This Is The Score

Cookbook Review - Cherry Bombe The Cookbook

2017-12-26T21:37:00.001-08:00

Cherry Bombe The Cookbook by Kerry Diamon & Claudia Wu is a cookbook that celebrates women and food. The cookbook is an extension of Cherry Bombe magazine and is presented beautifully in many different ways.

I read cookbooks for the stories, the stories behind the recipes make me want to cook them. My wife looks at cookbooks for the pictures, she’ll rarely cook a recipe that doesn’t have a photo. This cookbook pleased both of us, it has a full page image and short blurb for each recipe. Cherry Bombe differs in that the recipes are each from a different chef so each contains information about the woman providing it and some insight into why they love the recipe.

Since the cookbook features many different chefs the recipes are quite diverse including lemongrass & ginger brined chicken from Jessica Koslow of Sqirl and Chocolate Persimmon Loaf Cake from Amy Guittard. The recipe section begins with mains, travels through soups and salads, sides, apps, snacks and sips (cocktails) then onto cookies, cakes, pies and sweet treats.

The recipe difficulty level varies but skews towards the simpler side. The ingredients are clearly organized in the left margin and the text is well presented and a joy to ride. The recipes themselves were not earth shattering in their creativity but would allow a beginning home cook to test their pallette and skills in the kitchen. The book does not require a large selection of hard to find ingredients which is a nice treat. For me the cookbook served more as an inspiration and has made me want to try some new flavor combinations and has

Overall this cookbook is very pleasing to look at and I would be very confident in gifting it to my close friends that are beginning their home cooking culinary journey. It will provide them with a diverse selection of elegant looking foods to prepare.

Also, the chocolate chip cookie on pg 170 looks so delicious.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review: Women in Sports -50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win

2017-10-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

Women in Sports is a wonderfully illustrated book that profiles 50 women that not only excelled at sports but also broke down barriers on their way to the top.

The author Rachel Ignotofsky, who also wrote Women in Science, did a great job of curating the athletes in the book. The athletes represent a huge variety of sports and many different countries, although it is heavy on American athletes. This is understandable as American women have had somewhat better access to sports than women of other countries.

Each woman receives a one-page biography detailing their life, the obstacles they overcame and their accomplishments on and off the field. The bios have illustrations with short factoids in the margin and a full-page illustration on the page opposite the text. The illustrations vary from athlete to athlete, some show the athletes finesse while others use hard angles to represent strength. All of the illustrations use muted color tones with bold highlights which are very helpful in bringing the biographies to life.

As a father of a young daughter and son I find this book very helpful and important. My nine year old daughter has read through it multiple times and keeps looking back at it for more information. We have had multiple conversations about Simon Biles, Flo Hyman and Tiny Broadwick. We’ve also had discussions about pay gap and inequality. This book has helped me start a conversation with her that might otherwise be difficult to start on its own. For my son, hopefully he is learning that women deserve to paid the same as men for doing the same job. The pay and media statistics in regards to U.S. Men’s and Women’s soccer where eye opening for both my children and I.

In the end, we love this book. The stories are detailed yet short enough to read when you just have a moment. They are inspirational enough to motivate you and informational enough to make you think about the current state of matters. A good book entertains, teaches, inspires and creates conversation and this book accomplishes all of those in a beautifully illustrated and written style.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this honest review.

Book Review: Vibrant India - Indian Home Cooking with a Brooklyn Twist

2017-08-31T13:01:00.002-07:00

Vibrant India by Chitra Agrawal is a beautiful cookbook that delves into easy Indian homestyle dishes and some contemporary fusion twists. The author’s recipes are influenced by her family’s beginnings in Southern India and eventually by her life in Brooklyn, NY where she opened the Brooklyn Dehli.

The book is filled with vegetarian dishes that cover all aspects of a day’s meals including breakfast, salads, stir fries and curries, rice, soups, stews and lentils, snacks, sweets and homemade pantry items. The pantry items include a handful of chutney’s and pickles.

The technique and tips section is an enlightening read for those not familiar with Indian cooking. It provides details about tempering and roasting spices, descriptions of spices and nice informative guide to lentils and beans which play an important role in this book.

The layout of the book is clean and very easy to read with well written, clear instructions. Most recipes are straightforward but the author does hold your hand through some of the more complex dishes and provides many tips along the way.

I found the meals in the book to be appetizing but as is the problem when adapting a Western diet to dishes from other lands not always substantial enough. In a true Indian kitchen multiple dishes would be prepared to form a complete meal but I feel like even combining multiple dishes from this book would still not satisfy my family.

Overall I will use this book more for inspiration than actual cooking. It is a beautiful book to have around with great pictures.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review: Amaro: The Spirited World of Bittersweet, Herbal Liqueurs

2017-03-21T22:37:00.002-07:00

Usually when I fall in love with a book it’s very easy to write a review about it. In the case of Amaro by Brad Thomas Parsons the opposite was true. This book introduced me to a new world of liqueurs, a collection of bittersweet, herbal liqueurs that I had never experienced before.

The quick description of this book is a complete exploration of the world of Amari from their history, producers, cocktail recipes, recipes for making your own amari and some recipes for dishes that utilize different types of amaro in them. Most readers will purchase the book for the recipes (the price is worth it for this alone) but historical and taxonomic portions of the book are just as worthwhile.

Amaro begins by attempting to “demystify” the bitter liquid. It delves into its history, common composition and difference between it and cocktail bitters. It’s followed by a discussion of the taxonomy of amaro and goes into detail about the difficulties of classifying them. Amari seem almost mythical as they are each so different and each only created in one place. The next section briefly talks about some bars known for their selection of amari and cocktails featuring them. Many of the bars I have dreamed about visiting but since reading the book I have noticed that many local bars and restaurants are serving drinks featuring different amaro as well.

The book continues its taxonomic journey and documents many producers of amaro and classifies them in five different groups. These groups include apertivo bitters, amaro, fernet, a bittersweet world and American made amaro. Each section details the producer, provides a paragraph of history, known ingredients, abv and tasting notes on their amaro. When deciding on which to purchase I used this together with the recipe section to decide which drink might suit my tastes best (turns out they all do).

The largest section of the book is the collection of cocktail recipes. The recipes range from spritzes, to classics, to modern amaro cocktails. Each recipe includes an introductory paragraph an ingredient list and short instructions on how to make it. The ingredients do not provide specific brands of alcohol for the non amaro which may be a relief for some and a disappointment for others. Most recipes also include a photo of the finished drink. The photos are beautiful, as is the multitude of glassware, and the drinks all look mouthwateringly delicious.

As I made my way through recipes I found myself falling in love with more and more types of amaro. I started with the apertivo bitter Campari, worked my way towards Averna and eventually landed on Fernet Branca. The only time the book let me down is when I had a recipe picked out but could not find the amaro for sale in my neighborhood. Now I keep my eyes open when travelling around Los Angeles and snag a bottle when I see them, then figure out what to make with it later.

