Day of Leisure

I absolutely enjoyed today. The weather is beautiful (55 degrees, not a cloud in the sky) and I don't have any homework or anything else that absolutely has to be done. Can you believe it? No stress! We finally found the gelato place in Norman,il dolce gelato, because there was a coupon in the ValPack we got in the mail yesterday, so Paul took me for gelato and it was really really good. I had half tiramisu and half vanilla rum.

Earlier today, I worked on my needlepoint while watching Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing, one of my favorite films. I first saw the play at Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park as a child and fell in love immediately and I later rented this movie and fell in love all over again. It really is charming.

Lastly, I finally finished The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I checked it out in October and had to go into the decks to get it. It's in the old part of Bizzell Library at OU and there are 2 decks per floor, but the bookshelves go all the way up, so it's not advisable to look down. Paul and I decided that we liked the decks because they were very Indiana Jones and then I read The Historian and I know all those old libraries were somehow related to the decks. The book itself is beautiful with lots of detail that is nonexistent in the book covers of today.

The front cover:
Detail of the front cover with shields representing England and America:
Frontispiece (don't you just love that word?) and title page:
Detail of title page with fauns holding up a fountain:
Copyright page:
Unlike Frances Hodgson Burnett's most famous books, this one is centered around adults and was a pleasant read with glimpses of depth, especially when the narrator and the characters explore the intricacies of Anglo-American relations. For example:

Cheap, pirated editions of English works…brought before Americans soft , home-like pictures of places which were, after all was said and done, the homes of those who read of them, at least in the sense of having been the birthplaces of fathers or grandfathers. Some subtle, far-reaching power of nature caused a stirring of the blood, a vague, unexpressed yearning and lingering over pages which depicted sweet, green lanes, broad acres rich with centuries of nourishment and care; grey church towers, red roofs, and village children playing before cottage doors…Old grievances having had time to fade away and take on less poignant color, the stirring of blood stirred also imaginations, and wakened something akin to homesickness… (51)

Isn't that description just perfect? Another thing I really like about the book is the heroine, Betty Vanderpoel, who is refreshingly capable and intelligent. I think she's great. I know there is a Persephone edition of this book, because their website is what spurred me to look it up in the OU catalog. The Persephone description of the book is worth reading.

Needlepoint and Research

Above: "Jacobean" pillow on frame (It says it's Jacobean, but I don't think it really is. The colors are all wrong but it was the only decent-looking canvas at Hobby Lobby. I don't want any crazy cat lady needlepoint.); below: first stitches
Below: Close-up of satin stitches
I've had this canvas since Christmas Eve, but I just started it today. I wasn't sure if I was ready, but I decided if I just paid attention, I couldn't mess it up too much. I did waste a couple strands of the color above reacquainting myself with needlepoint technique and trying to decide in which square to put the needle. I also spent most of the afternoon making Beef Bourguignon, but I couldn't get a good photo. It's a good thing that the recipe makes enough for 4 meals, because it makes enough mess and takes enough effort for 4 meals!

Well, here's my research: watching For Your Eyes Only. Oh, yes, very intellectual. I gave Paul the 007 Scene It for Christmas so we're improving our James Bond skills. He's also currently reading Thunderball. For Your Eyes Only isn't the best Bond movie, but it wasn't unwatchable (like Diamonds are Forever). While I watched the movie (really listened and looked up every once in a while), I was able to finish most of the first color on my needlepoint canvas.

Las Vegas

Above: Clouds roll in to cover the mountains behind the Strip, photo taken from Gate 6 at McCarran International

Here are just a few tips, tricks, and suggestions that we discovered while in Vegas:

• Make sure your rental car key isn't bent
• Be prepared for an allergic reaction to all the smoke in the casinos (best bets: allergy eye drops to counteract redness and over-the-counter nasal spray)
• Be prepared to be extremely dried-out and pack your heaviest face cream and use the eye drops and nasal spray listed above (the inside of my nose felt like sandpaper)
• I wish I had stocked up on bottled water at a convenience store so I wouldn't have had to pay $4 per bottle in the hotels on the Strip
• Good grilled cheese and tomato soup at Raffles in Mandalay Bay (pricey but yummy, just be prepared for crap service and tip accordingly)
• Don't expect to use the gym at Mandalay Bay without spending $25 for a spa day pass
• Make sure you check out the fountains at Bellagio. They really are amazing and they're free (along with the hotel's conservatory, just off the lobby).
• Check out the zappos.com outlet on Dean Martin Drive
  
• Take gaming lessons at the Venetian and have a croissant panini at the food court on the casino level (not in the mall).
  
