A hair raising experience...

And so this is what it comes to. Day three and we've already gone round the bend.

I've gone back and added a few explanations to the previous posts. I have a new phone and I am working on how to post from the phone. I got the "photo" aspect down, but for some odd re son anything I write gets lost between phone and blog.

I am working on a campaign for January. It is a 7 day on set photo shoot. I've worked about 5-7 days in prep on my own, then one day on set prep (the location is very dirty and abandoned feeling. Thank god we're not closer to Halloween.) and then I will have one day of post. So this project has just taken over my life. I used to like my life. My life didn't involve so many stairs.

Since the campaign doesn't come out until January, I can't show you or tell you all of it. But I did get permission to show you some backdrops. No, I won't be mugging for the camera in them, stop asking.

Since I am not home all day with the dogs, we have had to ask friends to check in on them and we've hired a daytime dog walker. It costs me money to leave my house, thankfully I also make money while gone.

The location is so dirty I can't wear flip flops. My feet are unhappy with me. I shower when I get up to go to work, I shower when I get home. My ankles are black with dirty. I feel like Pig Pen from Peanuts.

Don't get me wrong, I am feeling very fulfilled and creative. Today (Tuesday) is the day of rest. Three days down, four to go. I can't imagine what I feel like on Saturday but I am certain I will sleep on Sunday.

More random photos will follow without explanation. But at least now you know why.

One step too far...?

We are shooting in an old (FILTHY) warehouse. This door was boarded up at the bottom, but for the look we wanted, we removed the plywood. Now its a deathtrap just waiting for someone to walk off and plunge to their death two stories below. I know, it take at least four storied to actually kill you but it would still really hurt.

When we are done taking the photos I promise we put the plywood back.

Cha Cha Chandelier-O-Rama

I love this. Chandelier, chandelier, chandelier...

I can also tell you that my friends had a day bed like this and it was less than comfortable to perch on for cocktails. Form follows function... ha! But I still think it looks marvelous.

I've got some big balls

This is the set of "Behind the scenes" in the dressing room.

Though I do not own those giant disco balls, I know where to find them. I also know how to use them so back off...

Boss in a can

I took this photo at 99 Ranch Market in Van Nuys, where the seafood is so fresh they have signs warning you the crabs will pinch and the fish is still swimming. I kid you not. Personally I like a little distance between me and the murder of my food. Just sayin'.

Wicked - ahem, The Musical.

As busy as we are I decided this was the right time to go see a show! I got a good deal (half price!) on tickets to see "Wicked" at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles.
Let me give a little bit of back story. We saw the Lion King in New York, and then saw it in Los Angeles. It was a tad disappointing. "Why?" I wondered, "doesn't the same talent pool exist here in LA?"

When Wicked came to LA I was gun shy of another disappointment. I'd just go see it in New York I told myself. Then our neighbor apparently saw it. I don't know for certain, he was a nutter and we tried to not engage him in any way shape or form. But one day, out of the blue, we were in our backyard when some crazy musical theater nonsense came blasting out of his house and over our fence. Being predisposed to disliking him, I took an immediate dislike to whatever he was playing. It was Wicked. It was LOUD. Me no-likey.
Now that was over two years ago. Everyone I know has seen it. Most of them more than once. Some of them more than 5 times. Some of them in different cities. I think they are nuts.

I read the book "Wicked" and I didn't just dislike it, I hated it. Yes, I finished it. But no, I did not like it at all. Well written. Well crafted. NOT MY STYLE.

When I heard that the Los Angeles production will be closing in January I decided, well heck, I may as well see it while it's here, clearly I am not getting to New York soon enough, and I got us tickets.

Lyle was apprehensive. "We're seeing what? That music the nut job was playing so loud over the fence? Uh... I guess if you're forcing me, I'll go."

Well shut my mouth. We both liked it!
Certainly the Gin & Tonics prior to, and during intermission helped.

The performances we saw in Los Angeles, though unique to the performers themselves, were still quite evocative of Kristin Chenowith and Idena Menzel who originated the roles on Broadway. Only in as much as I have seen clips of their performances on TV.

Upon learning that I had popped my "Wicked" cherry, the "Wicked heads" all wanted to know what my favorite number from the show was. I hadn't really thought about it, but I can say with all clarity that what I said to Lyle during the show was the I loved the number "Popular".

At our performance the role of Glinda was played by Erin Mackey and Elphaba by Marcie Dodd. Marci Dodd was the standby for her role but I never once felt underwhelmed. And while I feel that Los Angeles audiences can sometimes leap to their feet for what I felt was good but not great performance, I had no problem rising to the occasion on Tuesday night. It really was a great show.

Now for a little too much information: As a child I watched "The Wizard of Oz" as often as I could. Whenever it came on TV, whenever I played at a theater. But without fail, even in my 20's, one part of that movie haunted me in my dreams. Those damn Flying Monkeys. And though I know we had come to see the musical based on the same story the thought of those monkeys never crossed my mind... until they appeared on stage... YIKES!!! (to be fair, I am the same person who saw the Musical "Titanic" on Broadway and was so sad at the end because I had hoped they would focus on a happy ending where more people lived.)

Next up, 9 to 5 the musical on October 14th. I hear it's phenomenal!

Glamour?

I have been busy. Boring busy.

I am working on a photo shoot for a corporate campaign that doesn't come out until January so I can't really share much about it. But I promise to show you when I can.

I've got a week of lead up prep. I've been knee deep in lingerie and women's shoes. Oddly, I still find a moment or two to run over to men's shoes and check them out. Okay fine, and buy a pair.

Then I have 7 days of shooting at a warehouse in downtown LA. I've seen the site and I guarantee I won't wear my flip flops next time. FILTHY floors.

All of this means that anything I would normally need to have ready during these two weeks needs to be done by Thursday.

Sorry, this space may be sparse for a bit.

Interesting thought I've had about the blog - recently a friend commented that lead such an interesting life. I realized that my life is interesting by omission. Some stuff you may have missed:

After those grand dinners the dishwasher runs at least three times.
It usually runs three times during the day of prep as well.
Those cute puppies on the blog poop a lot and it gets cleaned up as well. I have learned just when to breathe in and hold my breath as I stoop to scoop.
I watch a lot of tv. All of it recorded on my Tivo. It's my quiet time at night.
I woke up at 5 this morning with my head too full.
Don't give your dogs steak bones as a treat. They have both been puking all night. Boiled over ham bones seem to agree with them much more.

