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June 18, 2009

Best. Bookstore. Ever.

http://www.betterworldbooks.com/

Gran Torino

I've been meaning to watch this for a long time.
I'd met and hung out with the guy that wrote it a few times. In fact, during the movie there's a reference to a meat raffle - which is coincidentally the first time I met Nick. (Article about him here)
So that's my little claim to fame. Or my six degrees of seperation. Or whatever you want to call it. Haha

In any event, the movie was good. I loved Sue - the sassy girl next door and Eastwood's "reprisal" of his Dirty Harry role (my husband claims this is true), was great.
The acting wasn't the best, but the story was a good one.

4 out of 5 stars from this girl.


The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I just finished reading this book for the 2nd time. It's incredibly moving.
5 out of 5 stars. By far one of the best books I've ever read.
A searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece.

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, "each the other's world entire," are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.

Shrimp & Corn Chowder

Made this on Tuesday night. It's loosely based on a chowder recipe by Mary Karlin from her Wood-Fired Cooking.
(I'm eating this for lunch AGAIN today - and don't even care...it's that good)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch slices
8 ounces unpeeled small red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 - 2 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper (I used close to 2 b/c I like it a little hot)
1 bunch green onions, coarsely chopped, including half of greens
1 1/2 cups corn kernels (I just used a 16 oz bag of the frozen baby niblets)
4 cups fish or chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb bag medium shrimp, deveined, tails removed
Grated zest of 1 lemon (can also add juice, if desired)
1 bunch of dill, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat and sauté the celery for 3 minutes.
Add the potatoes, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Stir in the green onions and corn and add 2 cups of the stock.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the cream and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in the shrimp and lemon zest and simmer gently until the shrimp is just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add 2 remaining cups of stock as needed and lemon juice to taste. Heat through and add dill.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.