• While you're at the Venetian, pick up some Murano glass beads at a kiosk in the mall.
• Play $3 minimum blackjack at the Golden Gate downtown. Their diner is super cute, too, and the medium-rare steak was actually medium-rare and was only $14 and came with soup or salad, potato, vegetable, and a roll. The casino also had yummy gin and tonics.
  
• Grab a long strand of freshwater pearls for $20 at a kiosk at the Forum Shops, Caesar's Palace
• The Creperie at Paris Las Vegas was pricey ($9 for savory crêpes) but tasty and like a full meal (it's just off the casino floor)
• Try out the $5 minimum blackjack at The Orleans (about a mile west of the strip on Tropicana). It's the only place where I actually made money. They also have good ice cream for about half the price of the hotels on the Strip (try the Spumoni). Also check out the gift shop.
  

I had a really great time. It was really excellent to decompress after this semester and relax and have fun. I am glad to be home, though. The air quality is better.

Best Way to Freeze Cookie Dough

I love cookies straight from the oven, so since there are only two of us, I freeze a lot of cookie dough so that I can bake just a few cookies at a time. Here are the steps:

1. Make a cookie dough that freezes well. (Like these Chocolate Chip Cookies)
2. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil, wax paper, or parchment paper (whichever you have on hand).
3. Scoop mounds of cookie dough onto baking sheet, placed close together but not touching.
4. Freeze for a few hours.
5. Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and place balls of dough into a tupperware-type container in layers separated either by plastic wrap, parchment paper, or wax paper:

6. Return to freezer for up to 3 months.

To bake:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the number of cookies you would like to bake on the sheet.
2. Heat the oven to the temperature on the recipe.
3. When oven registers correct temperature, place dough in oven and cook for time on recipe.

Very very simple! (These steps have been adapted from Cook's Illustrated April 2005 p. 17)

Vacation

We're off for Las Vegas, so I'll be back sometime after the 20th. I finally finished White Christmas today (the annual viewing). I watched bits and pieces throughout the week, but I finally just sat down and finished it.

Here's one of my favorite numbers from the movie. After my friend Grace and I saw the re-release of the movie in 7th or 8th grade, we went around singing this song (and Doris Day's Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps--but that's another story).

Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Paul had a final at 4:30 this afternoon, so I made chocolate chip cookies while listening to Tom Jones, which I have to do while Paul isn't around because I'm forbidden from even mentioning Tom Jones in his presence, much less singing Delilah or It's Not Unusual at the top of my voice. Oh, well. Two of the best things about baking on my own are: (1) I pick the music and (2) I get to gluttonously lick the bowl and beaters all by myself. This is actually my second batch of cookies this week. Erika and I made molasses spice cookies yesterday but I forgot to take pictures. I have a dozen eggs I need to use up before we go on vacation.

The recipe I used is for Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from Martha Stewart: Holiday Cookies. It's online here. I use all semi-sweet chocolate chips and instead of vanilla extract I use Nielson-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste, which after you try it you will understand why it's worth $11 a jar. It definitely makes a difference.

My lovely apron:

"Put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment" (my hand mixer will just have to do):

"Add salt, vanilla, and eggs":

Dough ready to be frozen:

Close-up of cookie goodness:


This sublime cheesiness is precisely why I always wanted my own variety show. Do you think it's too late to quit this whole history thing and become a back-up singer for Tom Jones? [edited 10/3/08: video no longer available; this is the same performance but the quality of the video is definitely not as good. :-( ]
[edited 11/14/08: above video now no longer available, as well--same performance is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWRWFllVEzc]

The Arrival of Jack Frost

Above: Berries encased in ice

I honestly can't remember the last time we had this much ice accumulation. I have heard trees and branches falling and emergency vehicle sirens continually today. The berries above are from the tree by our mailbox that fell over early this morning. I really liked that tree, especially since it had such jolly red berries. It makes me sad.

