How Not to Play a Fangirl

I attended a workshop last weekend alongside one of my favorite Edmonton playwrights, Marty Chan. Though not as prolific as Lemoine or Belke, I credit Chan’s Bone House as the play that started it all for me – after watching it that cool, fall night many years ago, I began my yearly pilgrimage to the Fringe the summer following, and my love of theatre has grown ever since.

Anyway, I felt that I should communicate the impact that his work had on me, so I essentially accosted him at the buffet table and told him so. Keeping in mind that The Bone House centers on the hunt for a serial killer, it wasn’t surprising that his immediate response was something along the lines of, “Really? But that was a pretty disturbing play…” Perhaps I should have made it clear why I enjoyed it as much as I did – stellar acting from Chris Fassbender, great use of space and circumstance to heighten the tension (and fear) in the room, and clever manipulation of audience imagination with the use of everyday sounds and objects. Of course, none of this came out in that moment of stilted verbosity, so all I ended up uttering was “Thank you.”

I do hope he remounts it soon – it’s about time more of the Edmonton community be exposed to his genius!

Tidbits: Notes from Edmonton’s Epicurean Scene

  • Two Asian restaurants have recently opened up in the city – Sweet Mango (9120 82 Avenue) and Moon Garden (10117 Jasper Avenue). They haven’t received as much press as their also-green counterparts Bacon and Skinny Legs and Cowgirls, but hopefully once the hype of those two bistros die down, more attention can be paid to these eateries.
  • Gleaned from Where Edmonton, Mr. Mike’s Steakhouse & Bar, apparently Canada’s oldest steakhouse chain, will be setting up shop in West Edmonton Mall in June. With the success of The Keg, Lux, and Ruth’s Chris, it seems Edmonton’s appetite for steaks is growing.
  • It seems I was mistaken in my assumption that Leva Cafe (11053 86 Avenue) had been taken over – it was simply under renovation. Check it out for their artisan gelato!
  • In other coffee shop news, da Capo Caffe (8738 109 Street) is now open, courtesy of City Palate. According to their blog, they are in the midst of expanding their food menu: “we are introducing Vino, Prosecco and Antipasto Fridays, Pizza Napoletana Saturdays and a breakfast frittata panino.” Sounds delicious!

The Cooking Chronicles: Everyday Lighter Macaroni and Cheese

As I have mentioned previously, I am now leaning towards recipes that can be made with what I have available in my fridge and pantry on a day-to-day basis, and after catching a segment on America’s Test Kitchen this morning, I decided to duplicate their Everyday Lighter Macaroni and Cheese recipe for dinner tonight.

Annie stayed over for supper, so she helped me put it together. Substituting mozzarella for light cheddar, and omitting the dry mustard, it was a fairly easy recipe to follow. I only realized after the fact that I only added about half of the required cheese, and as I didn’t have enough corn starch on hand, should have looked for a starch alternative to thicken the sauce with. This resulted in a sauce with a water-like consistency, but besides that, was a decent modified béchamel.

While taking a little more effort than Kraft Dinner, this macaroni and cheese from scratch has more body than its instant cousin.

Everyday Lighter Macaroni and Cheese

What do they mean by “lonely?”

My Europe-bound girlfriends came over for a pre-trip planning session this afternoon. In addition to the Internet, they brought over various guidebooks, they have been collecting over the last few weeks. Flipping through one of them, Lonely Planet’s Best of London, I came across this text in a section titled “Women Travellers”:

“Aside from the rare wolf whistle and unwelcome body contact on the tube, women will find male Londoners reasonably harmless. If you’re over 16, you can buy the morning-after pill over the counter in many pharmacies.”

I would have been okay with the information if it was delivered with a little less insinuation, or mirrored with a section titled “Men Travellers” addressing the availability of condoms or other birth control options.

I think I’ll be sticking with Frommers.

Second is the First Loser: Acajutla

Looking to unwind at the end of a work week, I asked May, my Mexican cuisine connoisseur friend, to choose a restaurant. She had heard good things about Acajutla, 11302-107 Avenue (which coincidently, won second place in Vue Weekly‘s Golden Fork for Mexican/Latin American), so there we went.

As indicated on the menu, acajutla translates to “a place of sea turtles and sugar canes.” The decor in the dining room was festive to say the least, with brightly colored paper decorations and lanterns hanging from the rafters, and boldly checkered table cloths covering each table. The waitresses were all wearing the same puff-sleeved blouses of the Mexican Heritage-Day variety, providing more of a (stereotypical) ethnic atmosphere to the restaurant.

The menu was more extensive than El Rancho, complete with pictures illustrating select dishes. May decided to order the Combination Plate (one each of tostada, pastel, taco, & fajita), while I stuck with my tried-and-true Chicken Fajitas (soft corn tortilla stuffed with chicken breast, mixed with tomato, onion, and bell pepper).

The restaurant was busier than I had expected, with nearly all of the tables occupied (and a large party of rather loud women situated just behind us), but it was still no excuse for the lengthy wait for our food – we were starved by the time our plates arrived. I was even more disappointed when I found the chicken in my fajita to be dry and over spiced to my taste. May’s meal was better, as she was able to sample a few of their specialties (I tried a bit of the pastel, which was very tasty). The service as a whole was sub-par, as we had to physically bring our cups up to the counter for water refills and had to ask the waitress for our bill at the end.

