Kalbi!

Hi. I made kalbi for a bbq at a friend's house last night. It was so good that a person I have never seen before in my life declared that he would pay me to make more. At least two other people were seen licking their (paper) plates. I followed the recipe on The Cooking of Joy blog, here.

Ingredients (for 8-12 ppl):
- 6 lbs. flanken cut beef short ribs (I did not have quite that much, though)
- 1 kiwi
- 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 red apple, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
- 1 pear (preferably Asian pear), peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup peeled garlic gloves
- 1 cup ajimirin sauce (or rice wine)
- 1/2 can of 7-Up (oh. hm. I just realized that I used the whole can...)
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup sugar

You will also need:
- 2 cups white rice
- Korean spicy red bean paste (I brought Chinese red chili paste, though, and it was fine)
- many rinsed and dried romaine lettuce leaves

Take the kiwi and use a spoon to remove the fruit from the skin. Put the kiwi fruit in a blender and puree it with the chopped onion, apple, pear, garlic, mirin (or rice wine) and 7-Up. Measure out 3 cups of this mixture into a bowl and add the soy sauce and sugar.

Arrange the ribs in a bowl or baking dish and pour the mixture over them so they are all coated evenly. Marinate for 24 hours. Grill and nom! You just take a lettuce leaf, put a spoonful of rice in the center, cut off a chunk of meat and put it on top of the rice along with a bit of red chili or red bean past. Roll up the lettuce leaf, and enjoy!

Happy birthday, Chester

Chester, contemplating his pup years

Today marks the 14th anniversary of the birth of Chester, the world renowned philosopher, philanthropist, and shih tzu of letters. There never lived as dignified nor revered a shih tzu as Sir Chesterton (as was his popular nickname), and this writer, for one, is certain the world shall never again produce as sage a philosopher. At the time of his death in August of 2008, Chester had served several administrations (he served as special counsel to then Presidential candidate Barack Obama, for instance), had held countless professorships worldwide, and was the author of at least a dozen philosophical treatises as well as one best-selling children's book.

While achieving much during his all-too brief lifetime, Chester never forgot his humble beginnings nor the ordinary people who populated his small-town past. He was born to Aiesha and Snorky Runinsnot of Kirkwood, New York - the eldest of a litter of nine. The very last of his siblings to be adopted, Chester was known to have mused quite movingly over his feelings of unwantedness as a pup. His mother was widowed shortly after Chester's adoption, due to an unfortunate snorting bout that took her mate's life while she was traveling the Caribbean. In his writings, Chester has expounded on the existential shock that a parent's death represents, a subject that he also has taken up in his Broadway play, "A pup alone." Many have speculated that Chester's loss in his puppyhood lay behind his later decision never to marry or raise a family. He has, however, deeply touched the lives of many and remains an enduring part of the greater family of learning, culture, and the arts. On this day, the anniversary of his birth, we salute a great and noble shih tzu - Chester, to you!

A Tale of the Ugly Dumplings

I decided to make mandu, Korean dumplings. They turned out very ugly but very scrumptious.

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs. ground pork
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- 2 big cloves of garlic, minced
- a carrot, shredded or finely minced
- a few scallions, chopped
- some fresh chives, chopped
- a shallot, minced
- fresh ginger, shredded or minced
- vegetable oil for frying
- won-ton wrappers

First, turn on some nice music, preferably something calming. You are going to be spending some time doing this.

Ok, then, heat your wok, add a little bit of oil, then the ginger, some of the minced garlic, and the shallots. Saute your carrots, about 2 minutes (just to soften them). (Look! I found YELLOW (!!!) carrots at Whole Foods!)

Dump the garlicky carrots into the ground pork. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce (omg, that is pungent), sesame oil, the rest of the garlic, soy sauce, chives, and chopped scallions. Mix this up and let it marinate (I believe I let mine marinate for 45 minutes.)

Then, you fill your lazy-person, pre-made won-ton wraps up. Put a little meat in the center of the wrap, and press the edges together. Some people are very good at this and can do all sorts of fancy shapes and folds. Good for them. (Harumph.) I can assure you that your dumplings will be yummy no matter what they look like.

Heat wok, add a generous amount of oil, and when the oil is hot, fry your dumplings. Drain on a paper towel, and enjoy! (I also dropped some of mine into a boiling pot of mild-brothed soup, along with a handful of spinach - see first pic).

For a dipping sauce, I combined some light soy sauce, a tiny bit of chili oil, rice vinegar, and a drop or two of sesame oil. Topped it with toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions.

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOMMMMMMM!

It is grilling season!