On a happier note, the final for my class is tomorrow and OU has decided not to cancel classes, which means that I don't have to reschedule and I can finish my grading by Thursday and I'm finished with my term paper for Directed Readings. Yippee!!!
Above: Ice accumulation on tree branches, taken at the window

New Yarn, New Project

I've been seeing this hat everywhere online lately and I was definitely thinking about crocheting it despite the fact that the last time I crocheted a hat was in middle school and I worked on it with lots of help from my grandma. Well, the yarn (Lion Cashmere Blend) went on sale at the Hancock's down the street, so I swooped in (the place was packed) and nabbed the last two balls of the color I wanted: charcoal. It was a good thing that was the color I wanted, because they only had one more ball and it was baby blue.

One of the comments on the pattern post stated that the hat only took 45 minutes, but I know I probably won't be able to finish until at least sometime next week or maybe even after Las Vegas.

Paul as Emperor Constantine

I pester Paul every once in a while with my camera. I took this portrait in August, but didn't run across it again until recently, when I was organizing iPhoto. I didn't have any intention when I took this, but now I think it's rather reminiscent of marble busts of Roman Emperors. The look. That nose! Check out this photo of a statue of the emperor Constantine:
http://www.pbase.com/taggart51/ image/65333810.

Paul- I know you're now totally embarrassed. I love you for letting me get away with things like this!

An Explanation for the Lack of Cuisine of Late

Last night was the last Methods class ever. Dave wanted to go celebrate, but we'll all have to go out some other time. I think Allison, Ariana, and I were so beyond celebrating! I just wanted to go home and go to sleep!

I know my blog started off with food photos and I intend to post more--as soon as I start cooking again. The end of the semester has really put a cramp in my culinary style. Recently, I've been enjoying(?) Lean Cuisine and Campbell's soup. Dear Lord, I am ready to return to the kitchen! So as soon as finals are over, Paul and I are off to Vegas and then I will come back and get back to cuisine (and knitting and reading and wasting time on YouTube etc. etc.). To tide us over, here is a photo of prosciutto-wrapped pork chops, lima bean salad, and the ubiquitous carottes étuvées au beurre that I made earlier and never posted:
The pork chops are from the June 2006 issue of Everyday Food and the lima beans are from another issue of Everyday Food, but I can't find it at present.

Update: Best Friend Cardigan

Leslie at L&B Yarn Co. took a photo of my Best Friend Cardigan (from Twinkle's Big City Knits) for their blog. Click here to look at it. I look really pale and the shoulder seam is all funky because I forgot to pull it up, but that's pretty much the sweater, which was quick to knit, but the instructions were terrible. I don't recommend it unless you are pretty confident at fixing your own knitting mistakes, because, believe me, there was lotsa fixin'.

The Demise of a Sweater

Above: Evening Shell in Twinkle Handknit Soft Chunky (Sapphire)
It's really such a shame that I have to pull this sweater apart, again. The first time I knitted it, I knitted a large, because that's supposed to be the size that fits me, but it was HUGE. Too big for Paul, in fact. So, I pulled it all out and re-knit, this time I knit the smallest size. Well, it fits, but it looks like a Kevlar vest--seriously ugly. And it looks so cute when it's not being worn! I originally made it because (1) I liked it and (2) it called for 3 skeins, which I had left over from making my Best Friend Cardigan (pics coming soon). I've decided to just make another Diamond Scarf (see below). I've already made one for Erika in Raspberry, but this one will be for me. I really really like the yarn. It's 100% merino and is the softest thing ever. I just hate the instructions in Twinkle's Big City Knits. They are just crap, crap, crap. Thankfully, there are no mistakes in the scarf pattern.
I'm so glad it's Friday. Yay, weekend! I still have to grade term papers (yuck!) and write my Directed Readings paper, so I won't get to have fun all weekend. How disappointing!

