Slouching Towards Oblivion

New Record / Cassette Player, or My Wife is Quick with the Zingers Today

2011-11-24T11:13:00.000-08:00

So Stephen helped me out by finding a sweeet receiver at the DI (not pictured) and when I told him I could use a new record player too, he hooked me up with the one pictured above. It has a dual cassette deck, as you can see, which means that after many years I have a way to play the dozen or so cassette tapes I've never been able to part with, so I went in the garage and dug them out of storage:

When Catherine saw me bringing them in the house, she said, "You know what would be great? When Andrew moves out in January, let's get one of those computers from the 1950s that will fill up his entire room!"
"Ha!" I said, "I'm blogging that!"
To which she replied, "Why? You'll see Shaunna tomorrow--you can just tell her in person."

You win this round, Wyffels.

Our 0th Anniversary

2011-06-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Rules of Truco According to Victor Fisch

2010-12-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

Different versions of Truco are apparently played all over the world. A few years ago, the first time I was in Brasil, Catherine's cousin Victor taught us the best way to play. When we returned, I taught a few of my friends and we played many fine games of Truco throughout the following year or so. Then we didn't play for a while and we all forgot how. As luck would have it, in late September, I returned from a second trip to Brasil, and while I was there, Victor refreshed my memory. So, in a format I've tried to adapt from my Goren-Hoyle Encyclopedia of Games, here are The Rules of Truco:

TRUCO

Number of players. Four in two partnerships. Partners sit opposite each other.

The deck. 28 cards, four each of A, K, Q, J, 7, 3, and 2 in each of four suits, spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.

Rank of cards. Generally as follows: 3, 2, A, K, J, Q, 7. However, with each hand that is dealt, one of these card ranks moves from its nominal rank and becomes the manilha, or trump. All non-manilha cards of the same rank are equal, regardless of suit. The four manilhas are ranked according to suit as follows: clubs, hearts, spades, diamonds.

Determining the dealer. Players must come to an agreement on who will deal the first hand.

The shuffle and cut. The dealer shuffles and then offers the deck to either adjacent player to cut. The adjacent player may cut the deck by lifting off any number of cards, and after cutting has the right to deal the top card on the deck to any player or to place it face up in the center of the table to determine the manilha.

The deal. The deal passes to the left after each hand is played. Players may not examine the cards in their hands prior to the end of the deal. Any method of distribution of cards is permissible as long as each player has exactly three cards at the end of the deal. If any player is found not to have exactly three cards at the end of the deal, a misdeal is declared and the dealer's partnership loses the game. During the deal, a card is dealt face up in the middle of the table to determine the manilha. At the dealer's discretion, any number of replacement cards may be dealt face up atop this card. The remaining stock is then placed face-down, perpendicular to and on top of the face-up card.

The manilha. The manilha is the next-highest ranking card in the nominal order shown above from the face-up card in the middle of the table. For example:

If the face-up card is a queen, the jack becomes the manilha, and the rank of cards is J
♣, J♥, J♠, J♦
, 3, 2, A, K, Q, 7.
If the face-up card is a three, the seven becomes the manilha, and the rank of cards is 7
♣, 7♥, 7♠, 7♦
, 3, 2, A, K, J, Q.
If the face-up card is a two, the three becomes the manilha, and the rank of cards is 3
♣, 3♥, 3♠, 3♦
, 2, A, K, J, Q, 7.

Regardless of the rank, the manilha of clubs is the highest card, followed by the manilha of hearts, the manilha of spades, and the manilha of diamonds.

Object of the game. The object of the game is to be the first team to win a total of twelve points. Each hand is played for between one and twelve points. A hand is won by taking two of three tricks.

First lead. The first lead is made by the player to the dealer's right.

The play. Play continues counter-clockwise, with each player laying down exactly one card per trick. If a player lays down a card out of turn, that player's partnership loses the game.

Tricks. Each trick consists of four cards. The trick is taken by the player laying down the highest card. That player then leads to the next trick. In the event of a tie, the player who led leads to the next trick.

Ties. If the first trick results in a tie, each player must play their highest card in the second trick. If the second or third trick results in a tie, the hand goes to the partnership who won the first trick. If all three tricks result in ties, the dealer's partnership loses the game.

Raises. At any time on his or her turn, prior to laying down a card, a player may raise by saying "truco." The opposing partnership has then three options:

Accept (the hand is then played for three points)
Decline (all cards are turned in and the raising partnership scores the current value of the hand)
Counter-raise, by saying "six"

The counter-raise presents the opposing partnership with the same three options, i.e. accept, decline, or counter-raise to nine. The value of a hand can in this manner potentially be raised as high as twelve points.

After a raise has been accepted, the accepting partnership retains the sole right to counter-raise on a subsequent turn.

