I'm a Bad, Bad Boy

Hi Folks, I apologize for the lack of postings as of late. Work and life have conspired to zap my creative strengths recently. Never fear! I am off to San Francisco on a business trip for 2 weeks and that should provide plenty of creative fodder for posts.

Granted, depending on the schedule while there, you might not see them till I get back. But I'll see what I can do about that. Maybe I can write some posts while I am actually working?

Talk to you soon.

A Dream is a Wish Your Stomach Makes

Scott, Tod and I were on our way to Altoona, PA for what has become our annual pilgrimage to the AIDS benefit at Escapade Bar. Abigail wasn't performing this year due to "The Blood Clot Incident" so Scott and I were along as Drag Lackey and Cocktail Lackey.

Last year our hosts had taken us out to dinner at Cracker Barrel. Very thoughtful of them, but certainly not a place I would ever choose to dine on my own. So this year when I heard they were taking us to dinner I asked Tod that we please not eat at Cracker Barrel. Certainly Altoona has to have some local cuisine that could outmatch the "Barrel". I mean, on any given day Denny's pretty much does. We wound up at...

Just a quick hop over to Holidaysburg.

The Dream, and it was pretty dreamy. We had a very brief wait for our table and while we were waiting we were simply blown away by the bakery's display case. Sorry, I didn't get a picture of that. It was just bursting with every type of pastry you could ever need, want, or desire. They even had gluten free items, which I think is a great sign of the times.

Anyway, we were seated and then came the difficult task of choosing what to order.

Fairly sizable menu.

Usually when I'm confronted by a menu of this diversity, I wait to hear what the specials are, and I'm glad I did. We all ordered and then the waitress brought the bread. If you've followed my blog at all, you know my stance on processed flour, but even I couldn't resist the hot, fluffy goodness that was placed before us.

I did stick with the whole wheat one tho. No sense goin crazy!

I  did not sample the cinnamon/sugar butter that came with the bread. 100% butter was just fine with me. The guys said the flavored butter was great and Scott even took the leftovers back to the hotel with him. Next came our salads.

Creamy, savory cole slaw

I opted for the cole slaw once I discovered that it wasn't a sweet version. I have to be fairly cautious with my veggie choices because of "The Blood Clot Incident", too much green stuff and my blood thickens up like molasses on a winter day. I am a sucker for a good cole slaw. This one was creamy enough to stick to the cabbage, but still delightfully slick on the tongue. I really liked the addition of the paprika, it gave the dish a nice little splash of color.

Ok, I've been teasing you a bit with my choice of main course...and I'm going to continue for just a bit and discuss what the other ordered. Tod got ribs, which were one of the specials. Huge serving, he couldn't finish it and still be able to perform later. Scott got some sort of something with steamed veggies. He seemed to like it but I still have know idea what it was. Tod's friends got hot roast beef and hot turkey sandwiches which looked amazing and was making be debate whether I had made the right selection. But then my plate came and any doubt immediately vanished.

Chicken Cordon Bleu and FRIES!

Heaven! OMG!!! There were a few things about this dish that were different from other CCB's I've had. First, it wasn't rolled. The cheese and the ham had been rolled, but then they were just placed beneath the chicken breast and baked. I found this style more enjoyable from the slicing and eating standpoint. It created a much more balanced flavor. You weren't getting more chicken than filling because there was only one layer or chicken, not a roll. The other delightful aspect of the dish was that the ham was sliced very thin. So often with CCB's it's just a chunk of ham stuck in the middle. No fun. The fries were amazing too. Crispy, hot and tender in the middle...exactly the way I love them. Not to mention the fact that there was, what I believe to be, homemade ranch dressing to dip them in.

The real shame is that after all of this food, none of us had any room left to sample anything from the bakery case. I really wanted to try one of those gluten free brownies and in hindsight probably should have gotten one to go.

Oh well...that just gives me a good reason to dream The Dream again!

Not "That Cuban Place"

Things are a little confusing here in my little town. We have a restaurant called "That Cuban Place", but this post is not about that cuban place. This post is about the cuban place that is better than "That Cuban Place".  This cuban place is Sabor De Cuba.

