Finally!

Boss B gave me a lovely gift card to Williams-Sonoma (yet more cooking gifts), so I decided to buy something I've been eyeing for the longest time. It's one of those things that I would never buy out of my own money because it's extravagant and it's not necessary to spend that much money on that type of item.

Here they are:


Yes, they're measuring cups and spoons, but they're not just any measuring cups/spoons. They're ALL-CLAD measuring cups/spoons! The cups look like miniature All-Clad pots! It's so incredibly cute and I'm figuring that these are the only measuring cups that could put a dent into an intruder's skull.

So I finally caved and got measuring cups. The spoons were a bonus, and I've now got 4 sets of measuring spoons. I guess I could toss the flimsy old metal ones as the increment impressions have worn away. My other set is the Williams-Sonoma narrow measuring spoons which fit into spice jars easily. They're awesome. I actually did not have dry measuring cups until I got this set. It's quite shocking, considering all the baking I do. I always figured that I was doing okay with the Pyrex measuring cups (which are really meant for liquids), and didn't have to buy dry measuring cups. I figured I'd register for them some day.

Thanks to Boss B, I don't have to wait for my unnecessarily fancy measuring cups! I've already used them for two recipes and they really do make the process a lot easier. I'm sure I'll be able to churn out 1000 cookies next Christmas, no problem!

From me to me

Every year, I buy a Christmas present for myself. This year, I bought two, because I'm weak and have no willpower.



On the left is a goldstone necklace I bought at the Union Square holiday fair. The picture doesn't do it justice, as the stone glitters in the light. And on the right is an example of my strange obsession with finding the perfect Mary Jane style shoe. Yes, there are a lot of shoes in this style, but oftentimes, they're embellished with funky accents and odd color schemes. I like my shoes classic, so I don't have to throw them away after one season. My favorite pair of Nine West MJ shoes are 5 years old and I still wear them. Anyways, the new shoes arrived today and I LOVE them, despite the front being a bit too short to cover up my toe cleavage. I understand that some people find toe cleavage arousing, but sorry, I'm not one of them. If I wear stockings, it's not noticeable. The shoes are also strangely comfortable. Yay!

Bakefest 2006

After last year's Bake-a-palooza, I realized I wanted to give even more cookie bags out atwork,stretching beyond my department and into different departments I deal with (like managing ed). This year, I made gingersnaps, rugelach (apricot and chocolate varieties), chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate-hazelnut cookies. I baked the gingersnaps and half of the chocolate-hazelnuts on Saturday (12/16) and the rest of the menu on Sunday (12/17). I didn't expect to bake the chocolate-hazelnuts twice, but Josh didn't give me the required number for his work gifts until after I finished my cookie ingredient math. If I hadn't gone back to make more chocolate-hazelnut cookies on Sunday, I wouldn't have stayed up until 1 a.m. packaging all of the gifts.


I baked almost 500 cookies last weekend. I made 47 cookie bags, 35 for me and 12 for Josh. I thought it was going to be a chaotic mess in my kitchen, but it was surprisingly organized. Things worked pretty well, thanks to my Christmas gift from Jennie and Julie, seen left. They got me the Williams-Sonoma set of three melamine mixing bowls. They are adorable and so very practical, with some rubber on the bottom, keeping them from sliding while in use. Thanks so much, Jennie and Julie!! I also had a system for putting cookies in the oven. You'd think that it would be better to have two trays going at once, but I found that the best way for me was to do one tray at a time. Using that method, I would have one tray in the oven, one cooling, and one being prepped with dough for the next batch. It made the whole experience much smoother.

In retrospect, I don't think I would've made the rugelach. It's a difficult cookie, especially when you're trying to make 12 dozen of them. I got a lot of compliments on them, which makes the effort worthwhile, and a bunch of people asked for the recipe too. It's fairly easy to make the dough; it's just a little complex to put the cookies together. Despite the availability of a decent rugelach recipe, I wonder why so many of the rugelach I eat are dry and bland.

Our department holiday party was on Tuesday, and I was really tired from baking so much over the weekend, so I said I wouldn't bring anything this year. I figured everything would be okay because I'd just given out so many cookie bags, but then a managing editor from an imprint I don't even work on was upset (jokingly, I'm sure) to find out that I hadn't provided cookies for her department.

Sigh. It appears I will be making 40 cookie bags for work next year.

Spicier!

I ran out of cinnamon a few weeks ago and bought some at the local grocery store. When I opened the jar, it smelled so weak and not very cinnamon-like. Shows what you get for buying cheapo spices. My last jar was from a gourmet market close to wear I used to live in Manhattan. I was planning on going back there, but remembered that there's a Penzey's Spices in Grand Central Market. I had gone to bed at 10:00 on Friday night, so I woke up bright and early at 8 a.m. on Saturday, getting me to the market just after it opened. I've walked through the Grand Central Market a couple times, but never actually shopped there. I was delighted to find a Murray's Cheese and Li-Lac Chocolates there as well. The Penzey's staff is very nice and the prices are great. I got a bottle of Chinese cassia for $3.29 (The cinnamon you see in stores is really cassia. Real cinnamon - ceylon cinnamon - is rarer and more pricey.)! If you buy nicer spices at the supermarket, they usually cost around $5. I am definitely a Penzey's convert.

