Based on the Hershey's recipe.

Grease and flour a 13x9 pan; preheat oven to 350.

Sift together:

1 cup flour
2/3 cup alkalized cocoa powder (e.g. Dutch processed cocoa powder)
1/2 tsp baking powder

(If using unsweetened cocoa powder as a substitute for alkalized, use the same amount of cocoa powder but add 1/4 tsp baking soda since unsweetened cocoa is acidic, and the baking soda balances it out.)

Reserve.

In a mixer bowl, cream:

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
8 oz. butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt

Add and beat on medium:

2 eggs
2 egg yolks

Add reserved dry ingredients and mix on low until combined.

Optional: fold in 2/3 cup chocolate chips into batter.

Add to pan; bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick removed is mostly dry.

Thanks be to God.

From a Facebook thread:

sbroadway: Here's a good question: where does Roman Polanski's crime fit in with Plaxico Burress and Michael Vick?

isol8d: Hmmm, Burress should get to shoot him in the leg, and the Vick should sick his dogs on him.

Idea from a coworker: beer-cheese risotto.

I've tried it | I like it | I want to try it | WTF | Whatever

1. Absinthe Drip - absinthe, sugar, water
2. Air Mail - rhum, lime, honey, champagne
3. Alexander - spirit, creme de cacao, cream
4. Algonquin - rye, French vermouth, pineapple
5. Americano - campari, Italian vermouth, soda
6. Aperol Spritz - aperol, sparkling wine
7. Aviation - gin, lemon, maraschino, creme de violette
8. Bijou - gin, Italian vermouth, green chartreuse, orange bitters
9. Blackthorn - Irish whiskey, French vermouth, absinthe, angostura bitters
10. Blinker - rye, grapefruit, raspberry syrup
11. Blood & Sand - scotch, orange juice, Italian vermouth, cherry heering
12. Bramble - gin, lemon, creme de mure
13. Brandy Crusta - cognac, cointreau, lemon, maraschino, peychaud's bitters
14. Caipirinha - cachaca, sugar, lime
15. Champagne Cocktail - brut, sugar, angostura bitters
16. Champs Elysees - cognac, lemon, sugar, yellow chartreuse, angostura bitters
17. Chrysanthemum - French vermouth, absinthe, benedictine
18. Cocktail a la Louisiane - rye, benedictine, Italian vermouth, absinthe, peychaud's bitters
19. Coffee Cocktail - cognac, ruby port, egg
20. Collins - spirit, lemon, sugar, soda
21. Corn N' Oil - blackstrap rum, falernum, angostura bitters
22. Corpse Reviver #2 - gin, lemon, cointreau, lillet blanc, absinthe
23. Cuba Libre - rum, coca-cola, lime
24. Daquiri - rum, lime, sugar
25. Daisy - bourbon, yellow chartreuse, lemon, lime
26. The Darb - gin, French vermouth, lemon, apricot brandy
27. Death in the Afternoon - champagne, absinthe
28. Dulchin - pisco, apricot brandy, curacao, lime, grenadine
29. East India Cocktail - cognac, curacao, pineapple gomme, maraschino, angostura bitters
30. El Diablo - tequila, creme de cassis, lime, ginger beer
31. Fernet-Branca - it's a shot of fernet-branca
32. Fourth Degree - gin, French & Italian vermouth, absinthe
33. French 75 - gin, lemon, sugar, brut champagne
34. Gimlet - gin, lime, turbinado
35. Gin & Tonic - gin, tonic water, lime
36. Gin Gin Mule - gin, lime, ginger beer, mint
37. Gin Rickey - gin, lime, soda
38. Hemingway Daquiri - rum, lime, grapefruit, maraschino
39. Hot Buttered Rum - rum, butter, sugar, water
40. Improved Cocktail - spirit, maraschino, peychaud's & angostura bitters
41. Jack Rose - applejack, lemon, grenadine
42. Japanese - brandy, orgeat, angostura bitters
43. Jasmine - gin, cointreau, campari, lemon
44. Knickerbocker - rum, raspberry syrup, curacao, lime
45. Last Word - gin, lime, green chartreuse, maraschino
46. Mai Tai - rum, curacao, lime, orgeat
47. Maiden's Prayer - gin, cointreau, orange, lemon
48. Manhattan - rye, Italian vermouth, angostura
49. Maple Leaf - bourbon, lemon, maple syrup
50. Margarita - tequila, lime, cointreau
51. Martinez - Italian vermouth, gin, maraschino, orange bitters
52. Martini - gin, French vermouth, orange bitters
53. Metropole - cognac, French vermouth, peychaud's & angostura bitters
54. Milk Punch - spirit, sugar, milk
55. Mint Julep - bourbon, mint, sugar
56. Mojito - rum, lime, mint, turbinado, soda
57. Monkey Gland - gin, orange, grenadine, absinthe
58. Monte Carlo - rye, benedictine, angostura bitters
59. Morning Glory - scotch, lemon, egg white, absinthe
60. Navy Grog - rum, honey, lime
61. Negroni - gin, campari, Italian vermouth
62. Old Fashioned - spirit, sugar, angostura bitters
63. Old Pal - rye, campari, French vermouth
64. Opera - gin, dubbonet, maraschino
65. Oriental - rye, Italian vermouth, curacao, lime
66. Paradise - gin, apricot brandy, orange, lemon
67. Pegu Club - gin, curacao, lime, angostura & orange bitters
68. Pimm's Cup - pimm's no. 1, gin, lemon, soda, cucumber
69. Pink Gin - gin, angostura bitters
70. Pink Lady - gin, applejack, lemon, grenadine, egg whit
71. Pisco Punch - pisco, pineapple gomme, lemon
72. Pisco Sour - pisco, lemon, egg white
73. Port Flip - ruby port, sugar, whole egg
74. Punch - from Jerry Thomas
75. Ramos Gin Fizz - gin, cream, lemon, lime, egg white, soda, orange flower water
76. Red Hook - rye, punt e mes, maraschino, angostura & orange bitters
77. Rum Swizzle - rum, lime, falernum
78. Rusty Nail - scotch, drambuie
79. Satan's Whiskers - gin, French vermouth, Italian vermouth, curacao, orange, orange bitters
80. Sazerac - rye, absinthe, peychaud's bitters
81. Scofflaw - rye, French vermouth, lemon, grenadine, orange bitters
82. Seelbach - bourbon, cointreau, champagne, bitters
83. Sherry Cobbler - sherry, sugar, fruit, soda
84. Sidecar - cognac, cointreau, lemon
85. Silver Fizz - spirit, lemon, sugar, egg white, soda
86. Singapore Sling - gin, cherry heering, lime, pineapple, cointreau, benedictine, grenadine, angostura bitters
87. Smash - spirit, sugar, water, mint
88. Stinger - cognac, creme de menthe
89. Suffering Bastard - bourbon, gin, lemon, ginger-beer, angostura bitters
90. Tailspin - gin, Italian vermouth, green chartreuse, campari
91. Ti' Punch - rhum agricole, lime, sugar
92. Toddy - spirit, sugar, hot water
93. Tom & Jerry - rum, brandy, egg, nutmeg
94. Twentieth Century Cocktail - gin, lemon, creme de cacao, lillet blanc
95. Vesper - gin, vodka, lillet
96. Vieux Carre - cognac, rye, Italian vermouth, benedictine, angostura & peychaud's bitters
97. Whiskey Skin - scotch, lemon, hot water
98. White Lady - gin, cointreau, lemon
99. Widow's Kiss - calvados, benedictine, yellow chartreuse, angostura bitters
100. Zombie - Jamaican rum, lime, lemon, pineapple, passionfruit syrup, brown sugar, angostura bitters

