What I Made for Dinner - 03/16/09

I am trying to get out of my winter rut of making tofu and refried beans once a week for dinner (even though it is tasty).

Last night, I made an olive and sun dried tomato tapenade and served it with some endive spears from the Everyday Italian cookbook. It was my first time making tapenade and it was so simple! It was also the first time I got to break out my new olive pitter and I don't know how I lived without one.

I also made a lasagna from the America's Best New Recipes cookbook. I modified it a little by using ground turkey instead of meatloaf mix because I don't eat veal. I also forgot to buy heavy cream at the store, but I didn't really miss it in the sauce. The best thing about making sauce now is the awesome dutch oven I received for Christmas! It's the best cookware ever.

Tapenade and Endive!

Sauce is ready!

Lasagna is assembled in the dish!

Piece of lasagna!

New Favorite Snack - Emerald Trail Mix

I tried the Emerald Breakfast Blend Trail Mix yesterday and it is my new favorite snack. Dried apples, glazed nuts, yogurt covered raisins, and more. It's pretty tasty. I also bought the Berry Blend pictured above, but haven't tried it yet.

I don't think I've had yogurt covered raisins since I was in the Girl Scouts, and I forgot how great they taste!

Friday Funny

I think Ricky Gervais has the best laugh on the planet. Here he is with Elmo (who always kind of freaked me out, but is super cute here).

Watchmen

The Watchmen movie was so bad, I don't even feel like searching for a picture of it for my blog. Don't waste your precious time and money seeing this film. Read the graphic novel instead. You won't regret it.

If you've seen the movie, please still read the novel. It is really good. I promise.

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

Today is Barbie's 50th Birthday. Being a child of the 1980's, I had tons of Barbie dolls. Sometimes, my friend Jane and I talk for hours about our favorites. Here's pics of some of my favorite Barbie dolls. (Note that my ultimate favorite is Crystal Barbie with her pretty glittery shoes. They're the only shoes I never lost)

Sorry!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything of note. I haven't been a good blogger. I promise I'll be back with reviews of Watchmen and the new Neko Case album soon!

Hello Kitty MAC!

I have been wearing MAC's makeup for a long time. I have also been collecting Hello Kitty stuff since I was little. So, of course, I was super excited to hear that they have paired up for a makeup line all their own! I don't think I'm going to buy everything, but the lip gloss and nail polish is pretty cute. It can be ordered online now and hits the stores tomorrow. Look for a couture line next month. (But honestly, who is going to pay 90 dollars for POWDER? Not me)

Wall-E Cupcakes!

Yes, I'm still obsessed with Wall-E. Yesterday, I made some belated birthday cupcakes for my friend. These wrappers are so cute, I don't want to throw them away. But, I do so as not to get cake crumbs all over the house.

Do You Think That's EEEEEEeeeevvvvil???!!!

I guess I shouldn't be putting my evil plan out there, but here it is anyway. If you want to make your own evil plan, visit this site

Your objective is simple: World Domination.

Your motive is a little bit more complex: Money

Stage One
To begin your plan, you must first incapacitate a wall street executive. This will cause the world to sense a grave disturbance in the force, overwhelmed by your arrival. Who is this despoiler of all that is good and nice and true? Where did they come from? And why do they look so good in a corporate suit?


Stage Two
Next, you must contaminate/poison the statue of liberty. This will all be done from a corporate tower, a mysterious place of unrivaled dark glory. Upon seeing this, the world will tremble, as countless hordes of corporate suits hasten to do your every bidding.


Stage Three
Finally, you must send forth your secret death ray, bringing about something that's really metal. Your name shall become synonymous with evil, and no man will ever again dare make you clean your room. Everyone will bow before your unmatched physical prowess, and the world will have no choice but to send you all their money.

I Heart Stains

This was on The Soup a few weeks ago, and I am still laughing at it. I don't think it would have been as funny if it weren't for the zombie music playing in the background.

