Inca Mummy Girl

Hey dudes Laurel here...

This episode was sort of a yawn except for the intro of Seth Green.  He has a terrible mustache and he's in a terrible band, but still, it's Seth Green and he obviously likes Willow so points for that.

Besides that so boring!  Some douchebag hoping to make a buck tries to steal an ancient seal from a mummy from olden times on display at a museum (obviously ti was Giles idea to go on this excursion)... but joke's on the douchebag!  She (the mummy) attacks him, sucks the life out of him to take as her own, and somehow she ends up with braces because of this exchange which is how the gang knows there's something fishy going on.

The reason she has braces is that the whole time she's been a mummy she keeps getting to live mini lives by making out with people and stealing the lives out of them.  She could have had Xander (our poor, naive, soulmate seeking boy) but she has an attack of conscious at the last minute because he is such a good guy she can't bear to steal his life.

Mark here... Laurel just did the thankless job of summing up this snorefest.  Really, this was the definition of a filler episode. After last episode, which was so exciting, this was a bit hard to pay attention to.   I don't know what else to say, except that the best thing about this episode was the introduction of Seth Green's Oz character.  I don't know if we know his band's name yet but I'm going to spill the beans...Dingoes Ate My Baby!

So, normally we'd give this episode 1 stake, but based on the introduction of Seth Green, we are giving it 2 stakes...barely!!

Anaconda

Hey Laurel here...So it turns out Anaconda is a card game, and Dylan is a good guy.  That's what we learn this episode.

Steve talks Brandon into letting some people into the game room of the beach club after hours to play poker.  The first time they get away with it, the beach club boss just finds some cheetos and poker chips the next day.  But the second time a bunch of electronics get stolen and now the kids are in trouble.  But somehow Brandon doesn't get fired?

Meanwhile, Dylan has fallen on some hard times.  All of his family's assets are frozen because of his father's arrest, and we see him at the pawn shop selling off his guitar and stuff.  He joins the kids at the beach club for poker the 2nd time, and loses all his money he just got from the pawn shop.  So when the electronics go missing, Brandon suspects Dylan.  It turns out he is innocent and Brandon feels terrible for accusing him.  wah wah.

Mark here... I agree with Laurel..why isn't Brandon fired at this point?!  They all talk to him like he's an adult!  Otherwise, the episode does make me start to see why Dylan was a heartthrob...but seriously, he has more chemistry with Brandon than Brenda at this point!

The episode is a bit dull otherwise,...Dylan ends up leaving at the end when he finally calls his mother in Hawaii and she sends him a ticket to join her.

The quote is definitely when Brenda, lamenting Dylan's situation, says "It's like Dylan's father isn't the only one in jail!" She is talking about the situation but it comes across, yet again, as Brenda, Brenda, Brenda!!

The cocktail moment is clearly when the gang breaks into the beach club to play poker and Brenda and Donna are smoking cigars!!

The style award goes to David Silver and his beach club ensemble...really??  You can't tell from this picture, but it's a complete shorts suit.  Boom.

Resistance

Mark here... Laurel and I are back blogging Episode 4 of Season 2 of Battlestar Galactica.  Laurel has made us Pasta with Pancetta and peas and a kale salad.  I've made an accompanying lentil vinaigrette salad.

On to the episode....this episode was a little bit slower paced after the last few although there were a couple of interesting things going on.  Basically, while Adama is still recovering, Tigh has declared martial law and President Roslin is still a prisoner in the brig. This causes a great deal of upset in the fleet and several soldiers recognize the problem and devise a plan for Roslin to escape Galactica to the fleet (where she will presumably be able to hide).  Tigh meanwhile, recognizing that leadership is not his thing, can't wait for Adama to recover.  His wife Ellen is the scheming Real Housewives wife whispering in his ear in an attempt to further his power (power he doesn't seem to want).  Once he realizes that Roslin has escaped, and that Lee Adama helped her, he is reluctant to fire upon them.  This actually shows a bit of depth in his character.  He is doing a terrible job of leading the fleet but seems to recognize this and really doesn't want to be responsible for executing his friend's son and the president.

One key thing we find out is that while Baltar is interrogating the Cylon who shot Adama (Sharon), she admits that there are 8 other Cylon models, bringing the total to 12...we've met Doral, Six, Leoben and Sharon...

Meanwhile on Caprica, Starbuck and Helo meet up with the local resistance fighters, who happen to be the Caprica "Pyramid" team.  Essentially, a version of basketball.  This leads to a game of pyramid between Starbuck and the leader of the resistance, Anders.  Its a bit yawn inducing as they have a bit of sexual tension.  Overall, the episode was good but not great.  It really felt like a filler and didn't kept the plot status quo from the previous couple of episodes.

