Hollywood Men I Love!!! Wentworth Miller, Matt Bomer, and Daniel Craig

I have not so secret crushes on certain Hollywood men.   Many of them are coming out.  My fantasies still continue whether straight or gay.

Wentworth Miller just officially came out.  His steely gaze and bedroom whisper voice enchanted many viewers who watched  prison break.  He’s tall and well-educated.  He seems to have a quiet, mysterious strength that he seemed to share with his character.

SEXY EYES + HOT VOICE = SEXY EYED HOT VOICE GUY!!!!

‘Nuff Said!!!

Then there is Matt Bomer.  What is not to like about this hunk?!   He has piercing blue eyes.  His hair is a thick, dark brown carpet of cascading waves.  He is 6 feet tall and used to play football.  He has the body of Adonis.  He is climbing up the acting ladder fast and impressively.  I am glued to "White Collar".  I didn’t realize he was the same guy who played Bryce on the show “Chuck” when I noticed him in the movie, “In Time”.  The movie was terrible, but he was great.  He was the best part of the movie and that’s when I researched him.  I found out that he had just come out officially, although he never denied his sexuality, he was just coy. Of course, everyone knows that he was one of the stars of the movie,  “Magic Mike” and he showed everyone why he is one of the hottest actors out there.

He also has a partner that is a well-known, celebrity PR guru named Simon Halls of Slate PR.  They have three kids and a dog.  Cute, right?

I also can’t help but find his partner attractive because he is a tall, well-dressed and well-spoken  Capricorn.  I am a Virgo, so certain signs are like catnip to us:  Capricorn and Pisces.

My Pisces crush is straight:  Daniel Craig.  He is of course, from James Bond fame.  He is as handsome as he as in the movies.  But his personality seems much softer in person.  Dare I say he may be a little… shy?  He was very polite and patient when I met him in person.

I acknowledged his achievement by proclaiming to the waiting admirers, "Everyone, here is the best James Bond, ever!"  Everyone clapped. 

He and his co-star decided to be a little mischievous and they signed the face of the other on the Playbills.  When I realized what had happened, I turned to him and his driver and said that this prank was very “ghetto”.  They both laughed.

So, these are my confessions for now.

Until next time....

Ciao!!!

+Wentworth Miller+
+Matt Bomer+
+Daniel Craig+
+Simon Halls+
+Slate PR+
+Hollywood+
+James Bond+
+White Collar+

Lox and "Bagels" - Delicious and Petite appetizer

I went to a party this weekend. The host had many delicious hor d'oerves.  We had baked brie with almonds and an antipasti plate.  The treat I liked the best was the lox on crackers.

It was a play on lox on bagels.  We had Ritz crackers topped with a little smear of cream cheese.  The little bits of smoked salmon were placed on top of the cream cheese.  Then small bits of red onion and whole capers were sprinkled on top.

The bites were small, but so satisfying! The saltiness of the caper paired perfectly against the plain cream  and salmon (I think it would be great to use cream cheese with chives).   The red onion adds a bit of sweet to the salt.  You could try this on a sliced baguette.  She made a huge platter and it was gone in minutes!  Try it for your holiday parties.

My Faves! 3 - Marzetti !

 

I love this salad dressing!  It is fresh and flavorful.  I have been using this salad dressing for years when it was called T. Marzetti.  Now, they shortened the name, but kept the taste.  If you don't like salad, get this salad dressing.  The spices are perfect.  Once you have tried it, it will make many of those salad dressings from companies that just make zillions of flavors look like pasty, run -of-the-mill toppings.

 

It's creamy and tangy.  It's very fresh!  You can immediately taste that the quality is much better than most non-refrigerated dressings.  Warning:: It can become addictive! You'll want to use it on everything.

 

My favorite flavors of this brand are the Supreme Caesar and the Classic Ranch.  You can find it in the refrigerated section of many grocery stores.

 

I use it as a sauce for potatoes, sandwiches, and even grits!  It gives a punch to most savory dishes.  Get it and experiment!



My Faves! 4 - Magnolia Bakery's German Chocolate Cake

I love Magnolia's Bakery!  It was made famous because of the show, "Sex and the City", but we New Yorkers knew it well before then.  It's one place that has well deserved hype.  Every time I go there, I have many choices to make.  There are the cupcakes: chocolate, vanilla, chocolate ganache filled with vanilla or chocolate cream, s'mores, etc.

