Geek. Pirate. Mom

Yesterday was the Super Bowl, the highlight of American sporting events and home to the edgiest commercials that ad agencies can put together. Right?

Meh.

I admit, I’m not a big football fan. But I am a big fan of great advertising (I am in love with The Man Your Man Could Smell Like) as well as the halftime show. Following Janet Jackson’s nipple issue, the halftime shows were scaled back. I, for one, didn’t mind Paul McCartney- since I can’t afford tickets to his concerts. But really, the halftime shows have been dull, especially the Black Eyed Peas. Which isn’t a surprise- they’re an act that’s better experienced via the radio or in a club, not live. And certainly not in a giant stadium.

The Super Bowl didn’t get off to a good start. Christina Aguilera blew the National Anthem. Which was surprising since it’s not like it’s the first time she’s sung it at a major sporting event- I seem to recall her singing at the NBA finals. She not only screwed up the lyrics (which is somewhat forgivable for me, if you factor in nerves), but committed the cardinal sin of a bad rendition.

To future anthem singers, just sing the damn song. I know, everyone wants to do for it what Whitney Houston did. But let’s be honest, she really just sang the song and she sang the hell out of it. Christina threw in every trick she could, and sounded horrible doing it.

For those who say that it’s ridiculous of me to criticize her when I wasn’t the one up there… Here’s a quick and dirty recording of me singing the national anthem. You get a bonus dose of the Little Kidlet yelling in the background, and I haven’t warmed up- but even that is better than Christina was. Not only that, I’ve sung the national anthem at assemblies, our city’s DARE assembly (which was filled to the brim with kids)… so yes, I have sung it publicly before.

National Anthem

As far as the ads go, it was pretty hit and miss. There were a few great spots (the Eminem Detroit one was good), but not all of them were surprises. The Volkswagen Vader spot had already hit the internet. For me, the bright spot was actually a Fox promo- the “House” send up of the Mean Joe Green Coca-Cola ad.

Then there was the Tibet Groupon spot. In which, it started with a serious bit about the plight of Tibet, and launched into a pitch for a Groupon coupon for a Himalayan meal. Not surprisingly, people were upset. I was going to link to a tweet Timothy Hutton had posted last night, but it seems that he deleted it. Basically he said that the Brits were right, and Americans have no sense of irony.

I will say this, I saw the other two spots, and thought they were fine. But I did feel that the Tibet spot went too far. Make fun of Saving Whales or Deforestation. They’re both subjects that people have mocked- and while yes, it’s sad that whales die… it’s not like Tibet, where people have given up their lives to try to get freedom.

To quote Jeph Jacques, it would be like having a Groupon ad that went something like this.

Think he’s exaggerating? Not really. Just because it didn’t happen on our soil, doesn’t make what’s gone on in Tibet any less serious.

While Groupon has maintained that they did offer links to related charities on their website… it was still in bad taste.

So there you have it. The game was sorta boring, the halftime show wasn’t very memorable and neither were the ads. Except for Groupon.

But the real highlight? I thawed some steak, pan seared it and finished it in the oven… and served it with some beer battered onion rings.

A little labor intensive, but well worth it.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

I know I haven’t posted much about our Christmas dinner. I’ll just say this. The food rocked. I plan on making all the dishes again, so the recipes will pop up here anyways.

The first recipe that I made is this layered “torta” that my mom put together for Christmas. The other appetizers I was doing were a bit more labor intensive, so she wanted something that was quick, easy- and delicious.

Goat Cheese, Pesto and Sun Dried Tomato Torta

via Bake Space (from “The Bride and Groom’s First Cookbook”)

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz goat cheese, softened
2/3 cup pesto – store-bought or homemade, but it should be on the thicker side
3/4 cup sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
basil leaves or pine nuts for garnish

In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and goat cheese and season with salt and pepper.
Combine 1/4 cup cheese mixture with sundried tomatoes in another bowl and mix well.
Line a 2-cup ramekin with plastic wrap, letting ends hang over.
Spray plastic wrap with cooking spray.
Carefully spread half of cheese mixture in bottom of ramekin, followed by pesto, sundried tomato mixture, and remaining cheese.
Carefully pull on plastic wrap as you go to create smooth layers.
When finished, wrap ends of plastic wrap over top and chill for at least one hour.
When ready to serve, unwrap the top, and invert onto a plate.
Remove dish and plastic wrap.

