Friday, January 05, 2007

Welcome 007!

I can say I've truly experience global warming on another level this year. I was in Tucson, AZ for Christmas and it SNOWED there! I noticed that the temperature in Tucson (daytime AND nighttime) was nearly exactly what it was in New York City. And this week, with temperatures in the 50s - 60s, well... all I can say is my heart is going out to all the polar bears, penguins and all forms of life that this climatic change is affecting.

While there, I spent a lovely sunny afternoon (the only one) hanging out with some other New Yorkers. Nick Boris (http://whitenoise.com/) (of ABC) and his lovely wife Elizabeth (a massage therapist at Canyon Ranch) came up to my parents home on Redington Ranch with their Bronx-based friend Alexis (MD-student and photographer) along with Tery Spartao (dailyeats.com). After sunning, we drove for an hour across town to the J.W. Marriot Starr Pass resort with an equally stunning view as my parents house! We froze outside, gathered around gas fire-pits, as we munched on chips and salsa and b-b-q'd spare ribs. Tery and I had hot chocolates and coffee to warm up while the others tried alcohol as the heating-agent (or numbing agent, as it were). Then we trekked upstairs to the restaurant Primo for some lovely dishes. Tery and I split the Niman Ranch steak salad, country salad and bouillabaisse. We were joined by a wonderful man who works for NPR and his wife who's in charge of Tucson's film festival and their son, who's studying film direction at Emerson.

Of course we took pictures!

Snowy Tuscon!

And, the New Year's Eve wanderings...

And then...the most exciting first moment of the year for me-- cooking and eating my New Year's traditional dish--Hoppin John, a southern tradition. If you'd like a good laugh, check out my own version of a cooking show -- and if you have the patience, I promise the finale is just as funny as the ''burning'' middle moment! Video /\ Popcurrent
If you like it, please go to popcurrent.com and Pop (vote for) me. Title: Courtney's Famous New Year's Hopping John. [At popcurrent.com, you can easily find thousands of links to podcasts, music, videos, images and online books, the best of which are voted up in popularity by people just like you! You are the critic.]