According to the blog Slashfood, Paula Deen advocates sandwiching industrial canned cranberry sauce around a mix of hot sauce, mayonnaise, and cream cheese. Paula Deen has officially one-upped all who would parody her cooking as fried butter in lard.
Went to a Lebanese restaurant last night; the Sherbs and I thought it was nice, but one of us got sick afterwards, so there won't be a review from me.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
A Little More Regarding The Next Iron Chef
In part because you don't really want to hear my thoughts on Win a Shot at Love With Tila Tequila, except that Ms. Tequila seems to dress anticipating the need for an emergency application of Vicks VapoRub to her sternum. Since she lives in the sunny part of the West Coast, I find this dress code odd.
As for the Next Iron Chef, while others have thought the challenges were America's Top Chef lite, I actually found the competition better than Top Chef. For one thing, we weren't treated to endless and irritating scenes of the competitors having to live together in some dorm. In fact, all the competitors, even in the challenge where they were instructed to screw each other over, were relatively collegial. The "atmosphere of hug" was refreshing.
Also, I thought the challenges were better-tailored to actual Iron Chef-ing; think fast, deal with the wacky situation and various food failures, and nobody steps in mid-way and changes the rules (a stupid tension-increaser used all too often on Top Chef). My favorites were the "resourcefulness" challenge, where the competitors had to cook two dishes in an hour on a cheap barbecue grill using mostly random items chosen for them by another competitor, and the challenge of assembling airline food.
My only gripe is that, despite the Chairman unsheathing a katana and playing with it during the opening and commercial breaks, we really didn't get to see him do anything cool beyond that. If you're going to have a martial arts star around, you should use him.
As for the Next Iron Chef, while others have thought the challenges were America's Top Chef lite, I actually found the competition better than Top Chef. For one thing, we weren't treated to endless and irritating scenes of the competitors having to live together in some dorm. In fact, all the competitors, even in the challenge where they were instructed to screw each other over, were relatively collegial. The "atmosphere of hug" was refreshing.
Also, I thought the challenges were better-tailored to actual Iron Chef-ing; think fast, deal with the wacky situation and various food failures, and nobody steps in mid-way and changes the rules (a stupid tension-increaser used all too often on Top Chef). My favorites were the "resourcefulness" challenge, where the competitors had to cook two dishes in an hour on a cheap barbecue grill using mostly random items chosen for them by another competitor, and the challenge of assembling airline food.
My only gripe is that, despite the Chairman unsheathing a katana and playing with it during the opening and commercial breaks, we really didn't get to see him do anything cool beyond that. If you're going to have a martial arts star around, you should use him.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Food, Cookies, Dogs...Oh My!
OK, so I did promise The Pedant I'd blog, but my computer is very, very sick and TP's computer doesn't like me, but luckily I live in a fancy schmancy building with an internet cafe.
So, food wise, I will contribute information about the fantastic dinner TP and I had Sudnay night:
Raosted Garlic Bread
Cheese (Cheddar, Swiss, Gouda, Havarti)
Green Apple
Mustard
It was amazing, although today my stumach is telling me "no more lactose! Stop it!! I want a break!"
Also, part of the amazingness was that we dined in the middle of The Next Iron Chef Marathon, culminating in the win of my favorite, Michael Symon. Very happy. Also, I finally got to see the DeLaurentiis/Ray battle, further proving I love Rachel Ray.
In non-food news, I volunteered this weekend with BREW and got to play with the world's second sweetest beagle, Prince (last one on the page). He was a cutie. I also was dog sitting in DC which was fun for a dog lover like me.
Food news: Jello 60 Calorie Pudding Cups, Chocolate Mint Fudge (or something), fairly tastey, but not quite minty enough.
Tomorrow I begin a new job with a cafeteria. I'll see if they have cookies.
So, food wise, I will contribute information about the fantastic dinner TP and I had Sudnay night:
Raosted Garlic Bread
Cheese (Cheddar, Swiss, Gouda, Havarti)
Green Apple
Mustard
It was amazing, although today my stumach is telling me "no more lactose! Stop it!! I want a break!"
Also, part of the amazingness was that we dined in the middle of The Next Iron Chef Marathon, culminating in the win of my favorite, Michael Symon. Very happy. Also, I finally got to see the DeLaurentiis/Ray battle, further proving I love Rachel Ray.
In non-food news, I volunteered this weekend with BREW and got to play with the world's second sweetest beagle, Prince (last one on the page). He was a cutie. I also was dog sitting in DC which was fun for a dog lover like me.
Food news: Jello 60 Calorie Pudding Cups, Chocolate Mint Fudge (or something), fairly tastey, but not quite minty enough.
Tomorrow I begin a new job with a cafeteria. I'll see if they have cookies.
Eat Next
There will be many posts today, as the Sherbs and I had a heck of a weekend with many bloggable activities. But this post will be about the Chinese restaurant we went to yesterday.
We went to Eat First in DC's "China block" for lunch; we picked the name because we were hungry in advance of our journey to the National Geographic Museum and therefore agreed with the sign's audacious call to food. The dishes varied from "meh" to "pretty good"; we had:
1) Cold Sesame Noodles - sadly, these were "lukewarm udon in sesame-Jif sauce." This is pretty common at Chinese restaurants (moreso outside New York). The sauce was far too peanut-buttery, and while it's hard to hate Jif, it's not exactly what we call Asian.
