Brother in arms

03/10/2010

TV’s sexy taboo-buster, Luke Macfarlane

Luke Macfarlane is the sexiest gay on TV — an out actor playing a well-rounded gay character on network television. The 30-year-old Canadian plays Scotty Wandel on the ABC serial drama Brothers and Sisters (now in its fifth season on Global), a character who has smashed taboos south of the border.

The commitment ceremony between him and his partner Kevin Walker (played by Matthew Rhys) was the first-ever gay marriage by continuing characters on a US network (broadcast the same year as California’s notorious Prop 8 banning same-sex marriage). Last season, Kevin and Scotty began planning for a child through surrogacy. And the two men’s relationship is portrayed as physically passionate; no missing nor chaste kisses on this show.

Macfarlane is humble in the face of such controversial fare.

“I think the writers are doing something controversial. I’m just saying the words on the page,” he says. “I do feel a part of it, though; it’s wonderful.

“I’m quite proud of the fact that we told the story of how two people meet, how they fall in love, how they break up, how they fall in love again and how, ultimately, they build a life together, including kids, and integrate it into a wild family.”

Last season ended with a bang, a bloody car crash that will impact greatly the sprawling Walker family headed by matriarch Nora (Sally Field). Leads Rob Lowe and Emily VanCamp are gone and this season picks up one year later. “It’s been a year of tragedy for the family,” says Macfarlane. “A lot has happened since the car accident. In a strange sort of way it sets a tone that’s different for the show, it’s a little bit darker.”

MacFarlane is looking forward to taking his character into new territory. Given the Walker family’s penchant for drama, in many ways, Scotty and Kevin’s relationship is the most normal on the series. “Scotty is kind of the perfect guy, and Kevin and Scotty have almost the perfect relationship. But we’re actually in the middle of taping an episode that calls all that into question, which I’m pretty thrilled about. I’ve always thought that Scotty lets Kevin get away with way too much shit.”

Macfarlane was born and raised in London, Ontario. After high school, the LB Pearson School of the Arts, he bypassed Toronto and headed straight to New York to attend Juilliard to study drama. He graduated in 2003. LA soon beckoned. “So I’ve never did the whole Canadian thing.”

He did nab a leading role in the 2008 CBC miniseries Iron Road. “I had a great experience. I had always wanted to go to China. And we had an excellent cast, who I’ll never get to work with again: Peter O’Toole, Tony Leung and Sam Neill.

“I remember from my childhood these epic CBC miniseries… so it felt like I am a part of it, now.”

Notwithstanding Canadian progress on gay rights, Macfarlane is continually struck by how different the US and Canada are. “They do really feel like two different places,” he says. “The stereotype is true — Canadians are nicer.”

Is he worried about American reaction to that observation? “Oddly, I think Americans sort of pride themselves on not being nice,” he says, laughing. “I don’t think they’re going, ‘Ah, gee. I wish we were nicer.’”

Kevin, are you listening?

Macfarlane came out to the media in 2008. “It’s odd being put in the situation where you feel you have to talk about it, that it’s the right thing to do to talk about it.

I certainly never regret it, but

I guess I was a little bit naïve to think that once you come out, you are done. I think it’s something that’s been said before, but coming out is almost a lifelong process. It’s been very strange for me.

“Not that I don’t want to talk about my sexuality, I guess I’ve just run out of things to say.”

Despite his leading man good looks, Macfarlane may have narrowed his career options by coming out. He remains hopeful, however. “The only thing I can say is that I don’t know…. Society tends towards inclusion — in my lifetime it certainly has. So I’ll be part of that movement towards [gay actors] being leading men, because that’s the direction everyone wants to go.”

Source: InToronto

The Bro Code

27/09/2010

The boys of Brothers & Sisters on the joys of siblinghood

I HAVEN’T got any brothers, but after meeting some of the guys from Brothers & Sisters, who were a barrel of irreverent laughs, I almost wished I did.

I say “almost” because Dave Annable, Matthew Rhys and Luke Macfarlane reminded me that large families are almost inevitably full of conflicts and squabbles. In other words: “God gave us our family; thank God we can choose our friends.”

In fact, in Annable’s dressing room, where a video game system was prominently set up, the 30-year-old, who is getting married to actress Odette Yustman this autumn, joked that he was trying to get co-star Calista Flockhart and her husband, Harrison Ford to adopt him.