I'm sure there is a ton of stuff I could dull out with, but I just don't want to spoil the magic.

Pimping

Our niece is in Japan for ten days and is blogging about it, Dreaming In Red.

Normally I haven't read her blog because we live in the same house and that seemed odd. But since she emailed me and told me she decided to blog while in Japan and that she was using photos (photos always get me) I dove in.

I've added her link on the right hand side, but just for her tour.

This is her 3rd or 4th trip to Japan. She lived there and taught English for 9 months a few years ago. I think she is reincarnated from somewhere in Japan. She has an natural ease and affinity for all things Japanese.

So, check her out! Dreaming In Red

Shrimp on the barbie

Bon Appetite-O! For last weekend's Sunday meal we had Shrimp on the barbie, gnocchi and a plum tart tartin.

But first, I didn't know where to put these pictures. Mid week we also had shrimp on the barbie. The photos turned out nice, so I decided to show them to you as well. Our mid-week meal was a light affair. Fresh shrimp, cleaned then skewered on a rosemary stick with peppers and onion, seasoned with salt and pepper.
Served with a side of sliced heirloom tomatoes layered between a buffalo mozzarella (made with water buffalo milk not cow's milk - there's a difference) then topped with a chiffonade of basil and chopped black olives, salt and pepper.

Without further ado, on to the weekend.

Lyle's menu called for homemade gnocchi which he kept trying to get out of making and I kept telling him he had to make just to see if he could. We had already purchased some frozen gnocchi from Trader Joe's in case they failed.

In keeping with my policy of not re-printing a recipe that isn't offered on-line already, this is where I found the adaptation of today's recipe and here it is (Lyle enjoys listening to Melinda Lee on the radio on weekends):

RICOTTA GNOCCHI

2 extra-large eggs
2 cups, all-purpose flour (plus extra for rolling out the dough)
1 pound, whole milk ricotta – drained if wet
3 tablespoons, extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Beat the eggs together in a small bowl. Place 2 cups flour, 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and the ricotta in a large mixing bowl. With a dinner knife in each hand, cut the ricotta into the flour. When the flour and ricotta are combined, make a well in the center and pour in the eggs.

Use a fork and, starting in the middle of the mixture, incorporate the eggs into the flour and ricotta. Knead the dough with your hands briefly, just to bring it together while being careful not to overwork it.

Shape the dough into a ball, and place it on a lightly floured cutting board. Cut the ball into four pieces, and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.

One by one, take each piece of dough out from underneath the towel, cut it in half, and roll it into a 3/4-inch-thick rope on a lightly floured cutting board. COOK’S NOTE: The amount of flour on the board is very important: if you have too much the dough is difficult to roll, and if you don’t use enough, the dough will stick to the board.

Cut the ropes into 1-inch-long pieces, and sprinkle a little flour over them. Using your thumb, roll each piece of dough over the back of the tines of a fork, leaving an indentation from your thumb on one side and the markings from the fork on the other.

Plunge the gnocchi into the boiling water in batches. Once they rise to the surface, cook them for 1 minute more. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a baking sheet or platter. Drizzle the cooked gnocchi with the olive oil, and toss to coat them well.

Gnocchi completed and set aside to add to...

Chanterelles, Sweet Corn and Sage Brown Butter

1 1/2 cups, fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup, extra-virgin olive oil
7 tablespoons, unsalted butter
3/4 pound, chanterelle mushrooms - cleaned
1 tablespoon, thyme leaves
1 tablespoon, sliced fresh sage leaves
3 cups, fresh corn kernels (from about 4 ears)
2/3 cup, diced shallots
1 recipe ricotta gnocchi* – blanched (*recipe follows)
1/2 cup, chopped flat-leaf parsley
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss the breadcrumbs with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Spread them on a baking sheet, and toast 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden brown. [Set the toasted breadcrumbs aside.] If the mushrooms are big, tear them into bite-size pieces.

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and heat another minute. Swirl in 1 tablespoon butter, and when it foams, add the mushrooms, half the thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and a healthy pinch of pepper.

Sauté the mushrooms for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they’re tender and a little crispy. Don’t be tempted to move them around in the pan too much in the beginning: let them sear a little before stirring. Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a platter.

Return the pan to the stove, and heat it on high for 1 minute. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons butter to the pan, and cook for a minute or two, until the butter starts to brown. Add the sage, let it sizzle, and then add the corn, shallots, the remaining 1/2 tablespoon thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. Sauté quickly, tossing the corn in the hot butter for about 2 minutes, until the corn is just tender.

Add the blanched gnocchi and toss well to coat with the corn and brown butter. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt, and add the mushrooms. Toss to combine, and heat the mushrooms through. Add the parsley. Arrange the gnocchi on a large platter, and shower the toasted breadcrumbs over the top.


This is probably where I should mention that the recipe says it serves 6, and there were just three of us for dinner. Lyle and I had left overs twice later in the week so technically that would 7 servings.
For tonight's purposes Lyle divided the skewers by item to get more uniformity per item. You know, sometimes you want your peppers cooked more but the shrimp is already done and so you compromise and get over cooked shrimp and under cooked peppers. Not this way.
The gnocchi was harder and easier than Lyle had thought it would be. He complained while dong it and then when finished said, "That wasn't so bad." But oh my, the taste. The taste was worth it. The gnocchi alone was delicious. Light olive oil with some salt and pepper. Consider that good and done. But then we added the chantarelles, corn and sage brown butter. We decided it could have used either more mushrooms or less corn. And I could have had more of the delicious sage in brown butter. Well just the term brown butter made you know I would like it.

And now for dessert... Plum Tarte Tatin. Lyle started cooking dessert and when his caramelized butter and sugar mixture went awry he announced that he was throwing it all out and there would be no dessert. That's when I took over.

WHY?

I hate to fail. Why do I keep subjecting myself to these experiments in the kitchen? Why, when Lyle - who is taking a professional cooking class - gives up, do I think "Oh well, I could still do that better..." Why do I share the rest of the tale with you even though I think we all know going in to this, that it is not going to end well?

