List 93

Love: The Meatball Shop in New York - and especially their terrific cookbook that lets you easily recreate their many different kinds of balls at home. For a birthday dinner for Erich this past Friday, I was feeling ambitious and made three different balls (classic beef, spicy pork, and chicken) and three different sauces (classic tomato, mushroom gravy, and parmesan cream) for a group of friends.  I'm tempted to compare my efforts with the real thing by attending The Meatball Shop's pop up at Oakland's Hopscotch tonight, but have a bit of a meatball hangover still. 

Like: Speaking of meatballs, a meatball shaper is one of those kitchen gadgets that could prove to be a lame waste of money (I'm thinking about you, mango slicer) but is actually massively useful, letting you create consistent, perfectly shaped balls.

Discovery: West Elm MARKET which sells well-designed utilitarian goods.  Almost makes me want to iron.

Obsession: Friends turned us onto early 1970s Detroit musician Rodriguez, subject of the well-reviewed documentary Searching for Sugar Man, which is about how some obsessed fans from South Africa (where Rodriguez had become a cult favorite) tried to determine if he was still alive and track him down. His song "I Think of You" is stuck in my head like crazy.

Complaint: That Syfy didn't order a full series of Battlestar Galactica prequel Blood and Chrome, which focuses on young Bill Adama during the first cylon war.  I'm watching the webisodes - new ones are released every Friday - and will tune in for the full movie when it airs in February, but think it had potential to be more.

List 89

Love: Rookie Yearbook One, which gathers the best of crazy-talented, crazy-precocious Tavi Gevinson's teen girl site's content from September 2011-May 2012 into one well-designed package. I love Rookie's use of monthly themes("Secrets," "Girl Gang," "Transformation"), its writers' breathless discovery of, and quasi nostalgia for, things I actually did grow up with (the band Heart is "Literally, the best thing ever"), its exploration of the emotions and angst of teen girldom ("How to Approach the Person You Like Without Throwing Up," "How to Look Like You Weren't Just Crying in Less Than Five Minutes," "How to Survive a Small Town") and its mapping of the all-important little details ("Midnight Snacks: A Taxonomy," How to Clear Your Room In 10 Minutes.") Rookie Yearbook One is hands-down one of the most fun and vibrant things I've read through in ages.

Like: Portland's Olympic Provisions sausage. Double like that you can now buy it in certain Bay Area gourmet shops, like Oakland/Berkeley's Pasta Shops.

Discovery: Temescal Alley, or, as Erich brilliantly dubbed it, Hipster Deadwood.™ Tucked away behind Pizzaiolo, parallel with Telegraph Avenue, it features, among other things, a solid mid-century antiques store, a vintage clothing shop, a dry goods store, a horticulture shop (for your terrarium needs), and, yes, a barber shop.

Obsession: Horses.  Back when I was a kid, like most girls, I spent hundreds of hours playing with horse models, reading horse books like Misty of Chincoteague, and researching the feasability of turning our garage in Milwaukee into a stable (a no-go).  Stella is now playing with my old models, which had been carefully boxed in the attic all these years, and for her birthday was given a wonderful gift by some good friends, the next best thing to having her own horse: partial sponsorship of one at Sunrise Horse Rescue in Napa, outside St. Helena.  The horses they've saved have heartbreaking stories with happy endings.  This weekend we decided to contribute toward the upkeep of thoroughbreds Richie and Stryder, and plan to visit them every couple of months.

Complaint: After years and years of avoiding it, I'm going to have to suck it up and subscribe to Showtime because of Homeland.  We are rolling through Season 1 on DVD, it's gripping, the acting is bang on, and we just can't bear to wait a year with the promise of brand spanking new episodes starting this weekend.  This will likely push our monthly Xfinity Xtortion/bill past $275.

List 87

Love: FuseBOX, deep in West Oakland, which is currently open only for lunch 3 days a week, but has the feeling of someplace that will become a destination for foodies. Everything was delicious - from the assorted vegetable skewers to the host of housemade kimchees and pickles that accompanied a skirt steak, to a potted cheesecake with corn flake crumbles. Their wings are supposedly out of this world too. I need to get some coworkers to sign up for a Friday lunch excursion.

Like: Sylvie Bednar's Flags of the World book, which is so fun to look through, filled with interesting facts that decode each flag's various symbols, colors and patterns, that I bought one for us and a dozen more to have on hand to give as gifts to all the kids whose birthday parties Stella will inevitably be invited to in the coming year.

Discovery: The Strawberry Alarm pizza from Seattle's Flying Squirrel, which pairs spicy coppa salumi with the sweet fruit, along with goat cheese and toasted walnuts.  Who knew this combination would work so well? Might be worth trying at home before the local strawberries disappear.

Obsession: The perfectly-sized, nicely-weighted spirit glasses Pizzaiolo uses for their negronis. I tracked them down at East Bay Restaurant Supply, a good place to stock up on other things as well, like a commercial ice cream scoop and wood-handled whisks. Oh, and randomly, they have a GIANT taxidermy polar bear by the entrance. Yes!  

Complaint:  That there is no ferry commute option from the Berkeley Marina into San Francisco. I had the occasion to take the ferry roundtrip from Tiburon a few weeks ago, and can't imagine a lovelier way to cross the Bay each day for work (bonus points for walking through the Ferry Building twice a day, for a Blue Bottle coffee in the am, and then to pick up groceries for dinner on the way home.) Googling "ferry from the Berkeley Marina" showed some very promising activity up until 2009 - including site maps and a parking structure plan - but then the trail goes cold.  

List 74

Love: 1970s station wagons - big wood-paneled land boats with a third seat that flips up in the way back, facing out the back.  A pristine, beautiful black Ford Country Squire made an appearance in the parking garage by my office, and I couldn't resist taking its photograph, and then looking for more images online.  I kind of wish I had one of these babies to take out for weekend trips to Sonoma, complete with a Pendleton blanket in back.

 

Like:  This recipe for salmon burgers with a bright accent of tarragon, from Epicurious. If you make it with a lower fat mayonnaise and whole-wheat bread crumbs, it's as healthy as it is delicious.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fresh-Salmon-Burgers-with-Tarragon-Mayonnaise-1542


Discovery: It's super Portlandia, but this French press cozy actually works surprisingly well to keep your coffee warm.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/quiltymcquilterson?section_id=7646512


Obsession: The trailer for Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom has me longing for May 25th.





Complaint: The announcement of this year's Oscar nominations this morning drove home that I could not be more behind on award season movie viewing.  There are so many I need to fit in before February 26th.  Number one for me, without a doubt, is Hugo.

List 73

Love: "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve," one of the great old standards. Zooey Deschanel's version, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, has been plastered all over Facebook these past couple of days, no doubt introducing it to many people.  But to me, the peerless Ella Fitzgerald's version remains the definitive one.  

Like: Giant ice cube trays, for perfect rocks drinks.  

Discovery: Salon ran a feature on cocktail culture over the decades, which included this painting from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, by Larry Salk, done in 1961.  I can't decide what I like better: the actual painting or its title "Summer Cocktail Party with English Butler."  Either way, it's making me even more antsy for Mad Men to return in the new year.

Obsession: My mother brought home some of this Kerry Gold Garlic and Herb butter to use on the beef tenderloin roast we had Christmas Eve.  Today, I had to make mashed potatoes for 20 - my contribution to a New Year's Eve dinner party.  I followed the Cooks Illustrated-tested-up-the-wazoo-in-advance method, with this butter in place of the plain variety.  It made the best mashed potatoes ever.

Complaint: Are the Iowa caucuses really three days away?  I don't know if I'm quite ready for the election year.