For TV’s Walker family, the drama will never die down, especially not as Brothers & Sisters goes into its fifth season.

The new season fast-forwards to a year after the last season’s climatic car-accident ending. Rob Lowe’s character Robert McCallister is dead, which means wife Kitty (Calista Flockhart) is single again; Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) is in a steady relationship with Giles (Luc Laurent); Justin (Annable) comes back from Afghanistan a changed man; Kevin (Rhys) has a new career as a defense attorney and hubby Scotty (Macfarlane) is running his new restaurant together with Saul (Ron Rifkin); and, to top it all off, matriarch Nora (Sally Field) is acting strangely. And you thought your family life was complicated.

If you guys had your way, where would you like the show to go?

Dave Annable: Well, besides (Justin) living in a sorority house … (Laughs) Well, I think what they’re doing with Justin is really great. I’m curious to see where we’ll go next when he’s alone and single.

Matthew Rhys: I think the Walkers should trace their roots back to Wales. There should be a trip. Walkerrrnen was their original Welsh name before they came to Ellis Island.

Matthew, you’re Welsh – what are families like in Wales?

Matthew: They like drinking. They like singing. In that order. They’re pretty much matriarch-led in Wales – like, the world over, really. As much as we (men) like to think we rule the roost, we don’t.

I was just wondering if all families were as complicated as the Walkers.

Luke: (Laughs) Not all families have to turn out a television show every week.

Matthew: And keep it interesting. There is dysfunction, I think, in every family – it’s just varying levels of it. We just seem to have it in abundance. And, you know, having the high number of siblings, you’re sort of guaranteed that someone’s having a problem anywhere at one point, at one time.

But dysfunction’s fashionable now, anyway.

Matthew: It is. I think society’s evolved in some certain way – people are less frightened to talk about the dysfunction. As people become more emotionally articulate, it sort of aired a lot more.

Have the characters become part of you? Have you found yourself taking on any of the quirks?

Matthew: I’ve started taking home a lot of the clothes!

Luke: I borrowed suits for my sister’s wedding.

Fancy dress?

Matthew: “I went as a chef”!

Luke: I’m wearing, actually, Nora Walker’s dress to my sister’s wedding.

Is your mom like Nora?

Matthew: Oh, yeah. And that’s the one thing you hear all the time from people who like the show: (Puts on a squeaky, high-pitched voice) “Oh, my mother’s exactly like Nora. I know exactly how she feels. Why are you so rude to her? Why are you so rude to Sally Field???”

What’s the great Sally Field like in person?

Dave: Uh, she’s terrible! No, don’t write that! She’s the best! It’s a lot of work to wrangle us actors to get ready for a scene and Sally’s the one running the show – and she has been from day one.

Matthew: And it’s no irony that this sort of family’s led by the matriarch, and in our show, it’s sort of the same. She’s a consummate professional and really does lead by example.

So she bosses you around off the set as well?

Dave: Oh, totally. Actually, I have to go get her a coffee right now.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from her?

Dave: I think it’s “be prepared”. She always knows her lines when she comes into work and knows what she’s doing. Clearly she goes home and works. It’s easy to be young and get caught up in the fun nightlife and come to work going, “Woo, whatever, I got lines”, you know. It sort of works a lot easier if you do your homework and go home and study your lines and all that fun stuff, and not play too many video games (looks sheepishly at his console).

Matthew: She comes in early, she’s on time, she’s prepared, she’s thought about what she’s going to do. She never holds anyone up. Sits by the camera while they light, doesn’t go off and drink coffee and chit chat and get on the Internet. Old school.

Luke: No matter where you are in your career, you still have to work hard. Because she really has kind of done it all, but she doesn’t rest on her laurels.

Source: Today Online

Luke Macfarlane: «Lo pensé mucho antes de admitir que era gay»

11/08/2010

BEGOÑA ARCE
LONDRES

Elogiado por su papel de gay de Cinco hermanos, Luke Macfarlane habla de su trabajo en la serie que protagonizan Sally Field y Calixta Flockhart en la cadena Fox y cuya cuarta temporada se estrena esta noche en varias plataformas de pago (22.20 horas). Luke Macfarlane interpreta el papel de Scotty Wandell en la serie. Nacido en Canadá (1980), el actor encarna a Scotty Wandell, casado con el abogado Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys), cuarto hijo de la familia, ahora es cocinero de un restaurante de Los Ángeles.

