omgh4x denuded

Last night was the first time I cooked with fresh shiitake mushrooms, and it was wonderful! They have this incredible smell--earthy and pungent, instantly recognizable as shiitake. And this great texture--firm, but poofy, like foam--like cutting into a thick sponge. The color is great too--brown on the outside, pure white on the inside. I ended up using them in a veggie stir fry with tofu, and it turned out yummy and colorful. I get so excited about these things--I must be nuts.

In honor of my last night of cooking dinner (since I start work on Monday--eek!), I also made a little greengage plum crisp. I've never baked with plums before, and was worried that it would turn out mushy or mealy or something, but they held their shape and their bright flavor really well!

Tomorrow, I'm off to Boston with my mom for a last little vacation and to visit my nephew--he's the best behaved, most good natured baby I've ever seen! He's almost always smiling, and only cries when he needs something. I think we're going to be taking him to the aquarium, since he's just about old enough to be fascinated by things in the world. How fun!

And I fire back... but this time with a really short post.

Everyone remember to wish Michael a Happy Bday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

MICHAEL!!!

Ha! Consider this my latest attempt to push one of Demian's posts down! This weekend, I'm down in L.A. with my mom and little sister, helping my sister move into her dorm at good old UCLA. I am totally enamored of the campus--it's gorgeous! The kind of place where I'd be happy just walking to class every day, absorbing every little detail. It's exactly what one would imagine a university to look like (which is why it's the site for so many a college-themed movie)--beautiful brick buildings, sprawling green lawns, fresh young faces. It actually makes me wish I was back in undergrad, and makes the first week of freshman orientation at Stanford seem like it was yesterday, even though it was really (holy crap!) six years ago!

Anyway, the real reason I wanted to post was because...

I SAW BOB SAGET AT BED BATH AND BEYOND!

It was so surreal. I actually recognized his voice before I saw his face, since he was talking on his cell phone and was otherwise very non-descript--just a very tall man with glasses and a dark, button down shirt. Just like any other old Joe. It was really the very last place I would have expected to see a celebrity--even B-list celebrity. I so wanted to get my picture with him and tell him how much I loved his cameo on "Entourage," where he played himself (he obviously has a good sense of humor about himself, since in the episode, he loved hookers...a lot), but I didn't want to be rude and interrupt his phone call...or be creepy and follow him around the store waiting for him to be finished. This was way cooler than seeing John Voight a couple of years ago at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Hollywood!

Anyway, that was about it! I'm super full tonight because I went out with a Hastings friend and his fiancee for late dim sum, and still stuffed some dinner on top of that tonight...I just know I have to digest this all quick, since tomorrow night I'm going to Salina's with Elizabeth and I want me some Chinese-style spaghetti bolognese (yook jung yi fun...or some other phonetic spelling...) Time to go watch some more "Sex and the City!"

Because siu keeps pwning my posts and pushing it down with her next one, I am forced to yet again, write another amazing story.

This is actually just gunna chalk full of randomness that I was thinking throughout the day.

California sues carmakers - Don't get me wrong... I love living in California... probably one of the best states to live in IMHO. However, sometimes those whacky liberals are just nuts (doesn't say in the article that its them doing the sueing... but we all know who would do this...) how does CALIFORNIA sue carmakes for GLOBAL WARMING... ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Why don't they just SUE all the residents for buying cars that have emissions! I can see "california's" thought process already: "hrmm... I have a brilliant idea, let's pass a law that NO other state will follow, not even considering the fact that the US has one of the most stringent emissions laws making certain import cars nearly IMPOSSIBLE to bring over to america, AND THEN SUE ALL THE CARMAKERS FOR CAUSING MELTING THE OZONE LAYER). (Warning: I already hate certain california/US driving laws in case you didn't know... Front license plates anybody?)

Additional randomness, I was totally surprised that Siu wanted to see Borat. This is probably gunna be the funniest and MOST RACIST movie ever! It'll be great. Whose down diggity to watch?!

Finally. CALLLING ALL BASKETBALL LOVERS Some of you may know that I've been running the omgh4x fantasy bball keeper league, (keeper = you keep your players forever). We need to replace 1 person for sure (Rozzi is a lamo and never checks her team and as a result is consistently in last place... If you read this: you stink Roz!), but we're considering expanding to 10 teams (currently at 8) so can take a total of 3 or 4 more. Comment or send me an e-mail if interested.