The short essays sprinkled throughout the book are enlightening and fun reads. I actually read most of them while randomly picking the book up off my bar. These essays cover topics such as the Nonino family in Italy and the small bitter bottles of Underberg.

The portions of the book that I have not really had a chance to explore are the recipes for DIY amaro and the food recipes. Making my own amaro seems really interesting but the amount of commercially produced amaro that I’ve yet to taste has been keeping me busy. The recipes all look like they are delicious and they have inspired me to add Fernet Branca to my own food concoctions.

This book is my favorite cocktail book at the moment, it is inspiring, the cocktail recipes are easily replicated at home and the amount of expertly curated information that it packs in is amazing. I would recommend this book to bartenders, home bartenders and to those who like to read about food and beverage and their historical context. My ultimate recommendation is that I have gifted copies of this book to my closest friends after feeling guilty for receiving mine for free.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review: Rad Women Worldwide - Important & Informative History

2016-12-11T20:00:00.001-08:00

Rad Women Worldwide by Kate Schatz is a great introduction to lesser known women whose accomplishments helped shaped our history.

As a father of an 8 year old girl I feel this is an important book because it is a fantastic introduction to activism and it makes difficult topics approachable through concise narratives. The author was able to find women from many different fields including women’s rights activists in Africa, South American athletes, British musicians and German zoologist. The book provides a full page story for each subject that is filled with information. The stories provide background information for each woman that lets the reader understand why they needed to accomplish what they did as an adult.

The artwork is outstanding as each story is accompanied by a beautiful paper cut art by Miriam Klein Stahl. The black cutouts on bold colorful backgrounds create a stark contrast that works very well with the overall tone of the book which leans towards a refined punk aesthetic

I have read the entire book with my daughter and read her favorite biographies multiple times. She learned about Sophie Scholl, the Guerrilla Girls, and Frida Kahlo. The book has shown women have not always been treated equal, and still are not, but that they can accomplish many things through dedication and focus. It also has shown her that one person's positive actions can have a giant effect on the lives of others.

The two of us love this book, it is the perfect size, has beautiful bold artwork and nicely written narratives for women that most of us have never learned about. I fully recommend this book for its beauty, its informational value and for, most importantly, its ability to make my daughter curious enough to ask me questions about the world and its history.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Cookbook Review: Taste & Technique by Naomi Pomeroy

2016-11-12T20:33:00.001-08:00

As an avid home cook and cookbook reader I’m often frustrated that my meals always turn out more “rustic” than desired. I’ve attempted to cook from many professional level cookbooks and have had some success but often find that they skip important steps that a novice requires. The new book Taste & Technique Recipes to Elevate Your Home Cooking by Naomi Pomeroy is the closest I’ve found to bridging the gap between home cook and professional.

Naomi Pomeroy is the chef/owner of Beast, a well known restaurant in Portland. She is self taught, mostly from books early on in her career and later from cooks she worked with. This book is her attempt at compiling much of the advice into a hands on teaching guide.

Taste & Technique is not a guide that takes you through each step of cooking but instead teaches techniques for cooking, layering flavors and finishing dishes in within each individual recipe. These techniques are then used multiple times throughout the book.

The cookbook is gorgeous and does give off sophisticated vibe. The pages are bright white with a slight gloss. The font is smaller than most cookbooks but I’d say it’s justified for the amount of information packed into each recipe. The photographs all look delicious and provide a great visual of the how the plated dishes should look.

At first glance the recipes in this book look extremely complicated and fussy and I’ll admit that I was initially intimidated. After reading deeper into the recipes a few times I realized that the recipes do often require additional steps or sub recipes but the recipes themselves are not complicated, they are just written in such a descriptive manner that they appear longer than recipes for similar dishes in other books. The Pate Brisee recipe used in the quiche has a description that takes an entire page (2 columns) in a smaller than average font. The recipe describes how the dough should look and feel at each step and explains why each step is required.

The recipes are divided by style including sauces, starters, soups, salads, vegetables, eggs, seafood, poultry, pork, beef, lamb, desserts & pastry and pantry items. Each recipe includes at least one photo, mostly of the finished dish which is important when you are looking to prepare restaurant style food at home. The recipes include many hints and notes in the introductions and sidebars, including reasons why the ingredients are prepared in certain ways. The ingredient lists are do not contain many exotic or hard to find ingredients but I do live in a big city.

I really enjoyed how the cookbook informally uses a building block approach to a meal. In the first chapters you learn to cook dishes like, crispy baby artichokes, crispy brussel sprouts with pickled mustard seeds and butternut squash puree. Then in what I’d consider an entree recipe like fennel-brined pork loin the directions include seasonal pairings for Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring that utilize the previously mentioned dishes. Each recipe does only provide plating instructions and photographs for one of the seasonal variations but I feel that any more would weigh the book down.

As an interesting side note the author believes in seasoning to taste but sort of says that a novice cook might not know how to season to taste. Ms. Pomeroy actually provides measurements for salt in each recipe and says to adjust them as you learn to season on your own.

I had planned to cook the salmon dish from this book but my wife came home with a pound of chanterelle mushrooms. I remembered seeing them in the quiche recipe and decided to give it a try. I started with the Pate Brisee shell which was very simple (despite the long instructions) and turned out great. It was scary seeing how dry my dough was but I went with it and it worked out. It was also scary prebaking a shell because my oven is notorious for destroying pie crust.

Next I prepared the quiche filling which included the mushrooms, cheese, butter, dairy, eggs and some small extras. The filling was extremely easy to put together. I baked the quiche as instructed and took it out closer to the 50 minute side of the instructions. It was beautiful and looked almost exactly like the photograph in the book. The tricks including baking with the crust hanging over made for a perfect looking and tasting quiche. My family devoured about half of the quiche the first night as it is very rich and filling. We then ate it for lunch the next day and it was just as delicious. It really had the flavor and feel of a chef prepared meal.

I really enjoy this cookbook and would classify it as next level up from Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller which I cook from all of the time. The recipes are not quick weeknight meals but many of the components can be made ahead and assembled later. This cookbook is for those home chefs looking to make memorable meals for their family when they have some extra time and for the novice chef who is wondering why their food can never reach the next level. It is not a book full of simple cooking techniques but the author does a fantastic job of describing each step that it truly allows you to cook above your normal level. I would recommend this book to the serious home cook.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Cookbook Review: A Modern Way to Cook by Anna Jones

2016-09-27T21:44:00.003-07:00

My wife and I have transitioned to a vegetable heavy diet over the past few years and we are excited when vegetarian cookbooks are released that don’t look like vegetarian cookbooks. When A Modern Way to Cook by Anna Jones arrived we were both pleasantly surprised by overall look and feel of the book. A quick scan through did not give me that vegetarian first, flavor second vibe. Instead the cookbook appeared to provide a wealth of delicious looking recipes from snacks to main courses.

