It's A Texture Thing...

Topic Round Up: bacon, Christian Crown, and Whitney Houston

2012-02-13T14:14:00.002-05:00

Later this week:

-the death of Whitney Houston
-exposing Christian Crown
-bacon milkshake??

Stay tuned!!

Ten Things I Hate

2012-01-26T11:29:00.001-05:00

1. Rabid sports fans who consider themselves part of their favourite teams. Morons.

2. Short guys who act hard because they clearly have a Napoleon Complex.

3. Nationality Supremacists.

4. Militant vegans.

5. Gino's and Pat's. Both your cheese steaks are overrated garbage.

6. Sugar free Rockstar.

7. Hairy-backed Xbox gamers who think they are right 1000% of the time.

8. People who hate Infinity Ward and act like they can make a better game.

9. Apples "blind sheep" followers.

10. There's probably more but honestly my hand is falling asleep, so.......

Last Update For The Year :) Part 2

2011-12-23T01:10:00.002-05:00

Part 2...

I just want to mention some people who have made this past year great :)

Alex - The Dom to my Marcus. My wing man. You suck at video games but I still love you.

Kim - The Robin to my Batman. It's my heroine kettle officer :)

Vic - Words can't express how awesome you are. Carcuruss!!

Carol - Always a lady :)

Johnny - The most inspirational person I know.

Michael - Thank you for helping me realize that I don't need to live in my past and it's ok to say goodbye to people.

Ok that about does it. I can go on but I'm tired and no one reads this crap anyway :) Have a happy and healthy new year :)

Last Update For The Year :) Part 1

2011-12-18T10:52:00.003-05:00

Well, this blog sure has been neglected lol. I just find my other blog to be more fun. Anyway, after the new year this blog will get a makeover and become integrated in the Posse family of blogs.

This year was pretty good. Lots of amazing new people came into my life and a few less than stellar people were shown the exit. This, I suppose, is just how life is and I regret none of it.

This years Murder Mystery was far better than last years, (not that last years was bad by any stretch) and Alex put so much time and money into this that it showed every minute of the night. The cavalcade of Chinese food was also great. I cant wait for next years, it's gonna be big!

That's it for now, so stay tuned for part 2 :)

Uncle Louie G's Italian Ice

2011-08-05T02:01:00.007-04:00

Earlier this summer a franchise of Uncle Louie G's Italian Ice opened up near my house, on Route 527 in Old Bridge. Rarely ever going to Rita's, I decided to check it out. Alex came too. He had no choice.

I was shocked at the flavor selection. It completely blew Rita's out of the water. There were the standard ice flavors, but, there were also some really interesting flavors like Chocolate Jelly Ring (with real pieces of jelly ring), Holi Cannoli, and Rainbow Cookie. We tried seven flavors: Spumoni, Chocolate Oreo, Vanilla Oreo, Rainbow Cookie, Bubbly Bubble Gum, Cantaloupe Balls, and Wassup Watermelon. Everything was amazing. Later in the week I also had the chance to try Vanilla Chip Dip, Holi Cannoli, Coconut Crave, Creamolata, Peanut Butter Cookie Dough, Chocolate Jelly Ring, and It's A Crime Lime.

Pricing wasn't bad. A small is two scoops and is $2 while the large will run you $3 for three scoops. You have the option of getting a different flavor for each scoop, giving you the perfect chance to try as many flavors as you want. Ice Cream is also available, as well as cakes. This particular location stays open from May to October.

Quick Update

2011-08-02T12:20:00.003-04:00

Ok wow, I haven't posted anything in almost a year. Kinda bad. Here's a few quick updates:
- The bitch has been ditched. No more Paul. Everyone is happy.
- My adorably sweet rotweiler Madison passed away earlier this year.
- We have a new puppy now, a South African Boerbel. She's 12 weeks old and 24 pounds.

Thats it for the time being. Stay tuned.

Chick Pea Cakes

2010-08-25T04:01:00.004-04:00

After seeing something on the Travel Channel, I tried to make it. It was some sort of flat bread-ish looking thing made of chick pea, olive oil, and flour. Seemed easy enough, so, I made my own. I'm not sure if it had the correct texture or taste because it's hard to judge that just from watching a show, but everyone seemed to like it. I put 2 cans of chick peas (drained) in the food processor to grind them down to a paste. I added that to some olive oil, then gradually added flour till I got a consistency I liked. After that, I threw in some salt, pepper, cumin, onion powder and garlic powder. I grabbed small, round pieces of the dough and made them into flat little cakes and put them in the pan with some olive oil. They cooked for about 3 minutes on each side. They came out pretty good. I also made a spread for them with avocado, plain yogurt, minced garlic, onion powder, salt, paprika, and cumin. Very tasty.