I got a pleasant surprise on Friday. My awesome brother bought me the Le Creuset Buffet Casserole that I've been drooling over for the longest time. It's kiwi green and so darned cute! I used it for the first time on Saturday and made chicken curry. This holiday season has been so good, giving me an All-Clad roasting pan and a Le Creuset pot! I'm already thinking about how I can turn some of my recipes into one-pot meals, like my chicken stew with parsley biscuit topping. Is it odd for me to want cooking and baking equipment instead of jewelry and clothes? Yup, it's pretty weird, when you look at other women my age.

My obituary will say...

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

It's kind of creepy, since I like to bake so much. And I enjoy smirking.

A nice weekend

Yesterday, Josh and I finally saw Casino Royale. It was pretty good. Definitely an improvement over the past couple Pierce Brosnan movies. After that, we headed into Manhattan. We meant to run a few errands, but the lines in Petco and Trader Joe's were too long. And then while in front of Whole Foods, Josh decided to go to Williams-Sonoma. I never argue with a trip to Williams-Sonoma even when you have to walk a few avenues and blocks to get there on a cold and windy day.

While I was there, I saw all these things that I want, but really don't need. I'll just keep them in mind for the day I have to register for my wedding... if I ever get married. Josh bought me the All-Clad petite roti pan (everyday roasting pan) I've been drooling over for the longest time. I'm very excited to try it out, so I'll be roasting a chicken for dinner tonight over fennel, carrots, and onions.

Cupcakes, cupcakes everywhere

I've completed my assignment.

72 cupcakes for an office party. Well, I'm actually delivering 76 because that's how many fit into the boxes. I heard that the invitation went to 75 people, so I should be covering myself by delivering 76, and only 72 were ordered anyways. As you can see, I'm worrying.

I'm worrying because this assignment wasn't for fun - it was the first time I had been offered a commission to bake something. If it works out, somebody else could hire me to cater dessert (I hope in a smaller quantity).



The original order was 72 vanilla cupcakes with chocolate and vanilla buttercream frosting, all made from scratch. Last night, I decided to make about 2 dozen chocolate cupcakes for some variety as well. Let's make things more difficult and complicated! At least I didn't go forward with the red velvet cupcake plan. Maybe for the Christmas party though... Anyways, I used the Magnolia chocolate cupcake recipe. The batter very different from what I expected. It was really fluffy, almost mousse-like. The cakes turned out very soft, which is something I don't like in a cupcake because frosting becomes quite difficult. The vanilla ones were from an Ina Garten recipe and they were a bit more dense and easier to frost.

And then to make things more difficult for when I have to set up for the party, I had to have sprinkles, because if people are paying for cupcakes, they should get sprinkles, dammit!

Kitties meet Bingo

*Burp!* Excuse me.

I brought Morty and Eli back to my parents' house (the house where I grew up) this past Wednesday. Bingo was very excited to meet any feline cousin, and was super excited when he found out that there were two kitties to play with. The cats were so upset by the car ride that it was best they be left alone in my room. When my brother got home, Bingo went nuts sniffing his bag, thinking, "Did YOU bring home a kitty too??!!"


Morty would back away and hiss at Bingo, and also hisssed at my parents. I was so embarrassed. Bingo never barked or growled at the kitties; his tail never stopped wagging. One time when Morty hissed at Bingo, I hissed back at Morty to discipline him, and Bingo barked at me in defense of Morty, even though the little bugger didn't deserve any help from Bingo.



Eli never hissed at Bingo. Now, Eli is a real scaredy cat, even on his home turf. If someone comes to the apartment, he will run behind the couch and stay there for a goodly portion of their visit. So when he was plopped into a brand new place with this waggy dog running around, he ran for cover.... except there wasn't anywhere to run in my room. He took to hiding under the blankets (all three layers) and inside pillow cases. Look at his unhappy face in the above left picture when I was taking pictures of him in his hiding place. They say cats can't make facial expressions, but I do believe Eli is frowning at me and glaring.

Despite Eli's scaredy cat ways, he left the room (with me supervising closely) and walked up to Bingo and sniffed his butt. That is very courageous for Eli. True, he ran back into the room when Bingo turned around, realizing that his much beloved kitty cousin actually stepped toward him. At home, Eli will take the long way around Josh, rather than entertain the possibility that he'll be in grabbing distance of Josh. However, Eli would jump onto a bed right next to Bingo with no problem because I think he knew that Bingo would not hurt him. I love the picture of him and Bingo looking out the window together. They're so cute it hurts! When the kitties were packed up in their crates, Bingo freaked out at the sight of Eli in the soft-sided carrier. He kept pawing at the sides and tried biting the top. It was like he wanted to free Eli. When my dad opened the carrier a little to let Eli poke his head out, Bingo was quiet and sat down, glad that Eli was out. As soon as Eli was locked back up, Bingo would start trying to rescue him again. Please note that this entire time, Bingo did not try to help Morty, who was sulking in his carrier.