This cookbook has a lot of positives, the first of which is the organization. It does not follow the common flow of cookbooks which is snacks, salads, chicken, beer, pork, dessert. The author takes a different route and organizes by the amount of time it takes to get on the table, no time, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, then 40 minutes. These chapters are followed by super-fast breakfasts, quick desserts and investment cooking (sauces, stocks, etc). Each recipe has a short narrative followed by the steps and the ingredients in the left margin. The font is clean and easy to read and the paper feels of high quality. Many of the recipes provide an image of the finished dishes on a full page.

The index is well organized and easy to read which I place a high value on. Following the index is a sub-index which lists page numbers for vegan, vegan with a tweak, gluten-free and gluten-free with tweak recipes.

The second positive aspect of this cookbook is what I’d like to call sidebars. The sidebars in this book are not the normal paragraph notes by the author but instead are one to two page guides that provide simple flavor and texture combinations. I found these to be extremely helpful and better suited for my way of cooking than many of the recipes. These sidebars range from “quick 20-minute stir-fries” which provide the basic structures of easy stir-fries to inspirations for “overnight oats”. As I have cooked more over the years I find myself gravitating more towards cooking by inspiration and ideas rather than recipes and many of these sidebars provided just what I needed.

I tested a couple of the recipes and found the time estimates a little quick for myself. I consider myself an excellent cook but admittedly I’m slow when it comes to chopping and multi-tasking in the kitchen. While cooking the plantain, avocado and black bean bowl recipe I found myself with three pans on the stove at the same time. This recipe looked interesting but I found that it may have been better with sweet plantains and the ingredient list did not indicate the preferred plantain type. I also found it to be incredibly dry as there is no sauce in this bowl. It did provide a bowl full of nutrition and kept me full for most of the night.

The recipes in this book are varied, they use whole grains when possible and I feel that they cover a wide variety of ingredients besides vegetables. Although this book did not push vegetarianism in any way I felt that it did fall short on one subject that many vegetarian cookbooks do. It did not offer any meal that felt hearty. I can get full eating grains but have to be in the right mood to eat a giant bowl of quinoa. The forty minute feasts feel dainty and many of the recipes in this book would require me to cook additional recipes to make a complete meal, especially when cooking for a family of four. For example, the 35 minute Parsnip and potato rosti requires four pans and makes what equates to a side dish for my family. For dinner I’d have to cook additional items to satisfy my hunger.

Overall I found this book to be inspiring and disappointing at the same time. It will likely become a book that I look through often for ideas that I then piece together myself to create a meal. I found the book to be gorgeous with many great sounding recipes but ultimately I might be the wrong type of eater. I have many friends that I know would enjoy this book and I think it would make for a terrific gift if aimed at the right person.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review - Me: A Compendium

2016-09-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

Me: A Compendium by Wee Society is beautifully designed fill in journal for kids. The book is designed for children to read and to write and illustrate about themselves with prompts to guide them in right direction.

When I first received the book the cover instantly got me interested, a cute drawing of a child with all of their thoughts floating in their brains. I imagine the inside of my daughter’s head looks like the same way. Each page of the book continues with similarly styled artwork. The graphic design is chunky and bold with easy to read fonts that are perfect for children to read on their own. The colors are mostly primary colors but not in a kiddish way, it has a retro european design element to it. Overall the graphical presentation is perfect and inviting for a child.

To me this book represents the next step after a baby book. We all fill out the baby books for our kids first years then we collect a hodge podge of items for the rest of their life. Me captures your kids life in some of those in between years. I’d say that this book is targeted to 2nd-4th graders depending on your child. The great thing about this book is that it’s not just a collection of activities to get your kid to do things that they normally wouldn’t (I love those types of journals too!) but instead it’s a journal that collects their thoughts and feelings, likes and dislikes and allows you to see their perspective better. It’s a time capsule for their mind. It’s lovely for parents to look at and learn now and it will be fun for parents and children to look at as the years go by.

The prompts are simple yet thoughtful, with pages like “The best part about school ____” and “What I wish was inside my fridge.” There’s even a secret page for the kids to write some things they are super excited about.

When I handed this book to my 8 year old daughter she got very excited by its visual appeal and excitedly flipped through the pages. Then she disappeared into the backyard with her bucket of pens, pencils, crayons and markers. I flipped through the pages that night and saw she had completed a few pages. I get the feeling that she will come back to throughout the year and fill out whatever section feels interesting that day.

Overall, I really enjoy this book as a parent and can tell that my 8 year old daughter really enjoys it as well. The solid hardcover binding makes me think that it will last for years to come and will be fun to look at through the years as my daughter gets older. I recommend this book for 2nd-4th graders who like to write and be creative and to parents that are looking for a personalized keepsake for their children that captures memories from some in between years.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review - Women in Science - 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World

2016-08-21T12:57:00.002-07:00

Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky is the perfect book families to have around the house. The book profiles 50 “fearless pioneers who changed the world”, giving brief stories of their lives and their scientific accomplishments.

Each of the profiles is accompanied by very artistic drawings of each woman and sketches of the work they conducted. The drawings of each scientist make them appear to be floating in a dream and are beautiful to look at. The full page story of each scientist is packed with with fun information and does get detailed about their work. Each profile includes the drawing of the woman on the left with additional art surrounding them, the page on the right includes their name and scientific field along with additional factoids about them. One interesting design choice is that the year of birth and death are only included in the table of contents and not on each page.

I have been making my way through this book with my 7 year old daughter for a few weeks and we both are enjoying it deeply. The artwork draws her in then she reads the stories and relays new facts that she’s learned. This book profiles many scientists that I was previously unfamiliar with (and I’m a scientist) and I find that extremely interesting. We both enjoy the vast array of scientists the book covers, starting from Hypatia in ancient Egypt and ending with Maryam Mirzakhani who is a mathematician from Iran.

The book also features a handful of informational pages including a guide to lab equipment, additional women scientists and a glossary of terms. Each of these is very useful, my daughter loves the lab equipment page and I find the Glossary to well written and illustrated.

The book is hardcover with a nice metallic silver titling (think liquid silver pen from your childhood), the inside cover is a full page spread of beautiful scientifica artwork. Each page is slightly glossy and made of a sturdy paper.

This book is really for all ages with the help of an adult or a solid third grade reader could enjoy it on their own. My daughter and I both love this book, the stories and the illustrations and I seem to find it in a different room at home everyday showing that she keeps picking it up. I would recommend this book for families interested in science and especially for those with girls who love to dream and be inspired.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review - The Drawing Lesson

2016-07-25T12:51:00.001-07:00

The Drawing Lesson by Mark Crilley is a graphic novel that is designed to teach basic art skills through its storytelling. I found this book to be unique and entertaining, it was also helpful for me and my 7 year old daughter.

The book is interesting in that it is a story about a young boy who meets a mentor by chance and learns to draw. The storytelling is not really that deep but you can feel the bond between teacher and student. The art in the book in the style of a very detailed sketch using brown tones. The art fits perfectly with the story and feels like it was illustrated using the methods taught to the reader.

