My Love for TCM

I have a deep love for something other than OMP. My love is for TCM, Turner Classic Movies. If you are a movie buff, like I am, then you should always tune in to TCM. If you don't have the channel then still check out the website. Turner Movie Classics not only show amazing movies but right now they are running a 7 part documentary on the history of Hollywood. It is 3 years in the making and with Christopher Plummer narrating, you will be in movie heaven.

This month's feature artist is Ava Gardner. Va Va Voom! She was one smart sex pot! Every Thursday in November they are featuring wonderful movies from this great actress.

Another great feature this month are movies from Fritz Lang. For any budding film aficionado his movies are a must see. M is haunting and Metropolis breathtaking.

Towards the end of the month TCM offers up British Crime (November 28th). I can not wait for this one! I have been wanting to see No Orchids for Miss. Blandish. I will be snuggled up on the couch, faking my best British accent on this one.

Oh TCM, thank you for transporting me to another time, sometimes bright and hopeful, sometimes gritty and real. You are a true champion in our history. You allow us to have a wonderful escape and teach us about ourselves and the world around us.

Scrappy Halloween!

Was there ever a doubt that I would dress up the pups for Halloween? We found out that Pete really loves a good costume and the reason why-he thinks he's going for walk. I could never deny my little monsters so OMP took them out trick or treating.

At first Pete wanted to be Frankenstein

Everyone thought Lola looked best as a Dinosaur. I think Pete wanted to eat the caveman.

Everyone loves a clown, except Jujube....

Pete finally settled on being a bumble bee. C'mon dad! There are tricks to be done and treats to eat! Let's go!

Scrappy Halloween everybody! I hope that it's full of scrappy goodness, lots of treats and a few tricks.

Salivating Saturday

It's soup season and I love a good chowder. I've always been afraid of making them from scratch but I found the easiest bisque/chowder recipe known to man.

Shrimp and Crab Bisque
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (this is one cube, crushed)
2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
garlic to taste
1 1/2 cup half and half cream
1/2 pound shrimp
1/2 pound crab
1/2 cup white wine

In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, bouillon granules, onion and garlic.
Blend in 3/4 cup of half and half into the mixture.
Mix in shrimp and crab
Turn temperature to medium/medium high heat, stirring until mixture thickens
Blend in the remaining half and half (the other 3/4 cup) and wine into the mixture. Allow to thicken a little more. The whole process takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

We made bread bowls and served it up. It was so amazing! If you don't like seafood you could make a vegetable bisque. I now have a new favorite soup.

Feel Good Friday

 Booooooo! Scary Feel Good Friday! You made it to Friday without any spooky ghosts chasing you down. Now it's time to party like a the cool ghoul you are!

Flossbox rocks my socks!

I love a good ghost story. I can't think of a better way to spend a night, then by the fire, hearing a wonderful spine chilling story. American Folklore has every story you can imagine. There are some you can read and others are told via podcast. Just make sure you listen with the lights on.

 

I NEED these! Or can someone can teach me how to tat? TotusMel has so many beautiful creations.  The rings are stunning and I love the necklaces. Everything is so delicate and spectacular. 

Who's the happiest Halloween cat in the whole world? C'mon, give mom a kiss!

Okay my little beasties! Get out there and get your candy on! Beware of bumps in the night-you might fall over them-HA! Happy Halloween!

Too Many Cooks

I can't believe that I haven't posted these cute little chefs before. My favorite, of course, is the chef sewing his sock. I also like that these are kind of manly and would be great on a dude apron. Hee hee!

Guys and Ghouls

Wanna know what I hate? Infomercials. I despise them with a passion. Wanna know why? Well, because some nimrod at a local station is thinking with his wallet and not about quality television. Yeah, some joker decided to get rid of the cast of late night hosts and those wonderful movies they would show into the wee hours of the morning. It makes me shed a tear every night that I have insomnia. Look Mr. Television-I don't need the Ronco record cleaner, what I need is good dose of bad movies with a creepy/sexy/goofy host.

From the humble beginnings of television in the 1950's, late night horror hosts like Vampira and Zacherely paved the way for other greats such as Chilly Billy, Cool Ghoul and later greats like Joe Bob Briggs and Elvira.

Probably one of my favorite hosts, although her show was short lived is Vampira. She had is all-looks, dry humor and great "B" movies. Not only did she show low grade movies but also starred in them. She played a ghoul in Plan 9 From Outer Space. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention-James Dean was totally in to her. Could this woman get any better. Other sexpot hosts like Elvira, Moona Lisa and Stella the Man Eater from Manayunk owe their careers to Vampira. She paved the wave for smart, sexy sassy women in the "B" movie host genre.

I'm not sure what it is about Ohio but man, can they produce a great horror movie host. Beginning with Ghoulardi. He hosted a late night show, a Saturday mystery show and a kids show. A hipster beatnick who loved to play rock n' roll and jazz, Ghoulardi was often more popular than the movies he presented. The show was insanely popular and continued on with The Ghoul and then with Son of Ghoul. Cleveland, I love you for the simple reason that you cherish the late night movie and the host that trudges along with us through the forest of the low budget movie.

Times have changed and the movie host right along with it. Joe Bob Briggs brings the smart ass humor that is essential to the cult movie. Often during his viewing of movies you would get a running body and breast count. Sure he was a redneck and very often you were shocked by what came out of his mouth but the humor was so low brow that you couldn't help but giggle.

There are still late night TV host out there. They are on the web and yes, if you can believe it, still on your local TV stations. The bloodsucking informercial has not killed all of my fun. Every time I go to Chicago I insist on watching my favorite late night host after drinking way too many cocktails and downing a plate of nachos. I personally don't think there is any other way to enjoy the late night movie and host, but eh, that's just me. Happy Halloween all you guys and ghouls-may your dreams be filled with corny movie host and bad movie monsters.

PS-If you want to see a fun documentary on the subject of late night movie host, check out American Scary

Salivating Saturday

I am so not with it. Whoopie Pies have been on the scene for some time now-my only problem is that I am not a big marshmallow person and because of that, I have been avoiding the whole scene. Well, no longer! I decided to make the pies with a creamy icing filling instead of the traditional marshmallow They may not be the prettiest thing but man are they good.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar (this will give it a more caramel aftertaste)
1 large egg
1 cup unsweetened applesauce (this gives it a very nice smooth fluffy texture)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat until smooth. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and applesauce, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until smooth (do not overmix).
Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto two baking sheets. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cookie comes out clean, 9-12 minutes. With a thin metal spatula, immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool completely.
Meanwhile, make filling: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat vanilla and remaining 1/2 cup butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add confectioners sugar, beating until smooth.
Spread bottom of half the cookies with 1 tablespoon filling each; sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing gently so filling oozes out slightly.  Let rest 15 minutes to set.

Like I said before, these little guys may not be the prettiest thing around but they are so tasty.  I thought the icing would be too sweet but the cake part is not very sweet at all so it really balances out. The dark sugar gives the pie a wonderful caramel aftertaste that goes great with coffee.  Enjoy!