30 April 2011

In Which I Review Instant Temptation by Jill Shalvis

And once again, the glory of travelling makes me read a book I otherwise would not have read.

I know I have talked about this before, but there really is nothing like travelling and spending time in airports to just get things done.  One Vanity Fair, and one book (In addition to a rudely interrupted session with Tropic Thunder, which I have been dying to re-watch for ages.  And now, I am still dying to re-watch it.  Sigh), to be exact.

Devotees will remember that I started reading Jill Shalvis books last year, and the Wilder brother series was hit and miss for me: the first one, Instant Attraction was very good, while the second, Instant Gratification, was annoying enough to put me off trying the third book.

As part of the ongoing "what the eff am I going to read next?" ADD, I finally picked up Instant Temptation about two weeks ago, and I was smart enough to bring it to Florida this week so that I would have time on the plane and in the airport to finish it up.

And finish it I did, friends.  FINISH IT, I DID.

Instant Temptation is the story of the final Wilder brother, TJ, who has had a serious thing for his former high school classmate Harley for... pretty much as far back as he can remember.  Harley is pretty prickly, though, and holds him at a distance because she remembers the night he took her virginity in high school.  And he doesn't.  (Not because he's an asshole, per se, but because he was drunk at the time)

This is essentially it.  TJ and Harley are two people at crossroads in their lives.  TJ is finally moving away from his past and acknowledging that it's time to grow up, and to a large extent Harley is doing the same, pursuing her degree and looking for jobs outside of Wishful.

The relationship between the two is complicated, but neither has any illusions (even if they do have delusions about the real status of their feelings and the relationship).  They spend the bulk of the book running around in the Sierra-Nevada mountains as she tracks coyotes she's studying for her degree and he runs a wilderness trek for a bunch of over-funded sorority girls.  We catch up with the rest of the Wilders, and TJ and Harley aren't too idiotic when it comes to admitting that they have finally found happiness together.

The pacing of the book was a little odd to me, with a really slow build-up to consummation and then a really fast sprint to resolution.  But whatever.  It was a fun, serviceable, and interesting read.  These days in the contemporary romance genre, you can't ask for much more than that.

One quick thing though:  TJ and Harley?  Really?  How the hell am I supposed to keep them straight, gender-wise?  This is a pet peeve of mine, and I was able to get over it eventually, but... it was confusing on occasion.  No lie.

28 April 2011

In Which Thoroughly Obsessed Thursday Has a Lot of Diffent Things to Talk About

I'm writing from my new iPad 2.

And oh man, it's awesome.

OK, full disclosure, it's an iPad that belongs to the day job that I have to have (a girl's got to eat, and blogging for the masses doesn't pay in anything but a healthy sense of self-righteousness), but somehow I don't think anyone will mind if I reappropriate this lovely piece of machinery for a few minutes.

Oh yes. This lovely piece of machinery is most definitely my obsession de la semaine.

It's thin. It's white. And it has a badass pink cover. Part of this color combination is because I accessorize only in pink. And part of it is so that my male colleagues don't steal her. Yes, it's a "her," and she needs a name. Suggestions welcome in the comments.

The problem is, though, that I got the wifi only version (like you do... AT&T has enough of my soul, thank you very much) and then I went away on a business trip (hello from sunny and hot as hell Florida!). I have no idea how to judge this next part-- I can't decide if my outrage is justified. You'll let me know, right? Here goes...

The hotel does not have wireless available in the rooms. There's an Ethernet chord, or you can purchase internet through the television. All other Internet transactions must be carried out on the questionable wireless network in the lobby. (Why yes, I did pay $25 for 2 days' worth of access, and no, I still couldn't connect. Awesome.)

Let's ignore the fact that this hotel is currently hosting three business conventions.

And let's ignore the fact that when you (read: your company) are paying $150 a night for a hotel, you shouldn't have to kick in another $12 per day to connect to the Internet in general.

HOW DO THEY NOT HAVE WIRELESS INTERNET THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING?