Plum tarte tatin with creme fraiche

3 pounds plums, halved and pitted
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 sheet frozen all-butter puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
1 cup creme fraiche

1. Toss the plums with 1/4 cup sugar and let sit at least 30 minutes. Drain, and discard juice or use for another purpose.
2. In a 10-inch cast-iron or other oven-proof skillet, heat the butter until foaming, then add 3/4 cup sugar. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, swirling the pan often, until caramel is a deep brown. Remove from the heat.
3. Arrange the plums, cut side down, in tight concentric circles, in the pan, overlapping them slightly if necessary.
4. Return the pan to a medium-low burner. Cook the plums without stirring for 20 to 30 minutes, or until soft. Allow to cool completely. (For best results refrigerate for at least 2 hours.)
5. When ready to bake the tart, set the oven at 375 degrees. Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and leave to thaw just until you can handle it. Cut an 11-inch circle from the pastry, pierce it in a few places with a fork, and place it on top of the plums, tucking in the edges. Brush it with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
6. Bake the tart for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the pastry is deep golden and cooked throughout. Cool it on a rack for 30 minutes.
7. When ready to serve, invert the tart onto a serving plate, readjust plums if they have fallen out of place, and serve with creme fraiche.

Adapted from "Sunday Suppers at Lucques"
Recipe from an article at Boston.com "what I cooked on my summer vacation"

I swear I followed the recipe.

The caramelizing of the sugar also went poorly for me. I kept going. The plums felt very ripe. I kept going. The puff pastry didnt' go all the way to the edge. I kept going. I followed each and every step of the recipe. At the appropriate hour I pulled out my tarte et, Voila! The picture looks amazing!!!
We looked at it and breathed in the aroma of baked fruit, sugar and filo dough... and we all agree, "I'd eat that." Lyle dips a spoon in on the side and says, "I think the sugar stuff got burnt. It's not horrible, but it's definitely burnt."

Well shit.

We go back to finishing our meal and I let the tarte sit in the pan to cool and set up.

Dinner done, the half an hour "setting time" completed I decide it is time to flip the tarte and see what will happen. I make everyone at the table promise to stay out of the kitchen and let me live or die on my own with this flipping tarte. I take a large platter, place it over the saucepan and manage to get the whole thing turned over intact. (By the way, the recipe called for using a heavy cast iron pan and if I added that to the weight of the dessert how on Earth would I have managed to flip it over? The saucepan I used was probably a fourth of that weight and I could barely hold all that together and flip it.)

Luckily I did all of this next to the sink. Even before I removed the inverted saucepan the liquid was seeping out and began to run all over. Once I removed the pan all hell broke loose, a gusher of stickiness flooded my platter, my hands and my counter space, my everywhere. I broke into giggles. It looked like shit!
I tried to pour off excessive liquid, but the tarte slid fast and hard for the edge. I righted my platter, gathered about 6 tea towels to sog up the on going onslaught of goo and made my way outside to the dining table. Along the way I left a trail of sticky tears that later looked as if I had sliced open my hand and bled my way to the table.

I served it with ice cream because I am not a fan of creme fraiche.

It wasn't as bad as I thought. We all finished our servings. We all agreed it wasn't the best dessert we've had, but then again, we all finished our servings.

At Lyle's cooking class on Wednesday they were doing desserts. Lyle got to choose which recipe he wanted to do and he made.... wait... you know where I'm going don't you?

Apple Tarte Tartin.

WHY!?!

He said he wanted to figure out how to make that damn dessert and that no dessert was going to beat him. See, someone else likes to win.

And how did his turn out? Not very good.

Do not expect a Tarte Tartin at my house anytime soon.

Hi there, Hawaii?

I was talking to Carolyn about flying the other day about her fear of flying. I asked how she would ever get to Hawaii if she didn't fly. And her response was "Hawaii?"

It got me to thinking about where we go when we go to Hawaii. We've been to Waikiki and done Honolulu. We've gone to Maui and skipped the road to Hana because it was raining. The place that keeps bringing us back for more is the Big Island, Hawaii. We love staying on the Kohala Coast outside of Kona (you know I had to look up how to spell all that).

We have always stayed at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort. We love it because there is nothing to do. Except of course eat, swim, eat, snorkel, eat, walk, eat, lay in a hammock, eat... did I mention we eat?

We missed this year because the Earthquake in 2006 damaged the sister property of the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort, the Mauna Kea. We were there just after the quake and the damage wasn't too awful but the hotel decided to close and renovate to come back safer and stronger. They will be opening next January. The bad part was it pushed everyone who would have stayed over there, to the hotel normally stay in. Too many people. Too much demand. No specials!

In trying to explain to Carolyn what is so special about Hawaii to me I found this movie from our trip in 2005:

They don't show up very well in this resolution, but try and see if you can spot all the rainbows...

How many times do you think I need to type the words "Hapuna Beach Prince Resort" and mention how much I love it there before they contact me and offer me a special rate?

I love to stay at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort!
I love to stay at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort!
I love to stay at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort!
I love to stay at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort!
I love to stay at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort!
I love to stay at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort!
I love to stay at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort!
I love to stay at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort!
I love to stay at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort!
I love to stay at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort!

Anyone?

Hello?

February is a lovely month for travel...

Hello?....

Lost & Found

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was working for a retailer helping to clean out their visual warehouse. This got some of you got very excited. Maybe it was the idea of me doing actual labor. For those people I will mention that in the morning I would shower before I went to work, change my shirt at lunch time and shower as soon as I got home because I could not sit down in my own house due my complete filthiness. Still excited?

But that is neither here nor there, I know what you are really curious about is "What did I get!?" Here is a sampling:

A box of drapes that used to cover dressing room doors. These will look good with my house exterior color. I have yet to open the box to see how big (or small) they are. I do know they are heavy so there must be quite a few, or just one really, really large drape.
An old French door. I needed this for the privacy screen on my deck . I pulled it out of the garbage at the warehouse.
A carpet remnant. I thought it was a whole carpet. I was tricked into taking it thinking it was something good. But I haven't thrown it away now either, have I.
A large basket. I thought this was an amazing find... until I took everything out of it at home to discover...
an enormous hole in the bottom. So it sits outside.


