Message Board Celebrity Of The Day (Part I) - papalovesmambo- Page 84

[NYadgal]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 5:50pm

I finally have a few free minutes, so thought I'd join the festivities.

Are you having fun, Tiff?

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 5:53pm

Patronus asked me:

1. What is a surprising dream/goal/fantasy of mine? (I'm assuming it has to be PG.)

I have two lists - one of things I had to do before I turned 21 (sadly, I only accomplished maybe half of these) and things to do before I die. I want to be a Jeopardy! contestant. And I want to go to Egypt, Cambodia and Japan. I'm also on a quest to decide what the best meal of my life is. Oh, and lose 30 pounds, but that's not a surprising goal. I also want to bungee-jump and then sky-dive. And my secret unbridled passion has always been to become a film actress, but then I got realistic and now I'm stuck production assisting and being deemed to fat to be Lucy Liu's hand double. (Yes, it was a while ago, but it still smarts, people!)

2. What is my court room fantasy for "closing arguments"?

Well, for one - I would be dressed like Stephanie March from L&O: SVU, in the fitted skirt suit and heels, with the smart glasses and sleek hair. That's it.

Just kidding - I would be giving an impassionate plea to the jury about some sort of unconstitutional law or policy (not that that would ever happen since it would actually go to the Supreme Court, but this is my fantasy so work with me here), and I would so move the spectators and jury that one-by-one, like in the movies, they would slowly stand up and applaud me, and I would win the case. And did I mention the heels and cute skirt suit?

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 5:54pm

I'm having a BALL, Addy!

Oops, I missed one of Patronus's questions...

[Patronus]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 5:59pm

It's okay...bringing back the last question I asked doesn't do me any favors.

Good answers!

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 6:02pm

3. What's the longest I've gone without changing my underwear?

Oh, Patty, you naughty boy!

The longest I've gone is about half a week - let me explain (it's not like this is a Canadian thing, okay?). I used to work for the feds at a beautiful national park in Newfoundland, called Gros Morne. Part of my job was to go to the back-country of Labrador (like that's not redundant) for a week to collect some samples, observe the upkeep and camp there for a week. Unfortunately, I was stupid, and I put my 7 bundles of panties on the outer pockets of my hiking backpack, and after hiking into some bumpy terrain and slipping a bit - by the time we got to the campsite, I was down to 2 pairs, and it was dark. I thought I could deal since there HAS to be showers somewhere. Alas, not only where there no shower facilities, there were no toilet facilities either, and only one outhouse which is a literal phobia of mine (and apparently became "full" on Day 4). And there was no water source at all. So I figured I would wear one pair of undies for 3.5 days, and switch to the other pair for the last 3.5 days. I was totally dehydrating since: a) I didn't want to have to squat-pee if I could avoid it; b) I sort of used the Dasani to clean the...important areas.

If anyone was planning to ask me what's the toughest week of my life, that would be it. I'm a city girl and I don't do "roughing it" ("camping" = 2-star hotel). But it sure got me out of my comfort zone and it's probably one of the proudest experiences of my life.

Oh, and JFTR, Labrador has little black flies, which are like fruitflies or tiny mosquitos except that instead of sucking your blood, they actually bite a bit of flesh off of you, and suddenly you'll wonder why there's a tiny dot of blood in your ear or other crevices. Let's just say the whole squat-peeing in the night did NOT turn out so well.

Gros Morne National Park:



Black fly:



Me:

Updated On: 1/27/06 at 06:02 PM

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 6:47pm

To Tiff with love:



-- BlueWizard

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 6:48pm

And Olivia at her most fabulous:

[Marlene]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 6:52pm

*is disturbed by the details of tiff roughing it out*

nice boa!

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 6:55pm

Thanks, BlueWiz! Another reason to like her! (More so than him - he has a used car salesman look - but I think she's fantastic.)



(And as a side note, Gong hay fat choy, eh? The trials and tribulations of being young and single for once pay us back with food and money!)

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 6:59pm

I'm so late to this party that I can't take the time to read the posts before - I mean, I will - but first I have to say how EXCITED I am that it's Tiff's day!!!

Okay, I'm sucking up to an Idol judge, a necessary evil, but even so, allow me to say she is one of the smartest, prettiest, most cynical people I know.

I'm proud to be her Auntie. Not her Nana. Auntie.

[shameless]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 7:47pm

What is this? First, she shows up hours late and then she leaves early! The nerve of some people.

