40 Sardines

This past Friday night (2/24/06), Kristen and I had an amazing five-course tasting at 40 Sardines. Every course Kristen had was different from mine. We ultimately got to sample about 50 different flavors. In addition to the food, they paired wine with each course. We must have spent a good two or three hours together. As for the food, I believe the menu will speak for itself. Here it is:

(Kristen:)
Potato Gnocchi w/ Sea Scallops, Sautéed Mushrooms & Herbs
Spinach Salad w/ Warm Italian Frico & Braised Mushrooms
Pan Seared Monkfish w/ Herbed Spaetzle, Carrots & Shallots
Grilled Deer Loin w/ Roasted Potatoes & Meat Juice Reduction
Warm Pineapple Tart w/ Toasted Coconut Ice Cream & Rum Sauce

(Mark:)
Prince Edward Island Mussels w/ Garlic, Herb Broth, & Almonds
Hearts of Palm Salad w/ Shrimp, & Spicy Avocado Dressing
Sautéed Mahi Mahi w/ Bacon Braised Broccolini & Shellfish Broth
Grilled Veal Chop w/ Parmesan Cheese Fritter & Marsala Sauce
Chocolate Cake w/ Saffron Crème Anglaise & Chocolate Quenelle

(Wine:)
Qupe Reserve ‘Block 11’ Chardonnay, ’03 (gnocchi)
L’Ecole #41 ‘Seven Hills” Semillon, ’04 (mussels)
Banrock Chardonnay, ’05 (spinach salad)
A to Z ‘Cascade Cuvee’ Pinot Gris, ’03 (hearts of palm salad)
Lange Pinot Blanc, ’04 (mahi)
Luis Felipe ‘Gran Reserva’ Merlot, ’03 (monkfish)
Lyeth Meritage, ’03 (deer & veal)
Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Tawny Porto – Portugal (choc. cake)
Nivole’ Moscato D’Asti – Italy (pineapple tart)

Eight Years and Counting

This week marks the 8th anniversary of our first date.



Mark dug up my phone number when we were working at Dean and Deluca at Town Center Plaza and eight years ago tomorrow, Fat Tuesday, Mark called to ask me out for THAT NIGHT. I had plans, so he said "what about tomorrow?" As fate would have it, I didn't have plans and he took me to the Cheesecake Factory on the Plaza.



And the rest..........is blissful history!!!
Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

The Common Few

A paraphrased conversation between Kristen and I:

Kristen: Did you know Gary Leitnaker was in a band and that they’re getting back together to do a show?

Mark: You mean like The Blues Brothers saying “we’re gettin’ the band back together.”

Kristen: No seriously. They supposed to be awesome and are going to be inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame.

Mark: Hmmmm. I didn’t know that.

Kristen: We’re going to their show next week to see them play.

Mark: Awesome…where are they playing?

Kristen: Liberty Hall in Lawrence (or the Red Dog as Koffee says).

Mark: Sweet…I’m there.

Needless to say I was pretty impressed by The Common Few. They were together at one of the most amazing times in the history of modern music, and it was fun to see them together again and enjoying every minute of it. None of the other bands could fill the floor like they did, and that says a lot.

I was impressed that they actually played Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4.” I was even more impressed that they nailed it. NAILED IT! And to think the guitarist is a minister. I hate to say it, but he had the devil in him that night because he was amazing. They all were. We had the greatest time.

[set list forthcoming]

George Harrison

I suppose he doesn’t really need much of an introduction, but I thought I’d commemorate one of the Beatles today, Mr. George Harrison. Today would have been his 63rd birthday.

Perhaps this weekend I’ll pull out his double CD called All Things Must Pass and remember one of the greats.

Note: This is my favorite photo of George. What you can’t see in the other half is Bob Dylan standing next to him in a concert for Bangladesh. If you click here, you can see the entire photo.

Sigur Ros Live Review

Last night Kristen and I had the pleasure of seeing the Icelandic band Sigur Ros at the Uptown Theatre. Here is our review:

Mark: We sure saw a hell of a show last night, didn't we? It was nice to finally get to see Sigur Ros live. I wasn't too sure what to expect until I saw that live video footage on their website. They certainly lived up to the hype and put on one of the most amazing live shows I've seen. I must admit, however, that it got kind of hard standing there for two hours while listening to music that lulls you into a complacent state of bliss.