On our last night, Bingo kept scratching at my door, so I let him into the room. Otherwise, I wasn't going to get any sleep and we had to leave early in the morning for NY. Bingo was good and jumped on my bed to sleep. However, he'd look up once in a while when one of the cats walked around. Overall, he was very well behaved. Bingo was actually instrumental in preventing something really bad from happening. The previous night, Morty had escaped and run downstairs to the living room, and my dad thought that I hadn't closed my door, which I didn't think possible. So the night that Bingo was in the room, he woke me up with his whining. I heard a click, and it was Morty opening the door! Apparently, he'd figured out that if he stretched out against the door and put his paws on the lever (thank goodness my apartment door has a knob), he could get the door to open. I grabbed Morty and put a doorstop to keep him in the room. I didn't hear anything else all night, and in the morning, everyone seemed to get along better. I even managed to snap this picture of all three on the same bed.

Of course, Morty has to be ensconced in the bed my mom bought them. Notice the way he's positioned in the exact middle of the bed, so Eli has to squeeze into the sides if he wants a piece of the bed their grandma bought them. From the way the picture looks, you'd think all got along after that, but Morty hissed a little while later and I put him in his crate early for the trip home. Hopefully the next visit will go better, but at least I know that the kitties can travel to NJ, even if they don't really like it.

My first turkey

Morty ponders the Verrazano Bridge.

My cousin left on Tuesday morning, leaving me with the rest of the day
to make desserts for Thanksgiving. I produced two apple cakes (one for Josh's family) and chocolate mousse. Our plan was for a quick getaway from Brooklyn on Wednesday afternoon, so there would be no time for baking the next day. Unfortunately, I didn't get home as early as I expected on Wednesday because my grandmother was in the hospital with an infection. My bosses were quite kind and let me leave at 12:30 (I felt bad because I'd taken Monday and Tuesday off) so I could visit her. I left the hospital at 2:30 and wound up on the same subway car as Josh in Brooklyn (a very big coincidence). We left NY in good time, but Morty kept crying and going nuts in his carrier.

Before this Thanksgiving, I had never roasted a turkey before, and my parents were of no help as they'd never made one either. My brother and I turned to our mentor, Alton Brown, for guidance. For the first time in family history, the Thanksgiving turkey would go into a brine. I wound up getting up at 7 on Turkey Day to put the bird in the brine. However, I didn't think about how much two-plus gallons of brine with an 18 lb. turkey would weigh. I'm happy to say that I didn't break my back or drop the bucket. The turkey turned out fine in the end, despite setting off the smoke alarm during its initial browning phase at 500 degrees. Thankfully the 500 degree period was only for a half hour. Our turkey took two and a half hours to roast in total and we had white meat only, but it was the juiciest and most flavorful turkey I've had (white or dark meat). I am definitely brining my turkey from now on.

Aside from the turkey, my mom told me that I'd be in charge of Thanksgiving and do all the cooking while she'd wash my dishes. So the night before T-Day, I made a turkey lasagna per my parents' request. On the day of, I made gravy from scratch and roasted garlic mashed potatoes. It was a little daunting to be in charge of dinner, with my aunt asking me, "So should I make samosas now?" Luckily, I had a bunch of cousins for sous chefs. "Peel the potatoes! Mash the potatoes! Get me flour! Stir the gravy! Fondle these turkey gizzards!" Just kidding on the last one. Of everything I made, I think I liked the gravy the most, which had a base of onions sauteed in butter. It was so packed with flavor and utterly delicious. Mmm. Everything's better with gravy.

Running the kitchen turned out to be a nice challenge, and what self-respecting NYC foodie trapped in an inadequate kitchen would turn her back on a huge kitchen equipped with a six-burner Wolf range and matching exhaust hood (my stove doesn't have a hood and makes for interesting dances around the smoke alarm)?

Scarves

My knitting skillz (of course with a Z) still limit me to scarves. I don't think it's a big deal since I don't see the need to knit sweaters or socks. I'll buy those! Maybe I'll get into hats soon, as I hate the ugly hat I've been wearing for the past few winters.

The three scarves are the projects I've finished most recently. The dark green on the left is Josh's, the middle one is mine, and the last one was a present for a friend. It's the "Cashmere Boyfriend Scarf" from Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Knitted Gifts. It's an easy pattern that I didn't have any problems remembering, and it goes very quickly. I think I might make a fourth scarf for my father, as his birthday is coming up.

A brush with fame

My cousin Jessica is visiting! Thanks to her visit, I've taken tomorrow and Tuesday off, therefore leaving me with just about half a day of work on Wednesday as our company usually lets us out early in the day.

This morning, we met some of our other relatives for dim sum before church. At first, I was amazed that everyone was there on time at 9:30. If you aren't Asian, you probably aren't familiar with the concept of "Asian time," where your elders tell you that you need to be somewhere at a certain time, and you make the effort to be there on time, but everyone else is at least half an hour late. The best example of this is a wedding banquet. The invitation says you have to be there at 6, but dinner doesn't actually get served until 8. It's wise to eat beforehand.

The second thing that amazed me? Well, the guy pictured to the left. Yup, none other than Mario Batali, owner of Babbo and one of the Iron Chefs. I was sitting there with my selection of dim sum and turned around to look at the next group being seated. I looked up and found myself staring right in Batali's face. I gasped and turned back to my plate quickly. I think my face turned red, because this was a very cool celebrity sighting for me. I actually think he's awesome! I sat there trying not to make a big deal, so I turned to Jessica to tell her about the utter coolness of the situation.

ME
Oh my God! It's Mario Batali!

JESSICA
Mary who?

ME
Mario Batali! From Iron Chef America!

JESSICA
What?

ME
Argh!

