Week 9

My week was brought back to life on Friday when the sun came out in time for my evening commute home. Instead of Friday's aperitivo hour, Joel and I took Luna for a dreamy, sloppy hike along the bluff.

We hit the First Friday crowd at the Maryhill winery tasting room (hence the silhouette art) and enjoyed a pre-dinner flight.

Watching
After two close friends raved about the new Queer Eye series within 24 hours last weekend, I couldn't wait to give it a shot. I'm four episodes in and I've cried twice. It's an interesting study in how the show - and our society - has evolved a bit since its original cast in the early 2000's. We needed this show right now. Plus, I love a good makeover, particularly when it involves southern Teddy bears getting fresh haircuts and style tips.

On Wednesday we saw Game Night, and it was exactly as I hoped it would be: entertaining and unbelievable.

For Friday, we rented a weird one: The Little Hours. An incredible comedic cast (Aubrey Plaza, Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly, Allison Brie, Fred Armisen, and MORE!) and a very strange plot (1300s Italy).

I finally framed that hipster pineapple embroidery art I made

Listening
We have been trying to install blinds for a week. By Saturday, we had everything we needed in the sizes we needed, and Joel convinced me not to be grumpy about the project by turning up some Billy Joel. We listened to The Stranger from start to finish. We especially relished the lyrics from "Get it Right the First Time," which coincidentally played after we installed the last set. By gum, we (mostly Joel) installed these blinds without a hitch, the first time (not counting the multiple trips to Lowes before we began).

Reading

This was the best Woody Allen-related thing I've read in years.

I'm on to Idaho by Emily Ruskovich this week.

View from High Drive, 6:50 a.m. on Saturday

Recipes

The celebration of remembering our Argentina trip culminated with a flank steak dinner with chimichurri, a Malbec, marinated beans, and a simple salad like the kinds we often got there: just greens and shaved Parmesan. An appropriate dessert was also served (see below).

We feasted on these leftovers for days.

My favorite lunch

COW
Confession: I did not make a cookie this week. I have store-bought Jules Destrooper wafers in my pantry right now. What I did make is a delicious topping for these cookies: dulce de leche. And the way I made it was magical. It was, perhaps, the easiest dessert I've ever made. And it keeps for weeks in the fridge. I made it from a can of sweetened condensed milk in the Instant Pot, per Melissa Clark's instructions. You take off the lid, peel off the label, cover the can tightly with foil, place it on the steamer rack, fill the pot with water until it reaches halfway up the can, lock it up and pressurize it for 40 minutes, and finally, let it release naturally. It took just under two hours total. When you lift the foil, the creamy milk has magically thickened and turned a lovely caramel color. Just add a dash of vanilla and sea salt. My, oh my.