Family Portrait Day Update

My mother is an exceptionally selfless woman. She does not buy anything full-price unless it is for someone else and frequently that other person is someone she delivers MIFA meals for. In line with that, she asks for very very little from us apart from the occasional phone call, a glass of wine at 5 and a little help loading the dishwasher.

What is the one thing she has specifically asked us for? A real, professional family picture for Christmas cards this year and a frame in the living room. It has been at least 10 years and no one thinks twice about obliging when she brings it up.

Fast forward to this morning. Still on a family love high from a fun day yesterday and a full night's sleep, we were fed and ready to go 10 minutes ahead of schedule. We arrived and the only car parked in front of the studio was a silver Beamer with a RUDY 2008 sticker. C'est la vie- it's Germantown.

Inside, you are immediately struck by the number of pleasant looking families on the wall- all white and many in khakis and white polos on the beach in Destin, FL. There is nothing wrong with this, it's just odd seeing so many families doing the same thing in the same place. I digress, we did find the one below a little disturbing:I'm not really feeling too many gems coming from the photo shoot. The photog talked alot. A LOT (as someone who also talks a bit, I feel the need to make this distinction in bold). And to "put us at ease," he kept asking us questions about life and then snapping the pictures as we opened our mouths to answer. I am just about incapable of faking any kind of reaction. He even tried to go political momentarily before Brother's rather diplomatic answer hinted that there would be few points of empathetic banter. Once the technical session was over, Mr. RudyG Photog was upselling my mom in the office while Brother, Dad and I commandeered the photo studio with my handy dandy cell phone. At least we had a good laugh on it and a great leftovers lunch directly thereafter.

*Note*Photo removed due to close-proximity light source anemia. Or, better said,
Brother: I look like the sickly rich kid in the wheelchair from the secret garden. The one who's paralyzed and cant go outside.

Neighbors: Chicago Edition

While waiting for the pictures from last night's neighborhood pie party to come about, I will just post these from a few weeks ago when Liz (below, top right) was in town. My neighborhood has been pretty tight since we've lived there (19 years)- Liz (mother of Danny, Kari and Michael) lives two doors down from us in Memphis and was in Chicago recently for a teacher's conference at McCormick. As I may have mentioned before, Chicago has a lovely little trifecta of Shady Creek delegates in myself, Lexi (Danny's longtime girlfriend, top left) and Lisa (top right), whose family lives another three down from Danny's. We get together about once a month to drink a lot of wine and laugh our asses off. Liz's arrival in town was no exception. Liz, along with her friends/colleagues Betsey and Amy, invited us down to the Hyatt for happy hour. A couple glasses of wine later, the group set off for Quartino- a great place in River North for small-plate Italian. You can see the full group below, also joined by Lisa's fiancee, Dave, who did surprisingly well with the estrogen influx.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My sweet potatoes are boiling so I've decided to do a running quotes section for the day:

"Both of your handwriting is TERRIBLE. Practice your signatures."- The Pot (Dad) talking to the Kettles (Brother and I)

"You don't appreciate my art. I'm Pollack and you're telling me to do Cubism!" Brother lamenting during our practice session that we, as a family, are trying to box in his creative expression.

"The guy at the Apple store keeps telling me we need to change my password one of these times (it's a little ridiculous)." Mom
"You don't have anything on your hard drive that needs protecting." Dad
"Well how do YOU know? Maybe I do!!" Mom
"You don't." Dad

"We have a few choices for family movie. One for the boys, one for the girls and one for maybe everyone. No Country for Old Men, Enchanted and August Rush. I hear Amy Adams is getting Oscar buzz for Enchanted!" Mom

"These make great earmuffs!" Mom's response to taking a walk while wearing the Noise Cancelling Bose headphones Dad got her for her birthday.

"You know the great thing about being home? I can have a glass of milk without having to smell it first!" Brother

Look for live updates-I love being home.

Long Road Home

In case you were interested or should ever come to need this information, it takes 9.5 hours to get from Wicker Park on the northwest side of Chicago to Germantown on the east side of Memphis. 9.5 hours of going no more than 6 mph over the speed limit (which damn near killed me), near constant rain and a cat that was awake (read: shouting at me) more than she was asleep.

There were state troopers at least every 10 miles in Illinois and each time I passed one, even knowing that I wasn't speeding by highway standards, my gut just clenched. I have lost count of my speeding tickets. A long-distance boyfriend in college and long roadtrips across the relatively desolate Midwest will do that to you.