Having Fun with Eighteenth-Century France

Madame du Bois by Nicholas de Largillière (copy)
Granted, "Having Fun with Eighteenth-Century France" could probably have been the title of yesterday's post, but I saved it for today. I watched a bit of The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) while I was eating my lunch. I just love that movie. The day it was released on DVD was, no kidding, among the most exciting moments of my life. Anthony Andrews is perfect as Sir Percival Blakeney and Jane Seymour is just so beautiful and Ian McKellen is always great. I wanted to name the rat Chauvelin after Ian McKellen's character, but Paul said that was cruel, so we named him after the emperor Maximilian instead (I don't see how that's any better). Anyway, if you haven't seen this version, get thee to a Blockbuster! You should also read the book. It rocks.

Favorite Movie, Favorite Chocolate


Maximilian

Erika and I went to Dr. Abramson's lecture "Food, Finance, and Social Ascension in Eighteenth-Century France." It was about Marivaux's Le paysan parvenu, which I have not yet read. The questions led to a discussion of another of my favorite books/movies Tom Jones and how its scenes on dining are more about how the characters eat rather than what they eat. Some of the themes brought up really reminded me of "Taste" from In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg.

Good news! Dr. Winston said I was welcome to sit in on his Eighteenth-century Philosophes class. See? Today was really loaded with France in the Eighteenth Century. Too bad Erika and I had burgers (or a grilled cheese in my case) and fries for dinner from the restaurant in the student union. I guess we should have eaten pheasant.

[Edited 12/18/08: "Taste" is available online here.]

Finished: Socks

Yay! Now both my feet can be warm! I finally just got to the point where it was senseless to stop without finishing. I actually did a better job on the first sock...

Also found out today that the song I didn't know but really really liked from Marie Antoinette is "Kings of the Wild Frontier" by Adam and the Ants. Go figure. I remember dancing around to my mom's cassette single of "Room at the Top" (solo Adam Ant) when I was 3 or 4. Oh, it brings back childhood memories! Maybe the fact that "Room at the Top" was one of my first favorite real songs (I mean not Raffi or Wee Sing) explains some things about my personality...

Marie Antoinette "Kings of the Wild Frontier" Clip (click directly on one of the "play" symbols and the video will play on this page):


"Room at the Top" clip (edited 3/15/08: YouTube clip no longer active; this video is from yahoo):


I love love love embedded video and YouTube!!!

Errol Flynn Therapy

Well, it's starting to look more like a sock. It was time for an Errol Flynn-therapy session. Always makes me feel better to watch an Errol Flynn movie, especially if Olivia de Havilland is in it, too. I want to be a cool old lady like Olivia. I love watching interviews with her--she tells some great stories about her experiences as an actress. The interview with her is part of the reason I want the 4-disc special edition Gone with the Wind. Anyway, I think Errol movies are therapeutic for numerous reasons (his characters, for the most part, are paragons of manly virtue and there are a few people I'd like him to punch in the nose) and I still think that Paul ought to keep his mustache trimmed like E.F.'s.

Why did I need therapy, you ask? It's just that time in the semester.

In case you were wondering how I decide how many rounds to knit for a sock:
Last, but not least, an alternate shot of Claude with my books:

Finished: Methods Paper

Above: 48cm of books and Monet for scale; click if you'd like to read the titles

The best thing about this whole experience was discovering that there was an MP named Sir Harbottle Grimston. Seriously, just check Grey's Debates. Sounds very Dickensian, doesn't it? I wonder what Sir Harbottle was like. Was he round and bald and jolly or tall, skinny, hunched, and crooked? There are no other options. I do have a feeling, however, that Dickens would have made someone named Sir Harbottle Grimston into a comic character.

Back to the paper: only 23 pages, but there was no more to write. It's very hard for me to do work for a class I hate!

Tomorrow Dr. Lewis is giving a lecture entitled "Revisiting Brideshead: The English Country House in World War II" and on Thursday Erika and I are going to Dr. Abramson's lecture on food in 18th-century France. That should make my week better. Plus, Rebecca and I are going to lunch after Dr. Lewis's lecture. Fun!

After tonight, there is only one more class period for Methods and I could not be happier. I am so glad to have the paper finished, which means that all I have to do this week and next week is write my paper for Directed Readings and grade term papers for Tudor England.

Today while perusing the internet, I found this flickr group: Gourmet Crochet and Knitting. It's entirely devoted to crochet and knit food and I couldn't help thinking that some of the objects would be great for a foreign language class learning food vocab. I also found out yesterday that I don't need a teaching license to teach French in Kansas at the secondary level.

