PBS, Movies, Weather, A to Z.

I think I told you that a week or two back we were watching a great documentary about Oscar Hammerstein II. For years we have meant to join PBS (WNED out of Buffalo) and this time we decided to do so. Our gift of thanks was 12 DVDs of Rodgers and Hammerstein movies. In fact there are actually 6 movies and then 6 discs which I presume are all about the movies. Haven’t checked it out yet, they arrived in Thursday’s mail so, in the evening, we watched South Pacific. We also have Sound of Music, Oklahoma, Carousel, State Fair and The King and I. All old shows but the music was and is fabulous. Most of it we know word for word and I usually end up crying and the sad bits. When I was younger I absolutely adored Rossano Brazzi, I found I wasn’t so gaga about him watching the movie. Maybe because I later fell for Yul Brynner. That reminds me, we were talking about Judi Dench and I was staggered to find she is 79, I should look so good, also I was very surprised to find she was a Quaker. Not something you hear about much in England.

Being Thursday, we went bowling, the less said about it the better. Not a good day for us. However, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. A  lot warmer and the sun was shining beautifully. In fact our apartment got too hot. We are told it is going to be 1°C on Saturday with possibility of rain. With all the frozen snow, that could cause quite a bit of flooding in the area. One of the owners at the bowling alley was concerned about his eaves which are loaded with frozen snow and ice and which could well break from the strain if it does rain. So glad we don’t have to worry about such things. It’s at times like this when one can really see the advantages in living in an apartment building.

Would you believe I have already started writing blogs for the A to Z in April? One idea I have had since last April shortly towards the end of that blogfest. Amazing I even remembered it for this long. Still got to find 24 more ideas though, not to mention appropriate recipes.

Here’s a recipe from WebMD which is right up my alley. Not sure about the frozen yoghurt, think I would opt for whipped cream..

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Serve this dense, fudgy pudding cake with vanilla frozen yogurt.

Ingredients
 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup nonfat milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cups hot strong coffee

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Combine milk, egg, oil and vanilla in a glass measuring cup. Make a well in center of the dry ingredients and gradually pour in the milk mixture, stirring until combined. Stir in pecans. Spoon into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
3. Dissolve brown sugar in coffee; spoon over batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes; serve hot or warm.

Have a great day

Bowling, Judi Dench, Bella. Callas.

Bowling yesterday turned out pretty good for me, two excellent games and one good one. Not so for Matt I’m afraid. He was threatening to break my arms because I was doing so well. Such violence. He was even recruiting the bowlers on the other lane to help him. We have a new member on our team, as of last week, and he is turning out to be a pretty good bowler as well. Two of our team were missing, one due to a dental appointment the other due to a meeting. By the way, I still have my arms unbroken.

Matt likes Dame Judi Dench, particularly in the series As Time Goes By which was originally shown in the UK a long time ago and is still shown on PBS regularly. I went to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel some time ago and Matt didn’t see it (he will NOT go to the theatre) so I have bought him the DVD for Christmas. I do hope he likes it. We both want to see her latest movie, Philomena, which is getting high praise from all sources. It is on at local theatres, but I will have to find someone to go with me although I suppose I could go alone. I particularly admire her these days as she is unable to read a script any more so has to learn her dialogue with the help of someone reading to her.

I’ve been spending time catching up on people’s blogs, I got behind a bit recently. Haven’t got to all of them yet but I will. There are a lot of new books being reviewed, some of which really appeal, but when I look at my Kindle, I have 40 pages of titles, not books, titles to be read. I’m  not sure I will ever get to the end of the books I have and even so, I keep picking up one I like the sound of now and again. I wasn’t going to buy any more but then my friend Marilyn Z. Tomlins, who lives in Paris, France, just published her book Bella…a French Life which I just had to get. I haven’t finished it yet, but I am loving it. Marilyn is not French by birth, but she has lived in France for so long, her book just exudes France in every word. The story is told from the POV of Bella and could be described as a love story, but it isn’t just that. Do check it out. Lovely book.

I notice Google are celebrating the birthday of Maria Callas. Wonderful soprano. I wonder just how many people today remember her. She was so wonderful to listen to. Of course I also remember her somewhat tumultuous love life. She married  Aristotle Onassis I remember and I think had some kind of connection with the Aga Khan too. But what a voice.

It’s that time of year when people bake all kinds of cookies, many to be consumed by colleagues at work. I personally never bake cookies as I know where they will end up, on my hips; I am not above assisting cookie bakers with disposing of their cookies though. I thought these cookies from Cooking.com sounded really good. I love ganache, especially chocolate ganache of course.

Ganache-Stuffed Chocolate-Chip Cookies

Makes 18 stuffed cookies

A stuffed cookie is like a sandwich cookie, only with more cream on the inside—it's fatter, fuller and (if you're the kind of person who twists apart the cookies to get to the cream) better. Jessica Sullivan, the pastry chef at Boulevard restaurant in San Francisco, makes hers with nutty chocolate-chip cookies and silky chocolate ganache.

INGREDIENTS


1 cup walnuts
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
5 tablespoons heavy cream
2 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons crème fraîche

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375°. Spread the nuts in a pie plate and toast for 8 minutes; let cool, then chop.
In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle (or using a handheld mixer), cream the butter with the sugars and vanilla at medium speed, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg. With the mixer at low speed, beat in the dry ingredients. Beat in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Spoon level tablespoons of the dough onto 2 ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, until firm.
Put the chocolate in a bowl. In a saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to a boil; pour over the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the crème fraîche. Refrigerate the ganache, stirring occasionally, until thick and spreadable, 1 hour.
Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, until golden; let cool on the sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Sandwich the chocolate-chip cookies with the ganache and serve.

Have a great day