The book is broken into 11 chapters and 9 of them provide illustration lessons including shading, loose sketching, shadows, proportions, composition and putting it all together. Each of these chapters also provides a small assignment to build on the skills you just learned.

Both myself and my daughter read this book. She enjoyed it so much that she read it in one sitting then went back to do the drawing assignments over the past two weeks. I’ve noticed significant improvement in her shading since she started. The small tips peppered throughout the story have been very helpful to her like the correct angle to hold her pencil.

Overall we both thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is something new, a different take on a tired subject. It is in a format that is enjoyable for both adults and kids to enjoy. I would recommend this book to any beginning artist.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Game Review - Punderdome

2016-06-25T00:30:00.000-07:00

When I pull a game out when we have friends over there are two things I’m looking for, something that everyone can understand quickly and something that creates a fun and party like atmosphere. Punderdome does both right from the start.

The main idea of the game is to create “puns” or a “play on wor ds” based on the two randomly selected words provided on the set of 200 playing cards. These words will be something like “colors” and “minor injuries”. Now each player has 90 seconds to create their pun. I will admit that although this game is easy to understand and fun to play it is actually really difficult to come up with clever puns right off the bat. After warming up for a good 10 minutes it became much easier to think of clever things to write down. It was like an unused part of my brain was coming out of hibernation.

Another plus about this game is the packaging. The size is just right, small enough to carry in one hand, but perfectly packed with everything needed. The set includes a nice cardboard box with the 200 playing cars, 2 note pads, mystery prize paper, instructions and mystery prize envelopes.

The mystery prizes are a fun part of the game but I see them as optional. The host of the game creates a set of mystery prizes and puts them in the envelopes. The winner of the game selects an envelope and hopes to win a nice prize instead of something like a stale piece of bread. I could actually see the prize envelope being worked in a pot luck sort of fashion at a small get together.

I’ve had two chances to play this game, once during my work lunch and once at home with my family. At work the simplicity really shined. We had 30 minutes (+/- a few) to play a game with people that have never even seen it before. Right away we were delivering terrible puns to each other and having a great time. The last time we had that much fun was when our boss bought everyone a free lunch.

The second time playing was with my wife and kids where I think I discovered the lowest age limit for this game. Based on my singular data point I’d say 10 year olds could play this if you don’t mind really bad puns. My advice for those with kids would be to form teams and add an extra 30 seconds to each round.

Overall, I really enjoy this game. It’s quick to get into, packs up nicely, travels well and results in loads of fun which is the most important thing.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Cookbook Review: The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish

2016-05-13T22:10:00.003-07:00

I make a lot of pizza at home and have been scooping up every new pizza book available. Every pizza book offers something different whether it’s a philosophy on dough, creative toppings or just a good ol’ history lesson. This book, “The Elements of Pizza” by Ken Forkish does a bit of each and is very successful. Ken Forkish is the owner of Ken’s Artisan Bakery, Ken’s Artisan Pizza and Trifecta Tavern, all located in Portland, OR. For this book, he tried to leave his knowledge behind and traveled to Italy to meet with true pizza masters. In the end I feel like he developed his own philosophy on pizza which mixes his knowledge of baking with their knowledge of pizza.

The heart of this book is the dough, as it should be in a pizza book, and it offers 12 different recipes for dough. What I really enjoy is that many of the dough recipes are for similar “New York” or “Neapolitan” style but they vary in the amount of time needed to make them. There are doughs that range from a few hours “I Slept In But I want Pizza Tonight” to a few days “Overnight Levain Pizza”. There are also recipes for pan pizza, bar pizza, Al Taglio and Gluten Free dough. The dough recipes are simple and use only water, salt, dried yeast and flour. Some recipes require a starter which is made with the same ingredients.

Prior to the dough section of the book there are five chapters, “The Soul Of Pizza”, “Pizza Styles”, Eight Details for Great Pizza Crusts”, “Ingredients & Equipment” and “Methods”. The “Soul of Pizza” really touches on the history and philosophy of pizza making in Italy and the Eastern United States. I really enjoyed this section of the book, the insight provided by his visits to some of the best pizza places in Italy is priceless. After reading about one of his visits I was visualizing the awkwardness he felt in the 15 minutes while getting schooled by an Italian master. This book does exclude any major discussion of California or Chicago deep dish style pizza.

The next section describes (in about a page for each pizza) what to expect when you cook each type of pizza. Each style is concluded with bullet points talking about the desired results for the crust, sauce, etc. This may be the first book that dedicates any space to American Bar Pizza, which is a pizza with no outer layer of crust.

Chapter 3 is where the author really starts to define his own pizza philosophy which has a huge focus on crust. The eight tips for great crust discuss topics such as hydration, time, temperature, salt, mixing and climate. The brief narrative on hydration really helped me understand why my previous pizzas were coming out so different when using my home oven vs. my outdoor oven.

The methods sections is very helpful and describes each of the steps used to make the pizzas. The key steps are shown in photographs and describes in narrative form. While making my first dough I found myself turning to this section over and over as I worked through the recipe. For some folks there could probably be more pictures but the pictures included are of the most important parts.

I tested the “24- to 48-Hour Pizza Dough” recipe and was sort of scared at first. The dough was extremely sticky to work because of the 70% hydration level. I followed the instructions closely from mixing, kneading and shaping and the dough stayed pretty sticky the whole time. Mr. Forkish isn’t really scared of adding extra flour to the mix to keep it less sticky but I was tentative due to some previous pizza books I’ve read. After the 2nd fermentation and letting the dough warm up for 90 minutes I found that it was no longer sticky (I increased my extra flour at this point) and it was a pleasure to work with. It stretched so easily and basically shaped itself. In other books I’ve had trouble getting my dough to stretch to the listed size (even after weighing my dough balls) but this dough actually exceeded the size, and was hanging over the edge of my pizza peel. I made the dough using King Arthur Flour.

The dough I created resulted in three dough balls, I used two and cut the third in half to let my kids make their own pizzas. For the first pizza we made the Margherita and Arugula and followed the recipe closely. Our second pizza was a made up concoction of smoked gouda, mozzarella and caramelized onions. The kids made a pizza with tomato sauce, olive oil, soppresata, and olives and one without sauce.

The author uses a pizza stone or baking steel and utilizes a combo of the oven and broiler in all the recipes. Unfortunately our oven does not have a broiler and the temp maxes out at 50F less than his recommended cooking temp (our oven is not normal). We did use a baking stone placed in the middle of our oven and we heated the oven for an extended time. We prepared the pizza on a wooden peel and slid it easily onto the stone (I have had a lot of practice). The pizza was finished in about 6 minutes. The crust was beautiful, although not as deeply brown as those in the book, airy, the bottom was thin and crisp. Although crisp it was foldable. The texture of the crust was perfect. The flavor of the dough was above average but I think using a longer fermented dough could elevate it to great. As I mentioned before the dough was extremely easy to work with. My 5 & 7 year old children both stretched and made nice looking mini pizzas.