I love the banana pudding, which is one of the signature desserts.  It's like eating banana whipped cream with bits of softened vanilla wafers.  Sometimes, I add berries to it, so that it will be even more decadent.

But my favorite dessert is the German Chocolate Cake!!  It has brown pieces of moist cake layered with the most delicious German Chocolate Cake frosting.  Chunky bits of coconut and walnuts fill your mouth.  The sweet, creamy frosting base is sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.  Everything is paired nicely, so that the cake and the frosting work together in harmony, balancing each other. 

I like to pair it with coffee or a nice espresso, as pictured above.  Give it a try!

If You Want to Vacation in D.C. - Go to the Carousel!

If you want to go to Washington, D. C. for one last hurrah, or at least through the fall season, there is somewhere that you should visit - The Carousel!  The vintage carousel is found on the famous Washington mall.  It's lined with squared off lawns that are surrounded by trees and the various Smithsonian museums.

We went to the Natural History Museum. Everyone should go there, especially since there are dinosaurs there.  But there are the other Smithsonian museums, like the Aerospace Museum.

On our way out of that fantastic history museum, we spotted something that I almost forgot was still around, the carousel!  I saw all the beautifully restored "horses" and riding coaches.  I saw how happy and frolicky all the riders were, both adults and children alike. 

My friend and her family were with me.  She has a five year old and she and I become five year olds when we see carousels.  So, we all decided to go.    The three of us couldn't wait to get our tickets and board the carousel.  We both wanted the electric blue seahorse, but somebody got to it before we did.  Darn it!

In any case, we were giggly with excitement once we mounted our steeds.   Then the carousel began to do its magic!  The machine started to go round and round, getting faster as it went.  The wind whipped through our hair as the horses "galloped", moving up and down, as though we were really riding.  It was so fantastic!  I felt like a child again.  It was really refreshing and different.  It is a must see if you go to D. C.

My Faves! 2 - Better Than Bouillon

I love making beef stroganoff.  I went shopping for the ingredients with my friend.  When I make the stroganoff, I use the drippings from my delicious meatballs, but I like to add a little more beef power.  So, sometimes I use a bouillon powder.  My friend stopped me and told me to try something called, "Better Than Bouillon". 

I had never seen this product.  I wasn't sure if this would give me the punch I needed, but she absolutely swore by it.  I used it for my sauce.  I didn't need that much because it is a very concentrated, thick liquid beef product.  I needed about 1.5 tablespoons for a dish that served 6 people. It's so easy to use. It melded effortlessly with my sauce, no lumps or pockets of unmixed seasoning to deal with.  My guests were quite happy with the results!

Use it sparingly because it is salty.  They have other flavors, like chicken, vegetable base, mushroom, and vegetarian.  You could definitely use it as a soup base, too.  Be creative!

My Faves! - My Favorite Preserves for My Best Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich!

I am starting a new segment called - "My Faves!" - I will be sharing my favorite food products.  So, let's get started!

I love peanut butter and jelly+ sandwiches+ or should I say preserves! 

The best preserves+ that I have ever had would be the preserves from Bonne Maman+.  The flavor is the Four Fruits+ preserves.  It is a mixture of obviously four fruits: cherries, strawberries, red currants, and raspberries.  The taste is scrumptious.  The berries are mixed together so that it's not a taste of one berry with other components, but it is a seamless, sweet, rapturous flavor of its own. 

Now, let's make the peanut butter+ and "jelly" sandwich.  Take 2 pieces of your favorite bread.  I personally love the multi-grain bread because it's heartier and better for you.  Then take the pieces of bread and toast them until they are golden brown and crunchy.  Put on as many tablespoons of peanut butter as you like while the bread is still very warm.  The peanut butter melts and oozes when you get it on the bread soon after you have taken it out.  Then on the other slice, put on as many tablespoons of preserves+ as you like, preferably an even amount to the peanut butter or of course, to taste.  Put the two pieces together.  Be sure to put the two spreads on quickly after you take out the bread, again peanut butter first, so that the peanut butter risks gushing out of the sandwich with all its melted goodness.  You will mop up the excess spillage with the remaining bread!  Yummy, yummy in my tummy!

You and your kids will love this sandwich equally!

Message to All My Thousands of Visitors from All the Continents

 

To All My Wonderful Visitors From Around the World!

