Last night I saw The Class at Coolidge Corner. The film follows a year in the life of a Paris high school French class. The students are a mix of native Parisiens and immigrants, some of whom are bright while others struggle. It becomes clear early on that the students in this school are not from the privileged part of Paris.
Watching the film was exhausting, but in a good way. I felt immersed in the class's daily lessons during which the students bombarded their teacher, Mr. Marin, with questions, wisecracks, and the usual adolescent insolence, apathy, and high spirits. The challenges were non-stop. The students were at times moody, angry, and generous. While most of the film was focused on the students in the classroom, there were scenes depicting the teachers discussing each student's progress or lack of and how much or how little discipline to impose.
Overall, it was a very good film, and showed the challenges an urban high school faces educating students who are not from wealthy or comfortably middle class families, and who may be immigrants struggling to fit in a country whose culture doesn't reflect their lives.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Sweet vermouth
For the past month or so I've been trying to make myself the perfect Manhattan. This means that I've been working with sweet vermouth. The first one I bought, Noilly Prat, was far to heavy for me, and had a strange taste to it. Plus, the smell reminds me of a mushroom sauce. I like mushrooms, but I don't want to drink them.
The second is the old standby, Martini & Rossi. It's lighter than the Noilly, and I like it better, but it still had a slightly overpowering taste that I didn't like. But I would definitely use it over the Noilly Prat.
Today I treated myself and bought a bottle of Vya sweet vermouth from Brix. I'd heard it was very good, if expensive. I bought a 750 ml bottle for $25. When I got home I sampled it. Oh. My. Goodness. It is heavenly. It's light, but flavorful, and not too sweet. I tried it in a Manhattan, and it turned out well. Unlike the Manhattans with the othe two vermouths, I thought this one had a touch too much rye. Because the Vya is so good, you can use more of it in a Manhattan than the others.
I think the Noilly Prat will be relegated to a cooking vermouth, the Martini & Rossi to an every day vermouth, and the Vya will be the sweet vermouth of choice.
If I start experimenting with dry martnis I will just go straight for the Vya dry vermouth. I doubt I'll even bother with Noilly Prat or Martini & Rossi.
The second is the old standby, Martini & Rossi. It's lighter than the Noilly, and I like it better, but it still had a slightly overpowering taste that I didn't like. But I would definitely use it over the Noilly Prat.
Today I treated myself and bought a bottle of Vya sweet vermouth from Brix. I'd heard it was very good, if expensive. I bought a 750 ml bottle for $25. When I got home I sampled it. Oh. My. Goodness. It is heavenly. It's light, but flavorful, and not too sweet. I tried it in a Manhattan, and it turned out well. Unlike the Manhattans with the othe two vermouths, I thought this one had a touch too much rye. Because the Vya is so good, you can use more of it in a Manhattan than the others.
I think the Noilly Prat will be relegated to a cooking vermouth, the Martini & Rossi to an every day vermouth, and the Vya will be the sweet vermouth of choice.
If I start experimenting with dry martnis I will just go straight for the Vya dry vermouth. I doubt I'll even bother with Noilly Prat or Martini & Rossi.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Crackberry withdrawal - day 7
My replacement battery arrived today. Excited, I opened the package and placed the battery in my phone, hoping some magic would occur and the Pearl would spring to life. It did not. I plugged the phone in to the charger and.... nothing.
My Blackberry Pearl is dead Dead DEAD!
I find this extremely annoying. The phone is less than one year old! And now it is a paper weight. I know the warranty will cover it, but I am annoyed that it should have died this quickly. I'm also annoyed at the fact I will probably have to wait for a replacement phone. I'm assuming the warranty will require my servicer to ship the phone off for repair. Ideally it'd be nice if I could walk in tomorrow, give them the dead phone, and they just hand me a new one as a replacement. But, somehow I doubt that will happen. Instead, I will probably spend another week living life as I did before I had a smartphone, which means no one's e-mail or snail mail addresses at my finger tips, no ability to look things up on the web when I'm out, and no ability to snap a quick picture of something. At least I have my sim card, so I can still call people on their cell phones. Still, not quite the same. Oh, and not only does the loaner phone lack a calendar function, there's no calculator. So I'm back to figuring out tax and tip in my head, which means I am likely to over tip since I'm not good at math in my head.
*sigh*
I hate to admit it, but maybe I should have gotten an iPhone and eaten the more expensive AT&T plan, as well as put up with a larger, heavier phone.
My Blackberry Pearl is dead Dead DEAD!