Although my review commented mostly on the dough aspect of this cookbook the actual pizza recipes all look really great. There are over 35 recipes ranging from Italian, New York, Ken’s Pizza Classics, Flatbreads, Vegetables and Other. The recipe section (and the rest of the book) are filled with delicious looking photos.

Overall I would recommend this book to a pizza maker of any level. I really enjoyed the pizzas we made from this book and am going to make one of the longer fermented dough recipes soon. The tidbits of information that Ken Forkish adds into many sections about hydration, oven temperature and fermentation make this book worth having in my collection. The recipes and photos make it a pizza book I’ll use often.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Cookbook Review - Around the Fire - Ox Restaurant

2016-04-22T22:45:00.001-07:00

Around the Fire by Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quinonez Denton is a stellar cookbook that features adaptations of recipes from the author’s restaurant, travels and experiences. The cookbook is written by the Chefs and Owners of Ox restaurant in Portland, OR. This restaurant is famous for the grilled foods and Argentinean influences. This cookbook features both but I would not call it an Argentinean food cookbook. It is ultimately a book about making the fire the centerpiece of the meal and surrounding it with a variety of foods prepared in many different ways.

The cookbook has over 80 recipes not including the eight pages of basic recipes in the back of the book. The recipes are split up in sections titled Beginnings, From the Grill, From the Garden and Sweets and Drinks. The largest number of recipes are from the grilling section which I feel is the heart of this book.

The recipes range from simple grilled skirt steak to a complex foie gras terrine. Each recipe contains a short narrative (1-3 paragraphs) describing the author’s inspiration, thoughts and tips for the dish. I found these short narratives extremely helpful because they would often describe the flavor profile of the dish and pairing suggestions. They were also helpful in that they sometimes provided ideas for ingredient substitutions.

This book feels like a cookbook for very skilled home cooks. It is much less complex than a restaurant cookbook like French Laundry but more complex than any Jamie Oliver type book. Overall I found that many of the recipes themselves appear to be much more complex than they are, especially those for the grilled foods. The ingredient lists can be long but many of the items are pantry items for the home cook who likes to cook at a slightly higher level than most. The book does feature many cuts and types of meat that even a more advanced home cook may have trouble finding including squab, turkey butts, wild halibut on the bone, and beef marrow bones. I’m sure I could track these down or order them from a local butcher but I’d probably input paying a pretty penny. The upside is that most of the recipes do not call for these expensive cuts.

The strength of this book is that it provides a unique viewpoint on home grilling. Most cookbooks feature a handful of recipes for the grill and grilling cookbooks are often times just preparing a regular recipe on the grill instead of the stove. This book uses the grill and the fire as part of the recipe. The unique flavor contributed by the wood, flame and char is balanced and taken into account. The authors provide grilling recipes for many vegetable and seafood dishes which are usually the weakest links of any grilling cookbook.

The authors provide a fairly complete background and training on cooking over fire from selecting wood and starting the fire to managing the heat and preparing food for cooking on the grill. In their restaurant the couple utilize a large scale commercial grill that has some features that most home cooks do not. This was not lost on the authors as they provide a recipe for recouping some of the flavor lost by home cooks by using what they call “Black Gold”.

This book is very well balanced between grilled foods and non grilled foods which is usually a weakness of grilling focused books. When cooking at home I utilized a 22” Weber Grill and find it difficult to prepare an entire meal on the grill and have it done at the same time. The fire also contributes so much character to each dish that the flavor can become monotonous when a whole meal is prepared in the same fashion. The book allows the reader to choose what to grill and what to make ahead, it provides ideas for dishes that are light and refreshing as well as rich and decadent. One of the few weaknesses of this cookbook is that there are more closeups of finished dishes than I normally like. This is more of a personal quibble than an actual critique.

Today I was able to work three recipes into my meal plan, the Chimichurri, the Grilled Skirt Steak and the Roasted Cauliflower. I chose the skirt steak and chimichurri because these are things we make every couple of weeks and the cauliflower because I felt that the flavor combinations were interesting. The chimichurri was simple to make, especially since we grow parsley and oregano year round in our garden. Their take on the sauce is different than my norm, with onions rather than shallots and less garlic. I found their sauce bright and delicious, well balanced with the vinegar and the garlic was not overpowering as mine often is.

The skirt steak was a relatively straightforward recipe to make with a couple differences from my usual recipe. It included an onion marinade which ends up looking like thick cream and the meat is finished with smoked sea salt (which I found at TJ Maxx for $3). I marinated the meat for a little less than 24 hours and popped it on the grill, followed the instruction closely, all the way down to the cutting of the meat. I have to say that the marinade was the difference maker, it added a deep complexity to the dish and it wasn’t too oniony. The smoked salt was subtle after topping with the chimichurri and could probably be skipped. I could taste it without the sauce but I’m somewhat addicted to chimichurri.

The last recipe I tried was the roasted cauliflower with spicy golden raisin vinaigrette, mint and sesame seeds. This dish sounded like something that wouldn’t taste good but the included photo made it look delicious. This recipe was very simple, make a vinaigrette in one pot and roast the cauliflower on a baking sheet. The finished dish looked better than the one pictured in the book and tasted great. The roasted vegetable was taken to another level by the umami filled vinaigrette. The spiciness was tamed by the fresh mint and I could eat the golden raising with the liquid portion of the sauce by the bowlful. My wife was actually scared of the golden raisins and ended up craving more.

Overall I really have enjoyed reading this cookbook, it is definitely on the more advanced end of the grilling book spectrum but is worth it. The idea of being able to plan a meal around the grill without using all grilled foods is a great philosophy and one that makes sense. I would recommend this book to friends that enjoy cookbooks by chefs, for home cooks that think they’re chefs, advanced grill masters and those that like ideas and inspiration to try new things.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review: Home Cooked by Anya Fernald

2016-04-14T13:57:00.001-07:00

Home Cooked by Anya Fernald is a beautiful and well written cookbook that provides stories, recipes and insight from her journey through the beginnings of the Italian slow food movement to opening of a full fledged animal and vegetable farm.

The bulk of the book is composed of an introduction, a building block chapter and three main sections, Welcome, Take a Seat, and Stay a While. These three sections equate to the dynamics of having guests over for dinner and starting with a small snack and a cocktail, enjoying a main dish with well appointed sides and finishing with a hand made rustic dessert.

The introduction is well written and is quite an interesting read that details the life of the author beginning from a trip after college to the the present which includes running a farm, multiple restaurants, a meat processing plant and a resort in Belize. At times it seems as if the author was blessed by obscenely good luck but the progression and evolution of her philosophy and career is important to understanding what is behind the recipes.

This cookbook is definitely written for those who like to READ cookbooks as well as cook from them. Each recipe has a short paragraph talking about it, some extend to half a page. I personally enjoy reading these but for some the amount of writing could be overwhelming.

