The Prestige vs The Illusionist

I watched THE PRESTIGE yesterday and THE ILLUSIONIST about 2 months ago. I declare The Prestige won by a mile. First, Jessica Biel is no match to Scarlett Johansson, heheh. Seriously, The Prestige is more thrilling, darker, more "magical", and the acting is a lot better and with David Bowie playing the eccentric inventor Nikola Tesla, how can The Illusionist top that? The Illusionist has Paul Giametti, who is a good actor, but failed in this movie because of his fake accent, Edward Norton was lifeless and one-dimensional, and Jessica Biel with her simian mouth does not look THAT desirable for the men to fight over her, no not believable at all.
Actually these movies don't have the same story line, they are very different and the only thing they have in common is the magicians and their magic tricks and nothing else. So I shouldn't compare the two, I just want to make fun of Jessica Biel.:D

THE PRESTIGE 5 stars
Two illusionists (Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman) who used to be friends and equal participants in performances when they were younger try to steal each other's secrets and outdo each other that it becomes an obssession for both of them. Christian Bale's character is more gifted and Hugh Jackman's is an excellent showman. When HJ's wife accidentally died during a performance, he partially blames CB and begrudges him for being successful and happy with a wife and daughter. Both of them tried to deceive and sabotage each other and you won't know who the real antagonist is until the very end. This is a very intelligent magic/sci-fi movie that is worth watching over and over again. One negative, Scarlett Johansson is out of place in this movie and should have played an American because her accent was plain awful. David Bowie just for being in the movie saves it from getting a four star from me. I will read the book that this movie is based on, THE PRESTIGE by Christopher Priest.

THE ILLUSIONIST 2 Stars
A gifted magician who performs in Vienna (why Vienna when all the actors are American and British, some low-class people had cockney accents, in Vienna?) reunites with his childhood love and tries to get her back from an evil aristrocrat by using his magic. ZZZZ. Boring. Bad accents from all performers, except Edward Norton who has no accent at all, baffling. Not recommended.

Gingerbread Cake With Candied Kumquats

I have been buying kumquats regularly and eating them like candies, but have not tried making them into marmalade. I was looking for recipes that have candied kumquat and found this gingerbread cake. The cake is so moist and not overly sweet, it tastes so Christmassy and I will definitely make this again next Christmas. For the candied kumquats I used ¼ C of white sugar, 2 T water and 1 pound of thick sliced kumquats, a dash of ground cinnamon and a piece of clove is optional. Cook for 5 minutes until thick. I left the cooked fruits in syrup and the orange color deepened overnight.

Gingerbread Cake with Candied Kumquats
cake
1 cup unsulfured light molasses
¾ cup hot water
½ cup grapeseed oil
1 egg
2 1/3 cups flour
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinammon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

caramel cream cheese frosting
¾ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 8-oz bricks cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup butter, softened

• Cake: Line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325°F. In a large bowl mix water and molasses, mix the rest of the ingredients and beat for 3 minutes. Divide batter equally and pour into the pans and bake for 25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Remove from pans and let cool on a wire rack.
• Frosting: In a small saucepan combine brown sugar and whipping cream, let boil once stirring constantly. Let cool. In a medium bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, beat in cooled caramel, continue beating for 3 minutes.
• Assemble the cake: Reserve a plateful of candied kumquats to decorate the top of cake. Chop the rest and divide into 2 portions, set aside. Set one cake layer on a flat plate or cake board, spread half of the chopped kumquats, then frost. Repeat with the second cake layer. Frost the sides and the top layer. Arrange the sliced candied kumquats on top. Optional: decorate lower half of cake with chopped candied ginger. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight before slicing. Enjoy this super moist, spicy, rich cake enhanced with the sweetness and tang of kumquats with a cup of steaming hot unsweetened jasmine tea, sooo good.

Easy As Macapuno Pie

With a little adjustment in my fat reduced pie crust recipe I was able to make a really easy, flaky, yummy macapuno pie using 2 jars of macapuno preserves. For this recipe the only brand that works is Kayumanggi. Other brands are too sweet and have buco instead of macapuno.

The easiest macapuno pie:
2 unbaked store bought or homemade pie crusts for 10-inch pie
2 jars Kayumanggi brand macapuno preserves

• Pre-heat oven to 425°F. Roll 1 crust into a 12 inch round, ease onto the pie pan. Fill with macapuno. Roll the second pie crust and put on top of the macapuno. Pinch edges together. Brush with 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water. Bake for 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Quinoa With Saffron

After reading about the many healthy qualities of quinoa I decided to serve it once or twice a week. I prepared it paella style with saffron, but meatless. I love its paella taste and with the added crunch of quinoa, it is super delicious. I did not even notice the absence of chicken, chorizo and prawns.

Quinoa with Saffron
1½ cups quinoa, washed and drained
¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red or orange sweet bell pepper, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
2½ cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon sea salt
a pinch of saffron
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup frozen petite sweet peas

• In a non-stick pan, heat olive oil, add garlic, onions, carrots, and bell pepper, saute for 3 minutes. Add the quinoa and saffron, cook for 2 minutes, stirring to mix. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, continue simmering for 5 minutes. Add frozen peas and simmer for another 5 minutes.