Last.fm has introduced me to some refreshingly satisfying tunes.

The Kry - Be Still My Soul

Wayne Kerr - Come Thou, Long Expected Jesus

Kathryn Scott - When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

Ben Keyes, Peter La Grande, & Jill Zimmerman - Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Mary Barrett - Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy

Phil Keaggy - Were You There When They Crucified My Lord

Mikey Mew and the Lovely Few - Crown Him with Many Crowns

Sara Watkins - He Leadeth Me

Kourtnie Heying - Holy, Holy, Holy

Since the US media doesn't seem to care about swine flu at all (yet ironically cares about healthcare), I'd highly recommend for you to keep informed on the progression of the pandemic over at International SOS -- my company is a client of theirs, and I'm very impressed with their capabilities.

You know, this is exactly why I hate the Grand Canyon. It's an absolutely horrid tourist destination, despite the zillions of tourists who go there with the explicit goal to behave like tourists. The place is completely unprepared, understaffed, and underdeveloped for the continual influx. Disney, Marriott, Starwood, and Hilton would absolutely pay top dollar for long-term leases at Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon...exactly why don't we let them?

Dude, this chicken recipe is really, really simple. The eggplant side dish is not exactly simple, but is an unexpected combo which works rather well. I prepared these two dishes with a side of cinnamon-sugar butternut squash, which made for a coincidentally gluten-free meal.

