01/12/08 02:42 - 37ºF - ID#42856
Travel in May
Permalink: Travel_in_May.html
Words: 188
Location: Buffalo, NY
01/05/08 11:58 - 38ºF - ID#42764
Behold the power of music
Permalink: Behold_the_power_of_music.html
Words: 39
Location: Buffalo, NY
01/02/08 10:28 - 16ºF - ID#42730
Woops
Less than 3 minutes later it deflated and now looks like this.
I wish I had the sense to video it as it died a quick and dramatic death.
Even though it looked really pathetic I had to try it. It tasted nothing like cake, more like a lightly sweet glutinous omelet.
Permalink: Woops.html
Words: 158
Location: Buffalo, NY
01/01/08 02:06 - 34ºF - ID#42713
Korean dinner tutorial (part 2) Jhampong
apparently I'm partial to the Wang brand
Prep list:
Noodles
1 cup pork thinly sliced
1/4 lb squid (tubes and tentacles) Wegmans sells it already cleaned
1/4 lb shrimp shells removed and deveined
10-15 mussels
5 or 6 shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
small onion thinly sliced
1/2 cup carrots julienned
4 cups shredded Napa cabbage
4 green onions cut into 1" lengths
2 red chilies sliced and seeded(I couldn't find fresh this week so I used dried)
tablespoon minced ginger
tablespoon minced garlic
Oil
8 cups of chicken stock
soy sauce
Slightly less than 1/4 cup of Kochukaru
Most of the prep list is self explanatory except for maybe cutting up the squid or cooking mussels. In all honesty I'm not certain I did this right but I was experimenting so I'll show you what I did. Cut the tubes down the seam and make it look like this
Slice into small pieces
Take a small knife and score a criss-cross pattern across the outside surface of the squid. Cut about half way into the meat.
This is supposed to give that "pineapple" look to the squid once its cooked. I think it would have turned out better if I had a heat source that was worth a shit. They did curl up but I think i would have worked better if my wok was hotter.
Clean the mussels well. If there are any broken or open shells discard them. If you tap on the shell and it closes its okay to use, that means its still alive. I don't envy the amount of time you will spend in the bathroom for the next several days if you cook bad mussles. fill a pan with an inch or so of water and boil it, toss mussels in and cook till the shells all open, about 4 minutes. You can either remove the meat or leave it in depending if you want shells in your soup or not.
Ok so once you have washed, chopped, sliced and "measured" your mise en place should look vaguely like this
Alright the hard part is over, have a beer and relax for a minute. Heat the wok or heavy bottomed dutch oven till screaming hot. Dump in some oil till just about smoking and add garlic and ginger, stir fry for about 10 seconds, next add the kochu and fry for another 10-20 seconds. Add pork and stir-fry, add shrimp, squid,mussels and stir-fry till it is all cooked through. Remove the meat and let the pan get hot again and add onions, carrot, chili pepper and stir-fry for a few minutes. Once the veggies have started to give off their juice add the meat back into the pan and mix with the vegetables. Add Napa and green onions and let it cook down a bit. Add the stock and a couple of dashes of soy sauce and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and let it gently simmer for about 20 minutes. If it isn't spicy enough add a little bit of Sriracha hot sauce and salt and pepper if you think it needs it. While the soup is simmering boil some water and and cook the noodles according to the package directions.
Place the noodles in the bottom of a deep bowl and ladle soup over them. Garnish with some green onion and sesame seeds. Bon appetite!
Permalink: Korean_dinner_tutorial_part_2_Jhampong.html
Words: 685
Location: Buffalo, NY
01/01/08 12:56 - 34ºF - ID#42709
Korean dinner tutorial (part 1)
Prep List:
Mandoo:
about 1 cup of Beef or Pork thinly sliced
about 3 cups Napa Cabbage shredded
about 1/2 cup carrots julienned (make them look like a matchstick)
half a small onion sliced thin
a clove of garlic sliced thin
a green onion or two julienned
a package of dumpling/wonton wrappers
Oil(use whatever you like) I used Olive which isn't very asian.
Sauce:
Soy sauce
Rice vinegar
Sesame oil
Sesame seeds
Sliced green onion
Take ingredients and make them look like this
Stir fry them:
Heat oil in a wok or heavy bottomed dutch oven till almost smoking aka really freaking hot. Add garlic and fry for about 10 seconds add pork and wait for it to brown up a bit, add carrots and onions and cook till it looks edible. Add a couple of splashes of soy sauce then Napa and green onion. Let the napa cook down a little bit till everything looks like this.
Take a spoon of the stir fried goodness and put it in the center of the wrapper. You can either beat up an egg or take a little water and rub it around the perimeter of the wrapper. Like this
There are two ways I know how to fold dumplings the one on the left is significantly easier and quicker while the one on the right looks cooler and takes forever and a day to do. I suggest the one on the left.
