Happy Hour at Chez Animal Hair Can I get you a drink?

Here are the potatoes, they’re so good. I made them with non-fat cream cheese and light sour cream so they’re not quite as bad as all that.

Double Baked Potatoes with Mushrooms and Cheese

Recipe By: Rick Rodgers

Serving Size: 6 Preparation Time :0:00

Ingredients

6 small russet potatoes — scrubbed

5 tablespoons butter

12 ounces mushrooms — coarsely chopped

2 large green onion — chopped

3 ounces cream cheese — room temperature

1/3 cup sour cream

1 ¼ cups white cheddar cheese — coarsely grated

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Pierce each potato in several places with fork. Place all potatoes directly on oven rack and bake until tender, about one hour.

Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until beginning to brown, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Add green onions, stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Set aside.

Using oven mitts as aid, cut each potato lengthwise in half. Scoop cooked potato flesh into large bowl, leaving skin intact. Add cream cheese, sour cream and remaining 4 table spoons butter and mash well. Mix in mushroom mixture and ½ cup cheddar cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mound mashed potatoes in potato skins. Sprinkle each half with 1 tablespoon cheese. (Can be made one day ahead of time. Refrigerate.) Place on baking sheet and bake potatoes until heated through and cheese melts, about 25 minutes or 35 minutes if potatoes have been refrigerated.

Source: “Bon Appetit March 2002″

Posted under Cooking, Sides, Vegetarian

I haven’t written in awhile and I’m sorry. I’d say that I’ve been busy but that’s only partly true. The big news is that I left my soul-sucking job two weeks ago. I just walked out. Things got unbearably bad and I didn’t feel that they deserved a two week (or any other) notice.

The reason I didn’t mention it sooner is that when I got home that very day, I started writing something up for you and in the meantime I’ve lost it. That is to say, I lost the document, not “lost it”. I would have lost it had I stayed there. If I ever find the document I will post it.

Rachel is staying with me this week (Greg is in Detroit). It’s nice to see her again and also nice not to have to spend another week alone. Monday night she came over around dinner time and brought bison burgers. I’d never had them but they were pretty good. I made a pasta salad (maybe I’ll post the recipe on the food blog). We watched “The Black Dahlia” after dinner. That film still confuses me.

Tuesday morning we went out to breakfast and then I went home to do some web work (I do have a couple of clients, though not enough to make a living unfortunately) while Rachel went to see a movie with her dad. She came back around dinner and we made some chicken on the panini grill and then sat outside on the patio drinking sangrias and talking until late. I love being a Lady of Leisure.

But it can’t last too long. We’re going to run out of money and quick like. So I’ve been applying and interviewing. The other thing I’m doing is creating a new website. I know what you’re thinking…how many websites does one person need? But this morning at 7:30 I woke up with what I thought was a good idea and have been working on it off and on all day. I will let you know when it’s ready for the grand unveiling.

Today Rachel and I watched “Thank You For Smoking” and “Suspect Zero” rounding out our unintentional but enjoyable Aaron Eckhart Film festival.

Posted under Random Thoughts

I haven’t done one of these in awhile so since I just watched this I thought I’d write it up.

Catch & Release (2007)
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant Director: Susannah Grant Rating PG-13

I had wanted to see this when it came out in the theaters because I really like Jennifer Garner. This fact may surprise those who know of my past history with her husband, Ben Affleck. I had a pretty strong crush on him. But once he hooked up with her I was very happy and I think I mentioned this before, I thought he should have been with her long before he actually was. I think it was when Dinner for Five she offered to kick the ass of Kevin Smith because he was making fun of Ben. Anyway, I’m all good now. I adore them both. But that’s not why you called…

I watched this film last night, as you may have guessed Greg is out of town so I watch chick movies when he’s gone. I knew the premise: a woman loses her fiancé just before the wedding and she pals around with his friends and learns about him. But I think that, while I knew it had a sad beginning, I thought it was a comedy. But I was wrong. I think parts of it were meant to be funny, but I didn’t find it so.

It opens with our main character, Gray (I didn’t even know her name until halfway though the movie since no one ever called her by her name, at least not clearly). She is distraught and goes into the bathroom to hide, climbs in the tub and, yes you know what happens… a couple comes in not knowing she’s there and has sex while she has to listen. I called the ending right there.

I’m sad I didn’t like this better, the characters were all pretty blah, I wasn’t sure who I was supposed to like, except for one friend of her fiancé who was in love with her, I liked him. The actors were good, but it was slow paced and seemed to go on way too long. I kept waiting for something to happen. And I don’t really need to have action in my films. I actually like the kind where people just talk to each other. But this was boring.

There were too many stories going on and there wasn’t time to flesh out any of them. Either that or they spent too much time on things that could easily have been left out.

The ending was kind of a let down, it is not how I wanted her story to go, but alas I didn’t write it. I don’t want to say I hated it, I didn’t. It was appealing on the surface, just not much to it.

Posted under Drama, Movie Reviews

It’s gorgeous out and I was sitting outside reading the latest Gourmet Magazine (we are SO having the grilled rib-eye and accordion potatoes with bacon and sour cream tonight. Pass the defibrillator please).

And I noticed how much Dudley was enjoying the weather. He loves to sit on the stone bench and soak it up.

Here he smiles for the camera

Poses for the perfect portrait

“I’m ready for my close-up Mr. DeMille”

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this here before, but I sent Dudley’s DNA into a company who is going to analyze it and tell me what kind of dog breed(s) he is. We should be getting the results by the end of the month. I’m so excited. I also suggested to the company that they might want to clone him since he is the most perfect and best dog of all time. So far they have not taken me up on my offer.

Posted under pets