Ok, it may also be hereditary. If you were to pool the amount collected from each of my nuclear family's speeding tickets, it probably accounts for the Super Troopers holiday party in each of the three surrounding states. I don't run red lights, I always use my blinker when changing lanes or turning and I am gracious about letting people in (unless they're being bullies or cheaters) but give me an open highway with cornfields on both sides and you might mistake me for Doc Brown in a DeLorean. No clock tower required.

Not so, yesterday. From my parents, my boss and my friends it was a very "slow and steady wins the race" kind of day. Pouring for 40% of the ride and for the other 60% it was spitting with just enough variation to have to constantly adjust my windshield wipers. Thank God for Sara Gruen because thus far, "Water for Elephants" is quite engaging.

You know who's not engaging (am I ranting yet?)? HC. HoneyCat is not engaging when her KittyXanax has worn off at hour 4 of a 9 hour drive. She is rude and tactless. I couldn't handle the howling from her cage so I relented and let her out of it once I stopped for gas. She got thrown back a couple times but when she approached me purring and the bad rain had stopped, I did finally let her curl up in my lap. She stayed there, quiet and sleeping for 2 hours of glorious silence. Then my phone vibrated between HC and my lap and let's just say we went back to the box for a little bit.

Both our attitudes changed when I got off Nonconnah, the last highway before entering my hometown. She could sense the speeds changing and I could feel home coming.

Reader's Digest

Things I was supposed to do tonight:
Laundry, Car Unpacking/Repacking, Luggage Organizing, Dishwashing, Audiobook Purchasing

Things I did instead:
Three empty bottles of wine in the trashcan and laughing my ass of with Kelli and Jones. I did also manage to buy audio books ("Water for Elephants" and "The Historian"- two books I'm desperate to read and can't seem to get to) and at least removed my steamer from the trunk.

Mostly I accomplished spending a cozy evening inside with two of my favorite college keepsakes who I don't see enough of. Kelli's almost never in town from San Francisco and after chatting tonight- I think I owe her a visit. B/T 101Cookbooks.com Ghiradelli, what I remember of Mt Diablo and the Castro, I think I would love it.
Above: The wine our lil Napa girl got us for Christmas!

We had grand plans of Bin Wine Cafe or Rodan but it is SICK outside and there was wine here. And triscuits. And we could hear each other above the playlist. And no one can judge us for the snorting laughter that only a shared bank of absurd recollections induces. And then after, against everyone's much better judgment, we popped over to Osco for a pack of college indulgence. Fun facts: Joner's mag of choice is Reader's Digest, Kelli has a thing for vampires and I have a strange way of explaining my lack of qualification for the AARP.

Sidenote: You know it's a good week when you live alone but somehow all 8 of your wine glasses are dirty.

Crustless Sweet Potato Pie- 10th Anniversary Edition

I know a lot of you have had variations of this but I found this recipe in a book in Mrs. Stegall's home ec. classroom when I was 14 years old (Yes, I took Home Ec and No, it wasn't required).

I have literally made it every year since then to rave reviews (and I DON'T just say so myself!). Call it my 10 Year Anniversary Sweet Potato Pie or just an alternative to the casserole with the marshmallows, there will be full, happy bellies for days after. For the record, I call it crustless pie because my friends who weren't from the South were scared of the word casserole.

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• Pinch of cinnamon (big)
  
• Pinch of nutmeg
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans or almonds
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Prick your sweet potatoes and boil them until they are EASILY pierced with a fork (about 30-40 min). Remove them carefully to a plate and pull the skins off when they are cool to touch. Mash.
   
3. In a large bowl, mix together mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup butter, milk, sugar, spices, vanilla extract, and eggs. Spread sweet potato mixture into the prepared baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and flour. Cut in 1/3 cup butter until mixture is crumbly, then stir in pecans. Sprinkle pecan mixture over the sweet potatoes.
4. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

*Tip: If you want to halve this recipe for a smaller group, it still works perfectly. Just don't halve the crumble topping- trust me:)

**Tip: To make this recipe gluten free, replace the standard AP flour with chestnut flour, reducing it to 1/3 cup in the sweet potato batter but keeping it to a half cup measure for the crumble. Delicious, nutty substitution.

Update: Woo Hoo Weepies!

*Don't you just love it when good things happen to good people? I'm pretty late on this one but The Weepies' song "Stars" is also the Holiday Old Navy song. I'm so so happy that Old Navy has grown out of the really annoying commercial phase. Must be cause Megan D. works for their HQ now.

I have to give credit to JCPenney this year. They've really stepped up the commercials. And added Sephora.

Today I am particularly happy with them because the new ad has The Weepies' song "All That I Want." Weepies are another great band that did their time at the illusive and notorious Hotel Cafe and if you like this song, check out "Painting by Chagall" and "Gotta Have You" as well.