Laurel here...I agree with Mark, this seemed like a little bit of a filler episode, more of Tigh screwing up and more of the fleet being unhappy with it, which is a pause from the real issue at hand, the Cylons.  Anyway Adama wakes up at the end of the episode.   I think we are almost as relieved as Tigh that he is back and will be able to tai some action!  Tigh is a great second in command, willing to be the bad cop all the time but being the bad cop all the time doesn't make for a good fleet commander.  It also doesn't help that the power hungry real housewife is in his ear all the time.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the presidents escape party now that Adama is awake.

Spinach and Prosciutto Lasagna

 This recipe originally came from Cooks Illustrated, though I tweaked it a bit.

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb spinach leaves
lasagna
salt
5 tablespoons of butter
4 shallots
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup flour
3 1/2 cups of whole milk
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan
Prosciutto
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
fontina

First start by blanching about 1 1/2 lb of spinach for a minute in salted boiling water.  Put in ice water then drain and let it cool.  At the same time, fill a bowl with the hottest tap water and add some lasagna noddles, enough for several layers in whatever lasagna pan you will be using.

In a medium sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat.  Finely chop the shallots and garlic and add.  Stir and let the shallots soften then add 1/4 cup  of flour. Stir about a minute and then slowly whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil and add bay leaves, nutmeg, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Reduce heat to low and whisk for 10 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves and add parmesan.  Reserve half a cup of sauce in a bowl covered in plastic wrap.  Press the plastic wrap to the surface of the sauce to prevent it forming a skin.  Chop the spinach and add it to the main sauce.

I forgot to add prosciutto earlier, so at this point I chopped some prosciutto, fried it til crispy in some butter and added it to the main sauce.

In a food processor mix cottage cheese, egg and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Spread the reserved sauce on the bottom of the lasagna dish, then layer noodles on top add spinach mixture, sliced fontina then noodles, cheese mixture, some grated parmesan, noodles, basically you get the idea.  To be honest I can't exactly remember how I layered it, but the point is to top it with sauce and cheese (the noodles will burn if on top alone.)

I also didn't cover my lasagna, though the Cooks Illustrated version say to cover with foil.  I like a little browned cheese on top.  Cook at 425 for 20 minutes.

Mangalitsa Pork Chops

I saw these fancy Mangalitsa pork chops at Cookbook, a gourmet food store in Echo Park near where Mark and I live.  They were really expensive but I have been obsessed with only eating fancy meat lately so I went for it.  It was a little difficult to find a recipe, this breed of pig has much more marbling than traditional American pork,  I read that it should be cooked slower for longer.  Anyway this recipe turned out great.  You can find the original here. The meat was much more flavorful than the pork I am used to and the apple, onion, and sage was the perfect accompaniment.  The apple was especially delicious after roasting in pork fat.  There was some fat we trimmed off the edges of the chop after cooking that I put in the freezer, I'm dreaming of a future recipe where we render it and use it to flavor something...


1 Mangalitsa pork chop

1 small onion, diced

sage leaves

1 small apple peeled, cored, and sliced (I used fuji because I had it on hand)


1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
2. Wash and pat dry chop thoroughly with paper towel. Lightly salt and pepper and let sit for about 30 minutes.
3. Add a small amount of oil to a small, heavy oven-proof skillet. Over medium-high heat, sear chop for about 30 seconds on each side to brown, then remove from skillet.
4. Turn heat down to medium and add 1 small sliced onion with several sage leaves cut or torn into smaller pieces. Cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally until browned lightly and beginning to soften. Add 1 small apple, peeled, cored and sliced. Cook for a few minutes to warm apple, then remove pan from burner to cool several minutes.
Add chop to pan and settle into onions and apple. Cover, and place in oven for about 45 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees (the USDA’s benchmark for safety).
5. Remove skillet from oven, remove chop to a plate, and place skillet back on burner on medium-high heat for a few minutes until juices are reduced, then serve with chop.

Sautéed Kale

Mark here... This recipe is a bit inspired by a recipe from the "2 Fat Ladies"  The original recipe uses swiss chard and real anchovies...

Ingredients:
Butter
Kale
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Anchovy Paste
Lemon Juice

First, I used about half of a bunch of kale (and had leftovers), cut the thick stems out from the leafy parts.  Chop both the stems and the leaves but keep them separate, they cook at different times.

