premiere week

the first week of fall tv was a great success.
it's like a holiday week.

and with the weekend of great football,

it was even betta.

i picked up a few new shows:

castle

they solve crimes.

big surprise. crime fighting is the new "aliens" these days.

the twist here is that this guy is a writer-

so he can creatively and intuitively write the story as he goes

and solves crimes almost better than the cops.

good stuff.

 

chase

this one is the reverse of prison break.

in fact, a lot of the same characters are in it.

should be fun- its not one big long story though,

they catch a guy each time.

it's more like house in that way-

new story- new episode.

could be good.

 

outsourced

this one has some potential.

did i laugh as hard as the premiere of 30Rock or Community?

No.

but this could be the bump, set, spike to jazz up your comedy line-up.

we shall see.

to end the week of greatness,

a fabulous ucla game.

this here is cousin kev- after his 34 yard touchtown run.

pretty cool to watch from his house.

the win was a huge upset, and ended texas's home winning streak.

deep in the heart.

suckas.

yes, i am still watching byu football,

[not pictured]

though it will be painful.

perhaps even for another year or two as all the babies grow up some.

they are on a 3-game losing streak- most under bronco since 2004.

i know it looks like my life is spent in front of a tv.

...no comment.

happy BL night-

recap tomorrow in case you miss it!

what's on YOUR tivo?

so now that my 19 years or so of school are finally over,
and we realize that entertainment will change dramatically for us in about 5 months...

we have been doing a lot of tivo/netflixing
and yes that includes some of the most recent depressing college football games...
here are some of our faves:

if you aren't watching, get to it.

the closer

kyra is so much fun to watch,
and while yes, its another one of those "crack-the-case" law & order-feeling shows,
it packs a punch with a great cast and some witty dialogue.
it will never get old for me.
every time she closes a case,
you want to be there to give her the high five she deserves...

house

a show my dad got me on that is equally as addicting.
huge laurie is one of those guys you love even though you know deep down you shouldn't.
this of course does a similar, "crack-the-code" plot each time, only with the medical angle,
each case complete with the vindictive house, determined to do what ever it takes to find out what really happened...

this one also has a pretty great cast with back stories and some
witty dialogue as well...

[sensing a pattern...?]

leverage

remember watching ocean's 11, and then national treasure and italian job?
the kind of movies you could watch over and over cause they are just so fun...
this show is just that.
the bad guys go good to play robin hood on the bad guys.
in other words, former cons, set up a trap to steal back what was taken from their clients.
great concept.
great show.

bones

this is another one of those shows easy to get hooked on.
the back stories are just as intriguing as the cases they solve and these are a bit easier to stomach than some of the very bloody and nasty things on house...

the characters are all so much fun and have a great storyline.
the dialogue is great. you could just listen and be entertained to this one.

prison break

this one is on netflix. if you watched it, you are probably thinking,
"a little late, huh guys?"
and yes, we are.
but this, hands down, thee most addicting show!
it gets my heart rate up so i probably shouldn't watch it right now,
but the star player of this one is one of the most brilliantly convoluted plots i have ever seen on television.
unlike lost (that got lost in its own plot hole graveyard), this one was well crafted from the start.
yes, it does instill some fear in the government or any security for that matter...
i wont say it is gruesome, but it isn't something for kids...

all i know is i have to keep watching.
must. find. out.

between prison breaks, to catch our breath
(or to time cookies or pizza dough)
we watch us some

arrested development

another old show,
no longer on the air only because it wasn't released in the prime of it's life.
look it up and enjoy this satire with a hilarious cast.

it just makes me homesick for modern family to come back.
we are so ready for fall!

speaking of fall shows to come back,


glee!!!

cronies and foodies unite

i had some visitors this weekend.
rob, my brother
and maddi, my sister.

it is her birthday next week so we wanted to make it uber fun.
[please, not like it wouldn't be anyway. look at these peeps!]

saturday night,
[whilst we fancied ourselves to the 55 inches of my cousin's QB face
in the first UCLA game of the season,]

we made some seriously yummy food

chicken tikka masala
and naan

(recipes from allrecipes.com - i love that site!)

my cousin made this for us a few weeks ago
and i admit that this is the second time i have made it already

so so good. if you are not the spicy type (i am totally the spicy type)
go easy on the seeds of the jalapeno cause the first time it was a bit spicy for my guests...

this time was perfect.
it usually makes just enough saucy stuff to live in the rice the way you want it,
but i think i will just add more to it to have more on the rice.

