“The Hills”: Season 2 Trailer

Via a friend’s blog, I came across the trailer for the upcoming season of The Hills. The production values on this show continue to amaze me – some films don’t have trailers this enticing (NBC promo gerbils, pay attention!). Old friends, new boys, and (gasp!) a possible conflict between the two stalwart female leads – what more can I ask for? I will say that Heidi’s pregnancy scare looks staged, though.

In other Hills-related news, Lauren’s choice of Jason over Paris made Entertainment Weekly‘s “Best of TV Watch 2006.”

EDIT: Via Canoe, found out that The Hills will begin airing on MTV Canada on February 5.

Pre-New Year’s Potluck

May hosted a party in celebration of the New Year last night, and though it was meant to be a potluck, she ambitiously wanted to prepare several large entrees just in case the food guests brought went the way of desserts (as is typically the case with such events). Shiney and I offered to come early to help her out with the cooking.

Besides meatloaf and roasted potatoes, a “Better Butter Chicken” recipe, courtesy of Reader’s Digest, was on the menu. I haven’t yet reached the stage where I am comfortable dealing with raw meat, so I was relieved to find out that May’s Mum had already cooked and de-boned the appropriate amount of chicken for us in advance. Other than that, the instructions were really straightforward. This was my first time cooking with turmeric, and I must say, the aroma generated was fantastic (though from experience, it stains like crazy!).

Because this was a lower-fat version of butter chicken, the sauce wasn’t as creamy as those found in traditional Indian restaurants, but it was still pretty good. Simmering the sauce over low heat for 15 minutes really allowed the flavors of the spices to develop and come through.

While I still have much to learn on the vegetarian side of things, I hope to one day be able to make such a dish again, from start to finish, on my own!

Better Butter Chicken

The Cooking Chronicles: Mini Quiches

For the last (hurrah!) potluck of 2006, I decided to go with a variation of my tried and true baked egg theme: mini quiches. My Mum recently bought a large box of small tart shells, and had only managed to go through a quarter of the box, so I was more than happy to help her use up the rest.

Following a recipe printed on the side of the box (not sacrilege if done right), I decided on mushroom and parmesan as the filling ingredients. From my past experiments with cheese in such dishes, I’ve found that cheddar and mozzarella don’t quite provide the creamy texture that freshly grated parmesan does. And while I thought it unusual that the recipe called for a 1:1 quantity of eggs to cream (I substituted skim milk, as always), it resulted in a light-but-satisfying custard-like consistency for the egg.

Easy, and great as an appetizer, I will be making these mini quiches again soon.

Mushroom and Parmesan Mini Quiches

Delicious and Economical: Lorenzo’s

In search of a late afternoon lunch today, I wandered over to Zuppa Cafe, but was disappointed to find out that they would be closed until January 2. They have one of the most inexpensive meals I have ever encountered in the city centre area – a bowl of hearty, homemade soup of the day and a side of baked pita chips for $3 – perfect for a light lunch.

Thus, I made my way to my reliable backup – Lorenzo’s in Edmonton City Centre West (10025-102A Avenue). Though they recently moved from the City Centre East food court, they haven’t changed the specials they offer. My staple in high school, they were not only affordable (a pizza, pasta, and drink combo for about $5), but also, the service has always been excellent. The woman who is a mainstay at Lorenzo’s is always friendly, efficient, and sprinkles terms of endearment like “honey” in her speech, making me feel welcome and taken care of.

On this day, I ordered the small lasagna, which came to a measly $3. Though there was only one layer of cheese, there was enough pasta layers for a filling midday snack, rounded out with a generous topping of meat and tomato sauce.

Lorenzo’s is a great place to go for a quick bite!

Small Lasagna

CTV’s Broadband Network

In November, CTV landed the rights to stream both The O.C. and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on their Broadband Network site in Canada, available on-demand immediately after their respective television broadcasts. Full-length Studio 60 episodes are currently available on the NBC website, but only for American users.

I decided to try out this site on Thursday to watch an episode of The O.C. that I had missed. Broken down into five parts, each separated by a commercial for the release of the Superman Returns DVD (yes, shown four times), I found this a convenient, accessible way to stay caught up with one of my television favorites. Although I still prefer the comfort of my couch and larger-screen TV, I found the resolution crisp, the sound clear, and the streaming uninterrupted (no annoying “buffering” stops and starts). I also appreciated the fact that the shows were separated into sections, so I could easily find and rewatch just a moment of that particular episode online.

I am a firm believer in appointment television, but now and again, when I slip up, I am glad the Broadband Network is available to support my addiction.

Jack Vettriano

Those who have visited me know that my office is sparsely decorated. Unless my Akeelah and the Bee promotional spelling flashcards count, I do not have any personal mementos on display. Something I have gotten rather attached to over the last year, however, is my 2006 Jack Vettriano wall calendar.

Ever since I saw a reproduction of “The Singing Butler” a few years ago, I’ve sought out Vettriano’s works for their representations of relationships, romance, mystery, and intrigue. From the elegant couple waltzing under the moonlight in “Dance Me to the End of Love”, to the playfully titled “The Shape of Things to Come”, which depicts an obedient husband trailing his wife, to the smooth, suave rat pack in “The Billy Boys”, each painting encapsulates a model of escapism. I love the fluidity and movement of the figures, each captured omnisciently, mid-moment. My favorites are those where the characters have their backs turned to the viewer – I find it easier to utilize my imagination when the spirit and mood of the picture and not detailed facial features are emphasized.