Kristen: Totally agree with the sore feet statement and the $10 beers didn't help, but that show was really moving. The lead singer's voice was so haunting and beautiful. Truly hypnotic. Plus, the opening act, Amina, was fantastic. A 4-part female percussion band. Brilliant! Where do I sign up?

Mark: I was really surprised with Amina, too. I think Icelandic women have the most awesome sounding voices/accents. And what about their instruments? A bowed saw? That was really one of the most interesting parts of the entire night. I've actually listened to their EP twice now that I bought last night. It's really good blippy electronics with beautiful instrumentation of violin, cello, and harpsichord. So what was your favorite moment during Sigur Ros?

Kristen: I can't really pinpoint my favorite part. I liked hearing the songs from their album Ágætis Byrjun - especially "Olsen Olsen." I could have heard that song all night. Beautiful. And I especially LOVED when the audience kept humming the music after it ended. That was amazing. It felt like a religious experience. I was so drawn into the music. It was mesmerizing. What did you like?

Mark: Well, initially I was going to say "Olsen Olsen," too. That's my favorite song they do and also one of the most infectious. The last song they did, "Popplagid," was absolutely amazing, though. That was one of the most intense songs I've ever seen live. And overall I really dug the way they used that thin curtain on the first and last songs to create a video/shadow-type effect. I wasn't even familiar with the last song and when I looked it up, it's only on some compilation. I can't thank you enough for the tickets. It was a great time. Wilco and The Strokes....here we come!!!

Kristen: It was awesome! So intense - like the fire at the circus. I had a great time, despite it being a school night.

THE SETLIST

Feb. 22 • Uptown Theatre, Kansas City (MO)

1. Takk...
2. Glosoli
3. Ny Batteri
4. Saeglopur
5. Njosnavelin
6. E-Bow
7. Gong
8. Andvari
9. Hoppipola/Meo Blodnasir
10. Olsen Olsen
11. Hafssol
(Encore):
12. Svo Hljott
13. Heysatan
14. Popplagid

Dog Park

Well, I got off work early yesterday, picked up Blue Boy, and ventured into the Dog Park for the first time. It's only a mile from our house. I promised Blue last week that he could go on Saturday. Unfortunately, Saturday it was 14 degrees and we had fears of canine hypothermia. But last night was gorgeous. Relatively mild temperatures, amber sunset.... Lots of people at the park.

Blue started barking the minute we got into the parking lot. He wanted everyone to know he was tough. We entered the park and, after some preliminary "getting-to-know-you" growls, he made friends quickly. He ran circles around the other dogs there, of course.

Met 2 friends - Romeo and Magic - and played for about 30 minutes. Then, he chased a brittany that he SWORE was Bubba up into another corner of the park. Our Blue Boy was worn out when we left, but was whining in the car on the way home because he didn't want to leave. The park was great and the people there were super friendly and helpful. I think the Starrs have a new favorite past-time. It's called "wear out the Golden."

V-Day Belated

Short and simple post today:

Sunday, before Kristen and I went to the gym, I made Salmon with Braised Red Cabbage, Horseradish Potatoes, and Basil Oil. This would have been part of our Valentine’s Day dinner had we not gone out. Sure was damn good!!!

Go Wildcats!!!

It's a very exciting week in the Starr Household, people! After being on the honor roll at Johnson County Community College for 3 semesters, Mark is all set to begin his Bachelor's of Business Administration program at Baker University next Monday night. His first class will be Intro to Management Concepts and he is very excited and ready to start the countdown to graduation.

He has met with his advisor several times in the past two weeks and was even able to obtain 10 credits from his training in the Marine Corps. Ooo-rah!!! Mark will be selecting his study group the first night. Hopefully, they have all of their marbles and have not ever been convicted of any felonies.

That's my Baby!!! Mortar Board, here we come!!!

Good Luck Mark and Go Wildcats!!!

Daytona 500

Here are a couple pictures of my trip to Daytona this week. This one shows our police escorts to the Speedway...

This photo shows our view from the Sprint Nextel suite.

The Daytona Speedway was incredible, despite not seeing any races due to the rain. We took a tour of the pits and garages inside the track and even ran into a couple drivers including Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Petty. For the driver introductions, we were able to get on the grass inside the track to watch them emerge from giant Gatorade water coolers on each side of the stage and then drive around the track on convertible Corvettes. Poor Jeff Gordon was mostly booed and battered with chants of "you suck." The audience must have seen his past performance on Saturday Night Live.

