The Oscars

So, I'm doing better this year than the previous few years as far as actually watching the Oscar-nominated movies. I have actually seen 3 out of the 5 Best Picture nominees. That's more than half! My People magazine this week gives their picks, and in the spirit of Oscar season, here are mine (these are the ones I WANT to win, not the ones I necessarily think will actually win):

Best Picture:
Atonement ***
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Actor:
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd*** (I didn't see it, but Johnny deserves a turn)
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose***
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton***(I actually didn't think she was all that great, but the only other one I've seen is Atonement, and that little girl doesn't deserve an Oscar for that)

Best Supporting Actor:
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James, etc.***(just b/c I love him)
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Best Director:
Who cares? I think Atonement should get it, but that guy's not even nominated. I'm boycotting this category on those grounds.

Best Original Screenplay: Juno

Cheese and Dessert Review

Cheese: The wine was much better today. Maybe because I wasn't feeling sick, or maybe it's one of those wines you're supposed to open and let "air" for a while before you drink it. The cheeses were good, too.

Dessert: Delicious. And even the cream part didn't gross me out - an example of why I continue to make desserts with cream even though it makes me gag. Sometimes the way you make it and mix it together with other things completely counteracts the foamy quality of the cream, and it just ends up delicious. Also, I am a HUGE fan of orange blossom honey now, and maybe I will never eat another kind of honey again if I can help it. The wine was good and kind of apple-y. Not as sweet as I expected.

Which Way to the Vomitorium?

So, last night's dinner was really good. Except that I ate like three pieces of duck and then had to go VOMIT. Not because it was bad, though. I'd had a stomachache all day, and I guess the digestive tea I had been drinking didn't mix well with the food or something. Jonathan was fine. So, we held off the cheese and dessert part until tonight. This is the second Valentine's Day in a row that I've vomited. One more time, and it'll be tradition.

Here's my review of my own cooking (so pretentious, I know):

Warm scallop salad: Excellent, although I put too much olive oil in the vinaigrette, and you could barely taste the blood orange juice which, while I was juicing them, I had to force myself not to lick off my fingers it was so good. The wine pairing was OK, but not perfect. The scallops were beautiful.

Cream of sorrel soup: Delicious! I loved it. And the potatoes were great with it - those people really knew what they were talking about when they suggested that. Plus, when I put the little hash brown pancake into the soup, it made a very satisfying sizzling noise - like fajitas. I had never had sorrel before; it tastes kind of lemon-y and interesting. The wine tasted almost briny; it had a salty quality to it that really complimented the citrus taste in the soup, and the pairing was really good. The biggest success I've had so far, I think, in choosing wines to go with food.

Passionfruit sorbet: Let me just put it this way - when I was licking the rubber spatula after I made this, I had a little sorbet orgasm. A sorgasm.

Duck Breast with Sour Cherries: This was good. I barely ate any, so maybe I will be more excited about this today after I eat it for lunch. The sauce was good, cherries good, duck a little overcooked, but not chewy or anything. I didn't like the wine. But, I think that's just my personal preference. Also, it bothers me that on the wine label it says, "a classic combination with lamp, duck, and other game." Lamp? Really? Anyway, I'll let you know how it tastes with the cheese. Maybe it will be different.

Valentine's Day Meal

Tonight I am cooking a fancy, schmancy dinner with wine pairings. Here's the menu:

Warm Scallop Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette
Domaine Bott-Geyl Riesling Les Elements, 2004, Alsace

Cream of Sorrel Soup with Frazzled Potatoes (aka Hash Browns)
Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc, 2006, Marlborough, New Zealand

Passionfruit Sorbet

Roast Duck Breast with Sour Cherries
Vacqueyras Vieux Clocher Chateauneuf du Pape, 2003, Rhone, France

Bread and Cheese Plate (also served with the Vieux Clocher)
Brillat-Savarin, France
Smoked Gouda, Holland
Point Reyes Blue Cheese, California

Napoleon of Forbidden Fruit
Royal Tokaji 5 Puttonyos, 2003, Hungary