Cupcakes and Cheese Steaks

2010-08-24T02:39:00.008-04:00

Two weekends ago, I decided to make some cupcakes. Scratch baking these really wasn't an option, so I used a box mix with some modifications. First up were Golden Vanilla with Strawberry Frosting. I added a pinch more vanilla to the mix and after frosting them, I added some metallic sprinkles to the top. They looked.......cute. After that, I did Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting. For these I added a bit of ginger and cinnamon to the batter. I also put some heart shaped sprinkles on the top. Cute. I also made a batch of Double Chocolate Chip Cookies with Ginger and Black Pepper. These, surprisingly, came out great. The ginger was very lite, so next time I will increase to 3 tablespoons instead of 2.

August 16 was my first anniversary with Paul. We spent the day together and it was great. The day before that we took a day trip to Philly to see the Cleopatra exhibit at the Franklin Institute. The exhibit was great and I actually learned quite a bit. After that we took a walk over to the fountain, then to Ginos for cheese steaks. I've been there twice now and honestly I'm not impressed. I've gotten better cheese steak in a Jersey diner. In any case, it was a great trip with a great guy :)

Long Overdue Post

2010-08-11T00:35:00.003-04:00

Yeah, I haven't posted in a long time. I'm an ass, I know. Here are some updates:

-Current weight loss is at 41 pounds.
-Mad that Aria and Brad got eliminated. Keeping my fingers crossed for Tom.
-Possibility of opening a bakery is somewhere on the horizon.
-Paul and I are coming up on 1 year.
-Pretzel MnM's are the shit.
-I've had multiple suggestions that I market my Paleo-friendly Spice Rub.
-Red Dead Redemption should be crowned Game Of The Decade.
-I was almost rendered unconscious by HORRIBLE tooth pain 2 weekends ago.

Anyway, I'm sure there's more but I can't remember. I've spent more time in the kitchen lately working on some stuff for this diet that actually tastes good. First thing I came up with was my Rub. People seem to really like it, and, it's sodium and sugar free. I also came up with some sort of Honey and 5 Spice Powder Glaze. Not bad either and mom loved it.

Recently I got Paul to watch an episode of No Reservations and he loved it (much to my surprise). We'll be sure to watch more of that sometime soon. That's it for now. I will try my best to update this beast more often for the 2 or 3 people that actually read it :)

Paleo Diet

2010-07-05T20:15:00.002-04:00

So, I've been on a diet now for about....close to 3 weeks. At this point I've lost 16 pounds, which I don't think is too bad at all. It's the Paleo Diet and although your choices of what to eat can be somewhat limited, I'm finding it easy to follow. Basically you cut out things like bread, pasta, dairy, beans, sugar and salt. Things with natural sugar, like fruit, are just fine. A typical day of meals for me is:

Breakfast - 2 whole eggs, 2 egg whites scrambled with some fresh fruit or unsweetened applesauce.
Lunch - 2 pieces of fish (tilapia usually) with half an avocado.
Dinner - Lean steak or chicken breast with fresh vegetables.

During the course of the day I'll snack on things like fresh fruit, or unsalted cashews or almonds. Peanuts are a no since they are technically a bean and not a nut. Things are good so far, and the weight comes off really easy. There's a wealth of information online if anyone is interested.

"A Taste For Hotter, Mintier, Fruitier"

2010-05-27T22:37:00.003-04:00

I just read a really good article on Yahoo by Miriam Gottfried about how Americans palates are changing and what food companies are doing to satisfy the need. You can link to the article HERE, but I will give some highlights:

"The buttery taste found in packaged foods isn't just butter flavor anymore. Increasingly, it is browned-butter flavor, formulated to taste deeper and more savory than plain butter"

"American cuisine is adrenaline cuisine"

"Food companies describe some of their efforts as adding "umami," a Japanese word that, roughly translated, means good flavor"

"As people crave intensity in flavor, some traditionalists are wondering if diners will become desensitized to natural flavors. Regular mangoes may taste bland when eaten next to mango-flavored gum or a mango energy drink, they say"

"New flavors used to originate in fine dining kitchens and work their way down, but now they come just as often from the Food Network or from ethnic or international sources"

Certainly worth the read. There's a lot of interesting material there. Check it out.