Please Explain

Why that movie, Mall Cop, has been the #1 movie in America for the past two weeks.

I would also like to take this moment to plead with the people of America to stop watching crap.

Thank you.

Just say no to CCC

It has come to my attention that Wilton and other companies are now selling kits to help people make their own cupcake cakes, or puzzle cakes or whatever they decide to call them. They are a serious offense to cupcakes everywhere.

The gloriousness of a cupcake is that it is a small, single cake, alone in its cakeness, and should never be combined to make one giant cake that has icing all over it. (I do make an exception for cupcakes combined like pixels that stand along yet look like a larger image.

I also include those giant cupcake pans in the category of CCC. They are just wrong.

Observe:

Acceptable


Stay Away

End of an Error

Tomorrow, Bush leaves office. I will be in DC with the eight million others waving goodbye to him.

Here's a list of all The Onion headlines about Bush. Enjoy.

Onion Bush Headlines

Angel

The one dorky thing I did manage to accomplish when I was in LA was to pay a visit to the hotel used on the show, Angel. It was fun. Here are some pictures!

Best Chicken Burrito I've Ever Eaten....Ever

I managed to stop in Palm Springs to have lunch with my Aunt, and she suggested we go to Mariposa. It was here that I had the best chicken burrito of my life. I don't think I will ever eat another chicken burrito until I go back to this restaurant. (Much like how I won't eat pecan pie until I go back to Jestine's Kitchen in Charleston, SC). Everything here was wonderful! I learned that it is also Barry Manilow's favorite restaurant. How cute!

If you will be in Palm Springs anytime soon, do not miss it.

Mariposa is located at
155 South Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, CA 92262

In-N-Out Burger

Having left my wallet at the hotel the only afternoon I had to hang out in LA, I didn't get to visit "The Counter", which was on my list (or Pinks...that was just a depressing day all around). I did, however get to visit In-N-Out Burger twice. The first visit, I got my old standby, grilled cheese and fries. A grilled cheese is the burger without the burger. I decided to try an actual burger my last night in California, and it wasn't as good as the grilled cheese.

In-N-Out burger is my favorite fast food restaurant besides Chick-Fil-A. They pay their workers well, and use fresh ingredients. Their fries ROCK. But, Five Guys burgers are better, as far as the burger itself goes.

YAY! I'm finally back!


Bag of Grilled Cheese and Fries:


Yummy

Most Depressing Cupcake Story Ever

I didn't think I could ever top the sad experience of walking in extreme heat to Cake Love and discovering that their cupcakes tasted like old shoes, but I have.

For about 5 or so years now, I have dreamed of going to Sprinkles in LA for a cupcake for 10. I went there last week, stood in line, met some really nice people, ordered up 6 cupcakes (so I would have some on the plane ride home), and heard them call my name.

Then, I discovered that I had accidentally left my wallet in my hotel room 15 miles away at the airport. The picture above is all I took.

Some might scold me for not going back to the hotel, picking up my wallet, and going to get my cupcakes anyway, but that would've taken me over 2 hours, and I just couldn't drive in the traffic there anymore.

Thanks to the nice woman in front of me who gave me some money so I could pay for parking. I really appreciate it.

I guess I'll just have to wait another year or two for the DC location to open.

So sad.

Favorite Brewery of 2008

This year, I discovered the Laguinitas Brewery, thanks to my new favorite beer store, The Perfect Pour, otherwise known as beer heaven. Everything I've tasted by this brewery has been top notch. They have a terrific line of beers in honor of the albums of Frank Zappa. I highly recommend trying one of their beers soon!

Albums I Should Have Bought in 2008

I do have a short list of albums I didn't get around to buying or listening to in 2008. Hopefully, I'll get them with my gift certificates :) Here's that list.

Girl Talk - "Feed the Animals"

I somehow still haven't gotten this, despite being able to pay what you want for it.

