Pecan Cake

I wanted to make a dessert for St. Patrick's Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage. I flipped through some recipes I cut out of Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living magazines and found this one for Pecan Cake with Rum Frosting.

This cake wasn't the one I was looking for, but I came across it first and it sounded so good. I know the second picture sucks, but this was the best of the individual piece pictures I took and I wanted to show a view of the actual cake since I kept the cake in the pan for transport and serving. I stuck to the recipe as written with the exception of dyeing the frosting green to be festive and having to bake it slightly longer than suggested. It must have been the glass pan's fault it took extra time.

Tonight on Turner Classic Movies...

A while ago, my cable package got rid of CMT and added TCM. I just about never watched the country channel but have watched a lot of the movie channel.

I'll be watching tonight starting at 8:00 PM. There is a special called, "Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood" about animator/director Chuck Jones after which they are playing classic Warner Brothers cartoons like "One Froggy Evening" and "What's Opera Doc?" The special reruns at 10:30pm and is followed by "The Phantom Tollbooth," which Jones directed.

If you need to know more about Jones before committing yourself to this evening, check out his website.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I thought these cookies looked so cute on the baking sheet, all nice and lined up. I didn't use the Jif recipe this time. I like the Jif recipe better because they have a soft and chewy texture, but these are a safer choice to take to a party because they aren't too soft or too crisp. They held up well throughout the week, too. The first batch I made were so successful that I made another batch a few days later.

Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Glaze

These pictures are kind of ugly, but the cake was delicious.

Chocolate cake, faux ganache filling, strawberry glaze. This cake had to replace the one I wanted to make when I couldn't find a recipe that I liked. I wanted a chocolate cake with a fudge filling, topped with a strawberry glaze. Ideally, this would have been a Bundt cake. Unfortunately, the only from scratch recipes I could find involved nuts and the birthday boy doesn't like nuts so it wouldn't work. The strawberry glaze was a little thin and spread a bit more than I wanted, but that was because I added a few extra strawberries to make it pinker.

And the Oscar Goes to...

Picks in all caps and bold

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

I really hope Slumdog wins because it was my favorite of the five.


BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins
Frank Langella
Sean Penn
Brad Pitt
MICKEY ROURKE

He's been cleaning up for playing a faded wrestler, plus his dog just died and he needs to thank her again.


BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway
Angelina Jolie
Melissa Leo
Meryl Streep
KATE WINSLET

Holocaust + accent + aging makeup = Oscar


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin
Robert Downey, Jr.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
HEATH LEDGER
Michael Shannon

Oh c'mon!


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS
Penelope Cruz
Viola Davis
Taraji P. Henson
Marisa Tomei

Hard one to call. If Amy doesn't get it Taraji will although I liked her better in Hustle and Flow.


BEST DIRECTOR
DANNY BOYLE (Slumdog Millionaire)
Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
Gus Van Sant (Milk)

Same reason as Best Picture


ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Frozen River
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
MILK
Wall-E

I think they'll throw Milk a bone here.


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

I heard it was a hard adaptation.


CINEMATOGRAPHY
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

I think it's between Slumdog and Changeling, but I hope Slumdog cleans up most of the categories for which it's nominated.


FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
WALTZ WITH BASHIR

It's been playing at the art houses for a while, and I don't know much about the others


ANIMATED FEATURE
Bolt
Kung-Fu Panda
WALL-E

I hear they won't go back until they've kissed a girl.


EDITING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

This one usually follows best picture, doesn't it? Milk better not win this because I totally saw a boom mic in one shot.


ART DIRECTION
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
THE DUCHESS
Revolutionary Road

I'm going with the most periody of the choices. Benjamin Button might get more love than I think.


LIVE ACTION SHORT
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND)

Holocaust movie.


ANIMATED SHORT
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory -- Lovestory
Oktapodi
PRESTO
This Way Up

If Wall-E doesn't win Presto might not win.


COSTUME DESIGN
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road

Same reason as Art Direction unless they give it to Australia to make Hugh a happy host.


MAKEUP
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

I liked the makeup more than the movie itself. I particularly liked the chins on the old people.


ORIGINAL SCORE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Wall-E

Hoping for a sweep!


DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
THE WITNESS - FROM THE BALCONY OF ROOM 306

I'm going with the longest title.


DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
MAN ON WIRE
Trouble the Water

That crazy French guy was on the talk show circuit. Plus, it's the twin towers.


SOUND MIXING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Wall-E
Wanted

I like the way the host said Millonaire. No "yun" sound


SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Wall-E
Wanted

Hmm. Wanted might pull an upset and sweep the sound categories but I'll stick with Slumdog.


VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
THE DARK KNIGHT
Iron Man

Bat-pod!

Heart and Soul

Tomorrow night, Rozi's Wine House in Lakewood is hosting a Charity Wine Tasting to raise awareness for congenital heart disease. It's $25 and no reservations are required.

A friend and I went last year, and it was incredible. But, we made the mistake of getting there an hour or two after it began and didn't get to sample all of the wines. We did get to taste all of the food that was prepared by Lolita executive chef Matt Harlan, which was great. We talked to the chef for a while too, and he's a really nice guy.

So, if you are in the area and have the money and time, come out and drink with us. If you have lots of money you can bid on the silent auction items. Last year they were auctioning off a chance to ride a Zamboni. Who doesn't love a Zamboni?

Super Bowl Cookies

I was invited to a Super Bowl party that was also a potluck event. Naturally, I brought a dessert. I debated about what to bring, but ultimately I decided to make chocolate chip cookies because I thought I had all of the ingredients in (I didn't and had to run to the store on Sunday morning) and because they're ready in a flash.

I made one batch in a large pan so they would be thin enough to cut with a football cookie cutter after they cooled. I made the other batch with my signature no burnt chocolate chips on the bottom method. I used about a quarter cup of dark brown sugar and half a cup of light brown sugar instead of just a 3/4 cup of light brown sugar in the recipe to make the cookies a little browner.

I was surprised that the footballs were eaten faster than the regular shaped ones. I prefer the regular cookies. Actually, I prefer the edges that were left in the pan after the footballs were cut. I like a crispy cookie.