The Emmy race: who should win, who will win

The pressure, the pressure...Blobby, my blogger and now real-life friend (Peter and I met him for drinks and dinner when he and his partner "710") were in New England earlier this summer) has publicly chastised me for failing to follow up on a task. You see, last winter, I challenged Blobby to a "Who Will Win the Oscars" contest, which by some miracle, ended up in a tie. I am certain he cheated somehow. So now it's time for the Emmys, the Oscars of the television world, and Blobby is challenging all comers to another competition. Here are his rules (as you can see, he's very bossy):

I will highlight in red (who will win), blue (who should win) and green if it is both. The winner only gets the 'who will win' category.  I will post my selections on 9/22 (awards are the next day).  No points go to people who post answers after the show starts.  Sorry - thems are the breaks. 

So now that Blobby has throw down the proverbial gauntlet, I feel I must answer his call. But because I am a gentleman and an upfront and honest kind of guy, I do have to tell Blobby that some of the awards on his list have already been bestowed. You see, there's a little show called the "Creative Arts Emmys" that aired last night, and some of the categories, like "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series", "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series", "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series", and "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" were completed. So I have removed those four categories from the list below and will ask Blobby to do the same on his blog. I will unwaveringly follow his directions on how to select the winners:

• RED = Will Win
• BLUE = Should Win
• GREEN = Should and Will Win

And for those of you keeping track or who want to play, you can copy and paste the list below on your blog (and for god's sake, follow Blobby's rules) or just leave a comment on this post. The primetime Emmy awards will be televised next Sunday night, September 23. I can almost taste victory.

COMEDY SERIES

"The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO)

"Girls" (HBO)

"Modern Family" (ABC)

"30 Rock" (NBC)

"Veep" (HBO)

COMEDY ACTOR

Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper in "The Big Bang Theory" 

Larry David as Himself in "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

Don Cheadle as Marty Kaan in "House of Lies" 

Louis C.K. as Louie in "Louie"

Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy in "30 Rock" 

Jon Cryer as Alan Harper in "Two and a Half Men"

COMEDY ACTRESS

Lena Dunham as Hannah Horvath in "Girls"

Melissa McCarthy as Molly Flynn in "Mike & Molly"

Zooey Deschanel as Jess Day in "New Girl" 

Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton in "Nurse Jackie"

Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope in "Parks and Recreation"

Tina Fey as Liz Lemon in "30 Rock"

Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer in "Veep"

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR

Ed O'Neill as Jay Pritchett in "Modern Family"

Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett in "Modern Family"

Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy in "Modern Family"

Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker in "Modern Family" 

Max Greenfield as Schmidt in "New Girl"

Bill Hader as various characters in "Saturday Night Live"

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS

Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler in "The Big Bang Theory"

Kathryn Joosten as Karen McCluskey in "Desperate Housewives"

Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy in "Modern Family"

Sofia Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in "Modern Family"

Merritt Wever as Zoey Barkow in "Nurse Jackie"

Kristen Wiig as various characters in "Saturday Night Live"

DRAMA SERIES

"Boardwalk Empire" (HBO)

"Breaking Bad" (AMC)

"Downton Abbey" (PBS)

"Game of Thrones" (HBO)

"Homeland" (Showtime)

"Mad Men" (AMC)

DRAMA ACTRESS

Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in "Damages" 

Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley in "Downton Abbey"

Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick in "The Good Wife"

Kathy Bates as Harriet Korn in "Harry's Law"

Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in "Homeland"

Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson in "Mad Men"

DRAMA ACTOR

Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson in "Boardwalk Empire"

Bryan Cranston as Walter White in "Breaking Bad" 

Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan in "Dexter"

Hugh Bonneville as Robert, Earl of Grantham in "Downton Abbey"

Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody in "Homeland"

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in "Mad Men"

SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS

Anna Gunn as Skyler White in "Breaking Bad"

Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham in "Downton Abbey"

