Russian Night, or Who knew caraway had such a noble purpose?

We recently got together with some friends for "Russian night."

What you see here in the photo is caraway-infused vodka (served in actual Russian glasses one of our friends had picked up on her travels).

Really, it was better than straight vodka ought to be. You drink it chilled, and the smell and taste is amazing. It isn't until after you swallow that you realize you are drinking undiluted vodka.

The menu...
H'ors d'ouevre
Smoked salmon (Alaskan, but we figured since you can see Russia from Alaska, that was close enough)
Chopped egg paté (Iaichnyi Pashtet)
Russian potato salad (a la Mendoza)
Beverage: Caraway-infused (tminnaia) vodka

First course
Borscht
Beverage: Old Rasputin stout beer

Main course
Chicken Satsivi (Tsyplionok Satsivi)
Hungarian wine (it's as close to Russian as we could get here)

Dessert
Blini, with various toppings including honey and preserves
Tea

I had actually tried to Google for info on Russian cuisine, but I didn't love the resources I was finding. So to the trusty library went I, and I found The Art of Russian Cuisine, by Anne Volokh with Mavis Manus. (I also found another book, Joyce Toomre's adaptation and translation of the Russian cookbook A Gift to Young Housewives, by Elena Molokhovets, who was sort of the 19th-century Russian Escoffier. Amazing, but not useful for our purposes.)

B and I made the egg paté, the chicken Satsivi, and the caraway-infused vodka. I would definitely make any of these again. The egg paté turned out to basically be a pretty typical egg salad, chopped really finely, with an emphasis on dill. I did follow the recipe explicitly in the arrangement: a mound of egg in the center with slices of cucumber, oil-cured olives, and sprigs of parsley alternating around the mound. The chicken Satsivi was awesome -- both texture and flavor. The Satsivi sauce is, as the Volokh book describes it, "a cold walnut sauce whose exquisite bouquet enhances poultry, fish, or vegetables." We settled on it partly just because it is recommended to serve it room temperature -- an ideal quality if you are carrying it to someone else's home for dinner.

Tminnaia Vodka (Caraway Seed Vodka), from The Art 0f Russian Cuisine

2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 quart vodka

Mix the caraway seeds and vodka, seal, and leave for one week or more at room temperature. Strain through several layers of cheesecloth [we used a coffee filter], reseal, and refrigerate before serving.

Everyone's contributions were delish and we had a great time. I'm only sorry I ended up being too tired to stay and have a postprandial glass of tminnaia vodka!

As always with this kind of themed meal, I ended up learning heaps about a culture and cuisine I previously had known very little about.

And let's hear it for libraries!
(See, the internet is simply no substitute for books.)

From There to Kaneohe

Some time ago, we watched a real classic: From Here to Eternity (1953). This is just one of those movies that you just have to see, right? It's on those list of best movies, has big stars, won lots of Oscars, etc. While we'd seen stills of the iconic rolling-around-in-the-surf scene, neither of us had ever seen the actual movie. But the movie's local-ness intrigued us and it finally drifted to the top of the queue.

And all those lists and awards seem to have it right. It's quite a film. All those doomed romances, the troubled souls, individuals caught in events larger than them, joined with great cinematography and scenery -- hard to go wrong. Not to mention all the fabulously attractive actors -- Lancaster, Kerr, Clift, Reed.

For us, much of the enjoyment of it came from the setting. We loved that it was set and much of it filmed in Hawaii. It was fun to see Honolulu depicted with the Asian-Polynesian kitsch of it all right alongside the inescapable seediness. Watching the movie, we realized we only vaguely knew where these bases are, and afterwards, we promptly got out the map. (Okay, so if Karen Holmes and Sgt Warden are going to Kaneohe to meet, how far out of their way are they really going...?)

I'm intrigued by what I read about the original novel by James Jones (although some of what has recently been discussed is about what got cut from Jones's original manuscript). It's on the Modern Library's list of 100 best novels and was the winner of the National Book Award in 1952.
Have any of you read it?

Good Night, and Good Luck: Good movie.