Other good choices the 20 lb catalogue (as they were known in my house) made this year: Forever Thursday, Dido, Regina Spektor

And if I were JCPenney's publicist, I would build them a microsite with a streaming playlist of the songs featured thus far, possibly a video player for clips from VMA's (they sponsored) and the ads themselves. I might also advertise some clothing or tech that would grab the attention of this audience. Maybe even some exclusive selections from partner Sephora to go with. Just a thought...

TKTC: Nashville Eats (by demand)

I will be doing a similar, probably MORE detailed post like this on Memphis Sunday night but because Miss Scarlett is headed to Nashville this week, I thought I'd practice on our Music Highway brethren.

I spent a lot of time in Nashville in college, at first because I was dating someone at Vanderbilt, but I ended up just falling in love with the city and the people I kept meeting there. Because food is really the currency of travel, I picked up some great places over the years and below is my short list of must-eats.

NOTE: This will not be a successful list unless some of you Vanderbuddies and current Nashville residents fill in the blanks, I am hardly an expert and the vast majority of my favorites are right next to campus. Guess there won't be a wait over Thanksgiving break.

Calypso Cafe: This is not the kind of place that would jump out at you unless you knew it was there. It's a little carribean chicken shack in a strip mall- sandwiched between CVS and Centennial Park. TKTC Pick: All white meat Cuban chicken and black bean salad with cucumber dill dressing. Honorable Mention: Sweet Potatoes and/or Black Bean dip with jalapenos.

McDougals Village Coop: For local, neighborhood (read: Vandy) flavor...go here. The chicken strips (original OR grilled) come with a lot of sauce choices and I have long suspected that they dashed a little sugar on hot french fries. Probably better with the patio in the summer but I've not been let down yet. Also- I had my first 21st birthday drink here just a little bit back ;)

Bread & Co: Like Panera on too much fruit tea, which is certainly a recommendation (1/2 fruit tea, 1/2 unsweetened). This place is big with delicious ready-made sides, a salivation inducing bakery and excellent sandwiches. TKTC Pick: The Steeplechase- real turkey on cranberry walnut bread with light mustard and sliced green apples. Honorable Mention: Tomato Basil Soup, anything from the bakery. 2525 W End Ave

Sunset Grill: Pretty posh by Nashville standards but delicous. TKTC Pick: It's been awhile but I believe last time I had the trout special sauteed in a pumpkin glaze with steamed greens. Cleary it made an impression. And the scallops- "Pan-seared with quinoa strewn buternut squash, braised Belgian endive, hickory smoked TN bacon and red beet vinaigrette." Oh goodnight. Honorable Mention: Fried green tomatoes to start, Butterscotch Bread Pudding to end.

Provence: An adorable Euro sandwich shop among some of the cutest shops on 21st Ave. Check out Pangaea for great gifts once you've refueled on the Montecito or Turkey & Brie.

Sportsmans: It's a sports bar. No more, no less. But the fried dill pickle chips and gigantic salads made this a college favorite.

So I've been told: Tin Angel, Pancake Pantry, Nick & Rudy's, SATCO and Goten (eaten there a few times but several sake bombs later...not the most reliable review). Speaking of- Lonnie's and Tootsie's are Nashville standards or Boutique Bella for...more shopping.

Nashville- Chime In, you've got a foodie coming to town!

Stings, Doesn't It?

No Spoilers here...but here's to you Mr. Bennett. And Angela Petrelli. And Mr. Nakamura. That was a kickass episode.

In other Monday night news, laundry in preparation for the big roadtrip. Also having takeout from my favorite non-sushi spot- ZK Food on Milwaukee, which I have dubbed my new Kona. Everything on the menu sounds good and so far everything on the menu IS good. And after a really long day, they bring it to your car. Like a drive thru but with vegetables. Tonight I have a steak nicoise salad with sweet potato wedges.

And now, I am reading about the "Top Canadian Unsung Albums of 2007" and watching the rutting season of red deer on an old Planet Earth. Barring the part about cicada nymphs, this is the greatest pre-bed watching ever. Santa?

