New season of QI starts tonight! Stephen Fry's looking fit, isn't he? Well done him.

I didn't make pie today, the turkey kind of wore me down, but I was a CLEVER LAD and bought a pint of ice cream when I last bought groceries, then HID IT behind something in the freezer. And just rediscovered it, so. QUITE INTERESTING AND ICE CREAM.

And then I will sleep forever.

THAT



WAS AMAZING.

OH YES IT WAS.



You can see a couple of things -- one, NOTHING ON THE PLATE IS TOUCHING. Mock me not, I was a picky child.

Two, the herb rub is a little visible on the done turkey and definitely visible on the plated turkey. It's delicious -- like a light relish. It does make the skin more moist, though, so you don't get that lovely crackly skin.

Three, the fried stuffing was awesome -- I definitely recommend adding walnuts -- but I need a fryer basket, as one of those is visibly mangled. Still ate well.

Thee A, well, there's no sauce for the turkey. I didn't think to make gravy and if it had come out dry I would have just put a bit of bbq sauce on it, but it was so moist it totally didn't need any. It just about fell apart in my fingers, very much like properly smoked turkey will. I didn't even bother with cutlery. Because FOOD GOOD.

On the other hand, I cooked an eight pound bird and now have seven and a half pounds remaining. I've stripped off what I could -- I'm waiting for it to cool before stripping the rest -- but seriously I'm going to be eating turkey for the rest of my life.

Or until R gets back on Sunday.

I DECLARE MYSELF KING OF THANKSGIVING.

The turkey is in the oven!

I have thoroughly violated it. I washed it in cold water, rubbed herb paste under its skin, shoved apples and onions up its arse, laid it out on a rack, and oiled it all over before pushing a probe thermometer into its breast.



This is either going to be awesome or totally inedible. If the latter, well, it was art while it lasted, and I have the delivery number of an open-on-Thanksgiving sushi place.

( Aromatics and Herb Rub )

I had potato oyaki for breakfast! Which...I did not photograph, first my hands were starchy and then I was too busy eating them. It's a bit like eating a hand-held shepherd's pie.

I got the original recipe here, but I rewrote it slightly as I do most of my recipes and I want it archived here anyway.

( Potato Oyaki )

On this day, citizens of the United States gather to give thanks for turkey, for the Blues, for the sanity to stay home on Black Friday, and for our foreign neighbours, who peer curiously and a little indulgently at us from across the borders. Today I'm making Tarte aux pommes et beurre de cacahuète à la Chicago, though I'm only calling it that to tease la_rainette, who objected strongly to French and Peanut Butter ever mixing. :D

I am still thankful, but I am also thankful for a job I like, a boss I like who likes me, my beloved Bigger On The Inside flat, a gas cooking range, an electric blanket that works, public transit, my family, my family being several states away, and this FIVE DAY WEEKEND OH YEAH.

In the way of attempting to cause a Thanksgiving Miracle: violetisblue contacted me yesterday (sorry this post is late, Violet!) about adopting an ITTY BITTY TORTIE KITTY. I'm not financially in the position to adopt a cat right now, plus R's allergic, so I thought I'd put out a call on the cafe.

Is there anyone in the Chicago or Northern Indiana area who is looking for a cat? She's two years old, spayed, feline leukemia negative, all her shots, no behavioural problems. Her foster mum says the shelters in their area are full and she can't keep her because her own cat has problems; she's willing to deliver her to someone who's reasonably local to the area. If you're interested, get in touch with her at violetaugustine at gmail.com. Suggestions for no-kill shelters that will take cats from across county lines are also appreciated.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

It's remarkably hard to mash potatoes without a potato masher. I keep flashing back to the Potato Ricer scene in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "How can you not have a potato ricer? What IS a potato ricer?" "We will just use a fork, like the pilgrims did."