(I will admit it. This is not my photo. This chicken belongs to these people. My skewers were, oh, let us say "less photogenic." Whatever. I'm over it.)

This is a ridiculously easy, inexpensive, and delicious way to make chicken on the grill. I found the recipe here, on the "White on Rice Couple" blog (I have no comment on the title of that blog.)

You need:
- fresh rosemary sprigs
- a package of chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins (~2 lbs.)
- a couple of cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 3 tbsp. olive oil (enough to coat the chicken)
- freshly ground black pepper

First, rinse your chicken and cut it into 1-inch chunks. Mince the rosemary and garlic cloves.

Mix the garlic, rosemary, olive oil, and soy sauce in a bowl to form the marinade.

Add chicken, making sure all the pieces are coated. Let this sit for a little bit and then slide the chickie chunks onto skewers.

Grill the skewers, a couple minutes for each side. Yum!

Happy Anniversary, Miss Baker

photo courtesy of NASA

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of Miss Baker's famous space flight. A squirrel monkey by birth and an astronaut by trade, Miss Baker became (as her gravestone in Hunstville, Ala. states) the "first U.S. animal to fly in space and return alive" on May 28, 1959.

Miss Baker's success was rather clutch, given the heated space race that was going on at the time. While the U.S. had successfully sent.... fruit flies (gah...) into space, the Soviets, as NPR points out here, were launching dogs (dogs (!!!) for crying out loud)... I mean, it was getting embarrassing.

Miss Baker went up and came back, in a wee thermos-sized capsule, after a successful 15 minute flight. The rest is history... (and involves tons of fan mail for Miss Baker)

(On a sadder note, Miss Baker was also traveling with a rhesus monkey named Able <-- perhaps a poor choice of name, all things considered. Unfortunately, Able expired shortly upon his return. Miss Baker lived to the ripe old age of 27. Over 300 people attended her funeral in 1984.)

Turkish fig + fresh goat cheese = NOM

Very easy and delicious. Cheese and fig are my new favorite flavor pairing.

Ingredients (although that is perhaps a strong term for this ridiculously simple nom):
- 1 baguette
- fresh, soft goat cheese
- a few dried, Turkish figs (you can get these in the bulk aisle of Whole Foods)
- some thin slices of pear

Optional additions:
- BACON!!! (what isn't better with bacon?)
- fresh mint sprigs
- prosciutto (if you want to be fancier-pants about it)

Also, here is a great recipe for "Ricotta Thumbprint Cookies with Fig Jam, Honey & Pistachios" - courtesy of Very Small Anna ("I’m Anna. I’m small. I like making pastries, drawing, grocery shopping, eating fruit, drinking tea and hanging out with my tortoise, Bowser.") <-- Awesome.

More weddings

Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Hammie!

They look so somber.

Weddings...

Weddings are so much fun. (Fun, of course, is directly related to number of Italians in your family.)

See? Italians!

* Congrats, Tiffany! *

Summer

Poor Mabel. She is so very fluffy, even for a cat. It must make summer weather very annoying.

"Deliver me!"

"Deliver me! ... from my fluff!"

*

Chili cook-off

My flight of six very yummy chili samplings, at the chili cook-off at St. Ex, a local bar and restaurant in D.C.

Also, here is a fascinating story called "The Chili Queens of San Antonio," from NPR's series "Hidden Kitchens." The story describes the "plazas of San Antonio and the women who fed and tended their families and communities for generations... The makeshift tables, the fires and pots of chili, the coffee and tamales, the lanterns, and the crowds of San Antonians of every stripe -- businessmen, soldiers, cowboys, families, Anglos, Tejanos and the singers and troubadours who filled the night with music."

photo from The Kitchen Sisters, at http://www.kitchensisters.org/hktexas/hk_texas_talkon_MGuerra.htm

Yogurt guy dies

The NYTimes reports that Daniel Carasso, "who helped turn yogurt from an obscure ethnic food into an international staple through the Danone brand in Europe and Dannon in the United States," died at his home in Paris at age 103. (Wow. That is old. I will eat more yogurt, I think.)

<-- Yogurt tycoon.

The obituary continues:
"The Danone brand owes nearly everything to Mr. Carasso, including its name. When his father, Isaac, created the yogurt in Barcelona in 1919, he named it after his son, whose nickname in Catalan was Danon, or Danny."

In tribute to Danon, this post is about yogurt.

