Thanks Google...I guess...

So this 'Sitemeter' thing I keep referencing is really fantastic. I spend most of my day pouring through its graphs, trying to understand what the x- and y- axis are and what they indicate about my value as a person.

One piece of information Sitemeter can tell you is when a person's been directed to your site from a different one. Which means that any time an individual finds you in a Google search and clicks through, you're shown what they searched for.

I present you now with the sometimes obvious, sometimes laughable, sometimes sketchy list of terms that have, apparently, led the rest of the world to TrippingOnMyCouch:

"Amalia McGibbon"
"Amalia McGibbon" restaurant
"Amalia McGibbon" magazine
"Mari Kryder"
"Josie McGibbon"
"Lana Sanchez"
"lez talk"
"dramatic music dun dun dun dun"
"fafi"
"riding horses"
"zzzzzzz"
"baldness"
"burden of blood"

...and my favorite: "tests on cats."

Interesting, ain't it? I've used these phrases in such random contexts, and can only assume the people searching for information on blood burden/cat-testing/baldness/etc. did not find what they were looking for at my little blog here.

I suppose that makes me a disappointment.

I hate Sitemeter.

"Work"

So every few weeks, I actually have to get up off my couch and eat some free food. I recently visited Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley (I was calling it Monterey for a while but I understand now that that was a bad thing to do.) Bernardus Lodge is this jewel of a resort tucked into the green hills of middle-California. The lodge has won all these incredible awards, but remains off the general public's radar. Not quite sure why this is, though I suspect Google's wildly incorrect driving directions aren't helping the cause.

Anyways, I'm doing a piece on the resident Executive Chef - Cal Stamenov - and Bernardus Lodge offered to have me stay the night and enjoy a meal at the chef's table. The chef's table, for those not quite clear on the concept, is a table erected in the kitchen and reserved for VIP guests. You get to talk with and watch the people making your food, and I suppose that's a real luxury or something. It strikes me that as a VIP, I'd much rather enjoy my meal in the plush, hushed setting of a restaurant's dining room than the whistling, clanking kitchen. But this time around, perhaps because I went solo and didn't need to talk above the clamor, the chef's table was indeed a special treat.

I tried to take pictures of every course - there were 9 - but was distracted from this very basic task by all the glorious fare. I even laid my camera out in front of me so as to not forget, but each time a new dish arrived I swatted my camera to the side without a thought and dove in head first to the food. In the end, I only got a few good shots and then the rest were pathetic afterthoughts like the one below:















At least, I captured dessert in full (all three courses):














(above: yummy cheese.)














(above: banana brule, truffle caramel, chocolate ice cream.)














(above: financier, oak ice cream. yes - oak ice cream. they take oak tree bark, bake it, then boil it with milk and sugar. it tastes like you'd think it would, but is also somehow delicious.)

Perhaps the most wondrous part of the evening was swiveling around in my chair to read all the signatures of those who'd dined before me at this chef's table. I present you with a couple -

Julia Child (who wrote Bon Appetit!)...














...and Leonardo DiCaprio.















I'm ashamed to admit which one excited me more.

While you wait...

...for my next uproariously funny and insightful post, entertain yourself with these links:

1) Dress up your computer desktop with one of the thousands of movie poster images offered at http://www.shillpages.com/
movies/index2.shtml. At the very least, I know my sister Chloe will like this. Which perhaps means I should have just emailed her, but too late.

2) Check out the crazy story told in pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/hansvandevorst/216200392/
in/photostream/. Trust me. Just click on it. And make sure to look through the subsequent photos.

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

Coming Soon!

Just came back from the most wonderful trip to Monterey's Bernardus Lodge. Need to finish an article right now, but wanted to post this pic as a teaser.

Tales of tasting menus to come...

(That's foie gras on top of duck, beside a roasted peach.)

Hoooray Mommy McGibbon!!!

I want to exploit this platform and congratulate my mom (Josann McGibbon Temkin) and her writing partner (Sara Parriott) for their recent success!!! Ya see - they've been a successful screenwriting team for the last twenty years, penning flicks like The Favor, Three Men and a Little Lady and Runaway Bride. But the thing about writing movies for a living - and I'd call this "unfortunate" if I didn't think being paid to write was so darn fortunate - is that you can make a decent living and still watch most of your scripts end up tucked into the dusty corners of the living room credenza. You can brainstorm countless stories, get paid to tell them all, and somehow that doesn't mean any have to end up on the big screen.

So "greenlight" is a really really special word, and the entire family is crazy excited about the following press release that just hit the trades today:

Messing stars in USA miniseries

Cameras are due to roll in Australia this winter on a six-hour miniseries for US cable starring Will & Grace's Debra Messing, in an adaptation of 2005 best-seller The Starter Wife.

Gigi Levangie Grazer's novel is being adapted for USA Network by the writing team of Sara Parriott and Josann McGibbon (Runaway Bride). They will also exec produce along with Stephanie Davis (The Caveman's Valentine) and Howard Klein (The Office) from 3 Arts Entertainment.

NBC Universal Television Studio is producing the show, which follows a woman after her divorce from a major Hollywood studio head, with Laurette Hayden, senior VP of longform programming for USA Network, overseeing the project.

"Debra Messing is both a superstar talent and America's sweetheart. Her incredible range and comedic brilliance made her our first and only choice for this role," said Jeff Wachtel, executive VP of original programming for the NBC Universal Cable-owned channel.

Parriott and McGibbon, meanwhile, are also working on animated movie Rapunzel Unbraided for Walt Disney Animation, and Stuart Cornfeld of Ben Stiller's Red Hour Films is in development with their movie script Staying Power.

Woooohooooo!!!! Amazing!!!! Fabulous!!!!! Terrific!!!!! Insane!!!!!

(Can you tell I'm hoping she flies me to Australia? I looooove you moooommmmyyy...)

Evidence of Employment

So my job doesn't exactly lend itself to crazy and hilarious anecdotes. My roomate will come home from work at a lawfirm, filled with tales of court transcripts and evil-doing perps, and all I've got is "I wrote more sentences." The life of a freelance food writer takes place on a rather predictable eat-write-publish schedule. And while it's nice knowing that all my work will show up on newsstands, this experience does lack the highs and lows of unexpected success.

But if I can't give you stories of zany coworkers (got none) and bustling workplaces (just my couch), then at the very least I thought I could tell you what I've been eating recently.

Without further ado, some tasty things:

• Natural angus steak served alongside blue cheese ice cream and tempura beets (Citizen Cake)

• Foie gras atop a walnut waffle, drizzled with squash cappacino (Parcel 104)

• Scallops drezzed with yuzu, almond oil and bee pollen (Scott Howard)

• Lobster Pot Pie in a puddle of truffle cream sauce (Arcadia)

Suddenly, my cottage-cheese-and-maple-syrup snack looks rather paltry. (Someone out there is saying "Suddenly"???)

Randomness...

I have to, how-do-you-say, work.

Enjoy.