the house smelled so fantastic.
Next was the main course: Rosemary and Hazelnut-Encrusted Seitan with Shallot Gravy. Oh. My. God. This was so good, we could have eaten it forever. I even sopped up the rest of my gravy with my finger. He substituted some of the flour with Dagoba cocoa powder. Genius!
The fourth course was a salad. The recipe called for cacao nibs, but D couldn't find them in town to save his life, and didn't have time to order them. He improvised by shaving a little unsweetened cocoa on the salad. He substituted the kale and dandelion with cabbage and lettuce, and it was so flavorful and refreshing. It seems wise to have salad after your main course, it was light and cleansed the palate.
By now we were on wine #2 - a special Barbera/Nebbiolo from Bonny Doon. We had to drink up though, as dessert was coming and it involved beer! Ok, now, I am a big fan of dessert, and when we go out to eat I usually get it, but oftentimes it isn't as good as it sounds or looks. Derek's Chocolate Joe with Chocolate Stout was one of the most delicious things I've ever had. Seriously. It was like a warm chocolate-coffee-brownie-cake served in a mug and topped with coffee-flavored whipped cream, which slowly melted and mixed in with the gooey chocolate.
The food, conversation, and family were all fabulous. We liked the idea of eating in courses and small delicous bites so much, we may do it for Thanksgiving! And the Winner is: Iron Chef Dok!
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Next Time on Arrested Development.....
Yes, more TV talk. Arrested Development has got to be the funniest show on television. The wit is quick, often subtle, always sublime. There is an interview on The Onion A.V. Club with creator Mitchell Hurwitz. The article gives the show's plot as such: "The sprawling cast centers on Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth, the nominal new head of a once-rich family that falls on slightly harder times when his father Jeffrey Tambor goes to prison for gross financial irregularities." One of the little funnies: Tambor's character is named George. His son, Bateman's character, is named Michael. So what does Michael name his son? George Michael. Still kills me every time he says it. The entire cast is hilarious. I can't do it justice.
A teaser for you....
Hurwitz's take on market testing:
"As a writer, as a creative person, you say, "Guys, I don't think we can just keep the peaks." It's a very common thing in entertainment. That's why a lot of movies suffer. It's like people having dinner and saying, "Boy, that dessert was good." "I thought so, too!" "Well, can we start with the dessert?" "Let's start with the cake, then bring out the salad." "Boy, the salad is testing badly now." "Let's bring out another piece of cake!" Then it's like, "Let's bring some heroin in. The cake isn't doing it anymore.""
Hurwitz on Ron Howard's narration of the show:
"He could say things like "Tobias boarded a van full of homosexuals…" with no spin on it."
Anyway, the show is one of the critically-acclaimed-but-low-in-ratings shows. Jason Bateman won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy. They are hoping the show will grow by word of mouth. Just doing my part.
A teaser for you....
Hurwitz's take on market testing:
"As a writer, as a creative person, you say, "Guys, I don't think we can just keep the peaks." It's a very common thing in entertainment. That's why a lot of movies suffer. It's like people having dinner and saying, "Boy, that dessert was good." "I thought so, too!" "Well, can we start with the dessert?" "Let's start with the cake, then bring out the salad." "Boy, the salad is testing badly now." "Let's bring out another piece of cake!" Then it's like, "Let's bring some heroin in. The cake isn't doing it anymore.""
Hurwitz on Ron Howard's narration of the show:
"He could say things like "Tobias boarded a van full of homosexuals…" with no spin on it."
Anyway, the show is one of the critically-acclaimed-but-low-in-ratings shows. Jason Bateman won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy. They are hoping the show will grow by word of mouth. Just doing my part.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Disco
As we have been sitting around sick all week, we've been able to make time with the Tivo. Here are some cool shows we've been watching.
FILLMORE - ABC and Disney
Fillmore is a great toon about the X Middle School Safety Patrol (props to Paul for pointing it out to us). It is smart and funny, and the safety patrol is run like some prime time cop show. Cornelius Fillmore and Ingrid Third are partners working the beat, stopping test heists, putt-putt crime rings, and usually destroying the school clubs' property in the process. They answer to Commissioner Vallejo (voiced by Horatio Sanz of SNL), a fellow student. Other voice actors include Wendie Malick, Jeff Probst, Kyle Gass, and Lauren Tom (the voice of Amy Wong on Futurama and the female Souphanousinphone's on King of the Hill). Hard to describe, better if you just catch an episode. Owen claims that "Fillmore is cool!".