Building blocks is a chapter that is similar to chapters that have been appearing in many other modern cookbooks but this version offers mostly unique recipes including two types of chimichurri, barbadian hot sauce, lard, tallow and trotter broth. The building block recipes are for simple items that you can make at home that can be used to elevate simple dishes. The recipes are all fairly simple with the exception of canned tomatoes. The recipes also include references to other recipes in the book that utilize what was just made. It is nice that most of the building blocks are used multiple times throughout the book.

The snacks, starters and cocktails chapter contains 25 food recipes and eight beverage recipes. The snack recipes range from simple like a fried mortadella sandwich to complex like Panzerotti (which look delicious). It is a pleasant surprise that this section has recipes with meats, fish, vegetables and cheese. It is extremely well balanced and makes it easy to choose one or two different things to make for a party.

The cocktail section is not entirely necessary in this book as most of the recipes are fairly common. There are a couple of interesting variations on the Old Fashioned and two bitters variations that peaked my interest but I’m more likely to reference my dedicated cocktail books. If you are not as into cocktails as I am I’m sure that the recipes provided will get you through a dinner party with no problem.

The Stay a While section is broken into three parts, pasta (ragu, risotto & eggs), vegetables and meat (including fish). This section also includes her take on buying and cooking steaks, cooking over fire and cooking in cast iron pans. I found the author’s writings enjoyable and was able to take some new information away from each.

The pasta section includes recipes for lesser known pastas and use a variety of meats and vegetables including rabbit. The meat section provides recipes for small cuts of meat and fish up to larger cuts like a braised brisket. For some the cuts and meats used may be difficult to find or may not be something you’re willing to try but I always appreciate recipes for things such as tongue, tripe, heart, liver, squab, and quail.

The last section details a variety of desserts that all look rustic and delicious. This section displays her love for buttermilk in two recipes and lard in another (pound cake). Although the author professes to not be a dessert person I found this section to be just as great as the rest of the book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and plan on cooking many recipes from it, starting with trying out the two chimichurris. At first glance this book did seem overwhelming and complex but after diving into it I realized that the recipes are all fairly simple and I found myself reading it just to hear what the author had to say about each recipe. The layout is clean and simple which fits perfect with the rustic yet chic vibe and the photographs are gorgeous throughout. This is a book that I would definitely give as a gift to a friend that I really liked.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review - Spritz - Italy's Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail, with Recipes

2016-03-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

Spritz is a delightful small format book that covers all you need to know about the world famous drink that was born in Italy. The book can be split into four main sections, history of the spritz, anatomy of a spritz, recipes for making them at home, and some snack recipes to eat along with your drink.

The history section packs a lot of information into a small amount space covering topics such as the introduction of bitter liqueur, soda water and eventually the transition to prosecco. It talks about how the spritz has evolved over time and how it is different in each area of Italy along the spritz trail from Turin to Trieste.

The second section which I call the anatomy of the spritz defines a spritz as a low alcohol, pre dinner drink that is effervescent however the detailed descriptions of the many ingredients available to choose from show how complex a spritz can be. This section starts with a beautiful diagram of a spritz which seems sparse in its appearance but really provides a great visual on how to compose a drink. It then discusses, how to spritz, how to build a spritz bar and detailed descriptions of the aperitivo liqueurs, wine and fortified wines and also the source of bubbles. There are also a handful of sidebars throughout the book that provided extra information on topics such as prosecco and aromatized wines. This section ends with a brief overview of flavored syrups, shrubs and fruit liqueurs.

The recipe section is has a beautiful layout with many full page pictures adjacent to recipes. A nice feature is that under the title of each the glass type and garnish are listed before anything else. The ingredients are listed in the left margin and usually consist of less than five ingredients. The instructions for each drink are brief but effective. The highlight of the recipes for me are the narrative that is included with each. The recipes are provided by some of the most famous bartenders and bars in the world, such as Death + Co, PDT, Nomad, and The Varnish and the narratives discuss some of the inspiration and ideas behind the recipes. Knowing the thought behind each drink provides the reader with a better understanding of how to create their own recipe in the future.

The included photos are beautiful and fit perfectly with the overall styling of the book which has a sort of modern Italian feel that is at the same time paying homage to early Italian design. The pictured glassware makes me jealous on almost every page. In my opinion the most beautiful drinks pictured are the Diamond Spritz Fizz, the Punch House Spritz and the Americano, all of which I will be making soon.

The last section of the book is the food section. I do not feel that this book needs a section like this but it is very well done and acts more like a bonus than an afterthought. We entertain frequently and can always use extra recipes for some pre-dinner snacks.

Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely and imagine that I will be working my way through many of the drink recipes in a short time. From cover to cover everything about this book beautiful, thoughtfully assembled and well designed. I would recommend this book to those new to making cocktails at home as well as season veterans who are interested in increasing their knowledge about the history and modern interpretations of the spritz.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review - Sweeter Off the Vine

2016-03-19T21:38:00.002-07:00

Sweeter Off the Vine by Yossy Arefi is a beautiful book from cover to cover and it makes it clear even prior to page one that fruit is what it is all about. The cover image captures the essence of the book in one photo, delicious desserts that are not too fussy.

The book is laid out in a seasonal format starting with Spring and includes from two to nine different recipes for each of the featured fruits. The recipes are laid out cleanly with the ingredients in the left margin and the steps in the center. The ingredients are provided in english and metric units. The typeface is extremely easy to read and the book is printed on a non glossy paper with full page color photographs for each recipe. The photographs, taken by the author, are beautiful accomplish a couple of things. They make the fruit and the dish look delicious and they also make the dishes look simple enough to actually cook at home.

Although the recipes appear simple it is obvious that the author understands how to build complexity and layers of flavor by adding small touches of vanilla sugar, citrus zest, or by relying on the nuttyness of rye flour. Yossy also calls on her Iranian heritage by including rose and orange flower water. Many fruit desserts become one dimensional with either overwhelming tartness or cloying sweetness but this book seems to properly adjust the amount of added sugar depending on the fruit used in each recipe.

This book is useful to me because I’m blessed with delicious farmers market fruit year round and a small group of fruit trees in my yard which result in me always having too much fruit to eat. Both of these blessings always seem to result in me struggling to find ways to use fruit in dishes rather than just eating them unadorned. I have a large collection of dessert and baking books and there a few that feature fruit but Sweeter Off the Vine makes fruit the star of every dish.

The highlight of the book for me is the inclusion of fruits that are mostly ignored in other cookbooks and seldom seen in desserts. These include rhubarb (separate from strawberries), melons, persimmons, pomegranates, pears, quince and concord grapes. The book also includes recipes for more commonly covered fruits such as cherries, berries and citrus. The recipes range from a simple strawberry tart to a ginger-quince upside-down cake. A second highlight for me is that the pie crusts and tart dough include whole wheat, rye, spelt or buckwheat. I’m an avid pizza maker and love to mix rye flour into my dough and I’ve never really thought of including it in my desserts. Yossy believes the nuttyness of the rye pairs beautifully with berries.

