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ABC News and Yahoo Are BFF Now

2011-10-03T14:19:00.005-04:00

Brian Stelter of the New York Times reports that ABC News and Yahoo have formed a partnership to share material and feature web video. Is this what MSNBC wanted to be 15 years ago?

The partnership, announced this AM on Good Morning America (disclosure: my old employers) was described as a “game changer” for network news, already considered a dying animal. ABC News and ABCNews.com already languish low-ish end of the major news brands in terms of Web and broadcast traffic, hope that joining forces will help that.

Yahoo, the #1 online news source (unconfirmed) has had its own bad news in the past few months, it’s struggling with stagnant advertising revenues, and last month fired CEO Carol Bartz. The alliance with ABC will bring Yahoo’s news site brand-name stars like the smooth-jazz-voiced Diane Sawyer and network-hopper Katie Couric.

Each Web site will have editorial independence, but the news organizations will share content, co-produce coverage of some news events and have “integrated bureaus” in New York, Washington and Los Angeles, according to a news release. In addition, to leverage its most visible broadcast presence, Good Morning America, ABC/Yahoo has launched a new online presence at GoodMorningAmerica.com.

As with AOL’s (another dying dotcom dinosaur) acquisition of The Huffington Post earlier this year, the alliance is an example of two major media monsters joining forces to each become stronger on the Web, where audiences are fractured, other content is just a click away, and audience allegiance is fleeting.

With typical morning-anchor energy and enthusiasm, the anchors billed it as “a brand new partnership that is instantly going to become the No. 1 news source online.” That won’t be too hard for Yahoo News, assisted by the enormously popular (!) Yahoo home page, which is already #1 on its own. To wit, in August 2011, Yahoo had 81.2 MM unique visitors, CNN’s sites came in at #2 with 75.3 MM, and the aforementioned HuffPo-AOL was #3, with 56.7 MM, just edging out MSNBCm which had 55.6 MM. ABC News drew 24.4 million (thank you, ComScore).

Yahoo and ABC project that they will together reach 100 million visitors a month. Is that realistic? I’m not so sure yet, but ABC will definitely see a lot more traffic. As a broadcast news network without a 24-hour cable presence (they’ve considered it), it certainly may be more cost-effective and future-facing. As more and more folks are equipped with broadband video viewing capability, from home and mobile, utilizing the penetration of Yahoo and the brand credibility of ABC may be very useful. When MSNBC started in the mid-90s, it was hailed as a great partnership with giants of Computers and News, with the rise of the Internet. I thought it was a great idea at the time, but also ahead of itself: most people, if online at all, were on dial-up. A mobile phone, if you had one, was just a phone.

Now, 15+ years later, these technologies have matured, and there’s greater penetration (and consumer habit) of use. What’s this mean? There will be greater, and easier access to ABC News. All that good stuff that ABC News produces will be pushed out on the giant Yahoo network. Yahoo gets more news credibility, network-quality contents, and ABC network stars. With the launch of GoodMorningAmerica.com (which I need to play with, and report back on), they’re leveraging ABC’s most visible broadcast presence online. It’s the place that starts many mornings, has the glossiest headlines and talent (Hollywood and ABC), the most branded segments, and probably the most interactive audience. Let’s revisit this in a year, and see what happens (with apologies to AMC).

Latest items...

2011-07-14T15:08:00.004-04:00

the Magic Container Garden as seen through the Kitchen Aid Food Processor. Stay tuned for the unboxing.
Tito's Martini, Dirty. Ice Cold.
Pulled Pork and Onion Rings from the Whippi Dip of Fairlee, VT. Food tip fromRussell Hirschler

Garden Update

2011-06-10T13:11:00.006-04:00

We've had a few HOT days here in NYC, and it's really given the garden a boost (along with my electric bill).

I pinched off a bit of basil from the two (four?) plants a couple of days ago for a nice hot-weather lunch of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil (and some salami —shh!) dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette and served with a baguette. Yum. It's the taste of summer.

Lunch didn't last long enough for pictures, so here's more of the garden.Overall, we've gotten some really nice growth, and the basil's been plentiful. Rosemary's going to have to be a bit bushier before I harvest any. The oregano is growing well, but still only a few lonely branches.

