This month's scent is Girl, a collaboration between Pharrell Williams and Comme des Garçons. 'Flirtatious base notes of vetiver, patchouli, cedar, and Australian sandalwood introduce an instant edge warmed by iris, styrax, and violet. Striking top notes of neroli, lavender, and white pepper mirror visions of youthful innocence. The ultra-concentrated eau de parfum lingers long after application.'
This is the second Thanksgiving since we started the blog, and we have accumulated quite a few recipes now... Hopefully some of these will provide inspiration or last minute assistance before the big day tomorrow!
This is a great substitute for/addition to cranberry sauce on your Thanksgiving table. This recipe is quick, simple, and delicious, and can easily be doubled or tripled for more servings. It's also excellent left over on turkey or grilled cheese sandwiches.
Ingredients:
8 ounces of fresh cranberries
3 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
Zest and juice of half a small orange or mandarin
Add all of the ingredients to a small saucepan, and cover about a third of the way with water. Cook over low-medium heat for approximately 12-15 minutes, until the cranberries are soft and cooked through, but not breaking apart. Smash the cranberries slightly and cook for another minute or two until the liquid becomes more syrupy.
This soup is a perfect starter for Thanksgiving dinner, and can be made in advance to cut down on cooking the day of.
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 large yellow onions, chopped 2 tablespoons yellow curry powder 2 large butternut squash 4 Fuji apples 2 cups vegetable stock 2 cups apple cider creme fraiche salt and pepper to taste Directions: -In a dutch oven melt the butter and add the olive oil. Add the chopped onions and yellow curry, and cook over low heat, stirring until onions are translucent. -Peel and seed the squash, and cut into chunks. Peel and core the apples and cut into chunks. -Add the squash, apples and vegetable stock to the onions, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and cover and cook until the squash and apples soften. Using an immersion blender, puree until everything is smooth. -Add the apple cider and salt and pepper to taste. Pour into bowls and garnish with a dollop of creme fraiche. Serves 6. Based on Ina Garten's recipe in Barefoot Contessa Parties.
We are big brussels sprouts fans, and when we found this recipe incorporating chorizo and almonds, we were curious to try this warm salad. It got good reviews from everyone who tried it, even from people who wouldn't normally eat brussels sprouts.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup raw almonds
3 oz. chorizo sausage, sliced
1 lb. brussels sprouts, halved with leaves separated
2 tablespoons garlic flavored olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoons fresh thyme
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- toast almonds in a frying pan over medium heat for about 6-7 minutes. let cool and chop.
- cook the chorizo in a large pan, stirring until crisp. set aside.
- heat oil in a large pan over medium high heat, adding the garlic and thyme and sautéing until the garlic is golden. Add the brussels sprouts in batches, cooking until leaves have wilted and have browned a bit, approximately 10 minutes.
- remove from the stove and mix the almonds and chorizo in with the brussels sprouts. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Remember a time before television, when the evening's entertainment was provided in the form of listening to weekly radio shows after dinner? Ok, we don't either, but we like to pretend when we're listening to Serial, the podcast from the creators of This American Life.
Serial is being released in 40 minute installments each week, and currently there are 9 episodes (out of a scheduled 12, although because the show is still being written, there is a possibility of more). The show investigates the 1999 murder of Baltimore high school student Hae Min Lee and the subsequent conviction and of her ex boyfriend Adnan Syed. We've become hooked, and can't wait to hear what the host, Sarah Koenig uncovers next. The soundtrack and method of delivery are riveting, and while it may turn out that nothing can conclusively be determined about the case, we love following along as new points come to light.
Serial can be listened to on the web, or downloaded to your phone. They also post additional content to their blog. If you haven't already started listening, we highly recommend. It's guaranteed to make your Thanksgiving travel fly by.