Joanne Froggatt as Anna in "Downton Abbey"

Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma in "The Good Wife"

Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart in "The Good Wife"

Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway Harris in "Mad Men"

SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR

Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in "Breaking Bad"

Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo 'Gus' Fring in "Breaking Bad" 

Brendan Coyle as John Bates in "Downton Abbey"

Jim Carter as Mr. Carson in "Downton Abbey"

Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in "Game of Thrones"

Jared Harris as Lane Pryce "Mad Men"

MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE

"American Horror Story" (FX)

"Game Change" (HBO)

"Hatfields & McCoys" (History)

"Hemingway & Gellhorn" (HBO)

"Luther" (BBC America)

"Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia" (PBS)

LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Connie Britton as Vivien Harmon in "American Horror Story" 

Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in "Game Change"

Nicole Kidman as Martha Gellhorn in "Hemingway & Gellhorn" 

Ashley Judd as Rebecca Winstone in "Missing"

Emma Thompson as She in "The Song of Lunch"

LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt in "Game Change"

Kevin Costner as 'Devil' Anse Hatfield in "Hatfields & McCoys"

Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"

Clive Owen as Ernest Hemingway in "Hemingway & Gellhorn" 

Idris Elba as John Luther in "Luther"

Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Frances Conroy as Moira in "American Horror Story"

Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon in "American Horror Story"

Sarah Paulson as Nicolle Wallace "Game Change"

Mare Winningham as Sally McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"

Judy Davis as Jill Tankard in "Page Eight"

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Denis O'Hare as Larry Harvey in "American Horror Story"

Ed Harris as John McCain in "Game Change"

Tom Berenger as Jim Vance in "Hatfields & McCoys"

David Strathairn as John Dos Passos in "Hemingway & Gellhorn"

Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson in "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"

VARIETY SERIES

"The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central)

"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (ABC)

"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" (NBC)

"Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO)

"Saturday Night Live" (NBC)

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

Robert B. Weide, "Curb Your Enthusiasm "

Lena Dunham, "Girls"

Louis C.K., "Duckling"

Jason Winer, "Modern Family"

Steven Levitan, "Modern Family"

Jake Kasdan, "New Girl"

WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

Chris McKenna, "Community"

Lena Dunham, "Girls"

Louis C.K., "Louie"

Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"

Michael Schur, "Parks and Recreation"

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

Tim Van Patten, "Boardwalk Empire"

Vince Gilligan, "Breaking Bad"

Brian Percival, "Downton Abbey"

Michael Cuesta, "Homeland"

Phil Abraham, "Mad Men"

WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

Julian Fellowes, "Downton Abbey"

Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon & Gideon Raff, "Homeland"

Semi Chellas & Matthew Weiner, "Mad Men"

Andre Jacquemetton & Maria Jacquemetton, "Mad Men"

Erin Levy & Matthew Weiner, "Mad Men"

DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL

Jay Roach, "Game Change"

Kevin Reynolds, "Hatfields & McCoys"

Philip Kaufman, "Hemingway & Gellhorn"

Sam Miller, "Luther"

Paul McGuigan, "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"

A visit to the lake house aka "the cottage"

So this will be my last post about my visit with family last weekend in upstate New York! On Saturday afternoon, we drove to a little town that borders Lake Ontario.

My sister's new home is near that red "A" on the map above.

My sister and her husband have owned a small cottage on the lake for a number of years, and this past winter, bought a bigger home about 15 properties down the road. They invited me and my parents for a late lunch (delicious grilled porkchops, two kinds of salads, and salt potatoes; I brought pie for dessert.) Cathy gave me the grand tour -- it's a lovely home, situated on a bay, about a 1/2 mile from the open lake. The house is a perfect spot for entertaining friends and family, and taking full advantage of swimming, boating, jet-skiing and other water-based activities. The former owners had fully landscaped the property. It was a drizzly afternoon and all of the mature plantings around the house looked lush and healthy. After enjoying our leisurely lunch, we walked down the road to the edge of Lake Ontario, which looked to me like an ocean, with wind-driven whitecaps atop aggressive waves. It was windy and dramatic, and Otis was pulling at his leash to get into the water.

