As I pad around with a steaming cup of alcohol in a sweater that would make Bill Cosby shudder, I contemplate this last decade. But I don't have to - a veritable glut of Top Ten Lists reflect our society in recline. Reclining journalists, in particular. You aren't sick of them yet? Good:
The Outlaw Chef’s Red River Pig Stickin is being hosted by the Dennis Ranch in Jefferson County Oklahoma, and is located about 13 miles East of Ryan Oklahoma. We will be hunting approx. 28,000 acres of the South Oklahoma Cross-Timbers country just on the Oklahoma side of the Red River. The geography can be described as plowed ground up-top, (mostly wheat), giving way to lush, entangled & rugged river bottoms, with miles of river bottom pecan orchards. The majority of the river bottom pecan orchards are suitable for walking and stalking, as well as the plowed ground on the above prairie hills. Hunters will sign up for their pasture of choice providing that the number of hunters has not exceeded the limit of hunters allowed. You may switch pastures as openings permit by changing your name to the proper list. Should it rain, all motor vehicles will be restricted to the camp area. If you are caught in the rain and it appears it won’t last long, wait it out and give the roads a chance to dry before returning to camp.
Here are some of our favorite Franklin quotations on frugality, hard work, and money. While he made these observations more than 200 years ago, they are all still applicable to our world and economic concerns today:
But before we cede the entire moral penthouse to “committed vegetarians” and “strong ethical vegans,” we might consider that plants no more aspire to being stir-fried in a wok than a hog aspires to being peppercorn-studded in my Christmas clay pot. This is not meant as a trite argument or a chuckled aside. Plants are lively and seek to keep it that way. The more that scientists learn about the complexity of plants — their keen sensitivity to the environment, the speed with which they react to changes in the environment, and the extraordinary number of tricks that plants will rally to fight off attackers and solicit help from afar — the more impressed researchers become, and the less easily we can dismiss plants as so much fiberfill backdrop, passive sunlight collectors on which deer, antelope and vegans can conveniently graze. It’s time for a green revolution, a reseeding of our stubborn animal minds.
There's nothing like having the feeling of electric sex gleaming on your rooftop...
Louie Saunders, a member of the improv show Pudding-Thank You at Chicago’s American Theater Company, returned from a vacation to find everything in his studio apartment — from the beer in the fridge to his couch cushions — gift wrapped courtesy of his castmates. It took 16 people, 35 rolls of wrapping paper, and eight hours to finish the job.
The Outlaw Chef’s Red River Pig Stickin is being hosted by the Dennis Ranch in Jefferson County Oklahoma, and is located about 13 miles East of Ryan Oklahoma. We will be hunting approx. 28,000 acres of the South Oklahoma Cross-Timbers country just on the Oklahoma side of the Red River. The geography can be described as plowed ground up-top, (mostly wheat), giving way to lush, entangled & rugged river bottoms, with miles of river bottom pecan orchards. The majority of the river bottom pecan orchards are suitable for walking and stalking, as well as the plowed ground on the above prairie hills. Hunters will sign up for their pasture of choice providing that the number of hunters has not exceeded the limit of hunters allowed. You may switch pastures as openings permit by changing your name to the proper list. Should it rain, all motor vehicles will be restricted to the camp area. If you are caught in the rain and it appears it won’t last long, wait it out and give the roads a chance to dry before returning to camp.
A musician named Dave Carroll recently had difficulty with United Airlines. United apparently damaged his treasured Taylor guitar ($3500) during a flight. Dave spent over 9 months trying to get United to pay for damages caused by baggage handlers to his custom Taylor guitar. During his final exchange with the United Customer Relations Manager, he stated that he was left with no choice other than to create a music video for youtube exposing their lack of cooperation.
The Manager responded : "Good luck with that one, pal". So he posted a retaliatory video on youtube.
The video has since received over 5.5 million hits. United Airlines contacted the musician and attempted settlement in exchange for pulling the video. Naturally his response was: "Good luck with that one, pal". Taylor Guitars sent the musician two new custom guitars in appreciation for the product recognition from the video that has lead to a sharp increase in orders.
Every year, employees and friends of Fred’s Texas Café in the West 7th Street corridor deliver meals to homeless people. This holiday season, the homestyle-cooking restaurant will also be collecting toys for the River Oaks Police Department’s annual Toy Patrol program in which uniformed officers deliver toys to needy children on Christmas day. Drop off a toy or two at Fred’s (915 Currie St.) between now and Wed., Dec. 23, when River Oaks police will swing by and pick up the donations.
