In the "Questionable Timing" Category...

Many people have been asking where I get my recipes. I have a stack of cookbooks, but I also read quite a few food blogs, and I find myself increasingly pulling from those sources. Now that Thanksgiving is over and no one wants to look at food, here are some of the sites I've found.

The Traveler's Lunchbox
This is the single best food blog I've found. It has great photography, wonderful writing, and excellent recipes. Author Melissa is an expat hobby chef who has no qualms about trying any sort of cuisine.
Recommended Humor: Seven Steps to Perfect Brioche
The very amusing story of Melissa's quest to make brioche, with a wonderful side quest of stalking a KitchenAide stand mixer.
Recommended: Banh Mi
Banh Mi is a type of Vietnamese sandwich. This version is made with glazed pork. Very easy, and much better than cold cuts.

Foodaholic
This one has a lot of things going for it. It's updated every 2 or 3 days, with great photos and recipes that I really want to try. The most interesting thing about it, though, is that it's written by someone who is currently enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Many of her posts cover whatever they did in class that day. The author is training for patisserie, so this is mostly dessert and bread recipes, though every so often she'll throw in a quick post about whatever she had for dinner. Bonus: She's Malaysian, and she has some Malay recipes on her site. I haven't tried anything though.

SlashFood
This site is very handy because it focuses on current events in the food world. If you want a quick overview of current food events, go here. They summarize several newspaper food sections, including the New York Times, and they regularly post interesting tidbits in other food blogs that you might not know about. They're also very regularly updated, with new posts several times each day. I haven't tried any recipes from here, but I'll assume they all know what they're doing, since one of the contributors found time on Thanksgiving to post regular Thanksgiving Dinner updates throughout the day, complete with photos.

Food Network
This isn't a food blog. It's the Food Network's website. It has all the recipes from all the TV shows, as well as some great informational content and demos. Very useful if you want to find many different variations on a single recipe, since multiple chefs will often cover the same content on their shows.
Recommended: Tyler Florence's Alfredo Sauce Extremely simple and easy. Ignore all the junk at the top about home made pasta and scroll down to the bottom of the page for alfredo. As long as you get some decent cheese, it will turn out perfect every time. I add 4-6 cloves of chopped garlic in with the cream, because I like garlic.

101 Cookbooks
I don't read this one regularly, but I should. It takes recipes from cookbooks and tests them, making adjustments as necessary. And we're not talking about your momma's Joy of Cooking either. The author lists all her cookbooks on the right side of the screen, and I haven't heard of most of them.
Recommended: Vanilla Sweet Potato Puree
The infamous Sweet Potatoes from a few posts ago. I made them yesterday for Thanksgiving and they're still good. I also made the spice oil this time. A little bit goes a very long way, so we have a bunch of extra now.

Cooking For Engineers
This is a really good site for people who aren't all that comfortable in the kitchen. It's written by an engineer who didn't know how to cook and was very frustrated by the standard recipe format so he made his own.

Pimp That Snack
This is just silly. People take small snacks and figure out how to make really gigantic ones. Check out this post about making a giant sized Cadbury Creme Egg.

"I'm thankful that we're not those people on Fark"

I actually said this a few years ago during Thanksgiving grace. Why? Because fark.com had a thread on Thanksgiving Horror Stories. So if your day isn't going quite like it should, just be glad you aren't these people.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The YouTube Awards

I don't generally go for media accretion sites. I don't have time, and most of the stuff that's on them is pure junk. I don't like sorting through it to find the good stuff. Recently, though, two things happened that have turned me into a YouTube devotee. First, I had to find some painting videos, which meant digging out the Bob Ross. Remember him? I was going for free and accessible, so I tried YouTube. Success! And secondly, I had vague memories of a friend showing me a video of a concert collaboration with two of my favorite musicians.