Eleven Rules. When one team reaches eleven points, raising is no longer allowed. If any player attempts to raise, that player's partnership loses the game. Cards are dealt as usual, but prior to the first lead to the first trick, the partnership with eleven points must examine their cards and decide whether to play the hand. If they elect to do so, the hand is played for three points. If they decline, the opposing partnership scores one point and a new hand is dealt.

Double Eleven Rules. When both teams reach eleven points, a final hand is dealt. Players are not allowed to look at their cards, but must play them all blindly.

CUSTOMS

Keeping score. Score can be kept using two ten cards, face up, and two other cards atop them, face down. Each ten card has twelve pips. Initially, both cards are completely covered, and for each point scored, one pip is revealed. In the photograph at left, the score is five to two.

Zappy slap. When winning a hand with the highest manilha, it is customary to slap it against an opponent's forehead before laying it down on the table.

O Pato Samba (dance of the ducks). If a game is won twelve points to nil, the losing partnership must exchange seats by crawling beneath the table.

Signals. It is helpful for partners to use non-verbal signals to identify the high cards each is holding. Customary signals are as follows:

Though generally less enjoyable, a two-player version of Truco is easy to play. To my knowledge, a three-player version of Truco has been played with mixed results.

Final note. These are the rules both to the best of my understanding and the best of my ability to write them down. I welcome comments and questions, especially with regard to any possible gameplay circumstances not covered by the rules as listed above.

Dinner May 23rd

2010-05-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

Shredded chicken & banana blossom, from our sweetass Thai cookbook... I've been wanting to make this for a couple of weeks, and last time I went to the Southeast Supermarket, they had fresh banana blossoms in the produce section, so I bought one. I made chili jam, or nam prik phao the night before, and that turned out to be pretty tasty, if not quite spicy enough.

The dish is basically a salad with chicken cooked in coconut cream, tomatoes, mint & cilantro, a dressing made with the chili jam, and the banana flower, which you simply clean, shred, and soak in cold water & lime juice while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. The disappointing part was that the banana flower's contribution was really weak. Other than imparting a slightly rotten aftertaste, it really didn't bring much to the table (pun completely intended).

Now I'm not trying to escape responsibility here, but I do feel that the instructions for preparation were simple enough that even I couldn't have screwed them up, which leaves 2 possible explanations:

flavor loss occurred in shipping, or
banana flowers just aren't that good to eat.

Obviously, the best way to solve this mystery is with a vacation to Thailand.

Next time I make this dish (probably in the next week or so, because I quite enjoyed it despite the Banana Flower Disappointment) I will try substituting artichoke.

Lunch May 22nd

2010-05-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

We had to do something with the leftover tuna from the previous night's sushi, so this is what we did.

Sushi Party May 21st

2010-05-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

Nick brought some delicious sake (not pictured) and we got some tuna from the Market Street and made up a bunch of rolls.

Heidi (not pictured) had brought over some bananas and ice cream. Catherine fried up the bananas with some brown sugar and stuff. This included, of course, drenching them with rum and setting them on fire, which was one of the evening's many highlights, along with the fact that we did not set the rest of the kitchen on fire.

Dinner May 19th

2010-05-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

Fettuccine with Spiced Butter. Catherine's idea, from a recipe on 101cookbooks.com. The butter was spiced with cinnamon, saffron, ginger, paprika, & cayenne, and a whole bunch of shredded shallots were sautéed in it. Asparagus, pine nuts, parsley and mint leaves rounded out the dish, which had so much flavor going on, I wanted to keep eating even after I was stuffed.

Dinner May 17th

2010-05-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

Sesame Noodles with Sweet Peppers and Cucumbers & Thai-Style Grilled Chicken from the Cooks Illustrated Summer Grilling issue. Aw, yeah. We'll be making this again.

15 Weeks of Samwiches, Week 4 Do-Over

2010-05-17T20:24:00.001-07:00

Well, there's the Mediterranean tuna panini. As I predicted, we indulged ourselves with a do-over, and it was pretty far from the worst thing that could happen. The best (and only) tuna fish sandwich I've had this year.

Death Star: Worst Drink in the World?

2010-05-15T05:14:00.000-07:00

A potent mixture of vodka, grape kool-aid, and formaldehyde, this may not be the worst drink in the world, just the worst tasting.

Reinforcing the notion that she's not as dumb as I am, Catherine left most of hers where it belongs: in the glass.

Molcajete!

2010-05-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

Dessert May 11th

2010-05-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Soufflé. Catherine did all the work except procuring the baking dish, which was my contribution. Well, that and temporarily storing a little more than half of the soufflé in my stomach. Catherine thought it could have turned out better, but I remain unconvinced.

