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shadowkatFirst off the easy dinner recipe...Poached Salmon with summer and zuccini squash, and multi-grain sticky rice. Takes about 20-30 minutes if that.
What you need?
1. Small about quarter to half pound salmon, with skin only on one side
2. sliced summer squash (not too much)
3. sliced zuccini squash (not too much)
4. dash of oregano, dash of sea salt, and dash of fresh peppercorn
5. a dash of lime juice
6. about two chunks of fresh butter
7. Annie Chung's Multi-Grain Gluten Free Sticky Rice - pre-cooked (or make your own)
8. aluminium foil - or Reynolds Wrap
9. Gluten Free Soy sauce (Tamari Wheat Free/Gluten Free Low Sodium is best, but La Choy is cheapest)
Take out a small roasting pan. In the center put a large enough piece of alumium foil or Reynolds wrap. Put the salmon in the center of it. Squirt a dash of lime juice, oregano, salt and pepper, mostly the pepper, and a hunt of fresh butter. Cut up the squash, line one side of the salmon with summer squash, the other side with zuccini. Wrap the the salmon and squash together in the foil,
place in a 400 degree heat oven to back for about 20-30 minutes, possibly less, checking it periodically (if you don't own a timer, like me). Microwave the sticky rice.
When done, take out of foil, place on plate with rice. Season rice, if desired, with a dash of soy sauce. Voila.
Quite good actually. And easy.
A Gifted Man
Airs at 8pm ET on Friday nights. Opposite La Femme Nikita and something else.
Well, this was a surprise. Did not expect to like this show at all. The critics were ambivalent, and it's not a smart, witty, raw or out-there tv series - which may well be the reason. It's quiet, with quietly good performances, cinematography, direction and production style. And soothing. Surprisingly good in places. What I like to call realism. And quite possibly the best pilot I've seen to date. (Which granted isn't saying all that much...considering, I've not been wild about any of the pilots I've seen.)
The premise sounds a bit meh. Hot-shot surgeon with high profile medical practice, starts getting visitations from his dead ex-wife. Ex-wife was running a medical clinic on the lower east side, and she feels that her death left a lot of things in her life up-ended or unresolved. She needs his help to resolve these items so that she can move on. He, of course, doesn't want any part of it - and thinks he's going nuts. Yet, on the other hand, he feels empty and misses her, and can't quite let her go.
From the description - the series sounds moralistic and melo-dramatic. It's neither so far.
Filmed in realistic style with understated and restrained performances from all involved, it's actually much closer to something you might see on PBS. The cast is stellar and possibly the best you'll find on tv this year, without jumping over to the aforementioned PBS or HBO or Showtime for that matter. And the direction, production is reminiscent of shows like Boardwalk Empire or Friday Night Lights. Patrick Wilson is quite good as the lead, appealing, yet realistic at the same time.
His confusion at his ex-wife's visitations ...is understated. A rational man struggling with the irrational. Jennifer Ehle of A&E's Pride and Prejudice fame is also quite good here. Quietly understated...you aren't quite sure if she is real or illusion. And Julie Benze as his sister continues to astonish with her range. (I've decided of the Buffy and Angel cast, Benze is surprisingly the most versatile, next to possibly Anthony Stewart Head. It took me a moment or two to recognize her.) We also have the astonishingly good Margo Martindale as Wilson's assistant.
The writing? To date this is the best writing I've seen in a new series. It's tight. It feels real.
And while not snappy or clever, it's also not cliche. The problem I am having with a lot of the new series is the cliched writing (and yes that includes the sitcoms). It's not great. Nor necessarily memorable, but it is better than anything else I've seen to date. (I tried Playboy Club and gave up fifteen minutes into it - unwatchable.) While the scenario is hardly new, angelic ghost visits hardened surgeon to convince him to do good works so she can move on, the way it is written and directed and performed is new. It's not campy or cheesy, nor saccrine. And so far not preachy or moralistic.
When Wilson's Doctor decides to help one of the patients at his dead ex-wife (Milo)'s clinic get an MRI, he discovers it's not as easy as he thought. First he orders her to get an MRI, the clinic nurse asks where - which establishment? They don't have insurance. Then he says, okay, mine, here's my card - go here and I'll perform it. Which bus do I take to get there, asks the woman.