I leave today's post with a comic I should send to mikey because it's TOTALLY HIM yet still funny(tee hee).

Last night, while Demian and I were wandering around University Avenue after dinner, we poked our heads into the Cingular store to check out that new tiny phone (I think it's called the Pantech c300) that's been on all of the commercials--the one that's the size of sushi, or a rosebud. Or the phones they made fun of in Zoolander and SNL.

Well, I want one!

They are sooo cute and tiny and ridiculous! Kind of like my freakishly small hands...If I got one, I'd set the ring tone as "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"--the song that's playing during the Zoolander gasoline fight.

I also kind of like the SLVR--it's got a sleek, sexy design. The only drawback for me is that it isn't a flip phone, which I prefer.

By contrast, Verizon's Chocolate phone is stupid. It's HUGE! Not sleek at all. Plus, who needs an mp3 player/phone? My current phone plus my iPod nano combined are STILL smaller than the Chocolate phone. LAME!

I meant to put all this in my first post this morning, but I completely forgot what I was going to write about. I may be going senile...

I may have peaked last night with my Broiled Salmon with Sweet Pea, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Lemon Linguine recipe. I was actually shocked at how well everything turned out. First of all, I'm not a big fan of peas--especially frozen ones, which the recipe called for--but they were perfectly sweet and delicious in this dish! Plus, I've never broiled anything before, so I was a little anxious about the salmon, but only two and a half minutes in the broiler and the fish came out perfect--moist and flaky, with a crispy, spicy crust (that'd be from the Creole seasoning I made). I just can't keep this wonderful recipe to myself, so here it is:

Broiled Salmon with Sweet Pea, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Lemon Linguine

Makes 6 servings.

--- Ingredients -------------------------------------------------------

1 pound linguine
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 small red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, sliced, plus 1 tablespoon minced
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup tomato sauce
3/4 cup thinly sliced olive oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup frozen green peas
3 6-oz. salmon fillets
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning (see below)
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish

Creole Seasoning

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

--- Preparation ------------------------------------------------------

Adjust the oven rack to the top rung in the oven and preheat broiler.

In a 6-quart pot, bring 1 gallon of salted water to a boil. Add pasta to the pot and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a 14-inch skillet or wok over medium-high heat and add 1/4 cup of the olive oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and sliced garlic to the pan and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the lemon zest, crusted red pepper flakes, tomato sauce and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan. Add about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water to the pan as well as the pasta and the peas. Season with salt and cook, stirring often, until the peas are cooked through and the pasta is fully cooked and well-dressed with the sauce. Reserve until the fish is cooked.

Line a half-sheet pan with aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Slice each salmon fillet into several 1/2-inch slices, and season with Creole seasoning. Lay the salmon, shingled, in three portions on the sheet pan and sprinkle the lemon juice on top. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil and minced garlic in a small bowl and pour over the salmon. Set under the broiler and cook until the salmon is slightly caramelized on top, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the oven, divide the pasta among six entrée plates, sprinkle with the Parmesan and lay a portion of the salmon atop each plate of pasta. Garnish with more Parmesan if desired.

On an unrelated note, last night I dreamt that it was my wedding day, but I had no idea what was going on--the flowers were all wrong, I didn't know where I was, and I hadn't written my vows. Normally, this kind of unpreparedness would freak me out. A lot. Especially when it has to do with such a big event subject to the scrutiny of a mass of people. But for some reason, in my dream, I was thinking, "Well, it's too bad that everything isn't exactly as I would have planned, but it doesn't really matter, because I'm getting married today and that's awesome!" When I woke up, my first reaction was to call the dream a nightmare, but then I realized that it really wasn't--it was a very pleasant realization that not even I will be able to ruin the happiest day of my life with anal retentiveness lol.

*da.na.na.naaaa.na.na* ("song" from joe rogan comedy)

Read Siu's below entry about the comedy club. He's a funny guy and had a good time but he's no dave chapelle.

