I feel better now.
A little over a week ago, I had a complete kitchen disaster — something that is extremely rare for me. Which is not to say that I don’t ever end up cooking something that doesn’t come out just so. I don’t often use recipes, and even when I do, I usually tend to go off-book in some way or other. So, I’ll sometimes end up with something I don’t like as well as I expected. Or I’ll overcook something, or run into some other minor problem, usually because I’m easily distracted — or due to the fact that I’m extremely clumsy. But, normally, I end up with edible food when all is said and done.
However, this was not the case when I recently attempted to cook polenta. It was an impulse buy at the grocery store (the polenta was next to the gnocchi on the shelf at Schnuck’s), fueled by my distress over the fact that they no longer serve polenta as a side dish at Texas de Brazil. (We ate there instead of watching the Super Bowl this year. Unamerican? Maybe. But it was 50% off, and we still got home in time to see the good part of the game.)
This was not the first time that EAToo and I had tried to make polenta. (That time, the impulse buy was his.) It didn’t work then, either, which I sort of wrote off as a fluke at the time. But, again, no method of preparation worked. We tried the Foreman Grill (yeah, I know, but we live in an apartment). We tried a skillet with olive oil. We even tried baking it in the oven, which sort of worked but took well over half and hour. And none of it was really edible — just greasy, limp, and generally funky.
So, the next day, we went to the parents’ house for dinner. I had bought more polenta, and enlisted my mother to show me what I was doing wrong. She tried, with the same results that EAToo and I had the night before. She said she figured it was the product, and suggested that I try making the polenta from scratch and see if that didn’t work out better.
This week, we did. On Wednesday night, while EAToo made our dinner, I worked the slow process of making the polenta. I still went off-book — I just can’t help myself — cooking the polenta in a mixture of chicken stock and cream, much the same way I make grits, rather than using water (as recommended on the package). After adding parmesan cheese and a bit of butter, and stirring it for the requisite 30 minutes, I poured (scooped) it into a plastic-wrap-lined pan, let it cool, and chilled it overnight.
Well, like I said, I feel better now. It was definitely the polenta and not me. Whew! Last night, I sliced the polenta, and EAToo cooked it (on the electric griddle, in a bit of olive oil) to perfection. A couple of the pieces were still a little softer than I’d like, and I’m already thinking ahead about how to tinker with that the next time.
But there will definitely be a next time. All said, it was very labor intensive, and not something I’ll make very often, because I simply don’t have as much time to cook as I’d like. (And also because it’s probably a heart attack on a plate.) But at least now I know that I can.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Waiting for Dexter
The Parents’ Television Council doesn’t want you to watch “Dexter” on CBS.
Now, I don’t know that I’m going to watch “Dexter” on CBS. I have it about halfway down my Netflix queue (I don’t have any premium cable channels — but that’s a story for another day), and I kept it there even after the announcement was made that it would start airing on CBS on Sunday, February 17.
Now, I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but I sort of agree with the PTC.
(Did I actually just say that?)
Not the part about how we need to protect children and families from the evil, evil, badness that is television. On that count, they irritate the crap out of me. It’s all fine and good to have opinions about what is and is not appropriate for the general viewing audience. (And you know what they say about opinions...) But trying to inflict your views on others and decide what they see? Particularly when those others are adults? Not cool at all. You want facism and religious fanaticism? There are countries you can move to. Last I heard the First Amendment was still in place here (for the moment, anyway, until we decide our security and safety are more important than our freedoms).
But that’s not even the insidious part about the PTC. The worst part is the idea that anyone should adopt the barometer of a group like this (or anyone else), rather than making personal decisions. Sure, you don’t have to go out on much of a limb to think that “Dexter,” for example, is not an appropriate show for children. However, the “children” that we are always trying to protect have (at least theoretically) parents that are in charge in their own homes. With authority over what their children do and don’t watch. And child locks on their cable or satellite service (child locks are easy to operate — I used to set ours to irritate my father when I was 17). And the responsibility to monitor what their own children are watching, without going to the extreme of pulling a show from broadcast and preventing others from watching it.
Yes, I know. Not all parents care enough to worry about what their children are watching. But maybe we should protect those kids from their neglectful parents, rather than from the television show itself?