This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise, it is merely wires and lights in a box.
- Edward R. Murrow, on television, in his 1958 speech to the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA)



Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), about broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow and the CBS news room, and their decision to take sides about Senator Joseph McCarthy's tactics, is a mighty good movie.

Of course this is a simplified view of Murrow, a small part of his career, and the role he and his news team played in the reaction against McCarthy. All movies about historical events or figures, because of the constraints of effective storytelling and of cinema, are simplified. But taking it just as a movie, I had no complaints.

You see that? Yup, I said "no complaints."

The performances were great, I loved the black and white, and I was completely into the story and characters. And using existing footage of McCarthy to play himself was brilliant -- to have an actor play him, no matter how faithfully, would never have created the same visceral response in viewers who recognize or remember the actual footage.

Whether this movie is a realistic representation of events is not my topic here. Good Night, and Good Luck is a great story, well packaged. Additionally, any movie that might inspire people to look more closely at history, and as a result critically consider the present and future, more than deserves it's space on the shelf.

A better muffin paper

Again, I find myself posting about food because I had a conversation with one person (in this case, my mom) about something and figured hey, if I'm taking pictures and writing something up, might as well post it here.

I've had a total breakthrough with muffins. Well, I'm sure others have figured this out before me, but it was a breakthrough for me. I've never liked using muffin papers -- they aren't attractive and they rip off a layer of the muffin when you peel it off. And even if you grease your tin instead of using papers, you can get some attrition there too. Besides, again, the too-smooth look of the muffins from the tin isn't that aesthetically pleasing to me. You know, it's like the bread that is baked in a loaf pan, versus bread that is baked free form. The loaf has that loaf-pan look and the crust that was inside the pan is never as good as the crust on the top.

So this morning I decided to make muffins. We had many bananas all ready to go, so I made these. Quite a good recipe, if you like banana stuff (sorry Mom). Anyway, I decided to try using just plain parchment paper as muffin cups. (I had no store-bought papers, but I'd also been meaning to try it.)

I figured out how big I needed them to be to line a cup (about 4 inches square) and cut out 12. Of course they paper squares aren't that willing to get into the cups, so to fille them, I had to sort of form them to cup shape, hold it with one hand, and drop a little batter in (enough to hold it down, I added the rest after I'd gotten all the papers anchored). After a couple of them, I pretty much had the hang of it.

The results were fabulous. They were interesting looking -- so much better than those crinkly muffin cups -- and looked great all nestled together in their papers. But unwrapping them was the real surprise. Not only did they not stick at all (not a single crumb lost!), but because there is space between the batter and the side of the pan, the entire muffin comes out browned. You get this interestingly shaped, perfectly textured little muffin nugget.

It is hard not to get some batter on the papers, but I think a careful cook could do better than I did. And I might do better next time. I was happy to discover, however, that if you wanted to serve these in the papers but make it look less like a five-year-old filled the muffin cups, those little crunchies come off the paper really easily. It's takes some of the pressure off to know that you can tidy them up somewhat without much effort.

I will never go back to the store-bought muffin straightjackets. Sure, this is a little more trouble than muffin papers, sure, but payoff in the appearance and the overall quality of the muffin were totally worth it.


The muffin, unwrapped.


Paper from the side.

Another true story

One of the film critics I listen to says the sure way to know if a movie is pure fiction is if the poster says "based on a true story."

Bottle Shock (2008), "Based on a true story of love, victory, and fermentation," is enjoyable enough, but nothing of great weight.

The true story upon which it is based is fabulous. The movie was inspired by the 1976 blind wine tasting arranged by British wine dealer Steven Spurrier (played by Alan Rickman in the film) that pitted French wines against wines from California. It was a complete upset as the French experts judged the California wines as not only competitive, but actually superior to the French in two categories: the chardonnay from Chateau Montelena (featured in the film) and a cabernet sauvingnon from Stag's Leap.