I melted about 2 tablespoons of butter in a large pan over medium heat.  Add maybe 2 inches of anchovy paste and 3 garlic cloves (sliced).  Cook another minute.  Add the cut stems and about a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper.  Stir and cover.  Turn the heat down slightly so the stems steam and don't burn.  Check on them but it should take about 10 min., Once they are soft, add the leaves, some lemon juice (1 tablespoon) and stir.  It should only take a couple minutes until the leaves wilt and cook, then its ready to serve.

Who's Your Daddy?

Mark here... Laurel and I just sat down for the next episode of Friday Night Lights, "Who's Your Daddy?".  I've made us a Spinach and Prosciutto lasagna.  This episode was a real good one.  The general plotline has the new QB from Louisiana that Buddy Garrity brought in vying against Matt Saracen for the starting position.  But we also get to see a bit more of Tammi Taylor's character.  Coach Taylor springs a party for the football team on her and she shines despite the last minute notice.  The Coach sees no problem with whether the party is for 50 or 150, but Tammi, despite being pissed off, recognizes whats going on and pulls it off.  Separately Matt clearly has a crush on the coach's daughter.  This is a bit funny because early in the episode when Coach is giving Matt his "get your head in the game" speech, he tells him to get the girl he likes in the backseat of a car.  Later in the episode the coach figures out who the girl he likes is.

We also get to see Jason Street in his rehabilitation center and his new roommate, who's a bit rough with him.  At the end it turns out to be some tough love.  Tyra makes an appearance to urge Jason on in one scene, but its a good scene, especially considering that both their significant others are fooling around. Which is interesting...I sort of forgive Lyla a bit because she at least feels guilty and has visited Jason. Tim Riggins is sort of a real dick.  He hasn't visited Jason in the hospital and yet he's kissing his girlfriend (and making a point to tell her how much he thinks of her).  I mean, come on! You are so torn and guilty you can't visit your best friend, but you have no problem making out with his girlfriend...and then chasing her?!?

Hi Laurel here.  First of all, Mark's lasagne was amazing!  Second I agree with Mark on all points.  I really love this episode, it's the first we've seen that really embodies what I love so much about FNL...delving into the lives of all these people who so far we have just seen a glimpse of.  We see for the first time the dynamic of Coach Taylor's marriage...Sometimes they disagree and sometimes they are upset with each other but at the end of the day they totally have each other's back and really go to great lengths to support each other.  Some other wives would have used the poor party planning on coach Taylor's part to prove a point and let the party fall on it's face, but Tammy goes to great lengths to pull off the party to support her husband (and maybe to save face in the town but I really think it's mostly to support her husband).  Her daughter does a lot to help out too, even though up to this point she has seemed like a bitchy rebellious teen in this episode we see her strong side.  At the end of the day she too is willing to go to great lengths to support her family.

Also in keeping with what I really love about FNL is that we really get into Matt Seracen's drama this epsode.  I love that the show really shows you a slice of life of what each of the characters are going through,  and this episode we start to get a glimpse of what Matt is dealing with.  Poor guy.  His grandma has dimentia, and his Dad is away in Iraq so he is saddled with the responsibilty of caring for her.   And from what we've seen of their interaction during videochat his dad doesn't really believe in him.  It will be interesting to see how this effects Matt's choices.  Right now he has a choice in his personal life and in his football life whether he is going to step up to the plate or whether he is going to retreat, we will have to see which way he goes for both.    Also he gets beat up by a rival football team this episode and coach Taylor is the one who comes to pick him up from the hospital.  Coach Taylor is put in the position of being his substitute father figure which maybe is good for both of them?  Also Tyra is so awesome this episode.  She goes to see Jason, who she is not super good friends with and gives him some straight talk (which he hasn't really heard from anyone so far about anything) about why Tim hasn't been to see him.   (basically because he is being a baby.)  but like Mark said Jason's new roommate gives him some straight talk this episode too which we can tell is good for Jason.

Fish Tacos

Hey!

These fish tacos were really good.  They weren't exactly like the kind that seem the most common in here Los Angeles (fish in chunks, lots of cabbage) but I liked trying them a different way.  The marinated onions were especially good, and the seasoning in the fish was spot on.  I got the recipe from Epicurious.  I've made them both with Mahi Mahi and with Tilapia...Both versions were good but I liked the Tilapia better.  I also used creme fraiche instead of crema.

I served these with a black bean, corn and rice salad that was also super good.

Yield: Serves 4

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
About 1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish
1 jalapeño, stemmed and chopped
1 pound flaky white fish (such as mahi mahi or cod), cut into 4 pieces
Salt
8 fresh corn tortillas
Mexican crema, homemade or store-bought
Fresh Tomato Salsa
2 limes, cut into quarters

Marinate the Onion

Put the onion in a small bowl and pour in enough red wine vinegar to cover well. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or up to several weeks.

