girls night out

My friend Nel and I met for cocktails and oysters at Mecca. After that, we headed off to La Ciccia, an Italian restaurant specializing in Sardinian cuisine. The place is long and narrow and the space was maximized to the fullest with a semi-open kitchen. The food was good but the service was somewhat spotty.

the devil was entertaining

Guilty pleasures alert! I watched The Devil Wears Prada immediately after I finished reading the book. I was somewhat disappointed that in the movie, Miranda Priestley was transformed to a somewhat likable person. In the book she was supposed to be British and a royal bitch. Meryl Streep did a fabulous job as always. Favorite scene was where she just interviewed Andrea and told her that she had no sense of style. Andrea tells her that that was her opinion and Miranda interjects and, wagging her finger, says, "No, no. That was not a question." and dismisses her.

An-dre-ah in the book did not really like this job but in the movie, she was into it. Good cast and very nice costumes. The runway shows looked realistic and M. Valentino was an added bonus.

Both the book and the movie were entertaining (the book was more biting and bitchy) but like the director/writer said in one of the featurettes, the spirit of the book was in the movie.

it's his party...

Yesterday was E's birthday and we basically lazed around the house. After spending/wasting time in front of the computer, we decided to go see a movie at The Parkway. The Parkway is dubbed as a speakeasy and we love going there especially if we get to snag a couch. What's great about it that they serve wine , an actual kitchen that provides food, and the price of admission, $5. It's like watching a movie at home without having to deal with the cleanup. You can't beat that!

The Departed was playing and I was somewhat hesitant as it was 2 1/2 hours long. What a great movie it was along with an outstanding cast. Oh Leo! Leonardo DiCaprio did an oustanding job. He is turning out to be a really good actor. Matt Damon was a bit hammy. Mark Wahlberg stood out in his scenes with Alex Baldwin and Martin Sheen. And then there's Jack Nicholson as only he can be: arrogant and obnoxious but a great actor nonetheless. One of the best films of 2006.

We had dinner at Mezze and had a fabulous meal. We like dining here as it is somewhat close to us and the food is always good.

nature 2

lake tahoe, december 2006

nature 1

joshua tree, september 2006

yabba-dabba-doo

We completely forgot that we had made plans (in December) for some friends to come over for dinner on Saturday. To ease the stress, we opted for something easy, like a stew. Lamb shanks with dried figs and apricots braised in red wine and beef stock was perfect for that cold, winter evening. We served it with couscous and harissa. To nosh on while the lamb shank finished cooking, we opted for pita chips with eggplant dip. We went Mediterranean all the way. For dessert, we had chicory salad in a balsamic dressing. When our friends V&S got here and heard what we were serving, S said, "We're going to be like the Flintstones tonight."

empty bottles, 010707

Lamb Shanks our way

Marinate the lamb shanks in red wine for a couple of hours. Drain and reserve the wine marinade. Dredge lamb shanks in flour and brown in olive oil. Remove to a plate. Saute finely diced onions, celery and carrots in olive oil until translucent. Add about a cup of sweet vermouth , reduce until thickened. Add the lamb, reserved red wine and enough beef stock to cover the meat. Toss in some rosemary sprigs. Simmer, stirring occasionally. After about an hour add some tomato paste and half of the dried figs and apricots. Season with salt and pepper. When meat is completely tender (about 2 1/2 hours) add the rest of the dried figs and apricots. Check for seasoning. Serve over couscous with slivered almonds.

a new year

it was nice to see snow. it has been awhile since we've been to Lake Tahoe and we had a great time.

truckee, california