Eggstraordinary 4/1

I was watching the Food Network, something I do a lot - a lot - A LOT - while I'm on the road - and I saw an episode about Eggs on the Best Thing I Ever Ate. There were two dishes that looked really cool, and I decided to combine them. I took a piece of sourdough bread, brushed it with olive oil, and broiled it with some medium sharp italian cheese I had (I forget which one!).

Then, the fun part. I saw on this show how a chef had poached an egg in a little saran wrap bag so that it was perfectly cooked in the white, but totally soft in the middle. So I decided to try it. I put a one foot square piece of saran wrap into a half cup measure, dropped in an egg and twisted it closed into a little pouch. I put that into boiling water for 3 minutes. It was a little difficult to control, since it bobbed around and I didn't want it to tip over and get filled with water, so I held it for a while, until it got too hot. Then I had the bright idea of sticking a steak knife through the plastic twist at the top, and balancing it on the edge of the pot. It worked great.

How was it?

Amazing. Bread nice and crisped but soft in the middle, cheese pungent and tangy, and the egg was absolutely wonderful. The yolk became a rich creamy sauce, and the white was delicate, not too dry, but not mushy like a poached egg sometimes can be. Yummy.

Cooking Log 3/30 - Broiled Shrimp and Eggplant Salad

So obviously I haven't written anything in a very long time. I ultimately decided that I wasn't really a blogger, and that there was too much going on in my life that I actually DIDN'T want to share with people for it to make sense for me to be blogging.

Right now I'm in San Jose, doing God of Carnage, and I'm cooking a lot for myself with minimal ingredients and no recipes. This gave me an idea. I often make up recipes, and Kelli often tells me I should write them down so I can repeat them. So I thought maybe that would be a good use for my blog. So, today's discoveries:

Playing around with broiler a lot here. No grill, don't want to fry everything. So made two things.

1. Broiled Shrimp

Took shrimp, tail on, and tossed them with paprika, chopped garlic, oregano, a little cayenne, some cumin, and a bit of the smoked sea salt I've been enjoying recently. Added a bit of olive oil and broiled for about 3 minutes. Dumped a handful of chopped cilantro on top, and then squirted with half a lime.

How was it?

Pretty darned tasty. Nice about of heat and tang with the sweetness of the shrimp and great flavors from the spices. When I do it again, I think I will change out the ground cumin for roasted cumin seeds: the cumin didn't get a chance to meld, and so was a little bitter and a bit powdery. But still good.

2. Eggplant salad

Took some onion slices and broiled them. Took some Chinese Eggplant, sliced it thin and broiled it, too. Cut the eggplant into slivers, and mixed with slivered kirby cucumber and red peppers. Chopped up the onion and then put the salad together. Put some cucumber and pepper on the bottom, piled the eggplant on that, and the onion on that, and then topped with the rest of the cukes and peppers. Dressed with lemon and olive oil, some oregano and bit of my trusty smoked sea salt.

How was it?

Really good. The smokiness of the eggplant was nicely balanced by the crisp fresh veg, and the onions added a nice sweetness. Grilling the eggplant and onion would be really good. And next time I'll use fresh oregano. That will be nice.

How I became 100 artists

So this guy is the latest TED speaker to blow my mind. This is an amazing project that crosses so many boundaries:

Between visual art and theatre, between satire and celebration, between the business of art and the creative process. Basically, this guy made up 100 artists, complete with names, histories and philosophies, and created individual artworks made by these imaginary artists for a biennial show for which he is the "curator". This inspires me for three reasons. First, this is the creative entrepreneurial spirit at its best. If it doesn't exist, you invent it - fearlessly, with wit, love and passion. Second, it is an ingenious way not only to make interesting art, but at the same time to examine the process by which art is made. Third, I think a lot of the art is pretty damn good. Watch this:

Shea Hembrey: How I became 100 artists | Video on TED.com

I love actors

We had auditions for Rent today. For those of you who haven't heard yet, I have somehow found myself in the position of directing Rent at the New Rep. I'm not quite sure how this happened. It's a good thing, as it has shown me once again that it is never a good idea to dismiss anyone or anything because you just don't know. This musical, that I had dismissed out of hand as being smug, self-important and uninteresting is proving to offer an exciting world, strong characters, drop-dead gorgeous moments, and an opportunity to tell a story that has suddenly become incredibly relevant to my own life.

