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Friday, May 16th, 2008
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9:11 am - Wine Seller
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Last night's Gourment Wine Cellar event at the Field Museum was such a kick. It was extremely confusing when I first got there because I didn't understand the layout and I didn't know where my table was. I was only pouring one wine (Scala Dei Negre 2005, Priorat) and even thought I knew what the label looked like and the table was supposed to be set up I still couldn't find it. Ack.
I was there in plenty of time, though, really. My table was paired with Chef Christophe David's table from NoMI, who was serving, no kidding, Jamón ibérico sliced right from the leg, just like in that Wikipedia picture. It went on top of an asparagus and parmesean mousse and braised morels. My wine went really nicely with it, and though I really didn't get to chat with Chef David I did chat a little with his sous and another kitchen lackey who turned out to be from Kendall (she looked familiar, but we don't know each other) and they confirmed that Chef David is pretty much as nice as he seems, in addition to being as talented as is obvious.
It was a huge night of local heavyweights. I learned enough about Priorat to present myself as knowledgeable ("Is wine from Priorat always 100% garnacha?" "Why, no, sometimes they blend it with up to 15% carignan") (I got the feeling that was a 'test' question). A few drunks, a few nerds, more than a few snobs, a ton ton ton of industry people, I think I sold Frontera Grill on the wine and impressed a New Zealand importer enough for him to give me his card, which I THINK was just business but given my apparent appeal to the over-60 set lately, who knows.
Anyway, it was a blast. I have two more this weekend at Sam's, which are just in-store tastings. I think I'm pretty good at this!
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| Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
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12:17 pm - Death By Coffee Cake
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I wish I understood better how to make graphs in Illustrator. This is going to make me insane. I guess it would help if I understood the graph tool in any program, but I don't. I don't do the graphs around here. I do the software that everybody else is afraid of but I'm sometimes afraid to report exactly how many hours it took me to do something that somebody who actually knows the software could do in about a tenth of the time. Ultimately the document in question does look better, so I guess that's what matters.
I made a blueberry coffee cake last night with a crumble topping. I'm not sure I should be telling anybody this, but the buttermilk I used to make the cake expired in January. And not late January either. It was highly cultured buttermilk. Tres sophisticated. It smelled fine and looked fine (ok, maybe it smelled like strong buttermilk), and I figured I was going to be cooking it long enough at a high enough temp to kill anything that might be dangerous so I said to myself: What's more important here: Blueberry coffee cake or avoiding death or serious illness? The answer I got was "blueberry coffee cake", so there you go.
For the record I have consumed several pieces, as have my neighbor and my coworker and my husband and none of us are dead or ill as far as I know. So far so good.
Wednesday is a little rainy here. Can't believe how quickly the day is getting away.
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| Friday, May 9th, 2008
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3:19 pm - You Didn't Ask, But...
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8:35 am - Friday, So Far
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So here it is Friday...and it's freezing. Well ok not FREEZING, but it's definitely chilly. The only good thing about it is that I purchased Hot Boots at DSW (the Zappos ones didn't work out - they were super comfortable but really kind of droopy or something. Droopy = not Hot) and they were on clearance because it was the end of the season (so Zappos = $140, DSW = $50) so I figured I wouldn't really get to wear them until the fall. BUT because it's been chilly a few days in the spring, I've donned the Hot Boots and I have to say I like the results. I would post a photo, but I don't have my camera with me and the only way to take a photo would be to stick my leg up in front of my monitor and take a picture with iPhoto, and you know...there is no saying that I won't do that when my coworker is out in the little consultants' room or something.
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) happinesstogo is the best house guest ever in the history of house guests, and I highly recommend if you have a chance to have her in your house that you do so. She could be a professional house guest. You could rent her out like: "Oh, Aunt Janine - you and your four kids are coming to town? And you're bringing the dog? And you want me to cook because you don't have money to eat out? I'm so sorry - I have a house guest that week." And then you call up happinesstogo and she comes and stays at your house and you're safe.
And just this minute I am chatting with her and we are going for a Thai buffet for lunch.
So that's so far today.
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| Monday, May 5th, 2008
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9:59 am - Impromptu
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It was fun to have an impromptu dinner party last night with doraphilia, picodulce and happinesstogo, who is in town visiting and staying at Casa Rum Holiday for a few days. Dora and Norman were in the 'hood looking at a bike, I already had dinner ready for when Nikki arrived, and it just all worked out to have dinner together! Doug unfortunately had to work, but we did save him some wild mushroom cobbler and a glass of wine. It's always really fun when those things come together though!