Marinate the Fish

Pour the olive oil into a small bowl and add the ancho chile powder, oregano, cumin, chopped cilantro, and jalapeño. Mix well. Place the fish on a dish and pour the marinade over it, making sure to coat the fish well on both sides. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes.

Cook the Fish

Heat a nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Remove the fish from the marinade and place in the hot pan (there is no need to add more oil). Season the fish with salt. Cook the fish for 4 minutes undisturbed, then turn over, and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and flake the fish into the pan with a fork, making sure to mix in all the marinade that has stuck to the bottom of the pan. Check for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Set aside.

Heat the Tortillas

Place four of the tortillas on a plate and sandwich them between two slightly dampened sheets of paper towel. Microwave on high for 45 seconds. Place the warm tortillas in a towel-lined basket or plate and cover. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Assemble and Serve

To assemble the tacos, place a heaping spoonful of the marinated flaked fish onto the center of a tortilla. Top with the marinated onions. Serve accompanied by Mexican crema and salsa.

Garnish with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Fish-Tacos-352976#ixzz2OswIPtZr

New Amsterdam

Mark here...Laurel and I are settling in for the next episode of "Mad Men".  This one is called "New Amsterdam".  Laurel has made us some roasted pork chops in an amazing apple and onion sauce, and scalloped potatoes that were equally delicious.  I made us a side of sauteed kale with garlic, lemon and a hint of anchovy paste.

On to the episode!  This one was very interesting as we get to see a bit more insight into Pete Campbell, who is quite an ass.  He and is wife are interested in buying an apartment in Manhattan that is out of their price range.  When Pete asks his dad, dad balks and clearly doesn't think much of Pete's career in advertising.  It's funny now to think this type of career was considered somehow unserious or frivolous.  Next we see Pete taking out his issues on Don in a client meeting.  He goes out of his way to sabotage Don's pitch to the client and then fill the client's head with this own ideas.  This nearly gets him fired, but his mothers famous name forces the bigwigs at Sterling Cooper to reconsider. Wisely though, Roger Sterling tells Pete that it was Don who saved Pete from being fired.  In doing so, he is hopefully preventing Pete from feeling too invincible and reluctant to do the same thing again.

Meanwhile, there's a subplot with Betty agreeing to babysit for Helen Bishop, the neighborhood's resident divorcee (or maybe she's just separated?).  In any case, Helen's son is bordering on or just reaching puberty and makes a point of barging in on Betty in the bathroom.  She ends up forgiving him but then agree to give him a lock of her hair before sending him to bed! Not exactly the best way to handle his crush on her! In fact she pretty much encourages him to grab a lock of her hair and go jerk off!  Later, in her psychiatrist's office, she confesses to feeling sorry for him and it sort of borders on creepy...

Laurel here...I agree with Mark on all points.  It's hard to know if Pete is taking out his daddy issues on Don, or whether he is just a rich entitled asshole, but I sense it might be a bit of both.  Growing up with a famous name must have trained him his whole life to think he can do whatever he feels like all the time, but he definitely has some issues with Don where he wants desperately for Don to recognize him and give him credit for things.  Sorry to break it to you Pete, but that's not how work works...You work hard, put out good ideas (to your boss first, not directly to the client after hours!), and keep your mouth shut about it because that's your job, if you expect a pat on the back every time you meet the needs of your job you're in for a lot of disappointment.

We also see a little insight into Trudy, Pete's new wife, in this episode.  She seems like a girl who gets what she wants, and it seems like her marriage to Pete might be a means to an end for her instead of a marriage based on love...

I'm interested to see where this thing goes with Betty Draper and the kid from the neighborhood, Glen. Giving the kid a lock of your hair might not be the best way to handle the situation.  You are the grown up here Betty, act like it!

Teacher's Pet

Mark here... we're settled in for the next episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Laurel has made us Mahi Mahi tacos and a side of rice and beans, very delicious and a bit of a healthier option for us (for a change!).  This episode is called "Teacher's Pet" and it's a bit of a play on old B-movie monsters.  The writing nicely makes up for the cheap special effects, or at least makes them appropriate.  The new science teacher is a bit of a femme fatale, and all the boys, including Xander are smitten with her.  Turns out she's actually a giant preying mantis out for young virgin boys to mate with.  The concept is a fun twist on the old idea of a monster preying on young virgins, who usually are unsuspecting young girls. Another interesting thing is how young the characters look!  Angel and Xander look very boyish in these early episodes.  Buffy looks healthy and not too gaunt.  Willow's fashion is hurting, but I guess that's supposed to be the case so we can see how her style and personality develops through the series.