LARGE down filled pillow forms. There is one more, but it back by the dryer. I put every pillow form in tht dryer for a dirt dust off tumble on the highest heat setting to kill anything trying to live in it. That last one has a hole in it and has to be fixed before it can tumble. It can not join its friends until after because I wont' have cross contamination in my down sector.

Next I will need LARGE pillow covers.

Perhaps in this fabric? I saw this fabric on the left, and turned it down. Then I saw this pillow (on the right) and grabbed it saying, "Any more of these?" At which point my friend pointed out I could make my own from the fabric I just threw in the trash pile. Huh? That gold edge really threw me. I took the fabric as well, but have no intention of sewing my own covers. They would never look this good.

Active life in a garage

Metallic finished table in silver/gold tones, VERY HEAVY.
In the box on top a 16' x 10.5' carpet pad. I do not have a carpet that size. I have two carpets that are 8' x 10'. Great, now I have a project to cut down carpet pads.

I already had the dog.

Antique clock fixture, missing clock. Lyle says it looks like its from Beauty & The Beast.

Great, now I have to re-think my entire Christmas trim...

Four padded bench seats in gold leather

My friend graciously pulled them for me when she heard they were referred to as "Hermes Gold Leather Cushions".

Two crystal chandeliers. I found these in a very large pot buried under (seriously) two tumbleweeds. They were twisted together and I was told to toss them out. I did. Right into my car. I've already stripped both of them of their crystals, painted them out chrome, redone the crystals on one and added black lampshades. It now sits on the floor in the house waiting for a very sturdy hook to hang it from the ceiling.
This one is kind of hard to see. So you may want to click on the photo to see it bigger. The photo shows 3 of the 9 painted panels of a Polo match (perhaps in Palm Springs?). The panels aren't "exact" matches end to end, but they were certainly painted to go in an exact order. Discovering that order only took about an hour on Sunday, arranging, rearranging, waling panels back and forth... The panels are about 3 feet tall and go for about 20 feet. I will need a new house to fit these down one continuous wall.

Now normally I crop all the photos I use to just show you what I think is most important to the story. But here I left them mostly "as is". I walked into my garage at the end of day 3 to dump more crap from the warehouse job and was taken aback. I had forgotten what a display hag's garage looked like! It had been years since I had a bolt or two of fabric or wallpaper leaning in the corner. A narrow path through the boxes to put away another frame with broken glass, chandeliers hanging with snorkel fins and masks, a table with three legs... Holy Shit! It had been years since I had amassed so much fabulous useless crap...

A jarring experience

My neighbor has a fig tree. Right over the back fence. Which means that I have a fig tree spilling over my back fence. And I mean that, SPILLING. I'm not complaining, but as the figs ripen, they drop and make a nasty gooey mess all over the yard that attracts insects and is a mess.

So I decided to do something with them. The first year the tree didn't do much and I picked all 20 and made some jam. THE second year the tree did a lot more and I made more jam and some desserts.

This year it seems out of control! I still have jam left over from last year in the freezer. I don't have much more room in my freezer for more jam. What will i do!?!

I decided to do some home canning.

First things first I had to visit four stores. To find jars. This is Los Angeles not Mayberry R.F.D. but I found them. And in a fit of over-reaching, bought two boxes of small jars for a grand total of 24 jars.

Here is the full recipe from Epicurious.com

1/2 lemon (unpeeled), thickly sliced, seeded
1 1/2 pounds fresh ripe figs, halved (about 4 cups)
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
2 1/4 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Preparation:
Finely chop lemon in processor. Add figs. Using on/off turns, process until figs are coarsely pureed. Transfer mixture to heavy large saucepan. Add 2 1/4 cups sugar, cinnamon stick, 2 1/4 teaspoons minced ginger and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves. Simmer until mixture thickens to jam consistency and candy thermometer registers 200°F, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick. Divide hot preserves among hot clean jars. Cover tightly and refrigerate up to 2 months.

And then where I went with it...

I am not a big fan of ginger, so I dropped that from all the batches. I didn't have fresh ground cloves, so I substituted a splash of "pumpkin pie spices" which had cloves and cinnamon already in it. I still did the cinnamon stick however.

In the first batch I took out the half lemon and put in a whole orange (seeded) peel and all. It is tasty in the winter with pork chops, very fall flavorful.

Mixed Berry Batch on stove

Second batch I had some strawberries about to turn bad. I cleaned them up and since I was adding so much more fruit, I did a whole lemon (seeded) peel and all, then added about 2 pints of strawberries.

Third time at the pot I had blackberries. I've been craving blackberries for a whole month so I had them right here on hand. Again I did a whole lemon since I was adding so much more fruit. I only had a pint of fresh blackberries, so I added a bag of frozen. "MORE! MORE!" was my rallying cry.

(two days later I did a fourth batch of the figs left int eh fridge and any fruit left in the fridge which were blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I call it my medley.

Hot fruit in pot, I placed my recently sterilized in the dishwasher jars in a cake pan and poured boiling water around them for a hot water bath. I placed a funnel in the top and began my ladling. Jars full, I placed the lids on the clean jars and used my heavy leather barbecue gloves to pick up the jars and give them the tightening of their lives. I repeated this process until I was out of jars.

Hot water bath with funnel

The jars were placed on a cooling rack and we spent the next 2 hours listening to the delightful "pop" of each lid being sucked down to a perfect tight seal.

Orange, Strawberry, Blackberry

Since I put all of this in JARS why is it called CANNING?

Sunday Supper 02

I think kicking this post off with the above photo tells you a lot about the meal. Grilled bacon. Did you see that? Bacon on the barbecue? I probably don't need to mention, but I will anyway, that it set my mouth watering like a dog waiting for dinner that had been delayed for 2 days.

Tonight's meal starts off with: Soft-shell crabs with lima bean salad, grilled bacon and cornbread, from Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin (pg 127).

First things first, you'll need to make the cornbread, grill your bacon. (drool....) and clean and cook your soft-shell crab (or have the place you bought it clean it as well).
The crabs are dredged in flour, seasoned in pepper, then fried in vegetable oil.

The cornbread is sliced and given grill marks on the barbecue and topped with arugula.

The dish is built on the plate and topped with a mustard creme fraiche. We couldn't find fresh lima beans so we substituted fava beans... you know, they are my fava-rite!

