Minimally Invasive

Gelato IS as good as everyone says.

Horny teenagers are the same the world over.

and raise you one MEAT CAKE!

Brilliant, isn’t it?

via The Cranky Professor

The Chicago Dog Salad.

I’ve seen viler/less appetizing/more uninspired RR concoctions, but what I found unbelievable about this salad is she leaves out the bun so she can eat more dogs with “less guilt.” WHYYYYYYY?!

From left to right, the bread pudding offerings on the table: Garlic, Chocolate, Old-Fashioned, Capirotada Mexican, Cinnamon Roll, and Ms. Edna Lewis’ Famous

The Bread Pudding Spectacular of 2007 wasn’t much of an event, really. A few lonely slivers of quivery pudding made their way to the table as my friend and I looked around the store. After making my purchases, we dove right in, taking our judging responsibility with all the seriousness it deserved. We sampled, compared impressions, encouraged a couple to join us, and cleaned the store out in the process. But really — don’t you HAVE to sample each flavor before making a sound judgement? Yeah, I thought you’d agree.

I was surprised by how well the garlic bread pudding worked. It had a hint of sweetness without being overly garlicky, so I’d bet roasting (or maybe simmering?) was involved in some way. As far as savory bread puddings go, it was nice, but very one-note. Everyone else thought the chocolate was the best, and it was very, very good, but no Café Matisse. (I’m a spoiled little brat, I know, I know.) The old-fashioned took first place on my ballot, mostly because it tasted the most traditional and basic, even though it was MUCH more custardy than I’m used to. Didn’t mind that at all, though, and think I may have to try something similar myself, and soon. The Mexican was far too fruity for my taste (I think it had a layer of fig paste at the bottom), but everyone else liked it a lot. Ms. Edna Lewis’ was afflicted with overly plump raisins (does anyone else see those in baked goods and think BUGS?), but was otherwise as good as the old-fashioned. I suspect Ms. Edna could kick my butt if she put her mind to it, so I’ll leave it at that. The worst of the bunch BY FAR was the cinnamon roll bread pudding — it was dry, underflavored, and dull. I’ve had more voluptuous cinnamon toast than this stuff. Maybe it would’ve fared better with a spritz of one of the icings, but I’m a purist. It’s hard work being this right.

Today’s excursion was a creative department field trip to AIGA for their Package Design from Japan exhibit. As you’d expect, there were lots of wacky designs for even wackier products — maybe the collection wasn’t exactly representative, but it gave the impression that the Japanese are overly concerned with controlling sweating and WAY into Pocky and Pocky-like products. Also, I am led to believe they like their drinks and desserts small, in direct defiance of our American super-size doctrine. Oh yes, and black packaging lends an air of sophistication to products as disparate as chocolate bars and Bioré pore strips.

On the way back to the office, we stopped in at New York Cake Supplies for a period of lusting after objects I not only don’t need, but don’t know how to begin using. It isn’t exactly a pretty store (in fact, it reminded me a lot of the warehouse-y shopping experience at RK Bridal), but they have ev-er-y-thing. Maybe one of my projects while Gil is away next week will be to learn extremely rudimentary cake decorating. If there’s a coconut-scented mushroom cloud in north Jersey, you’ll know who to blame.

Those of you who check out this site from time to time may know of my obsession with bread pudding. It’s all I can do NOT to make one every weekend with whatever variants of bread and fruit we have lying around, but I’ve been health-conscious of late. I don’t think we’ve indulged since before Passover, which is far too long for someone like me.

So when I read about Broadway Panhandler’s Bread Pudding Recipe Exchange Week Taste Off this morning at the always-informative Megnut, I could barely contain my excitement. Meet me there Wednesday? It’ll be amazing. I always imagined myself as more of a BBQ judge, but only because I didn’t know bread pudding competitions existed.

Check out the recipes link in the right column for a few of my favorite bread pudding recipes.