Automatic coffeemakers may be quick and convenient, but nothing beats the French press for flavor intensity, as well as style. By allowing the coffee grounds to mingle with the water, it creates a stronger, thicker and more piquant cup of coffee, retaining essential oils and sediments that would otherwise get caught up in drip coffeemaker's filters. If you've got one languishing in your cupboard, dig it out, clean it and follow these twelve easy steps. Why not? Once you try it, you may never go back!
LIVE AT FRED'S today Sunday Dec 13: Kurt South at Noon, Ed Rogers and Steve Long of No Class at 3pm, & Christa Russell at 6pm! NO COVER! Sunny & 70 Degrees today in Fort Worth!
Google plans to introduce a new feature for mobile phone users that allows their search results to be customized based on their location. Think of it as "Google Suggest", based on GPS information. Using coordinates from the GPS system on your phone, Google can present more "geographically relevant" results by showing users restaurants, cafes, or stores nearby. For example, say a user types in "R-E-": if they're in Boston, the search results will come up with "Red Sox," if they're in San Francisco, the search will suggest "REI," the outdoor retailer.
Google Goggles is a form of visual search. Using the new tool on an Android-powered mobile, people can search by taking a photo of something (such as a book, landmark, bottle of wine, logo, or store), instead of typing the word they're trying to look up, and Google will instantly return information on that object: the flavors and notes of that bottle of wine, or reviews for that book you're holding
Google is sending over 100,000 barcode decals (each one unique) to businesses around the country that it hopes they will post in their storefront window. The barcode on the decal can be scanned with your mobile phone (it's supposed to work on iPhones, Android-powered phones, BlackBerries, and more), then will take you straight to that business's "Place Page" (created by Google) on your mobile phone, where you can get reviews, coupons, and other information about the business, such as store hours, and more.
The Outlaw Chef’s Red River Pig Stickin is being hosted by the Dennis Ranch in Jefferson County Oklahoma, and is located about 13 miles East of Ryan Oklahoma. We will be hunting approx. 28,000 acres of the South Oklahoma Cross-Timbers country just on the Oklahoma side of the Red River. The geography can be described as plowed ground up-top, (mostly wheat), giving way to lush, entangled & rugged river bottoms, with miles of river bottom pecan orchards. The majority of the river bottom pecan orchards are suitable for walking and stalking, as well as the plowed ground on the above prairie hills. Hunters will sign up for their pasture of choice providing that the number of hunters has not exceeded the limit of hunters allowed. You may switch pastures as openings permit by changing your name to the proper list. Should it rain, all motor vehicles will be restricted to the camp area. If you are caught in the rain and it appears it won’t last long, wait it out and give the roads a chance to dry before returning to camp.
Street Food Finally Gains Street Cred: Typical Temporary F&B Hype or The Real Deal?
I've always sampled the street food in countries I visit: from fresh-roasted chili dusted chestnuts in Estonia, to paella carts on Gran Canaria, to the hot dog cart next to the tattoo stand right outside of Papagayo in Mexico (make sure to get the hot dog /w jalapenos and not the dirty needle tattoo). Well, it looks like the economy is making top chefs and large food congloerates consider street vending. Here is a Mother Jones Article describing such:
"This is ground zero for the commodification of street food," griped Edge as he sampled a glass of Don Olegario Albariño. "It's nothing but a freaking marketing trope." Top restaurants were looking to spice up their menus, he explained, while food conglomerates wanted to figure out "how do you put this shit in a cup?"
Nice to see that the astronauts on the Space Station are not having to forgo spicy condiments due to zero G. Note FRED'S mainstay "Kickin' Chicken" in the upper middle of the picture. I traveled with Sriracha chili sauce in my car for a couple of years during my tenure at The Caravan of Dreams, until a particularly hot summer swelled the container up as round as a Chambord bottle. Peering into it as I opened the valve resulted in a nasty self-macing incident, wandering downtown Fort Worth blindly with chili sauce covering my face. Ahhh, the good old days...