I’m hoping Vue was wrong in their announcement that El Rancho is closing their doors; Acajutla would be a poor replacement.

Decorations
Combination Plate (clockwise from left – fajita, taco, tostada, and pastel)
Chicken Fajitas

The Cooking Chronicles: Pizzagna

Trying to make the most of leftover dried pasta and asiago cheese left over from our mac & cheese and focaccia pizza creations, respectively, I found a fairly simple recipe in Rachel Ray’s Pizzagna. Sounding appealing enough, it combined elements of pizza and lasagna in an easy assemble-and-bake style dish.

Though we omitted the onions (more because I forgot to get them at the supermarket than anything else), red pepper flakes, and parsley, and substituted asiago for parmesan, and button for crimini mushrooms, we followed the rest of the directions fairly closely. I’m finding I really like baked pastas and casseroles, as they do have a make-ahead option available.

The final product was delicious – the ricotta and pepperoni really made the dish unique. Next time, I’d probably try to include more vegetables – zucchini and tomatoes would complement the sauce nicely.

Pizzagna: definitely a keeper!

Pizzagna

Theatre: “After the Fall”

With The Crucible and Death of a Salesman as evidence, I thought Arthur Miller’s last play, After the Fall, would have had similar oomph. Boy, was I wrong.

From the Studio Theatre website:

“Miller’s After the Fall (1964) is a strongly autobiographical work, which deals with the questions of guilt and innocence, examining failed relationships, false American values and broken principles amid larger political and social failures like the aftermath of the Holocaust and the McCarthy communist witch hunt. One of the central characters, Maggie, is clearly modeled on Monroe, although Miller always denied this.”

After reading an interview with director Stefan Dzeparoski, I wholly give him the credit that he deserves in attempting to unpack this challenging play, as at intermission, Mack and I both had no idea what was going on.

Between the too-busy set (the textured backdrop, giant wardrobe, theatre seats, overhead screen, and rolling bed in the second half), and projected visuals (Quentin’s conscience, ghosts, and wife Maggie), it was a battle to pay attention to the words alone. The fragmented narration, with characters popping in and out of Quentin’s life, was too difficult to follow. I also wasn’t able to reconcile the first half of the play, with storylines involving the House of Un-American Activities Committee, Quentin’s mother, and his first two wives, with the second half that centered on Quentin’s tumultuous relationship with his third wife. “Strongly autobiographical,” I’m convinced that only Arthur Miller himself would truly be able to tell us what he intended of this play.

That said, I thought Melissa Thingelstad’s performance as Louise was a bright spot in the play, while Mack liked Meredith Bailey’s turn as Maggie.

Beyond that, I don’t have much else to say, except that the audience’s stunned silence following the end of the production, and subsequent delay in applause, said it all.

Still Unremarkable: Earls

Mack, Kimmi, Dickson and I grabbed a quick bite to eat at Earls (Tin Palace, 11830 Jasper Avenue) this evening. I really don’t have that much to say about this chain restaurant, as it is pretty well known that I would prefer not to eat at Earls if given the choice. My personal bias aside, I do understand the pull of their “Wings Wednesdays” on the greater public, and for that, I can sacrifice my personal taste from time to time.

I will admit, however, that this was the first time I remotely enjoyed what I ordered – a Margherita Pizza. While not sensational (a la Bridges), it wasn’t bad.

Until we meet again, Earls.

Margherita Pizza

The Cooking Chronicles: Strawberry Tarts with Vanilla Buttermilk Pastry Cream

For a Hawaiian-themed spring potluck we were having at work, I decided to make Strawberry Tarts with Vanilla Buttermilk Pastry Cream.

I figured it would be an easy recipe to pull together on a weeknight, as I was using frozen tart shells to begin with. After baking the shells and allowing them to cool, I combined the listed ingredients as directed on the stovetop. Surprisingly, it thickened at the four minute mark as indicated in the recipe, and with the use of an ice bath, reached the perfect consistency. A dollop in each of the shells, then topped with a strawberry, and I was done.

If you’re looking for an easy, yet elegant dessert for a dinner party, look no further!

Strawberry Tarts

Farewell Stars Hollow: “Gilmore Girls” Series Finale

The series finale of Gilmore Girls, titled “Bon Voyage,” aired tonight. Ideally, I wanted there to have been closure to most, if not all, of the storylines, but as the announcement of the show’s cancellation came following the shooting of the episode, I really didn’t know what to expect.

So I extend my props to David Rosenthal for putting together a lovely finale – a coup in Christine Amanpour’s cameo, a heartstrings Luke moment (“I like to see you happy,” squee!), and enough strumming Sam Phillips for a sentimental send-off. I appreciated the final pan-out shot of Lorelai and Rory in Luke’s diner, complete with twinky lights – an homage to the way the pilot episode ended all those years ago. And though it was quite evident that Luke and Lorelai were together at the end, I liked how the focus of the last scene was still on the girls, just as it should have been.

Still, though the finale more than fulfilled my expectations, I am still curious to know what Amy Sherman-Palladino’s version would have looked like, and in particular, what those elusive “last four words” would have been. I’m paying close attention to Ask Ausiello, but perhaps I should just let it go, and remember Gilmore Girls as it was.

Farewell, Stars Hollow; thanks for seven great years.