**

You can serve it with crackers, or as my mom (and I) did, with some crostini. Just slice a french baguette, brush a little olive oil on the slices and toast in a preheated 375 degree oven until they’re nice and crisp. The recipe makes plenty of dip, so make sure you have enough crackers or crostini to go around!

TheBoy loved this so much that it was the one appetizer I made for New Year’s Eve. Since I added a food processor to my kitchen arsenal, I even made the pesto! Definitely great, since it looks impressive- it comes together pretty quickly (for Christmas we used Trader Joe’s pesto) and it’s something you make ahead. As a matter of fact, the toughest part will probably be tearing off the cling wrap to line the bowl with.

You know, it isn’t very often that I see a recipe, say that I’m going to make it and then actually make it. I am lazy. I’ll bookmark recipes and never get around to them. So in a week where the temperature suddenly spiked to 95 degrees and I had a cranky 3 year old, if I was compelled to make something- you know that I thought it must be good.

Pumpkin Cheesecake via Brown Eyed Baker. I won’t even post the recipe here, or try to win you over with my sad pictures. Her post is really all you need to get you excited about adding this to your Thanksgiving dinner. Or earlier.

All I read was Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Gingersnap crust, and I knew that I had to make this. I mentioned it to TheBoy, who informed me that I needed to make this right away. You know, just to make sure that it would be okay to serve for Thanksgiving.

I made it, and the consensus is that this is amazing and a worthy replacement for pumpkin pie (and my in-laws are not ones to change up their holiday meal lineup). You might think that cheesecakes are tricky- but honestly, with a water bath you get a great cheesecake. You just have to overcome your fear of sloshing around hot water when you pull the cheesecake out. But it’s worth the pay off!

*Jedi Mind Trick* You will make this…

If you’re plugged into the blogosphere… odds are you’ve heard about Monica Gaudio and her run in with Cooks Source , a free magazine for distribution in the New England area. A friend contacted her about an article she’d written for it called “As American as Apple Pie – Isn’t” wondering how she’d gotten published. The only problem? She’s written it as “A Tale of Two Tarts” which she had posted in 2005 on a domain that she owns, which clearly has a copyright on it.

So she did what anyone would do. She contacted the editor via email and started a discussion- assuming that of course, the article had simply been wrongly included. It wasn’t plagiarism, it was attributed to her. After a few emails, Judith Griggs (the editor) asked what she wanted. Ms. Gaudio said that she just wanted an apology in the magazine and on the magazine’s Facebook page, and a donation made to the Columbia School of Journalism for $130 (a fair amount to have been paid for a piece of that length). All reasonable, right?

This is what Ms Griggs responded with:

Yes Monica, I have been doing this for 3 decades, having been an editor at The Voice, Housitonic Home and Connecticut Woman Magazine. I do know about copyright laws. It was “my bad” indeed, and, as the magazine is put together in long sessions, tired eyes and minds somethings forget to do these things.
But honestly Monica, the web is considered “public domain” and you should be happy we just didn’t “lift” your whole article and put someone else’s name on it! It happens a lot, clearly more than you are aware of, especially on college campuses, and the workplace. If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally. Now it will work well for your portfolio. For that reason, I have a bit of a difficult time with your requests for monetary gain, albeit for such a fine (and very wealthy!) institution. We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me! I never charge young writers for advice or rewriting poorly written pieces, and have many who write for me… ALWAYS for free!

My first reaction was to groan because she’s one of those people who uses “quotations” to seem smart. (Or should I say- to seem “smart”?) But really- public domain? It’s been proven that publishing something on the internet doesn’t make it public domain. If that were the case, nobody would need Creative Commons licenses for their images/artwork. There wouldn’t be regular stories about Reuters or AP going after people who publish their content without paying the fees. If that were the case, YouTube wouldn’t constantly be pulling down television shows or music videos that have been reported for copyright violations.