Hold Steady - "Stay Positive"

The songs I heard on the radio from this album sounded interesting and not annoying like every other Hold Steady song I've heard.

Portishead - "Third"

I swear I have picked up this album 10x at the store and put it back every time. I love Portishead and don't know why I didn't get it!

I also wanted the new Sigur Ros album, but I'm too lazy to look for a picture of it (or the album's name...)

Favorite Albums of 2008

2008 was a slow music year for me. I didn't go to many shows (2, to be exact) and found many of the "new" bands to be completely uninteresting. But, there were some gems released in 2008. Here's my list of favorites:

Marnie Stern - "This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That"

Listening to this album makes me wish these songs were available to play on Guitar Hero. I've never heard anyone play the guitar this way, and the fact that she's a girl just makes this music that much cooler. Thank you Bust magazine for introducing me to this quirky, cute album. (and if you're a girl and you don't subscribe to Bust magazine, please do so immediately)

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!"

I finally listened to Nick Cave this year. I can't say that I love this entire album, but "Dig Lazarus Dig!!!" was definitely my favorite song of the year. I think Grinderman is a better album, but this one has some gems too.

Jenny Lewis - "Acid Tongue"

I think Jenny Lewis has one of the prettiest singing voices ever. These songs aren't as good as those on her previous effort, "Rabbit Fur Coat", but it's still worth a listen.

The Walkmen - "You and Me"

This album wins my favorite cover art of the year. I love the lead singer's voice. Some people may find it grating, but I think it's comforting. This album sounds different, and dreamy, and nice.

Deerhunter - "Microcastle/Weird Era Cont."

This Deerhunter album has been on constant rotation at my house since we bought it. Fantastic Friday night drinking red wine music, or if you just need a break from your stressful day.

and now...my top three albums of the year....

Santogold - "Santogold"

I could not wait for this album to be released. It was almost ruined for me because of all the advertisements in which these songs were featured, but it's still one of my favorite albums of the year. Super fun summer album.

Fleet Foxes - "Fleet Foxes"

The harmonies remind me of the Beach Boys, and I think this album sounds beautiful. I don't understand why some think it's overrated. Is it the best thing ever? No, but it's definitely one of the best of 2008.

TV on the Radio - "Dear Science"

I really didn't like the first TV on the Radio album, and didn't want to listen to this one at all. But, I kept hearing the single on the radio, so I gave this album a try, and loved every song. I couldn't stop listening to it after I first bought it. It's my favorite album of the year.

Cute of the Week

Cookies and Balls

Most of this weekend was spent making cookies for the holidays. This year, the chosen cookies were as follows:

Spritz: A family staple, in vanilla and almond varieties. Spritz are easy to make with a cookie press. My Nana used to send me huge tins of these when I was in college. They rarely lasted more than one day! They are my personal favorite.

Spritz with cinnamon!


Green Tree Spritz!


Raspberry Thumbprints: I bought the holiday edition of Cook's Illustrated and immediately wanted to make everything in this issue. These cookies were featured, and they taste excellent. I liked their hint to bake the cookies for 10 mins, then take them out of the oven, define the thumbprints with the back of a teaspoon, fill, and bake completely. They turned out wonderfully!

Thumbprints!


Rosemary Butter Cookies: My friend Meg handed these out a few years ago, and we all asked for the recipe. Lucky for us, these cookies won the Baltimore Sun Baking Challenge, so all we had to do was pick up a paper! These are requested each year and have become a new tradition in my family.

Rosemary Butter Cookies!


Peanut Butter Balls: My friend Meri is the queen of cookie making. Her cookies always taste the best, and she makes kick ass peanut butter balls. This year, she was nice enough to pass the recipe on to me. I think they came out pretty well considering this was my first time ever making candy!

Peanut Butter Balls Before Dipping!


Covered in Chocolate!


After everything was made, I packaged some for giving to co-workers, friends, and family. I found cute takeout containers at Target for the candy!

Packaged cookies!


Take-out boxes!