Summer Movies 2009

This summer, I finally managed to see most of the movies on my list. Here are the ones I saw and a quick review of each. If they're not in the theater anymore, I would recommend all of these on DVD.

District 9

Many of my friends didn't like this movie, but I thought it was interesting. I'm a sucker for alien movies, and this one had some good ideas. Granted, there were holes in the plot, but it's an action movie, after all.

Watch the trailer here.

Inglourious Basterds

I love that the title is spelled incorrectly and Tarantino won't tell anyone why. Another fine installment from one of my favorite directors. No one else can craft a conversation like him.

watch the trailer

(500) Days of Summer

This was my birthday movie this year, and it did not disappoint. I was pleasantly surprised by this film. A nice little story about relationships, music, art, and karaoke.

Trailer:


In The Loop

This was the smartest, funniest movie I've seen in years. Why aren't more people talking about it? So many great lines, I wish I would've had a notebook and pen with me in the theater. My favorite, "difficult difficult lemon difficult".

Trailer

Not Julia Child

The movie "Julie and Julia" inspired me to encourage my friend to flip the 6 egg omelet we were making for breakfast. Most of it ended up in the sink. The photo shows the remaining eggs.

Should have practiced with toast in the pan first!

Brunch with the Girls

I am trying to catch up on all of the food I've managed to photograph this summer. During the spring, my friend and I hosted a lovely brunch at my house. The following photo montage displays our efforts:

Grandma's Sticky Buns Before Oven


Grandma's Sticky Buns After Oven


Fruit Sculpture Courtesy of Friend's Awesome Dad


Quiche and Ina Garten's Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Eats and Treats in Phili

A few weekends ago, I ventured to Philadelphia to visit friends. We being the foodie types, the weekend revolved around the eating a preparing of food (as well as a trip to see Julie and Julia).

We started out our Saturday at Carmen's Country Kitchen, a funky little restaurant in South Phili, where we ate in the back of their pick up truck located in the street. What a fun experience! People were stopping to talk with us and there was a case of mistaken identity. The food was fantastic as well. Here's a photo recap:

Pancakes and waffles with caramelized corn, zucchini, and dates:




French Toast with fruit and strawberry fluff:


After brunch, we started working on dinner. After a quick trip to the Reading Terminal Market for ingredients (and Bassett's ice cream), we headed back to the house to start prepping for grilled pizza.

What emerged was this masterpiece...grilled pizza with roasted butternut squash, Gruyere cheese, and fried sage leaves. Beautiful.


We also made a roasted pepper and goat cheese pizza, but I forgot to photograph it.

After dinner, we went to a showing of Julie and Julia, a must see for anyone who loves food.

A great ending to a fantastic day in Philadelphia.

Carmen's Country Kitchen is located at:

1301 S 11th St
Philadelphia, PA 19147-5601
(215) 339-9613

Get there early as they only have about 3 tables inside. If you're lucky, you'll get to sit in the back of the pick-up truck.

Sweet Treats in Boston

Last weekend, the husband and I travelled to Boston to visit friends, eat food, and take in the sights. Last year, I went to Kickass Cupcakes, which were just ok. This year, we went to Sweet for some of the best cupcakes I've ever bought. These rival those at Sugar Sweet Sunshine and Magnolia Bakery in New York City. I tried the Pink Lemonade (pictured above), Boston Cream Pie, and Vanilla Buttercream. They were all fantastic. Perfect, moist cake, with a not too-sweet icing. And they are so pretty!

If you're in Boston, do buy yourself one (or five) of these awesome treats.

Burgers I've Eaten - Part 12

Victoria's Gastropub - Ellicott City, MD

Victoria's Gastropub offers up one of the best burgers I've eaten in quite some time. Everything was fantastically prepared and presented. Their duck fat fries are some of the best I've tasted. The inside of the restaurant is cozy, you can hardly tell it used to be a Bennigans.

The burger was well flavored and cooked well. The bun did tend to get a bit soggy after a few minutes, but that is the cost of a juicy burger.

If you're in Howard County, I would definitely recommend stopping by this neighborhood joint for a burger. You will not be disappointed.

Burgers I've Eaten - Part 11

Last week, I was feeling the need for a burger. It's been a while. I've been wanting to try Fatburger ever since it opened. I'd hoped it would satisfy my cravings for In-N-Out Burger until I could get back to California.

Sadly, this wish was not realized.

Maybe it was because I opted for their smallest burger, but what arrived at our table, I'd hardly call a burger. Instead, it was a minuscule five dollar pile of barely compressed together ground beef. The cheese was slightly burnt, and the bun completely overshadowed the amount of beef on the bun.

The beef also had no flavor.

Did I mention this burger was 5 dollars?

Saddest burger ever. I'd have taken a picture for you to see it, but it would just be too depressing.

I'll stick with Five Guys.

Frank's Muffaletta - New Orleans

Since the French Grocery was closed on Sunday, I had a muffaletta for lunch at their rival, Frank's restaurant. Why have I never had this sandwich before? Everything seemed to blend together into one terrific flavor. I don't know how they compare to the other place in NOLA, but this sandwich was first rate. And I am not the biggest sandwich fan.

GW Fins - New Orleans

It was a difficult decision figuring out where I wanted to have my only dinner in New Orleans, but this place came highly recommended on the web. I was not disappointed. Their oyster appetizer was phenomenal. The oysters were first wood smoked while the shells were heated separately to 500 degrees. They were then placed into the shells with some butter and cooked to perfection. These were so tasty, I could've eaten 30 of them.

I also had the butterfish entree with shrimp etoufee and lobster butter. The fish was perfectly prepared.

Their cocktails are also tasty. They have a signature cocktail made with champagne, and a bunch of fruit juices.