Update: Attend the Taste Off at your own risk. (via The Agitator)

No pictures (from me, anyway) to commemorate our wonderful dining experience at Tabla last night, but the memory of that meal will stay with me for a long, long time. Gil was less impressed than I and thought he’d had better at Café Matisse, but that’s just because he lost the ordering war: Why would you go for a scallop (that’s one ginormous scallop, btw) when there are more flavorful items on the menu? But hey, that’s just me.

The chef sent around an amuse bouche of cauliflower soup that surprised me on every level. It was brothy rather than creamy, spicy and tangy, and nothing like any cauliflower soup I’d ever had. The naan was pillowy and so fresh steam rose from the bread as we broke it. The sauces served with the naan were green squash- and apple-based and (our favorite) roasted tomato chutney. It was already a meal to savor and we hadn’t even seen our appetizers.

Because I didn’t feel like drinking wine last night, I skipped the foie gras (I know! There’s a first time for everything), and ordered the Fricassee of Oyster, Calamari, Whelks, and Periwinkles (with fava beans, Meyer lemon, mango chutney, and coconut broth). Well! It was my first experience eating fava beans, Meyer lemon, whelks, AND periwinkles and it just blew me away. The broth was rich and spicy, but light with a pleasing sour note at the very end. There was no mention of cilantro on the menu, but I found a strong taste of it in there, so be warned if you don’t like it. Personally, me and cilantro go way back and I gots no beef with it.

My entrée was Smoked & Slow Cooked Scottish Salmon (with French green lentils, fennel, and orange tamarind glaze), served medium rare. The flavors were a little more straightforward than my appetizer, but it was still something I enjoyed taking my time with, exploring the interplay between ingredients. The salmon was topped with ramps, which I’ve been dying to try, and they did not disappoint. I’m pretty sure the chef managed to smoke the ramps before roasting them, so now I have inspiration for the weekend if I’m able to rind ramps at the Union Square Greenmarket tomorrow. The only complaint I have about the dish is the salmon itself was a little bland if eaten alone and had a thick crust on top (from the smoking?). It’s a perfectly fine way to prepare salmon, but not my favorite. Still, the other layers of the dish more than made up for that minor disappointment.

And then it was time for dessert. I like unfussy, very simple desserts. My favorite is probably creme brulée, so you get the idea. Nothing on the Tabla menu fit that bill, so I ordered the cheese plate (which I might have, anyway, being something of a hound for cheese). The goat cheese was delicious if nothing special, but I loved the two cow’s milk cheeses they brought to me — both were creamy and a little melted on the plate. One was funky as hell and the other had a smoky bite to the rind, which I saved for last. I love ending my meals with the best flavor on the plate.

I stuck to one drink the whole evening, a pomegranate gimlet, which was — of course — a work of art. It walked a fine line between sweet and tart and pine-fresh, and really went well with everything I ate, which I was a little worried about going in. Anyway, I can’t say enough great things about this restaurant and I’m really happy my second experience there was just as wonderful as my first. Trying so many new ingredients in one meal was lots of fun for me, and I was so inspired by the flavor combinations that I put Chef Cardoz’s cookbook on my Amazon wish list as soon as I got to work this morning. I predict lots of fish soups and Indian flavors for us this summer!

You know, a woman fights crime all goddam day, she just wants to come home and have some Frito mutherf***in’ pie.

recipe after the jump

(more…)

The perfect bacon sandwich, scientifically proven?

Obviously, I studied the wrong subject in grad school. Oh, for the funding to test these null and alternative hypotheses:

H0: All bacon sandwiches are equally delicious
H1: There is a difference in bacon sandwich deliciosity

Thanks be to The Cranky Professor for bringing this to my attention.

It’s the annual link to the very latest in Peep research. Happy Easter, everyone!

So it isn’t exactly the royal wedding, but if you happen to be awake around 5am EDT tomorrow, check out the excitement at CheddarVision. The resident expert cheesemaker will “pull out a core of cheese and sniff and taste it to check if it is maturing properly.”

I’m all a-tingle!