- Yogurt and women
- Yogurt and men (um. ok.)
- Yogurt and a chubby cat
- What flavor yogurt are you? Quiz time. (I am peach, if you are interested.)
- Make your own yogurt (It is shockingly easy. Shockingly.)
- Greek yogurt in the NYTimes Magazine (includes great recipes)

Homemade yogurt

I am putting this down here, because it is a very bad joke:
Two cartons of yogurt walk into a bar. The bartender, who is a tub of cottage cheese says, "We don't serve your kind here." One of the yogurts replies, "Why not? We're cultured individuals."

And he has a great mustache

I am getting ready to go to Florida this weekend for my cousin Tiffany's wedding. Her brother, Michael (above), is a chef - or rather, a "ninja chef," as is the more accurate term. He has a restaurant - ok, an "underground" "anti-restaurant," to be more precise - called A Razor, a Shiny Knife, where diners join in the preparation of the farm-to-table meal.

This is how an August, 2008 NYTimes article describes A Razor, a Shiny Knife:

"Mainstream it’s not — and that’s just how the organizers like it. A Razor, a Shiny Knife began as a regular post-boccie Sunday dinner with friends and grew as those friends told other friends. The meals became more ambitious and eventually... (i)t became what is called an underground restaurant..."

"And underground restaurants have found their niche. Stringing together the farm-to-table movement and a bloggy kind of interactivity, they have gained a following among food lovers, mostly in their 20s and 30s, who have an opinion on local versus organic, (and) prefer intimate and casual to grand and ceremonial..."

The article also describes a boar cook-out hosted by A Razor, a Shiny Knife - which, incidentally, is held on the same farm that we go to for our family reunion every year. (It's owned by my mom's cousin, Jerry Contento, or "Junior," as we all call him.)

<-- Black grits with butter-poached shrimp

Michael Cirino is also profiled here, in the blog "Not Eating Out in New York," and here, in the blog "The Feedbag."

Ruff

I found a very wee, cute book called "The Incomplete Book of Dog Names" in a shop on 14th Street last week.

"A collection from actual creatures now living, either in the flesh or in memory"

The wee book contains a long list of wonderful names for furry friends. It also contains a number of quotes.

Some of my favorite names from the book:
- Hercules
- Nutmeg (Hey! That is my name, too! A nut + a Meg)
- Tater
- Hansel (He's so hot right now...)
- Wren
- Peewee
- Ivan (the Terrible)
- Major
- William Jennings Bryon (ok...)
- Mr. Chang (ok, again...)
- French Fry

Some good quotes from the book:
- "I have always thought of a dog lover as a dog that was in love with another dog." - James Thurber

- "I wonder what goes through his mind when he sees us peeing in his water bowl." - Penny Ward Moser

- "The only food he has ever stolen has been down on a coffee table. He claims that he genuinely believed it to be a table meant for dogs." - Jean Little

Presidential Pooches:
- King Tut, Herbert Hoover
- Dumpling, Lyndon B. Johnson
- Butterfly, John F. Kennedy
- Mopsey, Searcher, Tipler, and Sweet Lips, George Washington

Sweet Lips, eh? ...

100 nom challenge

I am late to the game on this one, but last year, the author of the blog "Very Good Taste" posted "The Omnivore's Hundred" - a list of "100 Must-Eats" for all ambitious omnivores out there. Since then, Slashfood has posted a list of 100 must-eat American foods, and a bunch of other blogs have done similarly. (here, here, here, and here).

Slashfood's 100 Must-Eat American Foods (I like this list. I have marked the ones I have nommed, which turns out to be 47 of the 100. Can you beat me?):

1. New York pizza (nommed!)
   
2. Hoppin' John
3. New Mexico green chile
4. Homemade buttermilk biscuits (nommed!)
   
5. Tasso
6. Whole Maine lobster (nommed!)
7. Calabash-style shrimp and hushpuppies (Cala-what?)
   
8. Kansas City barbecue ribs
9. Hot glazed Krispy Kreme (nommed!)
   
10. San Diego fish tacos
11. Cheese curds
    
12. Key lime pie (nommed!)
    
13. Philly cheese steak (I... think so. hm.)
    
14. Memphis pork barbecue sandwich (nommed!)
    
15. Lowcountry boil (what?)
    
16. Huckleberry pie
17. New England clam chowder (nommed. This usually makes me ill.)
    
18. Boiled peanuts (boiled? really?)
    
19. Buffalo burger
20. Eggs Benedict (nommed!)
    
21. Pastrami on rye (nommed! ...wait. We are talking about a reuben, right?)
    
22. Corned beef and cabbage (nommed!)
    
23. Pancakes with maple syrup (nommed!)
    
24. Everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato (nommed!)
    
25. Thin Mints (preferably frozen) (nommed!)
    
26. Frito pie
27. Potato knish with mustard
28. Silver Queen corn on the cob
29. Soft pretzel from a street cart (nommed!)
    