and please, if you have the option, use basmati rice when making indian.
it begs for it.

we make our naan on a panini maker so don't shy away if you can't get to the grill.
in fact, we like it thin and then we paint it with lots of butter, garlic, and parsley to give it a little hint of yum.

cause i have been cravin it and it is just too much work for two,
we also made

gyoza

* 1lb ground meat (traditionally it's just pork, but i have used a mix with beef, and pork sausage is my favorite to use cause it cooks up nice and has a kick to it.)
* 1/2 head of cabbage (the green kind)
* about 3/4 cup green onion finely chopped
* about 1tbs fresh minced ginger
* about 1tbs fresh minced garlic (or the minced stuff - no powder though...)
* 2-3 tsp sesame oil
* 2-3 tsp chile oil
(both of those you get in the "international section")
* 1 lbs soy sauce
* (optional) a beaten egg
* salt and pepper
* white vinegar
* won ton wrappers
(usually these are near the produce section -
you will use at lease 1 pck,
sometimes you will need more though, so get two)


my asian friend taught me how to make this years ago and it is always fun to make with rob cause he lived in japan for a while and he's kind of a purest

between the two of us, they were pretty naughty.

put the ground meat in a bowl
rinse the cabbage, pull apart, and then boil it until it is soft.
finely chop the wet cabbage, and squeeze all the water out before adding to the bowl.
give it a few minutes before making fun of the man you gave that job to, but then give it a go.

add green onion, garlic, and ginger, soy sauce, and the egg if you want to.
(the egg is to help keep it all together - i never use it, but rob does.)

add the freshly ground pepper until the surface is covered.
mix it up with your hands.
yes, your hands.

drop about 1 tsp of the mixture in the center of the wrapper,
close them by putting water on two sides (or half if they are rounds)
and pinching them together. drop em on a floured cookie sheet.

throw about 15 or so (lots can fit) in a frying pan with only about 1 tbs of oil
after the gyoza brown up a hint, drop a small amount of water in the pan and immediately cover to steam. (i like em more on the fried side so i only steam em for a minute.)
one of the reasons you boil the cabbage is so that it will cook as fast as the meat. it should only take a few minutes per batch.

the dipping sauce is about equal parts soy sauce and white vinegar.
just taste it until you like it. i like mine more vinegary than soy saucy...

hope you enjoy!

not in the cards i suppose...

i am not sad to say that the super bowl is just a great excuse to throw a party.

and so we did.

the game was exciting for the last half,
and if they would have brought the same A-game from the first half to the second half
...good things might have happened....

we were still entertained, though only slightly saddened for the loss
...but not really.

remnants of the red spread:

highlight #1:
all the cute people watching the 3D commercials
(CC + his cute family + mine)

highlight #2:
bruce. and his amazing sliding skills.

maybe we rewound this 4 times, and laughed harder every time....

highlight #3:
wetting my pants....

thanks for a fun party... ooh, quick,
think up somethin to celebrate!

(pictures stolen from mac and cami...)

you know its fall when...

few might be surprised to know of my sports crush on these guys...

...pitta, unga, hall, vakapuna, occasionally some collie...among others...

thank you to the men in my life for bringing me a pure form of entertainment just in time for what one can only hope will be the best season for the cougs in the history of football.

i salivate at that thought.

don't be creeped out, that's entirely normal. and probably a dog-like reaction to eating naughty things whilst captivated by this live representation of all things male. mmm... watch em, you won't be sorry...

read up:

consecutive shutouts
bcs busters? espn predictions...
Wyoming game wrap up
just be ready for friday, aggies... .
..cause no. 11 will eat you

8-8-8 I can't tell you more of my appreciation of the invention of TIVO!

i have had a slight giddy temperment growing steadily to tomorrow's eventful day.

8 - 8 - 08 Olympics!!!

i heart the olympics- and especially the summer olympics. i love the swimming and the gymnastics...the diving, water polo...and all of the track-type sports, canoeing, judo, table-tennis...

oh- it is ALL so great.

i will living in a different location for each week- so it will be a different experience everywhere i go: here, i will watch with part of my family- lots of which on a beloved tivo, the following week i will watch it in the hotlands {az = death} - also with family and tivo... and then i will be in DC to most likely make friends who have tivo very quickly...

and i have been researching sports bar-type places that will give me the big-screen-meets-steak-products adventure i am looking for...

(this research is necessary because football season is almost here... and i will admit i am equally if not more excited for the cougs this year... more on that later though...;)