More basil will be utilized this evening with a flank steak…!

Rosemary: 22cm +3

Basil 1: 22cm +7

Basil 2: 22cm +7

Oregano: 20cm +5

Return of the Garden (Episode III)

2011-06-02T13:27:00.002-04:00

Yay, it's that time again!

I've planted my 2011 Garden, and I'm looking forward to the bounty of herbs this summer. I've switched it up a bit this year; so far, only

select

herbs, and giving them a bit more room. This year, I'm going with rosemary, basil (2/4) and oregano thus far.

The oregano miraculously survived the winter, marking its third y

ear in the container. It on

ly has a f

ew shoots left, down from the small bush that it used to be. With so

me pruning and a lot of love, hopefully it'll catch up.

The rosemary (new) will be isolated on one side, as it likes a bit drier soil, and was previously living next to the basil, which likes it wet. I'm considering (and looking for) a waterproof separator.

For basil, I'm rocking two sets of two plants this summer – you can never have enough basil, and I preserve it for the winter. This year, I'm separating them out a bit, so as not to get too crowded. 2010's crop was slow and sat close together– sometimes would shield other parts from the sun, which led to a lot of immature leaves, and slow growth.

I'm going to attempt to actually track growth this year on a consistent basis, so here's the base

line:

Rosemary: 19cm
Basil 1: 15cm
Basil 2: 11cm
Oregano: 15cm

I had suspended my weather station sensor from the container (to mostly shield it from sun and elements and increase accuracy), but that attachment rusted in the spring rains. I need to

find a new solution to mount it there, and get it off the windowsill.

An extreme close-up of the rosemary… You can see the texture pattern of the leaves and tiny little hairs as well (oooh… scary!). Yay for macrophotography. Something to play more with.

We had a TON of sun/heat yesterday – my weather station recorded a 96 at one point during the day— and a TORNADO WATCH, for f's sake, so I hope to get a lot of growth over the next few days.

Bringing Back the Urban Garden

2011-03-01T11:07:00.004-05:00

OMG... My container garden is a major shitshow after this winter. Everything's dead (dormant?), and even Wormie (the little water buddy) looks like E.T. when the dudes in spacesuits came to get him.

That said, my weather station says that it's 54.1F out today, and I have peak sun (before it goes behind that frickin' dorm) on the sill starting around 11a for a few hours. I'm going to add some Miracle-Gro to some warmish water, and see if I can jumpstart some photosynthesis action.

Also, I'll try to MacGyver a solution to secure the outside weather sensor for the Weather Station. I hope to utilize the container and plants to shade the sensor, while also raising it off the sill itself. I'm sure there's something I can work out with a large metal clip.

Debating whether or not to post images... It's really an ugly scene.

Pot Roast with Porcini Mushrooms

2011-02-24T10:47:00.005-05:00

Epicurious R ed-Wine Pot Roast with Porcini Mushrooms

iPad, ready for action. Really a great tool (paired with Dropbox) for the kitchen. I sync my lappie to the iPad with a Recipes folder. Wrapped in Saran, it's well-protected, and not as much of a space/damage risk as having the laptop in the kitchen. Amazingly, the touchscreen works really well through the wrap.

Browning on all sides. This is the new Mario Batali Dutch Oven we got for our engagement. Half the price of the La Creuset, and just as badass.

At rest, next to the chopped veggies.
Building the braise, including browned veggies, San Marzano tomatoes (Rogee-crushed), a cup of Simi Cabernet, some dried oregano from my container garden, 2 cups of Mama Resnicoff's chicken stock (from the freezer, when Sweetie had her knee surgery).

Into the oven for 3 hours, while I go to do yoga down the street.

Mayan Riviera, Mexico - "Japanese" Restaurant

2011-02-22T18:27:00.002-05:00

Ray's Hell Burger -Washington, DC

2011-02-22T18:11:00.004-05:00

Ray's Hell Burger, Arlington VA
The Burger of Seville
(Yes, you're next. You're so next!)
Seared Foie Gras, Sauteed Mushrooms, Bordelaise Sauce, Truffle Oil

Let's Get It On (We are All Sensitive Burgers With So Much To Give)
Applewood Smoked Bacon, Swiss & Vermont White Cheddar Cheeses, Cognac & Sherry Sauteed Mushrooms, Grilled Red Onions, Sauteed Peppers, Roasted Garlic, Lettuce & Tomato

.