The vast breadth of the videos on this site means that suddenly, all the hard to find stuff is suddenly completely available. Specifically, music videos. I don't know why, but I've always liked music videos, and at the moment YouTube is my only source for them. Recently, my morning routine has started to include going through my iTunes library and searching the artists on YouTube to see what I find. I've also been digging up old videos of stuff that I never owned, most of which serves my completely irrational love of 80's metal hair bands. And occasionally I find some really incredible stuff that I never knew existed. Do not feel obligated to watch all of these. So without further ado, here are the best of what I've found in the last week or so:


Best Collaboration Between Legends: Bruce Springsteen and Sting: The River
This came from a concert in the 70's I think, so well before Born in the USA hit the streets. I love both artists and I'd never heard of this concert before. This is what turned me on to YouTube in the first place.
Honorable Mention: USA for Africa: We Are The World
Obviously quite important in music history. I used to listen to this growing up, but I never knew just how many artists participated. And now that I can see the video, I'm sort of embarrassed to admit how many of these singers I can name. Also, this is a crucial historical artifact for reminding us that there was a time when MJ was pretty respectable.

Best Hair: The Cult: Fire Woman
You can't see it so much in this clip, but lead singer Ian Astbury's hair is ridiculously long, thick, and shiny. I first saw this video on TV a while ago, in better resolution, and I was instantly jealous. And it's just the kind of bluesy metal that I really really like. And really, the dancing in cowboy boots is just funny. This might be my next music purchase.

Most Gratuitous Use of Music Video Cliches: Monster Magnet: Spacelord
After you watch a few music videos, you start noticing themes. And this one has them all: shots of band lip-syncing and playing along with the song, smoke, blurring, bling (the guy's suit has lights on it!), booty brigade, and pyro. A monument to the lesser moments of music video art. I'm pretty sure it's meant to be self-effacing (not positive, but something about this screams "JOKE!"). I actually like the song, too.

Best Band Sense of Humor: TIE! Paul Simon: You Can Call Me Al and Survivor: The Starbucks Commercial
I suppose the Survivor clip shouldn't really count because it's not a music video. It's a Starbucks commercial. But when I first saw it, I couldn't stop laughing. For some reason, the image of the drum kit being pushed down the street was just too much. And it's a great song, with pretty wonderful lyrics. And Paul Simon... I have lots of respect for anyone who can make a music video that makes fun of their height. The rumor is that Paul Simon is 5'2" and Chevy Chase is 6'4". And it's definitely noticeable in this video. Oh, and no the audio isn't off. Chevy Chase just doesn't know the song well.
Honorable Mention: Dire Straits: Walk of Life
Not much to say, other than we've all had one of those days...

Best Use of Puppets: Genesis: Land of Confusion
Well then... I dare you to find puppets anywhere else that have this much character. Wow. Though the Phil Collins figure bears a striking resemblance to Bill Murray. How many musicians can you recognize at the end? Disturbed covered this song and their video is interesting in it's own way. How many dirty politicians can you recognize? :)

Best Substitution of Body Jewelery for Facial Hair: Disturbed: Stricken
The lead singer, in a moment of sheer (shear) genius, decided to do away with goatees and soul patches and substitute two very thick silver hoops on his chin. I think they're great. And original.

Best Looking Lead Singer: Bon Jovi: Everyday
It's not just that he's gorgeous, it's that he's been gorgeous for as long as I've been alive. The band was formed in 1983. 'nuff said.

Best RedHead: TIE! Loreena McKennitt: Mummer's Dance and Tori Amos: Crucify
Probably the two most listenable songs in this whole post. Also known as the affirmative action category after I realized I didn't really represent any females at all.

Where It All Went Wrong: Nine Inch Nails: Closer NOT SAFE FOR WORK
Closer is a track on NIN's epic The Downward Spiral. The album, and consequently this video, were released in 1994, which means I was 11 when I first saw this on MTV. I saw the edited version, with no nudity and no language, but there was still plenty in there to make an impression. Still one of my favorite songs and videos. Directed by legend Mark Romanek.

Why I Can't Wait to be Done With College

I discovered that the most useful thing about college housing is that I now have a fairly extensive list of things that I absolutely will not tolerate once I graduate and need to find my own housing. This is a result of extensive trial and error.

