Happy 1-year anniversary!

I cannot believe that we have already reached our 1-year wedding anniversary!  I've gotten used to saying things like "husband" and "married," and now that tax season is over, our social security numbers are married too.  But other things I'm still getting used to, like saying my new hyphenated last name and not having to be as independent.  Just yesterday I realized that I don't have to make an effort to learn how to make Thai curry from scratch because P will always be here to make it.  Hooray!

We celebrated with dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, which while delicious, had some of the worst service we've ever experienced from a high-tier restaurant.  Waiters are usually engaging, friendly, relatable, and ready to describe any dish/ingredient in any detail desired.  Our waiter at Blue Hill was SNOOTAY with a capital S, didn't come for drink orders until after our amuse bouches, and didn't tell us what was on any of the tasting menus when asked.  We waited 20-30 min between courses, so the whole experience was just tiring.

The food itself was delicious although somewhat repetitious.  The ingredients they use all come from the farm on premises, so the repetition is somewhat understandable, but then again, French Laundry also uses ingredients from their garden without the same type of repetition.  Everything came to a head when we got to our duck course, which was cooked rare, and for P, was considered undercooked.  I would say that for most of the population, it was underdone.  P had a few of the outer pieces and then sent it back.  What came back from the kitchen were the same remaining pieces, grilled to a char.  This type of restaurant should be (1) cooking a new piece of duck of similar size to what was remaining, (2) cooking it in the same way as was originally intended, and (3) cooking it to the desired rareness.  What they did was something that I'd expect out of a Chinese restaurant.  I admit it, they're known for horrible service. :)

Dessert was lackluster.  Waiter was indignant that he didn't get a bigger tip.  Uh... do we look like chumps or something?

Anyway, putting that aside, our year has rounded out quite nicely.  Per tradition, we froze our wedding cake topper and we're enjoying eating it over a couple of days.  So small, why are cake toppers not any bigger!  Also,  I sold my wedding dress last week!  We had a good time together with many memories, but now it's time to get some money back for it and for it to make someone else happy.

bumpin'

Houston Street

The things people spend their money on.

St. Paddy's reunion in chi-town

80 degrees in March?  Whaaaat????

better late than never

Our engagement pics finally came!  Can't complain since they were FREE, but happy they came within a year.

back!

Work as been all-consuming this past month, but now I'm finally able to catch my breath and post some pics of my March adventures!  We had a spacation birthday re-do in Scottsdale, AZ (hike up Camelback mountain was the hardest hike I've ever done!), and then I went to Dallas another weekend for work.  I snuck out for an hour to visit Houston St where JFK got shot and the JFK memorial.

Linsanity, Freedom, and Boston

The birthday triplets met up in Boston.  There was:

• Delicious Italian food
• Mike's Pastry
• Giacamo
• Playing with Mochi the kitty
• The Freedom Trail
• Visiting our forefathers
• Authentic rude Chinese restaurant where delicious Chinese food was had
• Watching Linsanity at an Irish sports bar
• Getting to pronounce "Charliecard" "Chaaaaliecaaad"
• Ramen at midnight
• Rap karaoke

Sundance 2012

Lee Toland Krieger, Director, Celeste and Jesse Forever.  What a fab picture.  Lee looks so happy.

Andy Samberg, Celeste and Jesse Forever.  Where am I?  You can't tell, but we got our arms around each other.

Nate Parker, Arbitrage.  I got a cheek/air kiss from him!

Justin Long, For a Good Time Call...  Can you tell I went skiing the same day?  Windblown and goggle lines.  So RED.

Seth Rogan, For a Good Time Call...

This Sundance we definitely chose wisely which movies we were going to waitlist for.  We've waitlisted popular movies in past years and haven't gotten in.  I had 1 FAIL this year when waitlisting Robot and Frank (Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Liv Tyler, James Marsden, Peter Sarsgaard) - NOBODY got into it.  Most of the time, we chose to just see some Q&A sessions for more popular movies, thus avoiding waiting in the freezing cold for nothing and ensuring that we'd get to still see the stars.

The only movie I saw this year was For a Good Time Call..., which was hilarious.  I'd recommend it, but it's not a must-see.  I will be waiting for Robot and Frank to come out.  The story line drew me in, and I heard that Frank Langella got a standing ovation.  Plus, that all star cast?!  Whens it gonna come out?

I am an ALDH2 heterozygote

Most everybody knows that the Asian flush is due to a missing enzyme.  Without this precious enzyme, some of us are subject to embarrassing redness that occurs with alcohol consumption.  We get laughed and pointed at ("what tribe are you from?" - seriously, someone said this to me), so much so that you can't really go drinking unless you're going with friends you know well or you have miracle pill famotidine (Pepcid).  Y'all who don't know that this sh*t gets rid of the redness, y'all know now.  (Take 1 hr before consumption.) I have Pepcid at the office, as a purse staple (along with a pen and tampon), and in my backpack so that it's always available should the need ever arise.  It's especially important at work functions, where the presence of alcohol is a sign of good times and camaraderie, and you want to JUST FIT IN.