My other cousin knew who it was, but nobody else at the table knew about Mario Batali. However, right after we got out of the restaurant, I whipped out my cell phone and called Josh, who declined on attending 9:30 dim sum on Sunday, holy day for football fans.

ME
Oh my God! Mario Batali was at dim sum!

JOSH
Huh?

ME
He was at the next table! It was so cool!

JOSH
I don't want to talk about this. I'm mad.

ME
Why?

JOSH
Because I wasn't there.

I thought one of the best parts was when the waiter was asking Batali what he wanted and he said, "Weird stuff! We love the weird stuff!" He really seems as nice as he is when he's cooking on Iron Chef America. Yay! My first genuine celebrity sighting!

Poor Morty!

Last night, Morty was rolling around on his donut bed and I saw this pink patch on the inside of his foreleg. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that he had licked off his fur and the first layer of skin so badly that it was almost scabbing over. I freaked out and tried to figure out what was wrong. Is he developing OCD and going to lick himself bald with his need to be clean? Then I thought he could've developed feline hyperesthesia syndrome, where they groom to the point of mutilation. Apparently, symptoms include skin twitching, tail lashing, sudden bursts of activy, and darting around wildly. My cat does all those things!

When I got to work, I called the 5th Avenue Cat Clinic, but there were no appointments until Sunday. On my second try, I called Animal Kind Veterinary Hospital, where I got Morty an appointment for 4:30. So Josh did his fatherly duty and took Morty to the vet as soon as he got back from an exhausting day of teaching.

The vet says it isn't ringworm (I knew that) or fleas (where would he get those from??), and that Morty probably got a mosquito bite and the itchiness drove him bonkers. So now Morty's got to wear that elizabethan collar for 7-10 days and take some antibiotics.

Poor Morty has been slinking around the apartment pathetically all night. He keeps bumping into things and got stuck on the vacuum cleaner as well since he can't use his whiskers to support his peripheral vision.

I'll also have to take Morty and Eli back to NJ with me for Turkey Day instead of leaving them here for Amber to check on. I can't ask Amber to give my cat a pill and ointment every 12 hours! So it'll be really interesting. My mom's really excited to meet her grandkitties and has already purchased them a bed shaped like a couch. Hoo boy.

Where's Dora?

Dora is currently sucked into Animal Crossing on her DS.

Well, I'm actually a little obsessed with turning my town into a money-making orchard. I'm sure I'll be bored by the game within a month. Currently, cherries, apples, pears, and oranges are thriving in my town of Heck.

In other news, I finally went to the dentist after not seeing one for the past 2 1/2 years. I really like my new dentist! Hurray!

5 cavities. Bummer.

I spent $186 getting just TWO of them filled this weekend. I don't mind the drilling and stuff. It's just the price tag that throws me.

And I just found out today that my brother and I are going to roast the 18 lb monster turkey my parents bought for Thanksgiving. Yikes. My first turkey! Aside from the turkey, I'll also be responsible for the mashed potatoes and some dessert. Right now, I'm definitely going to bring my apple cake (it's not rich or too sweet), and debating on a pear clafouti or some cupcakes. I think I'll do the clafouti because it requires less work. I'll do a test drive this week and bring in the results to the office.

Sunday

I watched part of the marathon go by from my seat in the laundromat.

Last night, Josh celebrated his birthday with some of his fellow Fellows at Union Hall. Since Josh sent out the e-mail on Friday, not very many people could make it, so there were only 5 of us in total. We played some bocce, my first time, and none of us knew the rules. I was actually kinda bored by the game, so I was relieved when they stopped playing. While I was playing, I was wondering if the bar realized the risk they were bearing by providing this game for its patrons. A drunk guy could very easily try playing bocce and accidentally heave one of the surprisingly heavy balls into the crowd. We're not even talking about the angry drunk guy who tries to use a bocce ball to pummel a victim.

The one funny thing that came out of bocce? Josh was on the red team and I was on the blue team. My teammate pointed out that Josh was using the wrong bocce ball and I quipped, "Unless you want blue balls."

Today, Josh went to the Giants game with Dave and Jeff. I gave up my ticket so he could go with his best friends. While he was gone, I made a turkey lasagna. The recipe called for turkey sausage, but the store didn't have any. Gasp! I bought ground turkey meat and figured that I could fake the sausage flavor by adding in spices. I checked a few recipes and figured that there's a basic spice mix: fennel seed, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. There are usually a few more ingredients, but I didn't have much to work with. The best part was toasting the fennel seeds and then pulverizing them with a mallet. I never realized that fennel seeds smelled so good when toasted and crushed into powder. In the end, the turkey lasagna turned out just fine and probably healther than if I'd used turkey sausage.

Perfect Popcorn

A couple weeks ago, I tried Alton Brown's technique for perfect popcorn. Basically, you put some olive oil, popping corn, and salt in a big stainless steel bowl, cover with foil, poke holes in foil, and shake the bowl on a stove burner on medium heat. It takes a few minutes, and when they're all done popping, you top with melted butter. I put a twist on the recipe by tossing in a couple spoons of grated parmesan and presto! The cheapest, best popcorn ever. I bought a bag of Goya popping corn for $0.79 and got 4 huge bowls of popcorn out of it! I'm never going back to packaged microwave popcorn again!