It is located in Frederick, MD right in the thick of the downtown area. We have so many great restaurants in that area, many of which I have spoken about here. My coworkers and I hit Sabor De Cuba one day for lunch.

Don't tell my boss!

I decided I had to try one of their Mojitos. You can't feast at a cuban restaurant and not sample this iconic drink. Besides, it was a Friday and I didn't have a lot on my plate back at the office. I have to say, it wasn't as good as the ones I make, but in the grand scheme of the Mojito Universe it was quite good.

Minty, limey goodness

One trick I noticed is that here the bartender blends the ingredients before placing them in the glass rather than muddling them in the glass. The upside of this is that the mint pieces wind up small enough to make it up the straw as you're sipping. The downside is that it tints the cocktail green. Not the typical color of a muddled Mojito. I've always enjoyed the contrast of the clear cocktail with the mint leaves myself.

For my lunch I ordered the Cuban Sandwich, how could I not? This place definitely gets these right...perfect, in fact.

Yes...I ate the bread.

A Cuban Sandwich, for those of you who have never sampled one, consists of roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, mustard, and pickle. It is then pressed like a Panini so the insides get nice and gooey and the bread gets nice and crispy.

I have sampled this sandwich all over the country and there is only one restaurant in Miami who makes one that is better than this one at Sabor De Cuba. I warn you tho, they don't reheat very well so be prepared to finish this delight all in one sitting. It's really not that difficult, just skip the appetizers.

NOTE: In all fairness, I have personally not tried "That Cuban Place", but coworkers of mine have and didn't have the best things to say about it. I plan to check it out for myself at some point and will post my review here.

Une Believable!

Lately I have been keeping an eye on Kick Starter. If you are unfamiliar with it, it's a site where inventors post their projects hoping to find the funding to produce them. There is some pretty cool stuff on there and a lot of it is getting the funding it needs to become reality. 

One of the projects that I got really excited about is the Une Bobine. It is a flexible phone stand/charger. It allows you to position the phone pretty much anywhere you want it. For someone who loves their phone almost as much as the people in my life (I mean, I do sleep with it every night), this is something I have been seeking for a very long time. 

I donated $50 to their Kick Starter campaign and a few months after they had reached their funding goal I received 2 Une Bobine of my very own.

Twisty Turny

Within perfect reach

As you can see, it is now perfectly within reach of my fingers when I am sitting at my iMac. The stand is even stable enough for me to use the touch screen in this position.

The second one, I bought for use in my car. I'm still playing with it's positioning to get it in the perfect spot so I can use the phone while driving without crashing. Of course now that Apple has changed the plug for their new iPhone 5, I'll have to wait to upgrade until such time as there is an Une Bobine for that plug. Oh well, it's the best reason I've found for not spending the money on a phone upgrade right now.

Craftaculosity: The "Woods" Basket

Once again I had the fortunate chance to design a Cocktail Configurations Basket for a local charity's benefit. The event was being held in conjunction with the Reunion Show at The Lodge. It was an amazing night! More people packed that tiny log cabin in the woods than I had seen there in years! It was great seeing all of the performers who hadn't graced the stage since the place was known as Deer Park Lodge many years ago.

For the event, I traveled down memory lane and created a cocktail basket that recalled my own precious memories from the heyday of Deer Park. I give you "The Sex in the Woods" basket. Don't judge.

I stopped while it was still tasteful...don't ask!

The tagline reads, "It's like 'Sex on the Beach' only darker...and you don't wind up with sand in your junk!" Basically, I took the standard Sex on the Beach cocktail recipe and constructed it with dark spiced rum instead of vodka. You'll find my recipe at the end of the post. But first, a few more pics.

The basket was a hit and brought in $200 in the auction. Again, more than I ever would have personally written a check for! Here is the recipe for the drink.

               The Sex in the Woods

                   2oz   Spiced Rum (I use Bacardi Oakheart)
                   1oz   Peach Schnapps
                   2oz   Cranberry Juice
                   2oz   Orange/Pineapple Juice

                   Mix all ingredients together in a cocktail shaker
                   with ice, shake well and pour into a Collins Glass
                   filled with ice. Garnish with an orange stabbed
                   by a twig.