Sure, iPads are new, and laptops can all be plugged in. But half of the point of a laptop is that it's portable. And for business purposes in this setting, how can you possibly be expected to go back to your room to check your email, or to look something up for a potential client?

Maybe it's a Gen Y thing. Maybe it's an overly techie thing. But I would seriously think twice before checking in to this hotel for business again-- a hotel, I might add, that is otherwise very lovely and has nothing particularly "wrong" with it.

But it's the year 2011. Connection is everything. And they have failed.

(For the record, the wireless connection I am using right now was brought in by the convention I'm attending... The hotel does not even provide wireless in its own convention halls)

25 April 2011

In Which Monday Menu Lives, Sleeps, Eats, and Breathes Mayhem

My goodness friends.  What a weekend.

The relocation of Scout Camp was at once exhausting (ohholyhellmovingtakesforever) and exhilarating (more cabinet space! more counter space!)  But after one and a half days of takeout and pizza (the movers' food of choice), I finally took matters into my own hands on Saturday night, made Scout drive me to Whole Foods, and made not one, not two, but THREE Nigella dishes.

OK, one of them was a repeat, but I can't quite bring myself to care.

Firstly there was the Chicken with Lardons and Lentils, a one-pot meal that is originally intended for one according to the recipe instructions:


(Note the terribly appetizing cleaning supplies and the Le Creuset box in the background.  WE DON'T MESS AROUND, FRIENDS)

Having never cooked with lentils before, I was nervous about doubling everything (for two) and what it would do to the consistency of the thing.  In the end, all was well, though, as this hearty, healthy meal gave us the energy to... get up from the couch and get ready for bed.  I did double the lentils and the liquid, but rather than putting in four cups of water (as called for) I did three cups of water and one cup of wine.  Sure, it was a lot of wine (good drinking wine, too!), but I felt like adding flavor was better than not.

The other best part of this meal was that in the end there was plenty of lentil stew left over, and when we added in the shreds of extra chicken from our individual breasts (har har... breasts) (sorry, I'm still loopy) there was plenty enough for lunch the next day.

Oh yeah, and it did need the added salt and pepper.

Easter dinner (such as it was... I had to keep reminding myself that Sunday was Easter) (sorry, we don't need to get into my religious convictions right now) was the Pork and Apple Hotpot redux, which was better than the first time, even though I can't tell you why (it might have been the improvisation of more flour and therefore thicker sauce...?).  Dessert was new, though.  Behold, Lemon Polenta Cake:


I liked this cake because it's gluten-free and lemony fresh.  It's made with almond flour and polenta, with the addition of a little lemon zest (in the cake) and a good soaking with lemon syrup after the baking.  Don't get me wrong, it's tart.  And it's sweet.  Like I like my... cakes.  And my men.

I think Scout was unsure of this one, but I wouldn't hesitate to make it again for a nice spring occasion, or really as a go-too dessert for gluten-free friends.

So there.  One week, two new recipes.  BLAMMO.

21 April 2011

In Which Thoroughly Obsessed Thursday Continues to be Too Distracted to Think Properly.

Yep.  I know it's getting old.  But next week I'll feel more comfortable (maybe?) and I'll be able to talk about the book I'm reading now (maybe?) and how much I'm in love with Parks and Recreation (I really should finish the second season before I make any grand pronouncements).

In the meantime, just in case you thought I forgot all about Cougar Town (well, I haven't talked about it in like, a day), I give you another Lady Liberty YouTube find, this one illuminating Laurie's coffee buying habits.  Damn, Busy Phillips is a rock star at memorization.



Have a lovely holiday (if you're celebrating), and a lovely long weekend (if you're celebrating or not).  Scout Camp is changing locations this weekend, so Monday Menu Mayhem will probably involve locating pots and pans.  Stay tuned for the excitement.