Laurel here...I really liked this episode, it was super fun.  I agree with Mark, the b-movie aspect was really fun, and made the shitty special effects seem appropriately cheesy instead of just bad.  I also was into how Buffy was battling a lady monster this time.  It's nice that the show every so often takes a break from the vampire fighting to incorporate other monsters.  There is one vampire in this episode, but he has a crazy claw like wolverine so he's a little more interesting than the usual ones.  Buffy kills him with a piece of picket fence.  Ah, Sunnydale.

Also Angel!  He's so super hot in these early episodes when he is still mysterious.  I find the boy version of him way more attractive than the man version.  The chemistry between him and Buffy really works.  If smoldering looks could get girls pregnant Angel would have totally knocked her up this episode.

I would also like to mention that Mark really came correct tonight...wearing a Buffy t-shirt.

Act of Contrition

Mark here... this episode is called "Act of Contrition" and it starts out with the Galactica crew celebrating a pilot's 1000 flight, but an accident on the flight deck lets a missile loose and takes out several pilots.  Thus, they're forced to search the flight for potential Viper pilots.  Adama assigns Starbuck with training the new pilots.  He is not aware that Starbuck passed his deceased son (and Apollo's younger brother) in flight school when he had failed.  So we see that Starbuck works through her guilt in this episode...it's not quite as exciting as last episode although it's interesting to see the relationship between the Adamas and Starbuck.  The episode ends on a cliffhanger.  After Commander Adama learns the truth about his son (Zack)'s death he gets angry at Starbuck and tells her to do her job, reassigning the flight trainees to her.  During training they are attacked by Cylons and Starbuck takes the lead in attack, resulting in her and a Cylon ship being damaged.  She ejects her ship into the atmosphere of a foreign planet...

Laurel here..not much to add, true to form I fell asleep for a few minutes of this episode but Mark filled me in on what I missed.  I'm excited to see what happens next episode tho.

The First Time

Mark here... On to Episode 4! In this episode we open on Brenda and Brandon chatting in their shared bathroom. Shirtless Brandon clearly working the teen idol thing. Brandon's old girlfriend from Minnesota will be visiting and staying in Brenda's room (uh huh). So the girl shows up and pops Brandon's cherry, much to the chagrin of his parents. Clearly she ends up another damaged beauty who takes an interest in Dylan and LA culture in general...cue the song "I Wanna Be Rich" by Calloway (thank you Google) during the tour of LA...Dylan proves to be a pretty cool dude by taking a punch from Brandon over the girl, even though he and Brandon just met two weeks ago. I'm way more aware of the gay subtext between the two in watching this again, let's leave it at that.

Laurel here...I'm sort of surprised that Brandon's Minnesota girlfriend was so obsessed with LA culture and movie stars and stuff. I guess that was why it was so easy for Dylan to unintentionally win her heart. I just also wanted to add to mark's note about dylan taking a punch...these two act they like they've been friends forever and ever, having each others back even when they are upset with each other. I'm not sure if it's irresponsible writing or if they are just destined to be bff's, but either way I'm fine with it, I love a good bromance.

Winner of this episodes style award...it's a tie! Dylan brings it again with some baggy plaid muscle pants, while Brenda is a contender this episode with a crazy color block aerobics outfit that she's just wearing casually at home while reading a book. I honestly never thought dylan would win any style awards because I always remeber him just wearing jeans and a black jacket but he has really showed up in some crazy getups these first few episodes. Way to go dylan!

Cocktail Moments:

Well Brandon losing it of course!

Brandon punching Dylan as well.

Discovery!

Mark here... Episode 4 "Discovery", we open to Joey and Dawson in Dawson's room discovering the video that Dawson accidentally shot of Ms Jacobs doing it with a guy they can't see, who we know is Pacey. Cut to Paula Cole! I think we've decided this song is always inappropriate to whatever is going on in the episode!

Shocker! Dawson finds out his mom is having an affair right before his parents anniversary.  And Joey knew and didn't tell him... Everyone keeps telling Dawson how "perceptive" he is yet he can't figure out his best friend is in love with him or that his other best friend (Pacey) is screwing with the teacher. Clearly he's the most clueless of all of them.

So the episode goes on to show us Pacey continuing his affair with the teacher and everyone dancing around sex issues.  To quote Joey: "All this subtext is making me tired". Me too.

Laurel here... Also in this episode Jen confesses to Dawson about her slutty past (which has been alluded to the whole time) and he has a big problem with it.  If he wasn't busy being so "perceptive" he would have maybe thought about the fact that this girl from the big city got shipped off by her parents to live with her grandma in the suburbs...