Go Carl Edwards, #99 from Columbia, MO and Michael Waltrip #55 in the NAPA Autoparts car!!!

I may have just become a NASCAR fan this week.

You can take the girl out of Topeka, but you can't take Topeka out of the girl.

"Cheney's Got A Gun"

Punishment Park

There’s nothing quite like a high temperature of 19 degrees to make you want to kill yourself. I went outside with Blue last night and turned back to come in after about 4 seconds when my teeth nearly cracked. Hell…bull riders stay on longer than that. In typical fashion, Blue just went and laid down in the middle of the yard unfazed and proceeded to tear the neighbors tennis ball apart.

As for me, I watched a pretty intense docu-drama called Punishment Park. It was successful in making me tired enough to get to bed early for Friday.

KK comes home tonight….YAY! Hope the flight goes okay and I hope we don’t have snow covering the ground. Damn I hate airplanes; I wish I never had to fly again. Okay, have a great weekend everyone.

Wine, Movie, and the Boys

I recently bought several different types of wine due to great reviews I'd read in Wine Spectator Magazine. Of the wines I purchased, last night I enjoyed the 2003 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. It started off a bit intense, as most Cabernet's do, but eventually became very enjoyable. Sure wish I'd had a nice steak to go along with it. Maybe this weekend...

And since I just so happened to be drinking wine and spending the evening alone with the boys, I decided I'd throw in one of my favorite movies, Sideways. That movie gets better every time I watch it.

Wine Spectator Notes: "Very solid, with ripe cassis, blackberry and boysenberry fruit offset by vanilla, mineral and cocoa notes. Shows a loamy undertow, but stays fresh and focused through the finish. This has a great track record of value. Drink now through 2007."

Zzzzzzzz.....

As Mark mentioned in an earlier post, it was a very early morning for us today. We got up at 4:00am because I had a 6:50 flight for Orlando. My VP is having an "All Hands" meeting down here for our Field Marketing Organization. We met the gang at our swanky Marriott Resort. It is really a nice place - there is a shower AND a bathtub in my room(decisions are the worst). We met the team from 1:00-3:00 and then off to the go-cart track for a little team building. It was a total blast. My face hurts from smiling. My Director slammed me head-first into the wall once and the "carnie" had to help me get back on track. Other than that, I think I would have done my family proud with my hot-rodding skills. We met again tonight for dinner and presentations at the hotel and then off to the Daytona NASCAR track tomorrow for the Gatorade Duels - which will determine the starting order for Sunday's Daytona 500!!! Very exciting. We even have a police escort to the track tomorrow. At Sprint Nextel, we spare no expense!
Now, time for some shut-eye!

An Early Day

As I imagined, Kristen and I opted to just go out for dinner last night. It’s probably better, too, because my shopping list was starting to look pretty hefty and I imagine we would’ve spent more money by eating at home. After much debate, we decided to go to Bravo! at Town Center. After dinner, we came home and Kristen packed for her trip.

We had to get up this morning at 4:30 to take her to the airport. We’re both exhausted as you can imagine. She’s gone to Florida for a three day work function. It sure will be lonely around the house. I hope Blue makes it through without her. He doesn’t like it when his mom is gone. As for our dinner last night, here’s what we had.

Kristen: Grilled Filet with Shrimp Kabob and Mashed Potatoes with Vegetables.

Mark: Parmesan-Crusted Sea Bass with Crispy Potatoes, Spinach, and Lobster Butter sauce.

For dessert we both shared the Tiramisu. It was out of sight.

Valentines Day 2006

Well…I missed my target weight loss by one pound this week. Those three damn Thin Mints did me in yesterday. I bet if I go back and work out again tonight I’ll hit it. The good news is that I’m still losing about three-and-a-half to four pounds a week. I’m currently 19 pounds lighter than when I started on February 10th.

Tonight is Valentines Day dinner for my baby. We’re having either Salmon or KC Strip depending on what looks better at the store. I’m also going to make my famous horseradish mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage with goat cheese and basil oil. For desert…Vanilla Ice Cream with Marinated Berries and a nice glass of Sauterne. Mmmmmm.

