NulloModo

Gifted - Wow, you blow me away with your detailed knowledge of the cuisine of all of those out of the way places... How many of those dishes have you sampled? I would be in heaven on earth if I could find a way to get paid to travel the world and just study culture, taste dishes, etc...

Hmm, interesting, I've never thought of delivery tips as being percentage based. Unless it is a huge order that results in lots and lots of trips, I usually tip two or three bucks on delivery, which I guess ends up working out to around 15 or 20% anyway, but I've always considered it more of a flat rate thing, I mean, the delivery guy is going to be doing the same amount of work to bring you a pizza as he is to bring you a surf and turf. OF course, I always tip higher for delivery when it is very fast...

I enjoy Labatt Ice when it is one looney per bottle in tons of bars I have been to in Canada. Canada beats the pants of the mid-atlantic US in drink prices. Labatt isn't by any means a quality craft brew, this is true, but it still beats the pants off of most US megabrews. Has anyone else tried the Upper Canada stuff? My roomate picks up multiple cases every time he goes through the Duty Free, should he be looking at something else?

Thank you everyone for the comments. Custard Recipe: 1 cup vanilla whey protein powder 4 eggs seperated 2 packets stevia 3 packets splenda 1 teaspoon baking powder bit of cream of tartar 1 teaspoon vanilla Seperate the egg yolks from the eggs. Whip them with a dash of cream of tarter until almost peaking. Whisk in with the yolks in a seperate dish the sweeteners, extract, protein powder, and baking powder. Fold both mixtures into each other, and bake at 300 degrees for around 45 minutes. This was actually supposed to be low-carb angel food cake, but it didn't turn out to be that. It was still pretty tasty. I think I didn't beat my eggs enough. Mnebergall - I'm planning on keeping up with it. I still have some more to go before I try to level off though. But hey, the exercise stuff is great, I can honestly say I have never felt better. Plus, it helps to keep the dining guilt free when you know you are burning a lot of it back off ;). Pan - The first Blair's I tried was the 'After Death' sauce. That stuff is intense. The Original Death is very flavorful, a little fruity, and not to hot for even a hot sauce newbie, I highly recommend it. Winesonoma - That sounds like it was a fascinating trip.

OK, one last special cooking treat for today: Just so no one things Atkins is all meat all the time (hopefully I have dispelled some of that this week), here is a very tasty low-carb dessert: vanilla shortcake/custard with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. And with that, from this: to this: (still a work in progress) ... all in a little less than a year, from the First State, I'm passing the blog back to the west-coast, and signing off. Thank you all for taking this journey with me.

Suppertime, And the livin' is easy, Steaks are fryin' And the okra is fine... Did someone say..... cheesesteaks? Start with a chopped up onion, and some thin (thinner than I sliced usually) rib steak. Start to carmelize the onion in your cast iron skillet, then toss in the steak, keep stirring it and abusing it until it is a little chopped up and just past medium/medium-rare. If you were in Philly, you would then serve this up on an Amoroso roll with some whiz or provolone. I'm not in Philly, and I can't have an Amoroso roll, so the bread is an O'So'Lo low-carb roll (surprisingly very good), and the cheesesteak is UD Campus Style - mayo, blue cheese crumbles, and hot sauce. The Okra was just pot-fried with a little cayenne, salt, pepper, garlic, and old bay. Just a little oil goes a long way, get it hot, get it brown, gobble it down.

Well thank you. The poppers are the simplest thing in the world, seed and de-top some jalapenos, stuff in some cream cheese, wrap in bacon, and into the oven till done. Heck, yesterday just called for cooking that could be done whilst semi-smashed, so those fit the bill.

There used to be several bakeries in the area, all but one dissapeared about five or six years ago. I think it roughly coincided with all of the area supermarkets adding in full-service bakeries complete with high quality looking breads, cakes, and etc. Most likely the supermarkets can offer better prices due to economies of scale, and for the majority of the consumers price and convenience trump quality.

If Tex-Mex is simply a Texan interpretation of Mexican cuisine, rooted perhaps in the special ranch culture of the early days of the state, what seperates Tex-Mex from generic Americanized Mexican cuisine? Tex-Mex as a cuisine seems to have potential to be considered to still be evolving and growing, but as the ranch and cowboy culture which drove its early days is no longer around, is new Tex-Mex anything other than Americanized Mexican that happens to be from Texas? Do state or even national borders matter at this point? Would the same dish be treated differently if instead of originating in Mexico, it instead came out of Texas, or even Wisconsin? Along the same lines as this question: if Tex-Mex is a valid cuisine and is simply a Texan spin on Mexican, wouldn't all Americanized Mexican be just as valid?

Ah, another late start today. Breakfast was simple: just a couple pieces of cheese and an egg. Another quick morning on the run. Lunch looks to be leftover Vindaloo and Cauliflower. Dinner tonight, however, will be one last east-coast regional treat, and okra, which isn't east-coast regional at all, but should be a treat all over the country, man, that stuff is great.

wow, that totally beats any of my self inflicted injuries. I tip my hat to you sir (or madame).

Kobe burgers..... how those make my mouth drool. Cheeseburger in paradise, heaven on earth with and onion slice...

The best hotdog is the area is Deerhead, no question about it.