Rosemary Lemon Roast Chicken Thighs
16-20 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
leaves from 3 sprigs rosemary, or 1 tbsp rehydrated dry rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
ground peppercorns to taste

Toss ingredient together; wrap tightly in foil, and bake at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes...use an instant-read thermometer to verify that the internal temperature is 180 degrees F.

Serves 3-4.


Cilantro Lemon Eggplant
1 eggplant, 3/4-inch diced
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro; leaves chopped; stems finely chopped
1 onion, diced
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil
~1 quart salt water (should taste like the ocean)
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Place diced eggplant in salt water; forcibly submerge for 10-20 minutes. Drain thoroughly, squeezing out the moisture and discarding water.

Prepare a wide skillet over medium-high heat; when hot, add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add purged eggplant and sprinkle with salt; brown for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally so that each side turns mahogany brown. Remove from pan.

Add 1 tsp olive oil; add onion and sauté for 5-10 minutes until partly browned. Add jalapeño, garlic, and cilantro stems; continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add eggplant, lemon juice, and cilantro; remove from heat and serve.

Serves 4-6.

One of the reasons you should visit Orlando: the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe (which has recently been raised to a minor basilica). We visited yesterday and snapped a couple of photos, and I've also added some other Flickr photos below so you can get an idea of some of the beauty it has created & shared.





( more photos by other Flickr users )

I visited the Ringling Museum yesterday -- here's a quick upload of my photos. If you have any Christian aesthetic whatsoever, you probably wanna take a look.

(note: RAW output on its way)

bbq chicken
pulled dark meat chicken, cilantro, sweet baby ray's bbq sauce, caramelized red onion, green onion, sharp cheddar

veggie mushroom, roasted artichoke hearts, garlic, wilted spinach, tomato, kalamata olive, basil, mozzarella, parmesan

salami
dry salami, green onion, tomato, rosemary, oregano, mozzarella, parmesan

white
part skim ricotta, rosemary, oregano, garlic, wilted spinach, basil, roasted artichoke hearts, mozzarella, parmesan

chicken and capers
pulled dark meat chicken, capers, garlic, tomato, caramelized red onion, green onion, parmesan

Corn cake - in the style of Chi Chi's or Don Pablo's:

1 15-oz can creamed corn
2/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, margarine, or corn oil
Handful of grated cheese (optional)

Mix well to combine. Empty into a loaf pan, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes until toothpick inserted into center is clean. The texture will remain rather moist, like the consistency of a bread pudding.

Serves 6.



Braised Pork shoulder

Whole fresh picnic shoulder (5-8 lbs), skin removed
1 chipotle pepper, either packed in adobo or dry & rehydrated, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Dry rub (see below)
a few dashes of liquid smoke, Hickory flavor (optional)
2 cups water

After removing skin from picnic shoulder, rub evenly with the dry rub mixture. Refrigerate covered for at least 12-24 hours.

In a slow cooker, add onions, chipotle, liquid smoke*, and water; carefully place pork shoulder on top, and cover. Set slow cooker to "High" for 3 hours; afterward, turn to "Low" and cook for another 6-8 hours. Do not touch! Do not remove the lid at any point!

Remove meat and juices from slow cooker & immediately chill and refrigerate. If desired, you may want to save the juices in a separate, taller container so that the floating rendered pork fat congeals at the surface, and can be removed easily after chilling. You may also want to check the flavoring of the meat and juices at this point, adding salt or garlic powder or cayenne powder if the flavor is not strong enough.

After the meat has refrigerated overnight, pick the meat from bones & gristle into bite-sized sections, and recombine with the juices. Gently reheat and serve**.

Easily serves 8-10, probably more.

* If you use liquid smoke, be very conservative. It is no substitute for a barbecued pork shoulder. Only use the liquid smoke to amp up the smoky flavor of the chipotle pepper, not to create a smoked pork effect.

** If you want a carnitas effect, reheat the pulled pork without the juices under a low broiler to get a slightly crispy texture. You may want to add some fat to do this properly, otherwise you'll end up with toasted meat, not crispy meat.


Picnic shoulder dry rub

2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp peppercorns, ground
1 tbsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cumin or coriander

As soon as I found out Marco Rubio was on the Todd Long show today, I was the first caller on the radio show lined up to speak with him. My question was about life issues, and his answer was clearly and unashamedly pro-life. What this means in detail, I'm not entirely sure; but I would definitely not expect such a short and clear answer from Smarmy Charlie Crist, who would definitely talk around the issue and ask for the equivalent of fair minded words.