The one problem with a cookbook featuring fruit is that sometimes the recipe you want to cook is impossible due to availability of ingredients. I feel like the recipes in this book are versatile enough to substitute and most could be cooked in any season using different fruit. After reading the book I marked many recipes I wanted to try including the rhubarb and rye upside down cake and the cherry and chocolate turnovers. A trip to farmer's market revealed neither but I ended up with some early season strawberries (we can harvest year around in California).

We decided on making the simplest strawberry tart which includes a rye crust, mascarpone cheese, fresh strawberries and a couple more common ingredients. The rye crust was made the night before then thawed a baked the next. Besides making the dough the most time consuming part of the process was slicing the strawberries. In the end my wife and I were able to produce a stunning dessert, starring a beautiful fresh fruit that was easy to make. The rye crust added a nice complexity to the tart and the mascarpone contributed a slight tang that paired perfectly with the sweet strawberries. Overall the dessert was a success a looked very close to the photograph except that our strawberries were a bit lighter in color.

This book does not offer any groundbreaking techniques or recipes but the way that it features lesser used fruits in desserts is refreshing. The single recipe we prepared was a success and has really given us the desire to complete some more. This is a beautiful book that will inspire you to cook with fresh fruit year round.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review: Koreatown - A Cookbook

2016-03-06T12:08:00.001-08:00

Having been a frequent visitor, over the last ten years, to the vast Koreatown in Los Angeles I’ve come to love Korean food. Luckily I live near a multitude of Korean grocery stores where I can buy ready made food on the cheap but I’ve always wanted to make some of my own. Korean cuisine is intimidating to eat at first and is even more intimidating to try and cook, especially since I haven’t found a solid cookbook to lead me.

Koreatown by Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard is a great introduction to Korean cuisine. It covers many of the dishes that I’ve eaten in Koreatown and many more that I never even thought to order. The thing about Koreatown (the place) is that for newcomers it’s best to go with a friend, a Korean friend, who knows where to eat and what to order. This book can become your friend and help guide you not only while you cook but while you explore the restaurants throughout the city.

The cover and quality of this book is top notch and the photography is beautiful and seems like the food pictured was made in actual restaurant kitchens rather than styled by a pro. The book is organized nicely and starts with an introduction to equipment and ingredients. Most of the ingredients are not that hard to find in major cities, the fermented sauces and such may be difficult for some. Gochujang is in almost every recipe and unfortunately there is no recipe to approximate it at home for those without access but it is one of those things that can’t really be made at home.

After the intro the book flows into Kimchi & Banchan (starters), rice, noodles & dumplings, the famous Korean barbecue, drinking food, soups, stews & braises. The authors also include chapters on modern chef takes on Korean inspired dishes, a drink section and a dessert section.

The recipes are nicely organized with ingredients in the margins and steps on the page. A photo of every dish is included which I feel is very important when cooking a cuisine that is new to you. I’m also one of the people that enjoy reading cookbooks and not just cooking from them. This book provides an nice paragraph on each recipe and also chef perspectives on korean food. I feel like this book is like sitting with a friend’s Grandma and watching her cook. It’s not going to be perfect when you try it home but it will get you close and give you an idea of what your food should look like and what the flavor profile should be.

Overall I really enjoy this book and already have a list of recipes I’m preparing to cook including Kimchi Jeon, Yachae Juk and of course Dakgangjeong aka Korean Fried Chicken. If you are interested in a book with a variety of korean dishes found in restaurants this is a good start and a nice read. It may not cover all the dishes that are eaten in homes but that’s not most folks are looking for anyways.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Happy Valium

2008-06-12T22:53:00.000-07:00

A few months back I entered a competition known as the crate diggers death match. It was a strange competition that pitted producers of different styles against one another in an Iron Chef like way. One of the organizers and competitors of the Death Match was an artist named Doc Popular.

Doc Popular seems like an all around good guy, he's a yo-yo champion, a hand made craft creator, and a musician. Awhile back he asked me to remix a track from his new album Me Geek Pretty One Day. Of course I initially said no but changed my mind because I got an unexpected vacation from work.

The track I worked on was called Happy Valium. I actually chose to remix the song without listening to the original first so that I could get a clearer vision of where to take it. It was strange, when the accapella first came over the speakers thoughts of an old favorite popped into my head, De La Soul's "Roller Skating Jam named Saturday". This song, produced by Prince Paul one of my all time influences, has a great laid back vibe that is perfect for rollerskating in circles to.

With the De La track in mind I dug through some of my samples that were already chopped and never used and found just what I was looking for, which is the main portion of the loop. I threw in an intro from a pharmaceutical companies webcast (since it fit the point of the song) a siren, a drum break, and some levitra commercial snippets and called it a day. That's pretty much the story behind the song.

Of course after remixing the track I checked the Drown Radio album in detail while on a trip to Maryland and found that it was full of suprises. To me it represents Doc Popular to the fullest, it is electronic based with acoustic touches, it's digital but made with a human feel. It's like digital craft project made by hand. It features a little bit of everything from circuit bending to singing. The hottest track to me is LOLCatz, which is playing on the funny Lolcatz site.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this album, it's only $8 and you'll support a true independent artist in the process.

The Magic of My Cars Trunk

2008-01-13T21:42:00.000-08:00

Everyone wants a new car but the benefits of having an old used up car that's running on its last leg are numerous, especially for music lovers like me (and all of you).

For us our old cars act as musical time capsules that are capable of taking us on an audio journey through memory lane. It seems like they intentionally hide things from their owners then reveal them when their existence is about to slip from memory.

I've had the same car since 1995 which means my car has been with me for my entire adult life. This also means that my car is hiding a lot from me. I’ll never understand how an Ultramagnetic MC’s tape will somehow wiggle its way up from beneath the backseat and slowly make its way under my brake pedal.

In 1995 I first started making beats using software called Hammerhead Rhythm Station, it was free and it was the illest thing that I had ever seen in my life. You could use their included drums or you could even input your own sounds. Hammerhead had a ton of limitations but that’s what made me be creative. It forced me to input very lo-fi sounds (16 bit, 22 khz, mono, raw format) but the tracks came out raw, they were like wu-tang demos that got left out in the rain.

I remember having to program drums then export them, put in a guitar sample then export it, put in a bass sample then export that, this process would keep going until all the layers were complete. Then I’d take these layers and actually mix them on top of each other in Cool Edit (the O.G. free version, one track only). This was a one shot deal with maybe one level of undo, no equalizer and a real crude volume control but it the process was addicting.

There’s no way to accurately count the number of songs that were created in my bedroom using this system but there must have been hundreds. Some of these are on floppy disks and some actually got dropped to cassette tapes with lyrics on top (using a really funky system).

Now it seems that every time I start to think about how terrible modern software is one of these hammerhead beat tapes seems to slowly make its way from my trunk into the passenger section of my car. As soon as I pop the cassette into the tape player my mind hits the time portal and I’m taken back to a time when I thought hammerhead was the future and I’m reminded that creativity evolves from our limitations.