When you have made them all you can either boil them for 4 or 5 minutes or fry them till they are Golden on each side. As for the sauce mix said ingredients till it tastes good. I use roughly a soy sauce:sesame oil:rice vinegar in about a 4:3:2 ratio and add a the onions and seeds however you like. These freeze well and can be cooked after an hour of thawing.
Permalink: Korean_dinner_tutorial_part_1_.html
Words: 448
Location: Buffalo, NY
01/01/08 12:03 - 34ºF - ID#42707
Happy New Year
Despite a few bumps 2007 was a good year. I make only one resolution for 2008. To find one real friend in Buffalo. Moving to a new place I find this is the hardest thing to do. I can adjust to all of the other things. But having real friends in the end will determine whether or not I make Buffalo my home.
Despite my previous post griping about Ice Bowl tickets I'm pretty excited to be able to see a Sabres game at home. Being of the non-cable persuasion the only games I ever get to see are teams from Canada via CBC. Lets Go Red Wings!...er Sabres!
Permalink: Happy_New_Year.html
Words: 206
Location: Buffalo, NY
12/29/07 08:37 - 35ºF - ID#42678
My new shirts
I love living in an NHL city. Even though I haven't been to a Sabres game yet this year its great to see people actually watching hockey around here. Everywhere I have lived its been a hassle to find a game on at a bar. In Buffalo the game is always on. I'll root for the Sabres as long as they aren't playing my team. I can't wait till they come to town in March. I'll have to sport the new home jersey (e:john) and (e:lizabeth) gave me for Christmas this year.
Don't they look nice together?
Since I'm on the subject of hockey I'm so happy that its been warm this week in Buffalo. Even though I think its cool they are doing an outdoor game here, I'm still bitter about not being able to get tickets. I'm hoping for a high of 50 on new years. I love hockey and even the NHL, but they really need to get rid of Gary Bettman. He is a shitty commissioner and has done nothing but fuck up the league. Im thinking this should be my next shirt purchase.
Permalink: My_new_shirts.html
Words: 246
Location: Buffalo, NY
12/26/07 03:57 - 36ºF - ID#42655
Glad to be back
Permalink: Glad_to_be_back.html
Words: 121
Location: Buffalo, NY
12/24/07 08:04 - 30ºF - ID#42639
Greetings from Florida
A few nights ago we went to an Argentine Steakhouse called Beafeaters in Hollywood. I went there in March last year when I was here. This place is pretty awesome. It is reasonably priced and they have some really good stuff that is hard to find elsewhere. For dinner I had the gaucho plate. It consisted of Churrasco(which is skirt steak), Blood Sausage, and Sweetbreads. I know nothing about Argentine cuisine but based on the menu offerings it seems to consist of meat, with sides of meat, our waitress also offered us a meat appetizer. It all tastes pretty good washed down with a pitcher of sangria. I have been told that Sangria is what the tourists drink in Spain and it usually consists of leftover fruit that is about to go bad. Which I tend to believe, but it doesn't stop me from drinking it because its damn refreshing when it's hot out. Afterward we stopped at the bar next door which has a great selection of beers that I have never seen outside of their respective countries. It appears the bar owner is Polish, and they have about 12 or so types of Polish beer, and an even bigger selection of Belgian Beers. It was strange to see a guy in a Blue Tusk shirt. Blue Tusk is one of the bars in Syracuse with a pretty decent selection of tap beers. I think they boast 69 or something like that.
They hangover cure was at Churchills, a British pub in Little Haiti to watch the Liverpool vs. Portsmouth game. I had my first bangers and mash ever, pretty greasy and delicious, sausages with mashed potatoes and a thin light onion gravy covering it. Since I'm on vacation we decided to get a nice Strongbow buzz going before noon in order to start the day off right. We did some shopping for ingredients/stuff and I found some brew appropriate for my Christmas day. This was the first time I have ever found Hofbrau Dunkel in this country. Although I did find out they have Hofbrauhaus locations all over the world other than Munich, including Miami, which is probably why they had it at this liquor store.
Saturday we went to the Toronto vs. Florida game at the Bank Atlantic center in Sunrise. Thankfully (e:john) and (e:lizabeth) are half season ticket holders and had an extra for me. I haven't ever been to this arena to see a game but of the few I have been to I would have to say it's the nicest. It's kind of odd to see the lone banner hanging from the rafters. There were as many Toronto fans in the crowd as there were Panthers fans. It's similar to being in Buffalo, there is no shortage of Ontario plates around here. There a bunch of restaurants serving "Canadian Cuisine" which I can only assume means poutine. I can't really think of anything else that is strictly Canadian other than maybe peameal bacon. So anyway Florida lost the game in OT on the penalty kill due to a bad call.
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.
Permalink: Greetings_from_Florida.html
Words: 586
Location: Buffalo, NY
12/12/07 10:06 - 33ºF - ID#42495
Re: Absinthe
Permalink: Re_Absinthe.html
Words: 76
Location: Buffalo, NY
Taiwan in December is going to be expensive, though...