With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you may be looking for a way to impress a special someone. What better way to do it than with a unique, fancy-sounding dessert? Fear not, as impressive as it sounds, this one’s easy as pie—easier, actually.
The following recipe, from a 2009 episode of Alton Brown’s Good Eats, is not only easy enough for a kitchen novice, but is probably the most impressive dessert that has ever graced my table. Zabaione (pronounced zab-eye-own) is a light, airy, custard flavored with Marsala wine (Moscato or any other super-sweet wine works, too). The beauty of the dish is in its versatility— it can be served hot, room temperature, or cold, and can be served alone or with fresh fruit, ice cream, cookies, pastries, cakes, and whatever else your heart desires.
Hoping to watch more than just the average sappy romantic comedy this Valentine’s Day? Director McG’s new movie, This Means War, might just be your perfect fit. This PG-13 film offers more than just a cheesy love-triangle disguised by overly elaborate stunts. In fact, it is the perfect combination of being able to keep the female interest while not losing its male audience. Some in the room will be captivated by Chris Pine and Tom Hardy’s charming smiles and ripped muscles. And if you’re wondering what it brings to the table for the action-lover in your life, rest assured that the well-choreographed fight scenes, epic explosions, and many tongue-in-cheek jokes will entertain him for the entire hour and a half.
As best friends and partners in the CIA, FDR Foster (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) have survived violent showdowns and cunning terrorist groups together. The movie opens with the pair at a glamorous rooftop party, where things quickly go awry. In an attempt to flush out and capture their wanted bad guy—Heinrich(Til Schweiger) – banter is exchanged, guns are fired, and what was supposed to be a quick, confidential mission soon turns into a hectic and very public display. From there, our leads quickly find themselves “grounded” to their desks by their sassy boss, Collins, played by Angela Bassett.
Enter Lauren (Reese Witherspoon), a witty executive working for a top product research company. After some awkward encounters with an ex-boyfriend, Lauren is thrown into the world of online dating much to her own dismay. Trish (Chelsea Handler) is Lauren’s sharp-tongued friend who creates a wild and colorful profile for Lauren in the hopes that her friend will find some eager suitors. However, to the surprise of both women, Lauren soon gets a message from a cute and seemingly normal admirer who turns out to be none other than Tuck. Walking on cloud nine after the pair’s first date, Lauren heads over to the video store where Tuck’s partner, FDR is doing surveillance on the pair to make sure the date is going smoothly. Like any other normal rom-com, the two run into each other and flirtation ensues. What sets this film apart is Lauren’s wit and dismissals of FDR’s advances.
Things change when the men realize that they both are falling for the same woman. So, what happens when two lethal CIA operatives vie for one woman’s affection? Well, things get messy. Some impressive—not to mention illegal—shenanigans ensue between the two agents, with Lauren oblivious to it all. It makes you think of what your date could possibly do if they had an entire government agency at their disposal. You might want to go delete those old Facebook photos now.
What is interesting about this film is that it has an unexpected type of humor that you normally don’t get with the typical “Nicholas Sparks-esque” romantic comedy. Everything from male genitals to the Patriot Act is poked fun at throughout the movie. This film surprisingly did an exceptional job at keeping the male audience sincerely laughing without alienating those who prefer more of the male leads’ sexy charm. It’s surely an entertaining film, but if you are unsure about paying the theater’s ticket price, definitely wait to rent it. If anything, watch this movie for the paintball scene alone; it will have you and your date clutching your stomachs in laughter.
Ever since the pilot, we’ve all been waiting for the engagement party of professional glarer Emily Thorne and gold-digger bait Daniel Grayson. The first few moments of the show reveals that someone gets a bullet straight to the back on the beach of the party, and that death will likely change the course of Emily’s plot to systemically destroy every J.Crew-clad Hamptons rich bitch who screwed over her father.
I know when I first saw the pilot, I assumed the stiff on the beach was none other than Daniel Grayson himself, along with the rest of the Revenge crew. However, in a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, show creator Mike Kelley hinted at another outcome, and said “I don’t think anyone will have guessed it” and that the writers had “spent weeks” on this twist.