–¿Admitir públicamente que era gay, como hizo usted hace dos años, fue una decisión difícil?

–Lo pensé mucho. Fue una decisión muy meditada. Había, claro está, ciertos riesgos, ciertos temores…

–¿Y cómo ha sido la reacción?

–Muy positiva en todos los sentidos. La verdad es que sigo teniendo las mismas necesidades y los mismos problemas que antes. Mi vida no ha cambiado básicamente. El día a día es el mismo.

–¿Ser homosexual le ayuda a interpretar un papel como el de Scotty?

–Pienso que entiendes mejor ciertas situaciones. Personajes como el mío ayudan a cambiar la mentalidad de la gente. Además, los anunciantes también se dan cuenta de que los gays son un público rentable.

–¿Cómo se siente en una serie con un reparto tan amplio?

–Me siento muy a gusto. Es algo muy raro para un actor el poder trabajar durante tanto tiempo en una serie. Encontrar cierta estabilidad por un periodo más largo de lo habitual en nuestra profesión, al lado de las mismas personas, es como formar parte de una gran familia.

–¿Se lleva bien con Matthew Rhys?

–Oh sí, muy bien. Es un gran actor y un gran tipo. Matthew es británico y yo soy canadiense, aunque todo el mundo cree que soy estadounidense. Tanto Mathew como yo venimos del teatro y tenemos una forma de entender el trabajo muy similar.

–Usted ha hecho televisión, teatro y cine. ¿Qué medio prefiere?

–Empecé en el teatro y me siento muy bien en el escenario: eres tú el que controlas lo que haces. En el cine mi experiencia es muy limitada. Lo interesante de la televisión es que te metes en una historia en la que no sabes nunca que giro a va tomar ni como va a terminar.

–¿Cree que en el futuro le volverán a ofrecer papeles de heterosexual?

–Espero que sí, pero será interesante ver qué papeles me proponen.

Source: El Periódico

U.S. series take center stage at Monte-Carlo

04/05/2010

PARIS — This year’s Monte-Carlo TV Festival will head over the hill in style as U.S. series take center stage to celebrate the fest’s 50th year, organizers announced Tuesday.

The Festival will open on June 6 with a special screening of HBO’s “You Don’t Know Jack” with the film’s director Barry Levinson set to attend.

Festgoers will be singing the praises of ABC series “Glee” when Orange Cinema Series hosts a screening of an episode in the presence of series stars Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison on June 8. The party will continue on Wednesday June 9 with a special 50th birthday fete at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort.

The star-powered event will feature an eclectic mix of both U.S. and Gallic talent including Ice T (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”), LL Cool J (NCIS: Los Angeles), Scott Wolf (“V”), “Brothers & Sisters” stars Emily Vancamp and Luke MacFarlane, plus the young casts of hit series “90210” and “Melrose Place” and “The Vampire Diaries.” The stars of soaps “The Bold & the Beautiful” and “The Young & The Restless” will also be in town to add some daytime drama to the event.

The fest will end with its traditional closing ceremonies and Golden Nymph Awards on May 10th.

U.S. nominees for TV series include “Mad Men,” “Dexter” and “Lost” in the drama category and “30 Rock,” “The Office” and “Entourage” in the comedy category.

The festival will also mix business with pleasure to host a series of “TV Xchanges,” round tables, keynotes and lunches featuring TV biz professionals from across the globe focusing on themes such as new business models, funding sources and co-production.

All of the festival’s main events will take place at Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum.

HRH Prince Albert II of Monaco flew in for the press conference Tuesday at Paris’ Hotel Bristol.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Side Dish: Oreo Cookies (April 12, 2010)

12/04/2010

Too much free time can make you do crazy things.

Now don’t worry, I haven’t been out robbing banks or anything like that. Instead, I’ve been using some of my extra free time to try and notice the little things in life. Like how little Kevin and I have in our savings account. When you have more time than money, sometimes you write letters to companies about their products.

And sometimes those letters get you free Oreos.

So here is an example of a letter I wrote recently to a big company about its product. Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If nothing else, this proves that you can, indeed, have too much free time on your hands.

Today I purchased a bag of Oreos filled with delicious chocolate creme. I have enjoyed Oreo cookies for years and, wanting a quick and delicious snack, grabbed a bag of Oreos to eat as I ran (not literally!) to the podiatrist for an appointment I had to reschedule two times!