The Thanksgiving Wrap-up

Above: Fruit Tarts

We just got back from Arkansas this afternoon and I have to work on my Methods paper after this. (No, I'm still not done and I don't want to do it.) I really want to randomly burst into song in that class and see if he'll melt because he can't take the happiness. Anyway, these fruit tart pics are from Thanksgiving Eve dinner at my parents' house. My dad made the tart shell and the cream cheese-and-lemon filling and cut up the fruit and I arranged the fruit as I was told. These are always a hit. They're sooo yummy!

Grandma Jessie sent me home with my proof-of-ancestry so I can join the Daughters of the American Revolution, her recipe for Ozark Pudding, a newspaper clipping for Oreo Bonbons, and a pretty, glass, autumny candy dish. So, needless to say, there will be a few recipes for me to try out for myself over winter break. (I need something to put in the candy dish!)

I enjoy Thanksgiving lunch, but my favorite part is Friday lunch with the turkey and dressing all mixed together and covered with giblet gravy with sides of peas and sweet potatoes and leftover pecan pie for dessert. I also enjoyed going up to Rogers with Mom and Grandma and walking around the brand-new outdoor mall, Promenade at Pinnacle Hills. There was a nip in the air and lots of people (it was Black Friday, after all) and fun stores and a slightly Disney-fied feeling of downtown shopping. Oh well, better Disney-fied than not at all! Seriously, it was fun.

Below: Close-up of strawberry that was really tasty, even though it's almost December.

Break from Methods Paper

I've been working on my final paper for Historical Methods most of the morning and since my brain started to freeze up, I thought I'd put up a few pics of my current work-in-progress. I had some leftover yarn and had never made socks, so I thought now would be as good a time as any to try to knit a pair. I already have one finished (the pattern is from The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd) and that tube on those pointy things is the beginning of the second sock. This is the first thing I've ever made that Paul has bugged me to make for him! Socks!

Above: toe shaping, below: heel shaping

Ann Budd's book was recommended to me by Leslie at L&B Yarn Co.
I like that the patterns are based on my own gauge, since I always have a terrible time matching the gauge on a pattern!

Books for Winter Break

Erika and I went shopping yesterday and not only did I buy 4 (!) dresses for Las Vegas, I also went to Barnes and Noble and bought The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Márquez, which I need to read so Erika, Ariana and I can go see the movie. Stella Tillyard's Aristocrats I picked up a while ago at Dickson Street Books in Fayetteville, AR. I'm looking forward to reading what I want to read when I want to read it! I'm also looking forward to an afternoon of watching Gone with the Wind with Erika once she finishes the book!

Also on the to-do list for this winter break: lotsa lotsa knitting, cooking at home again, and improving my français

Rigatoni Bolognese

From Giada diLaurentiis's Everyday Italian

Madeira Cake

"My Mother-in-Law's Madeira Cake" from Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess. I don't ever have any self-rising flour, so I used this substitution:
1 1/3 c self-rising cake flour = 1 1/3 c cake flour + 2t baking powder + 1/3 t salt

Dinner for Friday, June 1, 2007

Today I made dinner all by myself (usually Paul helps with deep prep or stirring/ watching/ getting out of the oven, he's my sous-chef). Paul had to work late setting up for Monday. It was storming and the lights were flickering and I was thinking, please please don't let the power go out before I get this steak finished (we are not so lucky as to have a gas stove). Fortunately, we didn't lose our power at all. Dinner really was simple. I was fine handling the steak, because raw beef is A-OK, just not raw chicken (ew). The technique for Bifteck Sauté Bercy (1) is the same as for Merlot Filet Mignon. The steaks only cook for 3-4 minutes on each side and come out a perfect medium-rare. The peas and carrots were just as simple. For the carottes à la crème (2), I just used the leftover carottes étuvées au beurre from when I made chicken fricassée, so basically all I had to do was pour cream over them and let them simmer. The peas were frozen so I used the frozen pea recipe (3). I was quite surprised by them, they are just boiled in chicken stock and butter with some shallots and they turned out really well. They were sweet and tender. Overall, I was really proud of myself for this one.

