Lian Dolan's Blog, page 19

Chaos Chronicles 806: Lian’s Theme for 2014; Nuts News; and a Vegas Preview for NMX and Podcast Awards

Chaos Chronicles 806! Lian kick’s off the new year with:

Deb Balls: Eat First!

Make It Count: Lian’s theme for 2014 is already working! What’s your theme for 2014?

New studies on Eating Nuts while Pregnant and the Benefits of Reading Novels

Plus, Vegas-bound for Art, Tea and Podcast Conferences

 

Related post:

 

Lian previews the New Media Conference in Las Vegas and her fellow podcast panelists

Fri, 3 January 2014
Chaos Chronicles 806: Theme for 2014; Nut and Novel News; and Vegas-Bound for Art, Food & Podcast Awards!

 

Direct download: Chaos_806.mp3

Category:2014 – posted at: 10:45 PM

Attention, Spartans! Attention, Cardinals! An Insider’s Guide to the Rose Parade, Pasadena and BCS Festivities

This is the kind of school spirit we want to see, people. Get on it, Spartans and Cardinals! You, too Tigers and 'Noles!

Here Come the Spartans! Here Come the Cardinals! Here Come the Bandies! It’s that time of year again in Pasadena: Rose Bowl Time. New Year’s is right around the corner and my in-box has been filled with a unusually high number of requests for advice, information and parking requests. Yes to advice and information; no to parking. The drive-way is already filled!

In order to help as many folks as possible, I thought I’d put in all in one handy-dandy blog post for those of you from Michigan State and Stanford and other points around the country headed to Pasadena for January 1. Some, but not all of this advice is applicable for the War Eagles/Tigers and Seminoles who arrive in town a week later for the BCS.

Here is my advice for fulfilling enjoying the festivities

Go to the parade, people. I know it is tempting to party on New Year’s Eve and skip the Rose Parade with the 8 am start, but don’t be an idiot! Get up and Get Going!

If this is a once-in-a-lifetime event for you, buy tickets. (The closer to Orange Grove and Colorado, the “TV Corner,” the better. Worth every dollar. Bathrooms and Coffee, need I say more?) The floats are spectacular, the bands are fab, the horses are beautiful, the weather is always great.

Legendary Dodger announcer Vin Scully is the Grand Marshal and though he may be unfamiliar to out-of-towners, rest assured that he is beloved and the reception from locals will be deafening. The theme is something vague about dreams, like it is every other year when it’s not about memories.  But don’t let the theme deter you. The floats will be fantastic, the bands fantastic and the weather fantastic. What more could you want?

Wear layers. The early start time means that the weather can be cold at the beginning of the parade. Stop snickering, Spartans! To us, 47 degrees is cold! Then, it’s sunny and warm by the end of the parade. The high for the day is predicted at 75.  And walking is usually involved from the Parade route to the football game. Wear layers is all I’m sayin’.

Do call out “Happy New Year!” and “Queen Ana Marie! Over here!” It’s a personable little parade for a million people. There’s lots of waving and good wishes, as riders in the parade call out to the crowd and the crowd calls back. You don’t have to be a local to acknowledge the Queen. And please thank the volunteers in the White Suits (the White Suiters, as we call them). They put on the whole shebang as a community service, giving up literally years of their lives, not to mention their entire holiday!

Cheer for the bands. Love the bandies and their parents. These high school bands are hand -picked; their appearance in the parade has been in the works for years in terms of auditioning and fund-raising. And those kids are in for the longest march of their lives (over 5 miles), usually in inadequate footwear. Why don’t the flag girls wear shoes with support? Why? So when they go by, be generous. Special shout out to the Carmel High School  Marching Greyhounds from Carmel, Indiana (I hear good things) and the St. Augustine Marching 100 from New Orleans (Amazing!)

Better yet, see the bands perform before the parade. Bandfest takes place over 3 days at Pasadena City College with the bands each get a solo shot to strut their stuff. .

Wear your school colors at all times. See above. We locals like knowing who is representing. More Cardinals? More Spartans? We talk about you all year long when you’re gone. As in “Wow, those Stanford fans really spent a lot of money in the bars.” or “Love those Michigan Staters. So polite.” We’ll never know who you are if you don’t wear your sweatshirts. That goes for you BCSers. You don’t have a parade to rally around, but we’ll be watching out school spirit barometers: Novelty Headgear & Sweatshirts

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate I know the landscaping may look lush, especially after the 13 inches of rain we recently received, but technically, Pasadena is a desert. So, drink up, Shriner! And by that I mean water. It’s a long day if you take in the parade and the game. You’ll need extra H2O to walk back up the hill to your car after the game.