China Fun

2010-05-18T21:41:00.007-04:00

On Sunday, Paul and I went to the Museum Of Natural History in New York. Neither of us had been there in years, so we were pretty excited about going. We had a great time, and had some great conversations. After the museum, we took a short walk in Central Park, then looked for some place to have lunch. We (actually just Paul) decided on a little place on Columbus Ave that looked and smelled good, China Fun. We both ordered bubble tea. I got the coconut, Paul got honeydew. For our meal, we ordered Beef Pad Thai and Crispy Duck. The Pad Thai was good, but not as good as getting from an actual Thai place. The duck was fantastic. The skin was nice and crispy, and the five spice powder they used on it was delicious. Paul had a tough time removing the meat from the bones, so I had to help him with that. My babe can be so silly at times. In all, it was a great day and I'm looking forward to more.

Giant F'ing Marshmallows

2010-05-18T21:25:00.005-04:00

Two weeks ago Kim and Kathleen came over with a bag of over sized marshmallows and really long skewers. The marshmallows were HUGE - probably the size of a baseball and contained 90 calories each. Massive. We traveled around my backyard and gathered downed branches and built a fire in the outdoor fireplace. After it was nice and hot, we started roasting our marshmallows. They were pretty good, but the only problem was their size. It wasn't exactly possible to cook them all the way through because the outside started to burn too badly. Still, we all had a good time and Kim and I were definitely tempted to build our very own Staypuft Marshmallow Man :)

Monday Night Dinner

2010-05-18T21:20:00.003-04:00

I decided to make Paul something nice for dinner, so after watching Secrets Of A Restaurant Chef I had some idea. I ended up making Chicken Milanese with Safron Risotto and Mushrooms sauteed in Red Wine. Everything was pretty good. The chicken was wonderfully tender and very crunchy thanks to using Panko (as opposed to regular bread crumbs). For dessert, I made Panna Cotta. Also very delicious. Once again, I failed to take pictures of it all.

Wheelies

2010-05-18T20:55:00.006-04:00

Recently my good friend Kim and I went to a new fast food place on Rt. 516 in Old Bridge called Wheelies. This place claims to have the best roast beef sandwich in New Jersey, and being a lover of roast beef I put it to the test. So, Kim and I both ordered the roast beef sandwich. I got a strawberry shake, Kim got chocolate. The shakes were great. Not too thin, not too thick, and most likely homemade. The sandwich was incredible. It was very simply served on a nice squishy white bun with a little bit of melted cheddar. The meat was incredibly tender. What makes this place stand out from other fast food places is that everything is seemingly made fresh each day. Nothing is frozen. Not bad, and certainly worth the trip.

Tower Of India

2010-04-18T14:22:00.001-04:00

Okay so, I haven't posted anything in a while. Things have been kind of crazy with my car dying and Paul getting really sick. About a week ago, Alex and I went to a really nice Indian restaurant over in Parlin called Tower Of India. It was a tiny place in a strip mall on Ernston Road. The food was great, the service was fast and very hospitable, and the prices were really good. Alex and I both ordered the Chefs Special Thali for $17. It consisted of Lentil soup, naan, rice, dal, chicken tandoori, seekh kabab, chicken tikka, lamb curry, vegetables, raita, and kheer (warm rice pudding) for dessert. We also shared a Samosa appetizer. All of it was realllllly good and they give you so much. The naan tasted like it was right from the oven and the tandoori chicken was amazingly tender. We will definitely be going back soon.

Jalapeno Poppers

2010-03-21T17:25:00.003-04:00

Just like the beef roll, this was another idea I got from Diners Drive Ins and Dives. Tuesday night, I made Jalapeno Poppers wrapped in bacon and stuffed with cream cheese, as well as some pan fried chicken. I didn't cook these in a smoker like I saw on the show, but I baked them first, then threw them in the frying pan for a bit. Unfortunately, I didn't take and good pictures of the peppers, just one crappy picture with my phone. I thought they were really great, had good heat, and tasted pretty damn amazing. Paul, on the other hand, couldn't take the heat and whined like a little girl for about 20 minutes. Later in the week I also made a German Black Forest cake for Paul's mom :)

