The Void and Neztra

I've seen at many blogs I visit and decided to give it a try. This started with Andrew at Very Good Taste.

Here are the instructions:

1. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2. Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4. Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - All but the elephant ears
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill - not into bacteria-laden flesh thanks - consider this crossed off
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse - couldn't do it... sorry, saw National Velvet one too many times as a child.
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

A couple of years ago, I began a new tradition in my family by making French Toast casserole with Italian Pannetone Bread (a slightly sweet, seasonal bread originally from Milan that is speckled with bits of dried citrus fruit) and topped with hot Vermont maple syrup on Christmas Eve to be popped into the oven while we open presents on Christmas Day. Most years, I go from Christmas to Christmas only making this recipe once, though my family is addicted to it. This year, I decided to take advantage of the popularity of this little spin on a traditional favorite by making the recipe a bit more summer-friendly. The result was surprisingly delicious and received rave reviews from my family. Of course, they have to like what I cook, if not, they will be forced to face dreary Saturday morning bowls of grey, mushy shredded wheat...

I love stone fruit, but I am very picky about the texture, tanginess and sweetness of these pulpy little treasures. This summer, nectarines are delicious! Sweet, tangy and so juicy that you need several napkins to mop up the delicious nectar as it dribbles down your chin, these messy but divine fruits have been a summer snack staple for me. Adding this delicious flavor to my french toast casserole was easy and with a couple of small tweaks, was enough to bring a little golden sunshine to a treat usually relegated to cold winter mornings.

French Toast Casserole - Summer Sweet Remix

1 loaf of crusty french bread, sliced 1 inch thick
6 eggs
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of milk
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
4 Tbsp. of dark brown sugar
3 large, ripe nectarines
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 stick of melted butter (4 Tbsp. before melted)

Mix the corn syrup, 3 of the four Tbsp. of brown sugar and melted butter and pour evenly over the bottom of a 13-inch, glass casserole dish/baking pan.

Place the slices of bread on top of the sugar mix, creating a layer of bread covering the entire bottom of the dish.

Beat together the eggs, cream, milk, cinnamon and salt until combined. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread.

Store in the refrigrator overnight or for at least four hours to set. When removed from the fridge, the egg mixture should have soaked into the bread almost completely.

Preheat the oven to 350. Cook for 45-60 minutes, or until a fork inserted into the bread comes out clean.

While the bread is cooking, dice the nectarines and toss gently with the remaining tablespoon of brown sugar. Place in the refridgerator until the french toast is done.

Remove the french toast from the oven and let set for at least 15 minutes to cool slightly.

Serve each portion with a nice, heaping spoonful of nectarines and top, if you wish with a dusting of powdered sugar or a spoonful of whipped cream.

I like to add a few pecans in with the fruit as well for a little added "southern" flavor.

Makes enough for 4 very hungry people with a little left over for the extra hungry person at the table.

I usualy serve mine with a side of thick bacon and some searing hot coffee.

Enjoy!

I wasn't planning a trip to the movies this weekend, but my bestest bud and loyal movie going companion HP Sauce was bored and called this morning to see if I wanted to go see Pineapple Express. It looked like a funny way to pass a Sunday afternoon, so I begged off the weekly grocery shopping trip and headed up to Addison.

I had no clue. That's the best way to describe my reaction to this film. I HAD NO CLUE IT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO BE THIS GOOD!!!

Action packed and full of guffaw-worthy dialog, it truly exceeded my expectations. Of couse, part of the fun was listening to the stoner's sitting to my left repeat over and over "Dude! This is the best film EVER!" That just added to the hilarity.

Through the violence and comedy, the spirit of friendship was a theme that rode its way right to the end of this film. HP sauce and I had a really good time. She's my bud. I really appreciate her friendship. I hope she knows that. :)

3.75 puffs.... um, that is, winks.

So yesterday was my birthday. No, no...if you didn't remember on the date, don't bother showering me with expensive gifts today. They will buy you no leverage with me on the 30th of the month...

B-days are supposed to be fun, right? So guess where I spent my 32nd birthday, pondering the meaning of life in my thirties, why I am where I am in life, etc. and more. Nope, you probably guessed wrong.

Let me start off by saying that procrastination is sort of a personal challenge for me. In business, I am Miss Pro-Active, but in my personal life, not so much. So it was not surprising to anyone who knows me personally when I announced that I had to get my Texas driver's license because it was expiring on my birthday.

Unfortunately, getting Homeland Security clearance when I worked at the Federal Reserve Bank was easier than getting my Texas driver's license. Forms of ID needed to procure a license:

1. Birth certificate
2. Soc. Sec. card
3. Two other random and obscure forms of ID - take your pic - two years worth of insurance policy history, a voter's registration card, marriage license, the list continues.

I won't go into too many details, but here's the timeline:

DMV - 20 minutes
Tag Office - 20 minutes
DMV (again) - 20 minutes
Social Security Office - 2 hours
Home (getting insurance company to fax me pages and more pages worth of documentation) - 45 hour
DMV (for the third time) - 1 hour
Travel time between destinations - about a half hour all total. Thankfully, the various offices are all located within five to ten miles of each other.

Since visiting government offices is something I avoid like the dentist, gynecologist and all cheesy self-help books combined, it is safe to say that five hours dealing with bureaucracy was not a fun way to spend my birthday. However, at the end of it all, I have my license, a receipt for the registration on my car (that I threw away a month ago by accident apparently), voter status in TX, a new copy of my social security card that has been missing for the past ten years and a new sense of relief that I should not be forced to visit any of these offices again any time soon. So, all in all, I came out on top....I guess.

