Still weirdly warm here, at the same time the rest of the country is freezing. It's also dry as a bone.

Kitchen adventures this week included a six-cheese gnocchi parmesan recipe out of Veggie Times--a kind of gnocchi lasagna. It took almost an hour to make, twice as long as their estimate, and ended up being really bland. I also realized that I don't care for gnocchi all that much. Considering it called for a lot of pre-packaged things that added up to almost $12 for 8 servings (though you could certainly shred your own cheese or make your own tomato sauce if you had the time and inclination), this isn't something I'm likely to make again. It did give me a chance to use my 8-quart stockpot for the first time, however, which was exciting.

I am really liking the tofu shirataki noodles they have in the tofu section at the grocery store. For one thing, they're about 40 calories per package in contrast to pasta which is about 200 calories a serving, and they have a good chewy texture. Says on the back they're endorsed by Hungry Girl.

I've stopped watching The Real Housewives of Orange County. The women are just too hateful and self-involved. The Atlanta women certainly behaved badly, but never on this level of viciousness. It's also sad the producers have apparently booted DeShawn from the next season of RHoA for being "too boring." She and Lisa were the most normal ones on the show, and her husband is such a nice guy.

Top Chef lumbers on, now down to four women and four men, with Jamie from Absinthe hanging in there. The new judge is bizarre--his vulgar comment about copulating with raw meat almost made me barf up my gnocchi.

Saturday night I watched Giant on tv... yes, a classic movie on regular ol' tv, on a channel that anyone still using an antenna could get. At about the point where Rock Hudson shoots Elizabeth Taylor's horse, I decided that I wanted popcorn. Let's reflect: I've survived without a microwave since July 2007. However, I have a jar of corn kernels and oil and butter. I put kernels and oil in one of my outstanding Calphalon pans, put the heat on medium, and lo and behold, within about five minutes I had popcorn. Drizzle on some Irish unsalted butter and sprinkle on some sea salt (paradoxical, but there you go), and I had a bowl of the best damn popcorn I think I've ever had. Way better than the movie itself which was kind of a disappointment. (And still don't really get how the Levi's 501 "Travis" ads from the 80's tie in.)

Other tv stuff: So upset that the chef from Absinthe in SF was the first to be booted from Top Chef. We did an event for a client at Absinthe a while back, and while they're better known locally for their bartenders than their food, I thought they did a fantastic job with our menu, and people still talk about that party.

Also watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. (Why? I have no idea.) DeShawn's husband Eric is the nicest person on Earth. Have to say I kinda like NeNe. Kim is just a freaking disaster (who the hell buys one Louis Vuitton bag for an 11 year old, let alone two??), and while I started out liking Sheree, she's rapidly wearing out her welcome.

Other current trash tv viewing includes Stylista. I feel really bad for Anne Slowey; at this point she has to be wondering how she got stuck with this merry band of half-wits.

My other regular viewing these days is The Wire on DVD, so cut me some slack. That show takes concentration, not to mention the ritual sacrifice of small furry animals to the writer's uncanny genius at the conclusion of each brilliant episode. Gossip Girl is on hold until I can get caught up on the current season, and Mad Men is sadly done 'til next season.