19 April 2011

In Which Monday Menu Mayhem is Late, But Worth It

In a weekend filled with chaos and illness (parties! recovering from parties! attic cleaning! and all with no internets in the home!) I managed to make one of the biggest Nigella meals yet.

How does this happen?  Well, for starters, one has to be thinking clearly enough in advance to remember to bring The Book down from Scout Camp (check).  And then, one has to have a dinner party in order to excuse the cooking of excessive amounts of food (donezo).  Finally, Wendy Pan has to give you permission to cook the meal at the aforementioned dinner party (yeah, that's really hard).

Anyway, I decided to make the Standing Rib Roast with Mushroom Sauce and Cheddar Mash.

We took pictures, but unfortunately none of them managed to come out looking like food.

First, the rib roast.  Really huge, but really simple, just rub it down with equal parts salt, mustard powder, and garlic oil (Full disclosure: the recipe called for 1 tsp garlic oil and 1 tsp truffle oil... yeah.  Didn't have any of that.  Doubling up on garlic is never a bad idea, though).  Chuck the beast in a 425 degree oven until it's... raring to go.  (I'm sorry... but not really.)

The rib roast was disappointing to me.  I had never cooked one before, and neither had Wendy Pan, so we didn't really know what to expect.  I had bought a nice chunk of meat from a nice local butcher, but I have to say that I was not impressed with the cut.  It was rare (as we prefer it) but it was still dry and borderline tough.  The stuff around the ribs was amazing, but there was also a fair amount of fat mixed in there, too.  That said, the rub was divine.  Like, super duper divine.  Wendy Pan's already planning to use it on her new cooking obsession, pork butts.  It would also be rockin' on beef tenderloin, and really, any type of pork, and I will be using it on all of the above in the future.

The mushroom sauce, thank goodness, went a long way toward helping the dryness.  But then, it involved a stick of butter and a cup of marsala.  Can't really go wrong with that.  It really did have the perfect amount of sweetness and richness to compliment the beef.  The recipe called to add the roast's pan drippings, and I did... but I don't think I will next time.  It added an unnecessary amount of fat to the mushrooms, and not that much more flavorful goodness.

Finally, the cheddar mash.  Did you know that I make bangin' mashed potatoes?  No?  Well I do.  So I have serious expectations for mashed potatoes that are someone else's recipe.  These just called for potatoes, cheddar, and milk.  And even though I added more cheddar than these called for, I still found that they were pretty boring.  Like, if the cheddar's not going to add much more to the flavor of the straight mash, then why am I going to bother to add it?

Here's the thing about this meal: much of it was a learning experience (and fortunately the dinner guests fall in the "friends who are family" category and could be experimented on without paranoia).  I would totally serve the same(-ish) meal again, but now I know how to do it better.  Pick a better cut of meat.  Make the mushrooms straight out of the book (without drippings).  And make your own mashed potatoes, dammit.  (I'll tell you about them sometime.  They're epic)

Next epic Nigella meal?  Ham Hocs in Cider.  I'm not even joking.  Now I just have to find the time...

15 April 2011

In Which Friday is Fun

OK, because I so totally flaked yesterday, I bring you this piece of happiness, which came via SmartBitches.  Enjoy and have a great weekend.

14 April 2011

In Which Thoroughly Obsessed Thursday is Too ADD to Decide.

I don't even want to talk about it.

Friends, blog-ees, countrymen, I have nothing new to report this week by way of awesome new discoveries in awesomeness.

Really the biggest things I have been obsessed with are The Good Wife (I mean... seriously. WHY ARE YOU ALL NOT WATCHING IT ALL THE TIME??  Or, at the very least, WHY ARE YOU ALL NOT WATCHING IT WHEN YOU ARE NOT WATCHING COUGAR TOWN??) and old school (not to be confused with Old Skool) Lisa Kleypas historicals.

Both are the entertainment equivalent of comfort food.