The only thing I agree with the PTC about in this situation is that “Dexter” is probably too violent and dark for network television. It is, after all, about an avenging serial killer — so damaged in childhood that he carries the irresistible urge to kill, but killing only those whose crimes are worse than his, thanks to the guidance of his foster father, a police detective. I have recently read (and quite enjoyed) the books that this series is based on (Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter, and Dexter in the Dark, by Jeff Lindsay — I highly recommend them all), and the storyline in the books is apparently too dark even for Showtime, and has already been heavily edited.
I have seen one episode — enough to know that if the show were to be edited even further for network broadcast (for language, violence, and gore), honestly, I’m not sure how you would even have enough left to fill an hour. And even if you managed to salvage the forty-five or so minutes needed (after commercials), the bleeping would be very, very distracting.
So, as much as I hate to admit it, I’m going along with the PTC on this one. Not for the reasons they suggest, but because I want to experience this story in its entirety, as it was intended.
I think I’ll leave the slashing to Dexter — oddly enough, I trust him more than I trust the CBS censors. Or any other censors, for that matter.
Now, I don’t know that I’m going to watch “Dexter” on CBS. I have it about halfway down my Netflix queue (I don’t have any premium cable channels — but that’s a story for another day), and I kept it there even after the announcement was made that it would start airing on CBS on Sunday, February 17.
Now, I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but I sort of agree with the PTC.
(Did I actually just say that?)
Not the part about how we need to protect children and families from the evil, evil, badness that is television. On that count, they irritate the crap out of me. It’s all fine and good to have opinions about what is and is not appropriate for the general viewing audience. (And you know what they say about opinions...) But trying to inflict your views on others and decide what they see? Particularly when those others are adults? Not cool at all. You want facism and religious fanaticism? There are countries you can move to. Last I heard the First Amendment was still in place here (for the moment, anyway, until we decide our security and safety are more important than our freedoms).
But that’s not even the insidious part about the PTC. The worst part is the idea that anyone should adopt the barometer of a group like this (or anyone else), rather than making personal decisions. Sure, you don’t have to go out on much of a limb to think that “Dexter,” for example, is not an appropriate show for children. However, the “children” that we are always trying to protect have (at least theoretically) parents that are in charge in their own homes. With authority over what their children do and don’t watch. And child locks on their cable or satellite service (child locks are easy to operate — I used to set ours to irritate my father when I was 17). And the responsibility to monitor what their own children are watching, without going to the extreme of pulling a show from broadcast and preventing others from watching it.
Yes, I know. Not all parents care enough to worry about what their children are watching. But maybe we should protect those kids from their neglectful parents, rather than from the television show itself?
The only thing I agree with the PTC about in this situation is that “Dexter” is probably too violent and dark for network television. It is, after all, about an avenging serial killer — so damaged in childhood that he carries the irresistible urge to kill, but killing only those whose crimes are worse than his, thanks to the guidance of his foster father, a police detective. I have recently read (and quite enjoyed) the books that this series is based on (Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter, and Dexter in the Dark, by Jeff Lindsay — I highly recommend them all), and the storyline in the books is apparently too dark even for Showtime, and has already been heavily edited.
I have seen one episode — enough to know that if the show were to be edited even further for network broadcast (for language, violence, and gore), honestly, I’m not sure how you would even have enough left to fill an hour. And even if you managed to salvage the forty-five or so minutes needed (after commercials), the bleeping would be very, very distracting.
So, as much as I hate to admit it, I’m going along with the PTC on this one. Not for the reasons they suggest, but because I want to experience this story in its entirety, as it was intended.
I think I’ll leave the slashing to Dexter — oddly enough, I trust him more than I trust the CBS censors. Or any other censors, for that matter.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Go, Tigers, Go!
Last Saturday was a special treat for me — EAToo and I went with the family to see the #1 ranked Memphis Tigers take on the UTEP Miners. I was very excited, since it was the first game I had been to since, well... the last game I saw live, I was at the Pyramid, cheering for “MSU” rather than “U of M”. So, yeah, a while.
Although I haven’t been to a game in years, I have been a Tiger basketball fan for as long as I can remember. It all started when I was a little girl; back then, I would often spend Saturday nights with my grandmother. She loved basketball, having herself been captain of the Tennessee state high school girls’ basketball team at age 16. (Even in her ‘60s, the woman could still palm a basketball. So cool.)
