Nethermore

A few weeks ago, my friend Debra and I went to the newest, coolest eatery in town: the Cusina Nina Sorensen, whose cooks happen to be Debra’s good friends. Because of this, we were treated to several delicacies that aren’t listed on the menu, so don’t be surprised if you can’t find these treats next time you stop by.

50-Gallon Propane Steak (Carne a la Feur)

I’m not usually one who likes to eat big gobs of meat, usually because without fail the meat is tough enough to be used for Bubba’s next leather jacket. Not so with 50-gallon propane steak. This steak was the best chunk of meat I’ve eaten in years. It sliced off tenderly. It melted in mouth. I began to moo with satisfaction of every perfectly-spiced slice.

Debra says: “I thought the steak was as succulent and tender as a hunk of cow flesh slowly roasted in a 50 gallon propane grill.”

Anthony says: “Indeed, it was verily that, even though I wasn’t there.”

Irish-Italian Zesty Potatoes

These cheese-covered sparkles of zesty flavor were also covered in Wisconsiny goodness that oozed with salt-cured milk, melted over cubes of Idahoness. Some of the best awesomeness to happen to the potato since O’Boisies!

Debra says: “The potatoes were a plump honey blonde Irish lass cross bred with a zesty Italian.”

Anthony says: “There was a honey blonde Irish lass there? Was she single? Invite me next time, okay?”

Edible Snapshot Éclairs

Wow. Like lightning out of a clear sky, these éclairs eletrocuted my tastebuds with pastry power. Nothing has been so powerful as these are since the time He-man held aloft his magic sword and said, “By the power of Grayskull.”

Debra says: “And the éclairs…ahh…the éclairs…I have a long, pleasant, and very biased history with those éclairs. To me they will always be an edible snapshot of my past.”

Anthony says: “I want a magic sword. Did you get one, too? Why do I miss out on the best meals?”

What an amazing place to eat: the food, the company, and the magic sword will go down in history, if not in my memory, at least on the blog.

I briefly met Daniel Abraham along with Tobias Buckell at the 2005 World Fantasy Convention in Madison, Wisconsin. Both were two new authors for Tor books. Their first novels were yet to be released. However the beautiful covers of their books adorned the wall at the Tor party, and there sitting beneath one of them were the two authors, chatting with party goers and just generally enjoying themselves. Both seemed like really down-to-earth guys.

At WorldCon in Anaheim, I attended a kaffeklatsch with Jim Frenkel, the Tor editor responsible for bringing Terry Goodkind to press. Jim couldn’t recommend Daniel Abraham’s A Shadow in Summer highly enough.

A Shadow in Summer has one of the best prologues I’ve ever read, reminding me of some of Orson Scott Card’s strong early works. It stands alone as a story in and of itself. Read this prologue if you happen to have a little time in a bookstore. I’m only sorry that the relationships and emotion of the prologue never returned full circle to affect the climax of the book all that much. Although there are a few tie-ins, the ending didn’t build enough on the prologue. This was somewhat disappointing because there was so much opportunity for the beginning to strengthen and amplify the ending.

The inciting moment of the book happens near the middle, and the rest of the book is about what the different characters do in reaction to what happens. The weakness to this plot form was not in the structure itself, but in the handling of the defining moment. Abraham didn’t draw enough dots for this reader to connect everything until the characters started discussing what happened, and even then, things remained a little bit nebulous.

Character motivations seemed at times trite, as if Abraham developed roles instead of characters. Some of their reasons for doing things felt more like they were forced on the characters rather than being outgrowths of their own character. Nevertheless, there are some hard choices that characters have to make in this book and some actions and motivations that were very painful and believable. These things left me still thinking about the book days after I had finished it. I especially loved reading about the witty and conniving andat Seedless.

As far as content, there’s more drama than action–and that’s the brilliance of the narrative, that it held my attention without being boring. Also the world is well-crafted and immersive, with a strong eastern feel. It’s good. It’s a strong first novel. And it’s worth reading.

I’m not a TV watcher. However, when my friends introduced me to Lost when Season One came out on DVD, I began to think that maybe I could get back into watching the tube, especially if the fare was as entertaining and interesting as Lost was. One thing I particularly liked in the first season was the character development. The writers introduced us to a cast of characters, and then showed us why they were they way they were. I actually cared for the characters and wanted to know what happened to them.

Season Two started out that way. Then, last night, after several complaints in our Lost-watching group about the terribleness of the script and motivations, I began to see it. After Mr. Echo’s character-defining episode (which I enjoyed very very much, despite its flaws) came two episodes that made no sense whatsoever. It was as if the writers were pulling the strings, not the characters making decisions based on what they would really do in that instance.

Lost certainly has rolled downhill from the first season. No, it crashed and burned. On an island. And I have no hope whatsoever that this show is going to recover. It’s like the real writers went on vacation to Hawaii and left the interns in charge. Or the interns’ best friends. Or the janitor.

I used to care. I liked watching the characters face their challenges and grow from them.

Now they’re just backpedaling.

