Life, Fannishness, and Thespic Infatuation

Happy St. Patrick's Day. Be sure to enjoy a healthy serving of corned beef and cabbage or shepherd's pie--whichever's your pleasure--with some soda bread and a Harp. Or Guiness, but Harp's more my speed. Or even better, an Irish coffee.

I've made Irish bread (though not soda) and Battenburg cake for Life Group tonight.

( Bunqui )

( Secret menu )

Also? Just FYI: I love Niagara Falls.

Or maybe not.

Thanks to Dean's recently revealed love of Ding Dongs Bing Bongs, I went out on a quest to find a recipe for homemade Ding Dongs.

And I found one. (I actually found several, but this is the one I tried.)

Pretty simple in concept, they're a little bit time consuming (rather like buckeyes in that regard).

And I need to experiment with the amount of filling (hearts in my cupcakes!) I put in. I didn't want the cupcakes to 'splode, and as a result, I didn't put in nearly enough.

( Heartless cupcakes below the cut. )

[Poll #1795502]

So. Traveled trans-continental non-stop yesterday. Oy!

Had a wonderful time once we got checked into our hotel, though.

The Magic Castle Hotel is a renovated apartment complex build in the 1950s. As a result, our suite is actually a former apartment, complete with kitchenette, modest living/dining area, cute little bathroom, and one bedroom. Perfect for a single person in Hollywood, I'd think.

All the apartments surround a courtyard, the centerpiece of which is the pool, which is open 24/7. (I'm thinking late night swim before we leave.) I can totally see the complex having parties, with everyone's doors open and having a good time.

Went for a dip in the pool yesterday, then got ready for dinner at Yamashiro, up the hill a ways. (The hotel provided free shuttle service.) We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. I discovered a beer that I really like (Pyramid Apricot), and I took the waiter's recommendation and changed my entree order (I ordered the pasta and vegetable dish, he told me how it was totally not as advertised on the menu, and was actually one of only a couple items on the menu that he really didn't like.) I ended up ordering the baby back ribs. Now, the funny thing is--ribs, yams (sweet potatoes), and cornbread is that it's something I could totally get back in Virginia. Heck, it's a Southern staple combination. The difference? The Asian twist to everything. Yes, I ate the ribs with a knife and fork (totally NOT how one eats ribs). They were mighty tasty, and this coming from someone who doesn't eat ribs (because of the whole messy finger food thing). The yams were whipped super-smooth and fluffy. And the cornbread had--get this--a dash of anise in it. As George said, "Why does this remind me of Christmas? Ah! It's anise." And for dessert, I had chocolate souffle cake, and he had a pretty darn amazing ice cream cookie "sandwich."

We then walked down to the farmer's market, but it was dark, and I was tired (jet lag, you know), so we came back to the hotel.

I slept for 8 hours solid for the first time probably since our trip to the Outer Banks two years ago.

The Nutter Butter Banana Pudding Trifle was a great success last night. The nine-year-old told me it was a good one and to put it "in the box" I think is what he said. (Recipe box? Maybe?) I told him I'd put a star beside it. (I put foil stick-um stars by favorite recipes in my cookbooks.)

Plus, it looked really good. I'd forgotten the elegant simplicity of presentation with trifle.

Geo and I are going to another film festival, this one in Cleveland. Since it's Ohio, much of the fam will be joining us.

I'm also back on my meds that make me drowsy. Zzzzzzzzzz . . .

A culinary question for the f-list (and any random passers-by).

So. I've moved south of the Mason-Dixon line. And in doing so, I've discovered that a very popular dish in these here parts is banana pudding. (Actually, it's a trifle, not a pudding.)

We never had this in Ohio, though it is on any given box of Nabisco 'Nilla Wafers.

Well, we're going to a potluck this week, and Geo has expressed a desire for trifle. (I love trifle. I don't know why it's been years since I made one. I used to do them frequently. One of my favorite wedding gifts, from one of my favorite of Geo's at-the-time-bachelor friends, was a trifle bowl. He said he had no idea what a trifle bowl is, but it was on my registry. I told him I was thrilled with it and thanked him profusely. Now, where was I? . . . )

Well, last year, Southern Living published a recipe that I've been very interested to try: Nutter Butter-Banana Pudding Trifle.

Now, knowing that banana pudding is a very Southern dessert/comfort food, but also knowing that we don't make it in the North (and I'm not overly fond of banana creme pie), I decided to try to find out why it's a "Southern thing."

Here's what I found. (I find the history of food fascinating.)

So I guess my question is this: Are you from the South, and if so, where, and is banana pudding popular where you are, and do you like it? (Okay, that's, like, four questions, but I think you get the idea.)

(Also, I'm feeling the need for a new "Nomnomnom" icon. Anyone interested in creating one?

Oh, my word, you guys. I just made the most amazing soup for dinner tonight. You know how last week I mentioned having pumpkin soup and how finding a comparable recipe was my new culinary quest? You guys. Here's what I found.

Well, first of all, I found pumpkinsoup.org. Everything you wanted to know about pumpkin soup but didn't know to ask. Lots of interesting recipes there of varying levels of complexity.

But that's not where I got tonight's dinner from.

No, one of my newest go-to sites for recipes (I also subscribe to the hard copy magazine) is the Southern Living website. Being from Ohio, I also try to find things on the Midwest Living website, but nine times out of ten, I like the Southern Living recipes better. (If I want Midwestern recipes, I usually head to the church/fundraiser cookbooks from back home.) The trick is to watch your fat ingredients, because if there's one thing Southerners like to cook with, it's fat.

But I digress.

Tonight's dinner was originally printed in the October 1997 issue of Southern Living.

Pumpkin-Corn Chowder

I used 1 cup of half-and-half and 1 cup of 1% milk in place of the 2 cups of half-and-half. And you could use vegetable bouillon cubes or other vegetarian bouillon for a vegetarian variation.

A mild, creamy soup to warm your tummy on a cold winter evening. And delightfully easy, because if you are what you eat, then I'm fast, cheap, and easy.

Also of note: Today I started burning my favorite Christmas fragrance candle. Yankee Candle's Sugared Plum (which they have since repackaged under a different name and color). I've used this fragrance for years, for as far back in our marriage as either Geo or I can remember. It's a warm, comforting fragrance that makes me content and nostalgic at the same time. It smells like Christmas at home.

The pumpkin pie is in the oven, so I'm sitting down a moment to type of the BBQ recipe for kimmer1227

( Slow Cooker BBQ Pork )