Later on Twitter, I caught up with Mr. Rubio:

@schotbredeweg: I appreciated talking with you today on the Todd Long show - thx for clarifying your pro-life beliefs. What about 2nd amd rts?

@marcorubio: support them 100%

I'm rather impressed with his accessibility and his forthright defense of seemingly difficult questions.

Earlier this week, some anti-Big-Government types got all worked up by the the story about the FDA accusing Cheerios of being a drug. After a little reflection, I say phooey and pshaw. The FDA (whether you acknowledge its tyranny or benefit) acknowledged something that happened as a result of General Mills' actions. To review, General Mills first claimed that their cereal reduced cholesterol, a claim putting them in a state that did actually violate the definition of food. The FDA only stepped in and acknowledged the state into which General Mills had put their Cheerios product. Got that? The FDA acknowledged what General Mills did to themselves. After that, every sour grapes conservative (myself included) complained that the oppressive FDA will soon decide which foods are drugs. They confused the policies of the FDA with the FDA's enforcement of those policies, and they also blamed the FDA organization for turning Cheerios into a drug. Remember that General Mills, under existing FDA guidelines, turned Cheerios into a drug themselves.

The same thing happens when the press tries to cover any story involving excommunication; it is the Catholic Church that excommunicates, and we should sympathize with the sinners who have been abandoned by their church. This is contrary to what happens. The bishops, trusted to uphold the unity, holiness, universality, and apostolic identity of the Bride of Christ, have the authority and wisdom to recognize when a baptized and living Christian has sinned knowingly and willingly and without penitence. It is an external acknowledgment of a separation of the sinner from the law of God and the sinner's rejection of Jesus's merciful forgiveness. However unfortunate, it is not the Church who excommunicates; it is the Church who acknowledges that the sinner has excommunicated themselves from obedience to God's church. The acknowledgment of excommunication is a serious call to penitence and reunion, not an inflicted punishment. God's punishment is His alone to give.

As Catholics, we sometimes also conflate organizational blame. Blame the government for Roe v. Wade. Blame the two political parties who keep it law. Blame the government for the 1.3M baby killings each year. Blame the government for allowing the death penalty, and blame the state governments who use it. This is the same fallacy as above with Cheerios and excommunication. Why do we lobby so hard against the death penalty and confuse it with abortion? The state acknowledges that a capital offender has violated the law of God and the law of man; in doing so, they have separated themselves from God and man, and deserve swift & humane dispatch to God's judgment. The state does not hold the death of proven criminals on their conscience any more than the Church holds the responsibility for an excommunicant's sadness or the FDA for making Cheerios a drug. It can also be confusing to think of the death penalty in terms of double effect; in that you cannot do something wrong (execution) to accomplish something good (permanently separating a criminal from potential victims). On the contrary, the intention is permanent separation of the criminal from society, since they have separated themselves from the law. Proving guilt is obviously a different matter, and establishing a justice system that can prevent the execution of the truly innocent is another matter. The fact remains that the per capita rate of death penalty usage, at least in America, is so far lower than in any other nation, and American penal systems still regularly release killers and rapists and gang leaders because of the prohibitive shared financial burden to permanently yet humanely isolate them from society.

I'm not sure where this leaves us, but it is an exercise in not complaining about general tyranny, or confusing the actions of organizations with the authority they protect and enforce. God and man have granted leaders authority over the institutions of this world. Long before man discovered God guaranteed them certain natural rights, man discovered that God demanded his obedience, even to Caesar. We can and should work to influence this world and prevent injustice, but we are only workers, not builders. Whether we agree on abortion or Cheerios or the death penalty matters not; first, we must obey the law of God to obey his servant leaders when they rule.

And another thing. The Obama at Notre Dame thing really peeves me right off. Jenkins should and will be punished; it sets a horrible example for an American church already confused in its obedience to the faith. The protesters are going to put on a respectful demonstration that Obama's abortion policy is evil and should be changed. But I can't get all incensed about Notre Dame as an organization any more than Obama is an evil organization by himself. He's still the president, whether he enforces morally objectionable policy or not, and he orchestrates the execution of laws right now. Honor is his because of his position. Work to change the laws he enforces by acting with obedience to the laws he enforces.

I've decided to compile a list of what I cook at home on a regular basis. Some things I only cook once a year; others are weekly staples. Some are from years back, others are relatively newer to my repertoire. It's sort of a mental exercise for me; write down all of the mundane stuff we always eat, and try to remember the stuff I used to make a while back but have since forgotten. I hope to use it to simplify our meal planning, but I also want to dare myself to find new regulars for this list. Also note that I should probably add more fiber and more fruit to the list...I'm a little heavy on the starches, sides, and main dishes. I'm also heavy on some ethnic specialties - Mediterranean, Italian, Asian, Caribbean, Mexican. Probably need to add more Spanish, Indian, German, Polish, and Korean specialties. Almost entirely absent: French. And that's rather sad.

