The Show With The Bad Name Lives!!

A couple months ago, I was watching Private Practice, and noticed something strange: walking through Oceanside Wellness with new addition Dr. Jake Reilly (Benjamin Bratt), was what I assumed to be a lesbian couple (he's a fertility doctor), made up of...Courtney Cox and her Cougar Town co-star Christa Miller! I watched it again, to be sure. And yes, it was the former Friends star with her new TV friend.  Odd, right? Did anyone else notice? Here is the shot:

I didn't do a ton of research, but the regular TV / entertainment blogs I read didn't say a thing about this! I thought it was pretty funny. At the time, I could only guess that maybe the shows film on the same lot and the producers at PP offered the ladies a walk on. It was only today, when I googled the incident, that I found this article.

First off, it's news to me that CT is even coming back! I thought it had been cancelled! It's one of those shows I was never in the mood to watch, but once I did, I always found myself smiling, if not laughing. 

Incredible marketing on their part, no? Why other shows haven't done this as much before, I don't know. But to stick your actors into random shows to keep their own show in viewers' minds? Genius.

I did, in fact, see Ian Gomez on Grey's Anatomy but didn't think anything of it (except maybe "well, I guess he needed work"), because GA tends to have lots of guest stars. I suppose I though his "role" (if you could call it that) wasn't much of anything. But, again, didn't really think on it much. Although, now that I know what's going on, it turns out that this cameo and the PP cameo with the ladies were on the same night! Guess I missed that. Although I do tend to watch PP a couple days later on my DVR.

I'm working my way through ABC.com's slew of clips of where the cast has been popping up and I can't believe I missed this one!! Here's Josh Hopkins on Castle!

If you watch The Middle, Body of Proof or Happy Endings, then you will have seen Brian Van Holt, Ian Gomez, Dan Byrd and Busy Phillips. If I wasn't making myself clear, this is AMAZING! I love this idea and I can't wait to see if there are more cameos in my regular shows!

According to TVGuide.com, Cougar Town has been renewed for a shorter (15 episode) season to premiere sometime in March. So if you're missing your penny-can playing, wine swigging buddies from the FL cul-de-sac, look for them then. (And by the way, if you're like me, and want a "Big Joe" or "Big Carl" wine glass, you can find a whole Facebook page dedicated to BIG wine glasses here.)

Cincinnati Chili

I've got some history with Cincinnati. My mother grew up there and my fiancé went to school for a year there. My first visit was when I was in the vicinity of 8 years old and my mother took me to her high school reunion (because a lady never reveals another lady's age, I won't mention how many years out she was!).  I did not return to Cincinnati until close to 20 years later when my rabbi-to-be was studying there. This is when I was introduced to the chili that is native to that region. You may have heard of it: Skyline Chili. 

It's unlike the chili you find anywhere else. This chili is sweeter, thinner and it's all about the add-ons. You can have a 3-way (spagetti, chili, cheese), 4-way (spagetti, chili, cheese, beans OR onions) or 5-way (spagetti, chili, cheese, beans AND onions). Any way you get it, it's delicious! I made sure that Skyline was one of our stops each time I visited Cincinnati that year.


On my way home from one of my Cincinnati trips, I discovered that cans of the stuff are sold in the airport! CANS! That was amazing! Anytime I wanted I could just open up a can of Skyline Chili! I then discovered you can order all kinds of products online as well! You can buy your own Skyline Chili here.


My rabbi-to-be and I experimented a few times with different products--the cans, spice powder that you can add to ground beef, different cheeses, etc. It was not until recently that we decided to actually make our own Cincinnati Chili! We wanted to make it a bit more healthy, so we substitute ground turkey for ground beef and we sometimes use whole wheat pasta (which I never used to be a fan of but they've done some great things with ww pastas now and I am beginning to love it!). Our version is pretty spot on! The flavor is rich with that hint of sweetness (wait til you see what's on the ingredient list!), the texture is a bit different and may take getting used to if you haven't had it before, and we can control exactly how much cheese we add to it. It's becoming a regular go-to for us! We started with a couple recipes we found online and mixed and matched until the flavor was to our liking. I use the measurements as a guideline, not a rule. I added more or less according to my taste.