I’ve given up. I may finish Season Two, but I won’t be waiting for Season Three. I’ll be watching Heroes and hoping that its cape doesn’t get caught in the engine of a 747.

Food review by Isaac and Anthony

Will a New Year’s Eve dinner ever be the same again after a trip (by invitation only) to Liz’s Gourmet in South Provo? Upon entering this high-class establishment, we were promptly seated with fellow invitees at a black mahogany table, place settings by Rachel™. Even the plates, dishes, and serving platters were color-coordinated to fit the mood and feel of the victuals about to be set before us. Verily, this smorgasbord felt like an autumn festival in every regard.

Butternut Bol de Soupe

This soupe, the color of ripe egg yolks, added to the festive atmosphere of the entire feast by making every one of us feel like there was an Italian dancing party in our mouths. Indeed the thickness, saveur, amoy, and tofo of this dish was splenderific. With a flavor reminiscent of Christmas Tree (rosemary, methinks), this was possibly the best Italian dance party I’ve ever had in my mouth.

Appetizer #1: Pepper à la broche

To accent the cinnabar bowl, Liz’s E’vier de Cuisine added these little orange delights as appetizers before the main course came our way. Slow roasted in oil, salt, and secret seasonings, the pepper à la broche took my broche away. Describing such a delectable taste would be futile. However, as futility feeds the fires of fantasy, think green peppers. Now make them orange in your mind. Add oil and roast slowly. Now . . . savor.

Appetizer #2: Yams and Taters (Le Yam et de Taters)

Ever had yams? Ever had taters? Ever eat rosemary? Ever have a shotgun of full of finesse obliterate your tongue? Yeah, it’s kind of like that. Add green bowl, and you’re set.

Main Course: Pumpkin-Enriched Hazelnut-Smothered Noodle Nuggets

In less-sophisticated parts of the world, these diamonds are simply called “Raviolis” and left at that. But these were so beyond Ravioli, that Italian words alone would do injustice to these pinnacles of perfectiality.

Smothered in nectar from hazelnut heaven, the noodle nuggets enveloped pockets of pumpkin. Like little soft sofa pillows, the very appearance of these pastas sent visions of nappy time lullabies fluttering through our ears. Nappy time redefined my life.

And Pumpkin-Enriched Hazelnut-Smothered Noodle Nuggets redefined my nappy time.

For drinking: Trader Joe’s All Natural Pasteurized Vintage Spicy Cider

To wash it all down, this 100% juice blend was probably mostly apple. According to the label it’s a “fresh whole ripe apple juice with a hint of concentrated lemon juice, spices, and citrus.” While it tasted enormously big, methinks that “lemon juice” and “citrus” is a little small tiny bit redundant and unnecessary.

Dessert: Belle Cremeshine Somethings

To wash down the cider, we had the belle Cremeshine Somethings. Confections with pudding infections, they’re the infections injected with the inflection of perfection. In other words, they’re the infection we’re all dying to try, or try dying to, too.

In all deliriousness, these confections addled my otherwise normal thoughting process. If I hadn’t been so full of dreamy nugget delights from the other courses, I would have mowed through these buggers in less than the wink of a hat. But really, these were awesome. I have no better verbs to describe them.

This meal was not only the last meal of 2006, it was also the best meal of 2006. Thank you, Liz’s E’vier de Cuisine.

Many of you know I’m beefing up on my knowledge of the history of New York City. So I was pleased to find out that Mark Kurlansky, author of Salt: A World History and Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, published a book last year about the history of New York City, as seen through the oyster.

This book works great as a quick overview of the history of the city. When the Dutch arrived, the Indians were already harvesting and eating the oysters in the estuaries and rivers surrounding Manhattan. The natives piled up big heaps of oyster shells, called oyster middens, created wampum from the shells by drilling holes in them and hanging them from string, and even covered their dead in the shells.

I don’t know if Kurlansky intended this, but I gained a greater appreciation for American culture after reading the book. For the first time, I was able to see the roots of many of the American traditions and practices that are known the world over. Many people think Americans are uncultured cowboys who eat too much. This book uncovers the roots of these cultural descriptions.

Through the course of the book, I saw how New York City changed from a frontier town to one of the greatest cities on the planet. At first, NYC emulated European culture and cooking, trying to prove to the world that she could hold her own as a city. But as time progressed, the roles began a flip flop. Soon it was the French and British who were trying to emulate many of the traditions and recipes of the New Yorkers.

Speaking of recipes, Kurlansky’s penchant for antiquated recipes on how to cook oysters was the least interesting part of the book for me. Maybe it’s because I’m really not interested in reading instruction manuals or cookbooks for pleasure. But if I were researching how oysters were prepared and eaten through the ages, this book would have plenty of interesting tidbits. Truth to tell, I skipped most of these. However, I guess it really wouldn’t be a Kurlansky book without them.

Overall, this book was very enjoyable, a good read, and very recommended. Incidentally, it provided several small historical details that I was able to include in my latest short story. The long bibliography in the back has already provided more books for me to research, including a book published in the 1920s called The Gangs of New York.