( Broadway Household Meals, Dishes, Drinks, etc. )

Dear interweb:

What is a small-government solution to meth?

For example, the best small-government solution for pot is:
- decriminalize both possession and growing
- criminalize all sale whatsoever

That kind of thing works with a plant that grows in the ground and a drug whose effects are rather innocuous. It's almost instantaneous to implement, and it immediately drops the price and therefore the attraction for organized crime.

Meth is, how should I say, different.

Discuss.

Three pizzas.

Margherita Pizza
hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes
basil from the garden
fresh mozzarella (unfortunately not Di Bufala)



Bratwurst & Onion Pizza
sliced bratwurst
caramelized onions
colby jack cheese
fennel fronds
roasted lamb demi-glace (hey, it was in the fridge)

Mushroom and Olive Tapenade
sauteed mushrooms
caramelized onions
kalamata olive tapenade
grated mozzarella
fresh rosemary & thyme

Each one was made from 1/3 lb of dough, floured, rolled thin, and stretched as far as possible into an oblong shape. Naah, I didn't make the dough, but next time I probably should...no sense to pay $2.49 for less than a dollar worth of ingredients.

I'm not 1337 enough to cook a pizza on my oven's 800-degree self-clean cycle, but I tried my best by smoking away at 500 degrees and alternating between bake & broil. They took about 4 minutes to cook on the pizza stone, a far cry from Varasano's magical 100-second pizza. Still pretty darn good. Bottom of the dough was crusty and thin but not quite crispy. Bottom of the dough was also not charred, though there were some char marks on the upper crust.

Fun times. Gonna have to do this again, next time with dinner guests and wine.

Dry ingredients

2.5 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Wet Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 c plus 1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup (grade A dark amber or grade B)
1 c buttermilk
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

Topping

1/2 c macadamia nut pieces
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 400. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan.

Sift together dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix until loosely combined. Whisk together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients; stir about 20 times to combine. Mix will be lumpy. Let sit for 2 minutes.

Divide equally into muffin pan. Sprinkle topping into each cup.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes; turn heat down to 350 and bake 5-10 minutes more until an inserted toothpick comes out dry.

After the Magic's convincing victory over the Sixers, butterflygal341 just got a tweet directly from Dwight Howard!

I gotta admit, I like having Superman in the paint, but it was pretty cool to have him tweeting the game, too.

Update: ESPN picked up on her tweet, too.

There was a tall man from Cornwall
Whose length exceeded his bed.
"My body fits on it
But barely upon it
There's no room for my big Cornish head!"

- E. M. Snickering, "The Tall Man from Cornwall"

So, Pioneer Woman said I must make these soft pretzels from Smitten Kitchen.

So I did.







Current accompaniment: brown mustard with horseradish, and the Magic vs. Sixers playoff game in the background. Now that's a game snack. :-)

Torchy Clark has passed away. A legendary alumni of Marquette, football and basketball coach of Xavier High School in Wisconsin, basketball coach of UCF, a faithful husband, a father to five UCF graduates, a humble and faithful Catholic, a cancer survivor, and a longtime resident of Central Florida.

Eternal rest give to him, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon him.

Just to further my point that you should no longer use Pyrex for any reason in the kitchen...

christophedumas had his own exploding pyrex incident complete with tiny shards of glass flying all over the kitchen.

Anchor Hocking and Pyrex -- I will never use your products again, and I will strongly warn anyone and everyone that you make a dangerous, untrustworthy product.

In honor of the annual observance of butterflygal341's grand entrance into this world, I've made the dark chocolate cupcakes again. But this time, I piped in marshmallow fluff after they finished baking. They smell divine...if you mix the smell of chocolate baked goods with the smell of the business end of a candy factory, you'd know what I'm smelling right now.

Seriously, if you haven't made this recipe and you like chocolate and you like cupcakes, you need to try it. If it were my choice, I'd be piping in some raspberry jam and frosting them with vanilla whipped cream, but that's just me. My wife is a sucker for marshmallow fluff, and I'm more than happy to scratch that itch for her.

Romaine & spinach salad -- hydroponic tomatoes from Chuluota, marinated cucumber, honey vinegarette, toasted macadamia nuts

Duck breast taco -- citrus gastrique, hoison sauce, cucumber, green onion

Braised lamb shanks -- braised with garlic, rosemary, & sage; served w/ olive tapenade (with lemon!)