Less Kissing, More Cooking

Now that I am about to be in my family's way, I need to start thinking about my contributions to the big meal. Last year, my parents, brother and grandfather came to Chicago and since it was my kitchen, I felt like I could take more liberties with the recipes. This year, as previously discussed, I'm headed back to Memphis and to a kitchen that I would never so much as dream to coup. That doesn't mean I will be keeping to my own, everybody has to have a job. I always always make crustless sweet potato pie (saving THAT recipe for Wednesday) but this year we're doing pie with the rest of the 'hood after dinner and I am carefully considering my submission. What do we think of Pear-Cranberry Pie? I do loooove cranberries (The Cranberries as well).
*Courtesy of MarthaStewart.com

Ingredients

Makes one 9-inch pie

• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• Pate Brisee
• 5 ripe Bartlett pears (2 1/2 pounds; Bosc or Anjou can be substituted)
• 6 cups (24 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves

Directions

1. On a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim edges flush with rim. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. On a piece of lightly floured parchment paper, roll out remaining disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Top with an inverted 9-inch pie plate or a cake ring, and gently press to make a light indentation (this will be your guide for cutting the lattice to fit the pie). Using a 3/4-inch square cutter, cut a lattice pattern out of the round, leaving at least 1/2 inch between cutouts and edge of round. Transfer squares to a parchment-lined baking sheet. To make partial squares where the lattice meets the rounded edge, make a very light indentation with the cutter, then cut out the portion of the square that is inside the round with a knife. Using a paring knife or a pizza cutter, cut out the round, leaving an additional 1/2 inch of dough beyond the marked circle. Reroll scraps, and cut out as many additional squares as possible. Transfer parchment with the lattice top to a baking sheet. Refrigerate lattice top and squares for 1 hour.

   

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in middle and lower positions. Peel, halve, and core pears. Very thinly slice 3 pears lengthwise, and cut remaining 2 pears into 8 wedges each.
4. Toss together pears, cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape vanilla seeds over pear mixture, and toss until seeds have been evenly incorporated. Pour filling into piecrust, gently pressing to make it as level as possible. Dot filling with butter.
5. To make egg wash, whisk together egg yolk and cream in a small bowl. Lightly brush edge of piecrust with egg wash. Remove lattice crust and squares from refrigerator. Gently place another baking sheet on top of lattice, and carefully invert. Slide lattice on top of filling, and remove parchment. Gently press edges of crust to seal, trimming edges of lattice if necessary.
6. Lightly brush lattice with egg wash.

   

   Arrange dough squares around edge of pie, overlapping them slightly. Lightly brush top of each square with egg wash as you work to help them adhere.

   

7. Place a foil-lined baking sheet on lower oven rack to catch any juices. Place pie on middle rack, and bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling gently, 90 to 100 minutes. Tent with foil if crust browns too quickly. Let pie cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, heat preserves in a saucepan over medium heat until warm. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Press through a fine sieve into a bowl or another saucepan, and reheat if necessary. Brush warm pie with a generous amount of warm apricot glaze. Let cool completely on rack.

Lady Memphis, Let me mellow your mind as we drive down the road

I have butterflies in my stomach for Memphis on Wednesday. Spending more than one night in the room I did so much growing up in seems like a strange thought. I haven't done it in over a year and a half. I've woken up in my own bed before, in my own Chicago apartment in a state of unease when I look around and am suddenly not in the room with the window seat in the heart of a southern, suburban neighborhood. Two and a half years after moving out (quickly) and six since making my first decision to leave (O-H-I-O), I still woke up surprised by my location, my adulthood or both.

I have never been scared of getting older, in fact I still look forward to the things that allegedly come with age if you work hard- adventures, experience and an all-around richer existence. Does it thrill me me when a gray hair is mixed in with the highlights? Well, I didn't say I wasn't vain. My point is that I'm going home and I'm not a teenager anymore. Four days of my being a card-carrying, lease-holding, laptop-toting grown-ish woman. Out of college for a few years, with the same firm for a couple and living (albeit barely) in the great American city. I will now exist for a short time in a place I knew well for 18 years, but as someone very different from how it remembers me.

What I have been able to pick up on in my three 36 hour stints home is that Memphis isn't the duplicitous debutante I remember either. It's a cool, soulful city with a thriving music scene, a revived downtown and great restaurants. It also remains home to many of my very favorite people. So that's why I have butterflies and not just nerves.
Having discussed my itinerary with Dad on Sunday I will be reaping the best of this city I am now a tourist in. Out with the old crew on Wednesday on Beale St, feasting with the family/friends on Thursday in Shady Creek, the requisite movie with the family that night, visiting various new spouses and babies on Friday, out to dinner that evening and the Grizzlies on Saturday. And then drugging the cat again and dragging her back to the home I've adopted for us. My guess and my hope is that I will smile all the way down to and all the way back from a visit reacquainting two complicated ladies who, in the midst of simultaneously angsty gentrification, just misunderstood each other.

Incapable of being serious for toooo long...

Title taken from lyrics to "Lady Memphis" by Jonathan Rice

Comment Cava? Moi? Meme...