Yesterday I had to do a lot of cleaning because I didn't get anything done at all on Saturday. I got up super late and was not feeling very well really, so while my apartment is not as clean as it really should be for guests, I think it is mostly acceptable. It's not as if the nightly room rate is that high after all.
It's Monday and I'm not very motivated. I did go to the gym (one of those "get out of bed, you're just being lazy" mornings) so +1 for that, but -1 for being out of coffee at work and also -1 for not bringing anything for lunch. +1 for the weather, but -1 for this stupid Illustrator Graph tool. Boo.
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| Friday, May 2nd, 2008
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3:59 pm - Werdz For Some
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At Doug's restaurant there was a special benefit event being held by a charity the other night. The menu was printed on one side, and the name of the organization on the other.
The name of the organization was printed thusly:
Liturature For All
Sigh.
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| Friday, April 25th, 2008
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9:50 am - Wine Event
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Went to a wine tasting event in the neighborhood last night. The Jarvis Square area has really built up nicely over the last couple of years. It's kind of this strange little pocket near the el stop that has attracted some cute little businesses, including most recently a wine and cheese shop.
I was really disappointed in the event. I know it was their first one, but when they told me on Monday that they were selling 200 tickets I was a little wary - the space is not that big, even if they were opening up the restaurant and the wine shop for it. Sure enough it was jam packed. We were disappointed that we got there late but later on our friends told us that everyone mobbed the place when it first opened and had just kind of settled down a bit (really?) when we got there. Also, the appetizers that were supposed to be there? Not so much. Cheese and bread do not appetizers make. Also: cornichons stuffed in olives and wrapped with prosciutto are nice, but not wine friendly.
We did find a couple of wines we liked that we actually would buy though we didn't buy anything last night.
And Alpana Singh stayed for about 45 minutes. Not that I cared really, but she didn't really seem to mingle with the crowd very much and mostly seemed as annoyed as the rest of us were that it was so jammed in there.
The glasses they gave us also were those stemless wine glasses. I am really not into this trend. They look cool, but folks: stemware has a stem for a reason. I don't like my fingers all over the glass and I don't like having to worry about altering the temperature of the wine with the heat from my hand. I know not everyone cares about this, but I do. Put me down for "no" on stemless wine glasses.
Overall, meh. Would not go again.
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| Thursday, April 24th, 2008
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9:53 am - Shrug
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| Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
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10:19 am - Pour Me
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I have two more pourings coming up, one at Whole Foods (don't know which one, or what I'm pouring) and I landed a kind of big one for a kind of big event at the Field Museum, where there will be famous people and industry people and I will have to know what I am talking about. I'm only pouring one wine, but I will have to know the Priorat DOC DOQ* (Spain) inside and out.
Did I get up and go to the gym today? I think I did. I feel like I did. Oh right, I was annoyed that for some reason everybody decided to do arms/upper body today and all of the machines I use were taken. So I guess I did go. Also: sore pecs.
I can do half-push ups now. Like, I can go down about halfway and I can push myself back up. This is, believe it or not, an improvement. I think some people are just born with different strengths! That is just not one of mine. I was going to say that my strengths are not in my upper body, but this is a family-oriented journal and that is just inviting trouble.
I DON'T WANT NO TROUBLE.
*ETA: See, I learned something already!
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| Monday, April 21st, 2008
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10:13 am - Monday/Food
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Last night I made the best meatloaf I have made for a long time. Sometimes a meatloaf hits the spot. Lately I have been preparing a kind of larger comfort food-type meal on Sundays even though Doug has been working because then he has something to eat when he gets home and I have leftovers for lunches and nights that I don't necessarily feel like making a whole meal just for me. Meatloaf sandwiches can be kind of great, so we went with that this week. Also I had some Idaho bakers, so I decided to twice-bake them with some leftover spoonfuls of sour cream and ricotta that were otherwise just going to go bad (ricotta in mashed or twice baked potatoes is totally decadent and delicious). Then I made chocolate shortbread cookies with cacao nibs and red alea sea salt. I thought at first that they were too crumbly but after I let them sit for a minute they were divine. I think I ate about a dozen of them.
I did not do much this weekend, all told, so I'll talk more about food: Tonight I have 4 legs of duck confit that are getting to the point that they should be consumed (nice and aged), so I'm going to crisp those up and make a roasted balsamic shallot sauce and some asparagus with pancetta and shaved asiago. Because Doug IS home tonight.
