Cookies

At the boy's request, I made some cookies today - chocolate chip cookies (recipe here). I will admit that I did not refrigerate the first batch overnight. Instead I popped them in the freezer for 45 minutes and made the first dozen. They are much too fluffy for my tastes, but the boy liked them loads. The rest of the batter is in the fridge for an overnight stay. I'm hoping the time in their does them some good.

So if you like puffy cookies, go for it! And I have to say that I'm loving how the walnuts were prepped and the use of browned butter . Totally using those techniques for the next time I make cookies. I'll report back on the next dozen and see if some rest does them good.

Anyone out there have the perfect recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies?

Perfectly matched

Every now and then, publishers perfectly match the reader with the book and make a really complementary duo for a book on tape. Alan Cumming is likely the most perfect reader for Roald Dahl's michievious and funny poems in Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts. It made me giggle a good bit. I give it a 6.

(The other best matched reader with a book for me is Jeremy Irons reading Brideshead Revisited. Any other good matches you've found?)

Family dynamics

In America is exactly what you need to watch to make you feel seriously good. It's all about a family of illegal Irish emigrants trying to make a go of it in New York. The little girls are so wonderful and the family just feels very real and right. I can't believe it too me so long to finally watch this one. I give it a 9.

Wine woes

I am far and away a drinker of red wine, but every now and then white is called for with a certain dish. I was so pleasantly surprised recently with a delicious bottle of Francis Ford Coppola Pinot Grigio. So citrus-y and good! Highly recommended!

It made me brave enough to grab another bottle of pinot grigio the other day. I waked into the shop thinking, "I just need a good pinot grigio." and this was the first thing I saw:


Unfortunately this was some false advertising. Not good at all. Bleh. So I finally decided that my fancy phone needed a fancy wine app to help me remember the good and the bad wines. Today I downloaded Drync which seems pretty useful. We'll see if it holds up. And yes, I've already logged these two into the app.

Make it work

I picked up Tim Gunn's book Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style because I adore him on Project Runway and thought it would be an enjoyable little fluff of a read. It wasn't bad but it wasn't as witty as I expected. And while he did give me some good posture tips (dn't push shoulds back just away from your ears), I can only give this one a 4. Sorry Tim!

Hair doodad

So pretty!

"It'll be difficult-difficult-lemon-difficult."

In the Loop is a satire on England and the U.S. and the lead into war. It's zany, funny, and chock full of fun acting. My favorite? James Gandolfini as the general who wants to keep the peace. Everything happens quick and the dialogue is screamingly funny. I give it a 7.

Agave

Isn't this stunning?

Coping

If you live pretty much anywhere in the U.S, chances are you have been hit with far too much snow over the last month. Unless of course, you are one of my smugly snowless in laws in southern Arizona. At my house, the snow got to ridiculous levels.

How do I cope with the Janu-Febs? Lots of wine and books about places that are warm and full of gardens. From the Ground Up is about a California garden - the author's first garden actually. It's nicely told - not too smug and not trying too hard to be clever. Just an easy read that helped to remind me that February cannot last forever. I give it a 6 out of 10.

Also, I love a good gardening memoir. Any suggestions for future reads?

Delicate

I love this necklace made from a gold-lined quail's egg.

Pretty art

A Book of Sleep is probably a good bedtime story for a kid, but (even better) it's full of sweet and interesting artwork. The page with the sleeping giraffes made me smile hard. 7 of 10.

New toy

Sooooooo I finally gave in and got a dvr. So far I've fed it:

American Pickers
Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations
Pawn Stars
PBS Masterpiece Theatre series
Project Runway
Frontline documentaries
Barefoot Contessa
What Not to Wear
and many many TCM movies.

What else should I be giving it to chew on?