Post-Thanksgiving Pre-Christmas Celebrations

Secret Not-Santa Turkey

The Rulez:
1) Must be under $10 or handmade
2) Must be a secret
3) Must be amazing

Apart from no 2, we kept it pretty good.

Here are the prizessss:



Dear Shawks, Here is a turby twist for your unruly hair. Love Rach.


Dear Mom, Here are some hello kitty things because you love her. Just keep that shizz outta my room. Love Me.


Dear Rach. Because You Love Nuts. Love Mom.


Dear Ronez, I'm sorry assholes like Clark steal your snapple. Love Shawks.


Dear Amanda. Here are some really awful socks. Love Ronez.

Rona Gets The Last Laugh

So, you know how I used to laugh at Rona all the time for meeting men on MySpace and Hot or Not (or worse, seekingarrangements.com) ?

It would appear that the whole "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy on life is my current one, because I've gone and joined something called woome.com . It's like speed dating on webcam...

... stop laughing.

Basically, you log on and they have sessions, and it can be anywhere from 2 on 2 to 4 on 4 (so basically, the 'anywhere' inbetween is only 3 on 3) and then you have one minute ++ 'sessions' with them, where you're meant to talk about whatever the session topic was, but really you spend most of the time going 'hello hello? Can you see me? I can see you..." and waiting for the lag to catch up. Then at the end you say if you were 'wooed' or not and if your person was wooed by you too you get their email add.

But, it's actually been kinda fun, met some cool people. I know, shock shock horror horror, who does that, there shouldn't be normal people on there. But I met a guy from UPenn who knows Caleb Yap (from AC), that's weird huh?

Anyhoo, Rona and I are totz competing to see who gets 'wooed' more. She's winning but I don't think it counts coz she has bad taste and presses woo for anyone. Slut.

So y'all should sign up and woome... Then I can win. Thanks I love you.

The Best Things In Life Are Free

Or: How to do Vegas the smart way.

Go with a native.

1) Stay with native, or, go when her mother is around to get you a room at the MGM.

2) Do meals with her relatives.

Eat: Buffet, Thanksgiving Dinner, Pizza, Thai, Pie, Vietnamese, Good ol' homecooked chinese food.

Be: a Fatty.

3) Watch movies at places where she has 'comps'. As in, here's your tickets and your popcorn, fatty.


This way, you get to spend all your money on:
Clothes. Shoes. And junk. Which are not on thanksgiving sale, for some reason.

Tonight after the movie, we also spent a really long time looking for this mystical sonic that Rach and I swore we saw on the way to somewhere. Our excuse was that I've never had it, and it's a must. When we finally saw it, Melissa swerved dangerously towards it. We all screamed, but not in terror of the impending death, but joy.

The end.

August Rush

I've been wanting to see this since Spring Break 05 when we saw this filming at NYU and took it for some shitty student film with a really hot guy and some dumb kid. I wish I could say it was the best movie ever, especially the bit where Wen, Aimee and I were in the background. Unforch, it was close to great but somehow missed the mark completely, and also, we totz weren't in the background. Or the foreground for that matter.

The sums: Keri Russell (aka Felicity) is a prissy Cello player. Jonathan Rhys Meyers (aka Bend it like Beckham's HOT coach, Vanity Fair's HOT if arrogant dude...) is a HOT irish rock band boy. They meet at a party and have a one night stand, then don't see each other for about 12 years. Meanwhile, they pine for each other, Keri Russell has (and loses) a baby, pine pine. Also, said lost baby (Freddie Highmore aka Charlie aka Asshole kid from Finding Neverland aka a young Russel Crowe in A Good Year aka PAN FROM GOLDEN COMPASS (!!! Did anyone know that???!!) ) grows up in some boys home outside new york, hearing music in everything and believing that music will bring him to his parents or vice versa. He runs off to the city to find them where he meets a CREEPER Robin Williams, who is the Fagin of modern days, then runs off from him and gets into Juliard and has a huge concert because he is a musical prodigy.

Not that sumful. Here's a more concise one:

Little Orphan boy searches for parents through music with the help of lots of black people. JRM is HOT.

A quote from Melissa: Really, all I learnt from this movie was that Jonathan Rhys Meyers is really hot.

The Good: Er, any shot where Jonathan Rhys Meyers is present. The music was amazing, and so were the musical montages. The use of polaroids. (Discussion on Polaroids to come) JRM's Irish band of brothers were pretty hot. Getting to see William Sadler (aka Sheriff Valenti from Roswell). The little kids. The build up about 15 minutes before the end of the movie.

(this pic is in polariod form for the movie but this is as close as I could get. Aww spooning. )

The Bad: The dialogue was SO SO SO bad. Corneee as the corn dog I just ate from Sonic, and just generally shite. The editing anywhere that the music wasn't. The unfulfilling ending (let down, anti-climax R US).