I am going over to my friend Jeff's house on Wednesday to discuss a totally fun Jeff project that I will be a part of! And it involves cooking! I will say more about it when I actually know more about it, but working with Jeff is always a blast.
It's going up to 76 today. Hooray.
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| Sunday, April 13th, 2008
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10:51 am - Up
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Well I came out mostly ahead, financially anyway, this weekend.
The tasting was fun. I think I sold a lot of Sauvignon Blanc! The not fun part was waiting for the bus at the corner of Roosevelt and Jefferson in the dark and the rain. Yikes. Next time I'll drive. I considered taking a cab but...paying for a cab from the South Loop sort of would have defeated the purpose of working.
The tasting attendees ran the full gamut from total newbies ("What's the difference between these two white wines?" Well, the Sauvignon Blanc is lighter and crisper than the Chardonnay and they have very different flavor profiles. "No, I mean, what makes this one a Chardonnay?") (I was kind, managing to explain that wines were made from different kinds of grapes without making him feel like a dumbass) (I mean, that's a really really basic question, but I figure if he felt comfortable enough to ask that I could answer his question as if I were answering one about malolactic fermentation. If he's remotely interested in wine I'd rather encourage that then point out what he already knows, which is that he's asking a pretty basic question.) to the dweebs who wouldn't rinse their glass with the water provided for fear that any trace of chlorine would taint their palates and asked me to rinse their glasses with the $30 Chardonnay instead. Ugh.
Then last night I played poker. The two big hands I won were both the auction game, where you have your hand and cards down on the table face down which the dealer flips one by one and auctions them off. If you want the card you bid on it, sometimes against other players, and if you win it you put a card from your hand in its place and so on until you get all the way through the cards on the table. This game takes a Long Time, and it gets crazy when people start bidding $6 for, like, a six of diamonds. BUT the great part about it is if you hang back and quietly bid on the things you want you can sometimes get them cheap and then win everybody's money with your nicely constructed full boat. Heh. Twice. Double heh. It meant I went home $33 up rather than $8 down. Sweet!
I know everyone loves Texas Hold 'Em but I think it's kind of boring, especially to play all damn night. I prefer the ridiculous dealer's choice games.
Today I have already cleaned my kitchen, which already makes me feel better. Lately I have been feeling resistant to being in the kitchen and I thought a good cleaning might help that. And it does! I'll go grocery shopping in a little while and I think I'll make some chocolate shortbread cookie with cacao nibs and sea salt. Mmmm...cookies.
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| Friday, April 11th, 2008
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2:11 pm - Friday!
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It's Friday and while I have nothing super exciting to report, nobody around here is posting today. I know it's boring the heck out of ME, so I'm doing my part. By the time you get to the end of this post you might say "why did you bother?", but you don't know that yet so as of this paragraph there is still hope that I might say something entertaining.
Tonight is Binny's tasting. I'm a little nervous in that I've never actually done this, or met the person I'm working for, or received any official training, or been to this Binny's location, but I am solid on the wines (Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc & Chard from NZ, Casa Apostolle Cuvee Alexandre Merlot, Cab and Chard, and Clos Apalta, which is a blend of Carmenere/Merlot and Cab made by the Casa Apostolle folks) and I can talk them up. I have my wine key and my black clothing and my charm. Buy some wine!
Tomorrow I am playing poker. Heh.
Today is Eddie's birthday. I already emailed him but it's become tradition to announce it here every April 11, so...HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDDIE! U R OLD! And Stupid Gene Dante! I am totally booting that guy from my MySpace friends!
When it was warm the other day my upstairs neighbors went out on their back porch and played some bluegrass music. This made me happy, and I am looking forward to more warmer weather. Some neighbors don't like other neighbors singing on the back porch (Don't you assholes know what time it is???), but I do. I was thinking that when it gets a little nicer I should organize a "grill & cooler day" for the building (our porch is made of metal and the building is brick - our old artist neighbor Ivan used to have bonfires on it, which seems ill advised regardless, but nothing ever burnt down) where we all just grill and make Jack & Lemonade and play music and hang out on the porches.
And OK, I should get back to my database (whee!) but that's my Friday.
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| Monday, April 7th, 2008
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4:52 pm - Trash Snacks
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Jeepers...despite the fact that this stuff is practically screaming "I'M NO FUN" (like, no wonder the boss pitched it), it's actually...kinda good!
no cholesterol, gluten free, dairy free, vegan, wheat free, no preservatives
It's Mrs. May's Pumpkin Crunch, and I'm giving it a thumbs up.