Makin' Pot Roast

2011-02-22T16:36:00.001-05:00

Making a pot roast with the new dutch oven-- if I could share via @epicurious website, I'd be able to share the recipe.. Hint, hint. #socialmedia #FAIL

Social Media Week: Foodies and Geekery

2011-02-18T13:13:00.001-05:00

Social Media Week – it was a whirlwind.

Aside from the fact that I was closely following the Egypt situation that week, in nine cities spanning the globe, social media hobbyist, enthusiasts, professionals, wanna-bes, tyros, ninjas and the like (no ‘gurus’ allowed) gathered to discuss trending topics (haha) IRL, instead of just online. It was a place that I could tell people that I’m using QR codes for my wedding, and the women there thought it was cool.

Some events were hits, some were misses, but most provided the audience with some level of valuable insights into current industry directions. There were six hundred events, both scholarly and cocktail-lubricated, and most were livestreamed. That increased the attendance from 30K+ IRL to around 180K(!). I hope to recap some of the things I learned/experienced…. Soonish.

Since I need to update my food blog too, I’m going to try to crush two pigs with one angry bird and cross-post this. The final (and most fresh in my mind) session I attended was a discussion about how al the digital tools that I love to play and work with enable marketers to build communities around what appears to be America’s Favorite (real) Pastime: Eating. It’s certainly in

New York City, and it certainly is mine (hence the sister blog). More than ever, social media has allowed us to see, discuss, make and share some of our favorite foods. This meeting was entitled, “Almost Good Enough to Eat: Food Communities and Social Media”, and the (great) panel was made up of:

· Moderator: Sarah De Heer, Community Manager, AOL's KitchenDaily and Slashfood
· Rebecca P. Bauer, Executive Digital Editor, Food & Wine Magazine
· Colin Sterling, HuffingtonPost Food
· Hillary Mickell, CMO/ Co-Founder, Foodily
· Sarah Simmons, In-House Chef, Foursquare

This panel discussion was supposed to explore the social nature of food and how food communities online grow and prosper. Didn’t quite work out that way, but valuable and enjoyable nonetheless. Considering that it was Friday morning at 9a, the event was packed with food and social media geeks – my kind of people. The sunny penthouse of the Hearst Tower played host, and the discussion ranged from how to integrate social networking technology (sites, apps, GPS, imagery, blogging), tools and techniques to check out for personal enjoyment. There appeared to be quite a few amateur foodies (no disrespect) with visions of Food Network stardom dancing in their heads (or at least easy sponsorship) eagerly looking for information how to connect with the pros. It happens.

As a foodie and wanna-be chef myself, I was raised to believe that food is brings people together and is the center of family and friends. I’ve always said that I’d like to live on a cooking show set; a big kitchen, places for people to sit. That’s it – I can sleep in a loft.

Some negative Nancies say that social media isn’t a great fit for food, as it de-personalizes the experience. To a certain extent, I agree. However, I believe it enhances the long-tail connections and experiences amongst a network; social media enables people to share in that when they can’t be together IRL, with the hopes that it will spur and IRL meeting, or at least an exchange of ideas. Much like Facebook, it’s a way to keep up with all of your friends and contacts to the extent that you want to, and perhaps find some more commonalities along the way. It’s also a way of sharing opinions and advice, on places to eat, items to look for,

or recipes to cook. And isn’t that what Social Media is all about?

Also, I met a fellow food-geek/flack there, who tipped me off to a pop-upstore that Dorie Greenspan (@doriegreenspan) was selling her hand-made cookies at, which we braved the bitter February winds to check out.Cool!

Spring Is Back... And So Am I

2010-04-15T14:11:00.003-04:00

Yeah, yeah, I've been absent. I've been busy. Hope to do this more often in the coming months. All that stuff.

Regardless, I replanted my New York City container garden, and added some new residents. Italian Oregano and German Thyme welcome their new neighbors, Rosemary and Basil. They were adopted at the Union Square Greenmarket this past weekend.