Listen, I love all my visitors+!  There are thousands coming to my site, but not all of you have become followers+.  Every humanly inhabited continent+ has visited my site.  So please, since you love what I'm writing, please become an official follower.  There is a button next to my picture and profile to the right of my post.  Click on the google + button and be added as a follower.  It's so simple! Remember to comment as well. Please show me your love+!

Thanks,

Lori :-)

Save Dr. Reed - A Mindy Project Post with Suggestions

Listen up, Mindy Kaling+!  If you need a writer to help you with the suggestions I have made in this post, you can contact me (see my profile).

I read a very disturbing article in an entertainment+ magazine+ that suggested that the creators and/or writers on the Mindy Project+ need to find something to do with the Ed Weeks'+ character, Dr. Jeremy Reed+. The article seems to say that the character may or could meet the fate of retooling or a getting rid of the character altogether.  Say it ain't so!

I think they need that character because he brings some needed sexy to the show.  You have the Danny+ character that is cute, but walks the line between schlub and kind of sexy, but also kind of annoying.  The other male character played by Ike Barinholtz+ is the comedic/weirdo character.  So, Jeremy Reed+ is the necessary tall, dark, and handsome.

I agree they need to use him more because by the last show, he showed up maybe a total of 2 minutes, most of which was in the background of the party scene.  What a waste of manliness!

Since he is supposed to be a cad, they need to focus on his sexual exploits.  They should do like a Seinfeld+ scenario, in which like Jerry+, there is always something wrong with the women that he likes. But they need to push it up a notch in which they make his girlfriends+ really freaky.  They don't always have to cast someone to actually be the girlfriend, but they could allude to his quirky companions.  They could show him shoving some tawdry bit of clothing or naughty accessory into his desk at work.  There could be some strange messages left on the medical associations voicemail or strange deliveries which he would have to explain.  And of course, they would actually bring in actresses (or unknowingly to his character, actors?) who would play his frolicky companions (think Jenna's boyfriend on 30 Rock+).

The character and the actor playing him are perfectly in sync, but you need to exploit the outline that has been created.  There is a lot in this character that could be done to make the show more exciting and create more buzz and consequently, increase the fan base. C'mon Mindy+, give Dr. Reed+ back his spotlight!

I LOVE KOREA! - YUMMY RAMEN NOODLES! - PART 1 Update

I love ramen noodles! I know you're thinking about the packet that you get at the grocery store that costs a dollar for three packets and you use a salty flavor packet to create a broth. Ramen noodles are made of white flour.  They come in a pack in which the noodles are hard and stick together in a rectangle.  They are boiled briefly and then flavor is added through a packet or a fresh made broth.   I love ramen noodles because they are springy, long noodles that you slurp sensuously, whether they are fresh or the cheap ones from the store. Actually, those cheap ones can be made into something more interesting.  They are a nice, blank palate for something more savory, but that's another post.

Today, I am addressing the ramen that is made in restaurants by ramen professionals.  When I went to South Korea, they really knew how to make ramen sing.  It wasn't that expensive for a huge bowl of ramen, about $4 and it was filled!  The noodles were very fresh.  The broth had vegetables, meat, or whatever you wanted.

I liked to put many things in my ramen:  a boiled egg, pork dumplings, vegetables, cheese, and hot pepper spice.  They served it in a large, steaming bowl.  Sometimes, I would add some sesame oil.  If it was available, I would add some gochujang.  It was so delicious!  I would mix in the cheese (American was their cheese of choice) so as to make the broth a little more creamy, but the broth is still the secret star.  Let me explain:

The fresh broth is not made from flavor packets.  It's made from a real pork or chicken stocks or miso.  Stocks breed stocks.  In other words, every stock has some of the stock that came before it.  It makes a richer, deeper flavor.  If that stock isn't tasty, the whole dish is affected.

There are many different places where you can get ramen (In South Korea it was pronounced, by the people I met, ramyen.).  You have to find a place that fits your taste.  I always loved going to a place in a part of Seoul called Sanbon.  The ladies knew me and sometimes pinched my bottom.  The only communication problem we had was that I wanted a boiled egg and not an egg dropped in raw.  So, be sure they know what you want by pointing to the pictures that are usually provided or if someone else is eating what you want, point to their dish.

There are many places in New York that serve this dish.  I have a favorite place, but that's for another post, too!

Ciao!