1. "Bifteck Sauté Bercy" in Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1 ed. Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1971), 294.
2. "Carottes à la Crème" in ibid, 478.
3. "Frozen Peas" in ibid, 466.

Blackberry Wine Cake

This wonderfully magenta cake is Blackberry Wine Cake, a totally delicious cake made on the cheap with Duncan Hines White Cake mix, Royal Blackberry gelatin, eggs, vegetable oil, and what is quite possibly some of the nastiest wine ever, (and is only $2.90 for 750 mL) Mogen David Blackberry Wine. Even Paul wouldn't try it. Miraculously, it makes a damn good cake. It was really easy to make since it uses a cake mix and because the recipe includes a glaze made with powdered sugar and blackberry wine, it's very similar in texture to an English-style pudding. I'll be making this again since I still have half a bottle of wine that cannot possibly be used for anything else and 3 more boxes of Royal gelatin (I stocked up because I had no idea if I'd ever be able to find it again). The recipe I used was Blackberry Wine Cake II from Allrecipes.

Dinner for Thursday, May 31, 2007

Photos: Pearl Onions, Thyme, and Parsley; Fricassée de Poulet a L'Ancienne, Carottes Étuvées au Beurre, Gratin Dauphinois; close-up of Gratin Dauphinois

The best thing about this meal was that it was all ready and I just had to heat it up. Good thing, too, because the potatoes took about 1 hour, and the Fricassée took FOREVER. It was worth it, though. The chicken is actually better as leftovers. It has lots of cream and wine and veggies and we all know that chicken is no good unless it is covered in a sauce full of fat. The whole fryer chickens were on sale, but Paul had to cut it up because raw chicken is just icky. If chicken weren't so much cheaper, I'd just eat steak all the time.

Yes, we do eat a lot of carrots. They're cheap and plentiful and I happen to like them. So there.

All three recipes are from Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1.

Leftovers and Riding a Bike

Today was great fun. It's 8 p.m. and it's starting to get dark and I just came in from a post-dinner bike ride. The weather is amazing, warm but with an almost-chilly breeze. I biked up and down the street for the first time ever. It was soooo exciting, I had to call my mom and tell her that I had done it (especially after disaterous attempts 15 years ago). Dinner was leftover Spicy Tomato Sauce (1) that I found in the freezer with whole-wheat penne with a side of roasted asparagus and a glass of Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 that my friend Erika gave me for graduation. It was really tasty and good. Paul and I went to the bike shop so he could finish fixing up the 70s Jeunet racing bike my dad gave him and I bought a bike basket so I can carry my book bag and then we went to Target to get groceries (how inspiring). I really want to go to The Earth (organic produce store) and Forward Foods (cheese and meat) soon. My groceries for the week totaled $45.94.

Back to dinner--tasty, satisfying, and the wine went really well with everything. I love having a glass of wine with dinner. It always makes dinner more special, even if we're just sitting on the couch watching Two and a Half Men on TV. Yes, I know I'm not supposed to watch TV while I eat or that what I watch should at least be intellectual. Whatever.

1. Giada de Laurentiis, Everyday Italian (New York: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2005), 62.

Escalopes de Veau à la Crème, Carottes Étuvées au Beurre, Clafouti à la Liqueur

Photos: Escalopes de Veau à la Crème and Carottes Étuvées, the plate is a little empty, should have added another vegetable; anyway, the slight sweetness of the carrots balanced the saltiness of the veal well

Today is the first Monday of summer vacation, but I kept myself fairly occupied fairly well. I exercised, knit, listened to Today in Parliament (it was actually from Friday, but oh well), pitted 3 cups of cherries with a paper clip while watching Oprah (talk about hard work!), and made a yummy dinner. I made a run to Target and the liquor store after lunch and bought what I needed for dinner and some cognac and Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream for the Clafouti. I had a 10% off coupon for the cognac and the guy at the liquor store let me keep it for next time. How awesome is that?

Dinner was tasty and we accompanied it with a 2003 Louis Jadot Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay that my parents got me for my birthday.

Dishwashing/Clafouti-making music: AC/DC and Amy Winehouse

All recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1, ed. Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1971)