Side Dish - 26th Apr.

Side Dish - Scotty's Food Blog from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.

I'm not the first to say this but it's hard being married to a Walker. The scientific term for the condition is "Walker-adjacent" and symptoms include being the subject of secrets in a certain pantry, having plans canceled at the last minute because of the latest family crisis and occasionally going to dinner only to learn about some new Walker sibling.

You'd think the Walkers think food tastes better with tears.

But it's not all bad. If you've met Nora, for example, you know she is one of the most loving mothers out there and being a Walker-adjacent means you have a place to go on every birthday or holiday, no matter how big or small. (Nora even throws what might be the world's only Arbor Day party. Trees even think it's over the top.)

But being a Walker-adjacent is sometimes a thing that can only be understood by other Walker-adjacents. So when Kevin wanted some time to apologize to Sarah following a recent spat, Luc invited me to join him for lunch at his favorite restaurant. Or as I see it, we formed an impromptu Walker-adjacent Support Group.

"Come, I will introduce you to the chef..." he said when we entered LA VIDA, a comfortable restaurant on Gower Street in Hollywood.

We were greeted in the kitchen by Chef Joe Panarello who is one of the nicest, most down-to-earth people I've met. He and I immediately jumped into "chef-speak" talking about hand-sharpening our knives with Japanese waterstones, cooking for celebrities and how the downturn in the economy has affected the restaurant business.

After about ten minutes we noticed a starving Luc searching the kitchen for scraps of food and Chef Joe offered: "Can I make something for you guys?"

I asked if he would be willing to share some recipes for the blog and he graciously agreed to give us two salad dressing recipes. Salad dressing is one of those things that is so much better to make fresh and these delicious dressings are no exception. Next time you reach for pre-made look at the ingredients on the label: Xantha gum? Caramel coloring? No thank you. I'll take fresh any day.


The first is a Buttermilk-Thyme dressing, like ranch but lighter and tastier. Chef Joe serves it on a Bibb lettuce salad with dates, dried cherries and sheep's milk cheese. The second is a Mojito Vinaigrette that Chef Joe serves over diced watermelon, cucumber and avocado. Try both at home, or next time you're in LA at LA VIDA.

Thanks Chef Joe!! Today you are an honorary "Walker-adjacent!"



BUTTERMILK-THYME DRESSING
You may want to adjust the amounts to fit your needs.

Combine the following:
- 1 liter buttermilk
- 2 oz. fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 oz sugar
- 3 oz white vinegar
- 8 oz oil
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- Salt to taste

MOJITO VINAIGRETTE
Ingredients
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- ½ cup fresh mint
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar

Process - Combine the cilantro, mint, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and sugar in the work bowl of a food processor - Pulse to a pesto-life consistency

Assembly
- Use immediately or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days
- Mix well before using

Brothers & Sisters S4E21

"Where There's Smoke..."

Brothers & Sisters S4E20

"If You Bake It, He Will Come"

Side Dish - 19th Apr.

Side Dish - Scotty's Food Blog from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.

Kevin is not the only man I love. This is really hard to admit, but there is someone else in my life. Someone named Mr. Goodbar.

Yes, I have recently become addicted to those "fun size" Mr. Goodbar candies. In fact, I've really become obsessed with bite-size food in general. Looking at what has come out of our kitchen lately you'd think I'd built a shrinking machine: bite-size grilled cheese (perfect with tomato soup!), tiny Reuben sandwiches, and mini red velvet cupcakes this week alone. Small food elicits an emotional response in people. When I showed Kevin the tiny chicken pot pies I made, he ooh-ed and ahh-ed over them. I kept waiting for the sarcastic comment or the witty one-liner, but Kevin's characteristic gruff had melted away; he acted like he had just seen a puppy.

I guess good things DO come in small packages. Whether that's a fun-size Mr. Goodbar, a tiny Reuben sandwich or a teeny playful puppy, we like seeing small versions of things we know and love. Walking through the grocery store the other day I saw these new little cans of soda and I found myself picking one up and saying (to no one in particular): "How cute are these?" The rolling eyes of a nearby employee restocking the shelves let me know that in the age of Super Sizing not everyone appreciates the trend towards tiny.

I wanted to leave you with a recipe for an easy bite-sized snack that you could do at home. Given that it was Kevin's birthday this week I remembered a recipe Michelle our surrogate gave us a few years back for Mini Cake Balls she had made for Kevin. The recipe is based on a cake mix and store-bought frosting, but you can feel free to do these from scratch. Either way they are simple and delicious.

And if you have any Justin Walkers in your life, they will appreciate the chance to make a joke that gets old quick: "Cake balls? I didn't realize cakes had balls!" Fair warning.

MICHELLE'S MINI CAKE BALLS
1 box funfetti cake mix (cook as directed on box)
1 can of cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package white and/or milk chocolate bark (or you can use chips if you have them) wax paper
1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble it into a bowl.
2. Mix completely with cream cheese frosting. (Use your fingers: it's messy and fun!)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls (sort of like Donut Holes) and lay onto a cookie sheet. (Should make almost 50.)
4. Chill for several hours in the refrigerator. (You can also use the freezer if you're in a rush.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per package directions.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (A spoon makes this easier…as does working with only a few a time. The chocolate is easiest to work with when it's hot.)

Side Dish - 12th Apr.

Side Dish - Scotty's Food Blog from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.

Too much free time can make you do crazy things.

Now don't worry, I haven't been out robbing banks or anything like that. Instead, I've been using some of my extra free time to try and notice the little things in life. Like how little Kevin and I have in our savings account. When you have more time than money, sometimes you write letters to companies about their products.

