The Art of the Movie Makeover

With the New Year only a few days away, many of us are thinking about what our resolutions will be for 2010.  Paying off your student loan debt, getting toned Michelle Obama arms, learning how to make homemade fruit preserves, getting organized, or finally finishing that knitting project you started 4 years ago?  But maybe all you really need to start the new year off right is a simple makeover!  This is something that Little Sister and I both agree on.  Sometimes a new pair of boots, a haircut, or a colorful T is all it takes to change your whole attitude.  To get you inspired we've compiled a list of our favorite makeovers captured on film...

Calamity Jane  A good ol' tomboy turns girly and gets the guy story. The transformation scene also includes a home makeover set to song that is quite enjoyable.

Clueless  Rotating closet? Say no more.  A classic and the role of a lifetime for the late Brittany Murphy.

Cinderella  This old and wise tale could be the first ever makeover recorded in history.

My Fair Lady  The ultimate makeover title.  Whereas most movie makeovers are shown in a montage or a single scene, this entire film is dedicated to the Eliza Doolittle' metamorphosis.  It is after all, a process, not an event.

Pretty Woman  Yes!!

Roman Holiday   Because sometimes getting bangs is just enough to change your life.

Sabrina  Once again Audrey Hepburn stuns us all.  A year in Paris will always do the trick.

(see also: An American in Paris, Gigi, Amélie, and Ratatouille).

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers  Our one manly makeover on the list.  It's amazing what a clean shave, dancing lessons, and a jewel-toned button-down can do for a lowly back woodsman.

Strictly Ballroom  Don't be scared!  Just remove the thick lenses, get a hair straightener, apply some mascara, et voilà!  The vision of a lady.  It also helps to know the rumba.   

A special mention to makeover television programming:
What Not to Wear
And anything that Trinny and Susannah have ever done

What are your favorite makeover flicks?

A Merry Christmas to us all.

Merry Christmas everyone!

What a lovely morning in the Bay Area for celebrating Christmas.  I hope you're enjoying this day with your family as I am.

p.s.  I won't be making an entry for the Orange Cream-Filled Honey Crisps.  They were a huge failure.  Apparently parchment paper is essential to the recipe.  :(  Maybe I'll try again later.  

xmas in frisko

Sick of the old jingle jangle? SomaFM provides a funky, eclectic soundtrack for all your cookie baking or xmas party listening needs. and it's free!

http://somafm.com/play/xmasinfrisko

oh, and after the last song I just heard I should probably mention that it is not for the easily offended

Christmas Cookie Bake-Off: Day 2

Gingersnaps

I really liked this recipe because you can refrigerate the dough for up to 1 week. I made one batch on Sunday and then baked the rest today. I can't tell what tastes better, the dough or the cookies themselves. The weirdest ingredient: black pepper. Do all gingersnaps have black pepper in them? Here's the recipe (also from December Sunset). See my tips in yellow.

Makes 100 cookies

Time 1 hour, plus chilling time

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup unsulphured molasses

1 large egg

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. each ground cloves, nutmeg, and freshly ground black pepper

1. Beat butter and brown sugar together in a bowl with a mixer on medium speed until well blended. Mix in molasses, then egg, until blended, scraping bowl as needed.

2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and spices; add to butter mixture on low speed, mixing until combined.

3. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 3 hours. (Or throw it in the freezer for 30 min.)

4. Preheat oven to 350. unwrap dough. On a very generously floured surface, roll out each disk 1/8 inch thick. Using round or square 2 1/2-to-3 in. cookie cutters, cut out dough and arrange about 1 in. apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or just greased (use a small spatula to transfer). Reroll scraps as needed.

5. Bake cookies until dry looking and just starting to brown on edges, about 8 minutes. Let cookies cool in pans on racks. Or just eat them :)

Another tip.. dogs love these! Riley jumped up on top of the oven and ate 5 while my mom and I were out for a walk. nice.

Tomorrow's Entry: Orange Cream-Filled Honey Crisps

Christmas Cookie Bake-Off: Day 1

I'm on a baking kick at the moment and my current exploit is the Christmas cookie. I'm going to try to bake a different cookie everyday either until my butter supply runs out or I just get bored of baking cookies or I become disgusted by the amount of butter that I am using to make the cookies.

Before my first entry, I must point you towards this life-changing article that I read last Christmas, which has since altered my entire world view of butter. It brings me back to a Food, Science and Technology intro course that I took at Davis in order to satisfy my general ed requirement. Remember, E? Anyways, read the article here first, before you even think about baking your own cookies this Christmas. You will thank me.

Raspberry Window Shortbreads

This recipe is from my December issue of Sunset. I guess they turned out pretty well because they've already disappeared. I didn't even have to go to the store to make these. I already had all of the ingredients at home and you probably do too! What I would do differently next time is to roll the dough out a little thinner, maybe use different kinds of fruit preserves just to mix it up a little, and also, make sure you're putting the bottoms of the cookies together. It just looks nicer. Also, I can't find any cookie cutters since our move, so I just used a wine glass and then a wine stopper to make the little cut-out. (You can tell that my most important tools have been unpacked :)

INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Raspberry Preserves (or any other type)
Powdered Sugar
Milk

PREPARATION
1. Put flour, butter, granulated sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed until blended, then increase to medium and mix until dough is no longer crumbly and just comes together. Form into a disk, and chill 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 325°. On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough 1/8 in. thick. Use a selection of 1½-in. decorative cutters to cut as many shapes as you can, making sure you have an equal number of each shape to form a top and a bottom, and rerolling scraps as needed.