15 Weeks of Samwiches, Week 4

2010-05-11T23:55:00.000-07:00

Hawaiian Ham panini at Paush Cafe...nothing to write home about, really--the pepper apricot relish turned out to be apricot/jalapeno jam, and I guess I should've seen that coming. Not bad, though. Misread the article and didn't try the Mediterranean tuna panini, so we'll have to indulge ourselves with a do-over, which is certainly not the worst thing that could happen.

Jerk!

2010-05-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

...chicken, that is. Grilled in the rain with red onion & banana salsa (top left) and Catherine's feisty rice (top right). Good stuff!

Things We've Recently Eaten

2010-05-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

Pissaladière—Provencal Pizza from this here Cook's Illustrated recipe, topped with caramelized onions, anchovies, and kalamata olives. The dough recipe is idiot-proof--I made it in the food processor--and the caramelized onions are sweet, juicy chunks of heaven.

The dough was so easy, we doubled it and made margherita style pizza as well, using some smoked mozzarella and the last of a really awesome pasta sauce Catherine made up earlier in the week.

Pan-Seared Scallops with Arugula, Orange, Grapefruit, from this recipe Catherine found on the Food Network website. Missing pomegranate, but still tasty, and so pretty!

Whole grilled tilapia...fun to cook, kind of meh to eat.

Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts, our new favorite side.

Dinner April 4th

2010-04-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

Greek Scampi & Diced Vegetable Salad from the Moosewood Cookbook. The tomatoes and feta made a zesty sauce for the shrimp, with which the greek salad went perfectly. Catherine's no-knead whole wheat dutch oven bread (below) turned out crusty and delicious. It was the perfect thing to soak up that scampi sauce.

15 Weeks of Samwiches, Week 3

2010-03-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

Meatball sandwich from Moochies on 8th South. Gigantic and delicious and messy. I had marinara in my eyebrows when I was done. Awesome. I'll be eating here again.

Dinner March 17th

2010-03-18T06:39:00.001-07:00

Curried Split Pea Soup, adapted by Catherine from this recipe for Coconut Red Lentil Soup. We don't have a pressure cooker, and we didn't have 3-4 hours to wait for the lentils to cook, so Catherine used split peas and de-veganized the recipe by using chicken broth instead of water. It turned out to be one of the tastiest soups ever!

15 Weeks of Samwiches, Week 2

2010-03-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

This week's sandwich was the Pastrami Reuben at Siegfried’s Delicatessen. Wayne played along even though he's ordinarily no fan of Sauerkraut. I normally don't like pickles on my sandwiches, but in this case we agreed it all worked out just fine.

Holiday Dinner

2010-03-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

We celebrated a day early since I left for the Great White North on Sunday. Needless to say, as usual, great dinner, great holiday.

Thai Soup

2010-02-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

Coconut milk-based soup with lemon grass, galangal, chicken, shallots, kaffir lime leaves, bird's eye chilis & tomatoes. Super easy and super awesome. We will be making this one again!

15 Weeks of Samwiches, Week 1

2010-02-23T13:40:00.000-08:00

Wayne and I are going to try a sandwich a week from this article I found in the City Weekly. This week it was the Big Dipper at Robin's Nest: roast beef, swiss cheese, mayo, and dippin' sauce. The bread was the best part, soft, buttery, and flaky...almost more like a croissant than the alleged ciabatta. Easily the best french dip I've had in a while.

Thai Crispy Fish Salad

2010-02-22T06:46:00.000-08:00

Somewhat similar to the Thai beef salad we make sometimes, but with fish (we used mahi mahi) instead of beef, and no mango. Crispifying the fish makes this salad a little more work. Mint & cilantro help keep the flavor light and lively. We used the bird's eye chili peppers this time--maybe about twice as many as necessary. How do you say caliente in Thai? =)

Feijoada!

2010-02-22T06:41:00.000-08:00

Brazilian comfort food: black beans and enough meat to knock over a vegetarian at 30 paces.

6 Weeks Late Phở Picture

2009-12-31T07:29:00.000-08:00

Maybe for the New Year we'll post more regularly to the blog. Bet not, though! =) Here's a picture of the Phở we made about six weeks ago:

Phở Plans

2009-11-13T22:53:00.000-08:00

Saturday, 11/14 - Sunday 11/15: from-scratch Phở.

Dinner November 11th

2009-11-11T23:46:00.000-08:00

Someday, we'll figure out how to take pictures of food that look as good as the food tastes. Until then...

Polenta with sausage, tomato, and olive ragout (left)

Zucchini ribbons with goat cheese & basil (right)

Breakfast November 8th

2009-11-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

Cousin Jenn's Famous Popovers with Hash Browns & Eggs (also pictured at right, Belle, who is part coyote).

Dinner October 9th

2009-10-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

Chicken Chili, yum!

Dinner September 27th

2009-09-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Gnocchi from scratch.

