J&G's Butternut Squash Soup

Be under no illusions -- working with butternut squash is a huge p in the b. That being said, this recipe makes a pretty awesome soup.

I actually made this soup once last year and was underwhelmed by how little meat it had (none). It just wasn't filling. Yet fall is here again and I found myself craving this soup as an appetizer or a light lunch. So let's revisit.

The recipe calls for crème fraîche, and I can't read or say "crème fraîche" without thinking of a South Park episode that P had me watch a while ago. Um, this:

Harris Teeter didn't appear to sell crème fraîche, but the word on the street is that you can make your own using some cream and buttermilk and a little time out on your counter. It can be used like sour cream, but unlike sour cream, it can also be whipped. I decided to leave the crème fraîche experiment for another day and use Greek yogurt, which is arguably more healthy but still makes the soup plenty creamy.

I also followed the shiitake mushroom suggestion, because seriously, what are black trumpet mushrooms?? The shiitakes have their own distinct flavor, but I couldn't help liking them paired with the butternut squash.

The results taste like you're slurping up a bowl of autumn.

Full disclosure: I am not posting a picture of my soup because it didn't look quite as creamy (and bright orange) as the soup shown on metrocurean. Sorry for being so self-conscious about my butternut squash!

As a side note, Jean-Georges has a new cookbook that is to be released shortly. I am hoping to acquire it and perhaps have it be a contender for the next cookbook club book. What? Yes, cookbook club. The subject of another, later post (that will blow your mind).

Some British humour for the holidays

Let the Great World Spin

Let the Great World Spin
by Colum McCann

I am going to come right out and say it, no suspense-building here, this powerhouse of a novel gets a 5 out of 5 from me.

The story centers around Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between the World Trade Center Twin Towers in the 1970's. And by the way, that's a true story (watch this documentary!) although that story is certainly romanticized in this novel and it is quite clear that the author has taken liberties to add many a whimsical detail and flourish. Regardless. It's a fascinating bit of history. I think of Petit as both 1) quite literally a freak of nature -- seriously, how many people in the world could have accomplished that feat? and 2) amazing in the truest sense of the word. Throughout the novel we get glimpses into Petit's brain about his preparations and his actual walk as well as the various reactions of New Yorkers who saw him up there, over 100 stories high.

Mind if I read you the first paragraph?

Those who saw him hushed. On Church Street. Liberty. Cortlandt. West Street. Fulton. Vesey. It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful. Some thought at first that it must have been a trick of the light, someting to do with the weather, an accident of shadowfall. Others figured it might be the perfect city joke -- stand around and point upward, until people gathered, tilted their heads, nodded, affirmed, until all were staring upward at nothing at all, like waiting for the end of a Lenny Bruce gag. But the longer they watched, the surer they were. He stood at the very edge of the building, shaped dark against the gray of the morning. A window washer maybe. Or a construction worker. Or a jumper.

This is the backdrop.

The meat of the story intertwines the complicatated lives of several strangers, picked to live in a house, work together, have their lives taped . . .  oh sorry, I have Real World DC on the brain. There is Corrigan, a young Irish monk, who lives among the prositutes of the Bronx and struggles with his faith. There is a Park Avenue woman who has lost her son in Vietnam. There is a young artist who finds herself at the scene of a hit-and-run. There is Tillie, a thirty-eight-year-old grandmother whose teenage daughter is also a prostitute. Their lives are messy, fascinating, heartbreaking.

5 out of 5

Read it. And here is an extra credit viewing assignment:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Philippe Petit
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor U.S. Speedskating

Firelight

I keep coming back to how funny this SNL digital short is:



It is especially funny if you've seen the original Twilight movie or at least the trailer.

It also makes me think of Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein,



which is good entertainment in its own right, but incredibly hilarious if you compare it to the 1930's Frankenstein film, coincidentally something that my 10th grade English teacher did for a few weeks of class after having us read the book.

I have nothing to add regarding the latest Twilight movie, New Moon, other than GO TEAM JACOB.

Hand gestures

I did not go to class tonight as a reward for an unexpectedly stressful day. Which started with my commute to work in the morning.

Less than a mile away from the office, a stupid woman hit my car with hers. We were stopped at a light, me behind her. Her car starts rolling backwards -- she must have have been a Stick Shiftie as we were on a No Hills Road. Her car gets dangerously close to mine so I honk. She hits me regardless.

My first instinct is to scream WHAT THE FUUUUCK!!! Which I promptly do. She starts to wildly gesture with her hands and make faces at me, first in her side view mirror, then in her rear-view. At first I am clueless, then I begin to understand.

Hand Gestures says, "Do you want to pull over?"

Now, in our own special hand gestures language I say, "No, I don't want to pull three lanes over. My front bumper is probably fine. Besides, I have plenty of silver touch-up paint from the other two one time I dinged this car."

