The Gentle Art of Listening

Mark here...this episode was called "The Gentle Art of Listening" and I won't go so far as to call it a Very Special Episode, but it felt like it. Brenda teams up with Andrea (big mistake) in working at a helpline call center... and of course she ends up answering a phone when she's not supposed to...because she thinks it's Kelly. The funny part is that she thinks it's Kelly because Kelly called before to talk to her at the helpline...to tell her about Donna's latest crisis.

The episode takes us on a wild trip with this girl who calls Brenda about date rape...blah, blah.... On a side note, it seems like Cindy needs a project! After last episode's mid life crisis, it's hilarious to see her obsessively baking or suddenly working at the recycling center (and constantly finding crazy amounts of recycling to lay around the kitchen- did she raid the neighbor's trash?!). Meanwhile, Brandon is obsessing over a girl who used to work at the Peach Pitt. She's "older". 23. She is pushing Brandon to get some New Agey treatment, as she is a yoga/masseuse/acupuncture person (aspiring). Of course we know that despite her slutty overtures, she is just looking for work... And we find out she has a husband or boyfriend...wah wah....

Laurel here...so Brenda, although completely untrained in teen crisis management, ends up handing this girl's date rape case when the girl calls back repeatedly night after night about a new attack. Not to blame the victim, but this girl keeps putting herself in a rapey situation by sticking around after football games alone in the hallway and making herself vulnerable to the same attack situation night after night. Obviously as a modern lady I never want to blame the victim, but come the fuck on!! I feel like the writers took the easy way out of this by letting this girl keep putting herself in the same situation over and over again to serve the story line about Brenda and Andrea coming to her rescue, sort of a writer's cop out. To their credit the girls do thwart the next attack by calling the police and orchestrating a sting, but in reality I feel like a victim in this situation wouldn't recreate the same circumstances 3 nights in a row where this would keep happening to her. Also this is a circumstance where Brenda and Andrea are supposed to bond, but the circumstances are so fake and Andrea is so still so judgey that it doesn't quite sell. I'm curious to see if we ever see another mention of either of them working at a crisis hotline.

Also to add to what Mark mentioned about Cindy's new interest in baking and recycling...is it because of her guilt about her "emotional affair" from the last episode or is she actually inspired by Brenda's new found passion for volunteer work? Either way it comes off as phoney, her baking just seems like an attemp to build a wholesome force field / repent against the perils and pitfalls of Beverly Hills society.

Cocktail Moments:

Brenda to Andrea: " How can you get away with being editor of the paper when you have so much contempt for the student body?"

Andrea's self satisfied expression when the date rapists are caught in the sting, Andrea Zuckerman solves the case! Like she's on Law & Order! Laurel here...I'm not sure if Olivia Benson was a character or not at this point but if she wasnt yet she stole her "indignant" pose from Andrea.

No real style award from this episode but we have no doubt that there will be many more to come.

The 17 Year Itch

Mark here, this episode is called, "The 17 Year Itch" and seems to be more about Jim and Cindy's marriage. Cindy's high school old boyfriend shows up to tempt her with the path not taken. Brenda is onto this from the beginning, Brandon is a little clueless. The funniest part I like to call Cindy's big adventure, where the old boyfriend, Glenn, takes her on a trip to scenic Venice beach to show her the "other side" of LA. Meanwhile, no one would want to see this stuff over age 18. But Cindy's reaction is though she's not left the house EVER.... The episode goes on to show Cindy's continued temptation. Yet she still manages to dress in the grumpiest outfits I could imagine, while working a banana clip in the hair. Brenda of course is suspicious the whole way through and at one point is a master of concealing her contempt. Before school Cindy suggests she eat something or she'll get nauseous with an empty stomach....Brenda's deadpan response, "I'm already nauseous" as she storms out of the house...

Cindy and her fling...It's like the first time she's ever been in a car!

Laurel here...nothing much to add, except I think it's noteworthy that the show attempts to make Cindy a more complex character, which I appreciate...she's not just the boring mom from Minnesota, she actually has had a life of her own in the past.