And sometimes those letters get you free Oreos.

So here is an example of a letter I wrote recently to a big company about its product. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If nothing else, this proves that you can, indeed, have too much free time on your hands.

Today I purchased a bag of Oreos filled with delicious chocolate creme. I have enjoyed Oreo cookies for years and, wanting a quick and delicious snack, grabbed a bag of Oreos to eat as I ran (not literally!) to the podiatrist for an appointment I had to reschedule two times!

As I opened the bag, the familiar smell of chocolate and Thiamine Mononitrate greeted my weary nose. As I started enjoying the cookies, however, I came to realize there was something strangely different. It took me a few minutes until I realized that some of the cookie part of my little "sandwich cookie" were put on backwards. So I saw a flat cookie back rather than the traditional design I have come to love, know and--quite frankly--expect.

I was shocked!

In fact, this was NOT just one isolated cookie incorrectly constructed. Several of the chocolate sandwich cookies in my bag were improperly put together!!! Initially, I hesitated to bring this to your attention. In over twenty blissful years of enjoying what I consider to be America's premier sandwich cookie, I realize the potential implications this brings. Trust me when I tell you that it pains me to bring this to your attention. However, I recognize it as my duty as an American consumer to at least bring these misconstructed cookies to your attention.

Thinking about the nation's children being brought up on generic sandwich cookies rather than Oreos makes me cringe as well. I look forward to hearing back from you about this issue.

Scotty Wandell

Brothers & Sisters S4E18-19

"Time After Time"

Two hours special, not so many scenes with Scotty though, main story line is with Kevin. That's nice.

AfterElton makes us fun

A great April Fool article from AfterElton

Kevin and Scotty Moving From “Brothers & Sisters” to African-American Spin-off

by Brent Hartinger April 1, 2010

Think Kevin’s partner Scotty has put up with a lot of family drama on ABC’s Sunday night show Brothers & Sisters?

This fall, Kevin will be the one putting up with Scotty’s family drama in Brothas & Sistahs, a spin-off version of the show that will include Kevin and Scotty as part of the ensemble cast.

But Scotty’s family won’t be the conservative, anti-gay couple previously featured on the show. Instead, they’ll be black.

The pilot episode of Brothas & Sistahs reveals that Scotty was adopted and his biological parents are African-American, making Scotty a very light-skinned black. The first episode involves Scotty discovering and actively embracing his heritage while fussy Kevin is something of a fish-out-of-water in a family very different from his own.

“We’re currently fitting Luke MacFarlane [who plays Scotty] with a Kente cloth robe,” said Nina Hensley, formerly an executive producer on Brothers & Sisters and now the showrunner on Brothas & Sistahs. “He looks great – articulate and bright and clean and even lighter-skinned than Obama!”

“The producers pitched us a spin-off version of the show centering on a second family of Los Angeles brothers and sisters,” said Veronica Miles, President of Prime Time Programming at ABC. “But we’d been wanting to do a family drama with a predominantly African-American cast. When we suggested combining the two shows, the producers were thrilled.”

“In retrospect, having Scotty turn out to be black made perfect sense,” Hensley agreed. “Two years ago, we even did an episode where Scotty cooks collard greens!”

Scotty’s newfound black relatives on the show include a couple who have built a successful dry-cleaning franchise and are moving on up into a deluxe condo in Beverly Hills.

They’ll be played by Vivica Fox and, in his much-anticipated return to television, Martin Lawrence, who, in a dual role, will also play their sassy black maid.

Another of Scotty’s black brothers, played by Isaiah Washington, operates a junkyard in Watts with his son, although Hensley points out that Washington has contractually insisted that his character only deal with any gay characters via cellphone, so he and his TV brother Scotty will never actually be seen on screen together.

The son has not yet been cast, but Miles promises, “He’ll be cute. Really, really cute.”

As with the original Brothers & Sisters, two of the show’s primary features will be multi-person cell phone conversations and contentious dinner parties.

“I know all about black dinners,” Hensley said. “One of the girls at my sorority was black, and once I had Thanksgiving at her house. They had a turkey and everything!”

Rather than drink wine, Scotty’s family will drink wine coolers.

“I quit,” said Alfonzo Cooper, editor of AfterCosby.com, a site that analyzes people of color in popular entertainment. “No, seriously. I’m shutting my website down. You hear that clicking sound? That’s the sound of me deleting the entire website. There. It’s gone. Bye-bye!”

James Earl Jones will play Brothas & Sistahs family patriarch, a Republican senator who is also a staunch defender of the environment and gay rights.

He will also live inside Cinderella’s Castle at Disneyland’s Fantasyland and sometimes fly around on a sparkly pink unicorn.

Anticipating some criticism over the fact that a white actor will be playing a major black role, the network insists that the show will be “authentically black.”

While it’s true that most of the show’s current writers are white, the producers have recently added one African-American writer to the staff.

“We’re also thinking of maybe letting Paris Barclay direct an episode,” Miles said.

Future plot-lines include an episode where the brothers and sisters – or “brothas” and “sistahs” – fight about how to spend a $10,000 life insurance check. In the end, they decide to invest it in an all-white revival of the play Raisin in the Sun, which proves to be a massive success.

Another episode has Kevin, the only white character in the cast, organizing the entire California African-American community into an effort to thwart an attempt by the U.S. military to mine a vein of unobtanium located directly under the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP.

“Seriously?” said Justin Montgomery, a professor in media arts at the African-American Studies program at UCLA. “This is an April Fool’s Day joke, right?”

Editor’s note: Please don’t give away the joke in the subject line of your comments.