The Ugly: Robin Williams's red hair and piercings. Freddie Highmore's fake old man hands.

Some things were confusing too: How did Freddie get so good so quick? How did Felicity know the baby was a boy if she was all kinds of knocked out? How did JRM know that it was his kid on stage? How were there no sex scenes and barely any kissing? How come JRM was wearing a shirt all the time? Where can I get me a JRM?

And again, I was reminded how hot it would be to be someone's muse and get a great song written about how much someone loves you. Particulary if said someone was as hot as JRM. You think he can't get much better looking, but really, put him in a leather jacket (y'all know I love the leather jacketed man...) on stage with some other hot men, and wow wow whee.

:)

Yay or Nay? Yay to all girls, because you can't miss JRM. Yay to people who are big music fans. Nay to guys bringing a girl on a date coz she's gonna find you disappointing after this movie. Nay to groups of guys, because even a group of 3 girls spent a great deal of time saying "this movie is really gay."

Here's a shirtless pic. I think he's hotter in the movie, but really, why not right?

Cap ou pas cap?

So, my brother seems to be living Love Me If You Dare.

Here's a convo:

Hamtaru says: do u have any boxers in singapore

moooo says: no i dont think so but i just bought you 3 pairs

Hamtaru says: i have to ... wear ur underwear for a day

moooo says: why do you have ot wear my underwear

Hamtaru says: me n my fren were ing extreme dare

moooo says: hahah idiot. whats he gonna do

Hamtaru says: and i have to wear ur bra and stuff it

moooo says: ahahha are there even any bras there? you can wear a thong. there should be oen that says cowgirl or something on it

Hamtaru says: she has to wear this rly rly rly disgusting guy in my class boxers. we all h8 him. and she has to do some othr stuff

moooo says: with a girl, you ve been playing this with a girl?


Yea, I know, shock of your life, right?? Shock of mine at least.

Here's some of their other dares.

- i have to wedgy this rly rough guy who is gonna beat me up after
- and i have to jump onto this big guy ant put my arms around his neck my legs around his body
- and i have to do many more stuff which are rly evil
- she has to grab this guyz ass... the disgusting guy

Viva Las Vegas!!!

There's something a little ironic about spending Thanksgiving in Sin City, even if it is with a friend's families.

The Perfect Paella.... almost

Version 2.0 was considerably better than my first attempt -- I got the colour down and everything. :) Grin grin.

So for this one, I used:

1 boneless chicken thigh
1 carton of chicken stock (I have NO idea what the qty is on this, but it's the blue and white box)
1 can tomatoes
1 yellow pepper (in inch strips)
1 onion (diced)
1/2 bunch asparagus (chopped into inch long peices)
2 cups rice

Paprika
Salt/Pepper
Olive Oil
Yellow food colouring (or saffron, if you're classy)

Lemon

Hokay, so. Let me try and remember what I did. Marinate the chicken in some paprika, salt pepper and olive oil. Leave it for a couple of hours.

Coat the bottom of the pan in olive oil on med heat and throw in the onion and bell peppers. Salt and pepper. Let them sweat til they're tender.
Cube the chicken and dredge in flour. Push the onions to one side of the pan and brown the chicken on the other. (That's really just for convenience...) When browned, stir it all together. Add the can of tomatoes and a tsp of paprika. Add half the chicken stock plus about a tea spoon of yellow food colouring and stir it all together. Throw on the rest of the stock. Let simmer for 8 min ish. (While simmering, preheat the oven to 350 F).

Turn off the stove and cover the pan with foil (I didn't do this and as a result my rice got all not cooked on the top). If the rice is already at the top of the chicken stock, add a little more, or else water is fine too. Stick it in the oven for 15 minutes.

Tada! ( I hope)

Serve with lemon wedges.

Thanksgiving Treats

They don't look very good but thats coz my camera has gone all funny and is taking ugly pictures. I assure you they were delish.

Cranberry & Pecan Sugar Cookies (makes 3 dozen)

So, first we make some basic sugar cookies... I use this:

3 cups flour
3/4 tsb baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla

Beat the butter and sugar together, as usual, add egg and vanilla and keep beating. Sift in the dry stuff, add milk. Mix some more.

This should now be a big ball of poop. Delicious poop.

Add in:
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped dried (or fresh? but I think tinned will be too soggy) cranberries

Mix all together, then dump them on to a long sheet of clingfilm and roll into a log (I usually make 2 logs or else it makes an outrageously long snake) about 1 1/2 inch in diameter.

Fridge for at least an hour, if you're lazy overnight.

Return after watching Heroes, or Grey's, or 2 episodes of Degrassi or Friends reruns ( I guess you can watch other stuff too) and take the rolls out of the fridge.

Cut the logs into 1/3 inch thick slices. I rolled coated mine in powdered sugar, but I guess you could skip that if you want. You might want to shape them a bit better too, or not.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes (maybe longer if you left it in the fridge overnight...)
Let cool.