The view from back porch of the house.

My sister Cathy and her husband Don.

Me and my sister. I won't tell you who's older.

Churning Lake Ontario.

So close yet so far.

Try this: Bake-Sale Lemon Meringue Pie

Yup, I doubled the recipe and made two pies -- one to bring to my
sister's house and one to share with some of my parent's friends. 

I wish I could give proper credit for this recipe, but I cut it out of some magazine years ago and I don’t remember which one. No doubt I’ve made this recipe dozens of times: it’s my “go-to” when we need to bring a dessert to someone’s house, and always on my to-do list when I visit my folks, as their friends Don and Jan go nuts for lemon meringue pie. I don’t bother making my own pie crust, as the recipe calls for the store-bought variety, and who am I to question authority?

Bake-Sale Lemon Meringue Pie

• 1 refrigerated pie crust, room temperature (I buy the Pillsbury brand, usually stored in the dairy section of the supermarket)
• 1 ¼ cups, plus 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 ½ cups water
• 6 tablespoons corn starch (divided)
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• pinch of salt
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Unroll pie crust and place in pie dish. Fold edges over and crimp. (Important, because if the crust is not attached to the edges of the pie dish, it will shrink while baking.) Pierce crust all over with a fork. Back until crust is golden, about 15 minutes.

Whisk together 1 ¼ cups sugar, water, 5 tablespoons of cornstarch, egg yolks, lemon peel, and salt in heavy saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until mixture starts to bubble and thicken. When it’s the consistency of thick pudding, remove from heat and add in lemon juice and butter. Whisk until smooth. Cool completely.

Spread lemon filling into crust.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites with electric beater until eggs are foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Add sugar/cornstarch mixture one tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.

Spoon dollops of meringue on top of the lemon filling, mounding it in the center and bringing it right to the edge of the crust. Use a rubber spatula to swirl it into peaks (I then use a fork, stabbing it into the meringue and then pulling it up fast to make little peaks.) Bake until meringue is light brown, about 12 minutes. Cool on a rack and then refrigerate until cold.

Some awesome thoughts on a Thursday night

A collection of random musings for Thursday, September 13:

Best. Salmon. Ever. Worst. Photo. Ever.

With a tip of the hat to our friends Vanessa and Cecil, who prepared this dish for us at their home earlier this summer, we present to you Salmon on a Plank. This photo certainly does not do this delicious dish justice. We soaked a cedar plank in water for 30 minutes before topping it with a piece of fresh salmon. Then we coated the fish with a mixture of mayo (hey, I said "delicious", not "heart-healthy") and smoked paprika and put the plank on the grill for about 15 minutes. Served it up with some roasted sweet potatoes with rosemary and garlic and some homemade stewed tomatoes. A trifecta of awesomeness. 

Speaking of Vanessa and awesomeness...

My word of the summer has been "awesome". Don't know where I picked it up or how long I'll be declaring everything as, well...awesome. But I've learned to be careful. We were at Vanessa and Cecil's house, sitting on their front steps, enjoying a glass of wine, and Vanessa was telling us about some rather difficult times she had recently experienced. And I looked her straight in the eye, and with all sincerity said to her, "Well, Vanessa, you look awful....I mean AWESOME!". The bewildered look on her face was priceless, and of course, I fell all over myself apologizing to our hostess. Be careful out there, folks...

Definitely not awesome

This guy is being called the "real-life Popeye" -- but wasn't it Popeye's forearms that were huge? And I don't think Popeye used anabolic steroids or stuffed smoked hams under his skin like 31-year-old Moustafa Ismail appears to be doing. His 31-inch biceps have just been named the biggest in the world, and he claims it's all natural. "My friends in the gym just couldn't believe how much my arms seem to grow so I began to really focus on getting bigger," he says. Those horrendous bumps look like something that should be surgically removed. But sexy, no?