Anyway, the turkey is brining (the brine is very green. I worry this is going to be a repeat of the curry-marinated Neon Chicken incident) and the stuffing is chilling in balls, waiting to be fried on the morrow. The oyaki dough is cooling in a tupperware on the counter. R is safely off to play Blues all night and then drive home for Thanksgiving at 3 in the morning. I have Hot Fuzz and To Catch A Thief and The Thomas Crown Affair (the original AND the remake) on DVD.

LET THE GIVING OF THANKS AND VIEWING OF COPS AND ROBBERS FLICKS BE FORETOLD.

As florahart reminded me, of the many things I am thankful for this year, health insurance is very near the top of the list. If I could, I would put you all on my plan.

R came over tonight. It was a very literary night!

R: So, I'm doing gigs with [That girl who once bought us hamburgers] in Boys Town like, last week and two weeks in December.
Sam: Are you becoming a star?
R: Yesterday I was walking down Belmont and two guys stopped me and said they loved seeing me play.
Sam: You're the toast of the gayborhood.
R: You know who loves me? Gay guys and bluesmen.
Sam: Catchy title for a book.

[one pizza later]

R: If I had five hundred dollars I would throw a HUGE party. We'd have a DJ. And gumbo. I'd get a soupiere to come in.
Sam: A soupiere?
R: Like a soup chef.
Sam: Seriously?
R: It's gumbo, man. I have to take it seriously.
Sam: With soupieres.
R: Yeah. For bisques and such. Hey, that's a catchy title. You gotta write a book called Bisques And Such.

So apparently I'm writing a book called Bisques And Such.

I suspect lobstermen will be involved.

I'm pretty sure soupiere is not a word for a soup chef. But only pretty sure.

It might look like a bowl of pond algae to you...



...but to me it's a delicious brine for tomorrow's turkey!

For an 8-pound bird (multiply as appropriate, but my bird's 8 pounds):

8 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
3/4 teaspoons allspice berries
3/4 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
(For those last two, I substituted a little powdered ginger and a few cloves)
8 cups heavily iced water

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

To brine the bird, combine the cooled brine and ice water and place the thawed bird in the brine. Soak overnight o for at least 6 hours in a cool place. Rinse, pat dry, and rub with oil before roasting.

(I am also putting an herb rub on the turkey, under the skin, the recipe for which I will post when I make it :D).

The starting pistol for the COOKING MARATHON has been fired. First out of the gate is: HOT CHOCOLATE ON A STICK.



Original recipe here, but it's very talky, so I condensed it:

Hot Chocolate On A Stick
8 oz. chocolate, preferably high cocoa-fat, like 70%. I didn't have that, so I tempered chocolate chips with a lot of butter.
1/4 cup cocoa (not hot cocoa mix, but baking cocoa, the powdered kind)
1/2 cup confectioner’s/powdered/icing sugar
pinch of salt

Melt chocolate over a double boiler (tempering if necessary). I never bother using a double boiler, I just melt the butter in the pan, turn off the heat, stir in the chocolate, and if necessary use low heat to get it fully melted.

Add cocoa, sugar, and salt and continue to stir until combined. It should be the texture of frosting. Pour chocolate into a ziplock bag and clip off the corner. Pipe the chocolate into your chocolate mold. In my case, it's an AWESOME IKEA ICE TRAY. Add a stir stick, which should stay upright with no trouble (I did some of mine tilty just for laughs). Place in fridge to firm up.

To use, heat milk or cream in a saucepan, pour into cups, and place one stir-stick in each cup. Stir until melted. OM NOM.

Sam's Really Only Three Things About NCIS!

Spoilers for 7.09, ( Child's Play )

3a. Much as I love NCIS, I couldn't even come up with a 3a. It was just...there. A perfectly good episode but not especially entrancing this time round. Eh, we all have off-days. Last year's Christmas episode was genius, though, so I'm sure they'll pick up again.

Last day of work before a five-day weekend for me. HOORAY!

juniper200 linked me to a New York Times article this morning about finding help for mental/emotional issues when you don't have health insurance. It's a difficult subject, mental illness, and the article makes what might be considered some mild mis-steps, if only in perception, but overall it's useful. (I loled a little at "seek out the child psychologist at your child's school". I'm guessing this person has not sent a child to public school in quite a while.)

