At 8-ish o’clock in the evening, I was in my jammies heckling at the TV as I watched the historic Iron Chef battle between Team Flay/Comerford and Team Batali/Lagasse. It was an event of gastronomic proportions that I couldn’t miss.

I had been waiting for that episode for months. Even if I was sure I’d catch it in real time on the West Coast, I made backup plans and asked E. to record it on TiVO. And thinking about it now, I would watch the episode again!

I took special interest in the episode because of Cristeta Comerford, the Filipino head chef at the White House who has cooked meals for two administrations now (the Obamas kept her on after she served the Bush family for many years).  She was such an inspiration, this tiny thing moving around among the towering figures of her male counterparts, confident, quick and intelligent. I was very proud of her. She didn’t just hold her own, but she took the win with Bobby Flay.

Michelle Obama announced the secret ingredient: the White House garden. The chefs had their pick of the freshest herbs and vegetables from the garden (and its own honey farm) and, with local ingredients, inspired a mouthwatering menu that made me swoon. And they made the judges swoon, too. The event’s critical palates were those of celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, actress Jane Seymour and Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin. (I love how Emeril seems to be having a philisophical discussion with those radishes!)

The menus focused on local and sustainable ingredients and included Blue Point oysters, bay scallops, clams, lobster, heritage turkey and quail, pork, artisanal cheeses and fresh dairy. Here are the prize dishes that took the win for Comerford and Flay:

Fennel and Apple Salad with Blue Point Oysters
Eggplant and Carrot Salad with Crispy Lobster and Squid, with White House Honey
A fresh twist to the Manhattan Clam Chowder with broccoli and broccoli raab, local clams and crab mixed with fingerling potatoes, chorizo, lemongrass, garlic and ginger
BBQ pork accompanied by vegetables
Sweet Potato Tart Topped With Meringue, and a side of ginger ice cream

THIS blog has a great summary of the episode, including the recipe for the prize-winning Cauliflower Gratin that Nigella Lawson spooned with a big smile into her mouth, because she says cauliflower and cheese is very British comfort food. I can’t wait to make it myself, it should be perfect for winter.

After the show, I was warm and happy with thoughts of food, so I ended the night curled up in bed with a new cookbook I got for Christmas. An awesome start to a New Year; I can’t wait to make this year into a delicious one. And I hope yours is just as yummy!

*All photos courtesy of Food Network

Just a quick post to say I’m VERY curious about this week in daytime TV. And only because:

November 12, Thursday, Rachael Ray hosts Martha Stewart

November 13, Friday, Martha Stewart hosts Rachael Ray

I don’t like Rachael Ray. There, I said it. I was trying to be diplomatic, but we all have our preferences! But I do love Martha. I’ve been a fan for years. So, I’m kind of really excited to see how these episodes go. I hear that there’s no cooking on Rachael’s show, just talk—Martha dishes about her love for rap music and taking pottery classes in prison (I’m laughing, because I probably would, too!). On Friday, Martha’s showing Rachael how to make a decorative pie top with leaves made of dough (watch out!) . I can’t wait to see these—crossing my fingers that E. will be able to TiVo the eps for me!

In all my years of hoarding fabric, I’ve never had a chance to own anything by Marimekko. I’ve been fascinated with the design company for years, but its stuff is just too expensive! But this past weekend, there was a lady selling remnant fabric at the Venice High Flea Market—and I snagged about a half yard of this beautiful black-and-white floral piece. For a buck. A BUCK!!! I plan to turn it into a clutch! I also found other beautiful fabric pieces, some printed linen, classic Ralph Lauren cotton (I like how it’s very 1980’s Laura Ashley-esque) and vintage buttons that I couldn’t resist. Total damage from this weekend’s flea market finds? $7. That makes me happy.

And I’m finally catching Julie & Julia tonight! (Squeal!)

On top of my months-long anticipation of the movie, we’re getting the chance to catch it at an indie theater in Westwood Village called The Majestic Crest. It’s a one-screen affair with glamorous epilectic fit-inducing lights outside. It’s been around since the 40’s. I love its art deco charm and vintage wall murals. I can’t wait! (Photos from Yelp.)

The trailer for this movie made me tear up, so I hope I don’t bawl in the theater tonight, haha. And you know what I realized? It’s apt that Julia Child is perhaps my dearest culinary inspiration. You know why? Look—SHE was the original Girl With A Curl!

Hope to catch you tomorrow, blog folks! Au revoir!
—-
The Venice High Flea Market is on the second Saturday of each month. More info HERE.

The Majestic Crest is a must-see when you’re in the West Los Angeles Area. More info HERE.

I’ve been making these for years, ever since an aunt gifted me with the cookbook Mrs. Field’s Best Cookie Book Ever (ever!). Well, she didn’t so much give it to me as I hinted, repeatedly, that I’d really really really love a copy. So, she gave me hers. Maybe more to shut me up than anything. Haha.

Jessica’s Marshmallow Clouds are made with frozen mini marshmallows that you encase in chocolate cookie dough before baking. I wish I could post pictures of how I made these, but I have to say these are a bit on the messy side to make, so my hands were full of dough! The result is a gooey chocolate cookie that’s extra soft in the middle because of the marshmallow surprise. You see a little of the yummy stuff in between breaks on tops of the cookies. Heavenly! These are among my favorite cookies to make, despite the mess.

 I made these for a recent movie date with friends. Concession stands in movie houses here charge so much for snacks—so the next best thing is to sneak some of your own in! I packaged these in individual sandwich bags, along with little snack bags of gummi worms that I had gotten in bulk. The two snackies made for awesome theater treats! 

Hope your week is off to a sweet start!

…to bring you the world’s funniest mom.