I went out on a limb and didn't test this recipe in my own bar before offering it up for auction. I was fairly certain it would taste ok at the the very least. I have since heard back from the folks who purchased the basket and the cocktail was a huge hit. Lesson learned? Don't be afraid to just take a shot in the dark every now and then. Course I 'm not sure I've ever been afraid to take a shot...unless it was made with Jägermeister (Ick)

Call Me...

...Maybe. It's been the hit song of the summer. I found myself trying to avoid it for simply that reason. Having seen the inspired creativity the song has led to, I can't resist it anymore. Now it even has a Glee version.

That really can't compare to this orchestral and choral version.

It just amazes me that a bippy little dance number can go this far and be this wonderful. So I am hooked. I have started a playlist in iTunes devoted entirely to Call Me Maybe creativity and when I'm at the club I just simply can't resist dancing to it.

Presto Pesto!

I have a terrible weakness, ok fine...I have many. But, one of my most crippling is the search for really great Pesto. I try Pesto dishes whenever I can at restaurants, hoping that they've gotten it right. Some have and some haven't. So, the easiest way for me to satisfy my hunger for the Perfect Pesto is to make my own.

This weekend I harvested our Basil plant and proceeded to turn it into amazing Pesto...like MAGIC! Now, let me first say that I don't use a recipe for this. A good Pesto "recipe" is all about feel and consistency. Some people prefer a wetter Pesto, some a dryer. I fall into the latter. I will walk you through my process.

Fresh from the garden...Thanks Hubby!

Granted, I should have harvested this Basil two weeks ago in it's prime, but my schedule just didn't allow for it. Still, it worked just fine. One should always start with very fresh green Basil when making Pesto. That being said, I have whipped up some passable Pesto in the past (wow alliteration!) using some high quality dried basil, but I certainly don't recommend that...except in the case of Zombie Apocalypse. 

Now, lets talk nuts. I use Pine Nuts, but there are folks that say that Walnuts work just fine...I don't agree with them, but they are entitled to their opinion. For me, Pine Nuts impart an unusual flavor your just can't get from the namby pamby Walnut. Save your Walnuts for cookies people!

Toasting is touchy!

When toasting Pine Nuts, you have to be paying attention. Pine Nuts go from browned to black in like 3 seconds! These took about 10 minutes on low heat and I was constantly flipping them around in the pan. I used just slightly over a 1/3rd of a cup pretty much because that is how many were in the bag.

Garlic! It's one of the main ingredients of Pesto and I like a lot of it!

Heaven in a hard to peel container.

I used 4 cloves of garlic for my Pesto. I was going to go for 6 cloves, but I got tired of peeling it. OK, so once you have assembled everything, you throw it all into your food processor.

About to be pulverized!

Here it is. My Basil, the Garlic, the Pine Nuts, Parmesan Cheese, and a dash of salt and pepper. Heck, I could eat is as a salad just like this. I pulse this about a dozen times in the food processor just to get everything chopped up and saying, "Hi" to everyone. Then, with the food processor on high, I begin to very slowly drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil into the mix. 

You want to keep an eye on this step. Too much EVOO and you wind up with really runny Pesto, which...if you like it that way, go for it. I prefer a dryer Pesto so I add just enough to incorporate the ingredients.

Once processed it looks pretty much like this.

Heaven in a Food Processor!

This was still a little lumpy for my tastes, so I processed it for a bit longer on high giving the blade time to cut it down even further. Here is my final result.

Just looking for some fresh pasta to mate with!

So, even after all of my careful oil pouring this turned out a little runnier than I prefer it. No problem, I just added some extra Parm to it. The cheese absorbed the oil perfectly.

Now comes the hard part. What to pair it with? Pasta? Chicken? Pork? Spread it on a piece of bread and be done? Eat it by the spoonful right out of the food processor??? That is the great thing about Pesto, you can do ANYTHING with it. I have opted this evening to coat a chicken breast in it and bake it. Nummy!

What so you like to do with Pesto? Sound off in the comments.