Melt 4 sq of Giraldi semi-sweet chocoate (I dont remember how much that is, but really I just used the leftover chocolate from the cheesecake) with 1/2 a cup of heavy whipping cream (I'm sure you could use regular cream) and stir on low heat to thicken, you might want to add a little vanilla, but maybe not.

Half dip the cookies in the chocolate. Leave to set.

Eat and be a fatty.

Here is my fine Microsoft Paint masterpiece that I'm sure everyone loves. But anyway,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SU LING
I LOVE YOU MANY MANY!

Mars and Venus

So, in a convo with my neighbour, we both discovered that we fall in and out of love easily and frequently. So here's the difference:

Him: Amanda, I fall in love with girls and fall out of love with them when I realize they aren't interested in me.

Me: I fall in love with boys and fall out of love when they are interested in me. Which is why I love jerks.

Him: No, you love jerks because you are a girl.

So let's say, all girls think like me and all boys like he.

Null Hypothesis: I am happily in love and loved back.

Reject null because: If I love a boy, and he loves me because he sees that I love he, then I will fall out of love with him because of the Me clause.

I just got really confused as to why my love life is not happening, but I've found the fallacy: Clause He only works if he has already fallen in love with me, that he would see that I love him and thus not drop me. (But I'd drop him).

It's too late at night for these types of mathematical theories.

But it does explain how guys get over things so fast.

Paula's Cheesecake

So, I made this a buncha weeks ago, but the computer was out of order. But here it is!

From Paula Deen's Quick & Easy Meals magazine

2 Cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs (I used regular and that was fine.. I think digestives would work too)
1/2 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter
2 1/4 softened cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup baileys
Chocolate glaze (laterz)

Oven at 325 F
Mix crumbs, brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, butter. Press into bottom and a bit of the side of a 10 inch springform pan. Bake for 10 min.
Beat cream cheese until creamy (if you dont have a mixer, hungry neighbours are useful) add sugar and keep beating. Add eggs one at a time, beat those too. Now the vanilla, beat.
Half the batter goes into the pan, then stir the baileys in with the other half. Pour that over the first layer. Bake for 1 h.
Remove and let cool for 10 min, spread chocolate glaze over then fridge for 8 hours.

The Glaze:
1/4 cup butter
2 oz semi sweet chocolate (I used the classy one that begins with G that i cant spell and it was AMAZINGGGGG)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt.

Melt butter and sugar over med-low heat, then whisk in the rest and cook over med-low heat for 2 min, whisking constantly.


Now, I know that was just a total rip off of the magazine, but I thought it would be rude to show the picture and not say how to do it. I saved some of the finely chopped nuts to sprinkle on top, you can have whipped cream too if you feel really fat.

Mac-n-cheese-osti?

It's getting cold her in Sunny California, so here's a carbo-loading comfort food that I made the other day... dedicated to Su and Adelle, and the good ol' days in Marche.

Kraft macaroni and cheese may be a classic, but I'm finding it increasingly texture/taste less. On the other hand, I have about 55 thousand boxes (er, not really that many) left over from my freshman year dining dollars. I made up a box the other day, it was orrite but nothing amazing. Half went in the fridge as leftovers. Inspired by Paula Deen, The Cheesecake Cafe, Sonic and not wanting to be fat enough to deep fry it, I would like to introduce:

The Mac-n-Cheese-Osti!

To do it as I did it, You need:
A box of macaroni and cheese
Garlic Powder
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese (the powdery kind you put on pizza not the grated kind)

Make up the macaroni and cheese, stirring in some salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. I had mine in the fridge, so it dries up a bit, but I don't think you need to.

Put a thin layer of oil in a pan, on med heat. Put a thin layer of parmesan on the pan. Chuck the mac n cheese in. Squash it down with a spatula into a sort of pancake. Sprinkle parmesan on this side too. Cook for about 4 min (depending on the size of the pan, how much mac n cheese there is...) then flip and do the same on the other side. (Here's a flipping tip: It's frugging hard to flip mac n cheese, so you can slide it on a plate then put the pan over it to cover the uncooked side and flip it then... no fancy pancake moves needed.)

Serve with marinara sauce.

BONUS FEATURE!!

Because I love you all so much, here's something I thought of AFTER I had made mine. And you really only need soem grated cheese, I'd say cheddar or mozerella. This is for those who love cheese.

Put only half the mac n cheese down, squash into pancake like I said before. Sprinkle with grated cheese, then put the rest of the mac n cheese over it and squash that bit down too. Continue as you would have.

TADA! Theoretically, you should get a macncheeseosti that oozes with melted cheese when you cut into it.

Be Prepared!

My computer is home and safe!

So get ready for an onslaught of useless posts as I rekindle my romance with my darling.