Alan Rickman's character, no surprise, shines as the most intriguing of the bunch. And his American ex-pat friend Maurice (Dennis Farina) is a hilarious foil. The Californian-storyline and characters, however, feel contrived and never ring true. There is this father-son tension that you never quite care about as neither is likable (and the surfer-dude son's wig was a constant distraction for me), an alleged love triangle with no love or sizzle, and a hint of race/class issues that is never fleshed out (but left me wishing for more about Gustavo Brambilla and other Mexican-American winemakers in California).

Interested in the historical event? All indications are that you would be best served by reading George Taber's 2005 book Judgment of Paris. (I'm putting it on my "to read" list.)

Love Alan Rickman and gorgeous scenery of California vinyards? See this movie. It's enjoyable enough.

Oh yes, and the title/term "bottle shock" is what happens to wine when it is transported. You know, like when you move your ficus tree across the room. It just needs some time to recover.

Trailer
Movie website

Sake sake sake

I just discovered that we missed celebrating Sake Day (Nihon-shu) on October 1. (It's also my father's birthday, so I think we'll have to work on his appreciation of sake so that he can celebrate both at once.)

But anyway, it's a good opportunity to finally post about Joy of Sake, which we attended in August.

The Joy of Sake is a sake tasting event associated with the U.S. National Sake Appraisal, which has been held annually since 2001. Following the appraisal, the entries are all presented at events in Honolulu and New York, plus a related event with selected sakes in San Francisco (a Sake Soirée).

There were 271 entries. We tasted about 30. We tasted some that we thought were fabulous. And I was oddly pleased to find that there were actually a couple that we tried that we didn't like -- we aren't completely undiscerning, it turns out.

We spent most of the evening hunching over the tables, reading the info cards, and filling our cups by the eyedropper-full... It was incredibly crowded, so there were lines for food, but really we were able to get to the sake we wanted to taste without much difficulty. I overheard one of the organizers say that had hundreds more people than they had originally planned for. Most of the restaurants' tables ran out of food well before the end of the event. We were certainly glad that we made eating a priority early on.

Our favorite sake of the night was Okunomatsu "Tokubetsu Junmai" from the Fukushima prefecture, brewer: Okunomatsu Shuzo. This was a gold medal winner. And it is available in the U.S., so we are told. We need to start hunting for it, I think.

The food was all excellent. We didn't sample everything, but enjoyed eats from Doraku (B particularly enjoyed their tuna tataki with garlic chips), Gyotaku, Lewers Lounge (mmm short ribs like butter), Nobu Waikiki, Town, and Zen Shu (the quail egg in the photo).


And just for fun, here's the link to the "group photo" from our sake-tasting party (costumes required) two years ago. It all began there!

A Mini review of the Mini movie

Always on the cutting edge of cinema (ha ha), we just watched The Italian Job (2003).

My twitter-length review:
There are good bad guys, and there are bad bad guys. The good bad guys win, and how. Great fun!

To elaborate a bit, this 2003 movie -- starring big names like Donald Sutherland, Mark Wahlberg, Ed Norton, Seth Green, Charlize Theron, Mos Def, and Jason Statham -- is actually a remake of a 1969 movie of the same name starring Michael Caine. And apparently the original also starred three Mini Coopers.

We watched it over two evenings. The first evening, over frozen pizza. The second, grilled eggplant with feta and mint. If we were to draw an analogy (or a simile or whatever) here, The Italian Job is more like the frozen pizza. Conveniently packaged, quick, and tasty. Not a deep movie, but it is quite fun. A bit Ocean's Eleven-esque, in a good way.

I think we may just have to put the 1969 original in the queue. We'll let you know.

Rhubarb, research, and the recipe box

I initially just set out to transcribe and email the rhubarb mousse recipe (below) for friend Miriam (who occasionally tweets about rhubarb this or that). I remember loving this and can't believe I actually came across the recipe in my files. But as my preamble to the recipe got longer and longer, I figured I'd just roll with it and put this all up as a blog post.

