February 25, 2013

Borderline Obsession

So, February 25th is a sacred day. It's the day that the world was graced with the presence of Jimmer Fredette. I am a huge fan to say the least. I've had a birthday celebration for him on multiple occasions. The best one was where he was able to blow out the candles on the cake himself.

 
 
 I've also been touched by the Jimmer. I've even made the pilgrimage to his hometown. Anyway, today I just made cupcakes and wore my Jimmer shirt. My apartment has plenty of remindes of just how important Jimmer is.

 
 


 
 
So, is it an obsession...I like to think of it as dedication. Here's to hoping 2013 is a good one for the Jimmer and that he gets more playing time. Free Jimmer!

February 24, 2013

Cauliflower in what?

A friend of mine apparently noticed that I like to write about Mac n' Cheese on my blog so he sent me a recipe for Cauliflower Mac n' Cheese. I'm not a huge cauliflower fan at all, but I figured I should give it a try.

Ingredients:
* 1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into large pieces
* 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
* 2 bay leaves
* 12 ounces whole-wheat macaroni
* 1 cup cup grated cheese, such as cheddar, Gruyere, or Emmenthaler
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook cauliflower until soft, 15-20 minutes, then drain and transfer to a food processor.


2. In the meantime, heat stock with bay leaves. Simmer for five minutes and turn off the heat.
 

3. Process cauliflower with cheese, oil, mustard, and nutmeg. Add stock and blend to create a sauce, aiming for a fairly thick consistency (You may not need all the stock). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 
 
 
4. Transfer pasta to nine-inch-square baking dish and cover with cauliflower sauce. Spread evenly in dish, top with breadcrumbs and cheese, and bake until golden and bubbling, 30 minutes or so. Allow to cool slightly, then serve.
 
 
 
 
 
 I agree with the website's commentary from where my friend got this recipe. "So did it work? It's not nearly as rich and satisfying as a perfect pan of macaroni and cheese. The mouthfeel changes from silky to slightly more starchy. But it hits warm-and-gooey spot, and I didn't feel like taking a nap after. I adapted the recipe somewhat (a little more generous with the cheese, and a little less liquid) but all in all, I'd recommend giving this a try."




February 20, 2013

And the Oscar Goes To....



Every year it seems like everyone is picking who will win the Academy Awards. The ballots were do yesterday, so I thought I would jump on the boat as well. Below are who I think will win and who I think should win.
 
Best Original Song
 
Will win: Adele for Skyfall

Should win: Adele

I thought it was great that this Bond film returned to the tradition of having a song that is the same as the movie's title. I also think that it was more traditional Bond in its plot. It probably deserved a best picture nod as well. I think Adele did a great job with this one. 




Best Supporting Actor
 
Will win: Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln

Should win: Tommy Lee Jones

I think he has pretty much had this locked up from the very beginning. He lost the globe and BAFTA to the guy from Django, but he won the SAG award which I think is a better predictor of what will actually happen. I think he did a good job as Thaddeus Stevens, who was from PA so it’s hard to pick against a Pennsylvanian. 


Best Supporting Actress
 
Will Win: Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables

Should Win: Anne Hathaway

Her performance of I Dreamed a Dream won this for her. Sally Field I thought was too over the top as Mrs. Lincoln. It seemed forced. Anne played her part very well. I feel bad for Amy Adams, she’s been nominated four times and still won’t win. 


Best Actor
 
Will Win: Daniel Day Lewis for Lincoln

Should Win: Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook

This is probably the easiest to predict. Everyone has been raving about Daniel Day Lewis. I’ll give it to him-- he was good. Really hard to tell that it wasn’t Lincoln, even though we have no idea as to how the actual Lincoln was in real life. I still think Bradley outperformed him in Playbook. He was so convincing as a bi-polar. Honestly, I thought he was bi-polar. He wasn’t over the top and he struck the right tone so to speak. I feel like Daniel was bordering on an impression that wasn’t as impressive as Bradley’s gutsy performance as a mentally ill individual.


Best Actress
 
Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
 
Should Win: Jennifer Lawrence

I feel bad that Jessica Chastain is going to lose two years in a row, but that’s life I guess. What's worse is that it is probably politics that is keeping her from getting it. I also felt that the actress from Beasts of the Southern Wild did really well too. Some had said she was too young, but she did an amazing job. Anyway, Jennifer also did a really good job playing a crazy person. She wasn’t quite as bi-polar as Bradley’s character, but nonetheless portrayed her character very convincingly. Well deserved.


 
Best Director
Will Win: David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook
Should Win: Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty or Ben Affleck for Argo
Russell wins by default. Spielberg is the dark horse here. Bigelow did an amazing job. Realizing that someone had to direct those scenes is amazing to think about. This film was 10x better than The Hurt Locker. It’s a shame that politics about torture kept her from even getting nominated. As far as Affleck goes----he did a great job in Argo as well. Definitely deserved a nod if not the win.

