“So, it’s books now,”remarked Brad, looking over the scifi library in my office, the titles, ranging from Adams’s The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to Zelazny’s My Name is Legion, alphabetically arranged across three bookshelves. Yes, this year it’s books. Last year it was chocolate. The year before that, ice cream. All in all, and given the choice, I believe my co-workers would prefer to support my food-related obsessions. “When are you making ice cream again?”asks Carl every now and again, fixing me with a look usually reserved for underachieving youngsters. Soon. Soon. Paul in particular finds my outdated passion for reading amusing. “You’re reading!”he remarked yesterday. “Next thing you know, you’ll be wearing bowler hats and riding around on one of those old-time bicycles.”.
I was watching Food Network the other day and caught the tail-end of an episode of Road Tasted in which the two hosts visit Seattle’s Alaska Silk Pie Company. There’s they are treated to the preparation and sampling of what the company describes as their “Roll Royce”: the Café Diablo, a seven later dessert. It looked so good that I looked the company up online, checked to make sure they could deliver to Canada, then placed an order for an overnight Fedex delivery. I also ordered two more cakes: the customer “all-time favorite” Key Lime pie, a Chocolate Silk Royale cake. They arrived just before lunch and, although the instructions specified I should freeze the cakes overnight before serving (apparently, it makes them easier to cut), there was no way we were waiting until tomorrow. The cakes were excellent, incredibly rich and dense. The Café Diablo, my favorite, was topped with chocolate-covered coffee beans and came with a listing of what exactly comprised the dessert’s heavenly 7 layers:
“1. Almond caramel with a hint of lemon and spices
2. Chocolate, tangerine, and espresso
3. White chocolate, Cognac with a hint of cloves and cinnamon
4. Dark chocolate espresso
5. White chocolate tangerine with hints of cloves and cinnamon
6. A combination of all of the ingredients with the exception of the almonds
7. White chocolate Grand Marnier”
Hoowhee! I’m so stuffed I don’t know whether I’ll be able to eat supper tonight – which is unfortunate timing given that tonight is the cast dinner.
Today was the big Arctic briefing for Stargate: Continuum. Those heading up North for the shoot were regaled with sobering warnings on thin ice, wandering polar bears, and wind gusts that freeze exposed skin in less than three seconds. But assurances were made that everyone would be accompanied by “someone with ice experience”. Like, say, a shotgun-toting Dorothy Hamel?
Whew, the questions are really piling up –
Anonymous #1 writes: “We were wondering if you were stuck for a week with any character from the Stargate universe, who would it be and why?”
Answer: That Anise tok’ra from season four seemed very intelligent and nice.
Copernicus writes: “Will you guys be developing new story lines for Teyla, or should we merely expect more stand alone episodes?”
Answer: We’ve got a season-long arc in the works for Teyla.
Carolina writes: “I did a quick search and found out that comes from the Criollo bean… that is also cultivated in Venezuela? or Mexico?”
Answer: Yes, Porcelana is a pure Criollo, the cacao bean an almost translucent white – thus it’s name. It is very rare, originating in Venezuela.
Cel writes: “Btw, on the chocolate thing, ever had Cadbury’s chocolate?”
Answer: I do like Cadbury but find them a tad too sugary.
Shawna writes: “I’d recommend against going to a pet store next time.”
Answer: True. This was before we knew any better. Our later additions to the pack – Maximus and Bubba, hail from reputable breeders.
Shawna also writes: “What happened to Carson’s wee baby turtles?”
Answer: They are under McKay’s care. Happily, he hasn’t killed them yet.
Arctic Goddess writes: “Did you use the Metro often when you were in Montreal? […] If you had to pick among the many wonderful restaurants, what would be your favourite restaurant in Montreal?”
Answer: Yes. When I was a kid, and while studying at McGill, I used to take the Metro all the time. My favorite restaurants in Montreal? Casual: Smoked Meat Pete’s in Ile Perrot (check out my December 29, 2006 blog entry). Pricier but still casual: Au Pied de Cochon (check out my December 28, 2006 blog entry). High-end: Toque (blog entry to come).
Anonymous #2 writes: “Ever thought about having an episode where Ronon and Teal’c slug it out in an epic battle? Who would you put your money on?”
Answer: The thought has crossed my mind. Even Chris Judge wondered about it sometime last year – although he admitted that Ronon’s down and dirty fighting probably has the edge over Tealc’s “wushu shit”.
Mimi writes: “I too love Bourdain’s writing as well as his No Reservations show on the travel channel. With that in mind there’s an article that he wrote and posted on his buddy’s blog that has been causing quite a stir among the foodies.”
Answer: I love his writing as well. I read the article in question and have to disagree on his take on Rachel Ray. She loves food and she’s a cutie. What more could you want?
Thanks for the David Lebovitz link.
Anonymous #3 writes: “Any progress made on the possible big SG-1/Atlantis crossover?”
Answer: Still too early to tell.
Anonymous #4 writes: “Do you make all those dishes every night?”
Answer: Hell, no. I leave that to the professionals.
Anonymous #5 writes: “How many pugs do you have? You mentioned Pug rescue once – have you gotten some of your dogs from a rescue?”
Answer: We have three pugs. We tried to get one from our local pug rescue but, to be perfectly honest, the people running the Vancouver Pug Rescue didn’t seem particularly eager to help out. They didn’t return our initial calls and seemed far too busy to follow-through with our request – which is a shame. Still, it worked out for us in the end as we ended up with Maximus and Bubba.
Leave a Reply