It's a fancy restaurant, but you don't have to dress up to go there. Service was friendly and nice. If you're going to visit the Big Easy, don't miss having dinner here.

Cafe On Main - Columbus, MS

This place had some of the best fried chicken I've ever eaten. It might have even been better than Jestine's Kitchen in Charleston, SC. I also had the squash dressing and smashed potatoes. I had never heard of squash dressing and it was wonderful. A little sweet, a little salty, and the perfect accompaniment to the fried chicken.

For dessert, I had the lemon ice box cake. The crumb crust reminded me of the German wedding cookies my family makes for the holidays. A great ice box cake that was not too sweet.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera this trip, so no pictures. But, if you have the chance to travel to Columbus, Mississippi, I would highly recommend stopping here for lunch.

Doe's Eat Place - Greenville, Mississippi

If you asked me where I would eat the best steak of my life, I would not have said Mississippi. But, it was here at Doe's Eat Place in Greenville, Mississippi, that they make the best steaks I've ever eaten.

I was still full from the awesome fried chicken I ate for lunch, so I only bought the 12 ounce fillet. It came out from the kitchen perfectly prepared, with a great seared crust on top, and yummy juices flowing out onto the plate.

The beef tamales were also fantastic, and are made from a recipe from the original owner dating back to the 1940's.

If you're into dive restaurants, this is your place. It's located in an old grocery store on the wrong side of town (and I mean wrong side...a security guard makes sure your car doesn't get broken into while you're eating). It's not fancy, but who cares, when the food is this good.

Doe's Eat Place is located on Nelson Street in Greenville, Mississippi. There are other locations throughout the south, but this is the original, and I've been told, the best.

Snowballs

Yesterday, I went to The Snowball Stand in Howard County for my first snowball of the season. Snowballs, as far as I know, are a distinctly Maryland treat. I grew up in Baltimore, and there were snowballs stands everywhere. My friend in middle school even ran her own out of her grandfather's garage! On the Fourth of July, my Aunt would sit on the back porch and hand shave ice so everyone could have a snowball.

There are different styles of ice in a snowball now, but I think that a traditional one is just shaved, slightly chunky ice. Cover with your favorite sugary syrup flavor, and you have a snowball.

I have always been a fan of marshmallow topping for snowballs. In my opinion, the more, the better. Some snowball stands are really cheap with their marshmallow toppings. But, not the snowball stand!

Personally, I think Egg Custard is the best snowball flavor. It's difficult for me to order any other. But, before Egg Custard, I was also a fan of Cherry, Skylight, Spearmint, Ice Cream, and Vanilla.

If you're in Howard County feel like picking up a sugary, gooey snowball for yourself, The Snowball Stand is located at the corner of Route 99 and Woodstock Road.

Seattle Eats - Dahlia Lounge

Holy yumminess of food at Dahlia Lounge! This restaurant is owned by the famous Seattle chef who's name I do not know. But, he is famous out there and has a bunch of restaurants. I always miss eating at one, and this time wanted to make more of an effort. I was not disappointed. Even though the food was great, my pictures of the food were not, so please bear with me here...

Little ceviche taste from the kitchen to start...


Rockfish, Grapefruit, and Coriander ceviche app


This was so good I don't know where to start. Super awesome flavor, and something you wouldn't see anywhere else.

Fresh Salmon with Arugula (I think), Gnocchi, and some sort of awesome sauce with bacon



This entree is the reason I don't eat salmon unless I'm in the Northwest. Cooked to perfection with a fantastic accompaniment in the gnocchi and the sauce. Plus, just enough bacon to make the dish interesting, without overpowering the fish.

Not pictured are their great desserts. A caramel chocolate pudding with cardamom cream, and warm donuts shaken with cinammon sugar at your table, accompanied with rhubarb jam and marscapone cheese. Delicious!

This restaurant was recommended to me years ago by a local, and I can't believe it took me so long to eat here.

Seattle Eats - Le Panier

Every time I go to Seattle, which has been three so far, I have to go to Le Panier for coffee and French-style macaroons. Their baked goods are so amazing, it's difficult not to buy everything in the case. This time, I also had an almond croissant, but forgot to take a picture.

Here's the website for Le Panier. It's located right at the market (and who doesn't visit the market when in Seattle?)

As you can see from the picture, I went a little overboard with the macaroons this time, but I didn't know when I'd be able to eat them again.

ORIOLES!

Just a few shots from the first O's game I attended this season.

Orioles 10 - White Sox 3

Rain Delay


T-Shirt Night!


I miss when there were lots of fans at the yard

Process

I decided to document the (not always pretty) painting process for my next project. I'm working on another of the Women in Corners series. For those keeping track, this is #4. This one is a little different, because the corner is implied, and there are 2 figures. Here's the progress so far.

Starting out - Grid and Charcoal Outline


2nd Layer (after a cadmium red and transparent orange underpainting)

Ramps

This weekend, my friend and I made pizza on a Saturday night. Our most successful creation (of the 3 we made) was this one with roasted garlic, olive oil, olives, sea salt, goat cheese, and ramps. This was the best pizza I ever helped to make. Hurray for ramps!

Friday Funny - Safety Video

I work in the safety industry, and there are alot of videos out there like this one. It's pretty gory, so it is not for the faint of heart (but it is all fake blood). I find it interesting that they show all of these injury scenarios, but the instructors only offer "be safe" as the solution to them.

If someone doesn't know not to weld a barrel full of explosive chemicals, I don't know if they can be helped.

Boo Teixeria

Normally, I don't like to boo players, but this guy made me sad, so boo him!

Opening Day!

Happy opening day to the BALTIMORE ORIOLES!

GO O's!!!!