Catherine making gnocchi from scratch. Isn't she awesome? You bet she is!

Dinner September 2nd

2009-09-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

Roast pork loin & bowtie pasta with pesto.

What Happened in Seattle on the 24th of July

2009-07-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

It was a very eventful weekend. Here are some of the things we did:

Ate fried heads, yum!

Saw Micachu & the Shapes

Saw Deerhunter

Saw Built to Spill

Played disc golf & drank illegal PBR

Saw the JP Patches & Gertrude Statue

Saw Benny the Rock-Balancing Guy

Played old school pinball & drank more illegal PBR

Went kayaking

Saw the Muppet Exhibit at EMP|SFM

Played more disc golf & wished we had more illegal PBR

Had a barbecue on beach & wished we had brought a camera

2009 Reads, Eighteen through Twenty (18, 19, 20)

2009-07-19T10:37:00.001-07:00

Water for Elephants (2006) by Sara Gruen

This was pretty interesting until the last 100 pages or so.

The Mezzanine (1988) by Nicholson Baker

I don't know if you can really call this a novel--it's more like a hundred pages or so of musings about the minutia of life in general. And it's not boring at all.

A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) by Khaled Hosseini

Sadder and more compelling than The Kite Runner, and will probably be made into an even worse movie.

Spyro Gyra @ Washington Square, 7/11, $10

2009-07-11T22:42:00.000-07:00

My dad's favorite band brought it. Actually, this being Utah, they may have either brang it or brung it. Either way, and how!

What Happened in San Francisco on the 4th of July Weekend

2009-07-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

We went to Chinatown.

We took a ferry to Sausalito, which left from the Port of San Francisco.

In Sausalito we saw the art car.

This pumpkin thing lives on the art car.

We also saw this warpy-looking houseboat thing.

Then we went back to San Francisco...

...and watched the fireworks display over the USS Peralta.

We went to Golden Gate Park...

...and saw the King Tut exhibit at the deYoung Museum.

Also, we went to Alcatraz.

Dinner July 1st

2009-07-01T21:29:00.001-07:00

Grilled Thai Beef Salad from a recipe Catherine found. Napa cabbage with radishes, carrots, cucumber, mango, peanuts, mint & cilantro with sliced grilled sirloin. Totally simple and completely delicious.

Dinner June 30th

2009-06-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

Baked chicken with zucchini & tomatoes, baked carrots, and brown & wild rice. Catherine made this and it ruled. Need to get more of those little baby carrots from the co-op, because when you bake 'em with just olive oil and salt & pepper, they're just perfect. Like Catherine.

2009 Reads, Seventeen (17)

2009-06-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

Glitz (1985) by Elmore Leonard

I was so bummed by Portnoy's Complaint's failure to be awesome that I figured I'd read something guaranteed to meet my expectations. Mission accomplished. Although I caught a little flak from Catherine for the undeniably silly 80's-ness of the cover, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Dinner June 28th

2009-06-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

Grilled Pork Chops. Nailed it!

Bill Callahan @ Urban Lounge, 6/24, $13

2009-06-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

When I decided to start blogging about shows I thought I would try to abide by the "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" rule. The people who frequent the Urban Lounge are a healthy test of my commitment to that rule.

Despite a crowd that could have / should have been more appreciative / respectful, Bill Callahan & his band put on a beautiful show. The set list was heavy on material from Supper and Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, including a rendition of "Too Many Birds" that was everything I had hoped it would be.

My New Favorite Record June 23rd

2009-06-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

shapes

oblong

oblique

curvy

hairy

(messy?)

bleep

bloop

bloing

zow!

Dinner June 17th

2009-06-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Garlic Soy Pork Chops from the South Beach cookbook, sweet potatoes, salad, and a hen-of-the-woods mushroom from the farmer's market.

Isis @ Club Sound, 06/11, $20

2009-06-17T06:58:00.000-07:00

Epic show: 9 songs in a little over an hour and a half, and zero banter. They weren't Boris-loud (what else is?), but I was glad I brought earplugs. As you can barely make it out in the picture, Mr. Turner (there on the right) sports a formidable beard.

Laserfang / The Field / The Juan MacLean @ Urban Lounge, 06/11, $10

2009-06-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

Having never heard of Laserfang, nor listened to the Juan MacLean, I went to the Urban Lounge to see The Field. Laserfang (not pictured) was pretty bad ass, as any band named Laserfang ought to be. The Field was pretty much exactly what I expected, only slightly louder. Instead of instruments, the guy mostly had a lot of boxes on a table. Also there was a bass player and another guy who tapped on things, mostly a big cymbal, mostly with mallets.

The Juan MacLean turned out to be even more bad ass than Laserfang and about twice as loud as The Field. I'm not usually a dance music guy, but I was very impressed. The drummer had really amazing corps-style chops, and Mr. MacLean himself played a pretty wicked theremin, which you can sort of see him doing in the crappy picture I took with my cell phone.