He ends up driving her himself. And when he takes her into his own facility, he's immediately told - you can't do this, you have this patient who has been waiting for two hours, and another patient on the way, plus the MRI is already booked - for you. He's checking to see if he has a tumor (wise, considering he's seeing his dead ex-wife). The details, it's always the details. And the writers appear to be aware of them. PRime Suspect also appeared to be aware of the minute details.
The setting is NYC - and it looks and feels and smells like NYC. Clearly filmed on location. I even recognized the new park he is running in - I walked in it this summer. It's not glamorized, it's NYC with all it's angles.
Direction and production? Top-notch. Cinematography - flawless.
If I have quibbles? It's just the general concept and plot that I'm a bit uncertain of. But, that said? I admittedly find medical series comforting. For two reasons - 1)I don't trust the medical profession as far as I can throw it, and hospitals terrify me, tv shows will often show me the best of the profession and somehow assuage those fears. It soothes me. 2) It takes me out of my own world and mind - since this is a career I would never ever want and cannot conceive of doing and know zip about. So unlike criminal and legal procedurals where I find myself thinking - they never do that or that is so not true, or where I get irritated and incredibly depressed with few exceptions (The Good Wife is one of the few exceptions as is the Wire), the medical show comforts me. I adore medical procedurals. Always have. Far more comforting than watching a show like Bones or Castle which is about a crime solver who writes books for a living (that hits too close to home, I almost did both for a living and I find both to be a bit like listening to someone run their nails down a chalkboard. While shows like House, Grey's Anatomy, and Gifted Man comfort me. As does The Good Wife - because it makes me happy I did not do that for a living.)
Overall rating? B+/A-
[I've decided the professional critics are seriously stoned and completely unreliable this season.]
What you need?
1. Small about quarter to half pound salmon, with skin only on one side
2. sliced summer squash (not too much)
3. sliced zuccini squash (not too much)
4. dash of oregano, dash of sea salt, and dash of fresh peppercorn
5. a dash of lime juice
6. about two chunks of fresh butter
7. Annie Chung's Multi-Grain Gluten Free Sticky Rice - pre-cooked (or make your own)
8. aluminium foil - or Reynolds Wrap
9. Gluten Free Soy sauce (Tamari Wheat Free/Gluten Free Low Sodium is best, but La Choy is cheapest)
Take out a small roasting pan. In the center put a large enough piece of alumium foil or Reynolds wrap. Put the salmon in the center of it. Squirt a dash of lime juice, oregano, salt and pepper, mostly the pepper, and a hunt of fresh butter. Cut up the squash, line one side of the salmon with summer squash, the other side with zuccini. Wrap the the salmon and squash together in the foil,
place in a 400 degree heat oven to back for about 20-30 minutes, possibly less, checking it periodically (if you don't own a timer, like me). Microwave the sticky rice.
When done, take out of foil, place on plate with rice. Season rice, if desired, with a dash of soy sauce. Voila.
Quite good actually. And easy.
A Gifted Man
Airs at 8pm ET on Friday nights. Opposite La Femme Nikita and something else.
Well, this was a surprise. Did not expect to like this show at all. The critics were ambivalent, and it's not a smart, witty, raw or out-there tv series - which may well be the reason. It's quiet, with quietly good performances, cinematography, direction and production style. And soothing. Surprisingly good in places. What I like to call realism. And quite possibly the best pilot I've seen to date. (Which granted isn't saying all that much...considering, I've not been wild about any of the pilots I've seen.)
The premise sounds a bit meh. Hot-shot surgeon with high profile medical practice, starts getting visitations from his dead ex-wife. Ex-wife was running a medical clinic on the lower east side, and she feels that her death left a lot of things in her life up-ended or unresolved. She needs his help to resolve these items so that she can move on. He, of course, doesn't want any part of it - and thinks he's going nuts. Yet, on the other hand, he feels empty and misses her, and can't quite let her go.
From the description - the series sounds moralistic and melo-dramatic. It's neither so far.