If you're "pee shy", don't visit the Standard Hotel in NYC

So you're partying at the Boom Boom Room at the ritzy Standard Hotel on West 14th Street in Manhattan but need to visit the rest room. "How lovely," you think, as you take a seat in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, taking in the splendid skyline, assuming, of course, that these windows are "one-way". Uhhhh...nope! Passerbys are getting an eyeful of these "public pissoirs", these "societal stalls", these "community crappers". "I saw people waving at me! Sitting on the royal throne, you don't expect a public viewing!" said David Langdon from Melbourne, Australia. 

And how was your day?

Meet my Mom

They say the family that plays together, stays together. So here we (me and Otis) were with my Mom at a park in Manchester, NY, last week. We had just finished playing fetch with Otis when we took a few minutes to rest at the nearby playground. I couldn't convince Mom to actually go down the blue plastic slide, but she was willing to pose for a photo at the bottom.

Too bad she didn't see that puddle of water at the bottom of the slide until she had already been seated. But she's a good sport and didn't complain (much). This photo is typical -- big smile and loving life. She's one of those folks who are up for anything -- you name it, she's game. 

"Come out to Boston, Mom?" "When do you want me there?"

"Go for a walk, Mom?" "Let me find my sneakers!"

"Wine tasting at 10:30 am, Mom?" "Why not?"

She's got a big laugh and a huge heart, and therefore lots of friends and family who want her in their company  Having a get-together and need a guaranteed life-of-the-party? Call 1-800-DOROTHY.

A big can of worms

On Saturday morning, while visiting my folks in Manchester, NY, I drove over to the local mini-mart to pick up some eggs, some scratch tickets (a tradition when I'm home), and a big cup of coffee. On my way out of the market, this vending machine caught my eye. Nope, it wasn't dispensing candy bars, cigarettes, or ice-cold Coca-Colas. This machine was vending a very different product: live bait!

My folks live near the Finger Lakes, a series of long, narrow waterways that some say resemble fingers (get it?), so there are lots of fishing enthusiasts in the area. But this was the first bait vending machine I had ever seen. The selections in the machine included Premium Night Crawlers for $3.00, Red Worms for $3.00, and Spike Grubs for $2.75. I didn't need any bait on Saturday morning, but it got me wondering -- how exactly is that bait dispensed? One worm at a time? In tins like sardines? In a pretty gift box?

One summer, as a kid growing up in nearby Victor, I posted a hand-lettered sign out in front of our house: Night Crawlers: 25¢/dozen. Several nights a week, my Dad and I would go out in the backyard with flashlights and try to grab those big, slimy worms before they dove back into their holes. We kept the worms in a big, double-sided stainless steel tub in the garage. And very early in the morning, local fishermen would pull into our driveway and ring our doorbell, looking to buy bait. I remember my Dad's business advice: when you're packing up the night crawlers, always count out loud "One, Two, Three..." and then give them an extra worm. A baker's dozen, if you will. "Always give 'em more than they expect," he said. Still good advice, I think...

The bread so good, I had to tell you twice.

While home at my folks over the weekend, we made a loaf of Honey-Milk Raisin Bread, a delicious, yeasty treat that's awesome spread with lots of butter. As I sat down to share this recipe with you, it occurred to me that I already did -- over two years ago! So same bread, same recipe, same great results. As I mentioned in my post from August 2010, this was the first (and only) recipe that I've ever made using yeast -- I think that ingredient somehow intimidated me. My mom remembers her mother using yeast cakes to prepare homemade breads back on the farm - and recalls her wrestling to get the proper rise out of her dough. This recipe calls for dry yeast - those little foil packs in the baking sections of your local grocer - and it couldn't be any easier. Let me know if you try it.