Garden Tracking 2010
		4/15/2010
Basil 1		5cm
Basil 2		6cm
Basil 3		9cm
Basil 4		9cm
Basil 5		8cm

Rosemary 1		12cm
Rosemary 2		24cm
Rosemary 3		21cm
Rosemary 4		16cm
Rosemary 5		22cm
Rosemary 6		20 cm

Italian Oregano		13cm

German Thyme		11cm

My Urban Garden

2009-10-16T12:46:00.005-04:00

This summer, I moved to a new apartment, in the Union Square/East Village. After walking through the Greenmarket a number of times each week, I was inspired to create my own "locally-grown" produce. The new apartment has a 5'X1.5' concrete windowsill, and Southern exposure for about 8 hours a day. Ideal for a garden. Being a townie, and never having grown anything in my life, nor had a backyard, I figured I should start small, and go with some herbs. I subsist mainly on Caprese salad during the summer months, so basil was a natural choice.

(more to come...)

Rocket Hot Ovens, Roast Chicken and Why I Brine (Part II)

2009-06-18T13:20:00.013-04:00

Now, as I was saying...

With that in mind, a number of months ago, I started looking into recipes and techniques for roasting chicken. As usual, I (virtually) consulted my favorites: Alton Brown, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, the Frugal Gourmet, and the America’s Test Kitchen folks. Then I came upon the writings of Barbara Kafka, who apparently was the ‘Roasting Guru’ of the Nineties, and revolutionized the home-roasting game with her high-temperature technique. It also snagged her a Julia Child Cookbook Award.

How high? I mean high, as in the absolute temperature your oven can reach: 500 degrees. As Alton Brown says, rocket hot. So hot it will burn anything left in your unclean oven (yes it is, trust me), causing the entire kitchen (and/or apartment) to fill with smoke, have you opening up the windows, cranking up the AC and fan, and running around in panic, since you set off the smoke detector (again), and it’s ridiculously loud and obnoxious sounding, making your skull vibrate with every shriek. It’ll make you wonder if it’s all worth it, and if you’re gonna get a blackened brick of poultry in return when it’s all done.

However, the benefits (not including a delicious chicken) will quickly make you change your viewpoint. Once you plug in the thermometer and put the chicken in the oven, that’s it. You just walk away. No basting, no cooking rack, no trussing, no butter under the skin (though I like to give it a rubdown over-the-shirt).

Just leave it alone until the thermometer beeps at 160. And it comes out all golden, with yummy, crackly skin, with (pre-gravy) drippings that Scarface could’ve sold as a sidecar to his usual in the 80s. In fact, I would go as far as saying that the cooking process, post-prep, is kinda boring… aside from all the smoky excitement as described before.

And so we begin; Let's light this candle!

Oven: crank it up all the way -- it's gonna take awhile to get to critical mass. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees – usually as far as the dial will go. Now's the time when one of your two (you do have two right? an innie and and outie?) thermometers will come into play. The oven's gotta be at 500 degrees, or damn close, and I mean the oven, not just the air in the oven. So put the pedal to the metal, and give her time to get up to ramming speed.

It’s very important to allow enough time for this, as you want to make sure the oven gets to this level, and will hold it there. I usually give it about an hour to get to launch speed, which will leave plenty of time to prep the chicken and go back to whatever else you'd like to be doing, like playing with your Nofriendo Wii or reading snarky blogs. You'll have like 59 minutes. Seriously, it's that wonderfully simple. Now's the time to get your culinary legos together as well:

4 to 6 pound whole chicken
1/2 cup of thyme
1/2 cup of rosemary
1 lemon, juice reserved
2 tbls (unsalted) butter
1 cup white wine
Past-their-prime celery and/or carrots
Kosher (or sea, not table) Salt n' (fresh ground) Pepper
What else you got around the house that might work? Any veggies past-their-prime will serve as a great napping mat for the chicken and future gravy base with the celery and carrots. Smashed garlic cloves? Definitely. Mushrooms? Sure. Chunks of onion? Check. Or none of these. Garlic is nice though.

adapted from Barbara Kafka's Roasting: A Simple Art

For the brine:

Approximately 1/2 cup kosher salt
Handful of peppercorns (smash 'em a bit if you like)

adapted by my scientific trial-and-error method

What else do you have around? A few of the savory bits will be plenty. How about a bit of thyme? A bay leaf or two? Tune to taste -- just make sure the solution is salty. Like hella salty.