A+++ would pick from trash again.
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2:51 pm - Snacks!
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So your boss cleans out his desk, you notice, and in the trash can amongst the papers and old receipts you see that he has discarded three perfectly good, unopened and pre-expiration date bags of organic trail mix. The bags themselves are undamaged, and there does not appear to be any old fruit or otherwise gross and/or smelly things touching the bags themselves. My boss just doesn't like trail mix.
So...do I...
Poll #1167355 Snacks
Open to: All, results viewable to: AllEat the snacks?
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1:56 pm - Affirmation
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When the printer jams, I refuse to accept it as a personal failing.
Printers jam. If you back away and stop flailing, I'll do my voodoo on it and we'll all get back to work.
Thank you.
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| Friday, April 4th, 2008
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2:24 pm - Wishful
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I wish I didn't have a headache. It's Friday!
I wish it wasn't cold and rainy out. It's Spring!
I was going to say I wish the White Sox were winning, but...now they are!
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| Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
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11:23 am - Wine, Hot Dogs
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I have my first pouring for my new gig next Friday! It's a Southern Hemisphere tasting (S. Hemisphere = Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Argentina) at the Binny's in the S. Loop. It costs some dough to get in but if you're around come stop by my table! I won't be able to chat with you because I'm working, but you'll be able to witness how professional and knowledgeable I am. This could be a pretty fun side thing.
What happened to this "Out Like A Lamb" thing, March? Go back, do over.
Today is hot dog day in the lobby of the building. My coworker went for a second hot dog last year and was refused, so he is plotting his run for a second this time around. I believe he brought two different colored shirts today, hoping that's enough to throw them off (that and the removal of is glasses).
I never ate so many hot dogs before I moved to Chicago. Truefax.
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| Thursday, March 27th, 2008
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1:50 pm - Today
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Back at work, Doug back at home. There is news about his trip but unless you are my friend you will not be able to read it (sorry Eddie and Michelle! Get a LiveJournal!).
Doug went this morning to the vet to deal with picking up the carrier and with the arrangements. They are making us buy the urn. They sorta have you over a barrel with that.
I'm sad and I miss him, and I can't really yet believe that he's gone. But you know, from what little research I did and from what I heard from my sister's cat vet friend, cats with heart failure generally live an average of 90 days, and that's with stellar treatment and nothing else wrong. If we had been able to stabilize him we might have been in for a couple of weeks of torment trying to find the thing that was going to just make him all better, something that just wasn't ever going to happen (if you happen to know something about how cats with heart failure can live for a hundred years or something if you just got them the right treatment now would not be the time to correct me)(Just FYI, thanks). If Doug had not gone out of town I would not have taken that day off, and I would have missed spending the day with Grommit. I would have gone to work, Doug would have dropped him off at the vet and I never would have seen him again.
I'm not saying there is any real silver lining to this, but I can be grateful that we were spared having to make any tough decisions, that we didn't spend a fortune to try to stave off an inevitable outcome, and that I did get to spend most of his last day with him.
So yeah, I'm back at work. And it's Thursday. What a strange week.
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| Monday, March 17th, 2008
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12:38 pm - America Makes It Better
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You know what? I like white "Irish" Soda Bread with raisins in it.
Horrors.
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10:44 am
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Happy St. Patrick's Day. It seems like we are celebrating it not so much with Irish Luck as with Murphy's Law.
So Friday, as you know, was an evening with the Amazing Little Miss G (M: I AM SORRY I DIDN'T CLEAN UP THE CRAYONS & STUFF BUT YOU GUYS CAME HOME TOO EARLY) and Saturday was the baking of several loaves of soda bread. Yesterday the O was having some trivia/darts/pool thing that my team lost miserably at (seriously!). This week is a short week heading into a 5-day weekend for me (YEAH). It seems sort of random to have Good Friday off, but it seems like the stock exchange (which my company's holidays are based on) needs a miracle these days so maybe if all those brokers put their heads down and pray hard this will all work out for the best.
In the meantime I just don't even look at my admittedly meager investments whilst clutching any sharp objects.
Whoa Abba drummer! That's just...awful!
I so wish it would get warmer.
Q: How is Chicago Winter 2008 like a hippie?
A: It comes for a visit and it never ever leaves.
WARM UP ALREADY.
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