Tiff, I'm leaving you a few questions to answer at your leisure.


If we asked your best friend to describe you, what would he or she say? How accurate would it be?

If you could have dinner with any four people, who would you choose and why?

What’s something that you’ve never done, but have always wanted to try?

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:21pm

Of course, I had to be named CotD on the ONE DAY where I'm too busy to be on there from afternoon until wee morning!

Mominator asked what's my idea of the perfect day.

I would wake up in Paris at a hotel overlooking the Champs. I'd head out for a croissant and coffee, and take a towncar to Mont-Martre where I'd while away the rest of the morning in the artisan square and eat a baguette. And I would shop with Oliver Martinez by my side.

Then I'd fly my private jet (because this is my perfect day and realistically, I can't apparate) to Venice, arriving in the mid-late afternoon. I'd get lost in the little alleys, perhaps visit Murano for some glassware, visit the Peggy Guggenheim, have gelato in San Marco, dine at a hotel restaurant overlooking the Grand Canal, and then take one of those campy gondolas down to watch the evening lights with Oliver (and not pay those exhorbitant prices, since again, this is the perfect day).

Updated On: 1/27/06 at 09:21 PM

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:22pm

eep... fprgot to say congrats tiff

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:25pm

Thanks Abba!

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:30pm

Mominator also asked what my favorite meal is.

Hmm...I had this discussion with my parents the other day - what I would eat for my last dinner. (I also thought this when watching Last Holiday a few weeks ago.)

I like a variety of meals - I'm just as happy eating a good sandwich or wonton soup as I am eating filet mignon. I'm a big meat eater (no jokes, sickos!), so a good rib eye makes me happy. With garlic mashed potatoes and perhaps a lobster tail or two. I also like sushi a lot. And pasta. And a good French duck could make me teary with joy.

The best meals I've had in recent memory are the 4-course lunch at Tre Scalini in Piazza Navona (Rome) and a maple glazed magret de canard I ate at Restaurant La Diva in Nice. Oh, and the steak and fois gras I had in Tours at L'Odeon. Heaven.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:46pm

Which leads me to Kissy's question, what were my European highlights...

Those meals, for one. Good pastries in France for breakfast. Good bread in France and Italy.

Gambling in Monte Carlo (one of the Aussies I was on the tour with won EU16k on his third pull at the slots, so we all got sloshed).

The Cologne Cathedral in Germany (and the pastry shop near by - even though the locals were as rude as hell).

Venice - being on the Grand Canal, window-shopping at the high-end stores, having my first tiramisu in Piazza San Marco, going to the Peggy Guggenheim...

Rome - I didn't like Rome, the city, very much, but liked Piazza Navona. I particularly liked the Vatican, even though I'm not religious. It's just an enormous architectural and anthropological masterpiece and the art in St. Peter's was impressive (I was also there just weeks after JPII's death).

Florence - Shopping

Paris - Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. It was at 10pm and we had just arrived in the city and went straight there, just as it began twinkling. I started to cry because Paris was one of the cities I had to see before I died, and it's now one of my most favorite cities I've been to. I found the people friendly, the shopping wonderful, the museums world-class (natch) and the food was just as good as I'd imagined.

I also really enjoyed going around the Normandy and Loire Valley area for a while. Chenonceau, Chambord and Fontainebleau were spectacular in its size, preservation and history, and I'm fascinated by religious history, so the old-school cathedrals and churches like the ones I saw in Rouen and Chartres were inspiring experiences. I'd love to go back, and visit Versailles as well.

And bring a larger suitcase - I had the bright idea that 3kg of Rougie confit and fois gras would surely not take up THAT much room, but I was wrong.

(And side note, can anyone advise me what I should cook using my Calvados? I ought to use it soon but I'm at a loss.)

Updated On: 1/27/06 at 09:46 PM

[Alix7272]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:58pm

Congrats Tiff!

[Plum]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:10pm

Ooh, I'll get you some Calvados recipes. Hold on.

(But to start with, I remember having a crepe in France that had cooked apple, cinnamon, vanilla ice cream and Calvados. Yum.)

[Plum]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:12pm

ETA: Woohoo! Found more. :/ Courtesy of The New York Times:

APPLE BREAD PUDDING WITH CALVADOS SAUCE
Time: 1 1/2 hours

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Calvados
3 1/2 cups torn baguette in 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 vanilla bean, split
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups fresh cider
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch.