Anyway, grab a stockpot that will hold the submerged chicken, and fill it about 1/4 way with cold water. Bring it to a simmer, and dissolve the salt, peppercorns and whatever else you got. I also like to drop a few smashed garlic cloves in the mix. Once the salt is dissolved, take the pot off the stove, and allow it to cool. It will be disgustingly salty, but that's okay. We're going to dilute it. Drop as many ice cubes as you can, while maintaining a decent salinity to taste. Get about as many in as you think will cool the brine as well as melt and submerge the chicken when we put it in. Now, it's very important that we need to get this thing ice cold, else we fall victim to icky bacteria. This is NOT an option. Has this happened yet? No?

Stop right there then. Get it very very cold, and then come back.

Okay, we're there? Excellent. Now, place the chicken into the stockpot, make sure it sinks, and add some ice to the top to keep it cold for awhile. Periodically, return to check the bird and add more ice. Yeah, I know it's reducing the salinity of the mixture. Hopefully you won't have to add too much ice.

If you're really enterprising, freeze some water in some water bottles, and you can use that. I just always fear mixing them up sometime and drinking them.

Please note that the picture above is of the chicken "relaxing prior to performance". Chicken was actually submerged in the salty depths of the stockpot for the duration of the brining time.

So why brine? Pull up a pillow my child, and let me explain about the scientific miracles of what you may already know, deep in your mind, from long ago.

To be continued...

Rocket Hot Ovens, Roast Chicken and Why I Brine (Part I)

2009-06-18T13:08:00.008-04:00

Have you ever roasted a chicken? I’m talking about a whole roasted chicken, like the kind you can get at the hundreds of rotisserie places in NYC?

As I’ve mentioned before, I grew up around this town, and one of the big takeout trends of the late 80s/90s was barbecued chicken, so I ate a lot of the stuff during my childhood. Strangely enough, I realized that with as many turkeys I’ve made over the years, and various types of chicken parts (breasts, wings, etc.) I’ve prepared, I’d never really roasted a whole chicken. It just never came up, and it was inconvenient. I mean, why do up the whole chicken when you can prepare parts with less mess and carving? I saw the only benefit to cooking a whole chicken to be the pageantry of carving (which is dramatic and cool with a turkey, if you’ve got moves), and that wasn’t worth it to me.

That said, I have heard/read that there are a few “marques” of being a great chef. It’s said that the way he/she roasts a simple chicken (or makes an omelet) is indicative of talent, taking the everyday into the sublime. Sounded like a challenge.

To be continued... Stay tuned.

BREAKING: H&H Bagels SEIZED by Tax Man

2009-05-29T12:57:00.004-04:00

This just in.. via via Eater.com..
"Just came back from H&H Bagels, W. 80th & Broadway. At 10:15 am an official was posting a 'property seized for lack of payment of taxes' sign...bagels were piled high inside, employees inside, but store was closed by officials."

Eater's call to the main office confirms that not just one but both locations (the second is on West 46th St. -- great for roadtrip gifts) were shut down and they have "no idea" when they'll open again, but they're hoping to have it all smoothed out by this afternoon.

(via Eater.com)

Second Avenue Deli and Jewish Soul Food

2009-05-14T15:41:00.013-04:00

2^nd Avenue Deli serves what I believe is overall, the finest Jewish soul food in New York City, and that’s saying a lot. Of course, there are some things that I prefer at Katz’s (hot dogs, knishes) and at Carnegie (cheesecake), but 2^nd Avenue does it overall the best, and in a better setting. Except that it’s always hot and stuffy inside, no matter when I’ve been. When they closed down for a few years after the Lebenwohls lost their Lower East Side lease, I mourned the loss of my childhood, a NYC institution, and some of the best pastrami I’ve ever had. Fortunately, they returned a bit over a year ago, and while they’re not on 2^nd Avenue anymore, the food’s just as good. It’s also now a generation cleaner than its old digs, and Katz’s (shabby but loved) for that matter. I’ve ordered the same exact items for the past 30 or so years…

As always, the amuse bouche is some pickles, cucumber and tomato. Some garlic and dill sours, along with some sauerkraut. New in this incarnation is the offering of gribenes, which are like Jewish pork rinds. Being Jewish, however, they're made from chicken, as opposed to pig.