Also Mark and I were both wondering...later on in the series we both remember that the kids end up living in the Walsh house when the parents move to Hong Kong. Cindy and Jim are both so hell bent on teaching the kids lessons all the time about everything we are wondering how they resolve the kids living there with a free pass? Maybe they are paying rent? Or maybe the kids buy the house somehow? It will be inetersting when the time comes to see how the show resolves this.

Cocktail moments from this episode...Cindy MAKES OUT with Glenn, her crush from the past. She then later exclaims to him that they have been "emotionally cheating" on Jim. Go Cindy! Or shame on Cindy? I'm not sure.

Another cocktail moment is the appearance of Mrs Teasley, the actress who plays her that is. Here she is playing a psychiatrist who is randomly doing a study on twins...and we get to see a set of super nerdy identical twins as a counter point to Brenda and Brandon.

Also Donna raps...ummm

Style award this episode goes to.........Jim! He is putting on his pajamas, showing full crazy chest hair, AND he pulls his Jammie's up so high there's no way that any man or woman would not have given themselves crazy camel toe.

Perfect Mom

Mark here... So Laurel and I are settling in with a delicious Mac and Cheese and fresh Caesar Salad (complete with coddled egg ...but sorry no fresh anchovies, just anchovy paste).

Anyway, this next episode is called, " Perfect Mom" and is all about how Kelly's mom is so ideal. Of course, looks can be deceiving and it turns out Kelly' s mom is an addict. This contrasts with Brenda's mom Cindy who is just not hip enough for Brenda. I'm a huge Brenda/Shannen Doherty fan, but damn is Brenda bitchy! It's sort of funny at points as she's yelling at everyone. Not so funny is of course Andrea, who shows up to annoy again. In this episode there's a mother daughter fashion show and even Andrea's mother can't bear to go with her, so she ends up tagging along with Brenda and Cindy. Everyone makes a point of telling her how beautiful she is...meanwhile no one is saying this to anyone else....hmmm? In any case, Kelly's mom has a drug induced meltdown that totally embarrasses Kelly...and eventually leads her back to rehab....

Laurel here...This episode holds a place close to my heart, because like Kelly, I have one of those moms who wants to be your best friend instead of being your mom (although to be fair I don't think my mom has EVER done cocaine). And like many of my friends, Brenda thinks Kelly's mom is the coolest, totally oblivious to the fact that it actually sucks to have parents that let you do whatever you want all the time and consider your friends to be their friends...but I digress. The bottom line of this episode is that Brenda thinks Kelly's mom is the coolest and her mom is the worst...but at the end of the day realizes that Kelly's mom is not so hot, her mom is actually awesome, and Andrea is actually the one who is the worst. Ok maybe she doesnt realize the part about Andrea yet but I do.

Cocktail moments of this episode: Jim gets a new Casio keyboard and plays it a lot...'nuff said.

Also whenever Kelly's mom "powders her nose". At one point she is in the bathroom with, like, 8 empty stalls, but of course does it out in the open right by the door anyway and gets caught by Cindy! All you have to do is choose any one of the 8 empty stalls dummy!

Style award this episode...another tie. Kelly's mom in her gold fringed bikini, and Brenda in her special cool jeans...you be the judge!

Sole Muniere

This is Ina Garten recipe, subtracted a but since it was for one.

For the Sole:
Sole
Butter
Lemon
Flour
Salt
Pepper

Heat the butter in a wide pan until it begins to brown.  In the meantime, add flour a teaspoon or two of salt, and some pepper to a bowl and dip sole into (I only made 2 pieces since Laurel wasn't eating fish), covering both sides, then lay into the hot butter.  After about a minute or 2, flip.  Then add about a tablespoon or less of lemon juice and a pinch of lemon zest...be careful not to overdo it or it will be too lemony.  Another minute or 2 and it's done and can be warmed in the oven.

Higher Education

Mark here...so this episode is all about cheating. Brandon is offered the answers in a class by Steve and takes them, at first inadvertently. He ends up cheating on a test, and guess who finds out...Andrea! And never failing to be judgey she reams him for it. Of course at the end Brandon realizes that cheating never pays and succeeds on his own...after much judgement from Andrea. She's the worst. (Laurel) It's really interesting how in these earlier episodes Steve is positioned as Brandon's bad influence ( and Kelly is Brenda's)....