Then came the main course. For this Lyle was winging it combining his own prefer ed recipes and tastes. A seared Ono fish steak, Parmesan pudding and an avocado, golden beet, onion composed salad.
The salad is pretty self explanatory, the fish is one of my favorites to order in Hawaii, "I'll have the O NO!!!!" I know, hard to believe. The Parmesan Pudding is, as described by Lyle, like scallop potatoes without all those annoying potatoes.

I found this version of the recipe here at "cookin' in the 'cuse":

Parmesan Pudding

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups whole milk (or low fat milk works great too)
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 extra-large egg
• 1 extra-large egg yolk
• 1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a medium pot over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the butter, and when it foams, whisk in the flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and cook for about 5 minutes, being careful not to let the flour burn. Slowly pour in the milk and cream, whisking constantly to incorporate it. The butter and flour will seize up and get pasty first. Continue whisking vigorously as you add the liquid, and the mixture will become smooth. Cook a few more minutes, until warm to the touch. Remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk the egg and egg yolk together in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle the eggs into the cream mixture, whisking continuously until combined. Stir in the cheese, and season with a heaping 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour the mixture into an 8x6-inch (or equivalent) baking dish, and cover tightly with foil. Place the baking dish in a roasting pan, and add hot water tot he pan until it comes halfway up the outside of the custard dish. Place the pan in the oven and bake about 1 hour, until the pudding is just set.

And just to let you know, if there is any left over (that's a big IF) it re-heats really well the next day.

Weekend Wieners

It was a quiet weekend around our house. That was nice.

busy... very busy.

I am busy.

I am working for a retailer cleaning out their visual's warehouse. No one could pay me enough to do this. It's filthy. It's labor intensive. So why am I there? They promised there would be "free shit" as things get cleared out.

So far, a modest amount has made it home with me.

The other reason I am so interested in working there is a very good friend and former co-worker was flown out to help clean this warehouse. I really enjoy working with her. Enough to get dirty, that's how much I enjoy her.

But in the meantime, my regular work needs to get done. So I am working at home at night, and then a little in the morning to get caught up on email. Then I go do labor at the warehouse. Afterwards its home to empty out the truck into the garage of the days haul. Later, you will find me at the computer trying to get caught up on work again.

In the middle I've added things like "dinner" and "class at gym" and let's not forget "walking the dogs" and "crying in pain" just to be certain I am good and exhausted. I am looking forward to the long weekend. I have zero plans. Blissful zero plans.

My very own book list

I didn't like the last book list offered by some random "literary people" and I have decided to just write my own.

1. May I Bring A Friend? - Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

One day, a small boy receives a very special invitation — the King and the Queen have invited him to the castle for tea. He accepts, with one question: "May I bring a friend?"

"Any friend of our friend is welcome here," says the King. But their guest's friend turns out to be someone they never expected!

Oh how I loved this book! When I was very young, I checked it out from the library EVERY TIME I COULD. Finally I got my own copy as a gift.

Narnia Chronicles - C.S. Lewis. I had the complete series and even a map of Narnia poster on my wall. I read them once a year all the way through about 5 years in a row.

2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. Prince Caspian
4. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
5. The Silver Chair
6. The Magician's Nephew (Though this is the order they were written, I like to read it first as it is more of a pre-quel)
7. The Last Battle

8. The Complete Far Side - Gary Larson. If you haven't read it, you have no sense of humor. My favorite comic ever was never published because it was "too risque". In it, two bears are talking and the one is saying, "Is it true? Is it true? Is the Pope Catholic? Does a bear... well, I know YOU do Angelo!"

Artemis Fowl Series - Eoin Colfer. There are 6 books (so far) in the series with the most recent just being released this month.
9. Artemis Fowl (the first book)
10. Artemis Fowl - The Arctic Incident
11. Artemis Fowl - The Eternity Code
12. Artemis Fowl - The Opal Deception
13. Artemis Fowl - The Lost Colony
14. Artemis Fowl - The Time Paradox

I've read them all (except the new one) and yes, I know they are primarily children's books but that doesn't stop me one bit.

15. The Phantom Of The Opera - Gaston Leroux. I read this book on my way to Paris for the first time. I don't normally seek out classics or anything remotely not a comedy. I thought this would be a great introduction to Paris. Some history, some intrigue. I can't believe how engrossed I became in it. I can read quite quickly and I had to force myself to slow down and absorb the book more fully.

16. A Year In The Merde - Stephen Clarke. This comedy takes place in France. What's not to like? And there is a follow up called
17. In the Merde For Love, and
18. Merde Happens. I haven't read that last one yet.

19. The Preppy Handbook - edited by Lisa Birnbach. I once lived my life by this book. Now it's more of a guideline.

20. Letting It All Hang Out - RuPaul. I once lived my life by this book, oh wait I already said that. Sorry, but I do love this book. I have a strong affinity for trashy biographies and trashy auto biographies. The funny part of this book is from when it came out. I was in love with the Mac Cosmetics poster featuring RuPaul. RuPaul was doing a book signing. I had to have a signed poster. I also had to work that night. So I BEGGED Lyle to go to the Mac Cosmetic flagship store (then located on Santa Monica Blvd in WeHo), get a poster and then go to Book Soup for the book signing and get it signed for me.

Lyle is not a fan of drag queens. Lyle avoids all contact with drag queens. But somehow I had to convince him that any feelings he had about fearing drag queens had to be overshadowed by his love for me. That didn't work. So I told him if he didn't do what I said he'd regret it for the rest of his life. That didn't work either. So I told him if he didn't PLEASE go and do me this one little favor I would never shut up about it for as long as I lived. Strangely that did the trick and he got the poster (last one in the store) and went to the signing. When he approached the counter and offered the book and poster up for signing, RuPaul stood up and said loudly, "Well aren't you just the cutest thing! Come over here and give me a hug!" And there was RuPaul towering over Lyle by a least a foot. He signed the poster "Jim, Love ya - RuPaul".

Lyle tells me all of this story when I get home and I ask (somewhat franticly) where is my book? Where is my signed book!? "Uh, yeah about that..." and Lyle hands over the book to me which reads across the entire front page, "RUPAUL LOVES LYLE".

I was so bitter.

