Jenifer Breman's Roast Chicken with Vegetables

I figured out that one of the reasons my food pictures turn out so lackluster is because I rush to take the pictures. We get super hungry. So when the food is finally finished, it's a mad dash to sit down and eat. Yesterday I prepared a roast chicken and vegetable dish, recipe courtesy of my friend Jenifer Breman. Jen is an excellent cook, and she made this traditional meal for the ladies in our group one evening. It was simple, comforting, and perfect.

Fill the bottom of a casserole dish with brussel sprouts, carrots, onions, and potatoes. Rub a whole chicken with olive oil, then fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, salt, pepper, paprika, and lemon zest. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with quartered lemons, halved garlic bulbs, and a handful of rosemary and thyme sprigs. Place the chicken directly on top of the vegetables. Pour chicken broth over the vegetables to keep from drying. Do not cover. Bake at 425 degress for approximately 90 minutes. Below is a picture of the chicken before it goes into the oven.


Ismael made gravy with the drippings. Below is the finished chicken. The skin is crispy, and the meat is succulent. And as my other friend Jennifer Jacobs said when I prepared this dish for her during her visit from Michigan, "This is so good! The vegetables are just as good, if not better than, the chicken!"




After dinner, I saved the remaining pieces of chicken to use in other dishes later in the week--wraps, pasta, sandwiches... Stay tuned!

Are You Smarter Than A Sixth Grader?

The other night, my sister Kris sent out an email to the family asking for help on my oldest nephew's math problem.

"Five friends worked together on a project. Mattie, Jerad, and Stu all worked the same length of time. Tisha worked a total of three hours, which is equal to the total amount of time that Mattie, Jerad, and Stu worked. Pablo and Mattie together worked half the total amount of time that the five friends worked. How many hours did Pablo work?"

We, of course, solved the problem easily. We're Asian, after all! Can you figure it out?

Performance of a Lifetime

If you know me, then you know that I am a huge fan of figure skating. This past weekend was the 2010 U.S. Men's National Championships. And this being an Olympic year, the results will also decide who represents the United States in Vancouver. Here is the free skate performance by Jeremy Abbott. It is possibly the most perfect technical performance I've ever seen (since the advent of the quadruple jump). A performance like this is what every skater dreams of.

And while I'm at it, here are more of my favorite figure skating performances.

In the 1984 Los Angeles Winter Olympics, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean clinched the top spot in pairs dancing by skating their legendary Bolero. It is rumored that English Parliament took a recess when the pair was set to skate in order for government officials to watch the British darlings win Olympic gold.

Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov were paired by their coach when she was only 10, and he was 14. Not only did they dominate the world of pairs skating--winning two Olympic gold medals, but theirs was a soaring love story. The beautiful, iconic Russian couple married in 1991 and gave birth to a daughter in 1992. Sadly, Sergei died unexpectedly in 1995, at the age of 25, from a massive heart attack. Here is their 1994 gold medal performance in the Lillehammer Winter Games, one year before Sergei's death.

Michelle Kwan is perhaps the name that is most synonymous with figure skating. Though she never won an Olympic gold medal, Michelle inarguably changed the face of the sport forever, and is the most decorated figure skater, man or woman, in its history. After a monumentally disappointing silver medal finish in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Kwan left her soul on the ice with this heartwrenching performance during the exhibition gala that followed.

The much touted Battle of the Brians in the 1984 Winter Olympics brought out two superb performances by Canada's Brian Orser and America's Brian Boitano. After much media hype, Boitano won, simply by defying gravity. See for yourself. Boitano's reaction at the end of his routine is that of pure joy, and it is priceless.

In the world of figure skating, Switzerland's Lucinda Ruh may not have risen to the top of international competition, but she is widely regarded as the best spinner to have ever stepped onto the rink. Ruh's spins were faster, more centered, and more intricate than that of any other. Here, she dazzles the crowd at the 1999 World Championship in Helsinki, Finland. (Her spin at 3:58 is nothing short of super human, centrifugal splendor.)

Little Leo the Lion

Little Leo the lion cub

Loved to romp and play

All day long in the African sun

He'd while the time away.

He'd pounce on scurrying lizards

Sneak up on gazelles that were grazing

Race the tumbling dust balls

And study the hippos bathing.

One day Leo saw a butterfly

Its wings were brightly colored

It glittered orange in the sun

And in the wind, the wings fluttered.

From the tip of a tall blade of grass

To the crest of a gusty breeze

Leo was utterly hypnotized

By the butterfly's buoyant ease.

Through the flowers

Across the plains

And under the shade of a wattle tree

Leo followed the butterfly

Letting the iridescent insect lead.

Before he knew it, he was lost

Alone in an open field

He cried for his Mommy

And roared for his Daddy

But his roar was more like a squeal.

"Oh no!" he thought as he scanned the ground.

"This time I've come too far to be found."

So he lay in the grass

Placed his head on his paws...

Closed his eyes and waited

For the sun to withdraw.

And when the sun began to fade

He remembered the lesson his Daddy had gave.

Should you ever go astray

Believe in your heart

You'll find the way

Sniff the air

And prick your ears

Widen your eyes

And set forth here

Just come back the way you came

Through the flowers

And across the plains.

You are a lion

And lions are strong...

You are my son

And with us you belong.

Pesto Pasta with Vegetables al Dente

I totally need a food stylist or food photographer or something because this picture simply does not do the dish justice. Last night, Ismael made the best pesto sauce ever! With fresh basil, toasted pinenuts, about four garlic cloves (they were small), half a lime, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a generous amount of olive oil. We omit the parmesan because I don't like it. He grates fresh parmesan over his pasta directly. It works. Anyway, everything goes into a food processor, and within seconds you have the most flavorful homemade pesto sauce. We tossed it with garlic basil linguini, sauteed asparagus, red bell peppers, crimini mushrooms, chopped onions, and minced garlic. The key is to saute the asparagus, bell peppers, and mushrooms separately, one at a time, in order to keep their crunch. I also made a green salad that I topped with lime, olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano. Simple and perfect. (I always miss my mom when I make a dish like this because she loves it when I make pasta for her.)

Sunday Morning Waffles

Ismael's only day off called for a celebration. We started the day with a light breakfast of leftover pizza. Hey, it was the Jets vs. Bengals last night! He was going to take me on a date, but I let us stay home and watch USC's Mark Sanchez lead the Jets to victory over USC's Carson Palmer and the Bengals. We ordered pizza, and I made a huge chopped spinach salad to go with it.

After our light breakfast, he went to mass, and I went for a run at the park. We reconvened at home, and, together, we made billowy mounds of steaming waffles (recipe courtesy of Beverly Tommasi). Beverly's recipe calls for four tablespoons of bacon grease, which we obliged by frying up crispy, smoked applewood bacon. We topped the waffles with beautiful blueberries and strawberries that Ismael bought at the Toluca Lake farmer's market on his way home from church. Divine!

Adventures in House Hunting

Looking at a loft in downtown Los Angeles with my realtor Jeffrey back in December. Isn't he a fashion plate? Jeffrey's realty office, Sotheby's, actually presented him with a trophy for being their Best Dressed Realtor. Only in Lalaland...

Ismael is the photographer. We ultimately passed on the property.