Best Picture
 
Will Win: Argo

Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty

Don’t get me wrong, Argo is a great film. I just really think the competition this year was really tough. So many great films. Lincoln is a dark horse here. The problem with Lincoln is that it is too 1990s. If it comes out in 1997 this film wins at least 10 awards. It might get a few in 2013. It was too slow, too predictable and the script wasn’t the best. The acting is it’s only redeeming aspect. If Spielberg wants to be relevant in this decade he is going to have to learn to adapt.

Last year I starting having a goal to try and see as many of the nominated films that I could. I saw them all but three---Django Unchained,, Life of Pi and Amour. I think the Academy got these nominees right this year. Les Miserables lived up to the hype. Beasts of the Southern Wild should get more credit than it currently is. Silver Linings was amazing--- the fact that it is the first film in thirty years to get nods in all of the acting categories shows that this is a high quality film.

Zero Dark Thirty was the best of all them. It was full of suspense and informative at the same time. It really pays tribute to all of the national security officials behind the scenes who work every day to keep us safe. It's sad that politics about torturing prisoners will keep it from winning. So much for free speech. It was well directed. It also had the funniest line in a movie that I have seen all year. Seal Team Six is headed to the compound to get UBL. They are wearing their military headsets and one of them is wearing I-Pod headphones. Someone asks “What are you listening to?” He responds: “Tony Robbins---I got plans after the service.” That is so funny. I laughed so hard and nobody else in the theater got it. It was just all around an amazing film. 


So, there they are. I'm interested to see how well they hold up. Leave your comments if you disagree or agree. I would love to read what you think.




February 17, 2013

Gourmet Mac N' Cheese

A while back I bought a Groupon for a local restaurant for a Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese mail for two. As the expiration date was fast approaching, I grabbed a friend from law school and went to town. The restaurant was called Monon Food Company. It's located in a part of town called Broad Ripple. I like to call it the hipster part of Indy. We were able to get seated right away which was a blessing considering how crowded it was.

My friend got the buffalo chicken mac n' cheese. It had buffalo chicken and gorgonzola cheese on it. It was really rich, but good nonetheless.

 
I hd the spicy steak mac n' cheese. It had steak, bacon, jalepenos and green onion. I got seasoned steak fries as my side. It was a good combination of flavors. Plus, anything with bacon is great. It was a good restaurant and a great deal. We got the two meals and two soft drinks for 12 bucks through Groupon. Check it out if you are ever in Indy.
 


February 4, 2013

Happy Holy Super Bowl Sabbath

I am a Baltimore Ravens fan. Proud Ravens fan to say the least. Since the Ravens tend to make it to the Super Bowl once a decade I decided to go all out. I have been wearing purple to church all during the playoffs. Today I got some friends to wear purple as well.


I also decided to have a Super Bowl party as well. Of course the most important part is the menu. It starts on what you serve the food on. I was able to get purple items and official Super Bowl items at Party City.

 
 
As an appetizer I made the Randall Family Cheese Bowl. I won't tell you what is in it because you might be grossed out. It is so delicious. Very rich, but a good combination with the bread. I had to go store bought on the bread. Mike Eddington and his homemade bread bowls were sorely missed.
 
 
 
My guests also brought some appetizers---buffalo chicken dip and cheese ball (coated in BACON). They were both great. Needless to say we didn't go hungry.
 



For the main course we had Red Beans and Rice (since the game was in NOLA). I had honestly not made rice that wasn't the boil-in-bag variety. It wasn't super bad, but it could have been better. It came out a little spicy, but other than that it was pretty good.

 
 
For dessert we had another Cheese ball---cream cheese, powdered sugar and chocolate chips. Really delicious and cupcakes. Ironically enough my mom made cupcakes too. Her's probably took the cake, but mine were a valiant effort.
 
 
 
Anyway, it was a stressful game. I'm glad my guests put up with my screaming throughout the game. I hope their eardrums are still in tact. I thought it was poetic justice that the defense, led by Ray Lewis for the past 17 years won it for the Ravens. What a great way to end a career. Flacco made it one step closer to becoming an elite quarterback---my happiest moments were when he got sacked without fumbling the ball.
 
Still disappointed with Shannon Sharpe. Why did he choose the 49ers? He needs to show a little more loyalty towards a team that he was on. I can understand him picking Denver, but New England and the 49ers? Really? He ought to be ashamed of himself. Even Coach Cower picked the Ravens. If the Miami Dolphins had made it to the Super Bowl would Dan Marino had picked the other team? No!
 
Anyway, all of the Purple Sundays and Fridays were worth the effort. As Ray says: "When you sacrifice something for God he will give you any thing your heart desires of it is in line with his will." Go Ravens!