As I opened the bag, the familiar smell of chocolate and Thiamine Mononitrate greeted my weary nose. As I started enjoying the cookies, however, I came to realize there was something strangely different. It took me a few minutes until I realized that some of the cookie part of my little “sandwich cookie” were put on backwards. So I saw a flat cookie back rather than the traditional design I have come to love, know and–quite frankly–expect.

I was shocked!

In fact, this was NOT just one isolated cookie incorrectly constructed. Several of the chocolate sandwich cookies in my bag were improperly put together!!! Initially, I hesitated to bring this to your attention. In over twenty blissful years of enjoying what I consider to be America’s premier sandwich cookie, I realize the potential implications this brings. Trust me when I tell you that it pains me to bring this to your attention. However, I recognize it as my duty as an American consumer to at least bring these misconstructed cookies to your attention.

Thinking about the nation’s children being brought up on generic sandwich cookies rather than Oreos makes me cringe as well. I look forward to hearing back from you about this issue.

Scotty Wandell

Side Dish: Lost job (March 15, 2010)

15/03/2010

They say that when one door closes another opens. Well, I certainly hope so, because until that happens you can feel stuck in a room with no way out. As I’m sure many of you know by now, San Estephe closed its doors for good this week. Despite our best efforts at staying afloat, we went the way of so many other small restaurants in a down turned economy.

I almost couldn’t bring myself to write a blog this week. Its hard to not feel like a failure when you pour your heart and soul into something only to see it not succeed in the ways you had hoped. But my Dad used to tell me, “You’re only responsible for the effort, not the outcome, kid.” I guess I will just hold onto the idea that everything happens for a reason. So as long as the reason this happened isn’t so the universe could get a good laugh at my expense. You know, sometimes you’re on top and you’re totally in control. Other times you’re on the bottom where all you can do is grit your teeth while you get slammed from all sides. At least Kevin can commiserate.

So what’s next for me in the long term? Who knows? I can always do some catering to make ends meet. Maybe I’ll get to open my own restaurant some day. A place that I’ve dreamt up all by myself. What’s next for me in the short term? A little bit of comfort food (see recipe below) and a few bottles of wine that were gifted to me from the bar at San Estephe.

Scotty’s Mac and Cheese

1 Box Large Pasta Shells
¼ cup butter for sauce and ¼ for top of casserole
¼ cup flour
2 cups whole milk
Salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion salt to taste
Splash Worcheshire sauce
1 8oz bar of sharp cheddar cheese cubed
1 8oz bar of extra sharp cheddar cheese cubed
2 cups Italian style bread crumbs

1.) Cook pasta as directed by box and set to the side
2.) In a medium saucepan melt butter mixing together with flour over medium heat.
3.) Gradually add milk while stirring. The sauce should get think.
4.) Add salt, pepper, onion and garlic to taste.
5.) Add Worcheshire sauce.
6.) Add sharp cheeses while stirring continuously.
7.) After all the cheese melts combine with pasta and pour into casserole dish.
8.) Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and dob butter on top.
9.) Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until bubbling.
10.) You can take the cover off for the last 5 mins if you want it crispy on top.
11.) Cool and serve.

Side Dish: Wines (March 1, 2010)

01/03/2010

Sometimes you just need an escape. And when you’re a Walker, escape is just a corkscrew twist away. While I have always enjoyed wine I did spend a long time intimidated by it as well: the elaborate tasting rituals, the talk of its “tannins” and “legs” and “nose.” I remember my first wine tasting vividly. As other students inhaled deeply, they described the aromas in evocative (and occasionally inedible) terms: “I smell ground white pepper” and “A very strong dark chocolate foreground with a hint of shoe leather in the back.” Meanwhile I inhaled deeply and (without thinking) said the first thing the smell invoked: “This smells like my grandfather.”