21. Valley Of The Dolls - Jacqueline Susann. You've got to climb Mount Everest to reach the Valley of the Dolls. But don't pack this book all the way up the mountain because its heavy and trashy. Great for the beach however.

22. Danziger's Travels - Nick Danziger. An amazing story of travelling unconventionally through Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China. Written in the 1980's it is still a fascinating read today.

23. Mississippi Sissy - Kevin Sessums. Its always strange when something that is not a comedy crosses my path. This autobiography was riveting and brought me to tears a few times. I could not put it down. Well, actually I had to put it down to go get tissues and recover. But this book will compel you to make it through to the end. The hardest part of reading it is that you keep remembering this is all true and one human being lived it.

24. Princess Bride - William Goldman. In the middle of the book, the "editor" has an explanation that there was going to be a whole additional chapter but that the publisher didn't approve and they had a stalemate as to what to do. So they compromised and the publisher agreed that if any reader really wanted to know what the "editor" thought should have happened here in this section of the book that they could write and ask for a copy. The "editor" begged you, the reader, to do this as it would cost the book company money and he was still angry with them. I loved this book so much, I wrote and asked for my extra chapter. Instead, I received a very funny letter stating that the printer was broken and to please accept their apologies or some such nonsense. I wished I had tucked the letter in the book at the time... If you liked the movie, you will love the book.

25. My Blue Heaven - Joe Keenan. He has also written
26. Putting On The Ritz, and
27. My Lucky Star and was a writer for Frasier and now Desperate Housewives. But My Blue Heaven was first for me. It's hilarious. I LOVE IT. As you're reading and thinking, "well this is nearly wrapped up and yet I still have a third of the book to go... what could possibly happen..?" TWIST! And off you go!

28. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - Fannie Flagg. I saw the movie and liked it. I heard the book had more to it. It certainly does. Like an entire story about all the black people in the movie that you never heard about. Why look at that, they have a complete life as well! True to form, the movie and the book end differently and about 3 chapters from the end I threw the book across the room and vowed to never finish it. I finished it the next day. I have also enjoyed other books by Fannie Flagg. Who knew all that talent was sitting there on Match Game?

29. Misadventures In The 213 - Dennis Hensley. If the movie "Swingers" embodies what it was like to be young and crazy in Los Angeles for straight people, this is the gay equivalent. Dennis Hensley is a comic genius.
30. Screening Party by Dennis Hensley is great as well. It lets you sit in the room with all the funniest friends you've ever had and watch a movie with them and their catty comments. My favorite story is at the end when they go to an actual theater to see Glitter and run into Tyra Banks.

31. Auntie Mame - Patrick Dennis. Patrick Dennis, the fictional narrator of Auntie Mame and Little Me, was the pen name of Edward Everett Tanner III (1921–1976). Even better than the movie.

32. James And The Giant Peach - Roald Dahl. When I was in grade 4, every afternoon we had a half hour book sharing time. During this time a student would be called upon to share his or her favorite or current book that they were enjoying. When my turn came I chose James and the Giant Peach. I loved this book and it had my name in the title. The next day the teacher asked if I would read the next chapter instead of moving on to another student. I read every day for that week. James and the Giant Peach was a definite hit!

33. My Uncle Oswald - Roald Dahl. This is no James and the Giant Peach. This book is the story of "the greatest fornicator of all time." Uncle Oswald leads The life of a commercial sperm broker and it is a very adult tale indeed.

34. Six of One - Rita Mae Brown. I don't even know how I got this. But I did and I am glad. Juts and Julia in Runnymeade, Maryland have made many a day amusing for me.
35. Bingo - Rita Mae Brown. A sequel to Six of One
36. Loose Lips - Rita Mae Brown. Tells what happened between Six of One and Bingo but was written last.

37. Fraud - David Rakoff. In this collection of stories on his life (my favorite is when he is playing an evil modeling agent on a daytime soap opera) David Rakoff is as funny (or funnier) that David Sedaris.
I also enjoyed his second book,
38. Don't Get Too Comfortable - David Rakoff.

39. I've a Feeling We're Not In Kansas Anymore: Tales from Gay Manhattan - Ethan Morden. I loved this entire series. Yep, it's about a group of gays. They live in Manhattan and one of them is a writer. I've read them all including
40. Buddies
41. Everybody Loves You: Further Adventures of Gay Manhattan
42. Some Men Are Lookers,
and the conclusion of the Buddies novels
43. How's Your Romance?.

44. The Andy Warhol Diaries - Andy Warhol and Pat Hackett. I read it cover to cover. But the great beauty of this book lies in the nuggets you can unearth while you trudge through boring detail after minute boring detail. The most efficient way to do this is to own the (now defunct) Spy Magazine Index. This handy index allows me to turn directly to page 92 and pull my favorite reference to Bianca Jagger, "...I walked over to Halston's to pick up Bianca, she was cooking like a Puerto Rican, and she had the whole house smelled up with onions and hamburgers."

45. Tales Of The City - Armistead Maupin. I didn't want to be one of "those people" who jump on a bandwagon and read these just because everyone else was. So I didn't. For a long time. Then I was finally beaten down by my friend Robb who gave me the first one. I bought the rest of the series the next day. (this is exactly how I got hooked on the Harry Potter series. Blame Robb) Of course when I bought my books they were all completed and I didn't have to wait for each one to come out the next year, or experience the horror of only being able to read a chapter a day in the newspaper as some suffered. I read one book a day. I was done in 6 days. And I've re-read them in that same fashion a couple more times since. The beauty of reading so quickly is that I can forget what happens and the next time the story seems almost new to me. But oh how I enjoy them in the moment. Oh, and it was a huge leap for me to overlook all the hideous fashion of the 70's described in the first book.

46. More Tales Of The City - Armistead Maupin
47. Further Tales Of The City - Armistead Maupin
48. Babycakes - Armistead Maupin
49. Significant Others - Armistead Maupin
50. Sure of You - Armistead Maupin

51. The Boys On The Rock - John Fox. This is required reading in my opinion for every gay guy coming out. It is incredibly accessible, touching and identifiable. I loved this book so much I wrote a fan letter (one of possibly three I have written in my life) and purchased an anthology of short stories because John Fox had one in it. I kept looking for his next novel and was saddened to see a dedication to him in a future anthology stating that he had passed away to AIDS. This book is genius. It makes me sad that we will never get another novel from this great talent.