Next follows some of the best matzoh ball soup in the City, which is poured into the bowl at the table. 2^nd Avenue goes the ‘monster ball’ route, which I would normally advise against, but they somehow dodge the overly-dense belly bomber consequences.

What’s next? Knish time. Not as good as Yonah Schimmel’s, but ALWAYS round, NEVER square. Square knishes (like Gabila’s) are for baseball games.

Ahh, the stuffed derma. Most people of my generation are disgusted stuffed derma (or, kishka), but I praise it (and devour it) as one of the shining examples of the Jews taking what was around (usually the less-desired parts of the animal) and making it delicious, in accordance with some sort of ritual. Derma is made to cook for a long time, so it doesn’t have to be messed around with on the Sabbath. I love it.

And now for the Main Event:

Pastrami on Rye. None of that ‘lean cut’, thank you. That’s like stripping the fat ribbon off of prosciutto.

Oh, and I always have a Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda. I don’t like soda, and I never drink soda, aside from this yummy stuff.

Cookie Monsters and Cupcakes

2009-05-14T14:18:00.007-04:00

I recently attended a 2-year-old's birthday party on the Upper East Side. I've known the mommy since she was inside her mommy (over 30 years), and I've known her husband for a long while (through her) as well. The kiddie is a cutie, and a man after my own heart -- he digs the Cookie Monster.

After a sing-along with about twenty toddlers and pizza cut into half-slices (I ate about six, plus some salad, which the toddlers ignored, except for the dressing), I was summoned into the staging area to preview the forthcoming cakery, as the mommy (and my mommy, also in attendance), thought I should see what was to come.

The cupcakes (there were a ton - more pics later) were adorable -- but not all that tasty. At least I met a new friend.

That said, I've been inspired to do some of my own, 'cause my cupcakes ROCK. Stay tuned.

Baseball's Back! Citi Field Preview: Food Shootout (Part I)

2009-04-16T12:53:00.028-04:00

Last weekend, my cousin Shari emailed me to ask me if I wanted to come to a Citi Field opening preview / Mets workout on Sunday morning @ 930a. They have a ticket package (last year, it was the "Jose Jose Jose"), so they got this offer. Normally, anything at that time on a Sunday morning would give me pause, but thought it would be a good time to check out the new park, and see what the Mets were up to, and spend some time with my cousin outside, and without all the extended family. And did I mention the site survey? this was before all the news reports offering the rundown of the Citi Field / Yankee Stadium offerings.

Now, it's kind of interesting to note that somehow, my family is made up of Mets fans. Not really sure how that happened. My dad and his brothers were from Queens originally, but not Flushing, and were about 18 when the Mets arrived. But, part of the fam moved to Brooklyn, and we moved to Manhattan, but we all ended up as Mets fans. And we're not an especially sporty-centric family. Shari married a Philly-area guy who went to school in Boston, and they went to Fenway the night they were engaged (funny things you learn about your family while walking around a ballpark). He became a Mets fan, and shares her season's ticket package. Her brother and his son are Mets fans. His son is probably a bigger, more knowledgeable fan than all of us, at all of six years old. And that's a compliment. The kid does his own color commentary when playing Wii MLB 2K8. And well. Anyway,to close out this part of the rant, my sister married a Mets fan, and my Sweetie is one too. However, ALL of my friends are Yankees fans.

Now, I'm not much of a sports nut, but I know where my loyalties lie. Mets, Giants, Rangers, Knicks, Federer/Nadal/Connors. Always have been that way. Not that I'm the most well-spoken about the subjects -- but I am about food. Thus, the Citi Field - Yankee Stadium Shootout. Strangely enough, when I’m at a ballpark, I only really want a hot dog and a beer – maybe some Cracker Jacks -- just because it’s the right thing to do (which is what I got -- look left). The combined food service operations at both stadiums encompass what might be the equivalent of 20 or 30 non-stadium restaurant openings, highbrow and otherwise. Now, I could go into all the clubs and ridiculous stuff like that (I will in the sequel to this post), but I’m not going to be taking advantage of all those amenities anytime soon, so I don’t care. Also, I’m there for a baseball game – not to eat overpriced food in a lounge.

