Friday, March 11, 2011

Republicans Threaten Mass Vaporizations

Unreal.
Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) slammed the Republicans' budget proposal on Tuesday as 'mean-spirited' and complained it would eliminate money for a cowboy poetry festival that brings tens of thousands of tourists to Nevada.

“The mean-spirited bill, H.R. 1, eliminates National Public Broadcasting," said Reid in a floor speech. "It eliminates the National Endowment of the Humanities, National Endowment of the Arts. These programs create jobs. The National Endowment of the Humanities is the reason we have in northern Nevada every January a cowboy poetry festival. Had that program not been around, the tens of thousands of people who come there every year would not exist.”
It was hard to know which way to go on this one. First, do you play off the fact that the Federal Government is sponsoring cowboy poetry festivals or do you go with the tens of thousands of people who come there every year would not exist?

For me, I had to come down on the side of mass vaporizations. There's nothing like a good phaser hit.

Preparing for a pop-up

March 11

Last night my evening really began, at least in my own mind, at around 4pm, when I saw the following tweet from Red Cat owner Jimmy Bradley:

“Feeling bitter? Stop by The Red Cat and drown your sorrows with one of Trace’s signature cocktails.”

I wasn’t feeling bitter, nor sorrowful, but I still felt like Jimmy was speaking directly to me.

Three months ago, when our offices were in Midtown East, a shlep to west Chelsea, when I had an event to go to later in the evening near Times Square, would have seemed ludicrous.

But since Nation’s Restaurant News was bought by Penton Media and we moved offices to central Chelsea (17th Street between seventh and eighth avenues, closer to eighth), The Red Cat is now just a slight detour.

So as soon as I could extract myself from the office I sauntered over to The Red Cat and had a couple of bracing drinks — Elixir No. 1 followed by a bourbon-based one that I think was called Old Pal — refreshing but bitter, and looked at my phone to see where I’d agreed to have dinner that evening.

It seemed I'd agreed to attend the opening night of The Feast, a three-day pop-up restaurant at the soon-to-open Sanctuary Hotel (where the Portland Square Hotel was until recently).

The chef: 15-year-old Greg Grossman.

“Oh, Bret, you stupid, stupid man,” I said to myself. “You have RSVPed in the affirmative to something ridiculous.”

But I’m a man of my word. If I can possibly make it to something that I said I’d go to, I go, except when I occasionally forget.

So I paid for my drinks and walked through the rain to the E train and took it to Times Square.

I was early as I walked toward the hotel, and my heart sank when I saw the searchlights in front.

Because an event at which you must endure the silly food of a child is bad enough. Having to do it in the company of scenesters and minor self-important celebrities — well, I wasn’t going to show up early, that was for sure.

I walked to Sixth Avenue in search of time-killing amusement and, realizing I was near Oceana, I walked in for another bracing drink — whiskey-based, slightly sweeter than the ones at The Red Cat; I think it was called The Dubliner.

Chef Ben Pollinger was nice enough to send out some oysters lightly dressed in pomegranate and some escolar sashimi with mango and macadamia.

With three stiff drinks and some fortifying marine protein under my belt, I was ready for the ridiculous.

It started with a fourth cocktail, as servers were handing out rocks glasses filled with dirty vodka Marinis garnished with blue-cheese stuffed olives and truffle oil.

It was, indeed, a scenester crowd with very minor slightly self-important celebrities, and also women dressed in skimpy white outfits, clearly hired for the titillation of the guests.

I don't think I’d seen anything like that since before 9/11, and I see nothing wrong with hiring consenting adults to be eye candy, and if it helps to usher in a new age of decadence, that’s fine with me.

Also, the truffle oil in the dirty vodka Martinis worked for me. So did the fact that the Martinis were on the rocks, which meant they were not in cocktail glasses and thus not nearly so hard to keep from sloshing.

I was seated next to someone who worked at a celebrity web site. He was on my right, and on my left was originally the female companion of one of the hotel owners, but over the course of the evening various other women rotated in there. I didn’t catch their names.

The guy from the celebrity web site seemed nice enough but wasn't interested in talking to me, and the House music was too loud for meaningful conversation anyway, so I mostly sat and let the evening sort of wash over me.

The theme of the Pop-up restaurant was Pop Art — in fact it was called the Pop Art Pop Up. The place was decorated in sort of  Warhol-era theme, and the dishes on the menu developed by our “Wunderkind Chef” — that’s what the menu called him, a Wunderkind — were each named after a work of pop art.

What can I say? I had a good time. The food was mostly delicious, the music was fun — between bursts of House music a diminutive singer, about my height, with great pipes sang songs from my formative years by artists such as Lionel Richie (Hello), Tracy Chapman (Talkin’ Bout a Revolution)  and Cyndi Lauper (Time After Time) — and I’d already had four cocktails by the time we sat down.