52. Madame Secretary - Madeleine Albright. Brilliant career. Brilliant book.

53. The Object of My Affection - Stephen McCauley. I wish this had never been made into a movie. I liked the book. I read it three or four times. The movie ruined it for me. I've never read it again.

54. How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days - Shirlee Kalstone. I have lived by this book. More than once.

55. Marley & Me - John Grogan. I bought this for a friend's mother for Christmas one year. She loves dogs. I love dogs. This book is about a dog. Good match, no? Then I read it. From the very first page I knew where this book would end and I knew I had to finish it. Of course this was the January just after two of our dogs had passed away in November. I cried early, I cried often. I cried at funny things and I had to take a three week break before I had enough tears built back up to finish this damnable well written book. I have since apologized to the person I gave this to as a gift. As great as this book is, I can not recommend this book. If you must read it, have a friend make a bookmark and place it between pages 236 and 237. This book mark will read STOP NOW. I TOLD YOU SO.

56. Garlic and Sapphires - Ruth Reichl. The subtitle of this book is The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, and that really sums up the entire book. I bought this book in the airport for Lyle right after they announced we would be delayed for 3 additional hours. He read it at the beginning of the vacation. I read it on the way home.

57. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events The Bad Beginning- by Lemony Snicket I enjoyed these quite a bit. More clever than children should be allowed to read. But by about book 10 or 11 it got a bit mundane and I only slightly enjoyed the last book. Still, Slightly enjoyed is better than hated, despised or loathed and I promise you there is a difference dear reader. You may hate bananas (and who could blame you) and you might despise the smell of bananas (they really are quite awful don't you agree?), but if you loathed bananas then most likely you are gay. Because loathe, through very similar to despise and hate, dear reader, is a totally gay way of hating and it uses up your every fiber unlike hate and despise which you may be able to do while also doing something else, like getting people to sign petitions to ban bananas from the Earth, which no one would blame you if you decided to start.
58. The Reptile Room
59. The Wide Window
60. The Miserable Mill
61. The Austere Academy
62. The Ersatz Elevator
63. The Vile Village
64. The Hostile Hospital
65. The Carnivorous Carnival
66. The Slippery Slope
67. The Grim Grotto
68. The Penultimate Peril
69. The End

70. The Dog Who Wouldn't Be - Farley Mowat. Another dog book, this time by a beloved Canadian author. I thought based on loving this book that I would enjoy other books by Mowat. Nope. And just like all stories have a beginning middle and end, this one does to (see how I danced around that?) but I read this one when I was much younger and hadn't just lost a beloved pet. The book is still good.

71. Bridget Jones Diary - Helen Fielding. I was not going to include this book. It was on that other infamous book list and everyone questioned its standing to be on the 100 best books list, including me. But then I remembered that I really enjoyed this first Bridget Jones tale. I bought in Windsor, England in a bookstore with a view of Windsor Castle. My version has an entire chapter that isn't included in the American release that is all about how Bridget and her friends feel about Princess Diana's death. The phrasing, the abbreviations, it was all so new and exciting. I deemed it v.v.g. (very very good). Then I made the mistake of buying the second book, "The Edge of Reason" and I can't tell you how much I disliked it. It was such a re-hash. The poor girl had learned nothing and advanced not one bit. She seemed stupid and selfish for having not grown from any of the lessons the first book offered her. You know like in the Harry Potter series where you just wonder why on Earth after 5 years of hearing only partial snippets of conversation and jumping to the wrong conclusions EVERY SINGLE TIME, that Harry and his friend never stopped to say, "Wait a minute, you've only heard a very small part of much larger conversation. You can't just assume you know the rest of the conversation. Remember what happened the last time? Or the time before that? Or the time before THAT? Or the time before THAT? HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING?!" Anyway, so I include the first book by Helen Fielding, but completely dismiss the second. The same goes for the movie adaptations. I had to delete "The Edge of Reason" from my Tivo after it sat and sat for months and though I tried repeatedly to watch it in just 10 minute sittings, I still ahd only made it 22 minutes in. Bleah.

72. Take Big Bites - Linda Ellerbee. I freely confess my crush on Linda Ellerbee from when she was a co-anchor on ABC news overnight. Her blunt style and wry wit are right up my alley. After she left ABC I continued to follow her through all sorts of incarnations. I can't go so far as to say that if she read the phone book I'd show up for it, but if she were signing the phone book at a store nearby I most likely would be in line. This book wanders. It walks the globe and gives you free recipes. It tickled me and made me cry, but mostly it pleased me over and over again like a really expensive red wine with a perfect cooked steak.

In the first chapter the tone is set that made me know I would love this book:

Our first day aboard the cruise ship, when we plunged into obligatory small talk with other passengers, all we heard was how everybody loved Singapore.
"So clean."
There was a $500 fine for littering. Josh and I had littered on principle.
"So orderly."
There was a $500 fine for chewing gum. Although neither of us was fond of gum, we had gone out of our way to find some and chew it in public.
"Such nice restrooms."
There was a $500 fine for not flushing. Josh and I had not flushed.

73. C'est La Vie: An American Woman Begins a New Life in Paris and -- Voila! --Becomes Almost French - Suzy Gershman. Here is where I indulge my fetish for the idea of living in Paris. I will read almost anything that tells me what it will be like WHEN (not if) I live in Paris. In this book the writer's husband passes away suddenly and she decides to realize their promise of some day moving to Paris to live. Note to self, bring sheets from home (cheaper).

74. Almost French - Sarah Turnbull. From Australia to Paris, she marries a Frenchman and then discovers what it is like to live on the inside of Parisian life as an outsider.

75. Paris to the Moon - Adam Gopnik. Two Americans move to Paris to raise their newborn. Funniest part is the horror they feel on discovering that a relative has introduced their son to Barney the dinosaur on a trip to the states, and their son LOVES it.

76. Pasquale's Nose - Michael Rips. Perhaps you've always dreamed of relocating to Italy?

77. Under the Tuscan Sun - Frances Mayes. The book is so different to the movie. Knowing how much was changed for the film, I haven't seen it (though Tivo did just get it for me this week). I loved this first book. The later books became a little bit more tried and true more of the same. But as the original that established the brand, I enjoyed this one very much. Lyle did not care for it as he felt it was a bit too flowery. So fair warning, the author used to be a poetry professor.