Putting all social embarrassment aside, however, I never realized that the Asian flush could be a sign of something dangerous until a friend sent me this article.  It talks about how by missing this enzyme, you could be at risk for cancer.  Here's why.  There are 2 enzymes that metabolize alcohol: alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2).

We Asian flushers have little (heterozygotes for the genetic mutations) or no (homozygotes for the mutation) ALDH2.  That means we get a buildup of acetaldehyde, a carcinogen, instead of inactive acetate like in those who don't flush.  Acetaldehyde's physiologic effects include flushing, tachycardia, and nausea.  That's 3 YES's for me!  Several studies have shown a correlation between alcohol consumption in this population and cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus.  Here is a plot of the odds ratio (OR) for just esophageal cancer (EC).

As a light drinker, I have 5.8 times the risk for cancer as someone without the ALDH2 mutation. MEH.

Interestingly, homozygotes for the mutation are at reduced risk because it's as if they're ALLERGIC to alcohol.  They can't take any at all; therefore, no cancer.  I've known a few of these.  As such, most studies have concentrated on the heterozygotes.

Yokoyama and Omori. Jpn J Clin Oncol. 2003; 33:111-121.

Please be aware that building up a tolerance to acetaldehyde and the flushing response doesn't mean that the risk for cancer decreases!  It just means that you have tolerance now and don't have to worry about the embarrassment anymore.  Also, Pepcid may just be addressing the flushing response and not the culprit.  I haven't looked into this yet.  

To put EC in perspective in terms of incidence:

• Incidence of EC in high-risk China is 20 times that in low-risk western Africa
• The highest rates of EC in the world are along the "Asian esophageal cancer belt," which includes, China, Japan, Iran, and Korea.  This extends along the Silk Road, where people did it (ie, genetic mixing)
• I would like to get into this paper for you, Yamamoto. Esophageal cancer incidence in the world. Jpn J Clin Oncol, 2002;32:154, but it's not a free article. :-/
• But I did find this in Hirabayashi Y, Saika K. Jpn J Clin Oncol, 2007;37:893.

What's going on with SEER black?

36% of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans have Asian flush.  I always thought it was more prevalent than that in Asian populations but often met quite a few that never turned red.  Was always jealous.  Now I'm also jealous that they don't have to worry about CANCER. 

While I tend to ignore a lot of studies that come out in the news, this one seems to hold a bit more weight for me.  If you looked into it, probably everything will seem to cause cancer, but there's a long history of evidence here (since the early '80s), and the reported ORs are pretty high.  Not to mention I am EXACTLY these study populations.

Well, happy Friday everybody!  Time to take my Pepcid - I'm off to happy hour soon.

seven percent

Utah's snow is some of the driest snow around, containing only 7% water.  That makes for a FUN time.  By comparison, Sierra Cement (as they call the snow in the Sierras) contains about 12% water on average.

Snowbird

Long awaited snow finally arrived while I waitlisted for Robot and Frank at the Eccles Theater at Sundance

calm after the storm at Deer Valley 

SLC

Who knew it was such a happening place?

It's that time of year again, when Lobergs converge on Park City for the Sundance Film Festival.  This year, I flew out 1 week early over MLK weekend to snowboard with some other friends.  Now, as we're midweek, I'm working remotely and staying at Hotel Monaco for FREE! with my friend, who is attending the Outdoor Retailer Show.  I took a break and read some of my usual blogs, only to find that The Lil Bee is also in SLC for the Alt Design Summit.

Sundance starts tonight!

Busy busy place.

I have a few days to experience SLC, and so far, it seems that it's winning for cheap eats.  And Mexican at that!?

As featured on Diners, Drivers & Dives

7 different mole sauces

enchiladas suizas with poblano mole

pasta night

K & E came over for pasta night this weekend so that K could teach all of us how to make homemade fresh pasta.  It was a much lengthier process than anticipated, but the result was so much better than P and my previous attempts.  It was soft, smooth, and delicate, yet the noodles were able to stay together.  You work out the guns too during the mixing and kneading process - I'm always looking for new ways to pump up my ginormous guns.

We learned a few interesting things along the way.

• "00" flour, or doppio zero - this does not refer to the amount of protein in the flour.  "0" flour also exists, so how do you have doubly absent protein?  I googled it.  The number refers to how well refined or sifted the flour is.  "00" is the most refined you can get - talcum powder soft.  It does not indicate the amount of protein.  In fact, high protein "00" exists!
• The kneading process and the resting period for the dough are both very important.  We knew it had something to do with gluten, but weren't exactly sure what happened.  I googled it.  The kneading process creates the gluten structure, and the more you knead, the more the gluten cross-links.  The resting period allows the gluten to relax so that the dough won't be stiff.
• The definition of "gamey."  I have never understood what a "gamey" taste is.  I know that things like lamb, venison, and veal are considered to have a gamey taste, but I can't put my finger on what that is.  To me, each meat tastes like what it tastes like.  Lamb tastes like lamb.  Lamb tastes nothing like venison.  Venison tastes like liver.  Is liver gamey?  