30. Fresh-picked blueberries (One of the BEST noms!)
    
31. Sourwood honey
32. State fair funnel cake (nommed!)
    
33. Chesapeake crab cakes (nommed!)
    
34. Candied yams (nommed!)
    
35. Oyster dressing
36. Snow cone or snowball (nommed!)
    
37. Wild Alaskan salmon (nommed!)
    
38. Sautéed morels
39. Persimmon pudding
40. General Tso's Chicken (nommed!)
    
41. Frozen custard (nommed. This also makes me sick.)
    
42. Italian sausage with peppers and onions on a hoagie bun (nommed!)
    
43. Chili dog (nommed!)
    
44. Buffalo wings with blue cheese (nommed!)
    
45. Spam musubi
46. Saltwater taffy (nommed!)
    
47. Fluffernutter sandwich on Wonder Bread (hehe, nommed!)
    
48. Black and white cookie (nommed!)
    
49. Frybread
50. BLT with thick-cut applewood bacon (nommed!)
    
51. Baked beans (nommed!)
    
52. Pumpkin pie (nommed!)
    
53. Collards with vinegar and Tabasco
54. Tex-Mex fajitas with skirt steak and sautéed peppers
55. Fried green tomatoes
56. Succotash
57. Shrimp and grits (well, not together...)
    
58. Hot water cornbread
59. Barbecue chicken pizza with red onions
60. Chicken fried steak
61. Carnitas burrito (nommed, if Chipotle counts)
    
62. Apple butter (nommed)
    
63. Geoduck (?)
    
64. Soft-serve ice cream cone dipped in chocolate shell (especially Dairy Queen) (nommed!)
    
65. Pecan pie (nommed!)
    
66. Catfish supper at a church or fire station
67. Oysters Rockefeller
68. Homemade cranberry sauce (nommed!)
69. Pimiento cheese
    
70. MoonPie washed down with R.C. Cola (This is getting specific...)
    
71. Pickled watermelon rind
72. Cracker Jacks at the ball game (nommed!)
    
73. Smithfield ham (nommed!)
    
74. Meatloaf and mashed potato blue plate special at diner (Stop with the specific locations!)
    
75. Chicken and waffles
76. Po'Boy
77. Green bean casserole with French's fried onions (nommed!)
    
78. Stuffed sopaipillas
79. Turducken (OH NO THEY DIDN'T!!!!)
    
80. Shad roe on toast
81. Sweet potato casserole with or without marshmallows
82. Cioppino
83. New York cheesecake (nommed!)
    
84. Pan-fried river trout
85. Jambalaya (nommed!)
86. North Carolina pig pickin'
    
87. California rolls (nommed!)
    
88. Burgoo (Bur...who?)
    
89. Penuche fudge
90. Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich (the Elvis)
91. Scrapple or livermush (Um. No.)
    
92. Elk medallions in red wine reduction
93. Muscadine grapes
94. Cheeseburger at backyard barbecue (nommed!)
    
95. Open-face turkey sandwich
96. Chicago deep dish pizza (nommed, if Pizzaria Uno counts)
    
97. Cobb salad (nommed!)
    
98. Peach pie a la mode (nommed!)
    
99. Macaroni and cheese with Tillamook sharp cheddar
100. Root beer float (nommed! Random fact: I was banned from nomming these when wee, because everytime I ordered one, my father - one way or another - ended up wearing it.)

Start nomming!

Let's hear it for receptionists

From today's NYTimes, a story about Rotus, or the Receptionist Of The United States.

"There are Potus and Flotus (president and first lady of the United States), but have you heard of Rotus? Meet Darienne M. Page, 27, President Obama’s receptionist."

Hm... That would make me... Receptionist Of The... Wait. There are going to be too many consonants here. -sigh-

Guinea pigs are fun

Meet Winston, a Peruvian long-haired guinea pig. His story is here. Enjoy!

(Disambiguation: Not to be confused with Winston the exotic shorthaired Persian.)

<-- Winston, not Winston -->

hehe

Giraffes

<-- sleepy one

Last week, my friend, Chris*, posted an interesting bit about giraffes and why they have evolved long necks.

Apparently, "researchers have ruled out one of the possible reasons (...) It was not so that the males with the longest necks would have the advantage when "head clubbing" their rivals over the affections of female giraffes." (Oh. Rats. I liked that reason...) For the other hypotheses, see Chris' blog.

