Toni Chestnut

Oh, Ina. I love you.

Toni Chestnut — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:48:22 +0000

Having had a ridiculously strong craving for something sweet and lemony, I took off down the byways of the Internet in search of lemon cake. Lo and behold, who (unsurprisingly) had the best recipe: Ina Garten. Hands down. This is the perfect dessert to refresh you and your guests on a hot summer’s night.

A couple of notes before you start:

1) Use real butter, or I shall have to beat you. ;)
2) Note the ingredients in the list that are divided.
3) Don’t skimp on the 5 minutes to cream the sugar and butter.
4) If you don’t have x-large eggs, add one additional large egg.
5) I removed the cakes from their pans after only five minutes.
That seemed to help with the absorption of the lemon syrup.

Ingredients

nocoupons

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the glaze:

nocoupons

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans. You may also line the bottom with parchment paper, if desired.

Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; spoon the lemon syrup over them. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

Enjoy!

Hugh Jackman in Rome

Toni Chestnut — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:11:30 +0000

The perfection that resides in Hugh Jackman’s body is currently touring the world, promoting his upcoming “X-Men Origins, Wolverine,” which opens May 1st, just about everywhere.

It doesn’t get much better for me…Hugh, on the Spanish Steps in Rome and Hugh, mingling with the fans, unless of course I happened to be standing right next to him.

The man is a master of promotion, but manages to do it all with sincerity and integrity, and I doubt there is a single person who has ever done business with him who doesn’t believe that. He fervently believes in everything he does, and makes us want to do the same. Thanks, Hugh.

Much more at Just Jared.

Robin Hood – Updated Cast

Toni Chestnut — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:10:40 +0000

The cast of the Russell Crowe/Ridley Scott version of Robin Hood is growing to epic proportions, filled with old greats and fresh faces.

Russell Crowe as Robin Hood
Cate Blanchett as Lady Marion
Mark Strong as King John’s henchman Sir Godfrey
William Hurt as William Marshall, the Earl of Pembroke
Oscar Isaac as King John
Vanessa Redgrave as King John’s mother Queen Eleanor
Léa Seydoux as French Princess Isabella
Scott Grimes as Welshman Will Scarlet
Kevin Durand as Scotsman Little John
Alan Doyle as Irishman Allan Adayle
Max Von Sydow

The cast is shaping up beautifully. This should, by all rights, be a brilliant movie, based on who is involved (despite the absence of native Yorkshireman, Sean Bean*.) But, I can’t help but shake the feeling that because the script has had so many incarnations, we’re going to end up with something that feels like a poorly sewn patchwork quilt of historical and anecdotal information. Please, Ridley, prove me wrong. Give us something new, dark and dirty, unsanitized and very politically incorrect. Give us something real that will stick with us for decades.

*Sean Bean, def: Underrated actor. Known most recently for choosing roles in poorly produced movies and television series. Shines in period work such as Clarissa, Lorna Doone, Henry VIII, Lady Chatterley, and most notably Sharpe and Lord of the Rings.

Pause the Music

Toni Chestnut — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:29:21 +0000

I would like to publicly thank the City of Anaheim, California for its incredible traffic control and light synchronization plan, which caused us to be 45 minutes late to an Elton John/Billy Joel concert. Three miles in 75 minutes. Unbefuckinlievable. /brief and sarcastic rant

Of Beautiful Things Oz

Toni Chestnut — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:33:08 +0000

Let me start out by saying that I am not a fan of Oprah Winfrey. I’ve probably watched less than a dozen of her shows since its inception. But, today was different, as Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman appeared to visit and promote their new movie “Australia.” I was compelled to watch.

The show was brilliant, beginning with just Nicole, Oprah and the audience, a couple of clips from the movie and a lot of talk about Nicole’s personal life. I have to say that after listening to the woman speak I have a whole new perspective and respect for Mrs. Keith Urban. She was funny, engaging, sentimental and thankful, and appears to be a genuinely kind person.

Hugh…well, what can anyone say about the man other than he’s perfection. Not only was he looking fine, in the truest sense, but he was sweet, as he always is, so polite and gracious, and the boy actually blushed…a lot. The only question I have for any one is: What’s not to adore?

Oprah was head-over-heels about the movie, and for once I’m glad for her clout. The exposure today’s show gave the movie, Nicole, Hugh and Baz Luhrmann was priceless.

See “Australia”, opening 13 November in OZ, 26 November in the US and 26 December in the UK and most of Europe. I have a really good feeling that you won’t be disappointed.

iGoogle Pocoyó Theme

Toni Chestnut — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:18:28 +0000

An adorable dynamic iGoogle Theme, based on the childrens educational and entertainment show, Pocoyó.

9am

11am

1pm

3pm

5pm

7pm

9pm

11pm

Where are my tabs, damn it!

Toni Chestnut — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:47:22 +0000

Google rolled out its new design for iGoogle last week. Yes, I understand the need to move forward. Remaining stagnant is the death of anything web related. But, But, BUT!…why not at least give the option to keep tabs if we want them? The left-hand nav bar takes up far too much screen real estate and looks too cluttered as well.

Tell me I’m not alone in this gripe!

From the man, himself…

Toni Chestnut — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:22:28 +0000

Directly from Russell Crowe, as reported at Murph’s Place:

From Russell with his usual humour: I won’t be playing two roles in Nottingham.If I ever were to do that I’d pick roles that were more diverse, say Tuck and Marion. RC

So, who knows that the heck Ridley was smoking. Or else it was a massive red herring he threw our way.

So, it’s true…

Toni Chestnut — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:27:03 +0000

Rumoured two months ago, it looks as though it’s true: Russell Crowe will be playing both Robin Hood and the Sheriff in Ridley Scott’s “Nottingham.”

From MTV: While Scott held additional details close to his chest — saying they would take too long to describe — he did exclaim that Crowe’s dual roles would be “a good old clever adjustment of characters. One becomes the other. It changes.”

As stated here before, if anyone can pull this off it’s these two. Let’s just hope it ends up being an effort resulting in brilliance and not farce.

iGoogle Autumn Theme

Toni Chestnut — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:40:58 +0000

iGoogle’s new dynamic Autumn Theme, featuring an adorable raccoon family! Apparently, they only get 2 hours of sleep!

4am

6am

8am

10am

Noon

2pm

4pm

6pm

8pm

10pm

Midnight

2am

3:14am