ADVENTURES IN DOMESTICITY: Pork Milanese and Artichokes Redux Edition

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If I do say so myself, on Sunday night I made quite the hearty meal. The menu was rather simple: pork milanese with a steamed artichoke on the side. However, what made this meal particularly noteworthy was that it was the first time I’d ever cooked pork (bad Jew, apologies). Fear not, though. The experience was delightful. And let’s not overlook those artichokes. My friend Bets bought me two beauties at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market, and these bad boys were just too amazing to be denied. And so even though I’ve detailed my adventures with artichokes before (with a very similar menu, I might add), I decided to take pics again just because.
Photos of the cooking adventure after the jump…

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Countess LuAnn Is Separating From Her Not Old Man Husband!

I woke up today to a flurry of emails in my inbox: the Count and Countess are breaking up! That’s right, the big news out of gossip-ville is that Countess LuAnn De Lesseps from The Real Housewives of New York City is splitting with her Not Old Man husband, the Count Alexandre De Lesseps, after it was rumored that he was spotted with an Ethiopian hottie in Switzerland. Is anyone really surprised by this? The guy spends all his time away from his family, and he already has a proven track record of divorce (I believe LuAnn is wedding #4 or 5 for him).
Given that there are kids involved, it’s all very sad and unfortunate, but really, I think what we care most about is what will happen to LuAnn’s title? She can’t just stop being the Countess, especially with the release of her book, Class with the Countess in just two weeks. Maybe the publisher will rename it Class with LuAnn. Hmmm… doesn’t have that same haughty feel. This could be a major problem. Let’s just hope that Alexandre didn’t drop the bomb at the Cancer Society. I mean, NOT AT THE CANCER SOCIETY!!!!
Developing…
• Count Housewife Couple Out [Page Six]
• Real Housewives’ Countess Separating From Husband [Us Magazine]
• LuAnn separates from her count husband [Reality Blurred]
• New York Housewives Countess LuAnn & Husband Separate [People]

YOU HEARD IT HERE SECOND: Martha Stewart Calls Bill O'Reilly a "Bone Head!"

Martha Stewart just called Bill O’Reilly a “bone head!” Well, actually, her “dogs” said it. And they didn’t even really say that. They just made fun of him on their “blog,” and Martha linked to it on Twitter and called him a “bone head,” which was really just a reference to what the dogs were saying, but it’s all moot because dogs don’t talk or blog, and it’s all coming from Martha anyway.
As the British say, I smell a whole lot of con-TRAH-versy!
Don’t mind me. I’m just trying to fan the flames of a non-story. In the meantime, if you’d like to follow my Twitter, click here.
(Team Martha)

ADVENTURES IN DRINKING: Fresh Cocktail Hour Edition

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About a week ago, some people came over to my apartment, and we had the most delightful time making what we later called (perhaps unoriginally) the Fresh Cocktail Hour. Basically, with the help of plenty of fresh produce from the Farmer’s Market (not to mention some homemade horseradish), we made Bloody Marys, guacamole, and a lovely salad. Never before has getting drunk felt so healthy.
In attendance were Sly, her friend Aletheia, Tobin, IndianJones, and Brother of IndianJones (although, the Indians didn’t arrive until the tail-end; so they barely should even get credit for being there — but I’ll give IndianJones his tag regardless). Anyway, as there were multiple concoctions happening, we busted out the camera and documented it all (or as much as we could remember to). Pictures of the excitement after the jump…

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Woz On Wheels!

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This picture may just look like a benign image of Sunset and La Brea in Hollywood, but it’s actually something very special. Right in the middle of it — under the Ross sign — are two Segways chugging along, and one of those people rolling along is none other than Steve Wozniak, a.k.a. The Woz, a.k.a. Kathy Griffin’s former gentleman caller a.k.a. current contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Now, you’ll just have to trust this is true. I wasn’t actually there for this pic. It was taken by loyal comrade IndianJones, whose excitement on seeing such a huge figure in the tech-geek community must have been off the charts.
Nevertheless, IndianJones assures me that it was indeed The Woz on Wheels, probably headed off to rehearse for tonight’s big show. Not a bad way to start the morning…

Which Childhood Memory Will You Relive First?

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This week, trailers were released for two feature film adaptations of cherished childhood books: Where The Wild Things Are and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The former preview has all sorts of buzz (Spike Jonze is directing, the source material is arguably more famous), but I gotta admit that part of me is slightly more intrigued by Cloudy (if I may be so cavalier to call it just Cloudy). Never mind that it’s directed by two Dartmouth grads (Phil Lord and Chris Miller), but Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs has always been one of my favorite children’s books, and it’s something that just seems to beg for a big screen adaptation (even if it is in animated form). However, will it pander to kids too much? Where The Wild Things Are is also a great classic though, but I have to admit I’m somewhat turned off by the slightly pretentious use of the Arcade Fire to score the trailer. That being said, the artistry of Spike Jonze certainly makes up for quite a bit. Hmmm… I’m a bit torn. What do you think?
Trailers for both films after the jump…

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ADVENTURES IN DOMESTICITY: Chili-Fried Shrimp Edition

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Recently, I’ve become enamored by Mark Bittman’s New York Times blog, Bitten, and last week, when I needed to make myself dinner, I decided to give one of his recipes a try. The attempt: chili-fried shrimp. A mixture of dried chilies, orange, scallions, and shrimp, this dish looked like it would be right up my alley — and none too hard to boot.
The results of this latest experiment after the jump…

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The Inevitable Nene / Denene Collaboration Looms


“I’m writing a book! It’ll be like BAM! Nene Carol Oates.”

Big news in the publishing industry! Nene Leakes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta will be penning a book titled Never Make the Same Mistake Twice: Straight Talk on Love and Life From a Real Housewife. Details of the tome are murky, but I think we can all rest assured that every chapter will probably open with the word “BAM!”
Nevertheless, Nene will be collaborating with author Denene Millner ( The Sistahs’ Rules: Secrets For Meeting, Getting and Keeping a Good Black Man — mandatory reading in my household), which can only mean one thing: we may have the best Bennifer-ization of all time upon us. After all, how would you smush their names together? Denenenene? Or Nenedenene? However you say it, there’s a lot of “nene” going on, and I’m all for it.
For more details, check out Access Atlanta’s annoyingly titled gossip column, Peach Buzz.
(Thanks to dsc805 for the heads up)