Then she says, "I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention! That was really stupid."

And I say "Don't worry about it, Hand Gestures." And then I pass her and speed away. No harm done.

The rest of the day, it felt like everyone I have ever worked with at the office decided that today was the day to talk to me about starting that project or working on that other project, or completing that 20th project. When I flipped them the bird, in that special hand gestures language of mine, some of them did not understand.

Just kidding, I would never.

So, I am home early, and that means Biggest Loser. If you are anything like me, you get very emotional when you watch it. You are also secretly in love with Bob the trainer, who you think has a very real chance of being gay but you're OK with that, and when you purchase his Biggest Loser Weight-Loss Yoga video and fail miserably at completing Beginner Part I, well, you vow to give it another shot in a couple of days and maybe not go "full out" for the warm-up next time. 

$10 cheaper

Even if you cannot hear my voice I'll be right beside you dear

Great cover. Chill-inducing.



Let's compare to the original.



After a thorough and detailed analysis, taking into consideration the hotness of Snow Patrol's lead guitarist, Nathan, the winner is clearly Snow Patrol. Although I must say that their new album doesn't do it for me this time. I have promised several people to give it another chance though. In return I hope that Snow Patrol promises to come back to DC to give a performance at a respectable venue such as the 9:30 Club (where I have caught their guitar picks on two separate occasions and now proceed to carry them around everywhere I go in my wallet like a crazy person), not a pajama party on the basketball court of American University. The Black Cat is also acceptable, as long as none of the band members have me contract pink eye (I am looking at you, Keith Murray from We Are Scientists). Thank you.

On a related note, I've started watching The X Factor on Irish TV, and last week the guest was Britney. I felt embarrassed for her. She lip-synched the entire performance, or "mimed" as the Irish would say. If it weren't so sad, it would have been hilarious. "That's gas" the Irish would have said.

Gender Card

What happens when the boys who run Russia start picking on you?

Twitch

Going back to ballet class on Saturday to start training for next year's competition, so that I can meet my love:

Me Jana

Tonight Kristin, Alison, and I had dinner at Me Jana, a Lebanese restaurant at Courthouse. I've found a new neighborhood favorite. Although they serve main dishes of various kebob, the thrust of the menu is the mezza, or small plates of delicious. We sat outside on the patio, drank some Lebanese red wine, and relished the

Kafta Kebob - Ground lamb and beef mixed with onion, parsley and spices.

Chicken Shawarma - Marinated chicken in garlic, lemon juice, slowly roasted. Served with garlic whip and sumac onion.

Falafel - Chickpea and fava bean croquettes with tahini sauce, tomato, parsley and mint.

Cheese Rolls - Manchego and Feta Cheese wrapped in phylo dough and fried crispy.

Fatteh - Fried baby eggplant topped with yogurt, pine nuts, chickpeas, garlic, and olive oil.

Those are the descriptions on the menu and they make me salivate.

When I got home I may or may not have eaten some ice cream for dessert, provided by my employer as a summer gift, while watching season 3 of Weeds, loaned to me by Dana, on the flat screen TV Papa Tomarev helped me to set up in my room. I am so loved.

Sweet Dreams

My favorite routine from last season's So You Think You Can Dance:



Don't have a favorite dancer this season yet. Maybe the guy from Kazakhstan. This suit is NOT black!

How I Met Your Mother

Watching it. Loving it. Basking in its glory.

Sexism

I am happy for Barack Obama and all, but watch this. So sad and true.

Tonight's Seinfeld Quote

KRAMER: Do you ever yearn?

GEORGE: Yearn? Do I yearn?

KRAMER: I yearn.

GEORGE: You yearn.

KRAMER: Oh, yes. Yes, I yearn. Often, I...I sit...and yearn. Have you yearned?

GEORGE: Well, not recently. I craved. I crave all the time, constant craving...but I haven't yearned.

KRAMER (in disgust): Look at you.

GEORGE: Aw, Kramer, don't start...

KRAMER: You're wasting your life.

GEORGE: I am not! What you call wasting, I call living! I'm living my life!

KRAMER: O.K., like what? No, tell me! Do you have a job?

GEORGE: No.

KRAMER: You got money?

GEORGE: No.

KRAMER: Do you have a woman?

GEORGE: No.

KRAMER: Do you have any prospects?

GEORGE: No.

KRAMER: You got anything on the horizon?

GEORGE: Uh...no.

KRAMER: Do you have any action at all?

GEORGE: No.

KRAMER: Do you have any conceivable reason for even getting up in the morning?

GEORGE: I like to get the Daily News!

(The Keys)

Japanese version of The Office

Funniest SNL clip I've seen in like 10 years: