Little Bites of Heaven

So here's a rundown of my weekend: Friday night, Jared and I tried a new Indian restaurant in Layton, Taste of India. Yes, Indian has arrived in Layton! The restaurant is on Woodland Hills Drive, near Sego Lily Day Spa. The decor is nice and simple reds and golds, the staff is friendly, and the dishes are superb. I departed from my usual order of chicken coconut korma, and I tried the lamb rogan josh, cheese naan and mango lassi. Everything was delicious and I'm sure I'll be back there again, take out or eat in. After that Jared and I drove over to DSW and to my amazement what did I see? Red Mango, my favorite fro yo place just opened near Cafe Rio, about a week ago. I was so excited I went in for a small cup and then I promptly dumped my cup on my lap in my new clean car! Oh well, I'll be going back there often enough.

Saturday my friend Jen had some friends over for pizza and a movie. We watched Australia and drooled over Hugh Jackman - Hot! I brought over some Scotcheroos. These just weren't ordinary Scotcheroos though, the yum factor was hopped up with Triple Chocolate Scotcheroos. David Lebovitz is a favorite blogger of mine, he's a cookbook author living in Paris, and he created this Triple Chocolate Scotcheroo recipe. These are to die for, and be warned, they are very addicting. Here's the recipe, and yes, I sprinkled them with a little sea salt, not necessary, but I liked it. Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Scotcheroos

1 cup (200g) sugar
1 cup (320g) light corn syrup
1/2 cup (130g) peanut butter
1/2 cup (130g) Nutella, or a similar chocolate-hazelnut paste
6 cups (200g) crisp chocolate-flavored (or mixed with plain) rice cereal (I mixed half and half)
6 ounces chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, or 1 cup (165g) chocolate chips
1 cup (165g) butterscotch-flavored chips
optional: fleur de sel or flaky sea salt

1. Butter or spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

2. In a large saucepan (at least 6 qts) over medium heat, bring the sugar and rice or corn syrup to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and Nutella, then mix the rice cereal in until completely coated. Press the mixture into the greased pan, making sure the top is smooth.

3. Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips together in a clean, dry bowl set over a double boiler or microwave, stirring gently until smooth and well-blended. Spread over the rice cereal mixture, sprinkle lightly with salt (if using) and cool until set.

Serving: Once cool, cut into small bars with a sharp knife. These are pretty intense and certainly on the sweet side, so bite-sized portions are in order.

Hot Russell is Back

Did you know that Gladiator is one of my favorite movies? I think I've watched it about a billion times. Russell Crowe just does it for me. How could you not love the general who became a slave, the slave who became a gladiator, the gladiator that kills the evil emporer (creepy to the max Joaquin Phoenix)??? Well lately, let's just say Russell hasn't had any "hot" roles. Although I'm excited to see State of Play, I'm hearing good things about it. So how excited am I to see the USA Today spotlighting the new Robin Hood movie, opening next May 2010, starring Russell Crowe in all his hotness, paired up with his old Gladiator director, Ridley Scott. You bet I'm excited, do I have to wait a whole year???

I Heart This!

This season on PBS, Masterpiece Theatre has had some amazing productions. Early in the season they did Tess of the D'Urberbilles (a favorite of mine), Wuthering Heights, and an encore of Sense and Sensibility. For the last half, Masterpiece has been doing Dickens and I've been loving every presentation. On their schedule is Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Little Dorrit and The Old Curiousity Shop. I'm halfway through Little Dorrit, and it is definitely a classic. I've never read Little Dorrit but I love the movie so much that I'm sure it will find it's way on my "to read" list. I was looking at Amazon and they will soon release the ultimate Dickens Fix: The Charles Dickens Masterworks Collection including Oliver Twist, The Old Curiousity Shop, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, and Great Expectations. The Amazon price is $80.99, and the release date is May 5, 2009. Guess what I'll be doing on May 5th?

Dinner in 20?

Here's a recipe for Black Bean Tacos that I tried last night for dinner, it super quick (think dinner ready in 20 minutes), and super tasty. I saw the recipe for these tacos in Bon Appetit magazine and quickly glanced by. Surely it was too simple to be good? Well, then one of my favorite bloggers, Smitten Kitchen, did a post about these tacos and raved about how delish they were. Then I saw it posted several times on Tastespotting, and I knew I had to try it. The only thing I did different was I had some pinto beans in the fridge that needed to be used, so I substituted them, but I'll be sure to try black beans next time.

Oh, have a failed to mention my new addiction? My friend Jen hooked me up with Tastespotting and I've been hopelessly addicted since. She sent me a word of warning, and I will send one too, enter at your own risk, once you visit this website you won't be able to leave. Tastespotting is a compilation of photos and recipes from that vast world of food blogging, full of yummy-licious food. Now you've been warned.


Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 cups coleslaw mix
2 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 white or yellow corn tortillas
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Bottled chipotle hot sauce or other hot sauce

Preparation:
Place beans and cumin in small bowl; partially mash. Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper.
Heat 3 teaspoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon 1/4 of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Fill tacos with feta and slaw. Pass hot sauce alongside.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I love you and I hope all your birthday wishes come true!

Book Review

Here's a book that is a MUST READ. I saw Still Alice, written by Lisa Genova, at Barnes and Noble a while back and it intrigued me but since I already had my arms full of my allowable book quota I didn't buy it. Then, last week I was wandering around again, saw it, and bought it. I intended to put it in my "to read" pile but I started reading the first page and I literally could not put it down.

Still Alice is the fictional story of Alice Howland, a highly successful professor of cognitive psychology at Harvard, married to a professor at Harvard as well, with three children. She's about to turn 50 and starts to notice odd things with her memory, she's forgetful and sometimes disoriented. She chalks it off to menopause, not getting enough sleep, or stress. However, as the severity of the memory issues increase, she makes an appointment with a neurologist at a memory disorders unit. "Alice, you have early onset Alzheimer's disease."

This book is written from the perspective of Alice so it portrays her descent into Alzheimer's and how it affects her relationship with her husband, her children and her colleagues. The author paints an incredibly intimate portrait of Alice and her family. Sometimes, I felt like I shouldn't be there listening in on their private conversations, an intrusion. There were many times that I wept for Alice and her family. I don't have any personal experience knowing anyone with Alzheimer's, but this book affected me deeply and was so touching. My grandmother has a mild to moderate form of dementia and it really helped me appreciate what she goes through sometimes. I think the next time she forgets something or asks me the same thing twice, I will have more compassion and understanding and patience. A reviewer, Beverly Beckham with The Boston Globe, wrote, "After I read Still Alice, I wanted to stand up and tell a train full of strangers, 'You have to get this book.'" I think that sums it up.

How Adorable Is This?

How cute would this be on your Easter table?