When I read that passage, I scoffed. Okay, Mike Kelley I thought, Let’s see you write your way out of this hole you’ve dug. After all, it would make sense that Kelley doesn’t want to see Daniel go. Josh Bowman (The handsome hunk of man who plays Daniel) is a fan favorite, and is well on his way to being a teen heart-throb. And, to his credit, we never actually see the face of the poor bloke in the pilot, since the beach is so dark and the body is face-down. The only indication we have that the dead body is Daniel is, y’know, the fact that his sister and mother keep screaming “DANIEL! OH DANIEL! OH LORD NO!” over and over again.
So I’m willing to play this game with the Revenge writers. If it’s not Daniel, who is it? And if it is Daniel, what’s the twist?
SWEET PRESENTS “THE OWNER’S SWEET” CUPCAKE PACKAGE
To cheer on the New England Patriots as they advance to Super Bowl XLVI, Boston’s favorite cupcake shop, Sweet, introduces The Owner’s Sweet cupcake package, a custom-designed football field of cupcakes ready to “wow” any Super Bowl party.
I love Survivor. For anybody who hasn’t caught onto this reality phenomenon, Survivor is, essentially, the original reality competition show. From its premiere in 2000, this show has seen 23 seasons, plenty of exotic locations all around the world, and a whole lot of backstabbing. The format is simple: a group of people are divided into tribes, compete for rewards and immunity, and are forced to vote a person “off the island” at the end of each episode. While some may dismiss it as mindless escapism, I think Survivor has five valuable life lessons to teach all of us if we’re willing to listen
You have to either be really good at what you do or a really good liar to get ahead. This is probably the lesson the show pounds into your head the most; if you can’t win the immunity challenges, you better work on your poker face. Just like Richard Hatch perfected the game in the very first season, I have learned that there is definitely a vital “social gaming” aspect to life. You can’t just excel at something and go straight to the top unless you’re really good at it. Take college applications for example: we can’t all say we were totally honest in our admissions essay. We have to know how to make ourselves look and sound better. If I hadn’t been obsessed with Survivor, I’d still be stuck within the silly boundaries of integrity. And integrity, my friends, is a bit overrated.
Sometimes the means do justify the ends. Work with me here. Everybody who won Survivor has probably had to do one questionable thing along the way that ended up helping him or her win. Even if it may have seemed, well, “mean.” I don’t intend to imply that all means justify all ends. No, I have just learned through my Survivor experiences that when the end is worth it, that can be a valid excuse for being somewhat of a jerk. It’s a fight to the finish, in this show and in life, and the ones who aren’t willing to really fight are the ones sitting in the top row at the finale, voted out first and completely unmemorable.
Don’t play all your cards too soon. Survivor loves to cast the archetype of the Person Who’s Just Here to Play the Game. More often than not, this person comes in on day one with a devious scheme to go to the end. Sadly, this big planner usually isn’t long for this world because he or she laid it all out there too soon. When you meet a new group of people, do you explode with personality, throw it all out there and hope something sticks? If so, you may want to rethink your strategy. Sometimes, you need to sit back, assess the situation, and then make your move. The countless premature castaways have taught me that all too well.
Trust anyone you want, as long as you understand that humans are ultimately in it for themselves. Often on Survivor, you see people regretfully accepting that in life, you just can’t trust anyone. I don’t know if that’s entirely true. Survivor itself is proof that you can trust people; you just have to know how far you can throw them. We are, by nature, selfish beings. Even the nicest people have moments of self-interest. When $1,000,000 are on the line, this is especially apparent. How often do we see a Final Four Super-Alliance form on Day One, only to fall apart halfway through the game? Trust is a nasty, sneaky idea, and is often the key ingredient in every Survivor victory or failure. The ultimate truth is this: trust is the most valuable currency. Just make sure you don’t give out too much of it, or you could end up off of the Island of Life and flat-out broke.
You really can’t do it alone. I realize this is in almost direct contradiction to what I have already said, but even through my jaded lens, the most important lesson Survivor has taught me is the ultimate Paradox of Life: Nobody makes it without friends, but everyone is trying to be on top. Not a single Survivor winner did it on their own. There was at least one vote that they had to trust people to give them, at least one person who was on their side. And that is the ultimate lesson to take from this show; no matter what means you use to get to the end, how many lies you have to tell, or who you trust, people need other people to survive.