Needless to say, it was a while before I showed my face at a wine tasting again. But here’s the secret: people who love wine usually love sharing their enthusiasm for wine as well So while most of America gets their wine advice from Trader Joe (well, Charles Shaw, actually), I am lucky to have an Uncle Saul. And even though Saul is a Holden, he drinks like a Walker. That is to say, like a fish. The other night during a dinner at Nora’s house, Uncle Saul and I struck up a conversation about what he has learned from his many years enjoying the finest wines from across the globe. Obviously Walker Landing is a product Saul is passionate about, but he was just as comfortable telling me about a summer he spent working at a vineyard in Bordeaux or when he crushed grapes in a barrel at a tiny vineyard in Napa Valley. One of the first things Saul taught me is that finding a good wine doesn’t necessarily mean buying expensive wine and with that he started giving me his top wine picks from outside the US – all available for less than $20. (Not surprisingly, his top picks in the US were all from a little label called Walker Landing). I guess this week, we’re all lucky to have an Uncle Saul…

REDS
1) The Guigal Rhone is always a good choice and NEVER fails to please. The wines from the Rhone Valley are usually the Syrah grape. This can be had for under 10 bucks (whatever year is available is ok).
2) Guigal Gigondas (2005) — This is also Syrah but a much lovelier bottle of wine for around $20.
3) Chateau Cote Montpezat (2000) – A mixture of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and a little Cabernet Sauvignon. Around $19.
4) Arnoux Gigondas (2004) – A delicious choice for approximately $14.
5) Puig Parahy George (2007)
– This wine should cost around $10 and is a mixture of Carignan, Grenache and Syrah
6) Vinos Sin Ley Gra2 (2007) – This is from Rioja Baja and costs around $14. It’s 100% Graciano grape (which is usually a grape for blending, but in this case is quite nice by itself)
7) Vigna Vecchia Raddese (2001) – This wine should be under $20 and is 100% Sangiovese.

WHITES
1) Joseph Drouhin Chablis (2007) – They always make good wines and this particularly good one can be had for under $20
2) Christian Moreau Chablis (2007) – Should be around $18.
3) Lucien Crochet Sancerre — The La Croix du Roy is my favorite and should be about $23.
4) Mollet Florian Sancerre Roc de L’abbaye (2008) — This is the least expensive wine on this list and should be around $13.
5) Bzikot Bourgogne Blanc (2007) – Should be around $20 and worth every penny.

Side Dish: Valentine’s Day (February 22, 2010)

22/02/2010

Last week was Valentine’s Day and as some of you know I have what can best be described as a love-hate relationship with the holiday. Sure I met Kevin again (for the first time) on Valentine’s Day a few years ago, but for the most part, my Valentine’s Days have been a string of bad memories tracing all the way back to Second Grade and a certain girl named Bea.

That year my parents kept asking who my Valentine was going to be with a panicky and optimistic expression on their faces. It was as if they were desperately hoping that my intense interest in Barbie was just a phase. Since I didn’t think they’d want to hear that I had my eyes (and heart) set on Sean (the best whiffle ball player in my class!) I lied and named the most popular girl: Bea. My mom encouraged me to ask her to be my Valentine and so at lunch the day before Valentine’s Day, between bites of a dry turkey sandwich, I built up the courage and passed Bea the note you see above. She laughed, checked a box and sent it back.

Ouch. I collected myself, downed the rest of my chocolate milk and did what any aspiring chef would do to deal with my pain: put on my chef’s hat, apron and oven mitts and headed into the kitchen.

Since the next day was Valentine’s Day I decided to play it safe and just make my parents breakfast in bed right down to freshly made Belgian Waffles. Call me a perfectionist, but as I focused my efforts on getting the plate garnishes just right (after all, you eat first with your eyes), I completely forgot about the waffles and, well we had a Valentine’s Day date with a fireman.

OK the fire wasn’t that bad, but the waffles were. To their credit, though, my parents dutifully ate them. Although I don’t think anyone had seconds.

But 2010 was going to be different. Valentine’s Day this year was on a Sunday. Kevin and I coordinated our schedules so we could spend the whole day together starting with a breakfast in bed menu I had been planning all week (including a new waffle recipe). Nothing could get in our way except, of course, the Walker family.

As most of you have probably heard by now (and maybe some of you even saw on the news!) Kevin’s sister Kitty spent Valentine’s Day announcing her run for the US Senate. At first I was disappointed that our plans for the day changed so suddenly, but looking around during Kitty’s speech I realized that being part of this kind of familial love is exactly what Valentine’s Day is all about.

And although we spent the whole day with the Walkers, when Kevin and I got home that night I realized something equally important: who says breakfast in bed is only for the morning? So Kevin and I put on our pajamas and ended the day with breakfast. I even made waffles again, this time without bothering the local fire department.