Yukon gold mashed potatoes -- duck fat, lamb demiglace cream sauce

Sautéed broccoli -- garlic, salt, olive oil, red pepper


Wine

Tapeña Rosé 2008, Spain -- monastrell, grenache, syrah (a.k.a. GSM, except it's a rosé)

Bodegas Julián Chivite Gran Feudo Crianza 2002, Navarra, Spain -- tempranillo, grenache, cabernet


Dessert

Baked Fuji apples -- butter & brown sugar

Blue Bell blackberry cobbler ice cream

Some drink recipes...


My slight variation on an Agavoni:

1 oz reposado tequila (Patron)
1/2 oz Campari
3/4 oz sweet vermouth (Noilly Prat)
2 dashes orange bitters (Regan's No. 6)
Twist of grapefruit for garnish

Stir and serve over crushed ice in an old fashioned glass.

This is a fantastic use of tequila. It's also a very dry drink, despite the sugar in the Campari...I suppose you could add some club soda and a squeeze of lemon to lighten it up. This one is definitely a grown-up flavor. Fantastic apertif, too...anything with Campari always makes me hungry.



My variation on a rum punch, sans pineapple:

1/2 oz light rum (Bacardi)
1/2 oz añejo rum (Bacardi)
1/4 oz spiced rum (Capt. Morgan's Private Stock)
1/4 oz Appleton Estate V/X
very small spash Coconut Rum (Bacardi)
2 oz cranberry pomegranate juice cocktail
2 oz orange juice
1 tsp maraschino cherry juice
juice from a quartered lime
2 dashes orange bitters (Regan's No. 6)

Stir and serve over ice cubes in a highball glass; garnish with the quartered lime.

I personally think that coconut rum is overpowering, hence the reason to add less than 1/4 oz. It can also become too cloying. The marascino cherry juice adds a little sweetness and a bit of an almond flavor, which is usually provided in a rum punch by Velvet Falernum (which I currently lack). The perfect drink for lounging by the pool...I look forward to making a few of them when next my sister-in-law comes to visit.

My dad's birthday party at the waterfront bar!

I bought a small fennel plant from the local Home Improvement Warehouse about 3 months ago. I finally got around to harvesting the bulbs -- whoa! Pictured here are the four fennel bulbs and their attached stalks and fronds. I ended up trimming off the stalks and roasting the bulbs, used a third of the roasted fennel in a pasta dish, and froze the rest.

Not bad for a $3 plant! Plus, we'll see whether the roots survive and start growing more.

The only CPSIA press coverage in the local TV, radio, and fishwrap? Bitching about how certain mini-motorcycles (and all of their replacement parts) are now illegal to sell. Most of the stories involve pissed-off rednecks who could care less that their kids are tearing around the neighborhood (esp. mine) at 20-30 mph without a helmet, let alone get lead poisoning if they gnaw on the electrical wires and battery terminals of the selfsame motorbike.

The sable palm ashes on your forehead right now probably came from a manufacturer in my diocese.

Dear internets,

Why does New Orleans Mardi Gras use the colors purple, green, and gold? And I'm not accepting any answers from Wikipedia since their Justice/Faith/Power explanation seems more than a little apocryphal. Isn't there some kind of significance in changing from ordinary time (green) to Lent (purple)?

~Scott

Last night at my otherwise very successful dinner party, a Pyrex dish exploded in the oven into a zillion pieces, as if it were sugar glass. I've never ever heard of Pyrex doing that before, but it is apparently rather prevalent lately. We are incredibly lucky that no one was seriously injured. I highly caution against the use of this product in any oven.

Update: the weirdest thing? I had two Pyrex dishes in the oven at the same time, at the same level, with the same amount of the same contents. The one that broke was newer (10 years old?), while the one that did not break was much older (20 years old?). I think that the newer one was not made of borosilicate. If you have any Pyrex in your kitchen, make perfectly sure it is made of borosilicate. If not, I'd urge you to throw it away and never buy another Pyrex product unless the product explicitly states that it is made from borosilicate.

This week, nearly everyone on my Facebook posted the "25 Random Things" meme to their published notes. 