Ms Gaudio then blogged about her dismay, and well, it spread like wildfire. Seriously. Not only have I seen a ton of blog posts, but Neil Gaiman tweeted about it (links to his first tweet, but he did comment on it more through the day), Reddit picked it up… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The tone of the email suggests that this was a lone incident, a mere mistake made in the mad rush to put out a magazine, right? Wrong. The Internet (or rather, those who use the internet) began to look through issues of Cooks Source, and found that not only did she steal the article for her own use, but that she had also taken content (text, not recipes) from NPR, Martha Stewart and Sunset Magazine. As far as the recipes went, almost immediately some were found from Southern Living Magazine, Paula Deen and Giada DiLaurentiis. I’m sure that soon we’ll find out how many of the images were simply taken from other sites as well.

Not only was she stupid enough to not understand that everything on the internet isn’t up for grabs, she stole from people who have ready access to legal teams. Brilliant.

Let this serve as a lesson- if you create a for-profit magazine in which you sell advertising and steal most of the content, you will be caught. Your advertisers will drop you, and likely you’ll be sued. So best to write your own material or give up the magazine idea if you can’t produce your own copy.

This has gotten some excellent coverage, and here are a few links of where I’ve gotten my information from. Marci Sischo, BlogHer, Food For Real, Washington Post, and How Publishing Really Works

WARNING: This post contains pictures taken on a cameraphone. For those of you who require hi-res fancy pictures… sorrry! I should get a new camera for me and a cheap one for the Oldest Kidlet, who is quite the photographer- but rough on cameras.

I know, I’m the Queen of Make-It-From-Scratch. But you know… there are a few places that I take shortcuts. A few products out there that you can get quality goods without filling foods with preservatives.

I don’t use baking mixes anymore- making a cake from scratch really doesn’t take that much longer. Same with pancakes.

So where do I use my shortcuts? I used canned tomatoes almost exclusively, and keep a good jarred tomato sauce on hand. Nothing with HFCS as an ingredient- but something that’s essentially doing all the work I would have done if I was making it myself. I try to get something that’s as basic as it gets. Tomato with a little basil. And I always keep a jar of that on hand. That way, when I feel like having pasta, I can grab that and tweak the sauce the way I want to.

Read More…

I’m going to share a secret with you about cooking- it isn’t hard. Sure, there are some things that seem tricky and difficult… but honestly, anyone can cook. It just takes a little focus.

A lot of my friends think I’m pretty fancy. After all, I once made pierogies from scratch. I made creamed corn for a birthday party- and those mini quiche? I should just walk around with a tea cup and my pinky extended permanently, right?

Okay, I might be more willing to get down and dirty in the kitchen than most people. But that doesn’t mean that it’s hard.

Case in point, here’s my easy Roasted Asparagus in a Mustard Vinaigrette that’s sure to impress.

Ingredients

1 lb of asparagus
Olive oil
Dijon mustard
Red wine vinegar (or your favorite acid- lemon juice or sherry vinegar would do nicely)
Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and make sure the rack is in the middle.

Wash and trim your asparagus. Never trimmed it? It’s really easy- see, the bottom parts of asparagus are awfully woody and not the most fun to eat. Just take a stalk of asparagus and bend it until it snaps. Then, hold that stalk of asparagus against the rest of your asparagus and trim it. (If you want to make soups or whatever, you can save the stalks, but if you’re like me… you can toss it)

Line up the asparagus on the sheet tray in a single layer. Drizzle about 1 tbsp or so of olive oil on top and roll them a bit to coat them properly- then season with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven for 10 minutes. You don’t even have to turn them.

While it roasts, it’s time to make the vinaigrette.

In a small bowl, measure out 1 tsp of dijon mustard, then 2 Tbsp of your vinegar. Using a fork, mix those two together. Then, slowly drizzle in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Taste, season with salt and pepper- and adjust the amounts of mustard, vinegar and oil until you’re happy.

Then, pull out the asparagus and toss it in the vinaigrette. And that’s it.

Note- I used red wine vinegar, because that’s what I had. But if you think that vinegar’s a bit too harsh, just use some lemon juice.

I must reiterate, I am a horrible foodie. When my camera was murdered by my oldest son (yes, he stole it from my purse and dropped it several times until the shutters were stuck permanently open and you couldn’t adjust to make it focus), I didn’t buy a new one. I am soldiering onward with my horrible camera phone. Why? I want an SLR, but know that I’ll have to wait for Christmas and my Birthday (as they’re only a month apart) to try for that.