Rest Easy. There is not a bad seat in the Rose Bowl. I’ve sat in the Rose Bowl for a World Cup final, multiple Rose Bowl games, a U2 concert, and the Barcelona v. Galaxy match — all with the stadium filled to capacity. (I’ve also been there for AYSO soccer opening days where the stadium was not quite filled to capacity!) And I can tell you that there is not a bad seat in the house. There are tight seats! But not bad seats. So where ever your tickets are, they will be great. But to get there early to avoid security issues and enjoy the spectacular view of the San Gabriel Mountains once inside. Then, imagine Keith Jackson’s voice saying, “The Grand-daddy of them all.”

If you have extra time in Pasadena, visit the Norton Simon, the Pasadena Museum of History, the Langham Hotel or the Huntington Library and Gardens. And get a load of how classy we are here in Pasadena. No theme parks in the Rose City, only the genuine article. We got taste and it shows at these wonderful museums. If you can’t make it to the museums, rent “Father of the Bride,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” ” Rumor Has It” or “The Wedding Planner” — all shot locally.

Eat, shop, and stay in Pasadena. Please. Thanks. We appreciate it.

Read Helen of Pasadena  and Elizabeth the First Wife before you show up to get the inside scoop.  My novels capture contemporary Pasadena and feature a Disgraced Rose Queen. Plus, Helen of Pasadena starts at the Rose Parade and gives you the inside scoop on all things Pasadena. You’ll be in the know about so many local haunts if you read the book before you come.  Or pick it up at one our fantastic independent bookstore while you are here, Vromans, After you read the book, you’ll understand my caution, “Watch out for those Parade Floats!”

 

Cheers! Have fun!

Embracing my chaos,

Lian

 

For more insider information check out these websites:

Pasadena Magazine- History of the Rose Parade and a great glam fashion shoot with the Queens and Princesses of  years gone by.   Or click on a Visitors Guide for out-of-towners. Plus, you can check out my column Very Pasadena. 

Hometown Pasadena– Great recommendations for food, shopping, special events. All written by locals/top notch journalists and writers.

The Tournament of Roses —

Have fun. Ask questions, I’ll do my best to answer.

Embracing my Chaos, Lian

Chaos Chronicles 805: Chicken Marbella & Mashed Potato Bar, plus Pope Francis and Gisele Bundchen team up and Holiday Driving Tips from State Farm

New Chaos Chronicles Podcast! Food, Fun & Family. And Pope Francis. 

Lian Dolan’s weekly show on Modern Motherhood:

The Mashed Potato Bar & Chicken Marbella .

To see the full Mashed Potato Bar spread, click here. 
The Silver Palate Chicken Marbella Recipe, click here. 

The Solemnity of Newtown Anniversary

Read Alissa Parker’s Piece on losing her daughter here. 
Read Lisa Belkin’s piece from the Huffington Post

In the news: 

Safe Holiday Driving Tips from State Farm. For more information, click to go to the State Farm site

Strange Bedfellows: Pope Francis & Gisele Bundchen

Does Your Blood Actually Thin in Cold Weather? 

Finally… Holiday To Do List

Thu, 19 December 2013
Chaos Chronicles 805: Chicken Marbella & the Mashed Potato Bar; Holiday Driving Tips; Decolletage Issues and Pope Francis & Gisele Bunchen

 

Direct download: Chaos805.mp3

Category:2013 – posted at: 10:22 PM

Holiday Wish List for Cooks: Tequila-Seared Lime Cilantro Chicken with Chimichurri and the Microsoft Surface 2

 

My kitchen is my hub. It’s my HQ for work, family, food and the many, many small scraps of paper that constitute my To Do Lists/Recipes/Book Ideas. Right now, I’m operating off a laptop, standing at my island running my (very) small media empire, fact-checking homework, and ordering gifts online while simultaneously making enchiladas and emptying the dishwasher. It’s only a matter of time before the laptop ends up in the sink.   I’d like to digitize the whole operation and get mobile so I’ve been in the market for a tablet that a real tool, not a toy.

That’s why I jumped at the chance at an invitation from Red Tricycle to check out the all Microsoft Surface 2 and a cooking demonstration from Simple Gourmets’ Melanie Barsuk and Tajie Marie. who whipped up Tequila Seared Chicken with Chimichurri. (Recipe Below!) Wait, what? This is my life: working and making dinner at the same time.  And it comes with chimichurri sauce? Even better.