I think that this was the Turing Test I was always looking for, in order to prove that Facebook became a viable online community. 8-10 years after Livejournal pioneered it, Facebook proves that your great uncles, second cousins, and somewhat good friends from high school can do it. As recently as 9 months ago, I lamented that I still preferred LiveJournal because of the community discussion and the relationships it developed among users. Only a few months after Facebook introduced the comments feature to the status page, the community became sentient.

isol8d and I were recently discussing the two remaining (and highly interconnected) differences between LJ and Facebook. The differences are:

• LJ's perceived anonymity -- users retain handles and icons, instead of names and photographs. It's either a bug or a feature, and it hearkens back a couple of decades to the BBS days, when making anonymous friends across the globe was new and exciting.  For those friends who became extremely close, meeting in real life became momentous...discarding handles and masks and text communication in front of people whom you had trusted so much more of your internal self than with few others.
• Facebook's complicated, unusable, and completely horizontal privacy.  You can set which friends, groups, and networks can see whole swathes of information.  However, you cannot control which specific entries/photos/updates are visible by which friends/groups/networks.  As a result, whole swathes of Facebook peeps can see your recent photo of you, drunk, making a complete fool of you & your family's good name.  In lieu of posting that entertaining-yet-questionable anecdote to Facebook, you are probably more comfortable doing a friends-only Livejournal post, under your assumed username, to a bunch of friends who may or may not have ever met you in real life.  After all, it's easier being honest to folks who can't gossip about your stupid political beliefs to your disappointed parents or condescending high school acquaintances.

LJ is dead, yo.  Long live community!  And here's hoping Facebook fixes their privacy controls.

Hot damn!  I really like the new VMWare Server 2.0, especially how the console is all web-based and AJAX-y.  It's almost a real product!

At work, we use VMWare LabManager all the time with our ESX server... that thing is DEFINITELY a real product, and makes our whole organization much more productive.  If only it would run on commodity storage with ethernet interconnects, instead of expensive SAN fiberchannel crap...

BREAKING NEWS: Chipotle Employee Just Gave Guy In Front Of You More Rice

My sister asked me about how I replicate the cilantro rice at Chipotle...here it is for posterity.

You gotta use basmati or jasmine rice. Costco/Sams/BJ's all sell 10 pound bags of basmati rice in burlap bags -- it's a fantastic value, and it lasts for a long time. If you buy it at Publix, you pay about twice as much in unit cost. You also gotta use kosher salt...no table salt. You may be able to get away with using dry cilantro, but fresh cilantro tastes much better. And of course, fresh lime juice.

1.5 c. basmati or jasmine rice
2.25 c. cold water
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c chopped cilantro (about 10-20 sprigs), or alternatively 1 tbsp dry cilantro rehydrated in 2 tsp water

Combine rice and water in a medium saucepan. Do not cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. As SOON as you see it begin to boil, reduce heat to low (on my stove's knobs, this is about 2 out of 7...should not be lowest, though), STIR, and COVER TIGHTLY. Cook covered for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, keep the lid covered and remove from the stove; let stand 5 minutes to complete cooking.

Use a silicone spatula to fluff the rice, and turn it out into a wide bowl. Drizzle the lime juice over the rice, and sprinkle in the salt and cilantro. Gently fold the rice together, just enough to distribute the cilantro. Serve immediately, or cover tightly with foil and keep warm in a low oven.

Photos from today's visit to the Central Florida Zoo with dr_smarmy & his family:

A picture from our zoo visit today:



Scott: "Whoa -- a pest control company sponsoring an insect exhibit?"

Kate: "Isn't that kinda like a holocaust museum?"

Scott: "Yeah, if the Nazis built one!"

The Christ Mass concert immediately prior to the midnight mass at St. Gabriel's was fantastic and traditional and reverent. To lighten things up at the end, the choir director introduced this "9th century Latin chant":

Rudolphus rubrinasus
fulgentissimo naso,
vidisti et si eum
dicas quoque candere.

Omnes tarandi ceteri
ridebant vocantes nomina;
non sinebant Rudolphum
interesse ludentes.

Olim crassa nocte Christi,
Nicholas it dictum:
“Rudolphe, naso tam claro,
agesne traham meam?”

Qui tum tarandis amor
conclamantibus eum,
“Rudolphe rubrinase,
descendes historia!

It didn't make for the most reverent segue into the Introit, but it certainly put a smile across the lips of the faithful on a damp and rainy night.

Hot damn -- Alton Brown's egg nog recipe is perfect. In the worlds of Rosenberg and Goldstein, "You know the Holocaust? ...Picture the opposite of that!".

I deeply despise Vista troubleshooting.  It's so eerily similar to XP, however, just enough is different so that normal XP troubleshooting strategies usually don't apply.

I ran into a bit of a driver issue where Vista would boot, show the login window, and then rudely shut down the machine.  No error message, no BSOD, no lube.  Just powered down.  EVIL.

