Sunday = Funday

Shrimp Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms, originally uploaded by savemejebus.

To paraphrase an Of Montreal song, everyday should be like Sunday, yesterday in particular. Not that there was anything especially spectacular about it, but the day just felt complete.

I started with a 14 mile run with the gang at the Rose Bowl. The weather was perfect--clean, fresh air and spectacular views of snow-covered mountains. Afterwards, I grabbed coffee from Jones and picked up ingredients from Whole Foods for the risotto (see picture above) I was going to make as my Oscar dinner. I'm shocked to discover that Whole Foods doesn't sell shrimp with heads on. For shame! I needed the heads to make a broth. Luckily I live right by a Korean market that does sell whole shrimp--and it was on sale for $2.90/pound.

Before heading home I stopped by FJ's to get some new music. Man, that guy has quite a collection. I'll need to come by again and get some of his 1,000 cover songs.

By the time I left FJ's house it was too late to make myself a breakfast or lunch, so I just stopped by Heirloom in South Pasadena and got an open-faced egg salad sandwich. When I got home the Oscar preshow was starting.

I began making the broth for the risotto just before the Oscars started and it perfumed my apartment with the smell of shrimp broth, which is a good thing. Out of the context of being with my family, it reminded me of growing up and my Mom cooking dinner.

Cooking risotto takes some time, but it's not difficult to make. The ingredients are few and simple to prepare. I think I prefer making things that take a while to make. Like a lot things I prefer pacing myself instead of rushing. I can prep the next ingredient while the others are simmering. If only I always had a couple of hours to cook, and when you're starving, taking two hours to cook something is out of the question. The risotto turned out great. The fresh shrimp broth really makes a difference. I paired it with the pan-fried bell peppers I liked so much last week so that I had a truly Venetian meal.

As for the Oscars themselves, there were some suprises. Unfortunately, they were bad ones. Precious for adapted screenplay? And as much as I like Sandra Bullock as an actress and person, she was easily the least of the five nominated performances. She now has the distinction of winning a Razzie and an Oscar in the same year--the worst and the best.

The show was one of the worst ones I recall seeing in the 20 years I've been watching the Oscars. The hosts, though, were terrific. Steve Martin has been my favorite Oscar host, and I hope he comes back again. However, for a show that ran long, there were no memorable moments, but there were a lot of awkward segments. I like John Hughes but he does not warrant an extended tribute. All in all, I was underwhelmed.

To close out the evening I decided to watch Kings and Queen, a DVD I've had from Netflix for almost two months now. But after an hour, the activities of the day and just the lack of sleep the last couple of weeks caught up with me and I started falling asleep. I turned the movie off and turned in. It was the earliest I've gone to bed in some time. It was great, and I woke up today feeling refreshed. Actually it took me some time to realize that it's Monday.

Another work week coming up and a fun weekend next week.