Outsourced

I saw a good movie over Thanksgiving weekend (what else did you expect me to do?). Although I fear that I am much behind my usual movie pace -- especially as we are in full holiday movie season mode. This one is even from way back. Outsourced will surely make you feel good -- for a number of reasons. I'll let you find out what they are when you watch the movie yourself -- but it confirms that travel only lifts the soul and makes you whole. Plus, it has local ties, with part of the film shot in Seattle.

Dessert or Brain Matter?

At the end of the Indonesian feast, there was an apple galette (by yours truly) but also a durian fruit to sample. I tried it and it was not bad. I have to say that I was disappointed at how unadventurous the rest of the group was -- refusing to even come within breathing distance of the prickly fruit. Why?

...the edible flesh within emits the distinctive odour, which is regarded as either fragrant or overpowering and offensive...

In many SE Asian countries, it is illegal to bring them on public transit, hotel rooms, or in rental cars. Even so, I still say try one if you ever get the chance....

Indonesian Feast -- Homestyle

I got a cooking lesson in the ways of Indonesian food. I found it's not all that different from the home recipes I've collected in my head. So, now there are more in my head. Here are the results. Ok, so the bad part is that I don't remember any of the dishes' names' -- just what is in them. Oh, well. They were delicious!

Movie and Dinner

I am having a web-related breakdown so I'm going to focus on something pleasant for the moment. On Saturday I went to see Dan in Real Life which i loved. Talk about funny (laugh out loud funny) and poignant (make you cry poignant). Trust me. Go see it.

Then for dinner I made the recipe below. This is the 3rd or 4th time I've made it, and it's good every time. Unexpectedly so. Even real meat eaters find this recipe satisfying and delicious. I'm enjoying it again as a meatloaf sandwich.

This makes 2 loaves --and big ones at that. I cut the recipe in half. Served with mashed potatoes, some danish squash and a stir fry of asparagus and snow peas. My mom's pumpkin pie for dessert!

Turkey Meatloaf

3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 large onions)

2 tablespoons good olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)

1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup chicken stock

1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste

5 pounds ground turkey breast

1 1/2 cups plain dry bread crumbs

3 extra-large eggs, beaten

3/4 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned, approximately 15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreased sheet pan. Spread the ketchup evenly on top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. and the meatloaf is cooked through. (A pan of hot water in the oven under the meatloaf will keep the top from cracking.) Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold in a sandwich.

Potluck!

It's taken a year since our last potluck to put together another one. But everyone brought something and it was yummy -- and it was a good time! Peggy brought a family recipe of Hungarian Goulash, Melody made the most gorgeous apple pie, Steph brought pork loin, I made salad, Brian brought some bread and Hillary made a multi-squash soup. Success!

I love potluck....

4400 Season 4

I have been saving all my episodes of the 4400 for months now. My Tivo went crazy one day and deleted a bunch of episodes (I was VERY upset). Luckily, USA Network reruns episodes frequently. However, it took me a good long time to finally catch the first episode. The upside is that I was able to watch all the shows consecutively. I finished the 14 episodes (I still missed one somehow) in 4 evenings. That is really the way to watch it. By the time I got to the end, my mind was blown. That's what this show does. It kind of sneaks up on you. But the overall journey is quite astonishing. They actually killed off a bunch of characters this season -- as they usually do, come to think of it.