We Are All Weird (book review)

We Are All Weird: The Myth of Mass and the End of Compliance by Seth Godin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Chef's Choice

Eric and I have started a ritual called Chef's Choice. Granted, only one has occurred so far (specifically for Eric's birthday week), but it was such a smashing success that we felt more were in order.

What is Chef's Choice?

It is a commitment from either Eric or me to prepare a very special meal that involves both amazing taste and beautiful presentation, specifically from our specialty cookbooks or something that inspired us. No cheating with dinners out or just whipping up something that is familiar to us for this particular venture. The point is that the chef makes something completely new and that the recipient gets completely surprised when served.

The hor d'oeuvres were normal with olives, salami, and shrimp with remoulade, although paired with an extra special wine that I had to retrieve from Orlando where I bought a case of 2011 Hugel Gewurztraminer (an Eric favourite discovered in Malta over Christmas).

I figured the appetizer would either be grotesque or amazing. Thankfully it turned out to be amazing, despite very sticky fingers during preparation. However, it's fast and easy...I promise. The Cornish Hen dish is a lot of food, and in future, servings will involve only half the hen, which is doable since you cut it half anyway with the stuffing to lay nicely on the wild rice. The dessert was cheating from Fresh Market because we had not set the rules for Chef's Choice so concisely until after this first experience!

The joy of this is that you win if you're cooking and you win if you are being served. It's awesome all around......

Goat cheese and roasted garlic stuffed dates, figs and prunes soaked in Marsala wine sitting in a Marsala wine and shallot reduction sauce.

Cornish hens rubbed with olive oil, pepper, and fresh rosemary stuffed with a
mixture of Challa bread, Marsala wine, dates, spices, and roasted garlic sitting on a bed of wild rice and covered in a reduction sauce made of onions, celery, and carrots in Vouvrey.

A strawberry pillow that involves fresh strawberries, vanilla pudding, fresh whipped cream, and drizzles of chocolate on a croissant.

The accompaniments for the evening! The prized dry Gewurztraminer from the Alsace region, the Vouvray that had enough of a sweet edge to match the Cornish Hen dish perfectly, followed by honey liquor brought back from Malta.

Valuable Neighbors

It is difficult to imagine what could top having a wine shoppe as a neighbor...literally immediately next door. A good one especially! While it is in transition between owners, I am currently in denial that one will leave eventually (moving out of state) because both the previous owner and new owner are simply fantastic. Converting our coal cellar into a wine cellar was a top priority until we realised that we not only had a wine cellar next door, but we also had great advice on pairing for that evening's meal on a daily basis. Approximately 6p most nights involves a saunter over with a description of dinner.

Somebody pinch me. I'm dreaming. No, it's real!

Thursday evening was a wine tasting for nine Italian reds. I thought my visits to Italy may shed light on the complexity of the absurd number of varietals, but in reality, I was simply more confused. The tasting was semi-blind with a prize for the most matched. My competitive nature soared, and when only one other individual besides me got all three of the first flight matched correctly, I started plotting ways to divert his focus. However, in the end, I crushed the competition. (This can be translated as that I only identified five out of nine correctly, and two others tied with me...however, cool prizes were still achieved!)

Important tips learned....there are four levels of wine expectations in Italy, with table wine being the dregs level. I found this completely thrilling as I'm perfectly happy with apparently what is defined as dregs. This can only be positive as I explore the next three levels.

Another important tip...there are only 350 varietals registered, with a mere 500 more unregistered but documented varietals going back to the Etruscan. This enlightenment helps place in perspective the lack of value in trying to learn all of them. Just learn the four levels and enjoy.

I walked in with intentions of buying a couple bottles.

We returned with a case.

....and so the relationship with our very valuable neighbor continues in love and harmony!

Apocalypse Status: Ready

Granted, I was not enthused with the idea of going to the shooting range. 

Upside: I love my dad and enjoy being with him. 

Downside: My feelings towards guns are not positive.

Really Big Downside: God only know what odd people go to a ... shooting range.

However, everything improved greatly when these particular targets were spotted. Suddenly, this was a whole new game. 

Preparing for the apocalypse. 

It is likely that I have watched way too many apocalyptic, supernatural, zombie movies as well as whatever mix of those three. However, I have sent my dad the Zombie Survival Guide. So far he is not taking me seriously, which is concerning to me.

Secretly, it is very very possible I was pretending that I was in Starship Troopers when I shot this particular bug. Hrm. Let's not spread that rumour.

*sneaks off quietly*