The other night we attended the San Francisco Film Society's screening of The Interview, and discussion with the film's writers/directors (and one of its stars) Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The duo were interviewed by comedian W. Kamau Bell, who did a fantastic job asking about how the two got started and their creative process.
Best known for films such as Pineapple Express (BFFF!), Superbad and This is the End, Rogen and Goldberg met in Bar Mitzvah class. They started writing together in Goldberg's sister's bedroom, since that's where the family computer was. They later wrote in Rogen's parents' basement, and finally in his grandma's car with a laptop, because then they could smoke pot while they wrote. Bell asked if Goldberg had ever thought about acting, and he said he had tried once, they had made a parody of Space Balls (a parody of a parody) where Rogen directed and Goldberg had acted all of the roles, but joked that hadn't gone so well and he hasn't been tempted since.
Rogen got his start acting in Judd Apatow's Freaks & Geeks. Apatow flew Goldberg out for the summer and told him and Rogen to come up with 150 pitches for movies, and that if they did that one of them could probably get made. After presenting their ideas to Apatow (Example: a time traveler has a mission to carry out and travels back in time. A stoner living in the apartment the time traveler is arriving at has built a wall in order to hotbox better. Because the wall wasn't supposed to be there, the time traveler gets stuck in the wall and the stoner has to complete the mission) he advised them to scrap all of the pitches and just make an action movie about stoners (Pineapple Express).
Rogen mentioned that although he and James Franco worked together on Freaks and Geeks, they didn't hang out together much due to their age gap (Rogen was around 17, Franco was 21). After the show ended, Rogen and Goldberg wrote for Da Ali G Show, and Franco went on to make movies like Annapolis and Tristan & Isolde. Their career paths were pretty different, but when Rogen was casting Pineapple Express, he and Apatow met with Franco. Franco had just made a short comedy film called Ape, and was interested in the genre. Rogen said doing the film changed Franco's perspective of what a comedy film could be.
Bell asked them what the typical work distribution was when they were writing, and both Rogen and Goldberg agreed they were pretty equal partners. Both take turns typing, both equally think of ideas for the storyline. They mentioned they work better when they are writing together, as it causes them to have arguments, and those arguments help them figure out when something isn't working.
Rogen and Bell also noted that even as successful as they are now, they still sometimes have trouble getting movies made. When asked if they'd ever make another Green Hornet they said they had felt constrained by the PG-13 rating and pressure from the large budget to do well, but if they could make it low budget and do whatever they wanted, maybe. They joked they should start a kickstarter, and that it would probably be the least successful campaign the site has ever had.
Also because it's San Francisco, and we were at the Castro Theatre, the discussion about the gay community and bears came up. Rogen mentioned he had heard that he was popular in the bear community, and that he was considered a cub, since he'd need to gain about 40 more pounds to be a bear. There was also discussion about the artist who published drawings of Rogen nude. He's never met the artist, and Rogen admitted that his wife had been surprised by how oddly accurate they were.
Bell also mentioned how their movies have led the way portraying close male friendships where the characters aren't afraid to tell each other that they love each other. All of their movies have a bromance, which is in many ways reflective of their own close friendship.
Their latest film The Interview follows talk show host Dave Skylark (played by James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Rogen) as they travel to North Korea to interview (and assassinate) Kim Jong-Un. North Korea has promised retaliation for the film. When asked why they picked a real leader as the subject of their movie, instead of just making up a fictional character, they said it was because they couldn't make up something worse. They had the idea while working on This is the End (in which the main actors play satirical versions of themselves). They said this was their first foray into more political subject matter. They noted that as an actor or writer, it's easy to get stereotyped into the characters you portray. If you play dumb, people assume you are. However, they're aware of what's happening in North Korea and wanted to incorporate that into their film. They joked if the movie bombs they'll just go back to their usual subject matter, but if it succeeds the next one will be about Putin.
