(Source: catleecious, via bunnyfood)
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I am a big movie fan, so the day of the Oscar broadcast is always a big day for me. I rush to see all the movies I can before the Oscars and then watch the inevitably disappointing broadcast with predictable and/or poorly chosen winners. But I haven’t gotten tired of watching it yet.
This year, it had been a couple of weeks since I had baked a pie - and I invited friends over to watch the broadcast - so I thought it was a great opportunity to make an Oscar pie.
I decided to make a cherry pie, because the last cherry pie I had made was really delicious. I’ve never been into fruit pies, so I’m surprised how much I’m enjoying making and eating them. Plus, the sight of the berries with the sugar is really pretty. One thing I’ve realized is that the aesthetic pleasure I get from the pies is half the reason why I enjoying baking pies so much. It gives you the chance to be creative in different ways.
I learn something every time I make a pies. This time, I learned about the proper way to work with the dough. The pie crust recipe I use gets very hard in the refrigerator. In the past I’ve taken it out of the refrigerator to defrost it, and it hasn’t gotten soft enough. I’ve zapped it in the microwave to speed up the process, and it’s turned into a gooey mess. This time, I let the dough warm up to room temperature at the proper pace - two hours. And it resulted in dough that was perfect to work with.
However, I’ve realized that I’ve been rolling the dough too thin. The ideal thickness should be 1/8 inch. I typically roll it thinner, so the slice of pie is not anchored at the bottom and tips over.
Another lesson learned - I ran out of tapioca and used cornstarch as the thickener instead. The pie did not thicken properly. With fruit pies, runny filling is always a source of worry. If you are using cornstarch, you need to let the filling get hot enough to allow the cornstarch to work its magic, something I neglected to do this time. People say that a runny pie is still delicious, but I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my pie.
I’ll take these lessons with me for the next pie. It’s been two weeks since the Oscars, so it’s about time to bake another one!
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It’s one of the biggest days of the year for me — Oscar Day! Up until Oscar Day, I rush to see as many 2012 movies as I can. Here are my favorites.
1. Silver Linings Playbook
You could describe this movie a couple of ways, but I choose to think of it as a romantic comedy with a darker tinge. It has romantic comedy cheesiness but also real emotional rawness. This movie would’ve been half the movie it became if it hadn’t been for the great acting. J-Law, I love you and am rooting for you tonight.
2. Zero Dark Thirty
It’s a crime that this movie was marred by the torture scandal and that Katherine Bigelow wasn’t recognized with a Best Director nomination. Since Chris Pratt from Parks and Recreation is in it, I like to think of this movie as an extended Andy Dwyer dream sequence. I liked Jessica Chastain’s performance but don’t think it showed the depth and diversity of J-Law’s.
3. Flight
This movie definitely felt old school — just a simple story of one man’s struggle, with a great central performance and interesting supporting characters. Denzel Washington plays a despicable character, but Yet we are rooting for him. If I could vote, I’d choose Denzel Washington for best actor.
4. Take This Waltz
This is a story of a woman who has an attraction to a man other than her husband. I can’t remember a movie that does a better job in chronicling the emotions that a woman goes through in this situation. My friends and I walked out of the movie debating whether we thought she had done the right thing and what we thought the movie was trying to say. Don’t miss this one on Netflix Instant!
5. The Master
Great, puzzling movie from one of my favorite directors! I admire this movie, but I rate this lower because I wasn’t able to get emotionally involved with the characters.
6. Moonrise Kingdom
This is the perfect Wes Anderson movie. It’s highly stylized, but it really works, probably because Anderson’s storybook style works best for children.
7. The Hunger Games
Even though I knew what was going to happen, I was still on the edge of my seat.
8. Skyfall
James Bond meets Home Alone. I’m not a huge Bond fan, but I loved this one!
9. The Dark Knight Rises
I don’t think many people agree with me, but this is my favorite movie in the series. I think what ultimately gets me is Michael Caine! Anne Hathaway surprisingly did not annoy me.
10. 21 Jump Street
Looking back, I’m a little surprised I rated this movie higher than Magic Mike. I think it executed on what it was trying to do perfectly. This was also the year of Channing Tatum. I didn’t think much of him before this year, but now I love him!
Other 2012 movies, with my IMDB ratings:
The Invisible War 8
Cloud Atlas 8
The Central Park Five 8
Lincoln 7
Magic Mike 7
The Perks of Being a Wallflower 7
Looper 7
Your Sister’s Sister 7
Safety Not Guaranteed 7
Wuthering Heights 7
Hitchcock 7
Argo 6
Prometheus 6
Wanderlust 6
Amour 6
Haywire 6
Ruby Sparks 6
How to Survive a Plague 6
360 6
Brave 5
The Hobbit 5
Deep Blue Sea 5
Django Unchained 4
Beasts of the Southern Wild 4
Kate Upton and Ryan Gosling Explain the Sequester
THE DIGITAL 50: The 50 Hottest People In Online Politics -
As someone who works in online politics, this is a great list that I may want to return to sometime in the future.
(via blankthoughts)