Foodtography: Some Pics I've Taken

2010-03-18T04:37:00.003-04:00

Beef Roll

2010-03-11T01:55:00.009-05:00

Tonight for dinner I made Paul and I a beef roll. I took a flank steak, pounded it out really thin, and seasoned it with salt, pepper, and basil. Then I started to layer it. First was thin slices of garlic. After that, a layer of spinach followed by roasted red peppers. Finally, a layer of fresh mozzarella. Then it was time to roll it up, which was not as big of a pain in the ass as I thought it would be. Instead of using string to tie this thing up, I used silicone ties and they worked very well and held better than I initially thought they would. After it was all tied up and ready to go, i threw it in the pan for a little bit, just to crust up the outside of it, then put it in the oven on 375 for about 40 minutes. It came out a little higher than rare, about 180 degrees. So then we cut it up and it was, surprisingly, really good! The meat was nice and tender and the filling was really tasty. We also had creamed corn, biscuits with gravy, and mac and cheese to go with it. In all, it was a pretty good night with great food and even greater company <3

Dinner At Dads

2010-03-08T12:56:00.010-05:00

Yesterday was a really beautiful day and Paul and I took a trip to upstate NY to visit my dad. We got there in great time and hit zero traffic. My dad was happy to see us and had a great meal planned. When we first arrived, he had some sausage, cheese, crackers, gherkins, and homemade bread and butter pickles out on the table. Dinner was great. He made a roast beef, seasoned with just salt, pepper, and garlic powder which made a nice crust on the outside. There was also peas, mushrooms sauteed in butter, biscuits, and mashed potato with peppercorn. Everything was delicious. For dessert we had my blueberry pie with some whipped cream my dad made. The pie turned out to be really good, and Paul actually had a second piece (seeing him have another piece made all the hard work seem worthwhile). When Paul and I got back to Jersey, we collapsed onto the bed watched the Oscars together. In all, it was a fantastic day :)

Grease Trucks Video Highlights

2010-03-07T03:50:00.003-05:00

The Grease Trucks Challenge!

2010-03-06T21:05:00.012-05:00

So today was it. Alex took the Grease Trucks challenge. We were a decent size group: Kim, Jenny, Jen, Ryan, Paul, Vick, Peter, Alex, and myself. We all had a blast. For his challenge, Alex decided to go with the Fat Darrel, the sandwich that started it all. The Darrel consists of fries, mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, and marinara sauce. Not a bad combo. I had a Fat Elvis: gyro meat, white sauce, lettuce, fries, and something else that I can't remember. Alex did pretty good! He got through four sandwiches before putting up the white flag. A respectable, if not gross, job. He didn't throw up, which shocked the hell out of me. I definitely have more respect for him after watching him go through this :)

Blueberry Pie

2010-03-04T20:20:00.004-05:00

On Sunday, Paul and I are taking a trip to upstate New York to visit my dad. I decided to make a blueberry pie to bring with us. Then I had the brilliant idea to make it a lattice top pie. NEVER AGAIN. I hated it. I hate making pie crust to begin with, and the lattice top just made it worse. So I made the crust, cursed up a storm, put it in a 9" pie plate, then filled it. Then it was time to make the lattice top. I cursed up an even larger storm this time and was very tempted to bludgeon my dog with the rolling pin, because I was 100% certain she was laughing at me. Sensing impending doom, she wisely left the room. The top got put on and into the oven it went. It baked, made the house smell good, then was finished. I'm not too pleased with the end product. It looks sloppy and messy. Paul, in his best fake-excitement voice, said it looked great. I'm not please with it, but whatever. It'll do.

Frog Legs For Dinner!!

2010-03-03T23:52:00.000-05:00

My friend Alex wanted to get dinner tonight, and wanted something....meaty. I suggested this Chinese buffet that also has the meat carving station, he said yes, and off we went. What did they have when we got there? Frog legs, one of my favourite. I'm sure at a real restaurant, the quality and preparation would be much better, but these weren't too bad. They were lightly breaded and fried, and seasoned with salt and pepper. There was even a decent amount of meat on the bone. I know frog legs aren't for everyone, but honestly they taste and have a texture very close to chicken wings, but slightly firmer. Alex refused to try them, because he is a wimp. Okay, so MAYBE I shouldn't say he's a wimp since Saturday he will be taking the previously mentioned Grease Trucks Challenge, but still. Have some sense of culinary adventure.

Seafood Paella, Part 1

2010-03-03T03:40:00.000-05:00

I've decided to make Paul a nice dinner and I'm gonna be making Seafood Paella. Regionally the ingredients in paella vary, but consists of a base of rice. For mine, I've decided to go with lobster tail, shrimp, mussels, squid, bacon, scallops, and little neck clams. The last time I made this was a few years ago, and I want to make something different for Paul, so I figure this is the way to go. I've never added bacon in the past, but I'm on a bacon kick so why the hell not? I'll probably do this next week at some point, and when I do pictures will be posted of the prep and cooking process, as well as pictures of the completed dish.