2) Sauteed Lotus Root with Preserved Pork - An awesome dish; my favorite of the meal and a strong showing of food in general. While I like nearly every edible part of the lotus plant, my favorite is the crispy lotus root, which is also quite attractive when sliced, making plating easier.
In this dish, lotus root, straw mushrooms, carrot, celery, and sliced preserved pork, all stir-fried. Had a delicious smoky taste; would order again.
3) General Tso's Tofu - one of the best "General Tso's" sauces we've had in a while; this one actually had spice to it. The tofu wasn't too breaded, so it was less heavy (and hopefully heavier) than many other renditions of the dish.
It was a good meal, and so Eat First should be on your list of acceptable (although not ridiculously cheap) China Block restaurants.
We went to Eat First in DC's "China block" for lunch; we picked the name because we were hungry in advance of our journey to the National Geographic Museum and therefore agreed with the sign's audacious call to food. The dishes varied from "meh" to "pretty good"; we had:
1) Cold Sesame Noodles - sadly, these were "lukewarm udon in sesame-Jif sauce." This is pretty common at Chinese restaurants (moreso outside New York). The sauce was far too peanut-buttery, and while it's hard to hate Jif, it's not exactly what we call Asian.
2) Sauteed Lotus Root with Preserved Pork - An awesome dish; my favorite of the meal and a strong showing of food in general. While I like nearly every edible part of the lotus plant, my favorite is the crispy lotus root, which is also quite attractive when sliced, making plating easier.
In this dish, lotus root, straw mushrooms, carrot, celery, and sliced preserved pork, all stir-fried. Had a delicious smoky taste; would order again.
3) General Tso's Tofu - one of the best "General Tso's" sauces we've had in a while; this one actually had spice to it. The tofu wasn't too breaded, so it was less heavy (and hopefully heavier) than many other renditions of the dish.
It was a good meal, and so Eat First should be on your list of acceptable (although not ridiculously cheap) China Block restaurants.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Alternate Future Evil Twin Time!
The Sherbs and I, taking advantage of Netflix, watched two movies last night, which together I call "Queequilibrium." We watched one because Helen Mirren won an Oscar for it; the other because it's one of America's Favorite Neuroscientist's favorite movies, plus it has Christian bale, the Sherbs's longtime love from Little Women.
One was a little too slow; the other was too slow, very stupid, and did not have enough fight scenes of sufficient butt-kickitude (where's Chuck Norris when you need him? Endorsing Huckabee!), so I will describe their plots as one film:
Helen Mirren plays a quasi-religious government official who feels no emotion. After a particularly traumatic incident, she learns the joy and pain of feeling, and changes the role of her office as it is understood.
Sadly, I would rather see Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II doing the "gun kata," the Equilibrium writer's lame excuse for why Christian Bale can stand in the center of a room shooting over his shoulder while surrounded by other people with guns and not get hit at all.
One was a little too slow; the other was too slow, very stupid, and did not have enough fight scenes of sufficient butt-kickitude (where's Chuck Norris when you need him? Endorsing Huckabee!), so I will describe their plots as one film:
Helen Mirren plays a quasi-religious government official who feels no emotion. After a particularly traumatic incident, she learns the joy and pain of feeling, and changes the role of her office as it is understood.
Sadly, I would rather see Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II doing the "gun kata," the Equilibrium writer's lame excuse for why Christian Bale can stand in the center of a room shooting over his shoulder while surrounded by other people with guns and not get hit at all.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Fear the Mighty!
I thought you should know:
Despite the elections this Tuesday, the iron reign of Zurn continues unabated.
The Sherbs actually looked this up before I did; I am too capricious to follow up on these things.
All hail Zurn!
Despite the elections this Tuesday, the iron reign of Zurn continues unabated.
The Sherbs actually looked this up before I did; I am too capricious to follow up on these things.
All hail Zurn!
I'm a Pepper, You're a Pepper, Blog a Pepper...
I haven't blogged about Dr. Pepper recently. So here's a post.
The Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas has a shiny new website.
I'd provide new drink recipes, but other than variations on the Flaming Dr. Pepper (which uses no Dr. Pepper), there aren't any popping up on my Google Alerts. I am, for some reasons, getting links that, from the URLs, appear to be of videos of men having sex with other men. I am not sure why Google thinks this is related to Dr. Pepper. "Dr. Pepper makes men gay" is a googlenope.
Okay, that's not entirely true. I did find this recipe supposedly for "cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper" which involves no cherries. Just amaretto, which is almonds and apricot pits in liquor.
The recipe also calls for vanilla extract. Who are you that you're so desperate for hooch that you have to use vanilla extract instead of one of the eight brands of vanilla vodka out there? I know a fair-sized bottle of Stoli Vanil can be had for not that much money.
The Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas has a shiny new website.
I'd provide new drink recipes, but other than variations on the Flaming Dr. Pepper (which uses no Dr. Pepper), there aren't any popping up on my Google Alerts. I am, for some reasons, getting links that, from the URLs, appear to be of videos of men having sex with other men. I am not sure why Google thinks this is related to Dr. Pepper. "Dr. Pepper makes men gay" is a googlenope.
Okay, that's not entirely true. I did find this recipe supposedly for "cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper" which involves no cherries. Just amaretto, which is almonds and apricot pits in liquor.
The recipe also calls for vanilla extract. Who are you that you're so desperate for hooch that you have to use vanilla extract instead of one of the eight brands of vanilla vodka out there? I know a fair-sized bottle of Stoli Vanil can be had for not that much money.
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