Loved the Microsoft Surface 2. Sleek, super light and user -friendly. And it comes with 2013 Microsoft Office RT ( with Outlook)  pre-loaded onto the device, so it fits my definition of “tool.”  You can get work done with this tablet and the get dinner done! There’s a  fantastic app the makes recipe searching and organizing really easy. Plus, there’s an incredible feature that every home cook will appreciate: simply wave your hand in front of the screen to get to the next step in the recipe.  No more sticky hands on the laptop!

I wave; the recipe moves to the next step. No sticky hands on the tablet.

Melanie and Tajie whipped up a super-tasty weekday dinner and while we played around with the Surface. I love watching real chefs work up close because they are so smooth in the kitchen and full of great ideas.  I am a ‘sear before bake’ convert now (see recipe) and have been inspired to stop up my sauce-making since the demo. Why? Because Melanie provided my favorite line of the day: Sauce is love.  It’s the extra step that tells your family you love them. Amen.

So I’m saucing it up these days, in hopes that my husband, Santa Baby, gets the hint and puts the Microsoft Surface 2 in my stocking. Because that’s love too!

 

Thanks, Red Tricycle, Microsoft and Simple Gourmet.

For More Information, Please Click on the logos below: 

 

A great resources for parents of Toddlers and kids of all ages

 

 

 

 

 

Make plenty of sauce because you want to drink it!

Tequila Seared Chicken with Chimichurri

Serves 6

For the chicken

 

1/2 cup tequila

2 limes, zest and juice

2 oranges, zest and juice

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 bunch cilantro, with stems

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 tbl ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup olive oil

4-6 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

 

For the chimichurri

1 cup parsley leaves

1/4 cup mint leaves

1/4 cup chopped white onion

1 tsp red chili flakes

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

 

For the chicken

In a food processor, combine the marinade ingredients. Process until well chopped. Place the chicken on a baking sheet

and pour over the marinade, turning to ensure the chicken is thoroughly covered.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a grill pan over high heat. Once hot, grill the chicken until well-marked on both sides

and place onto a clean baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until just cooked through.

Remove, cover with foil and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

 

For the chimichurri

Combine the parsley, mint, onion, red chili flakes, vinegar and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until it is a chunky

mixture (don’t process until smooth). Season well with salt and pepper.

Serve chimichurri drizzled over the chicken or on the side.

 

 

 

Holiday Wish List for Cooks: Tequila-Seared Lime Cilantro Chicken with Chimichurri and The Microsoft Surface

 

My kitchen is my hub. It’s my HQ for work, family, food and the many, many small scraps of paper that constitute my To Do Lists/Recipes/Book Ideas. Right now, I’m operating off a laptop, standing at my island running my (very) small media empire, fact-checking homework, and ordering gifts online while simultaneously making enchiladas and emptying the dishwasher. It’s only a matter of time before the laptop ends up in the sink.   I’d like to digitize the whole operation and get mobile so I’ve been in the market for a tablet that a real tool, not a toy.

That’s why I jumped at the chance at an invitation from Red Tricycle to check out the all Microsoft Surface 2 and a cooking demonstration from Simple Gourmets’ Melanie Barsuk and Tajie Marie. who whipped up Tequila Seared Chicken with Chimichurri. (Recipe Below!) Wait, what? This is my life: working and making dinner at the same time.  And it comes with chimichurri sauce? Even better.

Loved the Microsoft Surface 2. Sleek, super light and user -friendly. And it comes with 2013 Microsoft Office RT ( with Outlook)  pre-loaded onto the device, so it fits my definition of “tool.”  You can get work done with this tablet and the get dinner done! There’s a  fantastic app the makes recipe searching and organizing really easy. Plus, there’s an incredible feature that every home cook will appreciate: simply wave your hand in front of the screen to get to the next step in the recipe.  No more sticky hands on the laptop!

I wave; the recipe moves to the next step. No sticky hands on the tablet.

Melanie and Tajie whipped up a super-tasty weekday dinner and while we played around with the Surface. I love watching real chefs work up close because they are so smooth in the kitchen and full of great ideas.  I am a ‘sear before bake’ convert now (see recipe) and have been inspired to stop up my sauce-making since the demo. Why? Because Melanie provided my favorite line of the day: Sauce is love.  It’s the extra step that tells your family you love them. Amen.

So I’m saucing it up these days, in hopes that my husband, Santa Baby, gets the hint and puts the Microsoft Surface 2 in my stocking. Because that’s love too!

 

Thanks, Red Tricycle, Microsoft and Simple Gourmet.