For those who are lucky enough to have insurance, you can also check out this article on getting treatment and the Mental Health Parity Act.

Anyway, it reminded me of some links I wanted to share from the last HR mailing that I got (the same one that recommended the webinars and caused the webinar plague of Canada).

One Day One Job: A blog about entry-level jobsearching for college grads.
Careers in Nonprofits: Because nonprofits are awesome!
Alltop: Everything ever about careers.
Vistaprint: offering free business cards, though you pay postage and they try to sell you everything else in creation while you're ordering. Still, the designs are neat. I got a set that proclaim me to be "Research, Administration, and Design" :D

How did the job fair go, anyway? Anyone get any bites from it?

Once upon a time there was a ninja. He was good at what he did, but he was struggling to put food on the table for his wife and children. One day, he read in the newspaper that suiperproducer Joel Silver and the Wachowskis were making a movie called “Ninja Assassin” and he figured, hey, that’s right in my wheelhouse. He came to the auditions with resume in hand, waiting three hours in the rain for a chance to meet the producers. When it came time to show how talented he was, he entered the audition room and proceeded to do every improbable move the characters in the script performed.

When he finished, he was approached by Silver and company, “Great job,” said Mr. Silver, “but we can’t hire you.”

“Why not?” asked the ninja. “Did I not perform the spectacular feats fitting of a topflight ninja in a photogenic manner?”

“Well, you were great. But we’re going in a different direction.”
“What do you mean a different direction? It is still called ‘Ninja Assassin,’ isn’t it?
“Yeah, but we’ve decided to use cheap, highly unrealistic-looking computer effects to simulate exactly what you just showed us. Without breaking a sweat, even.”
“For the entire movie?” That’s not in the tradition of older ninja movies.”
“Well, not for the entire movie. Mot of the fighting is going to happen in CGI-assisted darkness. That way, it’s harder for the audience to tell what’s going on. You know, if a ninja stuntman were to look like he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Even though you, a ninja, did indeed look like you knew what you were doing.”
“No, you don’t understand! I know you want to cut down the amount of takes and reduce the likelihood of injury, but I’ll give you all I have. I’ll happily bleed for your movie!”
“Oh, no, don’t worry about that. We’ll use fake-looking CGI-blood too. You see, the director, James McTeigue, he’s a perfectionist, and because squibs are so unreliable, we’re using Commodore 64 blood effects, because you can control that. And we can’t trample on his vision.”
“James McTeigue?”
“He directed ‘V For Vendetta,’ yes.”
“I thought that was the Wachowskis.”
“No. Everyone makes that mistake.”
“Oh, wait. Didn’t he ghost-direct that piece of shit ‘Invasion’ movie?”
“I think you’re making things up.”

As a result, the ninja was not hired, and he proceeded to get evicted, losing his wife and kids. We, the audience, ended up getting “Ninja Assassin.” The ninja is better off.

I have very few kinks, compared to most of fandom, but I will admit this: I have a thing for drunken sex. I don't know why. Not nonconsensual sex, eurgh, and it has to be a very specific type of drunk!sex, but when it's done right I am all over it.

AND THEN FOXY WROTE ME SOME. For me! So I'm recc'ing it. I'm recc'ing it hard. :D (Also I beta'd it, and it's a rule!)

Title: Pub Fiction
Rating: R
Summary: Jack makes sure Ianto gets home. Because he just can't drive in that state.

There's a cabdriver named Fozzie in it. Go on, you know you want to.

2009 obviously isn't over yet, and, in preparation for Oscar Season, the next two months are promising some very must-see movies (9, Doctor Parnassus, and The Lovely Bones in particular). I also haven't seen a couple of noteworthy releases from the last little while, like The Hurt Locker.

By the end of the year, I'll update this list. As of now, here is a draft version, of sorts, of the films that wowed the pants off me in 2009.
( My list under the cut )