When the weather gets chilly, I auto-pilot into stews, stocks, and soups. It's a great way to clear the fridge of those lurking veggies that are feeling "not so fresh". My disdain for potpourri is eclipsed by my love of the smell of a stewing pot on the stove. Here's some recipes from The Frugal Cafe:
A blogger has released audio of Sprint's Electronic Surveillance Manager describing the carrier's cooperation with law enforcement. Among the revelations are that Sprint has so far filled over 8 million requests from LEOs for customer GPS data.
Through a mix of documents unearthed by Freedom of Information Act requests and the aforementioned recording, Soghoian describes how "the government routinely obtains customer records from ISPs detailing the telephone numbers dialed, text messages, emails and instant messages sent, web pages browsed, the queries submitted to search engines, and geolocation data, detailing exactly where an individual was located at a particular date and time."
In-Vitro Meat -- aka tank steak, sci fi sausage, petri pork, beaker bacon, Frankenburger, vat-grown veal, laboratory lamb, synthetic shmeat, trans-ham, factory filet, test tube tuna, cultured chicken, or any other moniker that can seduce the shopper's stomach -- will appear in 3-10 years as a cheaper, healthier, "greener" protein that's easily manufactured in a metropolis. Its entree will be enormous; not just food-huge like curry rippling through London in the 1970's or colonized tomatoes teaming up with pasta in early 1800's Italy. No. Bigger. In-Vitro Meat will be socially transformative, like automobiles, cinema, vaccines.
Alexandre-Balthazar-Laurent Grimod de la Reynière, a French aristocrat during Napoleon's reign, was the Tim Zagat of his era. A true gourmand, he financed his voracious appetite by writing a series of guidebooks to the Paris's finest culinary establishments.
I love my Glühwein during the holidays. I picked up this annoying habit in England, where a hot beverage may literally shake your shivers while radiating a drunken warmth from the belly. Here's some How-To's: Glühwein
One of the best ways to do a leftover makeover is to make a soup, stew, or gumbo from your Thanksgiving squeezins. A gumbo utilizes the carcass, exponentially increasing your thiftyness quotient. Here's some online recipes: GumboPages.com Grist.org Cooks.com - 31 Turkey Gumbo Recipes
Aside from featuring hundreds of recipes include the house specialties from Antoine's, Arnaud's, Galatoire's, Brennan's, Dunbar's, and the Pontchartrain Hotel, it also includes How to Cook a Steak by Roark Bradford:
Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod's "Shift Happens (Did You Know?)" series tracks the progression of globalization and information technology in a way that shows just how exponentially fast the world is changing. They put into perspective the age of information overload we're living in, in the hopes of helping us understand the future-- but the way they present it, it's hard enough to even wrap your mind around the present.
Say it ain't so - another distraction on the road. I saw a contractor's van windshield covered with so many PostIts that there was no way he could see out of it. Add cellphones and America's shortened attention span and driving becomes even more hazardous. This laptop-steering wheel stand has to be illegal. But the GEARLOG is great for your TechHead gifts.
A friend requested a percolator for Christmas this year, and I replied about the inefficiencies and general bad treatment this particular instrument gives the bean. So here's a little info on the java jive.
How many cups? Coffee pots, be they drip or perk, are used for multiple servings here in America. Quite ubiquitous is the Bunn-O-Matic burning away in an office. For single or 2 cup servings, I prefer an espresso maker with a steamer or the French Press.
BREW Much study has been done about the science of brewing coffee - the primary goal being extracting the ambrosia by having the water at the correct temperature interact with the bean for the correct amount of time.
If your skillet is not heatproof, precook the apples and stir in the cider mixture as instructed, then transfer the apples to a 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Roll out the dough to a 13- by 9-inch rectangle and bake it as instructed. If you do not have apple cider, reduced apple juice may be used as a substitute�simmer 1 cup apple juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 10 minutes). Serve the pie warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Use a combination of sweet, crisp apples such as Golden Delicious and firm, tart apples such as Cortland or Empire.
1. FOR THE CRUST: Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined. Add shortening and process until mixture has texture of coarse sand, about ten 1-second pulses. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture and process until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse crumbs, with butter bits no larger than small peas, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer mixture to medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if dough does not come together. Turn dough out onto sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into 4-inch disk. Wrap dough and refrigerate 30 minutes, or up to 2 days, before rolling out. (If dough is refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable.)