Back then, you never watched a Tiger game live on television — there were still just three television networks, cable had been invented but hadn’t gotten as far as Memphis, and the youngest person in the family acted as the remote control, called into the room, if necessary, to change the channel. So the only way to watch the Tigers on television was to wait until 10 p.m., at which time the game would be broadcast on public television, with far less picture quality than you would get from cell phone video today. But still, we watched. Every Saturday night. Even when I got older, and really wanted to watch “Saturday Night Live” instead. Even during the years when wins were difficult if not impossible to come by.
And I became a die-hard fan. My mother likes to tell the story of the year I won my elementary school spelling bee, and got to compete at the regional level. The night of the regional bee, the Tigers were playing in the Sweet 16 level of the NCAA Tournament. When I was eliminated, rather than being upset, all I wanted was to know the score of the basketball game. (My mother still thinks I tanked the spelling bee on purpose, so that I could watch the game. Untrue, but I will admit to being distracted.)
I moved away after college, and had a hard time keeping track of the team for a while. But after I returned to Memphis in 2002, I started paying attention again. And how could you not? Under the skilled coaching of John Calipari, the Tigers have demanded growing attention and respect (although the respect is still hard to get, at least from the national media).
So, I was terribly excited when my BFF called to let me know that one of the corporate sponsors had released a pool of tickets for last Saturday’s game. Sure, the tickets were kind of high up in the arena (okay, only three or four rows down from the top), but I figured that no matter where the seats were, being there had to beat watching it on television.
And I wasn’t disappointed in the least. The whole experience was a blast. This was my second visit to the FedEx Forum. Having been there twice now, I really do believe the Forum is one of the best things the city of Memphis has ever done. Parking garage scandals aside, the Forum is a class act in a city not really known for class acts.
For one thing, the Forum is very clean. Even, or maybe especially, the bathrooms — a big deal when you are the aunt/easily-manipulated-complete-sucker most often targeted to make bathroom runs by a nine-year-old boy and four-year-old girl (who, of course, never need to go at the same time). Clean public restrooms are just not something you can count on anywhere anymore, so it means a lot that they take care of the facilities. In addition to the Forum being well run, the acoustics were much better than in the Pyramid. And on top of that, there wasn’t a bad seat in the house — we not only had a great view of the court, but also a good view of the big screen, which is capable of simultaneous video and graphic displays. Think live action and instant replays, framed by panels showing you the words to the fight song.
And, of course, there was the game itself. I can’t even describe the energy in the room. Sure, some of the excitement was fueled by the fact that we were all rooting for the #1 team in the nation (two weeks running!), and hoping they would extend the longest-running home winning streak in college basketball history. But even more than that, Tiger fans really do have a special positive energy — we want our team to win, but never in a mean-spirited way, and we’re not so hard-headed that we are blind to our own team’s faults. I mean, let’s face it, Memphis would have left UTEP in the dust if they hadn’t missed 20 freethrow attempts.
But despite some tense moments (including a 60-all tie with 2:31 left in the game), they did win, 70-64, in large part due to Chris Douglas-Roberts, who made 24 points, including the only three-point shot the Tigers had during the entire game — and did so without drawing a single foul. It was a hard fought game, especially for a team that normally wins big, but it was exciting right up to the finish.
And there was never a dull moment, even when the players weren’t out on the court. The Mighty Sound of the South pep band was there, of course, as were the #1 Pom-Pon Squad and Cheerleaders in the country. There were games and giveaways during timeouts, and replays and clips on the video screen during any lull in the action. There was even a fun-but-cheesily-timed clip from The 300 (“This is where we hold them! This is where we fight!”), which, played while the teams were tied near the end of the game, got the entire crowd up on its feet.
Only one thing marred the near-perfect day — a group of UTEP fans who were sitting behind us. (Fortunately, they moved to empty seats in a lower level during halftime.) It’s one thing to make loud, rude, obnoxious comments about the home team. It’s quite another to use loud, foul language in close proximity to your own children and other people’s children. But to refuse to stand for the national anthem? Not cool. Not cool at all.
But, overall, I can’t wait for the chance to go back and cheer on my Tigers as they (hopefully) continue on to a well-deserved national championship. And if this week’s polls are any indication, they are well on their way.
Except for the RPI poll — the only one to put Memphis in second place. Under Tennessee. Not to diss my other alma mater, but Tennessee? Really?
Really?
Although I haven’t been to a game in years, I have been a Tiger basketball fan for as long as I can remember. It all started when I was a little girl; back then, I would often spend Saturday nights with my grandmother. She loved basketball, having herself been captain of the Tennessee state high school girls’ basketball team at age 16. (Even in her ‘60s, the woman could still palm a basketball. So cool.)