Let's break it down...

Hot Dogs
Citi Field: Nathan’s Yankees: Nathan's / Hebrew National

Access
Citi Field: Walk-around all levels possible. Yankees: Restricted by level

Burger
Citi Field: Shake Shack Yankees: Johnny Rocket’s

Barbecue
Citi Field: Blue Smoke Yankees: Brother Jimmy’s

Old School NYC
Citi Field: Gabila’s Knishes Yankees: Mike’s Deli of Arthur Ave

"Ethnic" NYC
Citi Field: Verano Taqueria (Tabla/Floyd Cardoz)
Yankees: Asian Noodle Bowl

High-End
Citi Field: Fish from Dave Pasternack Yankees: Meats from Lobel’s

Mets win, 5-2.

And I didn't even consider the fact that there's a Hard Rock Cafe on site... Seriously?

(more to come...)

New Year's in New Hampshire

2009-03-05T10:05:00.010-05:00

Yeah, I know it's March -- I'm a little behind on my posting, but I have a (sorta) life, you know?

(names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent)

Anyway, me and Sweetie went up North for my quasi-annual trip to see my BFF and his wife (Smokey the Bear and Doc Fiddle) for New Year's festivities. It was Sweetie's first time -- I think it's my fourth.

Anyway, [Here come the acronyms and alliteration - please follow along crisply] we loaded up a rented SUV with NYC goodies (bagels, booze, brownies), G (another one of my BFFs from HS Dalton) and his BF, Broadway, his doggie Lucas, and Cannonball Run-ned it up to Lyme, NH.

Up there, we were joined with another nice couple from Canadia, pharmacists both (no, that's not a euphemism -- this is a family blog, you know) whom I had met the year previously. One of the great things about going up to Lyme (which is on the border of Vermont, literally across the river) for EOY celebration is that it's faaaar away from NYC, and the ridiculousness of overcharging, overpromising, overcrowded, underdelivering organized festivities. In lieu of this, we traditionally partake in our own bacchanalian food and booze fest, get to do some sledding, cuddle with close friends, celebrate in our slippers, and sleep really, really well (it's cold and quiet).

Anyway, seeing as Smokey and Fiddle are one year married and have a great kitch stocked with fun toys from their registry and access to great food (being up in the New Englandy area), I knew we were in for a treat. Social Cooking was definitely on the agenda, and that's one of my favorite things to do. I do love when you can get a really great group of folks in a big ol' kitch to chef-up in concert -- guess I'm filling a need for team sports that I didn't have in my youth. We're all foodies, and all know that I'm somewhat obsessed myself. These are some of the folks that accompanied me years ago to the Cabot Co-Op Creamery, where I geeked out with the dairy farmers/owners and got my pic posted up on the Reception area wall. But I digress -- back to the food.

A selection of what we had:
Homemade linguini
Lamb stew (peas went in there)
Fresh bread

More later... There was a lot of food over the five days...

Stand

2009-03-05T09:45:00.000-05:00

Classic Burger with Cheese

Onion Rings

Fries

Onion Rings

Fries

Shake Shack

2009-03-04T17:06:00.001-05:00

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries and Locally-Grown Produce

2008-10-14T18:59:00.000-04:00

Strawberries are right in season (well, they were a few months ago when I photographed these), and, while I'm not much for fruit (allergies), I'm very much in favor of chocolate in most forms.

I'm a big believer in locally grown produce, or at least getting what you eat as close as you can to where you're living. In general, produce tastes better, and is better quality when it doesn't have to travel too far.

Tomatoes (a.k.a. Lycopersicum) should be eaten in the Summer (August, at best), because that's when they've gotten the most sun, and are nice and ripe. They're not the 'bulletproofed', travel-toughened ones that we usually get in supermarkets (blech).