Except that The Good Wife isn't so much comforting as it is ohholyhellamazing.  Have I mentioned how much I love Julianna Marguiles?  Not in the past week?  WELL.  She is beautiful.  And damn can that woman act.  I mean, for reals.  Without going all spoiler-alerty, let me just say that the last 20 or so seconds of this week's episode were Off the Charts Acting 101.  Her character, Alicia, finds out a BIG secret, and suddenly, as she's walking down a deserted hotel hallway, we see the woman who's held it together for two seasons just... crumble.  Before our very eyes.  It was heartbreaking for unobvious reasons (again with the spoiler-alertiness), and I cannot believe we now have to wait until May for the metaphorical shit to hit the metaphorical fan.

As for the Kleypases, there is something very very soothing about the interactions of her heroes and heroines.  I mean, even when they're behaving like idiots (Hi Derek Craven.  You know how much I love you... Just shut up and marry her, already), there is no doubt about how much they love each other and how much they want to be together.  Sure there are obstacles, but they almost don't matter when faced with the blinding chemistry of an atypical regency Miss and her dashingly unconventional Knight in Shining Armor.

And that's all she wrote.  No seriously.

11 April 2011

In Which Monday Menu Mayhem Gets Weird (In the Good Way)

At this point, it must be a little broken-record-y for me to talk about the insanity that is La Vida Jones.  However, this weekend was no exception, and thank ever-loving goodness Boy Scout looked at me on Saturday morning and said, "What are we cooking this weekend?"  There was one shot to figure out what we were cooking, get the ingredients, and cook.  Like, seriously.  Things could have gone very, very wrong.

But instead, we managed to figure out a recipe and a shopping list by (probably illegally) walking in to a Borders, finding the book we didn't have with us (no, we do not carry Nigella Kitchen around with us everywhere we go... shameful, I know), picking the recipe, and taking a picture of the ingredients.  That's not illegal... right?  Dame Lawyer Liberty, can I get a ruling?

Let me say that this is a very... European recipe.  A good recipe, but it's a recipe for Chili that no self-respecting neighbor-of-Mexico would make.  It called for oregano.  And only one can of beans.  And oh yeah... Mozzarella cheese:


Yes, that's rice under there, because to know and love Boy Scout is to know that he cannot eat chili without rice.  

Yeah, I don't know what to say, either.

I'm sure that this is a recipe (like all soups/stews/chilis) that does better with age (Boy Scout, can I get a ruling?), but the flavor and spice manage just fine at the first sitting, thanks mainly to ingredient #1, chorizo.  

No, there is no bacon in this recipe. 

I know.  I'm still in shock myself.

Chorizo, ground beef, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, cocoa, oregano (I added some wine, natch), and then when it's all cooked and bubbly, you throw in chunks of mozzarella.

It's weird.  But it's good.  I'm still on the fence about whether to make it again... and how much I'm going to alter it when I do.

7 April 2011

In Which Thoroughly Obsessed Thursday is Avoiding You

Another product of the glorious Lady Liberty Weekend is the new videos she exposed us to.  You see, law students have plenty of time to do things like explore YouTube, because they spend so much of their time procrastinating.

At least, in my limited experience, this generalization is very, very true.

So behold, a Lady Liberty endorsed video that keeps giving me asthma attacks because I am laughing so hard.  And also makes me seriously ponder the best person to do this to.

6 April 2011

In Which I Review Bossypants.

Those who know me will not be surprised to learn that I have had this book on pre-order since February 1. And I'm pretty sure that I don't need to delve into my Liz Lemon/Tina Fey worship in this post, but let's just say that if I reflect even a little bit of her humor, cleverness and (lack of) grace in my every day life, I am one happy camper.

Regular readers will also know of my extreme "what-am-I-reading-this-week?" ADD, and those who know me personally will know that my brain is about to explode with everything going on in my life.

So it should really come as no surprise that when Bossypants was delivered to the house yesterday, I dove in.

And then I finished it today.

This is slightly misleading.  It's not exactly a long book (275 pages), and it goes down more easily than a bowl of Baby Brother Jones' Cookies and Cream Ice Cream.  There were times I was laughing out loud. There were times I was nodding righteously.  There was always a smile on my face.