Housemates

In my experience, they very quickly become synonymous with 'scapegoats'. My housemates are nice enough. I've generally had good experiences. But eventually, the sink gets messy and the same person is taking out the trash every week and people start muttering things like, "Does he think the bathroom cleans itself?!"

No Dishwasher

ARRRGGGHHHH!!!! My next home will have a dishwasher. No joke. Cleaning takes twice as long as normal.

Bedroom in the Attic

Sweltering in the summer, freezing in the winter, and no damn light.

Unventilated Kitchen

This one wasn't as obvious until I tried to bake some sugar glazed pork and got some drippings on the bottom of the oven. In November, when all the windows were closed. I smoke boxed the house.

Apartment Complexes with College Students

Alright, look. You're all smart. You go to CMU. Is it really that hard to live your life without setting off the fire alarm at 6 in the morning? In January? Because standing around in PJ pants in the cold waiting for the fire department to arrive is NOT FUN. If you're going to fall asleep while you're cooking, maybe you shouldn't be cooking.

Friendly Storage Space

We have a basement. It's convenient for putting stuff in. It's a godsend for someone who needs to put things somewhere over the summer while they don't have any campus housing. The latest inventory of things that do not belong to any current housemates: 1 queen size mattress, 1 bureau, 1 TV stand, 1 futon mattress, 1 desk chair, 1 futon frame... Some of this stuff has been here for 2 years.

Pittsburgh Weather

I hate it.

Guide to Buying Books in Airports

I was stuck in an airport last week with nothing to do. Normally, I have a handy paperback stashed away for just such emergencies, but since I started college, I haven't actually had time to read for pleasure, so it didn't occur to me to bring a book along.

I went to explore the selection at the one magazine stand in the whole place. It was tiny. I know airport book stores are not known for their selections, but this was abysmal even by those standards. And that's how I got stuck with John Grisham's "The Broker". It was either that or "The Devil Wears Prada."

I went with Grisham because I had vague memories of enjoying some of his work back in middle school. This in itself should have been a hint. My collection of middle school novels is sitting in a box gathering dust in my closet (Mom, stay away from my closet). I keep some on my bookshelf so that I can entertain the fantasy that I'll read them again, but with a few rare exceptions (anything by Madeleine L'Engle and C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia) they don't get touched. I keep them around because they all had really interesting ideas and so I want to be able to refer back to them if needed. And because I really like being surrounded by books. I have lots.

The Broker is a foray into the political thriller genre. I can understand why Grisham wanted to explore this area. Tom Clancy has made a lot of money with his spook stories about the NSA and friends, and he has also opened the door for other authors to get popular this way. People want to read about all the filthy things our government might be doing right under our nose, and an astute writer could conceivably capitalize on this trend.

An astute writer would start doing some research, both on all those spooky government agencies, and on the man who made them famous. Said writer would discover that Clancy is more than a little connected in Washington. It is said that Clancy gives talks at Fort Meade and Langley on a regular basis. He knows all the right people. He does all the research. The perceptive and aspiring writer might then discover that he could research for years and still not be able to match Clancy's knowledge base.

At this point, the writer has a choice. If he is a genuinely good writer, he might decide to find a co-conspirator who knows more about such things and work out a co-authorship. Neal Stephenson did this with great success when he recruited J. Frederick George for Cobweb and Interface. The writer might also decide that he is unqualified for this sort of writing and his efforts would be better spent elsewhere. If, however, the writer is neither skilled nor well-informed and decides to press on anyway, the end result is The Broker, a steaming pile of dreck not suitable for toilet paper, much less actual devotion of time.

The plot is overly simplistic, with no depth whatsoever. One gets the sense that the main character represents Grisham's aspirations in life, though even he is fairly one-dimensional. His treatment of the NSA is so trifling that one suspects him of limiting his research to Clancy novels, and occasionally, flat out fabrication. His descriptions of Italian fashion and culture are equally vapid. And we shall not even speak of the seduction by the main character of his Italian teacher.

I was trying to figure out why I felt the need to rip into this book in such a public and unprofessional manner. The answer is simple. People might actually buy this book. Some poor soul stuck in an airport somewhere might see this as a viable way to pass time in the terminal. And I can't let that happen.