For More Information, Please Click on the logos below: 

 

A great resources for parents of Toddlers and kids of all ages

 

 

 

 

 

Make plenty of sauce because you want to drink it!

Tequila Seared Chicken with Chimichurri

Serves 6

For the chicken

 

1/2 cup tequila

2 limes, zest and juice

2 oranges, zest and juice

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 bunch cilantro, with stems

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 tbl ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup olive oil

4-6 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

 

For the chimichurri

1 cup parsley leaves

1/4 cup mint leaves

1/4 cup chopped white onion

1 tsp red chili flakes

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

 

For the chicken

In a food processor, combine the marinade ingredients. Process until well chopped. Place the chicken on a baking sheet

and pour over the marinade, turning to ensure the chicken is thoroughly covered.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a grill pan over high heat. Once hot, grill the chicken until well-marked on both sides

and place onto a clean baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until just cooked through.

Remove, cover with foil and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

 

For the chimichurri

Combine the parsley, mint, onion, red chili flakes, vinegar and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until it is a chunky

mixture (don’t process until smooth). Season well with salt and pepper.

Serve chimichurri drizzled over the chicken or on the side.

 

 

 

Chaos Chronicles 804: Thanksgiving Follow-Up with Doorbuster and Catching Fire; News on Food Allergies and College Degrees; EngineerGirl.org; plus A Fashion Query

Embrace your Chaos with a new podcast! Modern Motherhood with a Laugh. This week on the show: 

Lian’s Follow-Up on Thanksgiving, Pate & Black Friday. For Edna Dolan’s Thanksgiving Pate Recipe, click here.

News from the Front:

Babies and Food Allergies. When should you start the solids? Hold off until 17 weeks according to a new study.

College Degrees that make money… and those that don’t . Hint, hint: Math Good; Philosophy Bad.

Click here if your daughter would rather design bridges instead of being a princess

Have a Daughter interested in Math and Science? Check out engineergirl.org

Plus, a Fashion Query and Check out Elizabeth the First Wife and Helen of Pasadena as the Kindle Daily Deal on Wednesday, December 4th.





Mon, 2 December 2013
Chaos Chronicles 804: Thanksgiving Follow-Up; News to Use on Food Allergies & College Degrees; and A Fashion Query

 

Direct download: CC12022013.mp3

Category:2013 – posted at: 9:07 PM

Chaos Chronicles 803: LA Auto Show, Sleepy Hollow, Catching Fire & Bridget Jones and Thanksgiving To Do List

New Chaos Chronicles Podcast! Modern Motherhood with a Laugh. On Today’s Show:

Take My Son to Work Day: Brookes of fasterequalsbetter.com and Usain Bolt at the LA Auto Show.

The LA Auto Show! or Take Your Son to Work Day! There’s a first for everything and ,this time, it’s a mother-son press event.

Lian Pop Culture Round-Up:  

Sleepy Hollow
Catching Fire
Bridget Jones Mad About The Boy

 

 

Holiday To Do List: What’s on the calendar for Thanksgiving and Beyond.

Embracing my Chaos, Lian

Thu, 21 November 2013
Chaos Chronicles 803: Take Your Son To Work Day; Pop Culture Round-up and Thanksgiving To Do List

Direct download: Chaos_803.mp3

Category:2013 – posted at: 10:06 PM

Chaos Chronicles 802: Outsourcing Dinner; Find Caramel Apples and Interview with Betz White, Designer, Crafter, Author, Mom.

Click here to see all of Betz White's Amazing Work

Featured Interview with Designer, Author and Crafter Betz White. Find her work here at betzwhite.com  

Plus:

Are you a Morning Person? Can you change if you’re not? Please help me help my teenaged son!

Advice for SnapChat kid: Take the money

Outsourcing your life: Does it make good ecomonic sense to hire help , like lots of help? From the New York Times article. What would you outsource and why?

To Do List: I need a good source for Gourmet Caramel Apples! 

 

Thu, 14 November 2013
Chaos Chronicles 802: Outsourcing Dinner; Designer and Crafter Extraordinaire Betz White; and are Genetically Morning Person or a night Owl?

 

Direct download: Chaos802.mp3

Category:2013 – posted at: 6:43 PM

Chaos Chronicles Podcast 801: Birth Order and Bitterness; Mindfulness and the Family Dinner; and Tulips To Do

New Chaos Chronicles Podcast

Triumph at the DMV

Can Family Dinners lead to extra Mindfulness? Lian has a  theory.  To read the article from the New York Times: Mindfulness Getting Its Share of Attention, click here

Birth Order, Brains and Bitterness. Lian answers the Huffington Post’s 28 Signs You’re Dealing with an Older Child with her own list of 28 Signs You’re Dealing with the Youngest Child.