That being said, I used the ol' "System Restore" feature.  And hot damn, did it work like a charm.  I lost about two hours of work, but the machine is back up and running perfectly.

I suppose I have to admit that this Microsoft feature (which has been around quite a while now) just saved my butt in a big way.  And now I can actually go to sleep without freaking out and being angry at Vista.

I'm also rather impressed with the repair console in Vista -- it's rather friendly, if a bit slow.

So yeah, thanks, Microsoft.  Vista sucks big-time, but at least System Restore takes some of the mystery about troubleshooting it.

Molasses Crinkles

0.75 c. shortening, room temperature
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
0.25 c. molasses
2.25 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
0.5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
0.5 tsp. cloves
0.5 c. sugar (reserved)

Cream brown sugar and shortening. Beat in egg and molasses. Stir in the remaining ingredients, save for the white sugar. After dough comes together, fold into a ball, cover with parchment, and refrigerate at least 2 hours (up to 2 days).

Shape dough into 1-inch balls, rolling the balls in the sugar to coat. Place 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets [I personally recommend Sil-Pats in half sheet pans instead]. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Makes ~4 1/2 dozen.

(Attributed to Alice Rhodes from Harrisonburg, Virginia, but clipped and stored in my mom's recipe book)

Cream cheese with pepper jelly and crackers -- Cathy's preserves are extraordinarily good. I also prefer her Bloody Mary Chutney, pickled Brussels sprouts, and chow-chow.

Crunchy bean salad -- This was an experiment that definitely worked out well. I made a double batch, but I had to quadruple the amount of apple cider vinegar. I also added four small sprigs of rosemary, and they permeated the whole batch nicely. If I make this again, I'll do it two or three days in advance.

Turkey injected with Cajun-style marinade and cooked in my Orion cooker -- The Orion is quite a nifty method. It doesn't make a pretty turkey, but it is the moistest, most fall-off-the-bone bird you can possibly make without requiring a 12 hour roast in a heavy, covered roaster pan. The injection marinade is also a big plus -- it's much less hassle than brining the whole bird.

Collard greens -- Everyone loves them when you only cook them for 45 minutes. Any longer and they start to get the funk of forty thousand years. And you obviously must serve these with pepper vinegar.

Pole beans stewed in smoked turkey neck stock -- I used to use ham hocks to make stock base for greens & beans, but I really prefer how much collagen provided by smoked turkey necks. A 10-hour brew in a crock pot also helped extract the most flavor from 'dem neck bones.

Apple and sausage stuffing with rosemary -- This is also one of those things I make in advance, and everyone always loves it.

Cheese grits -- Next to the turkey, everyone loved the grits.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes -- Next to the grits, everyone also loved the simplicity of the sweet potatoes. They were also very tasty for breakfast, tossed in olive oil, rice wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Cast-iron cornbread -- I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this recipe is as southern as my grandma. She absolutely loved it. (Note: I increased the recipe by 50% to fit my 10-inch cast iron pan.) It has a nice crust on the bottom, the cake is fluffy, and the top is beautifully browned. And damn, did it ever taste good with the pot liquor from the collards.

2007 Bieler Pere et Fils “Sabine” Rose (Syrah/Grenache) ($9) -- Very food-friendly with balanced fruit. Stood up nicely without being the center of attention.

Sweet potato pie -- This recipe used 8 oz. sweetened condensed milk, instead of the usual 1 c. sugar + 3/4 c. evaporated milk. Also, try to get organic spices if you can -- they have twice as much flavor as their bland grocery-store counterparts.

Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake -- Hot. Damn. This really is the best, fluffiest, darkest chocolate cake I've ever had. Not dense, not too sweet. It also makes way too much batter to fit in a standard bundt...make sure you have an additional small springform pan, or maybe you could do cupcakes, too.

This marinade is suitable for fried turkey.  Or turkey any way, really.

Combine in a spice mill:

2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 bay leaf
1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tsp Everglades seasoning (can also use Spike or Accent)
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin


Dissolve these together to make a brine:

1/4 c kosher salt
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c water

Combine the brine with the ground spice blend.

Add:

1 tbsp Chinese soy sauce
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp bourbon, wiskey, brandy, or dark rum

Stir to combine.

This concentrated mix can be made in advance and refrigerated.

When ready to inject into the turkey, dilute the marinade down to 4 cups, and inject all over turkey.  Refrigerate overnight prior to cooking.

<thar be a rant, mateys>

Dear News Media,

The Somali pirates have more in common with:


than with
.

Kisses,
~Scott

</arrrrr>

If you saw me in the back of a police car, what would you think I'd been arrested for?