12 Hours of Temucula

Luke is a member of The Topanga Creek Bicycles Racing Team

Clip: Kong Chang

An article from TV Guide

[Source]
The Best TV Couples of All Time

Kevin and Scotty (Matthew Rhys and Luke MacFarlane), Brothers & Sisters

Easily the most entertaining couple on the ABC drama, Kevin and Scotty bring out the best in each other -- in the "opposites attract" sort of way. They're constantly working through their problems together, including their most recent roadblock, Scotty's infidelity, which makes you believe that at least one Walker is capable of having a functional relationship.

Happy Birthday Luke!

[Source]

Happy Birthday to Luke Macfarlane!
By Greg Hernandez on Jan 19, 2011 12:14 pm

It’s quite rare that a character who was only supposed to be in a show for a handful of episodes proves to be so popular with fans that he is brought back and made a full-fledged regular.

That is exactly what happened with the character of Scotty on ABC’s Brothers & Sisters and it had everything to do with the performance and the presence of the actor who plays him, Luke Macfarlane, and his lovely chemistry with Matthew Rhys who plays his on-screen husband Kevin.

Kevin and Scotty have been trying to become adoptive parents this season and have weathered the most severe test to their marriage: Scotty cheating on Kevin with a bartender at his restaurant.

Fans of the show were kind of horrified because it seemed so not like Scotty! But in the follow-up episodes as the two found their way back to each other, we understood what happened more and it just made Scotty more human, less of a saint!

While Matthew Rhys is a straight man playing a gay man on television, Luke took the bold step and came out publicly as a gay man in 2008. He could have been like so many other gay actors on TV shows and just remained private or vague about their sexuality but Luke chose to be out and I have so much respect for him because of that.

Luke, who studied drama at Julliard, was previously best-known for his role as Pvt. Frank “Dim” Dumphy in the series Over There. The Canadian actor had never given any interviews about his personal life until discussing his sexuality for the first time in an interview with the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail in 2008.

I spoke with him a few weeks after that at an event and he said: “I decided to do that interview, I decided to answer those questions in an effort to make my life simpler and that’s going to contunue to be my motto. So, I’ll have to say, it hasn’t been that hot a light on me at all.”

I’m just so glad that young and talented actors like Luke, Neil Patrick Harris, TR Knight, Chris Colfer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson,  John Barrowman, Jonathon Groff, Sean Hayes and several others are not following the example of Richard Chamberlain and staying closeted until their late 60s and have a book to sell!

Anyway, Luke turns 31 years old today and I thank him for his performances on screen and on stage and for stepping up and being an openly gay man. He’s helping to change the world!

[Source]

Happy 31st Birthday to maximum hottie Luke Macfarlane!

Side Dish - 17th Jan

Side Dish from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.

Homemade Mac & Cheese

It can be hard to eat healthy foods all the time, especially for parents with kids who want sugary snacks…. BUT you can do yourself (and your kids!) a favor by taking the time to make homemade versions of their favorite foods.

Have you ever looked at the ingredient labels on store-bought Macaroni and Cheese?  Well, the cheese usually starts out as a powder, which even just sounds wrong .  But depending on the brand, you’re likely to see a whole bunch of things in it you can’t even pronounce. Sodium tripolyphosphate?  Of course, even the ingredients you can pronounce are things that you can’t buy in the grocery store. (FD&C Yellow 5 anyone?)

None of that is the kind of thing I’d want to put in my kids’s belly. My Mac and Cheese, although not the lightest in the world, at least has ingredients that your grandmother would recognize. So give it a whirl and tell me which you like better.

No matter which kind you prefer make sure that you have a big pile of veggies or a salad with a smaller serving of the mac and cheese to keep your meal as balanced as possible.

I’ve featured this recipe before on the blog before, but I just made it again this week and Kevin and I have been busy painting and decorating our spare room  (girls like yellow, right??) so you’ll have to forgive the recipe recycling.

Scotty's Mac and Cheese

Ingredients
1 Box Large Pasta Shells (use whole wheat pasta for extra fiber and protein)
¼ cup butter for sauce and ¼ for top of casserole
¼ cup flour
2 cups whole milk
Salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion salt to taste
Splash Worcheshire sauce
1 8oz bar of sharp cheddar cheese cubed
1 8oz bar of extra sharp cheddar cheese cubed
2 cups Italian style bread crumbs


1.) Cook pasta as directed by box and set to the side
2.) In a medium saucepan melt butter mixing together with flour over medium heat.
3.) Gradually add milk while stirring. The sauce should get think.
4.) Add salt, pepper, onion and garlic to taste.
5.) Add Worcheshire sauce.
6.) Add sharp cheeses while stirring continuously.
7.) After all the cheese melts combine with pasta and pour into casserole dish.
8.) Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and dob butter on top.
9.) Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until bubbling.
10.) You can take the cover off for the last 5 minutes if you want it crispy on top.
11.) Cool and serve.