Filmed in realistic style with understated and restrained performances from all involved, it's actually much closer to something you might see on PBS. The cast is stellar and possibly the best you'll find on tv this year, without jumping over to the aforementioned PBS or HBO or Showtime for that matter. And the direction, production is reminiscent of shows like Boardwalk Empire or Friday Night Lights. Patrick Wilson is quite good as the lead, appealing, yet realistic at the same time.
His confusion at his ex-wife's visitations ...is understated. A rational man struggling with the irrational. Jennifer Ehle of A&E's Pride and Prejudice fame is also quite good here. Quietly understated...you aren't quite sure if she is real or illusion. And Julie Benze as his sister continues to astonish with her range. (I've decided of the Buffy and Angel cast, Benze is surprisingly the most versatile, next to possibly Anthony Stewart Head. It took me a moment or two to recognize her.) We also have the astonishingly good Margo Martindale as Wilson's assistant.
The writing? To date this is the best writing I've seen in a new series. It's tight. It feels real.
And while not snappy or clever, it's also not cliche. The problem I am having with a lot of the new series is the cliched writing (and yes that includes the sitcoms). It's not great. Nor necessarily memorable, but it is better than anything else I've seen to date. (I tried Playboy Club and gave up fifteen minutes into it - unwatchable.) While the scenario is hardly new, angelic ghost visits hardened surgeon to convince him to do good works so she can move on, the way it is written and directed and performed is new. It's not campy or cheesy, nor saccrine. And so far not preachy or moralistic.
When Wilson's Doctor decides to help one of the patients at his dead ex-wife (Milo)'s clinic get an MRI, he discovers it's not as easy as he thought. First he orders her to get an MRI, the clinic nurse asks where - which establishment? They don't have insurance. Then he says, okay, mine, here's my card - go here and I'll perform it. Which bus do I take to get there, asks the woman.
He ends up driving her himself. And when he takes her into his own facility, he's immediately told - you can't do this, you have this patient who has been waiting for two hours, and another patient on the way, plus the MRI is already booked - for you. He's checking to see if he has a tumor (wise, considering he's seeing his dead ex-wife). The details, it's always the details. And the writers appear to be aware of them. PRime Suspect also appeared to be aware of the minute details.
The setting is NYC - and it looks and feels and smells like NYC. Clearly filmed on location. I even recognized the new park he is running in - I walked in it this summer. It's not glamorized, it's NYC with all it's angles.
Direction and production? Top-notch. Cinematography - flawless.
If I have quibbles? It's just the general concept and plot that I'm a bit uncertain of. But, that said? I admittedly find medical series comforting. For two reasons - 1)I don't trust the medical profession as far as I can throw it, and hospitals terrify me, tv shows will often show me the best of the profession and somehow assuage those fears. It soothes me. 2) It takes me out of my own world and mind - since this is a career I would never ever want and cannot conceive of doing and know zip about. So unlike criminal and legal procedurals where I find myself thinking - they never do that or that is so not true, or where I get irritated and incredibly depressed with few exceptions (The Good Wife is one of the few exceptions as is the Wire), the medical show comforts me. I adore medical procedurals. Always have. Far more comforting than watching a show like Bones or Castle which is about a crime solver who writes books for a living (that hits too close to home, I almost did both for a living and I find both to be a bit like listening to someone run their nails down a chalkboard. While shows like House, Grey's Anatomy, and Gifted Man comfort me. As does The Good Wife - because it makes me happy I did not do that for a living.)
Overall rating? B+/A-
[I've decided the professional critics are seriously stoned and completely unreliable this season.]
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no subject
Date: 2011-09-26 12:29 am (UTC)Good to hear about that show. I'll try to catch it.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-26 05:09 pm (UTC)Difficult to cook when you are single (particularly if you aren't especially keen on left-overs)- you are always screwing up with portions. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2011-09-26 11:02 pm (UTC)Firstly, I love Jennifer Ehle. She is warm, comfortable, smart [perhaps I'm borrowing from P&P] and I like how she she reacted to meeting her ex-husband - with intelligence and wry humor.
I have set my TIVO and I have hope for this one.