Marina/Esther – “Dare” pt. 15

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Once more with feeling: 3sat loves you. A lot.

Sometime in 2009, German culture TV channel 3sat teamed up with “buy our DVDs” Unitel Classica and “watch our Pay TV” ZDFtheaterkanal to have the audience vote for “The most beautiful operas of all time”. And just in time for Christmas, 3sat is airing the ten finalists for viewing and listening pleasure, starting tonight, Dec. 26th. The big winner gala (with quote “stars and celebrities”, unquote) will be aired on Jan. 9th, also in 3sat.

Ten opera nights in a row? Twist my arm!

Marina/Esther – “Dare” pt. 15 – delayed

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Christmas Update tomorrow morning, I got held up by family matters. And eggnog. – Sorry about the delay!

From Anik’s Kitchen: Christmas Cookies – Vanilla Halfmoons

It’s holiday season again and with it, time for the saccharine overkill arrives, both on the big and small screens and in the kitchen. In my case, the latter means baking Christmas cookies, namely a set of trusted all-time favorites which recipes stem from my grandmothers, fond childhood memories included – in the end, the taste of sugar and chocolate seems to win out over the bitter disappointment of not having gotten the Lego Pony Farm the third year in a row.

If I had children, I wouldn’t buy them the Lego Pony Farm, either. But I would bake cookies with them every year.

CGMP: White Shirt Christmas

More Cecilia Bartoli? You bet.

[Photo Credit: screenshot from the upcoming "L'art des castrats" film by Olivier Simmonet]

Marina/Esther – “Dare” pt. 14

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From Anik’s Kitchen: Fluffy Apple Pancakes with Calvados

It’s been one of those weeks.

Time for comfort food. These Apple Pancakes are a recipe of my father (he had two – this one, and potato latkes) and have accompanied me through much of my childhood, usually on weekends.

After moving out, I modified the recipe a bit, including apples pre-simmered in white wine,  and for a while in the late 90s, it was so popular on the local lesbian potluck parties that I went by the Indian name of “She Who Bakes Apple Pancakes” for a while (at that time, I was dating “She Who Reigns The Secret of Egg Salad”. Buffet times!).