 

 

 

Plant me. Plant me. I have to get these bulbs into the ground this week-- or they die!

To Do List: Time to Plant the Tulips. In the Spring, these beauties will be popping up in my yard. If I can get them into the ground this weekend. To see more bulbs, Click here for Longview Gardens. 

Fri, 8 November 2013
Chaos Chronicles 801: Mindfulness and the Family Dinner; Birth Order, Brains & Bitterness and Time to Plant the Tulips 

Direct download: Chaos801.mp3

Category:2013 – posted at: 11:06 PM

 

Next week on the show: Designer and Pattern Maker Betz White. Check out betzwhite.com to see her amazing work. 

 

ELECTION WEEK:

To Vote for Satellite Sisters for the Podcast Awards, click here. 

To Write In a nomination for  Elizabeth the First Wife  for the Good Reads Choice Awards in the Romance category, click here. 

28 Signs You’re Dealing with the Youngest Child

Ah, to be the oldest child. All the attention, the new clothes, the pressure to succeed in everything all the time. Social scientists have told us lately that first-borns are actually smarter than siblings born further down the line because Mom and Dad simply spent more time with them and , frankly, cared more about their success than yours. Well, as #8 of 8 siblings, I quote Edna Krabappel and say, “Ha!”

First-borns may have the good SATS, but they also have some  unfortunate personality traits to go along with their high verbal scores. My friend Lisa Belkin and HuffPo Parenting Editor Emma Mustich put together  a terrific crowd-sourced list of 28 Signs you’re Dealing with an Oldest Child , complete with Awkward Family Photos.

I felt compelled to represent the other end of the sibling spectrum: the neglected, jaded, free-range Youngest Sibling in a Big Family.  To that end, my list of:

Don't bother looking for me: I wasn't born yet.

28 Signs You’re Dealing with a Youngest Child

 

#1 Entitled to nothing.

#2 Happy to sit in the back seat of the car well into adulthood. Even the way, way back.

#3 Buys used cars, second -hand clothes and ‘vintage’ furniture.  What is this thing you call “first-hand?”

#4 Will never make fiancee sit through the tradition post-engagement evening of Going Through the Family Photo Album to Look at Pictures of Childhood because there are no pictures of childhood.

#5 Answers to almost any name. Literally, any name.

#6 Constantly surprises older siblings with references to “playing on the high school tennis team” or “going to college” as older  siblings have no recollection of any of these events.

#7 Has photographic memory of every event that happened to older siblings, including what they were wearing and what Mom yelled.

#8 Rarely expects a bed at large family gatherings. Prefers futons, couches or tent in the backyard. (Yup, for my sister’s Julie’s wedding at home, my parents made my brother  and I sleep in a tent in our own backyard.)

#9 Has a record collection that includes 4 copies of Boz Scaggs Silk Degree inherited from older siblings.

#10 Has a book collection that includes 7 copies of The Catcher in the Rye and 4 copies of  Go Ask Alice.

#11 Never expects to be served first.

#12 Expects to do have to do the dishes anywhere, anytime, at any event.

#13 Occasionally stuns family with competency.

#14  But still treated like 14-year old.

#15 Pleased as punch to have a seat at the Grown-Ups Table.

#16  Personal Motto: I wasn’t born yet.

#17 Will never bore you with stories of family trips to national parks because the car wasn’t big enough for the entire family, if you know what I mean.

#18 Barely got a word in edgewise until age 15, so a very good listener.

#19 Enjoys being decades younger now. Really, really enjoys it. Like not in a  healthy way.

#20 Leaves the room when older siblings reminisce about “the Christmas we all got new skis.”

#21 Keeper of the Family High School YearBooks, for some reason.

#22  Thrilled at spacious college dorm room and awesome bunk bed.

#23 High levels of proficiency in laundry, sandwich-making, entertaining oneself and waiting.

#24  Large vocabulary.

#25  Never even reaches for the remote. Why bother?

#26  Learns from your mistakes.

#27  Stays under radar.

#28  Gets away with murder.

 

 

Any to add? Can we hear from the Middle Children? 

Related Post:

Click here to nominate Elizabeth for the Romance category at Good Reads Choice Awards.

 

 

Loved Elizabeth the First Wife? Make it a Write-In Nomination for the Good Reads Choice Awards 2013.  Click on the Romance category, scroll down below covers and look for the WRITE-IN slot. Many, Many thanks. Deadline: November 9!