Reviews have been positive but mixed, ranging from those who wish Fey had been more explicit and personal, to those who feel that she does an admirable job of being expressive without compromising her own privacy.

I fall squarely into the latter camp.  I think Tina Fey does a marvelous job of (non-linearly) bringing us closer to her crazy funhouse life adventures, but not too close.  For example, I think hearing the woman I worship gush about her love for her husband would have been jarring and weird.  Hearing about their near-death honeymoon experience (no seriously, they almost died) was just about right.

While she can be very self-deprecating (see: just about every photo of her in the book), she's also not afraid to point out the things that she's done that she's proud of: closing the gender gap on SNL (over the span of her SNL career, she went from Chris Kattan being selected to portray Rocky's Adrian over Cheri Oteri, to Amy Poehler, at nine months pregnant, rapping as Sarah Palin); creating a show that is (at least critically) hugely successful (and employs 200 people); being a working mom who can shoot with Oprah and do SNL on a Saturday, and be at home (work-free) on Sunday for her daughter's birthday.

She also has a lot of opinons about women in the workplace.  I think this is mostly because she is always asked what it's like to be such a glass-ceiling-breaker.  But while her opinions about sexism are definite and strong (On critics of her Sarah Palin impression: "No one ever said it was 'mean' when Chevy Chase played Gerald Ford falling down all the time... I am not mean and Mrs. Palin is not fragile.  To imply otherwise is a disservice to us both."  On the ten million-person audience who watched her and Amy Poehler play Sarah Palin and Katie Couric: "so I guess that Second City director who said the audience 'didn't want to see a sketch with two women' can go eat shit in his hat."), she speaks as a woman who has battled and who has seen the common sense and reason that sexism is dumb, but she does not speak as a woman on a crusade.  In my opinion, this lends her voice more power.

Is this a stellar book?  No.  But it is very good, and it is very much worth reading.  You will laugh.  You will not cry (except maybe from the laughing).  You will think.

And these days, that's really all you can ask for.

4 April 2011

In Which Monday Menu Mayhem Works Well With Others

What an exciting weekend this was, friends.

That most elegant of elegant ladies, the lovely Dame de Laliberte came to Scout Camp to shake things up (and to help me deal with a dangerous overabundance of chardonnay).  As a result of this meeting of the minds (and the Cougar Town lovefest that followed) the Menu was not only Mayhemic, but chock-a-block filled with Nigella goodness.

Saturday tea (yes, dammit, we had tea... followed by apĆ©ritifs, natch) began with Pigs in a Blanket, which Nigella called Franks and Blanks, and so they shall henceforth be known.  Behold:



The awesomesauce of this recipe is indeed... awesome sauce.  The recipe didn't call for exactly equal parts dijon mustard, honey mustard, and sour cream, but that's what it ended up with.  I liked the puff pastry blankets, too (as opposed to the more biscuit-y blankets of my youth)-- they were light and crunchy and they hit the spot.

Cocktails (kir royales, duh) were followed by a simply superb meal of Nigella's Taragon Chicken, and Lady Lib's own home-made, hand cut pasta, and grilled asparagus:


In this one you brown the chicken and some scallions in the pan, and then cook them in vermouth and taragon in the oven.  Add some cream at the end to form a nice sauce, and you're good to go.  I have to say that I'm not normally a fan of taragon (no licorice for me, thanks), but the flavors in this dish simply cannot be denied.

And honestly, I never thought it could be so easy to make pasta.  Sure it's a long process, but my goodness, the results are well worth it.

(Those curious will note that I made the chicken, La Lalib made the pasta, and Boy Scout grilled the asparagus.  TEAM WORK, PEOPLE)

And so I thank you, my darling Lady Liberty, for shedding your light on our humble kitchen, and for leaving it a better (if messier) place than it had been before.

I'm just kidding.  It's always that messy.