I don't have the info on the actual source of this recipe. It's a magazine clipping that I found about 20 years ago in the "rhubarb" section of Mom's recipe box. (Mom: There may not really be a "rhubarb" section, but I like to think there was. I know there is a "zucchini" section. Sadly, the strawberries never were so prolific that a "strawberry" section was required. And anyway, you hardly need a recipe to make the most of homegrown strawberries: wash, trim/slice, put in bowl, eat.) I think I was in college, but just barely as we still lived on Oriole Lane when I made it. How can I be so sure what kitchen I was in, you wonder? Well, I distinctly remember the stove I was cooking on because I turned my back on the gelatin-sugar mixture and ended up with some extraordinary cleanup. So I do recommend attentiveness to that step.)

Recipe is true to orig.--I've even left in the food coloring ingredient in the instructions though I'm sure I wouldn't bother. I was a bit surprised by the style of directions when I typed this up. I mean, do magazines use semi-colons in recipes nowadays?

And like most of the cards from a certain era that are in Mom's recipe box, this clipping is pasted onto a used index card from Dad's research: "Ovulation, GnRH on, in teleosts, 46-47." And yes, I looked it up: GnRH is gonadotropin-releasing hormone and teleosts are bony fishes.

So anyway, the recipe:

RHUBARB MOUSSE
Light, airy, and oh-so-scrumptious--

1/2 cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
2 cup rhubarb cut into 1/2-in pieces
Several drops red food coloring (optional)
3/4 cup whipping cream, whipped
Orange peel strips (optional)

In a small saucepan combine sugar and gelatin. Stir in water and finely shredded orange peel. Cook and stir over low heat till gelatin is completely dissolved. Bring to boiling; add rhubarb. Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 5 minutes or till rhubarb is tender. Cool slightly.

Pour mixture into a blender container or food processor bowl. Add red food coloring, if desired. Cover; blend or process till smooth. Pour into a bowl. Chill to the consistency of unbeaten egg whites (partially set). Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into 6 dessert dishes. Cover; chill 6 hours or till firm. If desired, top with orange peel strips. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 179 cal., 2 g pro., 19 g carbo., 11 g fat, 41 mg chol., 14 mg sodium.


*No, that isn't an actual photo of my mom's recipe box, but it almost could be. Those "old-fashioned stove" design recipe cards must have been very popular! Photo is from http://www.flickr.com/photos/petitshoo/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Dressing for the occassion

We just completed our annual fundraising event for the Hawaii Vocal Arts Ensemble, Crescendo! I was in charge of the silent auction--it went well, but it's an adventure I will avoid in the future. The entire event raised over $20,000 which is fabulous. This allows us to put off doing the event again until fall of 2010 and by then, we'll perhaps have staff again. I won't bore you with more details, but I would like to share this incredibly superficial highlight:

I designed the invitation last September (event was originally scheduled for October 2008).


I got this dress in January 2009. (At Goodwill. Thanks, Dad!)



A couple of weeks before the event, I realized that I had, completely by accident, gotten an $8 dress to wear to this event that perfectly coordinated with the invitation and event program.
Right on!
And doesn't my date look nice?

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii (2009)

The 82nd annual Lei Day Celebration. May 1, 2009, Kapiolani Park.

The ladies in my office took a long lunch to go down to the park, eat lunch, listen to music, and of course, to see the leis.This isn't my video (obviously), but I was there while they were playing this song and was looking at the competition leis when these images were taken. Lots of locals of all ages and even more tourists. The people-watching is excellent.


From left to right: publications manager, senior editor (me), and publications secretary.


I guess someone gave leis to the cops.

Introducing...

Oh yes, we've taken the plunge and bought a real machine. We took our motorcycle safety course in January and had been mulling over our options since. We'd always talked about getting a Vespa (B says it's been a dream for many years for him), but partly never seriously thought we would. It was such a big deal. And it is oh so stylish. We love our little mopeds, but if we went anywhere together, we had to bring both of them -- they are too small, both legally and practically, for two.

So we stopped into the shop that sells the fancy scooters (also the big Harley showroom) and they had just gotten this 2008 in with only 1,600 miles and we simply couldn't resist.

We've been absolutely loving riding places together. We still just drive it locally, not going outside of where we would ride the mopeds, but it's just so nice to go together. We've even "carpooled" to work a few times. Almost makes going to work seem like a treat.