I find this extremely annoying. The phone is less than one year old! And now it is a paper weight. I know the warranty will cover it, but I am annoyed that it should have died this quickly. I'm also annoyed at the fact I will probably have to wait for a replacement phone. I'm assuming the warranty will require my servicer to ship the phone off for repair. Ideally it'd be nice if I could walk in tomorrow, give them the dead phone, and they just hand me a new one as a replacement. But, somehow I doubt that will happen. Instead, I will probably spend another week living life as I did before I had a smartphone, which means no one's e-mail or snail mail addresses at my finger tips, no ability to look things up on the web when I'm out, and no ability to snap a quick picture of something. At least I have my sim card, so I can still call people on their cell phones. Still, not quite the same. Oh, and not only does the loaner phone lack a calendar function, there's no calculator. So I'm back to figuring out tax and tip in my head, which means I am likely to over tip since I'm not good at math in my head.
*sigh*
I hate to admit it, but maybe I should have gotten an iPhone and eaten the more expensive AT&T plan, as well as put up with a larger, heavier phone.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A French 28 Derivation
Last night I made a new cocktail derived from the French 28, a champagne cocktail from the restaurant 28 Degrees. Lacking champagne, I cut that out of the mix. I also wasn't in the mood for Chambord, so I used grenadine instead. And, since I didn't have any lemons I used lime juice.
2 oz Bombay Sapphire gin
1 oz Cointreau
0.5 oz grenadine
0.5 oz lime juice
The cocktail had a mellow flavor, maybe because I used Bombay Sapphire instead of Plymouth. Using the grenadine instead of the Chambord cuts down the alcohol content but maintains the sweetness. While the cocktail had a sweet and sour tartness, it was slightly more sweet, but that might be because I used a touch more grenadine than 0.5 oz.
I did a quick search for cocktails made with these ingredients and I didn't find any, so maybe I have another cocktail to name. How about a Pink Sapphire? (But I guess that only works if it's always made with Bombay Sapphire.)
2 oz Bombay Sapphire gin
1 oz Cointreau
0.5 oz grenadine
0.5 oz lime juice
The cocktail had a mellow flavor, maybe because I used Bombay Sapphire instead of Plymouth. Using the grenadine instead of the Chambord cuts down the alcohol content but maintains the sweetness. While the cocktail had a sweet and sour tartness, it was slightly more sweet, but that might be because I used a touch more grenadine than 0.5 oz.
I did a quick search for cocktails made with these ingredients and I didn't find any, so maybe I have another cocktail to name. How about a Pink Sapphire? (But I guess that only works if it's always made with Bombay Sapphire.)
Brandy Plum Pie
A few months ago, when you could still find plums, I made a brandy plum pie using the recipe from Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book (11th edition). It turned out very well, and you could taste the brandy, but it didn't overpower the pie.
Ingredients:
Crumb topping:
1/2 Cup flour
1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbl butter
Using a fork or knife mix the ingredients by cutting the butter into the flour and sugar. Mix until the butter is blended and the the texture is, well, crumbly.
Filling:
3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
1/4 Cup flour
1/4 Cup brandy
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 Cups sliced and pitted plums (1.75 pounds)
Extra topping:
1/3 Cup chopped almonds or pecans
Mix the filling ingredients together in a bowl, cover, and let sit while you make the pie dough. This will give the ingredients time to blend together, especially the brandy!
Make enough pie dough for a single crust pie. (I used the recipe from the Fanny Farmer Cook Book.) Line the pie pan with the rolled out dough.
Pour the filling into the pie shell. Sprinkle the crumb topping on top. Sprinkle the chopped nuts on the pie.
Cover the edge of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from burning. Do NOT cover the entire pie - just the edge. Place the pie in an oven pre-heated to 375 and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the foil and bake the pie for another 20-25 minutes until the top is golden.
My guess is the extra baking time to is to allow the alcohol to cook out. When I made the pie I did two things differently than in the recipe. I mixed the filling first (as indicated here) to allow the brandy to soak in, and I made an error and use 1/3 cup of brandy instead of 1/4 cup. I don't think it caused any harm.
Ingredients:
Crumb topping:
1/2 Cup flour
1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbl butter
Using a fork or knife mix the ingredients by cutting the butter into the flour and sugar. Mix until the butter is blended and the the texture is, well, crumbly.
Filling:
3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
1/4 Cup flour
1/4 Cup brandy
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 Cups sliced and pitted plums (1.75 pounds)
Extra topping:
1/3 Cup chopped almonds or pecans
Mix the filling ingredients together in a bowl, cover, and let sit while you make the pie dough. This will give the ingredients time to blend together, especially the brandy!
Make enough pie dough for a single crust pie. (I used the recipe from the Fanny Farmer Cook Book.) Line the pie pan with the rolled out dough.
Pour the filling into the pie shell. Sprinkle the crumb topping on top. Sprinkle the chopped nuts on the pie.
Cover the edge of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from burning. Do NOT cover the entire pie - just the edge. Place the pie in an oven pre-heated to 375 and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the foil and bake the pie for another 20-25 minutes until the top is golden.
My guess is the extra baking time to is to allow the alcohol to cook out. When I made the pie I did two things differently than in the recipe. I mixed the filling first (as indicated here) to allow the brandy to soak in, and I made an error and use 1/3 cup of brandy instead of 1/4 cup. I don't think it caused any harm.
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