Here were some descriptions that we came up with.

1. Gamey is derived from game meat.  Meats that are considered game are gamey. - This seems to be true in what people describe as gamey, but it still has to connect to a TASTE. So, see #2.
2. Game meat has more muscle and dark meat, so gamier meats have that more (delicious) (my words) dark meat flavor.  So by comparison, a wild turkey is gamier than a farmed turkey.  Dark meat chicken is gamier than white meat chicken.

I then googled it, of course.

This was posted by Grape Stomper (hunter, processes own meats, loves cooking) on Yahoo! Answers:

Young deer are more tender by nature, and require no aging (Meat is only properly aged when it is hung in a temperature controlled room for at least ten days), that is unless it ran a great distance between being wounded and death. This causes the deer to expend all its glycogen reserves, and when this happens, the pH levels of the meat will increase, spreading a bacterial growth. When the deer is wounded and becomes frightened, there is a release of adrenalin, the chain reaction that follows causes the deer’s muscles to be flooded with blood. This sudden rush causes a build up of metabolic waste, and this build up is one of the reasons for a strong gamey taste.

Metabolic waste!  Except I don't know what metabolic waste tastes like.  This description makes sense with #2 somewhat since it is dependent on the musculature and the nature of the animal at the time of the, you know, passing.  It also makes some sense because it addresses the variability in wild meat.  Depending on where you get your meat, and which day, the same type of meat can be gamier on 1 day vs another.

Another description was that gamey meat has a zing to it.  I can get on board with this one.  I still think that say lamb has a different zing than other gamey meats, but if I consider the word "spicy," each spicy dish tastes different, but they're still all considered spicy.

You guys, it's sciiiii-eeence.

holiday play

P's college friends who live in LA came to visit us in the Bay Area over the holidays.  They brought their 2 rambunctious kiddos.  Can. Not. Be. Still. Blurry. Kids. Must. Have. FUN!

THE FRENCH LAUNDRY

Wedding gift from Sister!  This experience would have otherwise NEVER in my ENTIRE LIFE EVER transpired.  What a wonderful 2-day side trip to Yountville.  In addition to FL, we spent time at the spa, using as many products as possible, and went on a picturesque bike ride through the wineries.  We fed some cows along the way, mooooo!, and I also tried to coax some horses with my dancing to come say hi, but for some reason they weren't interested.

Oysters and Pearls - Sabayon of pearl tapioca with Glacier Bay oysters and white sturgeon caviar **FAVORITE**

Moulard Duck "Foie Gras Au Torchon" - Sicilian pistachio "mousse," navel orange, oxalis and honey-glazed cranberries (Course 2, option 1, my choice)

Salad of Hawaiian Hearts of Palm - Ruby red grapefruit, petite radish, finger lime, young ginger, cashew, and cilantro (Course 2, option 2, P's choice)

Grilled Pave of Australian Hiramasa - French Laundry garden bok choy, Asian pear, chili and kanzuri

Beets and Leeks - Maine lobster tail "Pochee au Beurre Doux," King Richard leeks, "Pommes Maxim's" and red beet essence. **FAVORITE**  Notice how there's no mention of the juicy lobster in the name of this dish.

Tete de Chochon - Serrano ham, mustard pods, frisee and "sauce Gribiche"

[ahem, fixed white balance]

Elysian Fields Farm Lamb Saddle - Lamb bacon, "cassoulet" of winter pole beans, garlic puree and thyme jus.  That little small piece off to the right was to die for.  I absent-mindedly ate it first since it was "conveniently" cut into a bite-size piece already.  Should have saved for last!

Truffled Brie - Brioche, mission fig, celery branch, Piedmont hazelnuts and black Perigord truffle.  We saw this celery in the garden!  Fat short stalks, lots of leaves.

Sour Cherry Sorbet - Coconut "petit beurre" and vanilla "soda"

Alpaco Mousse Au Chocolat - Spice pudding, "panna cotta," fuyu persimmon, and Marcona almond "glacee"

From bottom right, clockwise: Meyer lemon, salted caramel, hazelnut crunch, rum ginger, peanut butter and jelly chocolates

Coffee and Doughnuts - Homemade doughnut holes with cinnamon, semi freddo, semifrozen mousse and espresso extract

AMAZEBALLS.  So delicious I wish I could drink it everyday.

So many quotes in this menu.  Thank goodness the waitress went over it in tremendous detail and the servers repeated what they were serving us during each course.  60% of this meal was taken from the French Laundry garden, which was beautiful.  They had a chicken coop (chickens were so fluffy, furry, and QUIET!) and their own APIARY.  YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.

This 9-course meal took 4 hours, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  FL was essentially the pinnacle of restaurants for me.  What am I supposed to do now?!