What we took to Katie's Shindig

2009-06-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

Catherine made this shrimp & tomato salad thing. I thing she got the recipe out of one of those South Beach books. It turned out to be both beautiful and delicious. Go figure!

Lunch June 9th

2009-06-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

Eggplant Parmesan

Dinner June 8th

2009-06-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

Seared Scallops with Cauliflower Puree & Asparagus: I found this recipe on the tubes. Since we figured the scallops wouldn't microwave well, we had to eat them all for dinner, which made me sleepy.

Our Garden

2009-06-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

This is our garden this year. We built sweet boxes so our plants would have more nutrients this time (we had to get a lot of dirt!). We planted tomatoes, peppers, squashes, cucumbers, and chard!!

2009 Reads, Fourteen through Sixteen (14, 15, 16)

2009-06-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

The Hotel New Hampshire (1981) by John Irving
The Water Method Man (1972) by John Irving
Portnoy's Complaint (1969) by Philip Roth

Well, The Hotel New Hampshire was one of the best things I've stumbled across in a while. I found it a long time ago at the DI, and it sat on the shelf until I was talking to my buddy Ron & wondering aloud what-all books I was gonna take to Hawaii with me. He said he recalled that one being pretty good, so I brought it along. It's definitely my favorite so far of the John Irving I've read. It's hilarious and tragic and perfect, and it has bears. The Water Method Man, on the other hand, was good, but not as good as THNH. It was funnier and sadder both, but overall I just didn't feel it was as good of a story. Maybe not fair of me to read those two right in a row like that. Portnoy's Complaint is more of a rant than a novel. Ordinarily I like Philip Roth quite a lot, and this one is supposed to be his most popular book. I found it tiresome and difficult to finish. I was going to read Deception or Patrimony next, but I've opted for an Elmore Leonard book instead, since I feel like something I know I'll enjoy.

John Vanderslice @ Kilby Court, 05/28, $12

2009-05-29T06:57:00.000-07:00

We saw John Vanderslice last night. It was mostly as good as last time we saw him, which was also at Kilby. His new band didn't seem like they knew as many of his songs as well as the last band we saw him with, but I might just be romanticizing the past. At any rate, the drummer was particularly impressive, and John said some pretty funny stuff while he was tuning his guitar between songs. And they absolutely nailed Tablespoon of Codeine--made it rock like I wouldn't've thought it could. Overall, definitely worth the price of admission, plus I bought some new records. Sweet!

2009 Reads, Eleven through Thirteen (11,12,13)

2009-05-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

Indignation (2008) by Philip Roth
Sabbath's Theater (1995) by Philip Roth
Devil in the White City (2003) by Erik Larson

So we went to Hawaii and I wanted to make sure I didn't run out of good books to read. I brought along these three plus The Hotel New Hampshire, which I'm now reading, and Empire Falls, which Catherine's now reading. All three of these were good, in different ways. Indignation was a quick & easy read--I finished it in two evenings and it reminded me that I had meant to read a lot of Philip Roth this year. Sabbath's Theater was filthy, but unputdownably so, and in a literary way, ha. Devil in the White City was fascinating. I've had a few people (including one complete stranger in the hotel elevator who saw me carrying it) tell me they didn't like it--put it down after a few chapters, and I think that's because the book winds up being a lot more about the White City than the Devil in it. I didn't mind that so much, though...the story of the World's Fair was equally interesting, if less sensational, and I found out where PBR got it's name & blue ribbon.

Fish Tacos I've Had Lately

2009-03-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

These we ate on Saturday, March 28th...from a recipe in the New York Times Magazine. They turned out really good, even though we used cod. Big lesson here was adding a canned chipotle pepper to the sauce. Brilliant!

These I had at the West Inn Lounge in Jacksonville. I should have known better than to down a plate of Mexican food right before a 10-hour flight. Doh!

These I had at Opal Divine's in Austin, TX, where my friend Aimie goes to school. They were dang tasty.

Wish I could remember where these came from...so many fish tacos, so few brain cells left.

These I had at Squatters here in SLC. They rate a solid fair-to-middlin'.

Tragically, what's missing from these pictures are the delicious fish tacos Shaunna and I made while I was in Jacksonville. They were beer-battered and deep-fried in a fondue pot. I became so entranced by their deliciousness that I plumb forgot to snap a picture of them.