Are you aware that most of those "supermarket tomatoes" are exposed are picked while they're still green and are exposed to artificial "ripening agents" subsequent to transport? Typically, they are exposed to ethylene (the chemical which causes tomatoes to ripen naturally) in the form of a gas. However, the ethylene doesn't effectively penetrate to the interior of the fruit. Therefore, ripening agents may only redden tomatoes rather than truly ripening them. That's why the red tomatoes that you get in the wintertime are mealy and whitish inside. Often, those off-season tomatoes are also from another part of the world. Anyway, I mention this, because off-season strawberries strawberries grown for the mass market have been bred for size and ship-ability, not flavor. The ones that you find in your local supermarket usually come from South America when off-season. This time of year, however, they come from America's South or California.

BTW, ever wonder why strawberries are called “strawberries”? I mean, blueberries are blue, blackberries are black, etc., etc., so where does the ‘straw’ come in? Well, strawberries grow on little vines along the ground. When they sit in the dirt they rot very quickly. Growers like to put a lot of straw in the fields for the berries to rest on. That's why they call them "straw" berries. Just so you know.

So, anyway, I was recently recruited to make some chocolate covered strawberries for a bridal shower, and then the following weekend, made some more to bring over to a friend's house upstate.

Utilizing the services of a double boiler, some semisweet and white chocolate and a pastry bag, I set upon the task of enrobing them in delicious cocoa goodness. Oh, and two pounds of West Coast-sourced strawberries.

Two pounds of strawberries and two pounds of semisweet chocolate later (and just a bit of white drizzled across them), deliciousness had been achieved.

Bistro Burger

2008-10-13T17:32:00.001-04:00

Ah, the Corner Bistro. I've been eating here since I was a wee lad, and they've had their ups and downs. When I was just a young producer at Fox News Channel, we used to come here after getting out of work at midnight or so, to grab a Bistro Burger and six or eight McSorleys on draught. Back in the day, you could smoke there, and we'd do that too while we'd while away the hours until late at night drinking beer and eating massive amounts of cow, topped with cheese and pig. I was also 23, so consistent caloric assaults such as those wouldn't cause permanent damage.

It's been awhile since I've dined there, as it's gotten ridiculously crowded as word of the Bistro has spread, and I don't have as many late-night burgers and beers as I used to.

Anyway, I was offered the chance to meet some friends-of-friends there for dinner, so I jumped at the chance.

Yeah, the line was looooong, and you're always getting jostled, but if you're with people (n.b. I hate waiting for someone on line, and then your companion shows late, leaving you to bear the brunt of the wait time... grrr...), it's not so bad. A few McSorley's Darks later, it was vaguely enjoyable.

I got my regular: Bistro Burger (featuring cheese and bacon), rare, everything on it, and fries. Yum. I looked forward to a reunion with a cherished, lately absent old friend. Soon after we sat down, our orders were taken, and the waiting game began.

Unfortunately, I don't feel like it's was good as it used to be... the meat doesn't taste as high-quality, and they only appear to be able to prepare them mooing or well-done. Fortunately, I like my meat to be just introduced to the flame ("how do you do, Mr. Fire?"), and received it that way -- I'm not fun to be around when I've received a well-done burger. Overall, though, it was still a decent hamburger experience. Fries were still really good though.

Pulled Pork and Hurricane Ike

2008-10-12T18:11:00.000-04:00

Down at the Jersey Shore... Like waaaay down, for a bachelor party, with about 15 guys. Hurricane Ike is bearing down on the coast, and us with it. The winds were whipping, the rain was coming down in sheets, and this guy showed up on the doorstep of our weekend rental with another large associate in an enormous black Ford pickup pulling a blackened oil drum smoker.

The smokerbarrow opened up like a clamshell to reveal a pig, split down the middle, and resting on grates and an aluminum foil covered plank. One kind gentleman went to work on the pig, at first getting medieval with two cleavers, and then moving to more ninja-like moves with a 12" chef's knife.

Puttin' some hurt to a side o' pig.

Pulled Pork during Hurricane Ike. Seriously.

One, two! One, two! and through and through; The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

Probably just as uncomfortable feeling to the pork as it is to you being this close :P

Action Shot.
Don't you just want to jump on into that tray and roll around in it? Okay, maybe that's just me.

Coming up... Burgers.