SYP Says

Rudy by Talk Back mp3: Finally! The Missing Song from Pretty in Pink!

I finally found it! There are three songs from the John Hughes classic, Pretty in Pink, that are missing from the film soundtrack. All of them are from the club scene. Two are from The Rave-Ups--"Positively in Love" and "Rave Up (Shut Up)"--both of which are available for mp3 download at Amazon.

The final missing tune is "Rudy" from the ska band Talk Back. This is an extremely difficult song to find. The one that is on YouTube is not from the movie, but is a more recent version performed by the band Headbone (the current incarnation of Talk Back). I would purchase this version, just to support them, but I didn't see a way to do that on their MySpace page. (I heard they still play live around LA and even play "Rudy" once in a while, so check them out.)

After some investigation, I was able to find a version from the 1980s that is very close to the version used in the movie, thanks to the ska blogs Tone and Wave and Marco on the Bass. They collaborated last year on an awesome podcast focused on rare ska bands that included the tune and I recorded it.

I have seriously been looking for this song for decades, so thank you to Tone and Wave and Marco on the Bass. 

Download the song "Rudy" from Talk Back in an iTunes friendly m4a audio version!

Note as of 5/21/15: A friendly soul recently let me know the old file was no longer working, so I've uploaded a new one. Please make a comment or email me if you're still having an issue with it. Thanks.

If you're looking for an m4a to mp3 converter, check out this one. It's free to try and has good reviews.

Peas in Romesco at Bar Pintxo in Santa Monica

Bar Pintxo in Santa Monica, CA (109 Santa Monica Boulevard, 310-458-2012) does a good job of recreating the tapas experience in Spain.

I haven't found a tapas bar in the OC that I love, so we drive the 45 mins to Bar Pintxo if we're feeling the need. It's just authentic enough to make me miss Barcelona more than the typical tapas bar.

They serve excellent cava, especially the Avinyo ROSAT, a refreshing, dry rose which is lovely on a sunny SoCal afternoon.

And while they don't serve nearly enough anchovies and sardines, both of which are pintxos maintstays, and they don't count toothpicks for the bill, Bar Pintxo does have a healthy reverence for fresh vegetables, and one of my favorite dishes of theirs is the Sauteed Peas with Romesco Sauce.

Lucky for you, it's pretty easy to recreate a similar tasting dish at home. I've made this a few times and it's really delicious.

SAUTEED PEAS WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

* Mix of whatever kind of fresh peas and pea shoots you can find (sugar snaps, English peas, pea shoots, etc). I have made this dish with just sugar snaps and it was delicious. If you are using sugar snaps, cut them in thirds.

* 2 chopped shallots

* olive oil

* Romesco Sauce (adapted from Deborah Madison's excellent Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone):

-- 1 slice country-style white bread

-- 1/3 cup almonds (roasted if you have them)

-- 1/4 cup hazelnuts, roasted & peeled

-- 4 garlic cloves

-- 1-2 tsp paprika

-- 1-2 tsp red pepper flakes

-- salt & pepper

-- 4 Roma tomatoes with the seeds removed

-- 2 tbsps fresh parsley

-- 1 roasted red bell pepper (if you use one from a jar, make sure you rinse it thoroughly to remove any vinegar)

-- 1/4 cup good quality sherry vinegar

-- 1/2 cup olive oil, preferably Spanish

Make the Romesco first. Fry the bread in a little olive oil until golden and crisp. When cool, grind the bread, nuts, garlic, and chile in a food procesor. Then add everything else but the vinegar and oil and process until smooth. With the machine running, gradually pour inthe vinegar, then the oil. Taste and make sure the sauce has plenty of piquancy and enough salt, and is the texture you want. You may need to add a few extra tablespoons of oil if it is too vinegary for your taste or if it the sauce is too thick. Set aside.

Saute shallots in a few tbsps of olive oil on med high until translucent. Do not brown. Add the peas (and pea shoots, leaves, etc if you are using those). Saute further until just cooked through and still crisp. This may only take about 5 mins. Add sea salt to taste. 

You can toss the peas in a few spoons of Romesco or serve the sauteed peas on a mound of Romesco so it gets tossed as people serve themselves. Enjoy!

NOTE: This Romesco is a great all-purpose sauce--I've served it with grilled shrimp and even used it as a a sandwich spread with grilled vegetables and goat cheese.

Chris Kattan as Emily Dickinson?

I won a Kindle recently at a conference and have been having a blast with it. In the last month, I've read Dostoevsky's The Double, Lee Child's latest Jack Reacher novel, Robert Young Pelton's Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror, Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, and just started Kurt Vonnegut's Slapstick.

The Kindle has a screensaver and while it no doubt has many images to display, mine seems to especially love this picture (supposedly) of Emily Dickinson. Tell me though--doesn't Emily Dickinson look suspiciously like Chris Kattan in ruffles??