It was my plan to work on this until I hit 100. Are you kidding me? Though I have read many more books than appear on this list, I can't remember them all. It's not that those books weren't any good it's more likely because those books aren't on a shelf in my current library. I need a little help to jog my memory of everything I read.

There are a number of books in my library that I did not include. That doesn't make them bad. It just means that I didn't mention them here. And yes, I know there are a lot of gay themed books on the list. Guess who's gay and wrote this list?

Unspectacular Me(me)

I can't believe it, wait, yes I can, I've been tagged by The T-Dude. I really think it may have been a passive aggressive move to just beat his wife to the punch. Everything okay over there kids?

1. Link the person that tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following blogger's by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

The problem is, everything about me is so spectacular! Anything dull or boring is not worth noting. But is the spirit of going along, I will attempt.

1. I am a night person. Not a morning person. I like the house all quiet at the end of the day with no one needing anything (and that generally means no dogs needing anything either.) I get this from my parents who are in their 70's and stay up later than me (well past 2 am).
2. Every ounce of stress in my life is kept neatly in one location on my body. In my shoulders. I believe my entire family keeps theirs in the same spot. Is that hereditary?
3. I hold a grudge. I may move on, but I NEVER forget.
4. I am afraid of the phone. Wait, is that spectacular or unspectacular? I don't like to answer the phone. I don't like to call people. Caller ID is a godsend. Text messaging is my life.
5. As Barbie was once programmed to say, "Math is hard. Let's go shopping!" For some odd reason I am unable to do any math in my head unless it involves % off at a store. And then I really only need to be close-ish to the right answer because I'm just trying to figure out if its gotten low enough for me to buy it.
6. I don't sleep on airplanes. If I'm going to fall asleep it needs to be during takeoff. That's when I am most at bliss. But once I wake up during the flight, I just stay awake. I generally read at least one book per flight.

I won't tag anyone. I never liked chain letters. Fell free to tag yourself however.

Unsmart Tart

Lyle made dinner Sunday night. From Daniel Boulud's cookbook, short ribs over whipped potatoes, parsnips and carrots (separate not all blended together). Those short ribs took three days to cook. Marinate for one day. Cook one day. Cool, then reheat the serving day. For dessert he had started a lemon custard tart with raspberries, also from the same cookbook) but it didn’t finish on time. Luckily one of the guests brought a chocolate cream pie from a bakery as they didn't know Lyle would be whipping up something special. It was very nice of them and it saved the meal.

Not to be cruel, but it was no made from scratch lemon raspberry tart.

A little bit after the guests left, the tart was cooled enough, set enough and FINALLY ready. We each had a taste. Just a taste though because we were both stuffed from dinner. We both agreed that that tart was going to be a scrumptious delight with a little cup of coffee for breakfast !

(stay with me, I’m getting there)

The next morning, Lyle was up first and I heard all sorts of commotion and the words, “COOPER!!! BAD DOG!!! BAD DOG!!! GET IN THAT BATHROOM RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!” Accompanied by all sorts of grumbling, growling and barking from Cooper. (very bad dogs get separated from the pack into the bathroom... mostly for their own protection.)

Turns out, Lyle had removed the tart from the fridge, set it well back on the counter to allow it to come to room temperature and stepped away for a moment to pee. Cooper swept in and gobbled up more than half of the tart from up on the counter.

Madness ensued.

By the time I was up and in the kitchen, there was tart on the floor, tart in the pan and Lyle was cutting the dog slobber pieces off of what remained in the pan to salvage what was left (yeah, it was THAT good).

Lyle let Cooper out before he left for work. Cooper was much chastised for the rest of the day. But I still was pissed about not getting any of the damn tart. So I made another one. One to replace what Cooper ate. I am a modest success in the kitchen (I ruined the whipped potatoes last night) this endeavor was stressful.

The recipe is from Daneil Boulod & Dorie Greenspan. First stop is the amazingly flaky buttery tart crust. Lyle made the recipe for his tart and lucky for me, it makes a double batch. There was still half in the fridge just waiting for our catastrophe! The dough is hard to work with when it gets warm. All of Southern California is warm during the day. I had to prepare everything, pull out the dough and work as fast as humanly possible. In the end, it started to break up and I was whirling about like a madman to get it back into the fridge for safekeeping.

Then the crust gets half baked.

Then it's time for the filling.

Creamy Lemon and Raspberry Tart
Adapted from The Cafe Boulud Cookbook

The filling
2 medium lemons
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks (I added an extra egg)
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream (I added an extra half cup of cream)
2 cups raspberries (I also used blackberries)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F.

1. Finely grate the zest of both lemons; set aside. With a small knife, cut off the top and bottom of each lemon and then carefully cut away the cottony white pith and a tiny bit of flesh from each lemon—the juicy sections of lemon should now be completely exposed. Lay the lemons on their sides and cut each lemon crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices; remove the seeds.
2. Place the lemon slices, eggs, yolks and sugar in the container of a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the mixture into a bowl and whisk in the reserved zest and the cream. Give the bowl a good rap against the kitchen counter to debubble it—if there are bubbles in the cream now, there will be bubbles in your tart later. (It's not tragic, but neither is it attractive.)
3. Scatter the berries (are you kidding me? I placed mine very carefully in a perfect pattern!) over the bottom of the crust and pour over the filling (I used a ladle so as to not disturb the berry placement). Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is set in the center. Transfer the tart to a rack and cool to room temperature.

Cut the tart into 8 wedges and serve as is with some lightly sweetened whipped cream, raspberry coulis or even a spoonful of berry marmalade.

I was on pins and needles wondering if I could pull all this off without having to call Lyle and tell him my plans. In the end I forgot I was cooking the damn thing and instead of 35-40 minutes I pulled it out at about 50 minutes. It was fine (whew!)

It has blackberries, red raspberries and white raspberries in a circular pattern.
I am so artistic!

And that, my dears, is what holds my marriage together... Fixing the most heinous problems that the dogs create as a surprise on his return from a long day at the office. No, I did not wear the French maid outfit.