And B just closed the deal on the sale of his old moped. Amazingly, it had 10,000 miles on it. And these used mopeds go for more than we ever expect. It's the thing about living on an island, I guess.




Photos: Yes, we were excited and were out there taking pictures the night B brought it home.
1. There she is!
2. The close up. You can really see the blue there.
3. The artsy shot. (We also got a new camera last month and I don't know how to use it yet. I get some great shots.)

I'd like some of that 'Canadian Super Hero Pie'

NYTimes movie critic A. O. Scott said, "If 'Waitress' were more strenuously uplifting, it might be labeled a feel-good movie, but it isn’t that. It’s just a movie that leaves you feeling good."

Waitress (2007) is centered on Jenna (Keri Russell), a very unhappily married woman who works as a waitress at Joe's Pie Diner, making creative and delightful pies with quirky names. A theme throughout the movie is that she invents pie recipes with names that reflect things happening in her life, like "I Hate My Husband Pie" and "I Don't Want Earl's Baby Pie." Another running theme is her composition of letters to her unborn baby that reflect the anxiety and ambivalence about her pregnancy and her life.

It seems that Jenna only can really connect people who are moved by her pies. True appreciation of her pies = true appreciation of Jenna. Both Dr. Pomatter (with whom she has an affair) and Old Joe (in whom she finds an unlikely ally) have an almost spiritual connection to her baked goods. Since so much of Jenna's own emotions are tied into these creations--in fact, it is the only thing that brings her pleasure and it serves as an escape--they serve as a bridge from one person to the other. Seeing that something she loves is also loved by someone else makes her feel valued. And I think that really goes pretty far in describing what does connect people--shared joys, shared interests, an admiration for the work and creations of another.

As is often true, there are some things I take issue with in Waitress, but I'm not in the mood to go into them here. Because I want to convey that we both just really enjoyed this movie. It is a sad, funny, sweet, movie that really, really makes me want to have pie.

(There is one bizarre point I simply can't ignore, however. What the hell is going on with those atomic pies we see at the end of the movie!? How could that possibly happen? I was perfectly willing to roll with any other unlikely point in this movie, but I simply cannot accept that this same woman who made all these beautiful and brilliant pies we see up until that point would ever turn out concoctions that look like something from Marge Simpson's kitchen!)

Waitress movie site
Adrienne Shelley Foundation


Tangentially related, but no less interesting (to me):
Nathan Fillion, the Canadian which this blog title refers and the actor who plays Dr. Pomatter in Waitress, is also famous in geeky circles for playing Dr. Hammer, Dr. Horrible's nemesis on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Neil Patrick Harris stars as Dr. Horrible.

And someone who has regular TV can tell me if this new show with Fillion is any good: Castle, premieres March 9, ABC. It's the new "Moonlighting," or so ABC would have us believe. (They may, indeed have something there. Like Bruce Willis, Fillion has also played an action hero. See Dr. Hammer reference immediately above.)

No title would do this video justice

Not a singer I'd heard of before, but the video is absolutely charming. "Her morning elegance" by Oren Lavie. Now I guess I need to check him out. (I suppose this is how these things are supposed to work, eh?) It somehow makes me want to go out on an adventure and curl up under the covers, all at the same time.



(via The Daily Dish.)

My bird has got a new buddy

Last January, I got this darling little painting of a Mejiro, or Japanese White-eye, done by local artist, Gary Kato.

And it hung all by itself...alone...for months.

But now it has a friend! (Thanks, B!)



This painting is another little green bird, the 'amakihi (Hemignathus virens chloris). It's considerably less common than the Japanese White-eye, but they say 'amakihi are regularly sighted in Oahu forests and even in Manoa. They are one of the few endemic birds that is still relatively common.

We, alas, have not yet seen one. But I'm keeping an eye out for it. I'll let you know.

Catching up

We've been behind on everything lately. For instance, we still haven't sent out what was supposed to be our New Year's greeting (since clearly we've missed Christmas).

And with not having TV (we have the appliance but no cable or signal) we even were behind on the events of the week.

