Chances are, you’re just about holiday partied out right about now and need a little down time to regroup before Christmas rolls around on Wednesday, amIright? So here are some things to read, watch and eat while you take a mental vacation from your holiday vacation. And who knows? Maybe they’ll even give you a few things to talk about at the Christmas dinner table to make you sound really smart and awesome—you can thank me later.
Read:
Courtesy: Macmillian Publishers
Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year by Demi Lovato
I was curious to see what the former child star, current X-Factor judge/Glee star has to say after dealing with a drug and alcohol addiction, and you know what? Demi Lovato’s book is surprisingly uplifting and enlightening. I really like her, and this book reads quickly with words of wisdom broken down by each day of the year. I read through the whole thing, and then I think I’ll check back every day starting January 1 to remind myself of goals like loving myself, staying true to what makes me happy and looking at each day as a new opportunity to do awesome things. Really, this is a self-improvement book that doesn’t read like one, and that’s a good thing.
An interesting long article for the weekend: “Inside the Rainbow Gulag: The Technicolor Rise and Fall of Lisa Frank” is for everyone who ever carried a brightly-colored unicorn Trapper Keeper to school when they were a kid. And had a ton of pencils covered in neon hearts. And collected stickers covered in white cats wearing bling. Lisa Frank stuff was a staple in the 80s and 90s, but despite a happy product the company itself was apparently a horrible place to work. This article blew my mind on my favorite school supplies I treasured when I was younger.
I’m all for Instagram, but there’s a fine line between sharing cute photos of your life and offering up too much information. “The Private Lives of the Cheerlebrities of Instagram” chronicles cheerleaders who have reached huge numbers of followers on Instagram, but not all of them are classmates and friends. Turns out some of their followers are hopeful young cheerleaders themselves, but some are older men looking to see what cheerleaders posting.
Watch:
Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride and Willie Nelson are just three artists who have recently pulled out of performing at SeaWorld Orlando because of some bad press the venue has recently received in the documentary Blackfish. The film offers information about treatment of animals at SeaWorld, specifically the killer whale Tillicum, and how their living conditions could have contributed to aggressive behaviors. This was a well-made exploration of this topic, and helps understand why some have decided not to perform at SeaWorld; Blackfish is streaming on Netflix.
If you’re in the mood for a little more lighthearted documentary, Somm was a great one I checked out this week that also debuted at the Seattle International Film Festival this summer. Also streaming on Netflix, Somm takes a look at a group of guys who are trying to pass the hardest test you’ve never heard of, the Court of Master Sommeliers, where hopefuls show their knowledge on all things having to do with wine, beer and cigar tastes. Fewer than 200 people have passed this test since 1966, and this documentary shows the obsession behind passing the world’s hardest test.
Eat:
If you’ve got people dropping by for Christmas or just want to drown your sorrows while sitting alone in front of this year’s viewing of The Holiday, this recipe for Hot Spinach and Artichoke dip might be right up your alley. I’ve tried to make it a bit more low-calorie by swapping Neufchatel cheese for cream cheese, but you can use full-octane if you desire.
Ingredients:
8 oz Neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese), softened
1 ½ cups grated Parmesean cheese
¼ cup Extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of one lemon (to make sure you get all the juice out, microwave lemon for 15 seconds and roll on the counter while pressing on it before slicing and squeezing)
3 garlic cloves, minced (I like a lot of garlic so I use four, but you might want to cut it down to two)
½ tsp crushed red pepper
1 jar artichoke hearts in water (I’ve found marinated or in oil aren’t that great in this recipe), drained
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed as dry as you can get it
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat the oven to 450°F. Put the cream cheese, Parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and crushed red pepper in a large bowl. Season with salt and black pepper, and stir to combine. Stir in the artichoke hearts and spinach. Transfer to an 8- or 9-inch square pan or a gratin dish and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve hot with tortilla chips, pita chips, sourdough baguette slices or crackers. You can also throw all the ingredients into a slow cooker set on “high” for two hours, stirring about an hour in and then turned to “warm” for serving.
Pair with: Rex-Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon is good, cheap wine. I’m not a wine snob all the time, I get this Cab-Sauv for less than eight bucks, sometimes if it’s on sale you can get it for $4.99. This wine pretty much always goes awesome also with cheese and chocolate.