Dinner is done: plate of poppers, suitable sides. Fear and Loathing is on the DVD Player Time to celebrate.

Alright, dinner has been decided: Jalepeno poppers. Nice and simple, but tasty. Too busy celebrating the good Dr. Hunter S. Thompson's birthday today to get into any serious cooking, I recommend you all do the same ;).

Breakfast today was leftover beer and cheese soup, with a sidecar of some of that brie. I have absolutely no clue what I am going to cook for dinner tonight. I'll post some pictures when I get an idea and get myself into gear ;).

Rice 1/2 a head or so of cauliflower (I find that using a regular grater it works well, you just have to keep changing your angle of attack as the grater will grate 'channels' into the cauliflower). Bring to a light boil and cook until the water level is fairly low, and the mixture is a nice thick gloppy consistency. Add a half teaspoon or so of cardamom and ground coriander seed. Add black/white pepper to taste. Toss in a couple tablespoons of butter, a couple glugs of cream, and a pinch of two of saffron seeds. Stir slowly keeping it at a simmer until the texture is thick and creamy, and the saffron color has permeated.

OK, just to throw a new angle into this convo: What about the places that put on a 'take-out charge'? A couple local places add anywhere from $1.00 to $2.00 as a surcharge onto take-out orders that you wouldn't have for dine-in. This is something I've just accepted for delivery places whose main business isn't delivery, but it has always kind of annoyed me for take-out. Should this charge just be viewed as covering the services of whoever fills out the take-out order, and if so, be in lieu of the tip, or in addition to?

Warm back porch, cold beer, cold water, plate of hot vindaloo, couple friends, Dylan, Redbone, and Creedence on LP. These things make life good. Very, very good. Time for some more Van Winkle and back to the porch.

Suzi - It's the thought that counts ;). One roomate decided to heat up a frozen pizza. The other decided to enjoy some tasty Ramen noodles. Here is my spread: Chicken Vindaloo (based on the pepperfool.com recipe) Saffron-Cardamom Cauliflower Rissoto (eh, it was going to be Cauliflower Basmati, but it sorta changed) No naan, but a low-carb onion tortilla with some garlic and butter placed under the broiler is a nice sub. Enough foreplay, dinner is hot, time to dig in.

Time for Chicken Vindaloo! This is one of my favorite Anglo-Indian dishes. I know it isn't authentic, but it is darned tasty. The question one must ask oneself is: can man cook, or enjoy, chicken vindaloo while sober? I don't intend to find out. Here is the spice mixture (non chile portions) and some selections of beverages my companions and I will be enjoying this evening: And here are the chiles toasting before being ground, with a pot of cauliflower I just riced in the background:

Ghostrider - It may be because I live in a region that is pretty much free of a regional accent (eh, I guess we suffer slightly from the south philly effect) but I definately hear accents in people my age and younger from different areas of the country. Long Island, Midwest, extreme New England, all seem to come across.

Upper Canada brand Dark Ale and Lager are both quite tasty. Their Rebellion Lager is (I believe) a limited edition brew, but packs a nice punch and has tons of flavor. A good friend of mine just graduated from Queen's in Kingston, Ontario, and apparently (according to him) the Faux brand beer (I believe it might be Danish, but I've only ever seen it in Canada) was one of the most popular 'get you there fast' brews on campus.

Back from swimming and the market. Before the advent of I-95, US Routes 40 and 13 were two of the main East Coast drags. Sitting around a mile mile their intersection, and a couple miles from the DE/MD border lies the Newcastle Farmer's Market. Screw the Mason/Dixon line, this is truly where North meets South. The Farmer's Market is a melting pot of all things white trash, ghetto fabulous, and spanish fly. I absolutely love it. My main goal was to get my knife sharpened. My first stop was at the hardware store in the market, figuring they may have tools that do this sort of thing. They were unable to comply, but recommended me to the martial arts supply store (which they ever so tactfully pointed out was right next to the barber's shop, where I might want to get a haircut). So on to the martial arts supply store, where it is explained to me that they have had a falling out with their sharpening guy, and will be unable to take care of my knife. Dejected, I walk out but on a whim walk into a kitchen supply store I didn't even know was in the market. Inside I see a Moka pot incredibly similar to the one I bought the other day in KOP for $20, only this one is $8. Darn-it, I ended up paying sales-tax because I bought the other one in PA too. Oh well, this isn't my day I decide. On the way out I talk with the guy at the counter figuring perhaps they sharpen knives. Somehow (probably because he spoke very poor English, and I speak absolutely no Korean) he got it into his head that I was trying to sell him my 'sharp knife'. He offered me $15. Three strikes, and I was out, but not before picking this stuff up: On the drive home a series of billboards for Eclipse gum entreated me to eat herring, curry, and brie and then to make-out with beautiful women. Unfortunately I can't do much about the latter this evening, but curry sounds mighty fine.

So Brunch was: Crabcake (almost as good as they were first-run) Bok-Choy (not nearly as good as it was first time) Herbed Chevre from TJs (mmmmm goaty) More moka from the new pot. I think I figured out my problem. The aluminum pot can't be used over as high a heat as the other one, I did this pot at low/medium-low and recieved a much tastier cup of coffee than I Did when I tried medium/medium-high. Edit to say I am not going to bore you with pictures of this one as you have seen all of these items in some incarnation already in this blog.