New omgh4x Wishlist released

New wishlist design released featuring:
-- Adding, deleting, and modifying of all wishlist items.
-- Multiple user support: Sign up now! (sign up by asking me... with Christmas only a few months away I highly encourage people to have some sort of wishlist. Makes life easier for everybody)

Upcoming features:
-- Search functionality
-- Filter functionality
-- Integrate some fancy Ajax code
-- Pretty up the backend code.
-- Printer friendly version.

Apparently Steve Nash came to Santa Clara U. for the convocation speech a couple of days ago. Sad I missed. Glad to see everyone jumped on the Steve Nash band wagon! Hopefully the phoenix suns will win a championship this year!
(SF Chronicle)

Had a lovely but exhausting weekend. On Saturday, went to Cobb's Comedy Club with Demian, Jayz0rz, and Jayz0rz's work buddies to see Joe Rogan (a.k.a., host of Fear Factor) do stand-up. I had no idea he was a comedian prior to Fear Factor actually, so I was looking forward to seeing what he was like. Overall, I'd say he was decent--some of his jokes were pretty funny, although most were pretty sexual and that's just not my cup of tea. I think most of all he needs to work on his delivery though--he needs a gimmick, like Dane Cook or Dave Chappelle. It's their delivery that really gives their jokes punch. Plus, his Arab accent was the worst I'd ever heard--it sounded like Ahnald! If you're going to do racist jokes, you gotta do them well, not just pick on a particular race because it's timely. Saying "Ching Chong" to make fun of Chinese people isn't funny (he didn't say that, but his ululations to represent Arab people were the equivalent)--you gotta do something like, "Be a MAN! Doooooooo the right thing!" like Russell Peters. I did like the Jewish guy right before Joe Rogan--seemed like he had a lot of potential. I wonder if he's been doing standup for long. In any case, it's always great to go to the city and relax while watching comedians do their work. Thanks to Jayz0rz for making it happen!

Sunday I slept in, and then met up with Demian to watch "Invincible." Seriously, I will watch any movie with Marky Mark. He may be my second favorite actor, right after Robert Downey, Jr. Don't ask me why--I just like his screen presence. Plus, come on, he created "Entourage," only the most awesome TV show on these days lol. Despite the fact that it was a Disney flick, and overall pretty cheesy, I really enjoyed it--must be something about sports movies. I even got the tears welling up in my eyes at a couple of points laff. After the movie, Demian and I just hung out til dinner with his parents watching "Trading Places"--you know, that Eddie Murphy movie with Dan Ackroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis. Not as good as "Coming to America," but it's something I probably watch at least once a year when it's on TV. Went to Cafe Salina (mmmmm, so delicious) and stuffed myself silly. This is just one of the reasons I haven't been able to lose any of the weight I gained on my trip...oh well! I think to lose serious weight I have to either (1) be studying for the bar and unconsciously starve myself or (2) have a goal (like, "I have to be skinny for the company party on such-and-such date"). Maybe I'll go get myself a new Pilates DVD--I'm getting a little tired of the one I've been using.

Anyhoo, that was basically my weekend. Sounds a little less exciting when I write it out lol. This coming weekend should be interesting, though--I'm helping my sister move into her dorm at UCLA! She'll be a freshman...it brings tears to my eyes. The last one of us to go to college. Maybe I should feel old, but I feel very young. Like, not-like-a-lawyer young. We'll see though--my official lawyerly duties start in two weeks...ack!

Roz and I had a date yesterday! This date has been a month in the making lol--after two reschedulings and my weeklong hiatus from reality, we finally met up for ramen on Castro and got to catch up. We had just enough time to grab some boba from Cafe Verde before heading off to Shoreline to watch "Crank," this movie Demian has been bugging me to watch ever since he and Jayz0rz watched it after winning free tickets. It was most definitely a boy movie--which was perfect for me and Roz! Senseless violence, British and Hispanic accents, random acts of racism, and public fornication--makings of an awesome movie. I love that Transporter dude--and I haven't even seen The Transporter!