Pictures will be up soon of the dinner.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!!

Parental Love

Who doesn’t hate step parents? Ugh! I sure did. I saw this video the other day and laughed for about five minutes, but then I realized how cruel it was and how the kid will probably murder his step dad one day for his actions. Make sure you have your volume up so you can hear what the kid is saying. And for the love of God, please never do this to Kristen or me.

Here's the video.

SHWING!!!

Cheater!!!

....Guess who fell off the wagon??? Mmmmm. Thin Mints.

Gonzales

Last night I had some very weird dreams and woke up at about 3:45am. Unable to fall back asleep, I made my way to the Internet for some early morning entertainment. It’s a good thing I got up because I would have never stumbled upon one of the best piano performances I've ever seen.

Not long ago I downloaded an album by a solo pianist, simply named Gonzales, who everyone in my circle has been talking about lately. Needless to say, he pretty much changed my opinion of the boring old piano. Gonzales has captured the young and hip audience pretty quickly as well, and will hopefully inspire others to follow suit.

Note: This short performance is only 12-minutes long, but well worth your time. Once the video starts, you can place your cursor over the video to enlarge it to either 2X or full-screen. I recommend full-screen.

The video is here.

ENJOY!!!

Starr Winter Follies

They’re forecasting tomorrow to be a blustery, overcast day with a high of 29 degrees and flurries. In preparation for the bitter weather, here are the top 5 cold weather movies:

1. Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (Yum, Turkish Delight)
2. The Golden Child (Viva Nepal!)
3. March of the Penguins (Brrrr!)
4. Billy Elliot (Short snow scene, but brilliant movie)
5. Love Actually (“I HATE Uncle Jamie!!”)

*** Honorable Mention: Alive (Submitted by my sister - who likes to eat people)

Brrrrrr....

The weather has finally gotten cold here in Kansas City. We've been blessed with warmer temperatures so far, but we all knew it was a matter of time before the winter weather hit. I would have liked to report that we were all coping with it well, but that's simply not the case. Even Blue has started walking around here with his new Burberry scarf. I got him to stop long enough to snag this photo. Well...at least the boy has style.

Gimme A Hummer

Okay, so I’m admittedly not a huge fan of the H3. I mean...who really wants a little hummer? Everyone I know wants a big hummer. As long as the hummer is long-lasting I suppose it really doesn’t matter. Anyway, I had to post this commercial because it was my favorite one during the Super Bowl and it’s finally found its way to the Internet.

It's A Liger!!!

In case you're wondering... Lion + Tiger = Liger



In somewhat related news, Jack Black and the director of Napoleon Dynamite have a new movie coming out called Nacho Libre. If it's anything like Napoleon Dynamite, it should be funny as hell. Watch the trailer here.

Weight Loss Challenge (Week 4)

I’m not sure I can top yesterday’s blog, so I won’t even try. The only thing to report today is that my weekly weigh-in was last night and I’m now down 15.4 pounds. My goal for next Tuesday is to be down 20 pounds from when we began.

Getting dressed this morning I noticed I’m now on the third hole of my belt, which has never happened since I’ve had it. And I ate at Chipotle last night. HA! Having my belt fit like that was definitely a great way to start the day.

You know…the beauty of losing so much weight is that you get a whole new wardrobe. By new wardrobe I mean all those clothes you haven’t been able to wear in five years that have been hibernating in the closet. So now I have a vintage wardrobe of sorts. Either way, it beats the XXL shirts and 42 inch pants I was wearing.

Kristen’s also still doing very well. She’s running further every workout. My knees are still a little sore, but definitely recovering pretty well. I’ve been staying on the elliptical for about 45 minutes to an hour a day so they will heal faster. Don’t get me wrong, the elliptical burns calories like a furnace but I’m anxious as hell to get back on the treadmill.

Retraction: Molin Bump

Ahhh.....The Power of Photoshop

The Lunacy of 'Molin'

Crazed media can't get enough of “it” couple

Beaumont, Texas (Reuters) -- The celebrity phenomenon dubbed "Molin" has triggered a media fever surrounding Molly and Colin Moore that some observers say has reached the point of insanity -- far overshadowing the hoopla that attended such couples as "Brangelina" "Bennifer" and "TomKat."