Six Degrees

Yesterday, I was on Carmine St. and saw a production crew filming for Six Degrees at Trattoria Oreste. As I have never seen the show, I couldn't pick out the actors from across the street.

Booties for Boots

Have you ever had a problem wearing socks in half-calf boots? I find that with walking, the socks slip down and the tops of the boots wind up rubbing my skin raw. So I wore my new boots for the second time yesterday. The first time, I went out with Josh and did a lot of walking and paid the price. So when I got to work yesterday morning, the thick knee-high socks I was wearing had already slipped down.

Then an idea popped into my head. It seemed so simple. Just fold the socks over the tops of the boots, creating a cuff! So I tested this idea all day, and I can say it worked very well. However, it probably won't work well if you're using crappy old socks with worn out elastic.

This is stupid stuff that I think about, but yay, I can wear boots without pain now!

Rub a dub dub, kitty in the tub

I have no idea why, but Morty loves rolling around in the bathtub. He did it back in my old apartment too, so it's not exclusive to this Brooklyn tub. He enjoys chasing his tail while in the tub and doing kitty stretches. However, if you turn the water on, he will zoom out of there like a bat outta hell.

Tuesday dinner

Since Josh had to make up his Monday evening classes (they were off yesterday for Yom Kippur) tonight, I decided to be extra nice and make him a really nice dinner. I decided to try Giada de Laurentiis' farfalle with broccoli. As you can see in the picture above, I didn't use farfalle (bowtie pasta) because I already had fusilli (my favorite) at home. I was a little apprehensive about this recipe because it called for 5 anchovy fillets. I don't have a problem with anchovies, but Josh does. I remember Giada saying on the show that the anchovies melt into the sauce and don't taste fishy because as they cook, their flavor turns all nutty and delicious.

I also made my first chocolate mousse from scratch! While making the pasta dish, I had Food Network on in the background and watched Alton Brown make chocolate mousse. It looked so easy that I decided to give it a go. I had all the ingredients on hand: a block of semisweet chocolate, cream, espresso, gelatin, and butter. Well, I didn't have dark rum, so I skipped that step. It turns out that making chocolate mousse is as easy as AB made it out to be! It's so lovely and light. There's no sugar in the recipe, so it's not very sweet at all. It also isn't as dense and rich as a lot of restaurant's mousses tend to be. It was yummy and definitely one for my recipe book!

Le Gamin Soho

A few weeks ago, Josh met his fellow NYC Fellows in the West Village for drinks. I was out shopping and finished early, so I joined them. On the way there, my nose picked up on this most delicious scent. To my delight, it was a rotisserie that was stationed outside of a little French restaurant called Le Gamin. Ever since I watched the Barefoot in Paris special, where Ina Garten showed the viewer the Paris street market, I've wanted to try French rotisserie chicken. Ina pointed out this street vendor who sold freshly roasted chickens out of a rotisserie, where chickens roasted and the chicken drippings dribbled down onto huge trays of potatoes which roasted in those juices. This picture shows that cooking method, but in a huger scale.

Josh and I finally went to Le Gamin Soho tonight and the aromas definitely lived up to the actual food. We each had half of a rotisserie chicken for $9 each and it was the best roast chicken I've ever had. It was incredibly flavorful and juicy. Incredible! Because I'd just had roasted thyme potatoes the night before at home, we didn't get the rotisserie potatoes, but we'll definitely try them next time! We also got a half pitcher of white sangria to share for $10. It was a great meal!

The case for Meredith and McDreamy

It amazes me how many people hate the Meredith-McDreamy element of Grey's Anatomy. "Meredith is whiny and selfish. I wish she'd die."

Then why do those Meredith Grey haters continue to watch a show where they can't stand the narrator and main character?

I realize that I've always taken the side of the underdog/more-guilty-party. That's probably why I would've been a crappy lawyer. When I had to choose my moot court assignment, I chose to defend the guy who wanted to break into an apartment building to steal artwork off the walls and in doing so, punched a woman in the elevator to keep her quiet. I was the only person in my class to choose his side.

Back on track, some say, "Meredith and McDreamy are so selfish and mean. I mean, he's married!" I love the way people love to malign their relationship. Hello, Derek is in Seattle because he walked in on his wife doing the nasty with his best friend (a.k.a. McSteamy). If I had to compare the badness of Meredith and Derek together in the season two finale with Addison and McSteamy, I'd say Addison's affair was worse. First, she said it didn't mean anything, and second, she ruined a best friendship in addition to her own marriage. At least Meredith and Derek love each other.

If we want to argue about them being selfish and self-centered, let's look at several of the other characters on the show.

Some might say, "Oh, Izzie is so nice and bubbly. She cares about her patients!" While watching season one in its entirety in CA (my host had never seen Grey's before, my cousin and I saw Izzie's destructive tendency to become inappropriately attached to patients from the first couple episodes. To satisfy her need to be a "good person," Izzie has flaunted rules (i.e. doing a transfusion on the braindead guy in the illegal bike race episode and let's not forget stealing a heart from UNOS, which indirectly resulted in Burke being shot and possibly ruining the rest of his surgical career). Even Addison tried to teach Izzie a lesson about becoming too attached to patients and clearly, she chose not to learn the lesson because the heart transplant disaster took place at the end of the season.

