Alright… now I’m going to play tough with you! Maybe you’ll thwarted by today’s PTCT for once!

Yesterday’s answer is under the cut. Not that you need it.
Continue reading “Put That Celeb Together” »

It’s pretty safe to say that I am completely excited about this news. I mean – jumping up and down on my couch excited. I’m talking Tom Cruise on Oprah excited. SADE IS BACK!!!!

Soldier of Love releases on February 8th, but the first single off the album is already available. Woot! Woot! Take a listen and let me know what you think.

You can pre-order the album here.

Carrie Underwood sat down and gave a very candid interview with Self magazine for the January issue. Carrie revealed that she has a “bucket list”.

“Before I die, I want to get rid of all my money,” she says.

She’s also giving back to her community in any way she can:

Recently, I started a foundation to benefit my hometown [the Checotah Animal, Town and School Foundation: C.A.T.S.],” she says. “I’m looking forward to doing a lot of good for a community that’s a big part of why I am who I am.”

Carrie also shared her future plans for children:

“Not that I have a husband to have one with yet, but someday I’d like a family – not a big one, but not a small one either. Two kids is good; three is fine. Four? Somebody’s getting something done, because we ain’t having five!”

Sounds like three might be the lucky number for Carrie. Five kids would be a lot of work!

They even got her to admit to one of her biggest pet peeves:

“It drives me crazy when people put stuff in the wrong place,” she says. “When I have people over and they try to help clean up, I’m like, ‘No, I’ve got it!’”

She seems to keep herself humble and “normal”, doesn’t she? I’d bet she’s got a solid group of people surrounding her – just a hunch. Did anyone catch Carrie’s Christmas special? I heard there was a funny skit with her and Ryan Seacrest.

Photos by WENN

Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant have been all over this week promoting their new film “Did You Hear About the Morgans?”. The two of them took a few minutes to chat with People at the New York premiere of the movie.

They asked her what things she’d bring along if she had to be placed in a witness protection program like her character in the movie:

“My three children. That’s what I would somehow manage to sneak on the plane or the bus or the train or the horse and buggy. No matter what,” she says. “I’d like my husband [Matthew Broderick] to be there as well.”

She probably made sure to add Matthew in that scenario because the press would’ve been jumping all over that with divorce speculation if she hadn’t. lol

Hugh Grant says he’d rather work with animals than children on a movie.

“Animals aren’t easy, but what’s annoying about children is that everyone loves them and I resent that. I only work with ugly children.”

I love his sarcasm. He told a hilarious story on Letterman last night about working with the bear in the movie. Here’s the link to his full interview.

He also shared that the cast had to get along without their cell phones for a chunk of time while filming.

“We couldn’t get our cell phones to work, there was no TV. We were dreading that because we are quite spoiled, but actually we liked it,” he admitted. “We played old fashioned charades and things like that.”

It’s so hard to imagine going without our cell phones for an extended period of time nowadays. We’re so hooked on the technology – it’s nearly crippling when it’s not working.

Are you planning to see their movie this weekend? Their off-screen chemistry is really great so I’d bet it’ll translate well on-screen.

Photos by WENN

The first trailer for the upcoming film, Robin Hood, hit the ‘net today. The movie stars Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Danny Huston (The Constant Gardener) and more.

The story of an archer in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion who fights against the Norman invaders and becomes the legendary hero known as Robin Hood.

What do you think after seeing the trailer? Are you planning to see it? I’m a sucker for any project that Cate Blanchett is involved in, so I’ll be seeing this. Check out the thumbnails for pictures from the filming – I LOVE the one of the guys in their medieval costumes driving the modern truck.

Photos by INF

(these are not my meatballs – Ill take a pic next time)

A year ago, this recipe was under house arrest. I wouldn’t tell a soul how I made my famous meatballs. But my grandmother died this year and instead of keeping her secret locked up, I thought why not share it with whoever wants to listen. That way her legacy will live on through other people besides just me and my cousins.

So, you asked for it? You got it. There is one thing you need – a zester. AKA the micro-plane. It’s my secret weapon – the thing that makes every meal better. And I am DEAD serious about this. I zest EVERYTHING. It melts right into the dish and the flavor gets magnified by a 100.

Here we go – oh and PS I don’t measure anything. So don’t hate me when I get all Rachael Ray on you.

Biggest pot you own – throw some olive oil in there. Not too much. Enough to coat the pot.

Zest 10 cloves of garlic. Yes, I said 10.
Dice (or zest if you are feeling feisty) a large onion. Sometimes I zest as much as I can and then I chop in the rest.
Let that cook for a few minutes. While that is working dice up 3/4 of a bag of baby carrots. This was not part of her original recipe. I added it and I like it. I don’t know why – but carrots work in sauce. Plus I feel like I am making my kids eat veggies.
Let that go for a while on medium heat. Hope you have a wooden spoon!! Keep it on top of your pot and every few minutes – stir everything up.

While that is happening – get 1.5 pounds of ground round chopped meat. No more than 85% fat free. Don’t skimp on me here. Don’t talk about diets and what not. Meatballs need some fat. If you go to 95% fat free – it will lose some magic.

Put the meat in a large bowl and add one egg, breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, shredded Parmesan cheese and about 8 cloves of zested garlic. I HATE touching meat. So I take a zip lock bag and put a hand in it and mix the bowl that way. If it’s too moist you didn’t put enough bread crumbs – add some more.

Now open up several cans of tomato sauce. I like Del Monte and my grandmother ALWAYS used Pope Paste – but I can’t find Pope Paste so I use what the store has. You need about 4 or 5 cans of tomato sauce (plain) and then one of the large cans of crushed tomatoes. Pour that all in and cut up the tomatoes a bit.

Don’t put the tomato paste in just yet. Keep that to the side.

Now make them meatballs. Get a frying pan – coat with olive oil and heat about medium. Once you have enough rolled, start placing them in. You just want to brown them all around. You aren’t cooking them – just browning the surface so it stays in tact in the sauce. Watch the meatballs – shift them around and when the majority of it has color – put it in the sauce. If it fights you when you try to flip it, it isn’t ready to turn. If you try too soon it will break.

Don’t add any extra oil. The meat will produce more oil for the pan. Once you finish with the batch – take that paste and put it all in the frying pan along with a can of water. Cook it down – you are absorbing all the flavor from the pan. Once it’s pretty much paste again spatula it out and into the pot with the sauce and meatballs.

Give it one good stir. Add some Italian seasoning to the actual sauce. Salt and pepper more than you think you need and cover. Wait until the sauce boils and then put it on simmer. Cook for 3 hours. YES – THREE HOURS. You have to go back quite often and stir. You always need to stir. But I promise it will turn out SO GOOD.

YUMMO
Continue reading “My Grandmother’s Meatball Recipe” »