Dirty Ho

One of the cooler things in our neck of Brooklyn is BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, although it is so much more than it's name would imply. What we love most about it is the movie theater. They show everything from the best big studio releases to the smallest of independents.

For the past few weeks they have been showing a series of Kung Fu movies as a tribute to the Shaw Brothers and last night we attended a screening of the original 1979 release, Dirty Ho. I don't know how easy this one would be to find on DVD/video, but it comes very highly recommended from this little bomb. It's a comedy that made the audience laugh out loud with some really great fight choreography. Gordon Liu, who you may remember as the Kung Fu Master, Pai Mei, that trained Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, plays an awesome character.

This was one of those great movie experiences that made you want to clap afterwards. As we left the theater Brad told me it was the best date he had ever been on and at that point I felt the same. Kung Fu movies rule!

Time Mismanagement

Today marks an official two weeks of freedom since leaving my job. So how is it with all this new 'free' time on my hands I am always busy? I've had days of being at home alone in the apartment and the to-do lists just keep getting longer. Give the dog a bath, pick up Brad's dry cleaning, drop off my dry cleaning, call about this, fax about that, email this person, follow up with that person, move the cars, start some laundry and the apartment always seems to need a cleaning. Now all this is not mentioning those ideal to-do items that I always fancied getting around to when I was at work all day. But those things are still looming in the distance, when I get around to them.

On top of the day-to-day there is this new business of the gym. That's right, I did it, I finally joined a gym again. It was time, the dog walks just aren't enough for this butt. And besides I've got all this time on my hands now, so why not fill some of it with Yoga and Pilates classes? Oh, and I still need to have time left do things like organize our photos into albums, bake Christmas cookies and there's that talk of this year's cookbook.

Six months of working at an agency with a head spinning amount of responsibility and I never needed to keep a calendar, just an ongoing list on my desk with reminders and the rest was all up in my noggin. But this stay home, unemployed/freelance business is crazy! I think I may need to implement a management system so I can get it all done and still have time to make dinner and watch a movie at night. Let's be honest, now that I own my time again I have to prioritize what's really important, relaxing.

Delayed Turkey Time

Close call. . . but we pulled it together and I was thankful!



Our oven got fixed at 11am on Thanksgiving morning and still many more obstacles lay ahead. Brad and Heather's Thanksgiving bonanza, featuring guest chefs Steve, Shamus and Masako, felt like the meal that might never happen right up until we sat down to eat after 8pm. Half of our party faced obstacles getting to our house on time, and when Brad finally drove to pick up Masako and her pies because she could not get a car service to answer her call, he got lost driving in the rain and disappeared for an hour while a roasted turkey was already resting on my counter!

But eat and eat well we did. The menu featured a 17lb. herb roasted, farm-raised turkey, sausage and cornbread stuffing, sweet potato pureé, brussel sprouts with bacon and apples, creamed spinach, parsnip pancakes, a salad with roasted squash, goat cheese and pumpkin seeds, cranberry chutney and gravy that flowed almost as freely as the booze. As if all that wasn't enough, we topped it all off with pecan/pumpkin and apple pies, Irish coffees and ice cream. It was goooood.

Happy and fed we were in the end, and the celebration went on past midnight. Thanksgiving is truly the best American holiday - good food in the company of good friends. We'll continue to enjoy our leftovers into this coming week and I have some turkey soup in the works. Soon I'll start dreaming of next year's feast.










Oh, and since I feel like I should share a recipe, here's something even better - the secret to my perfect gravy. It's not really mine, it's Martha Stewart's and you can find it here. You won't believe the results and your guests will be impressed, I promise!

A Case of VERY Bad Timing

It is officially count down to Thanksgiving time. While I have spent the last few days pondering the possible benefits of a maple glaze and whether or not to brine the 17lb. farm raised turkey thawing in the fridge the most unimaginably aweful thing happened - our oven broke.

Yes, that's what I said - 17lb. turkey, dinner guest list is apporaching 8 and we have no oven to cook in! Our landlord has been working with us to remedy the situation since we realized it's seriousness on Monday, but unfortunately, a holiday week is no time for rush orders.

The repairman was just here and he diagnosed the problem as a broken safety valve. I don't know what that means, but I do know that without a new one, the oven will not work. So maybe he has one at his office and if so he will make an emergency visit on Thanksgiving morning to install it. But, if not, the situation is grim. 5-7 days, thanks to this darn, wonderful holiday, for them to order and receive a new one.

I don't know what exactly my chances are - so we'll call it 50/50. Right now I am just waiting for the phone to ring with the good/bad news.

New Leaf

I am actually sitting here watching the near last of the yellow leaves fall from the tree outside my window as I type this post. Isn't that poetic? But really, today is the first day of my return to independence, following my resignation from Public New York.

You know what that means, right? More time for blogging again! I also need to start collecting the best of the best of this year's recipes for what I hope will be mine and Brad's annual collection. Heather and Brad's Recipe Book: Greatest Hits from 2005 was a very popular Christmas Gift last year.

So yes, recipes, photos and more stories to come now that that blog hiatus, otherwise known as a full-time job, is over. Check back soon . . . Thanksgiving (otherwise known as the holiday that is all about food and cooking) is right around the corner!

Halloween Happiness

These pictures are worth many thousands of words.