And actors. They drive me so crazy sometimes, as those of you have read this blog have seen, but after a day like today I just love them. People putting themselves, their dreams, their ideas of themselves out there with no protection, with guts, wit, good humor, charm and a total willingness to do whatever. It was so much fun watching them all go after it with such verve and what-the-hell commitment.

I am so grateful to all the auditioners, they have once again re-affirmed my belief in the worthiness of this ridiculous profession. I wish I could cast them all.

Brains! Brains!

There was a very interesting show on either WBUR or WGBH this weekend, not sure which (I poked around some trying to figure it out, to know avail) about the brain. Specifically, it was an interview with Oliver Sacks, the great neuroscientist, and another guy, a painter, both of whom suffer from Face Blindness, or Prosopagnosia - the difficulty that a surprisingly large number of people have recognizing faces. It was a fascinating conversation, that dealt with the issue of recognition, and how we get by in a world where we don't recognize the things in front of us.

Anyhow, I was so tired today, after hoisting furniture into and out trucks for two days, that on a whim I Googled "Face Blindness". It lead me to this really neat website filled with really interesting cognitive tests. It's called:

Testmybrain.org and I spent the rest of the evening taking all the tests. Do I have Face Blindness (no), how good am I at visually picking things out of clutter (lousy), how good am I at reading faces (better than average)? It was really interesting and a fantastic time-waster. Check it out.

Master of None

Back soon. Promise. Three weeks of 18 hour days. I haven't worked this hard since we started ASP. But I'm having so much fun. I love playing around in a theater. At this point on this project I am: Creator, Producer, Director, Writer, Publicist, Marketer, Sound Designer, Video Designer, Asst. Lighting Designer, Asst. Set Designer, Props Master, Costume Coordinator, Electrician, Event Manager, and Light Board Op. And I couldn't be happier. It is true. Theater can be fun.

Tina Hey

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I am at the wall with Blood Rose Rising: the workshop, and we haven't even started rehearsals yet. Next week is going to be something else, let me tell you.

In the meantime, I wanna talk about Tina Fey. I didn't watch Saturday Night Live in the early 2000s. I am one of those annoying old farts she refers to derisively in her book (yeah, I read her book), who "thinks the show hasn't been good since the seventies". And I totally missed 30 Rock until recently. It wasn't until I saw her do her Sarah Palin on SNL during the election that I even knew who she was. And I was impressed. And I thought she was kinda cute. Not as Sarah Palin, as herself. So when we breezed by Date Night on Netflix a few months back, with all-time fav Steve Carell, I was open. And she was fabulous. So the interest gets piqued a little more. So when I get my awesome little iPad for Christmas, and Kelli and I are looking for something light to watch on it while we are snuggling up in bed, I thought, "hey, Tina Fey, what's this 30 Rock I've heard so little about?" So we watch.

I am in love. I admit it. I am in love. I wanted to enter into a polygamous marriage with Tina Fey and her husband. I don't know him, but I'm sure he's great. First of all, the show is laugh out loud funny - every few lines. I don't remember laughing so hard at a sitcom in, probably ever. And it's wonderfully weird. It manages to pull off the silly weirdness of real people in a way that Arrested Development never quite did for me. Liz Lemon is lovable, horrible, selfish and idealistic all at the same time in a totally improbable and completely believable way. And of course Alec Baldwin is a genius. Who knew? The whole cast is hilarious, and Jane Krakowski as Jenna does such brilliant satire on a subject that you all know has caused me more than my fair share of pain and frustration. We're just starting season 4 now, and I can't get enough!

So I read her book, Bossypants. That woman is 1)hilarious; 2)smart; 3)so honest; 4)just adorable. It's a great read, you should get it.

So yeah, Tina, if you want to move to Utah with me and Kelli and Jeff and all the kids and animals, just say the word. I'm there.