But I did notice that Greg Grossman had a surprising level of poise. He came out to talk about the food, described the first dish and realized the crowd wasn’t interested. So he told them all the pictures of the art were on the back of the menu and to enjoy their meal.

I wish more chefs knew to do that.

Oh! I almost forgot: Guess who was helping young Greg Grossman prep? Don Pintabona, former chef of Tribeca Grill and then chef-owner of Dani. Remember him?

Don’s freshly back from Asia (Sri Lanka, Laos and someplace else — I think Vietnam) where he was working on a project to help communities develop sustainable agriculture and such, but he also has known young Master Grossman since he was an even littler kid, and he always has been interested in cooking.

What I ate (with photos graciously provided by the Sanctuary’s publicists):

Jeff Koons “Balloon Dog (Orange)”
Carrot, Stilton, coconut, cardamom and lemon grass

Damien Hirst “Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD)”
Scallop, potato, apple, tamarind and Thai basil

Andy Warhol: “Marilyn Monroe”
Beef, lamb, salmon and bass in monochromes

Roy Lichtenstein:
“Meat”
New York strip steak, foie gras, cilantro and sherry

Takashi Murakami
“Flower of Joy”
Fennel, yuzu, mango, white chocolate and strawberry

And below, the back of the menu with a collage of all the works of art on which the food was based:

Things That Make Me Smile

Greetings fellow Feline Theocraticians and wanderers from the Interweb Tubes! It's Lent and here within the spacious offices of The Scratching Post, our crack editorial staff has decided to make a conscious effort to live more joyously during Lent. I, as the Theocracy's faithful beadle, have been given the task of posting a series of Things That Make Me Smile.

I'll start the series with two quotes from my inspiration for this series - the astronomer Johannes Kepler.
It is a right, yes a duty, to search in cautious manner for the numbers, sizes, and weights, the norms for everything [God] has created. For He himself has let man take part in the knowledge of these things ... For these secrets are not of the kind whose research should be forbidden; rather they are set before our eyes like a mirror so that by examining them we observe to some extent the goodness and wisdom of the Creator.
... and ...
I wanted to become a theologian; for a long time I was unhappy. Now, behold, God is praised by my work even in astronomy.
We're not big on astronomy here at the 'Post, but we love to explore and photograph and think about the world God created for us. Each new discovery is a glorious wonder placed there like a surprise birthday gift, something marvelous to be unwrapped.

You, sir, rocked.

AWARDS GALORE - 9

OMG ..this is really an AWARDS GALORE!
Nidhya from - Aaha Oho, has been so sweet to pass on so many awards to me.
Thank you Nidhya .. awards are always cherished.

I am really honoured to receive these awards again from Suvidha of Suvidha's Kitchen.
Suvidha is a very creative blogger. Do visit her blog.
Thank you Suvidha for sharing these awards with me.

Harika - From Harika's Kitchen has also honoured me with these awards.
She has a wonderful blog Do visit her for some delicious recipes.
Thank you Harika ffor sharing these with me.

Thanks Anu, Sonu and Smitha. I have visited your blogs and seen the collection of such delicious recipes.

7 Facts tag is from- Melissa ( The Chronicles of a Rookie Mom)

Here are the seven facts about me.

1. Cooking is my passion.

2. I love to read and paint in my free time.

3. I enjoy shopping and travelling...would love to explore the world.

4. I love to go out for dinners with my family.

5. I make friends very easily and enjoy spending time with them.

6. I am a cleanliness freak.

7. I like to devote some free time for social work. This gives me immense pleasure.

I am passing on this AWARD GALORE to some of my dear friends. Please collect the awards and don't forget to thank all those who have passed on these lovely awards and also share these with 15 other blogger friends with a message for them on their respective blogs to collect the same.

1. Sonia - My Creative Flavors

2. Reeni Xo Xo - Cinnamon Spice Everything Nice

3. Shriya & Nithu - Spicy Tasty

4. Charitha - Womens Era 2008

5. Ammupatti - Ammupatti's thoughts

6. Dr Sameena Prathap - My Culinary Creations

7. Priya Mahadevan - Now Serving

8. Sonali Pradhan - Only Fish Recipes

9. Nivedita - Nivedita's Kitchen

10. Sarah Naveen - Vazhayila

11. Sini,Ms Chitchat,Ego-Centric - http://chitchatcrossroads.blogspot.com/

12. Kalpana Sareesh - Life With Spices

13. Ganga Sreekanth - My Favourite Foods

14. Uma - Trendy Relish

15. Vatsala - Show And Tell


AWARD 8

Soumya Vineeth shares this award with me. Thank you Soumya. It is an honour and so sweet of you to share it with me. Soumya has a collection of delicious recipes - traditional as well as continental. Do visit her lovely blog space.

AWARD 7



Sonali Pradhan ( Only Fish Recipes) Shares this Lovely Blog Award with me. Thank you Sonali. I am really honoured to get this from you.

