Monday, July 07, 2003

Stuffing on the Side

This is one of those days when I feel the weight of the world on my waistline.  I celebrated this nation’s birth by gorging myself on meats, salads, veggies and sweets.  Charles had an enormous picnic on Friday; Saturday was spent in recovery; and last night was Andy’s dad’s 75th birthday surprise party at Olivetos in Oakland, which is as good as North Italian food can get, which is pretty damn good.  How good?  Well for those of you who don’t mind reading menus, check the extended entry below - and see if you can guess what I chose.  No, that’s gross. 

Other exciting news: I got a new wallet, to replace the crappy lump of pleather that’s been embarassing me at all of Babylon’s chic-est watering holes, spas and emporia with its torn fringes and bedraggled undercoating.  The new wallet has a special bus pass holder that slides out of a slot in the front of the wallet.  For those of you keeping tabs, this makes me cool.  I’m going to write it on my locker in glitter markers so you can remember. 

Here’s another exciting guessing game: I just bought my first DVD this weekend.  It’s classic americana, featuring both farm equipment and explosions.  It was produced within the past 20 years.  Can you guess what it is? 

I have no prizes for any of you, whether you guess wisely or otherwise.  Tough noogies.  I want to take a nap.

Antipasti and Salads
Chilled Salad of Monterey Bay Squid with Cherry Tomatoes and aioli
Bitter Greens with Knoll Farm Figs, prosciutto and walnuts
Crostone of North Carolina White Shrimp and Avocado
Summer Vegetables tonnato with Capers and Parsley
Roasted Beets, Cucumber and Mache with Tarragon and Dijon Mustard
‘Little Gem’ Lettuce with Pt. Reyes Blue Cheese and Walnuts
Garden Lettuces Vinaigrette
Vellutata of Escarole

Oliveto Salume
Crespone
Toscano
Ciccioli
Campagna
Hot Salami
Duck Liver Pate
Coppa di testa

Primi Piatti
Penne with Beef ragu
Tagliatelle with Morel Mushrooms
Potato gnocchi with Fresh Tomato and Basil
Ravioli of Salt Cod, New Potato and Oregano
Cavatelli with Spicy Rabbit ragu
NB! -> Pork Tripe Florentine

Grills, Sautes, and Rotisserie
Scaloppine of WIllis Farm Pork wiht Fresh-Milled Polenta
Steamed Atlantic Cod with Spinach and Morel Mushrooms
Charcoal-Grilled Hoffman Farm Hen al mattone
Big Eye Tuna with Green Beans, Fingerling Potatoes, Cherry Tomatoes and bagna cauda
Charcoal-Grilled Paine Farm Pigeon with crostini of Knoll Farm Figs
Charcoal-Grilled tagliata of Niman Ranch Beef with Wild Arugula and Parmesan

Side Dishes
Cavolo nero
Fresh-Milled Polenta
Yellow Wax Beans

Desserts
Lemon Shebet with Lemoncello
Plum Gelato
Warm Nectarine Crostata with Vanilla Gelato
Bittersweet Chocolate Cake
Cornmeal-Pecan Biscotti
Artisan Cheeses: Sla Val Casotto, Toma Fontinata, Quadrotto
(with 9 sweet/fortified wines and 19 spirits and digestivi)

my dad used to have a bedraggled, black folding wallet with no zipper. and he always stuffed every reciept he got in there till my mom got so fed up that she cleaned it out herself. one christmas, after countless hours of searching, my mom finally found one, a brown leather nautica one with a zipper… he still has it, and it’s as shredded wheat as the last one, it’s practically bursting at the seams. time to go wallet hunting again.

farm equipment and explosions?  i’ll be checking back regularly for the answer.

(Twister?  no.  Independence Day?  no. ... )

As one who gorged until bloating on fine food all weekend, I can relate.  Yet, reading that menu still makes me hungry.

I’m pretty much hopeless.

I’ll guess O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Oh Brother was a lot of fun; I wouldn’t mind owning it.  But I don’t.

I really ought to just read that menu for lunch today.  I won’t actually need food for a couple of years.

I guess Witness didn’t have any explosions, did it?

Big eye tuna? Farm pigeon? Squid?
Warm nectarine...mmmm.
Yeah, I was going to say Twister or Witness or Independence Day, but those are classic yet. Did Deliverance have exploding farm equipment? I know it a reference to farm animals…

Squeal like an exploding pig… Hell now I’m not sure if my movie has explosions or just fires.  Nope, I checked.  Explosion.  At least one. 

I’ll give the answer at the end of business tomorrow.

If I promise not to whine for a present can I get some tough noogies instead? I went to the store the other day and I thought I’d gotten some tough noogies, but lo and behold, when I opened the box the noogies were as limp as, well, I’ll spare everyone the ugly imagery. Let’s just say they were limp. And as we all know, noogies are not worth having unless they’re good and hard. So, can you hook me up?

CYCLE CHICKS IN ZOMBIE TOWN!!!!!

Cycle Chix is a much better movie than people might expect and I thank you muchly, Evster, for reminding me of how much I enjoyed it.  Kicked Tank Girl’s ass.  (That in itself might make a good feature presentation.) But that’s not my new movie.

Pea, my noogies are a bit stale - not flaccid by any stretch of the imagination, but a bit hard to chew.  Are you ready for the STALE NOOGIE CHALLENGE?  Damn reality tv has nothing on the ‘hut....

red dawn?  tremors?

Tremors rocks.  Loved it.  Nope.

Red dawn: I don’t think I saw it.  Wouldn’t rule it out.  Isn’t that the one where James Belushi teams up with Ahnold?  Yee-ha.  But no.

dan, you disappoint me.  Red Dawn had Patrick Swazye, Lea Tompson, Jennifer Gray and some Brat Packers in it.  About the communists invading America. Circa 1984ish.

No explosions in Witness… a nasty gun fight in a grain silo, but no explosions that I recall.

I’m stumped, though. Twister was my first guess, but I wouldn’t call that classic americana.

red dawn is the movie about the high school football team that defeats the invading russian troops.  what a piece of drivel.

now, cycle chicks in zombie town is classic americana.

how about Fargo, dan?  was it fargo??

fargo: great movie.  But what explodes?  No, the clock is ticking but the answer is elusive…

well, there definitely are some gunshots, and that scene with the chipper.........could be considered an explosion, i guess.....

oh, well, i give up.  tell me what the damned movie is already!