3. FOR THE FILLING: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (between 7 and 9 inches from heating element) and heat oven to 500 degrees. Whisk cider, syrup, lemon juice, cornstarch, and cinnamon (if using) together in medium bowl until smooth. Heat butter in 12-inch heatproof skillet over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add apples and cook, stirring 2 or 3 times until apples begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. (Do not fully cook apples.) Remove pan from heat, add cider mixture, and gently stir until apples are well coated. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: Roll out dough on lightly floured work surface, or between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap, to 11-inch circle. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over apple filling. Brush dough with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. With sharp knife, gently cut dough into 6 pieces by making 1 vertical cut followed by 2 evenly spaced horizontal cuts (perpendicular to first cut). Bake until apples are tender and crust is a deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes; serve.
Step-by-Step: Keys to Flaky, Flavorful Skillet Apple Pie
1. Caramelize Apples: Precook apples in butter to deepen their flavor.
2. Add Cider: Coat apples with 1/2 cup apple cider to create juicy, flavorful filling.
3. Cut Dough: Score before baking to allow juices to bubble up and caramelize around edges.
4. Bake in Hot Oven: Precooked apples need less time in oven than traditional apple pie.
When I came back to the U.S. from college overseas in the 80's, I became a type of "househusband". While my hairdresser gf was at work, my duties included vacuuming a one bedroom apartment and preparing a gourmet dinner with appropriate wine pairings. My culinary skill at that time could be described as "collegiate bachelor" (I had almost succumbed to PIZZACIDE on numerous occasions). As has so many times come my rescue, TV was there for me: every weekday afternoon on KERA a slew of talented chefs doled out inventive and informative kitchen knowledge. Jaques Pepin taught me which knife to use and how to use it, Justin Wilson taught me the seductive, invaluable allure of the pepper, and Jeff Smith showed me how to celebrate the world and its cultures through cuisine. They opened up a new world for me - and in a year I could kick out an Ossobuco alla milanese, a Blackened Steak, or a champagne brunch. I was well on my way to becoming "domesticated".
Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet, served as a touchstone for common sense, joy, and humor in the kitchen. His fall from grace was traumatic and unbelievable.
Jeff Smith Acclaimed 1980s TV celebrity and chef known as "The Frugal Gourmet" and the shortened nickname "The Frug"; owner of Chaplain's Pantry in Tacoma, Washington, in the 1970s, was an ordained Protestant minister. Jeff's national television career took off when he appeared on the Phil Donahue Show; his popular TV show was the most watched cooking show in the US at the time. Author of a dozen successful cookbooks, including The Frugal Gourmet, The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine, and The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American. Died in 2004.
"I know that most of us believe that corn on the cob cries out for fresh butter. But, in order to cut down on the cholesterol, try this: Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and add a bit of crushed garlic. Do not let the garlic brown, but let it cook a tiny bit. Brush that on your corn and you won't miss the butter at all. In fact, I think that you will prefer the garlic oil."
"Try to buy the herbs and spices that you use most requently in bulk, and then put them in your own spice bottles. The saving realized here is about 70 percent. Hard to believe, but it is true."
Extracted from: Smith, Jeff. The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American, William Morrow and Company, Inc., NY, 1987.
"How can people say they don't eat eggplant when God loves the color and the French love the name? I don't understand."
"The squid is so cooperative. Its body forms a tube that can be stuffed with marvelous fillings. You don't have to be Greek to enjoy this one."
"Slaves were taught to be fine chefs, but they endangered their lives if they made a mistake or served an ill-prepared dish. Rather than being reprimanded, they were often hauled into the dining room and flogged in the presence of the guests."
Extracted from: Bay Gourmet website, (http://members.tripod.com/~BayGourmet/quotes.html).
"Remember that a grill is different from a griddle in that the griddle has ridges so that the food does not lie flat on the cooking surface. A griddle, on the other hand, is simply a flat cooking surface."
"Herbs and spices are some of the most important ingredients in your kitchen. Try to keep them as fresh as possible, so don't buy them in large amounts. Keep them in tightly sealed jars. Try to buy most herbs and spices whole or in whole-leaf form; they have much more flavor that way. Crush the leaves as you add them to the pot. Or use a wooden or porcelain mortar and pestle."
Extracted from: Smith, Jeff, The Frugal Gourmet Whole Family Cookbook, William Morrow & Company, NY, 1992.