Scotty’s Belgian Waffles

Ingredients:
1 package dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm milk
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sifted flower
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup melted butter

Directions:
Sprinkle yeast over warm milk; stir to dissolve. Beat egg yolks and add to yeast mixture with vanilla. Sift together flower, salt and sugar; add to liquid ingredients. Stir in melted butter and combine thoroughly. Beat the egg whites until stiff; carefully fold into batter. Let mixture stand in a warm place about 45 minutes or until mixture doubles in bulk. Use -1 cup mix per waffle. Makes four Belgian waffles.
Top with strawberries in the shape of a heart for your special Valentine.

Side Dish: Farmer’s Market (February 1, 2010)

01/02/2010

What do the following things have in common?
– A parking lot full of hybrid cars.
– A homeless man holding a sign: “Will Work for Organic Food.”
– Ads for a locavore speed dating service.
– A t-shirt that says: “Shake the Hand that Feeds You.”

Give up? They are all things I’ve seen at local farmers markets. I’m always struck by the amazing cross-section of people you’ll see strolling through farmer’s markets: yuppies next to hippies, the celebrated head chef next to the culinary weekend warrior. Take a minute and find the farmer’s market near you (www.localharvest.org is a good place to start) and taste the difference that fresh ingredients make.)

My favorite market is the colorful one held every Sunday in Hollywood where you get a free side of crazy with your persimmons. Last Sunday I met my good friend Kevin West (“the other Kevin” as my husband calls him) there. While we perused all the yummy freshness, we came across strawberries and rhubarb that were dying to be made into jam.

Now if you’ve never made jam I know what you’re thinking, but I promise making jam is no big deal. You’ll swear off Smuckers after just one spoonful. So in the words of the immortal Bob Marley: “We’re jammin’.” And I hope you like jammin’ too.

SCOTTY’S STRAWBERRY RHUBARB JAM

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs strawberries, the smaller the better
1 lb rhubarb — about 16-18 stalks
3 cups organic granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 tablespoon lemon juice (approximately the juice from 1/2 lemon)
Optional: 1 tablespoon St. Germain elderflower liquor

TECHNIQUE
1 — Quickly rinse strawberries, cut away the stems and quarter each berry. Place in a large mixing bowl, cover with the sugar and set aside.

2 — Peel the rhubarb stalks, which have strings similar to celery. You can either use a vegetable peeler or run a very sharp knife just beneath the surface, or just grab the strings from one end of the stalk and zip them off, then repeat from the other end of the stalk. Cut the peeled rhubarb into 1/2″ cubes. Add to the mixing bowl with berries and sugar. Stir the mixture well, then set aside to macerate for at least an hour.

3 — After an hour’s rest, the sugar will have drawn copious juice from the fruit. Pour the fruit-sugar mixture into a wide kettle like a stew pot, something large enough that the fruit-sugar mixture is no more than a few inches deep. (Make sure the pot is scrupulously clean.) Toss in the vanilla bean and bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring vigorously all the while to break down the fruit.

4 — Once the mixture boils and begins to foam, reduce the heat to maintain a steady but manageable boil. Continue stirring and cook for 5-8 minutes as the syrup begins to reduce.

5 — When the syrup has noticeably thickened, add the St. Germain liquor if you’re using it. Cook about 5 minutes longer until your jam is thick and glossy. At this point, turn off the heat and test the consistency by dipping a chilled spoon into the mixture. Hold up the spoon and tilt it on its edge. The last few drops to fall away should cling thickly to the bottom edge of the spoon. You can also test for consistency by letting a single drop of syrup fall onto a plate you’ve chilled in the freezer. When your jam is ready, the drop will “bead” on the cold plate rather than flattening out. Or, finally, you can drop a teaspoon of jam on a cold plate and place it in the freezer for 90 seconds. If it comes out thick and with a slight “skin” on the surface, then you know you’re achieved a “jell set.” In other words, now you have jam.

6 — Finally, skim any foam from the surface of the hot jam and stir in the lemon juice. Taste! You can add another drop of lemon or liquor if you want, but you can’t add more sugar at this point. The finished jam will keep in a covered container in the fridge for 2 weeks (although it won’t last that long – it’s too good!).
7 — If you know how to can using the boiling-water bath process and want to “put up” your jam: ladle the hot jam into clean, hot half-pint mason jars (available at most hardware stores) and seal with the manufacturer’s lid. Process the sealed jars in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes, then promptly remove and place on a clean dishrag on the counter for 12 hours. If the lids seal properly (follow manufacturer’s instructions), the jam can be safely stored in the cupboard for up to one year.
The classic use for strawberry jam is of course on breakfast toast or a PB&J, but it’s also delicious over ice cream, stirred into unflavored yogurt or served with a dollop of creme fraiche and an almond cookie as a simple dessert.