One painting featured in the calendar, “In Thoughts of You”, actually spurned some debate amongst a few women in my office. A woman, dressed in black and stiletto heels, is profiled sitting with a wine glass, gazing out a window. My interpretation was that she had pulled herself together for a night out on the town, but before venturing outside, needed to take a minute to mourn her very recent heartbreak. My coworkers had a range of story opinions as well: from overcoming the emotional carnage garnered from a one-night stand, to a simple but necessary moment of quiet meditation and self-reflection. I’m not an art connoisseur in the least, but I find art most enjoyable when dynamic discussion is inherently encouraged. While some would say Vettriano’s “paint by numbers” style makes such consideration superfluous, I favor the grounding in a reality I can recognize.

In October 2005, it was proven that Vettriano, a self-taught artist, copied the well-known figures from a sketch book. Though critics didn’t need any more ammunition to fuel their dislike of his designs, they used this as further evidence that Vettriano shouldn’t be venerated. In this I have to agree with the Wikipedia entry: “His talent lies in placing his figures in an unusual narrative context.” It’s not who he paints, it’s how he paints them.

In any case, I am currently on the lookout for the 2007 Vettriano calendar, so I can enjoy his art for another year.

“The Hills”: Season 2 Announcement

I stumbled across the announcement today that the second season of The Hills is due to start airing in the States on January 15! All four of the original cast members, LC, Heidi, Audrina, and Whitney are set to be back.

I tried unsuccessfully to locate the Canadian premiere date on MTV Canada. Their website is awful, and kept trying to stream videos and show clips as I browsed for information. I’m estimating though, that those living in the Great White North will get their Hills fix sometime in February. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

The Cooking Chronicles: Best-Ever Carrot Cake

Using a recipe from my trusted Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, I baked a carrot cake for Mack in celebration of his birthday. I haven’t attempted to make a cake from scratch in some time, as I’m typically a Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker mix kind of girl. But as the recipe seemed straightforward, this was a reasonable challenge to overcome.

First of all, I never knew finely shredding carrots would be such a task. I ended up with orange everywhere (my nails still haven’t returned to their original color). Also, the icing took longer than expected as well, as I had to gradually beat in about 5 cups of confectioner’s sugar (that’s where the stand-alone KitchenAid mixer would have come in handy).

Overall, it was fun to make. And might I say, much like the other dishes I’ve been experimenting with, creating something from raw ingredients really instills a sense of pride and ownership. Often it seems that the act of cooking itself, even without the promise of an edible product at the end, is reward enough. The food, as they say, is the icing on the cake.

*I will also take this opportunity to wish Mack a happy birthday, and to let him know that for one day only, I will relent in my dominance in the NHL2K7 shootout and air hockey challenges.

Best-Ever Carrot Cake, about three-quarters frosted

Small on Servings and Service: Rigoletto’s Cafe

A few friends and I had dinner at Rigoletto’s Cafe (10068-108 Street) on Wednesday night. Extremely accessible, this Italian restaurant was located just off of the Corona LRT line.

The dining room was a dark, European-style bistro that looked from the furniture, carpeting, and lighting as if it hadn’t been updated since the late 80s or early 90s. Luckily, we were seated underneath one of the few spot lit tables, otherwise, we would have been eating over a single-flame candle and not much else.

Though I admit it was my fault for a) ordering the small versus the large plate, and b) not ordering a less mundane dish, I was disappointed with my tortellini in cream sauce – its equivalent at Chianti’s would have been several dollars cheaper and of similar quality. I had pasta-envy just looking at my friends’ rigatoni, penne, and lasagna, which were easily three times the size of my selection. Earlier, when we had put in our orders, I had asked our server if we could have separate bills, to which he scoffed, and ultimately didn’t even provide me with an answer. I couldn’t help but get the feeling that my question translated into my ridiculously small serving.

For dessert, I ordered a latte and the chocolate mousse. My coffee was all right (I find I much prefer the sweetened, less authentic varieties available at chain coffee shops), while the mousse had obviously been pre-made and refrigerated – much too rich and dense, the consistency was closer to pot de crème than whipped mousse.

Lastly, the service was spotty throughout the night. They were extremely short staffed, with three servers attending to the entire restaurant (which was surprisingly busy for a downtown location on a random Wednesday). Although our waiter was quite attentive initially, by the end, we had to signal not only to order our entrees, then dessert, but also to request and pay for our bill (which wasn’t, by the way, separated). I suppose Rigoletto’s could be the kind of place one dines at for an evening of uninterrupted conversation, but I would have still appreciated the occasional check-in from a friendly server.

With the abundance of restaurants I have yet to try, I would be hesitant to return to Rigoletto’s Cafe right away. But I do believe in second chances, so though the service received a failing grade from me on this round, I will allow for a retest in the future.

BrightNights 2006

Mack and I visited one of the so-called Edmonton Christmas “traditions” last night: BrightNights at Hawrelak Park. With over 550 lit displays, this was the largest festival in its history. I had been to this event with my family once before, but my memory is faint.

This time around, it was slow going; poor Mack burned through an unknown amount of gas. Funny how this family-friendly attraction doesn’t garner criticism from those against fossil fuels. But I guess when profits are directed towards charity and not Big Oil, such pollution is socially acceptable.

I couldn’t pick out all twenty-five new displays, but I did recall a few from my past visit, including Santa’s reindeer-drawn sleigh and the Jaws-reminiscent shark (oddly positioned this year in the “Sugarplum Village” section). The animated ones were definitely my favorite. In particular, the archer near the entrance and the squirrel in the forest.

I can’t see how this could be an annual pilgrimage unless you had small children, but it wasn’t a bad way to spend a holiday evening. I’d be more in favor of returning for the one-day pedestrian-only event in early November; it’d be a good opportunity to pro-actively work off the calories that would undoubtedly be gained over the season of eating.