Friday, January 20, 2006

Of Harry Potter and Yummy Cow

Last Sunday Meryl came over to watch the kids so that Larry and I could see The Goblet of Fire in the afternoon. Part of the inducement, other than spending time with my very quiet and angelic children, was that we would feed her dinner. Our traditional Aunt Meryl dinner is flank steak and roasted potatoes. Mmmm, yummy cow. Just thinking about it makes me hungry.

Anyway, when she arrived I was just getting the potatoes started. I like to cut up the potatoes into bite sized pieces and then boil them for 10 minutes before roasting. Once they are parboiled, I drain the pot, drizzle in some olive oil and season the potatoes with salt, pepper and a little garlic or onion powder. I shake the mess up in the pot and then dump it into the roasting pan. The potatoes are then roasted for about an hour at 375. They come out all lovely and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Since the movie is long and it was a bit early we decided I would put the potatoes in the fridge and she would put them in the oven about an hour and a half before we were due back. Meanwhile the steak was already marinating in the fridge. Cooking it would take no time at all.

The marinade is one that I got from my mother and is delicious. It is as follows:
½ cup of soy sauce
¼ cup of brandy/cognac
1 tsp curry (sometimes I use more)
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sugar
3-4 crushed cloves of garlic
The steak should marinade for at least 45 minutes, but longer is better.

Once the taters were done and Max’s thumpies were finished Larry and I left for the movie theater.

We got to the theater at 2 minutes past the start time (oops, my fault, but I really wanted to get Max all set). There was a huge line snaking up to the window, but that did not faze us. We have learned to use the automated kiosk that is on the far right side. Surprisingly that too had a line, albeit a much shorter one, but a line none the less. I remembered that there was another kiosk inside the theater and we moved on. Inside there were two groups in the line for the kiosk. Shortly after we joined them the first group collected their tickets and moved away. That just left the two teenage girls, all tarted up, and what looked to be a slightly younger brother of one of the girls. They were fairly quick, but they were quite odd after they finished their transaction. They just moved a little forward and just stood there staring up at the movie listings. I shook my head and turned my attention to my husband and the touch screen. He quickly moved through all the options and had just selected the movie. At the next screen we were informed that the movie was sold out.

Whaaaaaat?! The movie has been out for over a month and it was sold out?

We then canceled the transaction and moved away from the kiosk and stood there staring at the movie listings.

Ahhh! I bet the three teenagers in front of us had been planning to see Goblet of Fire too!

We hemmed and hawed for a bit, but there really wasn’t anything else we wanted to see.

Now what do we do? We couldn’t think of any other thing to do. I ducked back in to use the bathroom and we then headed homewards.
Everybody was very surprised to see us so early.

In end it was fine. Dinner got to be served at the usual time and we had a lovely visit with Meryl. We decided that we would see the movie at a later date at the IMAX Theater.

Oh and of course I made a cake. It was an orange cake with orange filling and chocolate frosting. The funny part was that as I was frosting the cake I would park it outside to set the frosting. When it is below 45 outside I view the deck as a giant walk-in fridge. This completely rocked Max’s world. Cakes belong on the table or in the fridge, not outside. He spent the whole time the cake was outside with his face pressed against the door’s window. He even went as far as to get a little stool to sit on. He would be periodically joined by his siblings, but it was his vigil. Meryl took some pictures. When she sends them on over I’ll post them.

Update: Meryl has posted a picture over at her site.

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