verbatim: Lalalalala I Can't Hear You

In which I pretend that there's nothing bad going on in the world at all, and instead give thumbs-up to a book, a movie, and a recipe.

Remember how much I loooooved Circe by Madeline Miller? I immediately bought her earlier book, The Song of Achilles, and it was every bit as wonderful. This one tackles the Iliad (whereas Circe was taken from the Odyssey). Our narrator is Patroclus, whom Achilles describes in the Iliad as "the man I loved beyond all other comrades, loved as my own life." As with Circe, if you are even a little bit into Greek mythology, you will love this. Miller writes like a dream. I sincerely hope she's busy at work on something else in the same vein!

Before the kids left, we all watched Knives Out, which is a really clever, fun whodunnit in the style of a campy Agatha Christie. Christopher Plummer plays Harlan Thrombey, who is dead by the time the movie begins. He is an extremely successful crime novelist. The cause of death appears to be suicide, but is it? Out of nowhere, Daniel Craig appears as a hilariously quirky private detective (with a pretty decent Louisiana drawl). Harlan leaves behind several children and grandchildren, all of whom might have a reason to want him dead (read: MONEY). There's a great ensemble cast—Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson (I'd forgotten he existed), Toni Collette, Chris Evans, and more. The plot is very intricate and a blast to try to follow and figure out. Despite the fact that it's about a murder investigation, I still call this one good, clean fun.

And finally, here is a quick and easy chicken recipe from Andrea Nguyen. We all loved it.

Char Siu Chicken

1 large garlic clove, pressed
¼ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
2 tablespoons honey
Brimming 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
Scant 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1¾ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (butterflied if very large/thick)

In a large bowl, stir together all the ingredients except the chicken. Remove 3 tablespoons of the marinade and set aside for glazing the chicken.

Add the chicken to the bowl, coating the pieces well. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, or refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Heat an outdoor grill to medium and grill the chicken until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, turning a few times and basting with the reserved marinade during the last 2 or 3 minutes. (Or use a lightly greased cast-iron stovetop grill pan over medium-high heat, for 6 to 10 minutes, likewise turning and then basting.)

I served it with an Asian-style slaw that was a perfect accompaniment (the recipe is modified from here):

Asian Slaw

2 tablespoons neutral oil
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 small garlic clove, pressed
Salt and pepper to taste

1 (14-ounce) bag coleslaw mix
½ cup shredded carrots (My coleslaw mix already had carrots in it, so I didn't add more.)
¼ cup thinly sliced scallions (I used considerably less than this.)

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Add the coleslaw, carrots, and scallions and toss until evenly combined.