When it’s my time to finally trade my car in, it will be a sad day because for the past 10+ my car has been making mixtapes for me, reminding me of where I was in my life, who my friends were, and how I got to the present. It will be a sad day to have to dig into the spare tire well, the dark corners of the trunk, the lint filled underbelly of the backseat, and the crumb lined carpet beneath the drivers chair to uncover those memories for the last time. Of course I can display the memories in a case or on a bookshelf, but music is meant to be heard, and silent cassettes will stare me in the eye like a solar eclipse. I’ll feel the sounds of my past fade away while I hope to recapture just a small bit of their essence in my sounds of today.

Now to make this post a little more upbeat, today I was lucky enough to find Hammerhead Rhythm Station online so I dug up some of my old 3.5 floppy discs. I popped them into the drive and found that one was now blank and the other was now a backup Quicken diskette.

That leaves with only three hammerhead songs that I know of which are Generate Momentum, Rejuvenate, and Fat People (this is 10 years before the debut of the The Chubby Chasers). These tracks were all recorded in 1995-1996 using some samples downloaded from the old AOL sound archive. I can only upload one of the tracks because the others are still on cassette only, so enjoy listening to the awesome beat making and rhyming talents that I possessed a little over 10 years ago.

Rock The Vote: This Ain't The NH Primary

2008-01-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about the primary elections here, I'm talking about something much more important: voting for the best song in the Crate Digger Death Match. You can vote HERE, my song "It's True They Have Elevators" was going back and forth for first place with Bomarr of Anticon Fame.

We both currently have more votes than Bill Richardson received in NH but that's for discussion on somebody else's blog. Right now is also a good time to thank everyone who has voted for me, from the beginning I figured there was no chance to win the popular vote so win or lose it will feel good to know we made a contest out of it.

I'm not asking everyone to vote for me but at least vote for someone because finishing the album was a difficult endeavor. Only 7 producers completed the task and they all deserve props for kicking some major booty. My personal favorite single is from Snake Eyes, his song is unbelievable. Also while you're there DL Doctor Popular's album, he had some technical issues but finished the next day. Very dope album.

The fan vote is 1/5 of the final score, the other 4/5 belong to the 4 human judges that will be announcing the winner on Friday.

If you don't know what I'm talking about read the previous post, it talks all about the contest.

Also if you're thinking of subscribing to this blog I'll give you a synopsis of what it's about: Everyone listens to music and has music linked to memories and specific moments in lives. This blog is going to talk about the music that I make and how it connects to my life. Basically it's the soundtrack of my life or "This is the score" of my life.

Plus If you visit you'll constantly get free original mp3's and albums and I've heard my music is great as background music when nobody is listening.

Crate Digger Death Match

2008-01-06T18:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a busy day, I entered this competition called the Crate Digger Death Match . The idea behind the contest is to see what different musicians can create in a short amount of time with a limited budget. For this contest each contestant was limited to $12 worth of shopping at thrift stores and 12 hours of music production. At the thrift stores anything that makes sound could be purchased, for me I purchased 7 records, others purchased childrens toys, cd's, vhs tapes and some other crazy things. With your supplies we had to complete a minimum of 6 2 minute tracks. The winner will be chosen through fan voting and by four judges, you can listen to all of the contestants singles and vote HERE. The organizers also added three last minute rules (like the iron chef secret ingredient) to throw a kink in peoples plans. The three rules were:

One item has to be from the 80's. For me this was a Wham UK record
One song has to have a major element that involves a sound played backwards or circuit bending. I used a major melody in one track played backwards, a second song also has a bunch of reversed components as well.
One song has to be either a dance or country song. I chose to make a dance song, specifically a breakdancing song. I made this the last track and modeled it after an old school break party.

Here's a list of the vinyl that I purchased:

Clouds by Joni Mitchell: Used this one quite a bit. She's the devil on the album
Everyday People (Self Titled): This was extremely funky and it looks like it sales for over $100 retail. Mine is heavily scratched though. Damn good. This is why we crate dig.
Inside by Paul Horn: Thought this was going to be really cool but it turned out that it's a guy playing his flute inside the Taj Mahal. So much reverb and the record was super scratched.
Saturday Night Fever by Various Artists: For hip hop you need drums, but surprisingly I got more drums from the next record.
Fantastic by Wham U.K.: This record had tons of cool drum hits plus I scratched the whoo and ughh grunts in a couple songs. This was probably the most used record
On The Threshold of a Dream by Moody Blues: A little bit of everything on this one plus I found a Masta Ace sample (one of my favorite artists).
Winter Into Spring by George Winston: I thought I'd get some nice piano from this one but it was so boring. There was one track that used this one but it got axed.
For a moment I almost went for a Pavorotti/Fogerty duet but changed my mind.

This was really difficult for a lot of different reasons besides the limitations, for one thing I usually make beats for people to rap over which is totally different than making instrumental compositions. A beat can actually be very simple and sparse because the vocals provide the main element.

I started the whole thing off by visiting a Goodwill and a Salvation Army, lucky for me they are next to each other. The record choices were sort of slim (besides Everyday People) at both but I managed to pick up seven records at $1 & $1.99 each. After shopping I pulled samples off each of the records. At this point about 4 hours of my time had been spent and not even one track had been started.

Production was challenging, trying to convert the samples into songs in such a short amount of time was messing with my brain. I tried a lot of different things, chopping samples, scratching, looping, making kits for drums, playing samples with the keyboard, bass filters, and pretty much anything else I could think of. The tracks all sort of took on personalities of their own and the finished products are some songs that are really unlike things I've made before. The contest really did open my mind up.

For my 6 tracks I had to create a way for each song to keep the listeners attention. Besides that and some minor equipment bugs (major static which you can hear in one song), it wasn't all that bad, just challenging and inspiring. In the end I came up with a 6 track album called "Up or Down". It has story to it which is hard to express without vocals but I'll explain it here so you can have an idea when you listen.

It's about a break dancer that isn't quite good enough. He questions whether he should sell his soul to the devil to become a better breaker (Track 1). He has visions of heaven and hell in his sleep (Tracks 2 & 3) and has to deal with the devil trying to trick him into selling his soul (Track 4). Eventually he chooses the route of ascension (Track 5) even though the devil is still fresh in his mind (listen to the growls). Once he's ascended he finds himself at the gates of heaven where he is asked to pass the final test (Track 6): A break dancing contest mixed by GOD himself (on to 1200's). Whether he goes or not is up to you.

That's the album, it's not the best, it's a little sloppy and the music is strange but who cares, it was fun and it only cost $12 and half a day. The organizers of this did a great job and I can't wait to hear all the other albums that were produced by the 12 contestants.

You can download it here: "Up or Down" by D-Form or visit my Myspace for some low quality versions. Here's the tracklist as well.
From Below
It's True They Have Escalators
Antispinbackward
She (devil)s Talking to Me
It Sounds Better Than Hell
Pass the Test
Here are all the tracks from the album in order. Later on I'll add some production notes if anyone is interested.