Dinner with the Parkins, March 27th

2009-03-27T23:46:00.000-07:00

Steak Pizzaiola with grilled asparagus, baked potatoes & homemade rolls. Matt & Amy totally hooked us up. Thanks, guys! =)

2009 Reads, Eight through Ten (8,9,10)

2009-03-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

Survival of the Fittest (1997) by Johnathan Kellerman
Pronto (1993) by Elmore Leonard
Monster (1999) by Johnathan Kellerman

Last weekend I went to visit Shaunna in Florida, & I figured it was a good time for the literary equivalent of junk food. Here's what I learned: If Elmore Leonard is the equivalent of a quarter pounder with cheese, Johnathan Kellerman is a bag of pork rinds.

Dinner March 14th

2009-03-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

Special holiday dinner: Porterhouse and Russet Fries. What a great day!

Dinner March 12th

2009-03-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

Pork Chops in Cognac Mustard Cream Sauce. Man, these pictures suck sometimes.

2009 Reads, Seven (7)

2009-03-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

Seabiscuit (2001) by Laura Hillenbrand, finished March 10th.

I picked this up on the advice of my friends Linda & Norman, who raved about it. Good thing, because otherwise I'd have missed one of the most interesting and enjoyable books I've read in quite some time. So unputdownable, in fact, that I finished it in less than 3 days. Had a look at that movie, too, but it seems like crap. At least it doesn't have Shirley Temple in it, though.

2009 Reads, Six (6)

2009-03-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

The Shipping News (1993) by E. Annie Proulx, finished March 6th.

I liked this book more in the beginning than I did towards the end. It's partly my fault for taking such a long time to read it and partly the book's fault for not being better. It wasn't bad, and I don't regret reading it, but I felt a bit underwhelmed by the second half.

Dinner March 3rd

2009-03-03T21:19:00.000-08:00

Pasta with 2 kinds of mozzarella (one of them smoked), basil, and tomatoes. Easy and delicious.

Dinner February 26th

2009-02-26T20:17:00.000-08:00

HAM STEAK!!!
also sautéed asparagus.

Dinner February 25th

2009-02-25T19:15:00.000-08:00

Broiled salmon, mashed yukon golds, & sautéed asparagus.

Dinner February 21st

2009-02-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

Artichokes stuffed with Italian sausage, smoked mozzarella, red peppers, and other deliciousness, from that Frog cookbook. A bit difficult to eat, but no complaints about the flavor.

Dinner February 18th

2009-02-18T20:12:00.000-08:00

Cognac Shrimp Bisque from this recipe. Easy to make and easier to eat. Thanks, chow dot com!

Snowbeard the Dogpirate

2009-02-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

Yarrr...f.

Breakfast February 15th

2009-02-15T11:49:00.000-08:00

Although you can't really see them, there are dilled brussel sprouts in the bloody marys. But those are the first muffins we made with our new muffin pan. We used the mix Alynda gave us for Christmas. Thanks, Alynda! =)

Dinner February 14th

2009-02-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

Madrid-style pork, potatoes with tomatoes, and roasted vegetable salad, all from this cookbook Catherine got. Nothing heart-shaped, so I guess we get an "F" in Valentine's Day cuisine. No worries though, we pretty well aced the other stuff.

2009 Reads, Five (5)

2009-02-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) by Thornton Wilder, finished February 9th.

My buddy Ron sent me this book. Thornton Wilder won 3 Pulitzers in his career, but the other two were for plays, which I doubt I'll read. The plot here is pretty simple: five people die when a bridge collapses, and the book tells the stories of their lives. The prose is solid with frequent gusts up to fantastic, e.g.:

"There was something in Lima that was wrapped up in yards of violet satin from which protruded a great dropsical head and two fat pearly hands; and that was its archbishop."

Immensely readable, especially for being written almost a century ago. Thanks, Ron! =)

Dinner February 7th

2009-02-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

Country Captain, "the one-dish wonder of the coastal South," according to the New York Times Magazine from whence came the recipe. It's a chicken-y, bacon-y tomato-sauce-y thing with curry powder, slivered almonds, and currants. Even tastier than we expected from reading the recipe, which is right here so you can make it:

Dinner January 18th

2009-01-18T23:13:00.000-08:00

Malfatti, from a recipe in the New York Times Magazine, which advises us that malfatti means "poorly formed." It's a mixture of spinach, cheese, and breadcrumbs shaped into little turds and broiled with tomato sauce. More pleasant to eat than to look at.

2009 Reads, Four (4)

2009-01-13T16:58:00.002-08:00

The Dying Animal (2001) by Philip Roth, finished January 13th.

I accidentally saw the movie version of this, Elegy, after I bought the book but before I read it. Not a bad movie, but a better book of course. This makes (unintentionally, & not in order) 2 out of 3 of Roth's books about David Kepesh, so I'll probably read The Professor of Desire pretty soon.

Lunch January 12th

2009-01-12T16:57:00.000-08:00

Crawfish Tails PoBoy @ Bayside Seafood in Port Lavaca, TX. For some reason, the half-melted piece of fake cheese that sticks the deep-fried crawfish tails to the hotdog bun really sets the whole thing off. This sandwich is about the only thing that I look forward to about returning to Port Lavaca.