I got tagged by Jenn and Susie for a Meme which basically entails listing 7 random facts about myself, then tagging 7 people, and leaving a comment in their blog to let them know. I don't know more than 3 people who've not yet been tagged and 2 of them probably won't respond (eh, Jon?) so I'm going to keep thinking on that and just tag Dustin, who is safely back in Columbus after visiting with us in the City of Wind for the weekend!

Voici Randoms:

• I love animals. I start to feel bad when I'm walking with friends because I tend to walk at 45 mph until I see a friendly dog and then I stop immediately and am down on the ground in greeting. People probably get annoyed at the start/stop but hopefully it evens out to an average pace? No matter, I know the names of my neighbors' dogs but not my neighbors themselves which isn't all that strange to me. You know I have a cat whom I adore (the HoneyCat) but someday, like when I have a yard, I'd love a Bernese Mountain Dog or a Bassett Hound. Maybe a horse, some chickens (for eggs, not pate)...just no inside birds. Parakeets, parrots, cockatiels and the like really freak me out.

Yes!

Yes! (taken during today's naptime)

Absolutely not.

• I can drink my own gallon of skim milk in about 2.5 days. I love it and living down the street from Oberweis means that even that is becoming an expensive habit. I do credit milk with my height and the fact that even after the infamous softball incident of 97', there was no lasting damage. I'll try to track down the insurance pictures over Thanksgiving. VOICI:
  

Broke every damn blood vessel and yes, those are the ball stitches imprinted on my face. I had just gotten my braces off (14) and was feeling much cuter and BAM. I was warming up outfielders at an away high school softball game in Waverly, TN when I held my glove up to pause the action. I threw my coach an extra ball and, unfortunately due to an error in gesticulatory communication, I pulled my glove away to resume and caught a would-be college all-star’s full overhand in my left eye. Out cold for a few seconds, concussion, nerve damage(not bad anymore, if I scratch both sides of my face the sensations are different), and literally a maroon eye in parts that used to be white. I have light green/blue eyes so that accounts for a look Marilyn Manson has yet to consider.

I’m lucky that due to the size of a softball (vs a baseball) not only did my eye socket not shatter but it was able to protect the eye itself from any vision damage. In retrospect, I think this particular face disruption probably did good things for me. I went on my first date with this black eye and the rather infamous lothario didn’t come within 36 inches of me, setting the bar for a very social but innocent high school experience. Funny to think “innocent” when I look so totally demonic.

• I do judge books by their covers. Unless I come upon the book some other way, it needs to be somehow provocative for me to buy it. And while I do have a library card, I like to OWN books. Nothing is as multi-purpose a decor item as a book. If I come to your house, I will also try to surmise something new about you based on the books that are on your bookshelf. I bought one of my favorite books of all time because I liked the cover:

• I really really want to learn how to play the cello. Until I develop an ear for music, eye-hand coordination or a money tree, I will happily listen to any music that includes what I consider one of the sexiest sounds I've ever encountered. "mmmmmmmmmm" just came out of my mouth thinking about the theme to Shawshank Redemption, Volcano by Damien Rice, The Shining by Badly Drawn Boy, Sun Will Set by Zoe Keating and that kick ass scene in The Witches of Eastwick.

• My Super-Power would be to speak every language. I only have so many years left of getting by in foreign countries by smiling and saying thank you a lot and I annoy myself at the thought. I'm going to need to start somewhere (like finishing the French) lest I be struck by this unlikely ability on my own and must save the world. I digress, I think the ability to communicate is at least 10 times more important than money when visiting anywhere/everywhere. Irregardless of a skyrocketing Euro, language doesn't lose its value. Not even Latin. How do you like me now, Etymology?
  

• I relish in being a total dichotomy most of the time and haven't found it to make me any less decisive. Make-up, new clothes and decorating OR deep-sea fishing, Tennessee whiskey and _____. Maybe just those two. Does a twisted sense of humor and a knack for "mischief" count for anything?

• When I was little (7-13ish) I was a big Greek Mythology buff. I think I probably had 9 or 10 books on just Greek myths and then 1 Nordic, 1 Native American and 1 Japanese. It was the easiest gift of all time and I am still a good person to know if you're stuck on a crossword puzzle. It's also a fairly drawn conclusion that a love of good story-telling and anything requiring some distance from reality have spawned an adult who reads Harry Potter books in mere hours, attends the midnight openers for Lord of the Rings, The Golden Compass/ His Dark Materials etc. and devoutly enjoys folk music. See that? I am a real nerd. Watching Saved by the Bell reruns while home sick from work? That doesn't really count toward nerd. Knowing the names of the Fates? Now that is metal (potentially "mettle" also.)
• Still No.