Food highs, food lows. Luzianna and Asia.

Evenin', folks.  My house smells like cigarette smoke.  Not because anyone has smoked a cigarette inside it, mind you, oh no -- that would be too logical.  In fact, it smells like cigarette smoke because of red beans.  Yesterday, you see, I got a hankerin' for red beans 'n' rice yesterday, and so I dutifully soaked the beans last night, and then began to boil them as per usual.  Covered 'em with water, cranked up the heat, and went to go sit on the patio, where the temperature of frigid January were... well, not frigid at all.  Then I got distracted talking with Shane and Rebecca, until Rebecca said "Is something burning?"  As it turns out, my beans were, as was the pot itself.  Not only were the beans totally burnt to fuck at the bottom of the pot, having boiled dry because I'm a moron, but the enamel of the pot had melted to the burner at a couple of hot points.  So that whole pot is in the trash now, and I have no red beans and rice :(  Plus I may have to sand my burner... I'm not certain whether the bits of enamel on it will be a problem.  I'd make them tomorrow -- I have another pound of red beans -- but tomorrow is for the chicken that I bought marked down at Target, since it was getting near its expire date: woohoo whole seasoned, marinated chicken stuffed with a cranberry/walnut stuffing for only $4.50!

The day wasn't completely lost, foodwise, though.  Erin, Mandi, and I went to the Vinh Phat Oriental Market this evening.  Shockingly, I'd never been there before; this is sad, because it was great.  They had some intriguing produce (including some sort of citrus leaves that, on closer inspection, aren't in fact kaffir lime leaves, but which will likely serve in their stead in a tasty green curry).  I also got some satay beef jerky (!) and some fish sauce, mmm.  [I decided, after some thought, not to get the red fish sauce in which I could actually see myriad tiny whole fishes.]  This in addition to a bag of frozen leek dumplings (mmmm) and some frozen pork/shrimp dumplings.  They also had some nice-looking fresh fish in coolers there; I need to check out Tony's Seafood up on Plank Rd., where I have never gone (stupidly), to see how it compares quality/cost.

Taking our bounty (none of which have I listed above; this is other bounty), we went back to Erin's and made delicious chicken stir-fry with zucchini, fresh green beans, and mini corns, with medium-grain rice (yay glutinous rice!!!!).  We made dessert of some white chocolate/strawberry (them) and red bean (me) ice cream bars that we had gotten at Vinh Phat, along with some plum wine.  Ohio people: there was a kind of plum wine I liked, and I kind I didn't, but I couldn't remember what the brands were.  The kind we bought tonight was, I think, the one I didn't: Fu-Ki (too damn sweet).  Does anybody remember what kind I liked?

Then Mandi locked her keys in her car, and there was some madness involved there.... we seem to have broken her lock in getting in to the car.  Oops...  Sorry, Mandi.  But we watched Fat Actress in the meantime, so that was fun.

I can't wait to play with my new food toys!  Not to mention the food toys from Christmas (namely the mandoline!)

PS:  Oooh, I just remembered that I got a Target giftcard for Christmas.  Does that sound like a new pot to you?  Cause it sounds like a new pot to me.  Especially if I use some of the cash I got to trade up for an actual decent pot.  Woohoo!  Sweet ass, thank God I fucked up a pot, maybe I can get a totally bitchin' pot!  (What is *wrong* with me?)

Brokeback Mountain

It was so good.  So, so, so very good.  I was a little unsure at the beginning, when we're first introduced to Jack and Ennis, because Jake Gyllenhaal's mannerisms are somewhat stilted.  He seems less like a cowboy then like someone pretending to be a cowboy, which, fair enough I guess, since he is.  The thought did cross my mind that this might be an attempt on Gyllenhaal's part to telegraph some discomfort or chalance (that's... like nonchalance, except it is, really), but in the end if that's the case it wasn't the best move.  Anyway, that one little bit aside, the movie was just fantastic.  I know that I would have cried if I hadn't read the short story already.  As it was, I nearly did regardless -- I had somehow forgotten the degree to which helpless desperation pervades the story.  When Ennis is on the phone to Lureen, there's a scene of such casual brutality that I think the whole theater gasped... it hurt, viscerally.  It's a great film, and a credit to Lee, Ledger, Gyllenhaal, and all the rest's talents as filmmakers.

I bought a new pot on the way home.  I didn't get the big Calphalon pasta pot that I wanted, since Target didn't deign to carry it in the stock, but I did get the same basic thing in Chefmate.  Not quite as ooh-ah as the Calphalon, but still a fine piece.  I shall make red beans and rice tomorrow, in my nice new pot, and I won't fuck it up :)