my new favorite

website. just glorious. and horrifyingly painful.

television.

i realize i do not watch much tv, but tonight i turned on my mom's old big samsung and adjusted my antennae, and the feature that came on was something on nbc, called, i'm a celebrity get me out of here. i thought maybe i would Live-Blog about it.
8:05: and the end.

ersatz tagine

i don't have one of those funky tagine pots, but i do have my grandmother's trusty dutch oven. i originally found this recipe on serious eats but i tweaked it a bit. and by a bit, i mean alot. it fits nicely within in my "one pot" recipes. it also contains two of my favorite foods: potatoes and peas. maybe all my recipes will be homages to my grandmother's dutch oven, the greatest cookware i have ever owned.

spring tagine of chicken with potatoes and peas (or really just chicken with potatoes and peas...)
ingredients:
2 tbl olive oil
2 lbs boneless chicken thighs (i've found this is the best chicken to use for simmering for a long time)
2 pounds new potatoes peeled and cut into large cubes
1 large onion chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
1/2 bunch parsley chopped (you're supposed to tie these with string and discard later, but the only twine i have is questionable)
2 cups chicken stock
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 tsp each: turmeric, ground ginger, black pepper (i also threw in pinch of saffron i had lying around)
2 cups frozen peas
juice of 1/2 lemon, plus zest
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup coconut milk (this i added to the original recipe for sweetness and thickness)
(side note: this recipe orignally combined all ingredients and baked in oven for about 55 minutes at 400 degrees, i just did mine on the stove top, which takes longer, but is more fun to play with.
also, i bet this would kick ass with some fresh lemon grass.)

directions:
brown chicken in dutch oven (5-10 minutes on high)

scrape up any bits of goodness on the bottom.


add stock, potatoes, seasonings, onion and garlic and stir




add greens and stir til combined. let that simmer for about 15 minutes.
add coconut milk and let simmer another 45 minutes.

when potatoes are cooked through, add peas and lemon. let simmer till done. serve with jasmine rice or just in a big bowl. yum.


ps. this is what my kitchen really looks like after cooking:

first aid kit

they're sisters from sweden. i can't get this cover of fleet foxes' "tiger mountain peasant song" out of my head.

what lies beneath

a great article about what lies beneath new york harbor; totally interesting and totally gross. i don't think i'll be jumping in the east river anytime soon.

ye olde reality tv

why are these idol/dancing shows so popular? here is my cultural report:
1. we like singing and dancing. we (and i mean "we" being those who grew up in the 70's and 80's) watched shows like lawrence welk, dance fever, soul train and mtv (in that order).
2. when things are really going to shit in our country's economy, people gravitate toward mindless entertainment. (see busby berkeley)
3. we get to vote. (see democracy)
4. votes are like buying a lottery ticket. (see every state)
5. it's possible that we might see a slipped nipple.
6. sequins.
7. the marginal chance that we can say as a country, "yes, we agree on something."
8. really talented individuals, who have worked really hard in their given profession, prove to the viewing public that they can bring it.
9. on-air squabbling about nothing. this is what i find most interesting. it's one thing to watch buckley v. gore, but paula and simon? carrie-ann and len... well, that is pure entertainment. and horrifying.
10. it makes us feel better about ourselves. because, clearly, we are above all of this. it is just something we watch on tv.

david lynch does dirty dancing

this is pretty hilarious
hat tip: sully

obama kills at correspondent dinner

part one
part two

can this really be true

if we don't talk about this, it is not true, right?
where was i during the super bowl (at j's, for half-time, just to watch BRUCE) and why am i just seeing this now?
oh, right, i watch tv 2 days a week. and i don't have cable. hooray june and my hd new conversion box. lots to be critical of then, yo.

the crossed leg pose

why do women pose like this? i know it has something to do with making one's hips look smaller, but this girl, whoever the fuck she is, looks like she has to pee. she clearly weighs about 86 lbs. is she really worried that she looks hippy? and i've noticed that it's usually the actresses, and NOT the models who do this.
ladies, please, stand on your own two, equally weighted feet. you look like a drunk 16 year old, standing in line for the ladies room at the holiday inn prom.