Depending on which TV show you listen to or which celebrity magazine or gossip column you read, Molin is expecting a girl, no! a boy, no! twins.

Publicist: 'We are not talking about it'

"We are not talking about it. We don't want any more stories. We just want people to leave them alone," Molin's publicist told Reuters.

"There has always been a certain fascination with celebrity but with today's proliferation of outlets that seem to be competing for the same photos and stories, it has reached a point that seems completely insane," said PR consultant Nate Sunshine, whose clients include several celebrities.

Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television, said the coupling of A-list stars like Molin -- or in years gone by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton -- was "a paparazzi's dream come true."

"As silly as it sounds, this new tendency to make up single names for two people -- like 'Bennifer' (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez), 'Brangelina' (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie), and 'TomKat' (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes) -- is an insightful idea. 'Molin' has more cultural equity than their two star parts," he said.

"You get interested in this whether you want to or not. It's by osmosis," Thompson said.
Sunshine said Molin "seem to be dealing with this insanity as well as anyone could" although he regretted the media obsession with their personal lives rather than their work in Toxic Tort litigation.

Even if the pair switched tactics and were more open with the media, Sunshine doubted they would be left in peace.

"It never happens. If it were that simple my job would be a lot easier. They (the paparazzi) don't want the truth. They want something lurid or beyond normal imagination.

"Most celebrities work hard, they have families and want to spend time with their kids. It isn't that exciting," Sunshine said.

Molin Bump Watch!!!

Busy Bees

Kristen and I were on the go the entire weekend. I would say, though, that this was probably the worst we’ve eaten in almost a month. Friday night we went to our favorite pizza joint called Minsky’s. I had a little too much wine after work (and before KK got home), so I’m glad we went to eat some greasy pizza. To be fair, we only ordered a medium…but still… After that we came home and watched Owning Mahony with Philip Seymour-Hoffman.

Then, on Saturday, we went down to Union Station to watch a couple (shorter) movies on their IMAX screen, but the sound cut out about ten minutes into the first movie. It was very frustrating since it was so much fun. So we drove down to the plaza at that point to get some lunch at PF Chang’s. It was good as usual. After Chang’s, we decided to go to Lukas Liquor Superstore at 135th & State Line because Kristen’s previous manager told her they have a tasting bar like this. It’s very, very nice. You pay $25 (or whatever amount you choose) and they give you a credit card. Then you go around the bar and they have wine stewards that slide your card in “wine machines” and you can try different wines in 1, 2, or 4 ounce pours. We bought a few bottles of wine we liked and headed home.

Yesterday we spent a good portion of the day driving all over town looking for things for the house. We bought some bedding for the guest room, some light switch covers, and some flood lights for outside. Last night we went to eat Mexican food so we could watch the beginning of the Super Bowl. We ended up watching the rest at home with a couple glasses of the 12 yr. Chateau Reynella Old Cave Port we bought on Saturday. I think it’s the best we’ve had thus far. Definitely recommended.

KKS

Who wouldn't love her? She's perfect! I'm lucky as hell. Here's one of my favorite pictures of Kristen taken by your's truly.

Boredom

For the first time in several months work was very slow today, which always leads to boredom and too much time surfing the Internet. It's also funny how there are many people in my group who have such great attitudes on Friday. Wonder why.?.?. So as boredom set in, I decided to take a picture of my home-away-from-home and share it with the world. Or at least the two or three of you who actually look at this "site." Happy Friday everyone. Have a great weekend.

Shaun & Vincenza

I talked to Shaun last night (from Santa Fe) and he sent me a couple pictures of his daughter Vincenza. She's so cute and funny. We also got to see a video clip of her dancing, and Kristen and I laughed our asses off. It was great. Here's a picture of her and Shaun.

Christopher Elbow

I was going through some old photos last night trying to come up with something to post since last night was pretty uneventful. We did watch American Idol, which is always embarassingly fun. But I found a few pictures of these chocolates we bought downtown a few months ago. The guy, Christopher Elbow, used to work at one of the restaurants I worked at called The American Restaurant. Anyway, he has been called one of the best kept secrets in artisan chocolate making. His flavors are truly original and nothing short of transcendent. There's even a single malt scotch truffle for Scott. Check his site out here and look at all the flavors and beautiful work. They're expensive, but well worth it for gifts or Christmas presents.