Cincinnati Chili Recipe


1 lb. ground turkey (or beef if you like-but keep it lean people!)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 bay leaf
1 Tsp ground cinnamon (I think I end up adding more as the chili simmers)
1 Tsp ground cumin
1 Tsp Allspice (I don't think I use Allspice because it's not in my cabinet but many recipes call for it, same with clove, but I'm not a huge clove fan)
1/4 Tsp cayenne pepper (if you like spice, add more. I had too much one time and ended up having to dilute my chili with water and let it simmer FOREVER to thicken up again!)
1/2 Tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa OR 1/2 oz. grated unsweetened chocolate (I used the grated version once and it was SO much better than using cocoa!)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained


Spaghetti (your favorite brand)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (pre-shredded or shred your own--whatever you like!)
However much red onion you might like to top off the chili


Heat some oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the chopped onion and minced garlic and saute until tender.
Add the ground meat and cook until just browned, breaking up the meat.
Add the chili powder and mix until it's coating the meat. 
Add the bay leaf, cinnamon, cumin, allspice (if using), clove (if using), cayenne, salt, cocoa or chocolate, tomato sauce, water, vinegar, Worcestershire.
Bring the whole thing to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered. Most recipes say simmer for an hour and a half.  During that time, keep tasting it and adding more of whatever flavor you feel it needs. Or, if you did it perfect on the first try, just let it roll!

A trick that we have started using to get a good texture is to break out the immersion blender to really break up the meat-especially if we're using turkey because that doesn't seem to break up into teeny tiny pieces as well. Yes, it will look soupy, but that's good! Also, if you decide to go this route, TAKE OUT THE BAY LEAF BEFORE BLENDING! Then you can add the bay leaf back in!


About 15-20 minutes before you want to serve the chili, add in the beans. I like them incorporated into the chili, rather than as a topping. 


Also 15-20 minutes before serving, prepare your spaghetti and toppings. Chop the red onion if using and shred the cheese. I don't really see the cheese as an option, more of a requirement! 


Put pasta on a plate or in a bowl, ladle out the chili on top and then add your toppings! Cheese last! 


Enjoy!

Now That I've Seen It...Person of Interest

We are well into the fall TV season, with many of the new series having already premiered. One that has premiered to pretty decent ratings and mixed reviews is "Person of Interest." I have to admit, I don't watch it when it plays on TV. I will also admit that, until last night, I completely forgot when it actually airs. If you're wondering, it's Thursdays at 9 PM. Yes, folks, that's the same time as "Grey's Anatomy," a show that I do tend to watch as it airs.

Anyway, I've watched 3 episodes and while I'm not jumping up and down over how great this show is, it is definitely on my "to watch" list for now. I love watching Michael Emerson, no matter what. I think he was better as Ben Linus on "Lost" but Finch isn't really all that far off from certain aspects of Ben.  He's secretive, sneaky, intelligent. And we have yet to discover basically everything about him besides the fact that he invented a machine for the government that he now uses to help people.  Speaking of "Lost," I just read that Alan Dale (or Charles Widmore to some of you) has signed on for a guest role in episode 8! Another reason to keep watching!

Jim Caviezel gives a sort of boring performance. I know he's supposed to be the brooding, damaged tough guy, but is just comes off as emotionless. What I do love is when he walks into a situation and it's him against a group, you just know he's going to kick everyone's ass. One way or another he will win any fight. And that's kind of fun to watch, though totally unbelievable. You gotta love a good fight scene.

What keeps me interested in this show are the stories each week. Similar to "Law and Order"  or any of the crime dramas, the do-gooders have new cases to work on, bad guys to weed out, innocent people to save. And I also like the cat and mouse game going on with Caviezel's Reese and Taraji P. Henson's Detective Carter.

Each week they're getting more into the characters and flushing out storylines. The show has a ways to go before I'm chomping at the bit to watch each week, but I think it'll get there. Still no full season pickup for "Person of Interest" but I'm comfortably confident it will get picked up...at least for one season.

Subway Gripe

This post could go on and on and on and on...You get it. But for today's gripe, I'll focus in on one seemingly small, yet very LARGE annoyance.

The subway stops. People start filing out. Then there's that one person who doesn't understand. The subway has STOPPED. You can LET GO of the pole or railing. I'm not talking about the people who have not yet reached their destination and are staying on. It's the people who absolutely have to let go because they are disembarking. But they hang on for dear life until their arm has been stretched to it's maximum length. Then they let go, having blocked my way for the longest possible amount of time.

Am I just an impatient commuter? Eh, maybe. But I'm sure you have your subway gripes. Share them with me!

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/inflite/2419329769/sizes/m/in/photostream/