After everything Izzie did last season, I'll be pretty angry if they let her back into the surgical residency program. It's really not like Denny was dying and needed the heart. She committed fraud to get him the heart from UNOS! Hey everybody! Izzie stole an organ because she went insane (remember the tearful scene where she coerces Denny to agree to her harebrained scheme? "WHAT ABOUT ME? WHAT ABOUT ME WHEN YOU GO INTO THE LIGHT? ::SOB:: SO PLEASE DO THIS FOR ME!") Yeah, talk to me about selfish and irresponsible now.

Let's also not forget her involvement in the awful Meredith-George incident.

And here comes probably the most "me first" person in the whole bunch: Cristina. In the beginning of her relationship with Burke, she used the personal leverage to get in on the record-breaking tumor surgery. Incidents like that are why they have rules against attendings dating interns. At least Meredith never did that.

In the end, it seems as though everyone has their moments of selfishness (some more than others). We're human; we're not perfect. And as TV characters, the flaws are exaggerated for our viewing pleasure. Deal with it. I could probably rant some more about how people need to see that Meredith and McDreamy are not the bad guys of the show, but people believe what they want to believe (me, for example, writing an essay-length blog post about a TV show), and it's not worth raising my blood pressure.

Stella

While staying in San Jose, I got to play with my hosts' dachshunds, Frankie and Stella (from the same litter). Unfortunately, Stella was sick while I was visiting and we made a few visits to the vet and a veterinary specialist. She took a turn for the worse on Sunday night just before I left for the airport, with fluid having built up in her lungs.

Last night, Stella passed away at the animal clinic due to respiratory distress and her undiagnosed GI disease that caused the fluid buildup. She was only six years old.

I didn't see Stella at her best, so her brother Frankie did most of the attention hogging. He'd whine when he wasn't in a human's company and enjoyed belly rubs at all times. I hope he adjusts okay.

Wedding gowns galore

So the main reason my cousin and I are in San Jose is for the bridal shopping. She's looking for a dress and I'm bossier than she is. It was very much like the episode of Sex and the City where Charlotte's shopping at Vera Wang with her wedding gown stylist Anthony.

We were at a boutique where the customer service was subpar and the consultant kept bringing dresses that didn't meet my cousin's qualifications. I butted in and said, "So this is the last one before lunch?" At another place, I pointed out gowns for the consultant to pull out of stock for my cousin. I think I'd like to be a wedding gown stylist! I'm bossy and I have excellent taste!

Finally, we made a second visit to this boutique and tried on a dress we passed over yesterday because the train was supposed to be very long. When she came out, it was gorgeous and the dress on the top of her list faded away to the point where it seemed "blah" when she tried it on again. I was very happy when she decided that it was "the one."

Where am I?

Greetings from California!

I'm visiting my cousin for the next few days, so posts will be a bit scarce until I get back to NY.

Cats in trees

We got a new cat tree for Morty and Eli. Since rearranging the furniture in the bedroom, the kitties no longer have a perch to watch rush hour traffic. To spare them the torment of having to stand on their hindpaws to look out the window, we moved the cat tree we had by the backyard window to the bedroom. It worked out quite well. However, Eli would stand by the backyard window and meow pitifully about how he couldn't look out the window in comfort as well.

Of course, the only solution was to buy another cat tree, which we did yesterday after brunch at Blue Water Grill. We put the old cat tree in its old position and the new one went by the front window, where Morty promptly monopolized it for his personal lounging (see picture above).

Eventually, with some force from Josh, Eli was shown that he was also allowed in the new cat tree. How much of him actually winds up in the cat tree depends on how much Morty decides to spread out though. You can see how Eli oozes over the side of the bed. I jokingly call the bed a roasting pan because Eli's nickname is Wheatloaf (something to do with him being Eli-Weli and feeling like a little meatloaf when you hold him). You know, there's a Wheatloaf in the pan. Whatever. They're spoiled rotten.

When life gives you basil, make pesto

I went to the farmer's market in Union Square on Saturday (after buying a pair of boots at DSW!). It's a shame that I didn't take advantage of this market as much as I should have when I lived in Manhattan, but no use crying over spilled milk. I bought this HUGE bunch of basil for $2. You can see my hand holding it in the picture above. It's more like a bouquet rather than a bunch. So I used a bit of the basil in chicken stew and then made pesto today.

I also made cookies this afternoon using Alton Brown's recipe for puffy chocolate chip cookies. I normally use the chewy version, but had to use up my cake flour. The puffy ones are good fresh from the oven, but a few hours later, they weren't as cakey anymore. I'll stick to the chewy ones from now on.

Pancetta and Parmesan Torte

For dinner tonight, I made Giada de Laurentiis' pancetta and parmesan torte. It was remarkably fast and easy to make, and makes for a dramatic presentation. And pancetta baking with parmesan cheese? I cannot describe just how mouthwatering the aroma coming from the oven was.

The only problem with the recipe is that it didn't call for you to blind bake the crust (the refrigerated pre-made kind) before filling it. I found that the bottom crust was a little too soft after baking for my taste, although it was not uncooked. I was worried about this when the recipe didn't call for the crust to be blind baked, and it turns out that one of the recipe reviewers (I should've read more carefully) had this problem and said that the crust should be baked for 10-15 minutes to keep it crispy all over. I will be doing this next time.