Speaking of giraffes, this lady has a connect-the-dots tattoo of one:

----------------------------------------------------

*(About Chris: Author of multiple books, collector of fossils, fascinated with "death and the anatomical body." Blog tagline: "Satisfying my morbid curiosity and yours...")

(One of) Chris' book(s):

The hammie I made in Chris's honor:

Not a translation

(Random. Can't sleep. Rowdy, chirpy, $#*&-ing birds.)

<--- me.

--click here--

Bollywood meets George Michael meets, er, a bad translator...

The takeaway: Foreign language requirements are easy, Benny Lava.

Haircuts

Hairstyles: Pastina and I both have a history of failure in this department.

I have rocked the mullet, the DIY perm, and the almost-but-not-quite-shaved super-short cut. <-- (that one made my mother weep.) It is not uncommon for Pastina, too, to show up at the end of a stressful day with a wicked comb-over / cowlick combo. This just happens. But, throughout our follicular travails, neither 'tina nor I come close to the stylistic horror that is.... the Blago. And now, Rod "The Gift That Keeps On Giving" Blagojevich, has blessed us with...... Blago's It's Bleep'n Golden volumizing shampoo and conditioner.

Reporter Lolly Bowean, of the Chicago Tribune, quips: "Say what you will about disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but you can't say he has thin hair."

Truth.

((P.S. For a more philosophical study of hair and its discontents, see Timothy Roberts mockumentastic article, "Can the Subaltern Shave?: A Primer of Philo-Follicular Thought")) (thanks, Dora!)

Oh my dear 'stina...

ABOUT THE TINY ART DIRECTOR

"I want Daddy to go away on a trip"

.... this blog. is. awesomeness.

It is called Tiny Art Director, and basically it is this: A grown-up man draws pictures that his wee daughter directs. Then, she critiques them. Each picture is either approved or rejected, and only the tiny art director gets to decide. The tiny art director often rejects them (hee hee) - and with rather scathing reviews (example: "Daddy it's not supposed to be like that! He has dog legs! I'm so mad at you! I'm going to erase those legs! Daddy why did you do those legs???").

Here is one example:

The Brief: Crocodiles

Preliminary Sketch (no longer extant): Upon seeing the preliminary sketch, the art director, in a rather unprofessional outburst, collapsed on the floor sobbing and screaming
.
The Critique: The back is so so so bad I don't even want to look at it! You always do that to the crocodile's back!

Job Status: Rejected and Destroyed

Finished Version (above):

The Critique: Good. The big one is me. You can be the little one.

Job Status: Approved

(c) Bill Zeman, 2007

hehe. Oh - and the tiny art director often demands dinosaurs. And occasionally, scenes of inter-species violence.

It is upon us: Commencement season

I am the dubiously selected organizer and point-of-contact for the commencement speaker at Georgetown University's Graduate School of Arts & Sciences ceremony, which takes place tomorrey at 2:30 p.m.

This really means that I have had to ask all sorts of awkward questions to a distinguished person (he's a Nobel prize winner in Economics, after all.)

Awkwardness has included: "Ahem. Sorry, but do you have any food allergies?" -- poised, pencil and pad in hand -- and, "Would you kindly measure the circumference of your cabeza so that we can order you an appropriately-fitted cap for your gown?" oh, and btw, "How tall are you? Oh! hee hee. Ok."

I have kept my ears pricked around commencement time ever since 1996, when Kermit theeee Frog addressed the graduates of Southampton College... So - here is a list of noteworthy 2009 commencement speakers (and some other stuff, too):

- Albion College: David Brandon, chairman and CEO of Domino's Pizza
- Cazenovia College: Melissa Klish Dino, producer of Sesame Street (hehe, her last name's "dino")
- Savannah College of Art & Design: Glenn Close
- Truman State University: John Ashcroft (eep!)
- University of Charleston: Morgan Spurlock
- Julliard: Laura Linney
- Northeastern: Kenneth Cole (what, the shoe guy?)
- Southern Methodist Univ.: Laura Bush
- UC Merced: MICHELLE OBAMA (she's so hot right now)
- Howard University: Gwen Ifill
- Ithaca College: Jim Lovell, astronaut who famously announced, "Houston, we have a problem."
- USC: Ahhhhnold Schwarzenegger
- Tulane: Ellen DeGeneres
- Yale: Christopher Buckley
- Michigan, Med. School: Dr. Sanjay Gupta (I am pretty sure my mom crushes on him)

... oh, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is giving Dolly Parton an honorary Ph.D.

Memorable commencement speeches: here. (Ali G, Mr. Rogers, Neil Diamond, etc...)