jambalaya

another great tasting, one pot dinner.
ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lb chicken (i used organic boneless thighs, cause it was cheaper)
1 lb-ish of andouille sausage
2 c chopped onion
1 c each, chopped celery and green pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 c long grain rice
1 tsp each: salt/black pepper/paprika/red pepper flakes/thyme
2 bay leaves
3 c HOT chicken stock
1 14 oz can, fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1/2 lb shrimp, shelled and de-veined
1 tsp lemon zest
(you can also had smoked ham and oysters, but cooked oysters kinda gross me out)

first, salt and pepper chicken and brown in large heavy dutch oven

remove to cool, then chop into bite size pieces.

brown sausage in same pan. remove and set aside.

in the same pan, combine onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic. saute until tender, about 5 minutes.


stir in rice and seasonings and saute 3-4 minutes.


add hot stock, sausage, and chicken to rice, cover pan and simmer over low heat until the meats are heated through and the rice is barely tender.


fold in tomatoes, shrimp and lemon zest. Bring to a simmer, cover and let stand off heat about 10 minutes or until seafood is cooked. yum.

why i heart may

national burger month

adventureland

i absolutely had to see this movie. i come from western pa and grew up in the 80's. the movie takes place in an amusement park near pittsburgh in the 80's. in real life it's called kennywood. it was filmed at kennywood. i have friends who worked at kennywood. why it is called kennywood i have no idea. but here are my thoughts:
1. jesse eisenberg is a menschy version of michael cera.
2. kristin stewart would be a great actress if she stopped playing with her hair. i also couldn't figure out why she was shivering all the time. however, if they shot off-season, western pa gets awfully chilly in september.
3. the director is a fan of eggleston. per the big star album cover presented as almost product placement, and the shots of sad, lonely suburban homes and cars. (love him too)
4. great soundtrack. i love a movie that opens with the replacements.
5. absolutely no western pa accent for anyone. and they had a dialect coach. disappointing.
6. the return of martin starr, whom i love from freaks and geeks.
7. totally unbelievable set of characters who might work in an amusement park:
a. a beautiful and rich nyu student
b. a brainy, menschy oberlin grad, en route to columbia
c. a poor young jewish intellectual who reads gogol
8. ryan reynolds didn't make me want to puke.
9. not nearly enough t&a.
10. nothing particularly original at all.
i would have to conclude that this is a mash-up of the following films:
nick and nora's playlist, flashdance, the squid and the whale, freaks and geeks, the funhouse, and pretty in pink/16 candles.
final thoughts: buy the soundtrack, although you probably already have the singles on your ipod.

why i heart williamsburg

a muppet and a fat guy...

i don't know how to add video, but this is a great clip...

finally. the perfect gift.

i've been looking for one of these for years. i can put it right next to my "i'm a cutter (but not really)" gift box.
(hat tip: sully)

a much better r.i.p.

than the oscars. check this out. shame on you oscars. terrible. just terrible.
hat tip skl.

someone call that intervention show

cause this guy is in trouble..

food porn

i love food blogs. i could read them all day. restaurant reviews like eatit: the brooklyn food blog or recipe blogs like not eating out in new york.
so i am going to attempt my own entry. here goes.
when i was in college i had a friend from the ivory coast. he had a dinner party one night and made this amazing meal. i made it a few times after that, but had totally forgotten about it until today. apologies for my lack of photographic talent.
"west african peanut chicken"
ingredients (i'm more of a guess-timater, so take these amounts with a grain of kosher salt):
3 lbs chicken breasts or any other part(skins removed)
1/2 cup veggie oil
1 large onion
3/4 cloves garlic
1 can chicken stock
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup creamy peanut butter
cayenne pepper
red pepper flakes
salt/pepper
parsley

in a heavy dutch oven or stock pot, brown chicken in oil. set aside.


drain out any excess oil. add garlic and onion and saute. scraping up any chicken bits left in the pan.


add chicken stock, tomatoes and seasonings. bring to a boil.


add peanut butter and stir. add chicken breasts and let simmer covered about 45 minutes?


top with parsley and serve over white rice. yummy.

i'm a rabbit!

i can't explain, but i think this girl is genius.