Apart from the crust, the torte was absolutely delicious. It's super fast and simple to make. The pancetta is the only thing you have to cook. After that, it's just chopping a little parsley and mixing up the milk, cream, and eggs with the pancetta, cheese, and parsley.

I highly recommend anyone to try making this dish! It'd be great with a salad on the side.

Really?

how jedi are you? :: by lawrie malen

4 hours or 4 months

I finally finished my airy scarf! True, I started it over four months ago, and the pattern said that it was a four-hour project, but it's done!

Fashion Show

Yesterday, my mom invited me to go to a fashion show with her. She does sample and pattern making on a freelance basis to designers. Last season, she was working at Cynthia Steffe and was surprised to find out that she was allowed to go to the fashion show. Unfortunately, she didn't know that she could take me with her, so I said I really wanted to go next season.

When I got into the tent at Bryant Park, it was hard not to gawk and try to recognize famous people. At first, we were standing at the side, behind all the chairs because we were important enough to warrant seats, but the organizers let us fill in seats later. It turns out that there was someone famous at the show and the guy next to me guessed that it was Emilie de Ravin of Lost. Since I don't watch Lost, I couldn't confirm, but Amber saw my pictures and she says it's "Annoying Claire from Lost.

The fashion show was great and lasted only 10 minutes. The music was boomingly loud, making the entire room vibrate. It was just like on TV! I'm such a dork.

Apple Cake Tatin, Part Deux

Check out the caramelization on that baby!

I made apple cake tatin again earlier this week on Tuesday. It's the same recipe I made this past weekend for Jennie and Julie's dinner. I planned to make it to celebrate Josh's first day as a teacher, but then decided to double the recipe and bring one to work. I think I need to turn the cake out sooner than after 15 minutes of cooling because the second cake had more stickage than the first.

I picked the prettier cake (the first one out of the pan) to go to the office. The cake disappeared very quickly. You can see the cake to the right, packed up in its foil lined box. I skipped the powdered sugar this time around. Anyways, hours after the cake was gone, one of the crazy people I work with came up to my desk and said, "I understand that I missed some of your baked goods this morning." I gave her this blank look because I didn't see the point in her telling me this. I don't bring in several cakes to feed the entire company. It's first come, first serve. You snooze, you lose. You get the point. I told her I'd brought in an apple cake and she kept making sad faces at me, like maybe I'd hidden a slice in my desk drawer. I didn't offer anything else for conversation, so she went away eventually.

Seriously, if you want my cake that badly, pay me to bake you one, and I'll do it. Maybe I sound mean, but this woman comes back for multiple servings, like handfuls of cookies, and giggles while pretending to sneak off. And then she goes on about how she's very careful about what she eats. The cake and cookies are for everyone, and I don't bake in such huge quantities that everyone can double-fist cookies. Other people miss out on the cookies completely because of this hogging. Equal cookies for all! Oh look. Now I'm a cookie communist.

Get busy

It seems as though I have inadvertently planned a busy Labor Day weekend.

On Friday, Josh was finally hired at an excellent high school here in Brooklyn. He's a Teaching Fellow, and his job searching experience has been less than inspiring. For all of NYCTF's idealistic goals and messages of "NYC needs teachers!", it seems as though many fellows have had problems finding jobs. The common theme of most interviews (if you get one), is to have a nice interview with a principal, and be told that a decision will be made in the next few days. And then you never hear from him/her again. Josh would sometimes call to follow up, and would get dodged, or some bullcrap story (i.e. "I really like you, and I want you to call me tomorrow, because I should have an answer then.") that left him with hope for the position. I figured that the principals didn't want to have to tell candidates they were rejected.

In Josh's case, he didn't have a job by August 31st, so he was placed in the teacher reserve, meaning that he was placed in a school as a permanent substitute. If the need for a sub arose, he would have to step in, no matter what subject. Luckily, he was called for an interview while twiddling his thumbs on the first staff day this past Thursday (all the "real" teachers were setting up their classrooms). By the end of Friday, Josh was employed and didn't have to stay at the school with roaches the size of half a hotdog.

On Friday night, we went to see the Amazing Jonathan at a Comedy Central taping. Unfortunately, we had to wait a really long time. Luckily, we just made the cutoff for getting into the first taping. One of my coworkers also went, but he/she chose the 8:30 show. Being that we got out at 9:30 from our 6:30 taping, I doubt he/she had an enjoyable experience. I'm sure I'll hear the complaints on Tuesday.

When Saturday morning rolled around, I went to Bliss Soho for my facial, courtesy of my most wonderful cousin, Jessica. The locker room was a bit cramped (20 lockers shoved into a space the size of two coffee tables), and clients arrived in clumps because of how appointments are scheduled. Getting naked in front of strangers is bad enough, but being in such close quarters while doing so is a lot more awkward. After that, my experience at Bliss was lovely and if I had income to throw around on regular treatments, I would.... but I don't.

After Bliss, I had to purchase another bottle of real vanilla extract. I can't believe how fast I went through the last bottle. I blame it on all the baking I've done for work. $20 is a lot of money to spend on a bottle of vanilla, but it makes a real difference over the $5 imitation kind you find on your supermarket shelf. I can't go back to the fake vanilla. Josh thinks I should buy the 32 oz. bottle. From there, it was on to the Japanese market to buy curry mix (it's good comfort food when the weather is cool, as it has been of late) and then to Broadway Panhandler to pick up cake boxes. Broadway Panhandler was supposed to move sometime this summer, but it turns out they won't be in their new location until September.