1. Butter a 6-to-8-cup souffle dish or other baking dish. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples, and saute about 5 minutes, until apples start to brown. Add 3 tablespoons sugar. Saute a minute or two, until sugar caramelizes. Transfer to a bowl. Add half the Calvados.
3. Melt remaining butter in pan over low heat. Add bread, and toss a few minutes to coat with butter. Spoon half the apples into the baking dish, and top with half the bread. Repeat.
4. Place half-and-half and vanilla bean in a saucepan. Scald. Stir in 1/2 cup sugar. Remove from heat. Whisk a little of this mixture into eggs; then slowly whisk eggs into half-and-half. Strain into baking dish, and dust with nutmeg. Place dish on a kitchen towel in a roasting pan. Add simmering water to come halfway up sides. Bake 40 minutes, until just set.
5. Meanwhile, boil cider until reduced by half. Sift remaining sugar with cornstarch; whisk into cider. Simmer until thick. Add remaining Calvados. Serve warm on pudding.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

APPLE GRANITA WITH CALVADOS
Time: 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes' cooling, and 1 hour's freezing and stirring

4 large Granny Smith apples, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
4 cups unsweetened clear apple juice
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup Calvados, or as desired.


1. Place a shallow metal pan in freezer. In a nonreactive saucepan, combine apples, apple juice, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered until apples are very tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Strain mixture, pressing as much apple pulp as possible through strainer. Cool to room temperature.

3. Pour apple mixture into chilled pan; return to freezer. Stir every 20 minutes until it thickens into coarse crystals, about 1 hour.

4. Stir granita and mound into small cups. Splash with Calvados. Serve immediately.


CALVADOS SOUFFLE WITH TAPIOCA
Adapted from La Bourride in Caen, France
Time: 2 hours

1 golden delicious apple
1 3/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon tapioca
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/4 cup flour
5 tablespoons sugar, plus additional for coating ramekins
8 large eggs
Butter for coating pastry cream and greasing ramekins
1 cup Calvados
Confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling.


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place apple on a baking sheet, and bake until just tender but still slightly crisp, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool. Peel and core apple, and then cut into small dice. Set aside.

2. Prepare pastry cream: In small saucepan, combine milk, tapioca and vanilla bean. Place over medium heat, and bring to just under a boil. Remove from heat, and allow mixture to rest for 5 minutes. Remove vanilla bean, and scrape pulp back into the milk. In medium saucepan, combine flour and sugar until blended. Whisk milk into flour until completely blended. Place over medium-high heat, and boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and set aside.

3. Separate eggs. Place 7 yolks into a medium mixing bowl, and 8 whites into the bowl of an electric mixer; discard remaining yolk. Whisk yolks by hand until light and fluffy. Whisk about 1/2 cup of the milk mixture into yolks, and then whisk this mixture back into the pan of milk. Place the pan over medium heat, and continue whisking until mixture is thickened and will coat the back of a spoon, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the hot mixture to a bowl, and gently slide a pat of butter over the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool.

4. In a small saucepan, bring calvados to a boil, and reduce by half. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature. Fold apple dice and Calvados into pastry cream.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter 8 1-cup ramekins. Sprinkle sugar into each ramekin, and turn so that inside is completely coated. Set aside a fine-mesh strainer filled with confectioners' sugar.

6. Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. Fold a third of the egg whites into the pastry cream to lighten it; then, add this back to the remaining whites and fold together. Spoon souffle mixture into ramekins, filling them almost to top. Smooth edges by running thumb around edges of rims. Place ramekins on baking sheet, and bake until raised and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and tap strainer over souffles to sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings.
Updated On: 1/27/06 at 10:12 PM

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:15pm

Tiff - congrats.

I am sending you my pretend gold card for all of your indulgences this day!

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:33pm

Thanks, YWIW!

Plum, I'm printing out those recipes.

I just had to turn down a full-time key PA job for a new movie starting principle photog tomorrow because I have a Chinese New Year dinner I cannot miss. People underestimate the power of Chinese parent guilt. I'm so crushed. Look at this cast! Full time work! Around $20k in pay! *faints*

http://imdb.com/title/tt0460745/

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:37pm

Hey, I may be moving to Hong Kong for a year!

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:38pm

I <3 Tiff!

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:39pm

Wow, YWIW! Why?!

Plum, did you see that cast list? SARAH CHALKE! I could cry.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:40pm

Tiff if you don't take it, I'm going to have you banned from BWW for life.

Not that I'm the new mod or anything.