Last night we finally watched the inauguration and speech (B had heard it on the radio, earlier, actually).

I usually avoid overt references to politics on this blog, but dang, I'm awfully excited about all this.

I know not everyone may share the optimism B and I do when we think about the new administration. No one knows what will happen -- no one on in any camp. And while the President is a strong figure in what happens, he's not (supposed to be) an all-powerful entity and he is just one of many important players. It's one of the thrills of a democracy. And even though I like how things are going, it all just seems to be happening awfully fast and doesn't seem quite real.

I am not going to gush that everything is now going to be great. In fact, the chances of that happening are slim and would have been slim no matter who came into office. But we will be watching it all with great interest.

And regarding our own selfish interests: it doesn't hurt to have a President in office who is fully aware of us in Hawaii. Out here. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean. All by ourselves.... And have I mentioned that my employer gets 1/2 it's funding from the U.S. gov?

Anyway, all I really want to say is Happy New Year. Best wishes to everyone.

"Crowberry Tales" has migrated to Ireland

For you "Crowberry Tales" fans (the blog with all the great bird and scenery photos from Alaska), Bob and Jen have now migrated from one cold place to another. And they've migrated to a new blog as well.

They will be in Ireland for the next few months and the wonderful photos have started up again on their new blog, "Sceil Lus na Feannaig." There are birds and scenery and all kinds of good stuff.



Bob and Jen have also posted updates on the original CT blog about their respective activities in Alaska for the past few months since they left False Pass. (And yes, Bob's post has bird pics. But Jen's is not to be missed either--she's got musk ox!)

Bob Keller, the photographer, is Benito's cousin's son. So that would make him....what? Second cousin? Anyway, we're happy to claim him, and I hope you continue to enjoy his photos.

Movie review: Iron Giant

I somehow missed hearing anything about Iron Giant, an animated film directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille), when it first came out in 1999. (Oh wait, I was in grad school in '99, so that explains how I missed it.) But in the years since, I had heard references to it in Bird interviews and also from film critics (as in, "well, this is no Iron Giant, but it's a reasonably entertaining animated film"). So into the queue it went.

The basic story is that a 100-foot, metal-eating robot lands on earth from outer space (specific origin unknown) that lands off the coast of Maine during a storm and is found and befriended by a nine-year-old boy.It's unclear what the robot's purpose for being here is -- and the robot himself doesn't seem to know, his apparent amnesia perhaps a result of the dent on his head. Forgive me for not telling you more, but I don't want to introduce any plot spoilers here because I definitely think that this is worth discovering for yourself. It's an interesting observation of a period of American history (post-Sputnik paranoia), but it's also a funny, sweet story with a pretty typical Disney-esque message ("you are what you want to be") delivered with charm and nuance.

The movie is loosely based on a book, The Iron Man, by British writer Ted Hughes (1930-1998). Hughes is listed as a consultant on the film, but he did pass away before it was finished.

If you want a complete review, you might check out the New York Times review, "The Attack of the Human Paranoids."

Is (screen) real estate that tight?

The addition of a one-letter word (gets a shot) would make this so much less disturbing when you read the first line of this headline from MSNBC.com this afternoon.

Politics aside, this was unpleasant news.

I rarely critique headlines, it being outside my area of expertise, but it seems like one character more might have been worth the space.

The importance of clarity in written communication...

eagle eye

Someone at work suggested we ask another coworker to use her 'eagle eye' and look for errors in a flier. This brought to my mind the image of someone looking down from really high up, spotting things from very far away.

Figuring that it was quite likely that I, not for the first time, was going a little too literal with an idiom, I looked it up:

eagle eye
Unusually keen sight; also, keen intellectual vision. For example, Antiques dealers have an eagle eye for valuable objects, or A good manager has an eagle eye for employee errors. [Late 1500s]
Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Houghton Mifflin Company. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eagle eye (accessed: September 18, 2008).

Of course, it's too late for me now. I just keep picturing my coworker floating in the air while she proofreads something on the ground...

* Photo by M Kuhn. Used under Creative Commons license.