Also they talked about Bound 3, which they filmed over 3 lunch breaks while shooting The Interview. They had joked about spoofing the video, and Franco had noted it would be relatively easy to film shot for shot. They already had a green screen, and as they started doing it even the lighting guys got into it, and helped match the source video.
Rogen said he ran into Kanye later and told him that it took 3 lunches to make, and Kanye told him he hadn't even spent that long on his own video.
The Interview opens in Wide Release on Christmas. If you are a fan of Rogen & Goldberg's previous work, we highly recommend this movie. We don't want to give too many spoilers, but our favorite line of the movie is 'It's 2014, women are smart now'. Although said by a slightly ridiculous character, there are strong female roles in the film. If they can do for women what they did for bromance, it will be a successful coup indeed.
This week, the New York Times released Thanksgiving recipes celebrating the cuisine of each of the fifty states, and we love their choice for California. From one of our favorite SoCal chefs, A.O.C.'s Suzanne Goin, this menu showcases one of our favorite NorCal foods: sourdough bread. We have made some very similar stuffings for our Californian Thanksgivings over the years, and can't wait to try this one next week.
You can see the stuffing recipe here, and the full list of recipes here.
Based on Ari Seth Cohen's Advanced Style blog, this documentary is a wonderful look at fashion and the lives of some over (many are well over) sixty year old women in New York City. The women in the film, whom Cohen has befriended after spotting on city streets and photographing for his blog, may be in the later stages of life, but they know how to live it to the fullest. Many of the ladies have had interesting lives, and are still vital and creative, showing this through the texture, color, and decoration of their dress. Cohen grew up very close to his grandmothers, and that influenced his
admiration for older women and their unique senses of style, which have
been informed by their range of experiences. They were for him, like the ladies in this film are to us, truly inspiring (poster girl Ilona is a special muse). Old age doesn't look intimidating when it's this chic.
We love fall vegetables, and this dish showcases several of them in a hearty, vegetarian pasta bake. This is a great pasta for a cozy dinner party, or to cook at the beginning of the week and save - leftovers will be good for a few days, or could even be frozen.
Ingredients:
14 ounces of penne
1 pound of cubed butternut squash
1 bunch of Tuscan kale, roughly chopped
1/2 pound of cremini mushrooms, chopped
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large shallot, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1/2 cup of chicken broth
1 15-ounce container of ricotta cheese
1 8-ounce ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, grated
2 cups of tomato sauce (whatever kind you prefer, we like Vodka sauce in this recipe)
Salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cook the pasta to package instructions and set aside.
Boil water in a separate pot, and add the butternut squash. Boil until tender, about ten minutes. Strain, allow to cool slightly, and mash the squash.
In a saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over low to medium heat. Add the shallot, cook for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and sauté for another couple of minutes. Add the mushroom and kale, then stir and cook down for 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and cover until it cooks down, about 5 more minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, tomato sauce, butternut squash, kale-mushroom mixture, ricotta, and mozzarella.
Use the last of the olive oil to coat a 9x9" baking dish, then add the ingredients, packing tightly.
Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes, removing foil only for the last 5 minutes to allow a light crust to form.
Allow to cool slightly, and serve. This slices like a lasagna, but often breaks apart once served, as it isn't so well stacked.
One of our current girl crushes, Gia Coppola is, among many talents (movie directing, wine making), a fantastic photographer. She has shot both fine art and commercial campaigns, and has a great instagram as well.
The granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola, Gia grew up between Los Angeles and Napa. She studied photography in college, and her recent film projects make use of her talent for composing a shot.
Her photography features dreamy scenes and a saturated color palate, conveying a sense of languor.
From The Tappan Collective:
Family Photos:
For Urban Outfitters:
This shot in particular is fantastic, with the group of models in the center of the shot and the green grass filling the frame.
For PaperMag (photographs of the cast of Palo Alto, Coppola's first full length film):
From Instagram:
Still from Palo Alto:
Although technically from her film, and not an actual photograph, we love the composition of this shot.