I went to lunch at Les Halles Downtown because I missed their fries so much, and enjoyed the rest of Darcy & Elizabeth while dining. I went home because I was carrying too many bags, and after a break, went out to Atlantic Terminal to buy a pie dish from Target (no one returns my pie dishes) and Mario Kart DS. Whew! Quite a lot done on a day when the remains of a tropical storm was blasting through the area.

Today, I prepared for the mini potluck dinner being held at Jennie and Julie's place. I say mini potluck because I'm the only person bringing something. I decided to try a new recipe: Ina Garten's Apple Cake Tatin. It's her spin on the classic French tarte tatin. Granny Smith apple slices go in the bottom of the pie dish, with caramel syrup is poured over them, and a vanilla cake batter on top of that. After cooling a bit, the cake is then turned out, like a pineapple upside-down cake. I dusted it with confectioner's sugar like the recipe said, but I think it looked nicer without the dusting (that's why there aren't any pictures of the entire cake). I was afraid that the caramel would make a hard layer, but it mixed in a bit with the cake batter and just flavored the top of the cake with caramel instead.

Jennie and Julie served up a roast chicken with green beans and mashed potatoes. Even though the gravy didn't work out, the meal was delicious. And dessert turned out to be lovely as well. The three of us were guinea pigs, and were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't too sweet, despite all that caramel I poured over those apples.

Chicken with 32 Garlic Cloves

Tonight, Josh and I made Ina Garten's Chicken with 40 Garlic Cloves. Whenever I choose a Food Network recipe, I read the ratings (done by other home chefs) for that recipe before proceeding. It seemed almost everyone was pleased with the results. I disregarded the one negative opinion, where one person complained, saying it was bitter, but I think this person either used bad garlic or burned the garlic.

Anyways, Josh didn't have work today since school hasn't started yet, and he did the grocery shopping and prep work. This recipe has almost no prep work if you buy the chicken in pieces rather than disassembling two chickens yourself. The only prep to be done is peeling the 2 heads of garlic, which is facilitated by leaving them in boiling water for one minute. After that, all you have to do is brown the chicken in batches. We cut the recipe from 7 lbs. of chicken to about 4 lbs since it was just two of us and I don't have a dutch oven. However, I left the sauce proportions the same because having extra sauce and garlic is never a bad thing! After the chicken is done browning, all that's left is making the sauce and then braising the chicken in it. The garlic was all mushy and had this sweet mellow flavor.

I served it with a mesclun salad and my homemade balsamic vinaigrette., so the plate looked like something I'd get at a French bistro. All it needed was a heap of steak frites and it would've been perfect.

Move along now, nothing to see

It's been depressingly overcast the past few days here. Although I don't have a window office, I can see through office doors and see the grayish light outside. For most of the day, I've been feeling sluggish, wishing to be tucked in bed with a book and a kitty, but I just realized that the light looks an awful lot like the late afternoon light we see starting in late autumn. Unlike some people, I hate the summer. Give me spring, autumn, or winter any other day. The summer season has nothing to recommend itself to me.

Nothing beats a crisp fall morning. I don't get the same feeling I used to when I was leaving my apartment in NJ for work at the golf club, but somewhere in the city's dirty air, there's a bite that wakes you up. Eventually the bite will turn into a constant gnawing that makes you run for the nearest subway station, but until then, I'm content to enjoy my morning walk.

I can't wait for autumn!

Free laundry

Josh and I went back to NJ on Friday night. He had relatives visiting (the Nocheeses, to those of you who read my cruise recaps) his parents' house and I begged off, saying that I had to do the laundry (I decided to take it back to NJ instead of paying to do it) and spend time with my family.

So on Saturday, I cooked for my family. I made Ina Garten's strawberry tart, but altered the recipe a little. Instead of making a pastry crust, I made a graham cracker crust and I topped it with strawberries and raspberries (Pics will follow next week. My brother has to send them to me). The pastry cream was surprisingly light, but didn't have a lot of body to it. I'm thinking that next time, I'll add some more cornstarch. At first I thought I'd use gelatin, but then I realized that while the pastry cream cools in the fridge, the gelatin would make it set within the bowl (I pour the cream into the crust after it's cooled).

I also made a turkey lasagna (yet another Ina Garten recipe) because my parents like it so much. Last time I made it, they said it wasn't as good as the first time because I made the mistake of thinking that the generic brand of turkey sausage would be as good as the brand name kind. This time, I didn't make that mistake, and the lasagna was enjoyed by all, and accompanied by a loaf of garlic Tuscan bread from Wegman's.

Lovely pics

I finally got all of Jasmine and Paul's pictures uploaded to Shutterfly. It took forever, but I'm glad I could give them some pictures to view while waiting for the professional ones. I caught some really great moments and I keep thinking that it'd be really cool for someone to pay me to walk around their wedding and take candid shots of the non-professional variety. I could deliver them within 24 hours!

Speaking of earning extra money, I turned in my proofreading assignment. Yay, I'm smut-free until the next smutty proofreading job, if I even get another job offer from this editor. I don't really care; money's money.

Wedding Extravaganza!

Jasmine and Paul got married today and it was a lovely wedding. There were a lot of laughs, fun, and mischief.

Congratulations to you two!