Separately, and more interesting...Brenda meets Dylan for the first time in this episode....and promptly has a weird fantasy involving an awful blonde hairdo....which leads to Brenda dying her hair and ending up with the worst wig ....clearly meant to convy a bad dye job, but really....

Laurel here...Brandon totally inappropriately confronts his teacher, calling him out on giving a "memorization" test that he's already given for 15 years but it's obviously just because Brandon feels guilty about using a cheat sheet for the copy of the test he got in advance from Steve ...essentially blaming the teacher for his cheating. Yes giving the same test for 15 years lends itself to cheating but a student blaming the teacher for a bad test is totally inappropriate and NEVER would happen. Anyhow, the teacher takes it to heart and assigns a surprise essay question for the final so everyone has to think for themselves. Issue resolved! Neat package! All is well! Especially for nerdy Andrea who has of course uncovered the cheating "scandal" and was super worried about the curve...

Mark here... I feel like its worth noting...we both HATE Andrea yet we both find ourselves entertained ( unexpectedly) by the awful Andrea moments...go figure....Laurel here... I guess we both love to hate her. Honestly shes the worst!!! Shes like a parody of herself a cross between Debbie downer and a new character that we've invented called Judgey Judy. Honestly she's the worst We hate her so much. But she has given us many moments of mention.

Cocktail Moments

Donna Martin shows up and actually has a line, rare in these early episodes, so we feel like its worth a drink.

Brandon and Andrea moments: the first time Brandon says " its just irritating that you always think you're right" also " sometimes you have a stake in everything I do, like we're a couple or something" (forshadowing much)?

Brenda to Dylan: " I like your butt, I mean...your bike"

Brenda gets the style award this episode, strutting her stuff in dolphin shorts, a printed sports bra, and her crazy dye job. Way to go Brenda!

One on One

Laurel here...We are continuing (happily) to make our way through the first season of BH9. For dinner tonight Mark made Ina Garten's super delicious vegetable risotto, and sole muniere. We all really enjoyed it, including Brenda and Dylan.

In this episode the show attempts to tackle RACISM. I don't even know where to start. I don't think we have seen one single black person so far at West Beverly HS, but now all of a sudden the show is gonna teach us a lesson about racism? It turns out black people DO go to west Beverly high, but they are all men, they are all on the basketball team, and they must only hang out in the gym because aside from this episode you never see them before this and as far as I remember we never see them again. The show has an opportunity here to use this as a jumping off point to incorporate some new characters and actually become at least mildly diverse, but as far as I remember that never happens. Do they think that because Andrea (aka the worst) is Jewish they have it covered?

Mark here...I totally agree, the attempts at racial sensitivity a cringe-worthy. The premise of the show is Brandon trying to get on the basketball team and being jealous of a black student, James Walker, who Brandon thinks is getting a free ride at west Beverly while living out of district. There's also a subplot about Brenda not knowing how to drive. In the course of events, we learn Steve is a bigot. Brandon is seemingly oblivious to all racist innuendo, which makes him seem like a rube. Brandon, in being convinced that this student is getting special treatment enlists the help of Andrea, who again proves useless. She really had a chance to shine here, but remains as annoyingly useless as ever, letting Brandon confront the student himself as a reporter for the West Beverly Blaze. Which goes down terribly, but in the end the student turns out to be at the school legitimately and a lesson is learned... They're really not so different after all...resulting in this gem of a quote from Brandon, "I'm not a cowboy, and you're not a gang banger crackhead!". Really?!?! Because those two things are not equally bad!!!

Laurel here...In the end James gets the spot on the varsity team, Brandon gets a spot on the B team, they come to an understanding that they are not so different after all. All's well that ends well.

Also in this episode Brenda is whining about getting her own car because Brandon always makes her late whe he drives her places. So she enrolls in drivers training at school (in the 90s they actually used to offer drivers training in LAUSD public school). We discover that she has already taken drivers training 3 times in Minnesota and has failed. Well, fourth times not a charm either...while out on the road with her instructor, she gets distracted by a HENRY WINKLER sighting, runs through a stop sign and hits somebody.

Despite all of this she still borrows Brandon's car, Mondale, to pick up kelly at a concert. Long story short the car gets "stolen" (actually just towed) and after some fretting, again, all's well that ends well.