3. Arrange cookies 1 in. apart on baking sheets. Use a variety of smaller cutters to remove center from half of cookies (the tops). Chill on sheets 15 minutes; then bake until light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool.

4. Spread each whole cookie with about 1/2 tsp. raspberry preserves. Sprinkle powdered sugar over cut-out cookie tops, or glaze them with a mixture of 1 cup powdered sugar and 21/2 tsp. milk. Set tops on jam-topped bottoms. Makes 26.


Tomorrow's Entry: Gingersnaps

Roast Beast Feast

Last night my husband and I had a guest chef in the kitchen, the culinary master, Mr. Willus Withrow. We tried our hand at roasting again (I guess this is the season for roasting) - this time with a chuck roast, for less than $10. We used a rub of garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and Willus concocted a sauce with sherry, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, red onions, and clementine juice. Needless to say, it was delicious! Very tangy and spicy. Our sides were roasted butternut squash and white rice.

We had a bottle of 2007 cabernet sauvignon from Firefly Ridge. Nice light berry flavor, and there's no beating the price at $5.99/bottle.

We also did a little beer taste testing. Willus is looking for the right beers to supply for his upcoming nuptials in Davis, CA this May. We tasted three California beers, all at a decent price - Blue Star Wheat Beer from North Coast Brewing Co., Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout from Anderson Valley Brewing Co., and ACME Pale Ale. My fav was the Blue Star, mostly because it tasted like sparkling cider, Avi preferred the oatmeal stout, and I think we all loved the ACME pale ale.

Groupons Hooray!

I just bought a $30 groupon for $80 worth of salon services at Nirvana, an Aveda concept salon in Los Gatos. So worth it! I got my hair cut by a senior stylist, a head and hand massage and aromatherapy hair treatment. The lovely Michelle Williams and Zooey Deschanel were my inspiration for the cut...

The groupon plus $10 worth of amonia-free "darkest warm brown" hair dye from the beauty supply store = the cheapest most satisfying hair make over I've ever had!

Romantic Dinner for Two (People Struggling to Make Rent)

Last night I made roast chicken from Peggy Knickerbocker's Simple Soirees. I used a foster farms chicken, although I really would have preferred to buy free range. Safeway didn't have any. I added to the recipe by throwing in some carrots and onions on the bottom of my roasting pan, which were delicious. And then I baked potatoes and whipped up a green salad to accompany it. A hearty meal to celebrate my husband winning his first trial! yay!! All in all I probably spent no more than $15 total. Add candle light, a bottle of red wine, Nat King Cole christmas music, and you're set!



Here is the excerpt from Peggy's book for the Alice B. Toklas chicken:

One wintry day I picked up The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook, hoping to soothe the monotony of the long gray season with something inspired and Parisian to cook. I was delighted to find a recipe that my mother had served at dinner parties. Later it became one of my most requested dishes when I was a young caterer in San Francisco.

Yield: 2 to 4 servings
Ingredients
1 medium-sized (about 3½ pounds) roasting chicken, preferably free-range
Salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup ruby port
½ cup orange juice
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Zest of 1 orange, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
When you bring the chicken home from the market, unwrap it and sprinkle it generously with salt. Cover and refrigerate it until ready to cook. Bring the bird to room temperature before cooking. Do not rub off the salt.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a large ovenproof skillet warm the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Brown the chicken breast side down, for 3 to 5 minutes then turn it over and brown the other side for 3 to 5 minutes.

Place the skillet in the oven and roast the chicken for 45 minutes. Pour the port over the chicken and baste it. Roast for 10 minutes more, than add the orange juice and baste again. Roast for about 5 minutes more. The chicken is done when the juices of the thigh run clear when pierced with the blade of a sharp knife, or when the thigh wiggles easily. Remove the chicken from the oven, transfer it to a cutting board, and let it rest as you make the sauce.

Skim as much fat off the top of the juices in the skillet as you can and discard. Place the skillet over medium heat and add the cream, stirring up the crispy bits on the bottom. Add about half the orange zest and allow the sauce to reduce as you stir constantly for a few minutes.

Carve the chicken and transfer it to a serving platter. Pour some of the sauce over the chicken and transfer the rest into a gravy boat or small pitcher and serve it at the table. Sprinkle the remaining orange zest over the chicken.

Reasons to be Rich

Hiking the Austrian Alps

Marc Jacobs boots

Keeping it Cheap

Free:

Hiking with Riley and Scout at the nearby Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve ... my sister and I recommend the Polly Geraci trail

Cheap:

Buying consignment boots from a thrift store... a never ending mission

Birthday Boy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY!

Riley turned 3 years old today.  That makes him 21 in dog years.  So grown up :)