The downside of relying on a cameraphone is that when you get busy, you set down the phone and promptly forget about taking pictures.

For yesterday’s birthday party, I made a Carrot Cake (with Cream Cheese Frosting, naturally) and a side of roasted asparagus in a mustard vinaigrette to go with the dinner. The rest of dinner was a Honey-baked Ham, some boiled red potatoes that were tossed in butter and parsley, a lovely salad and rolls. Mmm, rolls.

Carrot cake. I made this last year for my husband’s grandmother’s birthday, as it’s her favorite cake. I recall swearing up a storm and vowing to not make the cake until I got a food processor and food scale. Then, I decided to make it again. Apparently I had forgotten what a pain it is to grate carrots on a box grater when you have no upper body strength. Read More…

It isn’t often that my husband gets weekends off. TheBoy works long hours in a demanding industry, so we cherish just about every second we have together.

Luckily, he had this weekend off. Saturday he slept, and Sunday we had planned on going to the Dodgers game. Only, it was hot and the thought of sitting in the sun for the duration of the game was sounding less and less appealing as time went on. So instead of the game, we decided to go a little more local and have some fun. Read More…

TheBoy and I snuck off last week for a weekend away from the kids in one of our favorite cities, Las Vegas. True, we aren’t much for clubbing. Or gambling. Or even drinking.

But that isn’t why we love Las Vegas, it’s the food! As well as the luxury of getting to sleep in at a great hotel without worrying about kidlets.

Friday morning we set off from LA and started to make the drive through the desert. While yes, we could have flown and simply rented a car in Vegas, there’s something fun about the drive. Hours where we can talk, sing to songs, and stop and enjoy some roadside food.

This trip’s “I can’t believe we stopped there award” goes to Hesperia. Right on the border of Victorville and Hesperia, we passed a Gentleman’s Club that said that dancers were always welcome. Classy, right? We stopped there to fill up at a gas station and I admit, I really didn’t want to get out of the car to use the bathroom and buy some water.

From there, it was through Barstow (and BARSTOW STATION) and the desert until we reached Baker. In the past, we used to stop at Barstow for a meal. With the first Vegas trips, it was usually Barstow Station- out of nostalgia sake, and the fact that you get to eat in converted train cars. Then we started to stop a little further in Barstow, near the outlet malls.

Now we stop at Baker. Why? I have three words for you: The Mad Greek. The Mad Greek is in Baker, and has some delicious Greek fare (as well as diner classics) and the best strawberry milkshakes.

This time we ordered gyros (an odd first as we’ve stopped here so many times), and they were delicious. The meat was unbelievably tender- and their tzaziki sauce was excellent.

Then, it was back to the road. A first for us, we passed by some skydivers landing near Jean, NV. One was a little off course- but they all landed safely. It was still surprising to see that their landing site was so close to the highway, though. (No pictures- all I have is the cell and the couple pictures I snapped were much too blurry)

I always get a little sad driving through Jean. On one side of the highway is still the Gold Strike Casino, which boasts cheap meals and slots that pay out cash. On the other, is a cement footprint of what used to be the Nevada Landing, with its sign still standing.

As we were driving into Las Vegas, we passed a total of 10 cars pulled over – a few on the left side of the highway, each with motorcycle cops and a couple with some cars as well. I have no idea what happened, but I couldn’t stop laughing. I laughed when I saw the first one- as someone who regularly drives into Vegas, you always go the limit coming into and out of. They see the California plates and start pulling people over because they can. A little more when I saw the next one, and I was actually crying by the tenth car- it was so utterly absurd by that point.

Of course, you just want to know where we ate and what we had… so I’ll skip the reminiscing, and go straight to the Reviews.

Friday Night

Ping Pang Pong
Gold Coast Casino

I first ate here two years ago with my family and was struck by how amazing the food was. While the Gold Coast isn’t a very nice place, the restaurant is packed with Chinese tourists (and locals)- which means the food has to be the real deal.
First up, we had the potstickers. Filled with pork, they were perfect. The dough wasn’t too thick, the pork was perfectly cooked, and they were just crisp enough. Served with a great dipping sauce, we had a hard time reminding ourselves that we still had entrees on the way.