 

Matthew Rhys on Brothers and Sisters

21/01/2010

The Welsh actor discusses moving from Cardiff to California and starring in the hit US drama series.

Luke MacFarlane, Matthew Rhys and Marion Ross in the US drama series Brothers and Sisters.

“I love and embrace the cultural differences,” says Rhys – now almost a California native, after four years’ worth of Brothers & Sisters (shown here on More4). “In some ways, they’re so profoundly different from Britain. In other ways, very similar.”

Rhys plays Kevin Walker, a glossily gay Californian in his mid-thirties, and one of the siblings of the show’s title. He’s sitting in a Disney conference room joshing with actor Luke Macfarlane, who plays his on-screen husband Scotty. Though Rhys’s American accent never slips on-screen, his voice now is straight from the valleys. “When I speak to people from Britain, that’s when I feel like a fake, speaking with an American accent,” he says, slightly sheepishly.

Macfarlane, who hails from Canada, joins in. “Matthew’s also exceptionally talented at all accents,” he says archly.

“Yes. Even neighbourhoods of Canada,” says Rhys.

“Not just neighbourhoods – specific hockey teams,” quips Macfarlane.

The pair’s good-natured off-screen banter is exactly how fans of the show would hope. Brothers & Sisters has no time-travelling cops, no jets crashing on desert islands. It rivets more than 10million American viewers with nothing more than the intertwined stories of one family. Warm, prosperous and sentimental, the show – and its high-octane, often tear-jerking emotion – is kept from descending into soap opera not just by polished scriptwriting, but by a classy cast: Calista Flockhart, Rob Lowe and, crucially, Sally Field as materfamilias Nora Walker. On Facebook, there’s a “Which Walker are you?” quiz – and, quips Macfarlane, “everyone just keeps taking it until they get Nora.”

As British viewers start season four tonight, they will catch up with Kevin and Scotty’s newest storyline: the quest for a baby. “We’re lucky that that storyline is relatively uncharted,” says Rhys. “The whole journey of going about it makes very interesting TV.”

“And so do the different ways one goes about it – adoption versus surrogacy,” adds Macfarlane.

Along with the gay couple on ABC’s new sitcom Modern Family, Kevin and Scotty are blazing a trail for gay parenting on American primetime television. But, says Rhys, he doesn’t feel like a “poster child” for gay rights. “The press we’ve had has been very positive,” he says. “A very healthy, very nice response – that what we’re doing is on the right track.”

Macfarlane agrees. “The cultural significance is always surprising,” he says. “We just show up and do the work, and they tell us it’s groundbreaking – but it doesn’t necessarily feel groundbreaking.” Certainly Brothers & Sisters doesn’t trumpet itself as a genre-altering show. It is executive produced by Ken Olin, who appeared on screen as self-obsessed ad exec Michael Steadman in the Eighties-zeitgeist series thirtysomething. Brothers & Sisters reflects a more mature version of the same sensibility, with enviable suburban houses and beautiful knitwear as much on show as Rhys’s American accent.

Rhys himself is evidently having the time of his life. “I feel comfortable here primarily because I think Los Angeles is made up of people who don’t come from here, so you can find kindred spirits very easily,” he says. “It’s a town of gypsies.”

But Rhys has a more versatile CV than some TV actors, having played Dylan Thomas in the 2008 film The Edge of Love – and opposite Kathleen Turner in the West End version of The Graduate. “I definitely want to go back to the theatre. It is hard work, it is repetitive, but it is intensely rewarding,” he says.

His career as a chameleon extends even to talking to journalists. “You play to whatever publication you’re being interviewed by,” he says cheerily. So who is he being today, for The Daily Telegraph. “Upright Tory. Bring back Maggie!” So… does he hunt and shoot and fish? “I do, yes. I actually do! Well, I don’t hunt on horseback. In Wales, it’s a little more practical. It’s vermin control.” As Rhys is called back to the cavernous sound stage, it’s hard not to think: you can take the boy out of Cardiff…

Brothers & Sisters is on More4 tonight at 9.00pm

Source: The Telegraph