Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

I watched Cat On A Hot Tin Roof this weekend and fell totally in love with Liz Taylor. I wholeheartedly agree with Burl Ives when he says, "There is life in that woman!" However, my love affair with the woman in the movie just wasn't meant to be. Here is the proof:

Bisteeya: Moroccan Pastry

MoroccanPastry
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can condensed chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/2 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 whole chicken breasts, chunked (or tofu)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
5 eggs, lightly beaten
16 filo pastry sheets
1/2 cup melted butter

Combine sugar and ground cinnamon. Set this aside.

In large heavy pan, combine chicken broth, water, cinnamon stick, ginger, turmeric, onion, parsley and garlic; add chicken. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 10 minutes or until done. Remove chicken from broth. Reduce broth to 1 1/2 cups; add lemon juice. Remove cinnamon stick. Gradually pour eggs into broth, stirring gently until eggs are set; chill.

In buttered 12" round baking pan arrange 4 filo sheets and brush each with butter. Top with 4 more filo sheets allowing 1/2 of each sheet to extend beyond the edge of the pan in a star. Brush each sheet with butter. Arrange chicken over filo sheets and spoon broth/egg mixture over chicken. Sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Cover with 4 more filo sheets and brush each with butter. Fold extended sheets over top and brush again with butter. Arrange remaining 4 sheets over top and brush each with butter. Tuck in ends; brush with butter.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes and turn upside down on a large buttered baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes more or until done. Turn upside down on a serving platter then dust with additional sugar and cinnamon.

Going outside is not worth the humiliation

Going outside is not worth the humiliation
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

It has been raining like crazy again and I've started using the doggie rain jackets on Rufus and Apple. Rufus looks miserable here, but he really perks up once he gets outside. He hates the rain more than the confining raincoat. Apple on the other hand tries to scrape it off with every tree and bush she passes. It has gotten to the point where I actually put the elastic band under her tail to hold the jacket in place. Most ignomious!

Phil's Rack

Phil's Rack
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Phil's BBQ is one of only a handful of decent BBQ places in San Diego. For years he ran a small place in Hillcrest that was always packed. Recently he opened up a new larger location and it is just as crowded as the old one. The meat is smoked well and the sauce is pretty good, but it still doesn't hold a candle to what you can get back in Tennessee. There must be something fundamentally at odds between good BBQ and health code enforcement. There was another good place up in Encinitas that was run by a guy from Alabama but it was shut down recently for.... are you ready? Health code violations.

Apple and Rufus

Apple and Rufus
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

This picture of Apple and Rufus was taken right before they were let out on the boardwalk at Mission Beach. They terrorized the seagulls, joggers, and homeless people for several hours before they were forced to go home again. This is my favorite picture of these two!

Roger the Shrubber plays hockey?

CallMeRoger
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Roger the Shrubber lives in San Diego and apparently plays hockey with the Knights Who Say Ni.

RuralSexual

RuralSexual
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

I was proud to be metro until I saw this!

Dad at the McMinnville air museum

McMinnville air museum
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Dad and I went to the McMinnville air museum over the Christmas holidays. We wandered around the museum for hours and had a blast. The museum was built around the Spruce Goose and is in turn surrounded by a large vineyard. I did wine tastings at the museum, but the only thing worth buying was the non-alcoholic pinot noir grape juice. Dad got really excited when he saw this plane because it was one of the ones he worked on when he was in the National Air Guard. Seeing this aircraft reminded him of people and stories that I had never heard before.

Rufus and his cow

ILoveMyCow
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Rufus is still in love with the cow. It has been washed several times, but is still rather nasty to touch. He carries it with him almost everywhere he goes and yes he does in fact sleep with it. If you squeak it or mess with it in any way he gets upset. He will chuff and bark until you hand it back to him.

Holiday Door Decorating Contest

Holiday Door Decorating Contest
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

We went all out for the door decorating contest at work this year. I put two 19" monitors up behind the glass door that looped a video of a fire in the fireplace and three Christmas videos looping in the giant Samsung plasma. "The Grinch" was the general favorite, but I rather preferred the "Heat Miser, Cold Miser" song. This maddened the people whose offices were nearby. Jazz spent hours making the fireplace out of keyboard boxes and pilfered rocks from the landscaping outside. The stockings are the ones I used for Rufus last year and still had some yummy doggie treats inside. Sadly, we had to take it down last week but the memories of the best Christmas ever will linger in my heart for the rest of my life.

A resolution for a new year?

OK, so it has been a long time since I've updated anything . I'm sorry. I have excuses, but they are lame and I'm just going to have to chalk it up to laziness on my part. So here it is! My first blog entry in 15 months.