Movie Day and Cooking Class

Well, its been a busy week and I'm tired. So we've deemed this weekend "movie weekend". We're going to see Mall Cop today for a little Kevin James' fix and then tomorrow we'll see Slumdog Millionaire that seems to be the buzz for the Academy Awards. Check back to see my reaction to both.

I'm the type of movie goer that is fairly superficial. If its a comedy, I want to laugh out loud, not just chuckle. It also has to have some sort of viable story but that requirement really is secondary.

If its a drama, it has to have a story that makes sense and moves along at a fairly quick pace.

I did LOVE Australia because its 3 stories in 1 but it's slow. However, Nicole and Hugh made up for the slowness because they were so fun to watch and the cinematography was stunning.

I absolutely ADORE true life stories...my favorite.

Okay, so Miss America is on tonight. Take a looksee at Miss Illinois' jewelry. My jewelry company, Jewels by Park Lane, is her official jewelry sponsor (they're based out of Chicago.) And, for the first time ever, the public can vote for their favorite to get into the top 15. Honestly, I can't believe there still is a Miss America Pageant but if you get past the beauty judging stuff, they do a lot of good for charitable causes. Well, that's my justification for watching every year anyway.

Oh, here is the cooking class report for last Wednesday:

Our menu was:

Roast chicken
Mashed potatoes
Pan Gravy
Candied Brussel Sprouts
Salad with blue cheese and cranberries
Balsamic vinaigrette
Squash Soup
Candied pecans
Roasted pears with Camembert cheese

I volunteered to make the mashed potatoes because I noticed on the recipe card that they were using a food mill. Now, I've seen them do this on the Food Network (which I watch constantly, I admit I'm addicted) but thought to myself "that's a lot of work and it can't make that much difference" HOW WRONG I WAS!

I know what you're thinking, why not just throw it all in the kitchen aid (or whatever you normally do) to mash the potatoes with some chicken stock...well, that is what I normally do and to be honest, sometimes it turns out and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it turns out sticky or gummy or just not a very good texture. My instructor (the Mario Batali look alike chef) says its because all the starch comes out of the potatoes and ruins the texture.

I'm a convert. Use the food mill and you'll see what a difference it makes! If you want creamy, fluffy mashed potatoes, here's what you do:

Peel and cut 4 pounds of yukon gold potatoes into uniform chunks. Cover with cold water, add some salt, and bring to a boil. Boil until done but not mushy. Drain and put the hot potatoes thru a food mill a little at a time. Melt a stick of butter and 1 cup of half and half together in a sauce pan. Pour over the potatoes a little at a time and mix to get that creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper and you're done! DELICIOUS!

So delicious that I went out and bought a food mill at Macy's yesterday. (Had a gift card from Christmas...thanks Nigel!)

I remember growing up that we used a food mill for making applesauce but that was it.

The Squash Soup was to die for! I didn't care for the brussels. Or the pears, which surprised me but oh well.

Here's what I learned:

How to dice an onion - I sort of knew this but got to practice the right way with a sharp knife.
How to use the food mill.
How to peel a butternut squash the easy way.
How to truss a chicken.

So much fun! Oh, and I put my knife block and all my rusy knives in the recycle bin this past week. I'm taking my two good knives to get sharpened next week. Can't wait!

On another note, one of Nigel's coworkers attended the Inauguration. She said they left their hotel room at 4 a.m. and it was 12 degrees. During the day it only got up to 20 degrees. Brrr. She said it was an amazing experience.