2009 Reads, Three (3)

2009-01-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

The Brooklyn Follies (2005) by Paul Auster, finished January 12th.

Well, now I've read all of Paul Auster's fiction, which is kind of a drag, but he's supposed to have a new one coming out later this year, so at least there's that to look forward to.

Dinner January 11th

2009-01-11T22:57:00.000-08:00

Bacon Cheeseburger with Sweet Potato Fries at Kerby Lane in Austin, TX. I ate here with my former study-buddy, Aimie. Food: 8/10 (except for the pickle, which was soggy and not so good, 3/10, I ate it anyway). Company 10/10. =)

Dinner January 7th

2009-01-07T22:53:00.000-08:00

Southwest to Northeast: Rice, Massaman Pork, Martini. For a change, I made the food and Catherine made the martini. Worked out just fine.

2009 Reads, Two (2)

2009-01-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

Coraline (2006) by Neil Gaiman, finished January 7th.

My pal Joe worked on the movie version of this book, and I wanted to read it before I saw the movie. It's a children's book--very imaginative and a little bit creepy. I think I'll read it aloud to Catherine, once I'm done reading her The Breast.

2009 Reads, One (1)

2009-01-06T07:25:00.000-08:00

Telex from Cuba (2008) by Rachel Kushner, finished January 6th.

I read this at Catherine's recommendation, and thought it was very good. Most of it was about Americans who emigrated to Cuba as employees of the United Fruit Company. Theran a lot of plantations in Central America and the Caribbean. When we were in Costa Rica, a tour guide told us that the Costa Rican government eventually threw the UFC out of the country because of something to do with DDT, and of course they got kicked out of Cuba when Castro took over. So the story historical fiction, I guess, about what people's lives were like at the time of the revolution. If I were less lazy about these kinds of things, I'd probably enjoy reading more about Cuban history. But you have to play the cards you're dealt.

Breakfast November 2nd

2008-11-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

Scrambled eggs & home fries with red pepper gravy, crispy oven bacon and the last of the beer cheese bread.

My New Favorite Record October 30th

2008-10-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

includes:

pedal steel

strings

references to MLK and Popeye

irony

almost mumbling

layered guitars

music my dad would enjoy

cover art my dad would not enjoy

Catherine likes it too. Not as much as I like it, though.

Dinner October 29th

2008-10-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

Ode to a Pork Chop

My delicious little piece of pig,

I loved you but now you're gone.

All gone!

Mmmmmmmm.

Glazed Pork Chops with German Flavors, salad & mashed potatoes.

Beer Cheese Bread. Melanie gave us a breadmaker! As you can see by the quarter, it makes loaves the right size for 2 people with a small dog who doesn't eat much bread.

Dinner September 17th

2008-09-17T22:36:00.000-07:00

Fish Tacos!

Dinner September 13th

2008-09-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

We got new cast-iron cookware today, so we're making chile verde for tomorrow and tonight we made pan-fried steaks that we let the Dan's marinade for us, because they were sampling them when we walked in, already intending to get steaks, and the samples we had were good enough that we were all like, "well, shoot...why not?" and so we bought them. Also polenta fries and salad. We grew those tiny Roma tomatoes ourselves. They sure are delicious and we only wish they were bigger. But our garden is a haphazard thing and we're glad about anything it sees fit to give us.

Dinner September 12th

2008-09-12T23:52:00.000-07:00

Macaroni and cheese from scratch. We made this up using the following ingredients:

Ham cubes we cubed ourselves
Cavatappi (thanks, Joe!)
Butter
Cream
Half & Half
Smokey Cheddar Cheese
Habanero Cheddar Cheese
Garlic bread from the Harmon's
Crushed red pepper

This dish sports an impressive payoff-to-effort ratio. I washed mine down with some PBR, and that was nice.

Dinner September 9th

2008-09-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

Pistachio Chicken Breasts with Herb-Garlic Cheese Filling (OMFG), Sauteed Broccoli with Garlic Butter, and delicious Trader Joe's Zinfandel that our buddy Ron brought us. Two more recipes from that Frog cookbook, from which we will probably eventually make everything. Next time we make this one, though, we're going to use pre-shelled pistachios, and we're going to leave the pistachio dust in the coffee grinder and see whether it ruins the coffee. And there'll be a next time for these, as they are truly "OMFG Delicious." Also part of the recipe involves hammering the meat with a meat hammer! A meat hammer! MEAT!! HAMMER!!! Awesome.

Dinner September 6th

2008-09-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

Shrimp with Soy, Garlic, Ginger, & Lemon, p.106 of that Frog cookbook. We added basil, which was a very good call on our part. Go us!