I'm going to make this review short and sweet if I can - the way I wish this movie had been. Can you see where this is going?

The only thing that would make this film watchable would be booze. Lots of booze. Will Ferrell is like cotton candy - good in small doses and during very select times of the year. He has made some gems over the years - My favorites are probably not your favorites. I liked Elf and Anchorman to name a couple. But like cotton candy, too much Ferrell is sickening and begins to be the same old flat, one-dimensional flavor after the first five minutes.

There is a scene in this movie where one of the characters tells Will Ferrell that they want to punch him, just because his face makes them want to punch him. That's usually how I feel about John C. Reilly. He may be a perfectly nice person, but he usually just annoys me. If Will Ferrell is a one-dimensional actor, Reilly is usually 1/2 of a dimensional actor. Physically impossible you say? I say not. However, for once, I didn't hate John C. Reilly. He was the better of the two main actors in this film.

Yes, there were some funny moments, but, and maybe I am just getting too old for this stuff, my 32 birthday is tomorrow, after all, but after the first half hour, it was just more and more of the same, with a dash of scrotum and a pinch of bicycle abuse thrown in for good measure.

1.5 very generous winks.

This past weekend, I trekked up to Addison to join my buds HP Sauce (of Randomosity and the Girl fame) and BLN for dinner (drinks) and a movie at Studio Movie Grill. It is beginning to be a regular thing for HP Sauce and I and now that BLN has joined us, our little circle of hilarity is complete. We had a blast. I don't think I have laughed that hard in a bit. Good buds that you can be yourself with - there's just nothing better.

So we decided to watch the Dark Knight and due to the hype we kept reading, we decided to pre-order our tickets. Good thing - the theater was packed!

So the hype, we all heard about how great this film was going to be way back in February and began to hear rumors of Oscar nods to Heath Ledger for his role as the Joker shortly after his passing. The cynic in me dreaded watching this film for fear of finding out that the hype was just that - hype.

Two and a half hours later, when the credits rolled up, all I could do was sit there in amazement for a moment. For once, the cynic in me had nothing to chortle about. The film lived up to ever bit of the hype. I was astounded, astonished, amazed - basically unable to think of enough alliterative words to decribe my state.

The Batman: I've always had a thing for Christian Bale, or maybe just Chirstian Bale's abs. No, definitely the whole package. He's a great actor, chooses interesting roles that are well suited to him and is gorgeous. As the Batman, he is nothing to scoff at and in this film, he delivered as usual, however, he was overshadowed by -

The Joker: We all knew Heath Ledger was a wonderful actor with a bright and promising future, but I never saw him come alive in a role the way he did as the Joker. Every head shake, every quirk and mannerism, every well-timed, nuanced and crafted phrase was another peek into the psyche of a bigger-than-life, but strangely, very realistic villain and madman. At the end of the film, I was left wanting more. I wanted to know more about what drove him to that place in life and whether any of his strange testimonies of heartbreak leading to a carved up face were real or all lies. I am sure there are plenty of Batman fans out there who know the story of the Joker from his birth to death, but I am just a casual Batfan, so bear with me if I am ill-informed. This review is about this movie specifically, not about the whole Batman story/franchise.

Best Scene in the film: The Joker's exodus from the hospital. Hilarious in very small ways and some really big ways.

All together, the acting was incredible, the music score phenominal and the pacing was surprisingly good for a 2 1/2 hour movie with not one, but two villianous plot lines and more connected scenes that I can even remember.

This is a keeper and the best film I have seen thus far this year. 4.75 winks out of 5.

You would think that with a title like Funny Games, this might be a fairly harmless little film, boring maybe, but unable to affect the viewer on any deep level. If you think that, you are playing right into the director's hands. That is pretty much the theme of this film - the audience playing into the director's hands.

This suspense thriller that morphs into so much more is about a sweet little family vacation that goes horribly wrong when two psychotic young men happen upon the family's cabin on a lake. And you are clued into this from the first five minutes when a cute little game of "name that opera composer" in the car turns into the name of the film, in bright red letters across the entire screen, with ear piercingly raw rock music (or noise if you are like me) screeching through your speakers.

Let's start with the pros:

1. The acting: Naomi Watts and Tim Roth are incredible in this film. Michael Pitt and Brady Cobert are creepy and in some ways, downright hilarious, but totally believable at the same time.
2. The interesting visual perspectives, pacing and, in some ways, radical departures from traditional film culture.

Cons:

1. The violence. I won't go into details for anyone who wants to actually watch this movie, but I will say that this film acheived what I am sure the director hoped it would: nausea. Keep in mind, the actual blood and gore in this film is surprisingly pretty tame. Especially compared to slasher/gore films of late. But what is more terrifying is the very realistic potential for violence in the two young men and their utter lack of a sense of normal moral code. It is terrifying in its plausability. I am assuming that this film was not meant so much to be a scary movie, but more of a comment on scary movies and the audiences that flock to needlessly violent films and have been so numbed to their affect that only the most radical threat of violence can get through the audience's hard shell.
2. The pacing. I know, I just got done saying that it was a pro. And in some ways it is, but, and again, I believe this was intentional, there are points in this film where you want to scream "get on with it!" at the screen.
3. The feeling I was left with when the film was over. Again, I am not going to ruin it for anyone who wants to watch the film, so I'll say no more.

All in all, I am having a really hard time rating this movie. For film buffs, I think this is a gem, but for the average viewing audience, it just isn't good entertainment and I can't recommend this to someone looking for a fun evening in with popcorn and friends. Bottom line - you've been warned - watch at your own risk.

For film buffs: 3.5 winks
For everyone else: 2.5 winks