Back then, you never watched a Tiger game live on television — there were still just three television networks, cable had been invented but hadn’t gotten as far as Memphis, and the youngest person in the family acted as the remote control, called into the room, if necessary, to change the channel. So the only way to watch the Tigers on television was to wait until 10 p.m., at which time the game would be broadcast on public television, with far less picture quality than you would get from cell phone video today. But still, we watched. Every Saturday night. Even when I got older, and really wanted to watch “Saturday Night Live” instead. Even during the years when wins were difficult if not impossible to come by.
And I became a die-hard fan. My mother likes to tell the story of the year I won my elementary school spelling bee, and got to compete at the regional level. The night of the regional bee, the Tigers were playing in the Sweet 16 level of the NCAA Tournament. When I was eliminated, rather than being upset, all I wanted was to know the score of the basketball game. (My mother still thinks I tanked the spelling bee on purpose, so that I could watch the game. Untrue, but I will admit to being distracted.)
I moved away after college, and had a hard time keeping track of the team for a while. But after I returned to Memphis in 2002, I started paying attention again. And how could you not? Under the skilled coaching of John Calipari, the Tigers have demanded growing attention and respect (although the respect is still hard to get, at least from the national media).
So, I was terribly excited when my BFF called to let me know that one of the corporate sponsors had released a pool of tickets for last Saturday’s game. Sure, the tickets were kind of high up in the arena (okay, only three or four rows down from the top), but I figured that no matter where the seats were, being there had to beat watching it on television.
And I wasn’t disappointed in the least. The whole experience was a blast. This was my second visit to the FedEx Forum. Having been there twice now, I really do believe the Forum is one of the best things the city of Memphis has ever done. Parking garage scandals aside, the Forum is a class act in a city not really known for class acts.
For one thing, the Forum is very clean. Even, or maybe especially, the bathrooms — a big deal when you are the aunt/easily-manipulated-complete-sucker most often targeted to make bathroom runs by a nine-year-old boy and four-year-old girl (who, of course, never need to go at the same time). Clean public restrooms are just not something you can count on anywhere anymore, so it means a lot that they take care of the facilities. In addition to the Forum being well run, the acoustics were much better than in the Pyramid. And on top of that, there wasn’t a bad seat in the house — we not only had a great view of the court, but also a good view of the big screen, which is capable of simultaneous video and graphic displays. Think live action and instant replays, framed by panels showing you the words to the fight song.
And, of course, there was the game itself. I can’t even describe the energy in the room. Sure, some of the excitement was fueled by the fact that we were all rooting for the #1 team in the nation (two weeks running!), and hoping they would extend the longest-running home winning streak in college basketball history. But even more than that, Tiger fans really do have a special positive energy — we want our team to win, but never in a mean-spirited way, and we’re not so hard-headed that we are blind to our own team’s faults. I mean, let’s face it, Memphis would have left UTEP in the dust if they hadn’t missed 20 freethrow attempts.
But despite some tense moments (including a 60-all tie with 2:31 left in the game), they did win, 70-64, in large part due to Chris Douglas-Roberts, who made 24 points, including the only three-point shot the Tigers had during the entire game — and did so without drawing a single foul. It was a hard fought game, especially for a team that normally wins big, but it was exciting right up to the finish.
And there was never a dull moment, even when the players weren’t out on the court. The Mighty Sound of the South pep band was there, of course, as were the #1 Pom-Pon Squad and Cheerleaders in the country. There were games and giveaways during timeouts, and replays and clips on the video screen during any lull in the action. There was even a fun-but-cheesily-timed clip from The 300 (“This is where we hold them! This is where we fight!”), which, played while the teams were tied near the end of the game, got the entire crowd up on its feet.
Only one thing marred the near-perfect day — a group of UTEP fans who were sitting behind us. (Fortunately, they moved to empty seats in a lower level during halftime.) It’s one thing to make loud, rude, obnoxious comments about the home team. It’s quite another to use loud, foul language in close proximity to your own children and other people’s children. But to refuse to stand for the national anthem? Not cool. Not cool at all.
But, overall, I can’t wait for the chance to go back and cheer on my Tigers as they (hopefully) continue on to a well-deserved national championship. And if this week’s polls are any indication, they are well on their way.
Except for the RPI poll — the only one to put Memphis in second place. Under Tennessee. Not to diss my other alma mater, but Tennessee? Really?
Really?
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