Cocktail Moments:

First the beginning with Dad and Brandon shooting hoops in the driveway...dad has the most ridiculous sprayed on pit stains! Yet no other sweat...gross, disturbing...have a drink

Kelly calling Brenda to pick her up from a concert, Brenda explains she could take Brandon's car, Mondale. Kelly doesn't understand so Brenda explains who Walter Mondale is...Kellys response, "whatever."

When Brandon tells Andrea he is trying out for the basketball team, her response is "Aren't you a little short?"

Also, when James and Brandon have their final one on one game/confrontation, James is wearing this shirt...this would be a finish your whole drink moment:

And the style award for this episode.......Donna dethrones Dylan (strangely absent from this episode) with the craziest hat a middle aged wardrobe stylist ever invented. Congrats Donna!

English Onion Soup, Game Stock, and...

So I'm posting the recipe for the onion soup I made because it was amazing.  It comes from Jamie Olivers show.  Laurel suggested I post the recipe for the pasta dish even though it was nothing to write home about, and I was going to until I had some leftovers last night...awful!  I won't say which chef the recipe came from except that it's no one I've mentioned.  I did take some liberties with the recipe, in substituting the pasta for sausage ravioli which may have balanced out the bitterness with some saltiness.  In any case, it' not worth posting.

Here's the soup:

Ingredients:
White Onion
Yellow Onion
Red Onion
Leeks (2 or 3)
Sage
Garlic
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Butter
Salt
Stock (Recipe to follow)
Worcestershire Sauce
Thick bread that has sat out a day or two
Emmentaler cheese
Ovenproof soup bowls

First I sliced all the onions into half moons.  Trim the tough parts off the leeks (my mom once mentioned using leeks without doing this, I'm sure her guests were chewing forever), then wash, halve and slice them. Heat a pan (I used a dutch oven) and add some of the olive oil and about 2 tablespoons of butter or so.  Peels and crush the garlic, toss it in with some sage leaves and stir around a minute or so.  Then add all the onions, cover, and leave on a medium heat for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.  In the end, it should end up a browned mass of softened onions.  At this point, add stock.  I had made some homemade game stock, but otherwise I would've just used canned chicken stock. bring to a simmer.  Then ladle into each of the bowls.  Add some sliced bread.  Shave the Emmentaler on top, add a few sage leaves.  Then drizzle a few drops of the olive oil and worcestershire over each. Put them in the oven or under the broiler for just a minute or so to melt the cheese, then remove and enjoy.




So I don't normally make game stock in my spare time...however, almost a year ago I made a big mixed game feast that involved removing a number of bones and innards, which I then froze.  Given, that it's been almost a year I figured I had to use them up and this would be a good time. It makes a lot of stock, which I've frozen.  I cobbled this recipe together from Anthony Bourdain's and Ina Garten's.  I liked Anthony Bourdain's roasting of the bones first and Ina Garten's shorter cooking time.

Game Stock:
Bones, etc...
Herbs (Thyme, Dill or a Bouquet Garni)
Carrots
Garlic
Onions
Celery
Salt
Olive Oil
Pepper

First I threw all the bones and innards on a sheet pan, then added a few crushed garlic cloves and quartered onions (both unpeeled).  Then toss the whole bunch with olive oil, salt and pepper.  I roasted at about 375 for about 25 minutes, until it was browned (not black, so you have to watch it).  Also toss it around once during cooking.

When the bones are done, get a big stock pot (I used two).  Chop up all the vegetables, but they don't need to be peeled (carrots, additional onions, halve a garlic head, celery...these are the vegetables I had, you can add additional or a different combination).  Through in the bones and some herbs (I used fresh thyme and dried dill).  Cover with water and add about 2 tablespoons salt and a teaspoon of pepper.  Bring the whole thing to a simmer and leave there for 4 hours.  Then let it cool and strain out the stock.  It makes a lot, so I just freeze what I don't need.

One more thing I forgot to mention was what game.  I had made Jamie Oliver's mixed feathered game, which included partridges, quail, squab (pigeons to us commoners), and guinea fowl.  I believe I only had bones from the guinea fowl and partridge and innards and neck from everthing.