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

One Down, Seven to Go...

Duke rejected me. I don't really mind. They addressed the letter to "Ms. Laura Annejones Clark" and they misspelled the word "Apartment" in my address. They're the ones who lost all my application materials, too. I'm kind of relieved I don't have to decide not to go there.

You Know You're a Real Grown-Up When...

You watch "My So-Called Life" and you start to side with the parents. I thought the day would never come. But I was just watching an episode where Angela has to choose between attending her grandparents' 45th anniversary party or attending her friend Rayanne's kegger. She has a huge fight with her mom about it, and while the show - as always - does a fantastic job of showing and even legitimizing the teenage point of view, I was like, "No brainer - you have to go to the family thing." If we ever have kids, I want to buy copies of this show because it really helps me remember what I felt like as a teenager, and how unfair my parents seemed to be.

They Are In!

I realize to most people this must seem like a huge drawn out process, and they are right, but I finally got all of my applications in. All fees are paid, transcripts and test scores sent, and writing samples submitted. Now the REAL waiting starts. Several of the schools' deadlines are not until February, so I have no idea when I'll hear back. One of my fellow grad students told me a very scary thing about how if you're accepted you'll hear in March, but if you're not then you won't hear until April or May. I don't know how he knows that or if it's true, but if I don't hear anything in March, I suppose I will be pretty disappointed. Or maybe not. I am kind of chilling out about this whole thing now. It is officially out of my hands. I have given them everything they've asked for (even if they can't seem to find it), and now it's up to them. If I don't get in, I don't get in. If I do get in, we'll have some hard decisions to make about moving and finances. It's exciting though! For anyone who's interested and can't remember, here's the list of schools I have applied to (in basically the order I want to go to them):

1. Purdue University - West Lafayette, Indiana
2. Pennsylvania State University - University Park, Pennsylvania
3. University of Virginia - Charlottesville, Virginia
4. New York University - New York City, New York
5. Baylor University - Waco, Texas
6. Duke University - Durham, North Carolina
7. University of Texas at Arlington - Arlington, Texas
8. Southern Methodist University - Dallas, Texas

Wish me luck!

Misery Loves Company

Three things today:

1) I am such a klutz. I totally knocked over my entire full coffee cup today all over the kitchen floor. Luckily, the Toad was not in the way or he would have gotten some nasty burns. He did run out of the kitchen like a big sissy. I felt like a big idiot. It spilled on my hand, and I screamed because it hurt (it's fine now) and because I was surprised, and I just knew the neighbors were going to come up, and I would have to explain the whole embarrassing story. Lucky for me, I have apathetic neighbors. So I can just embarrass myself by posting it on my blog.

2) I found a lady to fix my vase! Thank you, Helen, for your advice. I called the cleaning company, and they are giving me a discount on the next cleaning to cover the cost of the repair. I dropped it off at her place yesterday, and she was really nice. She makes her own glue, and she showed me examples of some of her work, and I am confident she will do a good job. Although she did make fun of the nail polish on the fingernails. She said, "I can get that off for you." I said, "I'd rather you didn't," and she gave me a funny look. Whatever.

3) I was watching "Friends" last week, and it was one of my favorite episodes - the one where Monica and Richard have just broken up and she can't sleep because she's a total mess. I think I liked it so much because when it aired I was going through the same thing as Monica, and some of her lines were like they were coming straight out of my head. And when Elliot Gould comes over and tells her that Richard is just as much of a mess, I remember feeling actual comfort. Because breaking up is a two way street, and it's hard for both parties if they really care about each other. And I remember also just thinking that the emotions I was feeling were normal - they had to be if they were on "Friends" because if everybody didn't feel that way, the situation wouldn't be funny. It was just nice to know that my emotional process was normal, and I remember thinking the negative feelings would pass eventually, and I would be OK. Thanks, Friends, for helping me through a hard time. And for the nostalgia.