CHEAP SEATS (without Ron Parker) - ESPN Classic
I've always liked the Sklar Brothers, ever since I saw them on Apartment 2F on MTV long, long ago. Man, that was a funny show. Anyway, Randy and Jason can now be found on ESPN Classic on Cheap Seats, poking fun of strange "sporting" events in the ESPN vault, as well as old matchups (like the upcoming Oilers v. Redwings game with an 18 year old Wayne Gretzky). The recent Putt Putt episode had us in hysterics. The show is like a cross between Pop Up Video and Mystery Science Theater 3000. Good stuff.
TOM GOES TO THE MAYOR - Adult Swim, Cartoon Network
Ok, we saw the creators Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim on The Screen Savers, and they were so odd they were funny. TGTTM is done in an odd animated style, and the premise is: "Tom Peters is full of ideas. The Mayor is eager to embrace almost any proposal, as long as it is accompanied by a snazzy Powerpoint presentation or a cool musical number." Whats not to like? For you Adult Swim fans, keep your eyes open for Robot Chicken at the end of February.
HENRY'S FILM CORNER - IFC
Yep, Henry Rollins has his own show. This one is a little harder to Tivo, since some genius somewhere has listed it as a "special' instead of a "series", so you can't get a season pass. What-evah. Anyway, Henry rants, does honest film reviews with directors, actors, his friends, a plumber, a teacher... just regular folks. The last one we watched was about the Oscar's, and he had this to say: "I think it's too bad that we put so much emphasis on winning when it comes to art. Art is art It does not win or lose, it just does it's thing." "Art does not need a trophy, you do not need to stand there and wave and hope it's you, just show up and do your thing and stop fucking around, and we'll be just fine." "Let art be art, stop qualifying it, quantifying it, and telling it it's a good dog. Art will survive."
FILLMORE - ABC and Disney
Fillmore is a great toon about the X Middle School Safety Patrol (props to Paul for pointing it out to us). It is smart and funny, and the safety patrol is run like some prime time cop show. Cornelius Fillmore and Ingrid Third are partners working the beat, stopping test heists, putt-putt crime rings, and usually destroying the school clubs' property in the process. They answer to Commissioner Vallejo (voiced by Horatio Sanz of SNL), a fellow student. Other voice actors include Wendie Malick, Jeff Probst, Kyle Gass, and Lauren Tom (the voice of Amy Wong on Futurama and the female Souphanousinphone's on King of the Hill). Hard to describe, better if you just catch an episode. Owen claims that "Fillmore is cool!".
CHEAP SEATS (without Ron Parker) - ESPN Classic
I've always liked the Sklar Brothers, ever since I saw them on Apartment 2F on MTV long, long ago. Man, that was a funny show. Anyway, Randy and Jason can now be found on ESPN Classic on Cheap Seats, poking fun of strange "sporting" events in the ESPN vault, as well as old matchups (like the upcoming Oilers v. Redwings game with an 18 year old Wayne Gretzky). The recent Putt Putt episode had us in hysterics. The show is like a cross between Pop Up Video and Mystery Science Theater 3000. Good stuff.
TOM GOES TO THE MAYOR - Adult Swim, Cartoon Network
Ok, we saw the creators Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim on The Screen Savers, and they were so odd they were funny. TGTTM is done in an odd animated style, and the premise is: "Tom Peters is full of ideas. The Mayor is eager to embrace almost any proposal, as long as it is accompanied by a snazzy Powerpoint presentation or a cool musical number." Whats not to like? For you Adult Swim fans, keep your eyes open for Robot Chicken at the end of February.
HENRY'S FILM CORNER - IFC
Yep, Henry Rollins has his own show. This one is a little harder to Tivo, since some genius somewhere has listed it as a "special' instead of a "series", so you can't get a season pass. What-evah. Anyway, Henry rants, does honest film reviews with directors, actors, his friends, a plumber, a teacher... just regular folks. The last one we watched was about the Oscar's, and he had this to say: "I think it's too bad that we put so much emphasis on winning when it comes to art. Art is art It does not win or lose, it just does it's thing." "Art does not need a trophy, you do not need to stand there and wave and hope it's you, just show up and do your thing and stop fucking around, and we'll be just fine." "Let art be art, stop qualifying it, quantifying it, and telling it it's a good dog. Art will survive."