Also went psuedo-shopping yesterday--and by pseudo-shopping, I mean shopping on a $10 budget. Why a $10 budget?, you may ask. Well, I got this "super secret special shopping card" in the mail from Macy's, telling me that it contained anywhere between $10 and $500 in cash! Guess how much it contained? Ya damn right--NOT $500. LOL. Well, I wasn't going to give stupid Macy's the satisfaction of getting me to purchase something more than $10 just so I could use the card, so I marched right up the escalators and purchased a cute little sumpin sumpin for about $7! HA! Macy's will rue the day it tried to manipulate me! Woohahahahahha! (Clearly, I am a Scrooge. But who else but Scrooge gets to swim around in his money? Old Moneybags...that's what they'll call me someday lol.)

That's about it for the week, which seems to be winding down. Going to see Joe Rogan do standup tomorrow with Jayz0rz and Demianz0rz, and then maybe Gilroy Outlets on Sunday to get some work clothes--sadly, very few of the clothes I got last year fit me anymore after I lost all that weight while studying for the bar. But it's a good thing too, because once I buy new clothes, that'll motivate me to stay thin so I can wear them! Go Pilates!

So there's this Volvo commercial that gets me every time. A father is putting his little girl, probably about 5 years old, in the back seat, and all the while she is babbling about something that doesn't really make sense, but she's very animated and very cute. And she looks just like me when I was that age--fair, chubby, brown ringlets, tights. I don't think I've ever seen a closer resemblance. So the dad puts her in the backseat, and is going to close the door, but she keeps talking, so he can't just yet. But she keeps talking and talking and talking, so he finally has to close the door and run to the driver's seat. All the while, she keeps talking, uninterrupted, despite the fact that he clearly can't hear her. He gets in the car to drive them away, and she's still. Freaking. Talking.

The thing is, that little girl so resembles me as a child it's nuts--including (actually, ESPECIALLY) the non-stop, non-sensical chatter. (Demian would say that little girl resembles me as a adult too.) When I was a kid, my teachers and family used to call me "chatterbox." I just wouldn't shut up. Anyway, whenever I see that commercial, I get a little nostalgic and, I wish there were a better word, wistful (like, future nostalgia). I think to myself--am I going to have a little girl just like that? Just like ME? I was a pretty cute kid, but I could be a little monster too. It just gets me thinking about having children, what they're going to be like, WHO they're going to be like, and the ultimate question: will I mess them up?

All I know is that I have the cooking part down lol. Made dinner last night for Demian and my family--Siu-Style Shoyu Chicken (it definitely wasn't the same as the ones I've tried, but still pretty good), Apple Cole Slaw (yum! I love fruit in my salads), and white rice. The best part was that everything was super easy and super quick to make--definitely a busy-night kind of dinner. Not sure yet what I'll make next week--I see if I can use the salmon we have in the freezer. Til next time, foos!

Every great chef must be backed by a great chili recipe, so tonight, I did a little experimenting and created what I believe is the ULTIMATE chili recipe! It's thick, flavorful and meaty, chunky with sweet tomatoes, and has a little crunch from quick-sauteed vegetables--plus, it's got a spicy kick at the end without being too hot. I suppose I could keep the recipe a closely guarded secret, but where's the fun in that? So without further ado, I give you

Siu’s Beefy Chili

Makes 10 servings.

--- Ingredients -------------------------------------------------------

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (29 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 small onions, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons red chili flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 cups canned red beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup beer (preferably maple beer)

--- Preparation ------------------------------------------------------

Place ground beef in a large kettle. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Season with salt and pepper. Drain, crumble, and set aside.

While beef is browning, sauté garlic, onions, celery, and red pepper until fragrant and onions have turned translucent.

Add beef back to kettle and add beer. Add all ingredients to the kettle and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until chili has reached desired thickness.

--- Cook’s Note ------------------------------------------------------

If sauce has reduced too far and chili has become dry, add 1 (16 oz.) can of tomato sauce to chili and stir in. When heated through, serve chili.

On an unrelated note, I just received the DVD boxset for the second season of "Lost," and I've already devoured three episodes. I'd be watching more at this very moment, if I hadn't promised Demian I wouldn't watch any more tonight. Technically, in 20 minutes, it won't be "tonight" anymore, but tomorrow morning, but I'll just leave that loophole alone laff.

Up Next: My attempt to recreate a Hawaiian mixed plate--Shoyu chicken, rice, and a special apple cole slaw.