Of our two entrees, this was our favorite- and the one I recommend that everyone try who visits. Walnut Prawns. Coated in a mayonnaise sauce and served with honey glazed walnuts. The prawns are a little sweet with a bit of a tang from the sauce- and the walnuts are perfectly sweet and delicious. Honestly, I wanted to buy a bag of those walnuts for snacking on for the rest of our trip.

The prices are on par with a nicer Chinese food restaurant and the food is authentic. Casual attire will do, but not too casual.

Saturday Breakfast

Room Service – no review necessary. It was great, convenient and pricey!

Saturday Lunch

Solaro
Pool Deck at the Palazzo

One of Wolfgang Puck’s eateries, it’s a mix of California cuisine and classic American food. Food’s in the $15-$20 range and is also available to-go, so that it can be taken up to the rooms. Of course, you can only dine there if you have access to the Palazzo’s pools- which would mean if you’re a Palazzo guest or headed to Azure.

Sadly, I have no pictures- I had gone to CanyonRanch Spa, so I left my phone up in my room. It seemed silly to bring it and possibly lose it.

TheBoy ordered a burger- which was huge and came with fries. Always lovely when they ask you how you want your burger cooked.

I ordered the Prime Rib Panini, which came with potato chips. The prime rib was tender, juicy- and the horseradish cream on the sandwich was great. Now, any time I get a prime rib sandwich, I’ll be dreaming of this one.

We’re probably going to eat here again, next time.

Saturday Night

Dal Toro
The Palazzo

TheBoy was in the mood for Italian, so we decided to try this place. It’s rated to have one of the best patios in Vegas, as it’s set just below street level where you can people watch and see the show across the street at Treasure Island. (It was windy the night we were there, so we didn’t get to see the show) To make the street noise not so obvious, there are a lot of fountains as well as some fairly loud music.

It’s part Italian restaurant and car museum. I ordered the Tortiglione Rustica, a pasta dish with bacon, chicken, mushrooms, and thyme, tossed in a brandy cream sauce. TheBoy ordered the Lasagna delal Nonna- the grandmother’s lasagna. I got a bowl of pasta that was roughly the side of my head, and he had a normal size portion of lasagna. He said his lasagna was good, I thought that the Tortiglione was a bit sweet, but okay. Good, but not amazing.

For dessert, he had tiramisu and I had the Torta della Nonna (pictured). Both were excellent.

The service was a little spotty as well- quite often we were left searching for our waiter, even though the restaurant wasn’t full. Odder still, one of the hostesses was dressed in a tank top and shorts, when the rest were dressed like hostesses usually are.

If we come back, it will be for dessert only, I think.

Prices range from $14-42 for entrees. If you want to try it, reservations are recommended (they’re on OpenTable).

And with that, we left Vegas the next morning and returned home. We had lunch at Bob’s Big Boy in Baker (right next to the World’s Largest Thermometer!).

While we didn’t make it very far outside the Palazzo/Venetian complex, there are tons of amazing restaurants there. I have a long list of places that I’d like to try in Vegas- which range from pricey to very affordable.

Off-strip, but excellent was the Black Bear Diner. My cousin recommended this and the food was dynamite. Classic diner food, done very well. In the Venetian/Palazzo, I’d also like to visit Carnevino, Cut, Bouchon (and return to Pinot Brasserie). Next door at Harrah’s, there’s KGB- which boasts some amazing burgers. If you’re willing to trek through Circus Circus, THE Steakhouse is great. At the MGM, Craftsteak and Shibuya are on my list of places to go. At Caesar’s Palace, there’s Mesa Grill and Rao’s (TheBoy has this on our list for next time- since you’re more likely to get a seat there than Rao’s in NY).

Of course, by next summer- I’m sure I’ll have even more places to add to the list.

These were a last minute addition to my lineup. How last minute? I ran to the store the morning of the baby shower to buy a few ingredients.

Aside from my contributions, we had a lovely curry chicken salad made by the mother to be’s grandmother, fruit supplied by her mother, and two types of sandwiches made by the grandmother. However, she’d made them two days in advance! My mother-in-law and I were concerned that it was too soon and they might be soggy.

So I decided to make these- a double batch so that I could make 48 for the party no matter what, and another 48 if the sandwiches weren’t edible. Thanks to my mom, for emailing this the night before! Read More…