Friends, if you are fond of fish, you can see all kinds of different fish preparations in Sonali's blog. I am passing on this Award to all the fish lovers. Please collect this award and also do visit: http://onlyfishrecipes.blogspot.com/

AWARD 6

Kavita shares this beautiful award with me. Kavita has lived in many places in India and had the opportunity to learn many dishes from there. Do visit her blog to see some traditional recipes from India. http://kavitaskitchen.blogspot.com/

AWARD 5

Aipi - (US Masala) gave me this Best Dish Award. She has a wonderful blogspace. Do visit to see some nice recipes.

AWARD 4

Recieved this from Tahemeem. Thank you Tahemeem for giving this award to me.

Homemade Butter :))

Why have I not tried this before ?? and the field trip in grade six doesn't count !  If I could do it then, why couldn't I do it now.    So after watching a quick video clip on how to make your own with a food pro, I decided to try a slightly more manual way .    Just using a mason jar and heavy cream.   That's it!!
My other thought was, can I save money by doing this ?? Good butter is $4  to 5 a pound here ( I don't like the cheap butter , it has more than cream and salt ) So can I do it ??   Read below and find out.

Heavy Cream ( 35% ) and a mason jar  with a lid is all you need



Start by pouring half the cream (250ml ) into the mason jar, secure the lid and start shaking ... pretend your one of those paint can shakers in the hardware store and go to it.  This was after ten minutes of shaking ,  I had some very thick cream ... time to switch methods a little. 



I used the handle from a spatula to finish the job ..  10 more minutes of stirring. 
At this point , if you wanted to add flavourings .. this would be the time. I wanted to try a plain unsalted batch before I started messing around.    Salt, Garlic, Fresh Herbs etc.. the list can go on.





This was after 10 minutes of stirring ....  just about there , it will come together quick now.. maybe 2 more minutes. 


Butter!!! I made butter , 22 minutes of shaking and stirring produced this creamy goodness!!  Now just one more step. Reserve the buttermilk ( I used mine for making a loaf of bread )  , and get a cup of ice water ready. 


Put the butter back in the jar, with the ice water and shake for 2 more minutes... drain the water off, and this is what your left with.   


Total time was 24 minutes... and I have butter that should last a month in the fridge. 


The bowl weighed close to 300g, I ended up with a 150g ( 1/3 pound )
So did I manage to make it for less than I can buy it for??   Yes .. just !!   I found the cream on sale for $2.50 / 500ml ... I used half of the cream to make 150g of butter...  Since this tasted AMAZING i will compare it to the $5.00 per 450g ( 1 pound ) of butter .   It cost me $1.25 , compared to $1.66 for the store bought. Not a huge savings ...  but Ill take a 25% discount anytime I can get it !!

Simply amazing is how I'm going to describe this butter,  I have not had that many bread and butter sandwiches since I was a kid!!  lol  I will be making this again , the next time will be a batch size , with some flavourings added ..  stick around Butter part 2 will be back !!

I hope you have enjoyed this post .. please feel free to leave comments, suggestions or critiques below.
Happy Cooking!

Cheezburger of the Day

funny pictures - No no, it's fascinating  Do continue

Less Words, More Food 10

Its time once again for another round of Less Words, More Food.  Its mid winter here, and food prices are going thru the roof ..  its time to start getting a little creative with things, and making the most of the fresh veggies I can get.

Making Pork Sirloin In Mushroom Sauce :)  

A Vegetarian Mushroom , Onion , Pepper and Cheese Pita Pizza 

Curry Chicken and Veggies Stir Fry :) ( My first try at using Tofu )



Finished Pork Sirloin with 3 mushroom/onion sauce , cheese tortelinni and peas :)) 


Chili n Pasta Stuffed Red Peppers.

Another great sunset on my way home.  Love the silhouette of farms. 

Please leave a comment below , and let me know what you think :)
Is there anything you'd like to see ?
Recipe wise or discussions ??
Happy Cooking !!

What A Tribute To Japanese Engineering, Construction And Honesty

... that an 8.9 earthquake didn't just flatten the place. They not only designed and built incredibly sturdy structures, they didn't pay off the building inspectors, either.

The tsunami video below gives an idea of the scale of the thing. Big cars bob around in the water like corks.


Say a prayer for these people. It's a good bet that things will get worse before they get better.

15 in 15 - Week 1


The dreaded week one weigh in is here. I wish I could have counted yesterday when I weighed myself because I had lost exactly 1 lb!  But I will be fair and since Friday morning is my weigh in, I will just count what the scale said this morning.

So the official weigh in this morning is *drum roll* ..............

 - 0.6 lbs. 

I wasn't able to make it to the gym this week so that was just with eating healthier and trying to cut back on helpings. 

Hopefully next week I can loose the 1 lb plus the extra from this week! Keep me in your prayers, tomorrow is pot-luck at church!  

To see what I am eating next week check out my Menu Plan Monday coming up next week. 






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