J: So, what did you do today?

Mama: Your brother took me to a movie! It was nice.

J: Really? Which one?

Mama: Dungeons and Dragons.

J: Oh, so you saw it at home? Like on the sci-fi channel?

Mama: No, in the theater. Tom Hanks has a weird hairdo in it.

J: Tom Hanks? Did you mean Angels & Demons?

Mama: Oh! (Guffaws.) Hahahahahahaha. Yes. They sound alike, don’t they?

J: Uhm, mother, NO.

LOL. I love my mom.

Shown below from R to L: The Girl With A Curl before her curls took over her head, The World’s Funniest Mother and The Brother Who Took Her To “Dungeons & Dragons!”

I expected this package to come later in the week, so when I got it yesterday I was beside myself. See, all these are free! Well, sort of. They were bought with a gift rewards certificate from Amazon, from points accrued over several cookbook etc. etc. purchases. So I kind of feel that they’re free, haha.

The loot:

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay for this month’s book club

Lost In Austen, a TV series from the UK about a modern-day girl who’s transported right into the pages of Pride & Prejudice. Saw 20 minutes of it before sleeping last night and thoroughly enjoyed the costumes, sets and everything being spoken in that accent. (“Mistah Dahhhsee…”)

And best of all, Vickie Howell’s Pop Goes Crochet book!

I love this book, and not just because I’m a fan of Vickie. I like how it takes something as old-school as crochet and places it into the context of present-day craft/art influences. It has really fun crochet projects inspired by icons from popular culture, like this couture scarf channeling Heidi Klum (I know the model’s half-naked, but isn’t the scarf so pretty?)…

…a vintage-y purse that something Dita Von Teese might have in her closet….

…a Marc Jacobs-inspired meanswear jacket…

…and my favorite, a L.A.M.B.-inspired shrug ala Gwen Stefani.

Now don’t ask me when I’ll have the time to make all these. Between reading up on the Holocaust for book club, finding my way around the Bennett household through my new DVD, crafting for two creative swaps and cooking for friends, family and anybody in-between, who knows when I’ll have the time (or hands) to do any other projects! But all in all, it’s really quite ok. My curls and I love this crazy, creative whirl!

Beautifully designed poster.

And a trailer that made me cry! (I’m such a sap. Especially for food flicks!)

Its release date is August 7, on the month of my birthday. I can’t wait.

Be back in a few, folks! Just getting caught in the curly crosshairs of life. And what was it that Julia Child said?

“Life itself is the proper binge!”

See you very, very soon.

I can’t wait for 500 Days Of Summer. It stars Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Zooey Deschanel and debuts in theaters in, well, the summer.

Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t.

This post-modern love story is never what we expect it to be—it’s thorny yet exhilarating, funny and sad, a twisted journey of highs and lows that doesn’t quite go where we think it will. When Tom, a hapless greeting card copywriter and hopeless romantic, is blindsided after his girlfriend Summer dumps him, he shifts back and forth through various periods of their 500 days “together” to try to figure out where things went wrong. His reflections ultimately lead him to finally rediscover his true passions in life.

I’ve been hounding the WWW for more tidbits about the movie because I’m in love with the tailoring and costumes in it. Its design elements (clothes, sets) have the sort of retro/vintage feel to it that I love….

…and a teaser trailer with an awesome soundtrack. (That’s The Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition.)

I was racking my brains about why I’m so obsessed with the clothes in this movie, and I realized it’s because they remind me of the clothes designs from Built By Wendy by NYC’s Wendy Mullin.

She has a sewing patterns line in collaboration with Simplicity that I’m collecting. They’re too pretty to use so I just stare at them and sigh. I also have Wendy’s book Sew U: The Built By Wendy Guide To Making Your Own Wardrobe, which comes with patterns, too.

500 Days Of Summer’s release date is July 17. Pass the popcorn!

Been following the progress of Faythe Levine’s book (now on my Christmas wishlist) Handmade Nation: The Rise Of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design, and was thrilled when I found out how well the documentary based on the book was coming along.

Faythe Levine traveled 19,000 miles to document what has emerged as a marriage between historical technique, punk culture, and the D.I.Y. ethos. For “Handmade Nation” (along with the documentary film of the same name, coming in 2009), she and Cortney Heimerl have selected 24 makers and 5 essayists who work within different media and have different methodologies to provide a microcosm of the crafting community. Participants in this community share ideas and encouragement through websites, blogs, boutiques, galleries, and craft fairs. Together they have forged a new economy and lifestyle based on creativity, determination, and networking. Twenty-four artists from Olympia, Washington to Providence, Rhode Island, and everywhere in between show their work and discuss their lives.

“Handmade Nation” features photographs of the makers, their work environment, their process, their work, and discussions of how they got their start and what motivates them.

The docu’s stop-animation opening credits was recently released, and watching it just makes me all sorts of happy, because it stars some of my favorite characters: needle and thread, ribbon and rickrack, yarn, fabric, paper and paint!

Hurray for crafters! Can’t wait till this debuts in theaters next year.

Learn all about the movie project on the Handmade Nation blog.

…we’ll be right back! (Remember these TV spots during Saturday-morning cartoons?)

So, I’m going to be busy traveling for work over the next two weeks. I’ll be blogging intermittently and won’t be able to say hello as often in your neck of the world wide woods. I hope to be back soon, especially because I have great Christmas gift ideas to share.

In the meantime, I’m leaving you with a music video from my favorite 80’s cartoon. Until I’m able to blog in full swing again, as Jem says, “I’ve Got My Eye On You!” (Don’t be hatin’ on Jem’s pink ‘do now because I love it, haha!)

Stay curly, folks!