Dinner September 4th

2008-09-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

Brandy-Mustard Chicken from the Frog Commissary Cookbook + Corn with Chèvre & Red Peppers from chow.com, 2 places where many of our favorite recipes live. The corn recipe is similar to a salad recipe we found on Epicurious, made a few times, but somehow never managed to post about. The sauce for the chicken forced us to realize that we'll be cooking with brandy more often in the future.

What I Also Read

2008-09-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

	Book #3: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. This was a better book than I expected, and I'm glad I read it instead of seeing the movie. Apparently, Afghanistan hasn't always been the bombed-out wasteland of random violence and corruption it is today. Who knew? Not me, until now, anyway.
	Book #4: Vox by Nicholson Baker. Sexy! Also funny.
	Book #5: Personal Days by Ed Park. This is one of those McSweeney's / Believer guys, I guess. It reads like something that, in a shorter form, would've fit in fine on McSweeney's. Clever, surreal, and enjoyable when the cleverness and surreality didn't get in the way of the enjoyability. This was the first book I checked out thanks to the NYT Sunday book review section.
	Book #6: The Girl Factory, by Jim Krusoe. This was the 2nd book I checked out thanks to the NYT Sunday book review section. I felt it was neither as funny nor creepy as the premise had me expecting, but it was still pretty ok. You can read an excerpt here if you like, and if the link's not dead.
Right now, I'm reading Wicked, on Catherine's recommendation, and it's going well, thanks for asking. I'm almost done, and then I have to choose between World War Z, and God of War, two (I believe) fairly dissimilar books that I only just now noticed both have the word "war" in their titles. My good friend Joe recommended the former, and the latter I read about in the NYT book review section. I'll be tallying votes on which book I should read next between now and whenever I finish Wicked, which might be this weekend.

One Month of No Posts

2008-07-17T15:27:00.001-07:00

doh!

Dinner June 17th

2008-06-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

Pasta with tomatoes & shrimps.

Hammocks in Our New Back Yard

2008-06-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

w00t!

Dinner June 15th

2008-06-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

We grilled everything.
Corn-on-the-cob, salmon, & veggies including bacon-stuffed mushrooms.

Action shot of grilled veggies being grilled (note bacon-stuffed mushrooms).

Breakfast June 14th

2008-06-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

Sunny-side up eggs, sausage, & criss-cut fries.

What Else We Ate Lately

2008-06-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

Pad Thai

Pasta Carbonara

Bacon Chee

Onion Chee

Salmon, Etc.

What We're Looking Forward To

2008-06-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best things about summertime in Salt Lake. It's like the farmer's market, with drunk hipsters instead of fruit hippies. The website finally has the full lineup for this summer and it looks like this year has the potential to top last year. The Roots, Andrew Bird, Josh Ritter, De La Soul, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Broken Social Scene, Neko Case, and Crooked Fingers...all for our favorite price: Nothing!

What We Ate Lately: A Munchable Montage

2008-06-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Right to left: Pasta, salad.

Pork chops & potato salad, etc, in our new favorite dining room. Corona with lime & jalapeño: my new favorite beer. Leo is, of course, our favorite dog.

Counterclockwise from bottom: Pork chops & tater tots with salad.

Greek salad (L) - Quiche (R)

Another salad. Peppercorns are not a good substitute for capers.

Dinner May 12th

2008-05-12T23:07:00.000-07:00

Cowboy Grillers from the Harmon's (that's Bacon-wrapped Chicken, and you better recognize!), American Tossed Salad with Ranch Dressing (of course) and crunched up tortilla chips instead of croutons (because that's how we roll, what!), and Catherine's Incredibly Garlicky Garlic-Parmesan Toast, which was easily the tastiest thing on the plate.

Dinner May 8th

2008-05-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

Three cheese pasta with prosciutto, artichokes, and tiny tomatoes.

Dinner May 7th

2008-05-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

Breadless (or "deconstructed," if you want to be all fancy about it) BLT with chicken, rosemary-lemon mayonnaise, and oven-roasted potatoes. We used spinach instead of lettuce, because cooked spinach is good and cooked lettuce is not, regardless of what the folks at Epicurious think.

First Martinis of the Summer

2008-05-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

Almost just the way we like 'em: Tanqueray, up, in & out, swirled not shaken, with around half a dozen little spanish olives instead of two or three queen olives, because you can't always get what you want at the Harmon's. Most of the time, but not always.

Dinner April 29th

2008-04-29T05:57:00.000-07:00

The ol' standby: baked salmon, steamed asparagus, & rice. Quick, easy, & delicious!

What We Ate in April

2008-04-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

Chicken Parmigiana#1

Our first casserole: Chicken Mushrooms Artichoke Risotto

A Fluffy Quiche