Brothers & Sisters S5E13

"Safe at Home"

This is the 100th episode. I liked the scene where Kevin & Scotty finally welcomed Olivia into their home, but I think a lot of things happened in one episode. Actually I've been thinking this season is the last season for Brothers & Sisters. I hope I will be able to see Luke on TV more but....

Next episode will be on the 13th of Feb.

My thought...

I think this is the last season for Brothers & Sisters.
Holly has left, Kevin and Scotty is getting a kid, Kitty is probably going to New York, Saul will have another chance with Jonathan, and Justin has got a girlfriend etc. etc. I think the story is toward the end.

Side Dish - 10th Jan

Side Dish from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.

Smiley Faces

When I was a kid I would sometimes “babysit” for the kids in my neighborhood.  I put that in quotes because now, looking back, it seems kind of crazy that I was left in charge of kids that weren’t that much younger than me.  OK I am probably exaggerating a little bit, but to me “babysitting” generally translated into “getting paid to watch Jeopardy!” Of course there was the one time the family dog jumped on the table and ate the two large pizzas the parents had left for us to eat, but things weren’t usually that exciting. (And since the pizza looked like cardboard, I think that dog did us a favor anyway…)

Being a young chef, I also used to occupy the kids I “babysat” (there are those quotes again!) with a recipe I called Babysitting cookies.  Now I’m not comparing Kevin to a child, but he does love these cookies even today.   So read into that what you will! ;)  I have a private chuckle whenever he asks me to them (although he calls then “Smiley Face Cookies”).

As I write this now and think about the reality of finally becoming a Dad I’m struck by how much my life has changed since my babysitting days. Back then I would watch a kid for a few hours, feed them a bunch of sugar and then leave them with their parents and get paid for it all! I’m starting to think being a dad is going to be very, very different…

Well, at least I have these cookies.

BABYSITTING COOKIES (aka “Smiley Face Cookies”)
Makes 20 cookies
INGREDIENTS
-          1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
-          ¾ teaspoon baking powder
-          8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
-          ¾ cup sugar, plus more for tops of the cookies
-          1 egg
-          1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-          ¾ cup smooth or chunky peanut butter
-          About ½ cup chocolate chips

1.)     Set a rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

2.)     Stir the flour and baking powder together in a small bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and ¾ cup sugar together in a medium bowl with a handheld mixer at high speed until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the peanut butter and beat until smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients just until no streaks of white remain.

3.)     Using 2 tablespoons of the batter, form a ball and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Press with the bottom of a glass to form a 2 1/2 –inch circle. Repeat with the remaining dough, using two baking sheets if necessary. Make smiley faces using 1 chip for each eye and 4 chips for the smile, pressing the chips, point-side down, into the dough. Sprinkle sugar liberally over the tops. Bake until the edges are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove and cool completely before serving. The cookies can be served in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Brothers & Sisters S5E12

"Thanks for the Memories"

I like the scene where Scotty passes Kevin the key and the scene where Scotty looks at Kevin after getting back a piece of desk.

Side Dish - 3rd Jan

Side Dish from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.

A New Year's Treat!

I’m not one of those people who does a good job of keeping their New Years Resolutions. Over the years I have skipped out on more than one of these annual promises to myself. Among the things I have not done: go to Yosemite (2005 resolution), learn to surf (2001 resolution) or build a roller coaster in my backyard (1984 resolution).

But that changes this year. Ordinarily I am a “locavore” – a term coined by foodies for people who always try and eat food that is local and in season. Now it’s easy to be a locavore in LA when even the winter months bring a rich bounty to the local farmers markets. I think that a tomato just tastes better when it is fresh and ripe.


But I still do miss my favorite summer foods in the cold of winter (and vice versa!) so here is my food-related resolution this year. Once a season I’ll eat my favorite food from the opposite season (I’ll eat from the Fall in the Spring and from Winter in the Summer). A little convoluted maybe, but I think it’s a resolution I can stick to because a) it involves cooking my favorite foods b) it involves eating my favorite dishes and c) I only have to remember to do it 4 times a year.

So let me start the 2011 off on the right foot with my favorite summer recipe: Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble. The recipe calls for using a pie plate, but you can substitute ramekins if you want.

Happy New Year!

What are YOUR resolutions this year?

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble
Makes 6 to 8 servings.

For the topping:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (commercially known as sugar in the raw)
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed.
2. Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. (I used an oval dish this time, because they fit better in the bottom of a shopping bag.)
3. Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a (foil-lined, if you really want to think ahead) baking sheet, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Brothers & Sisters S5E11

"Scandalized"