My Awards Show Has a First Name...

Work is kicking my ass right now, so I have had no time to discuss the Oscars or the nominations, or, most importantly, our Academy Awards night dinner. So here's a brief rundown of what we've come up with.

A Frosty "Nixon".

"The Curious Case of Benjamin's Stuffed Button Mushrooms"

Indian appetizers fit for a "Slumdog Millionaire."

...some kind of German salad (damn you, "The Reader"!!!!)

And "Milk" shakes.

Got any better ideas?

I Made It, I Ate It, I Lived

Well, I don't know how long this will last, but I've started a new blog about food, because making dinner is about as creative as I get these days. It's called I Made It, I Ate It, I Lived and I'd love for you to check it out, share recipes, and offer any cooking advice you might have, because I need it!

This Just In: It Is Possible to Cook Actual Food At Home!

After many years of take-out, delivery, and the always convenient burrito, I decided a couple of weeks ago to start cooking my own dinners. I don't have an aversion to cooking, and I'm actually pretty good at it, but too often I'd be faced with a grocery store full of food and have absolutely no idea what to cook for dinner, and I'd inevitably leave with a frozen pizza or some Lean Cuisines. It finally came to me that I shouldn't be walking into that store with no ideas, and instead enter the store knowing full well what I want to make.

But where to get those ideas? Well, when Martha Stewart Kids magazine went out of business they replaced my subscription to that with a subscription to Everyday Food, and those issues have been piling up for two years. I decided to just go through them, and whenever I found something I'd like to make, I flagged it. I then had a stack of magazines flagged, and all I had to do was pick a week's meals. Then I made a shopping list specific to those recipes, and voila! One trip to the store and I had a refrigerator full of food ready to be cooked each night. Also, cooking dinner is a lot easier when you have a recipe to follow. Who knew?

Here's what I've made this week:

Monday - Pork loin over sauteed spinach with an orange honey mustard vinaigrette.
Tuesday - Penne with shrimp, asparagus, feta, olive oil, and lemon juice.
Wednesday - Salmon with zucchini and shallots en papillote. (Yes, I actually made something en papillote. And it was really easy!)

Tomorrow I'm having a chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto with roasted green beans, and then Friday the rest of the prosciutto will go into a pasta with peas and leeks.

Also, currently chilling in the fridge are some low-fat semi-sweet chocolate panna cottas.

Cooking. How novel!

Squeeze Me In Any Time

20070227 Squeezeburger w/ Cheese
Originally uploaded by tspauld

I've been busy with work work work and who am I kidding also a lot of "Guitar Hero," hence the lack of posts. So I thought I'd share this image, taken by someone else, of an amazing burger that can be found at the Squeeze Inn in Sacramento. I saw it on the Food Network show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," and it literally had me drooling.

This place piles grated cheese on top of and around the burger and then covers it so the cheese gets kind of crispy and creates a "skirt" around the burger. There's little I love more than crispy cheese, so putting it on top of a burger is just, well, it's not icing on the cake. But you get the idea.

Anyone wanna take a road trip to Sacramento for lunch?

Bewiched

I just saw Russell from "I'm From Rolling Stone" eating a sandwich with a lady friend at 'wichcraft. Thrilling, no? Perhaps not, but there was something so very meta about seeing a reality TV "star" inside a restaurant that was plugged on a reality show, and features a sandwich created by a contestant on said reality show. If I were braver and a tad more obnoxious, I would have taken a clandestine cameraphone pic. Alas, I am not, and did not.

But speaking of 'wichcraft, I finally decided to give it a try. It has certainly been much maligned since its opening, and every time I walk by, its cavernous space is virtually empty. Having ventured into the mall to pick up a book and, of course a cream puff, (I can't be within the same building as a Beard Papa, and NOT get one!) I realized I could probably use some dinner, and 'wichcraft was on the way to the bus stop, so why not. I got a chicken salad sandwich that's supposed to come on whole grain bread, but they were out of that, so I got it on some kind of "country bread." I opted for a cold sandwich, even though the hot sandwiches were more appealing, because I wasn't going to be eating it there, and was afraid a hot 'wich wouldn't travel well.

The total was over 10 bucks. Just for the sandwich, (well, and the tiny bag of chips that come with it) and while I balked at the price, I reserved judgement until eating. Once I got home, I was a little disappointed to see it wasn't the size of my head, or at least larger than the average sandwich. As for taste, it was...fine. There was way too much pepper on it (although I will admit I am a pepper wimp) but the pickled onions were tasty, the chicken wasn't dry, and the frisse soaked in vinaigrette was a nice alternative to lettuce. But it was not the most amazing sandwich I've ever had, and wasn't even terribly memorable. I'll probably give one of the hot sandwiches a try before writing the place off completely, but I really think they'd do a lot better if they either made the sandwiches just a little bigger, or cut a buck or two off the price.

I Know He's Dead, But Is Swifty Lazar Still Throwing Oscar Parties?

So, the Oscars are, of course, this Sunday. I think our menu is set:

The Queen's Crown Royal Manhattans

Mussels From Iwo Jima

Little Miss Sunshine Potato Salad

The Departed Lobster Rolls

A Tower of Babel Dessert ("Babel" was the hardest to find a food for.)

I would post my predictions here, but I really tend to wait until the very last minute to make those predictions. I usually do pretty good, but this year's a little tough as far as Best Picture goes. Of course I'm rooting for "The Departed," but I have a fear that "Little Miss Sunshine" will get it, and I really thought that movie was mediocre at best. Of course, mediocre movies tend to win Best Picture, so it shouldn't come as any surprise if it does. It still irks me, though.

I haven't decided if I'll live blog the event or not. It might depend on if I can get a wifi connection or not. But don't doubt that I will be there for every minute of the 16 hour broadcast!

Saturday In New England

Well, not really, but part of it had a New England flavor.

First off, I took in some high school volleyball at a tournament my 14-year-old cousin was playing in. I don't really understand volleyball, although it doesn't seem like the most complicated of games, but my cousin did--score? spike? make?--a point, so that was awesome, and her team (go Salesian!) ended up in first place in their division. Sweet!

After that I went to see "The Departed" with the parents; I liked it a lot. Didn't love it as much as I have loved past Scorsese pictures, but liked it a hell of a lot. Listening to all those Boston accents had me craving a nice lobster roll. Not that I've ever actually had a lobster roll, but reading about my friend Chrissa's lobster roll experiences in the past few months has had me wishing I could fly to the east coast for lunch. Luckily, the Woodhouse Fish Company, a "New England-style" fish place, opened up at Church and Market a few months back, and lobster rolls are one of their offerings.

Like I said, I've never actually had a lobster roll, so I have nothing to compare this to. All I can say is I thought it was awesome. It was way expensive (but lobster on this coast always is), especially since I ordered the "mega roll": 6 oz. for 21 bucks. Yikes! But there was plenty of lobster in the roll, just the right amount of mayo, a few shavings of green onion, and it was served on tasty, toasted, buttery bread. (Not a hot dog bun, and not French bread, but something in between.) It was scrumptious. I want another. RIGHT NOW!

But now it's Sunday, and I am procrastinating on all the laundry, homework, and work work I have to do. Sounds like a good time to take a nap.

Do It....Now!

Go visit SFist and check out my latest TV column. And while you're there, share your opinions about the best burritos to be found in the City.

Mmmmm. Burrito! The seed has been planted, and now it's all I want for lunch. The thing about eating a huge burrito at lunchtime, though, is there's nowhere to take the inevitable post-burrito nap around here!