eG Foodblog: Al Dente - I done been tagged...

[Cusina]

[JEWISH MOTHER] Eat something. Would it hurt you to post about it? [/JEWISH MOTHER]

And, yes, Cusina just blogged from down under, I believe.

Hmmm... depends on your definition of down under. Down under a foot of Snow? I'm in Wisconsin. Though, Tolliver, I do thank you for remembering me to be much more exotic than the typical midwesterner.

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Do you think we could talk Craig Camp into blogging? He lives in Italy and travels alot, I think. I'll bet he gets some good eats, plus his writing is excellent. Maybe this isn't his thing as he doesn't chime in here often, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. I would love to hear a blog with more of a wine focus.

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Squeat, you STILL don't have a stove?? You poor thing. Why I otta have some words with that landlord of yours! Either that or invite you over for dinner...

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Mike, thanks for picking up the torch. That is a very purty butt, however visuals are only half the story... when judging butts I'm all about texture and um, flavor. Hard to tell from just a picture, even one as food pornerific as that one. How exactly did you get your butt to look so fine? Braising details would be appreciated. Or do I have to provide a bribe for those too? I have a dump truck sticker, a grape sucker and .37 cents cash. Oh and some freshly made cornbread.

[Al_Dente]

Mike, thanks for picking up the torch. That is a very purty butt, however visuals are only half the story... when judging butts I'm all about texture and um, flavor. Hard to tell from just a picture, even one as food pornerific as that one. How exactly did you get your butt to look so fine? Braising details would be appreciated. Or do I have to provide a bribe for those too? I have a dump truck sticker, a grape sucker and .37 cents cash. Oh and some freshly made cornbread.

Actually, it was given a spice rub and smoked for about 6 hours. The pic kinda makes it look burnt, but it wasn't really quite so dark in real life. I've prepared my butt 5 or 6 times now for various events, and each time gets better.

[Marlene]

I've prepared my butt 5 or 6 times now for various events, and each time gets better.

I'll just bet you have

[herbacidal]

Got another brave volunteer-- this one from South Africa.

Sounds good. I also like the Craig Camp idea.

I'm too lazy to go back through and find out who the other Down Under blogger was.

At this point, I remember bloggers' areas more than I remember them.

We've had 2 from Philadelphia area, 1 from northern(?) Wisconsin, 1 from Vermont, 4 from DC area, 1 San Francisco, 1 Malaysia, dual from Japan, 2 Australia, 1 Vancouver, 1 rural England.

I know I've left some out but that's what I can remember right now.

Let's not focus too much on the next blogger right now. We have a few days to do that. We're only 3 days into yours and we've heard minimal amounts about Al Michael's eats. Other than a whole lotta butt.

[JennyUptown]

Let's not focus too much on the next blogger right now. We have a few days to do that. We're only 3 days into yours and we've heard minimal amounts about Al Michael's eats. Other than a whole lotta butt.

"I like big butts and I cannot lie...you otha brothas can't deny..."

Singalong anyone?

[Toliver]

I'm in Wisconsin.  Though, Tolliver, I do thank you for remembering me to be much more exotic than the typical midwesterner.

It was Misgabi I was thinking of. DOH!

Cusina, how could I forget your Grandmother's recipe box? I apologize for the mix up and hope you are surviving the winter weather!

Al/Mike, I am looking forward to your pizza. And if you're not on medication for your back, then I'm hoping there will be beer with that pizza. Or at least a sassy red...

[suzilightning]

Al, what is your specialty?

Hard to say. I've had a number of requests for repeat performances-- this vietnamese beef dish, puttanesca sauce on homemade pasta, timpano, various roasted/grilled whole chicken dishes, I'm all over the place. Plus, I have many requests for my butt:

My big weak areas are baking, and classic sauces. Otherwise, I ain't exactly chopped liver if I do say so myself.

ohhhh good. i finally get to see al's butt(somehow i never was able to see the pictures on the other thread).

i have some friends who live in the silver spring/gaithersburg area and they also say it is a culinary wasteland. they go to dc if they want a nice meal. i wonder if it is a function of being such a large government office area as opposed to a suburban community?

since you're coming up to ny - heading for frank's hunting lodge for pizza?

[phlawless]

okay, so I know I'm going to sound like a dummy, but what exactly is a 'blog' and what does tagged mean?

[hillvalley]

Let's not focus too much on the next blogger right now.  We have a few days to do that.  We're only 3 days into yours and we've heard minimal amounts about Al Michael's eats.  Other than a whole lotta butt.

"I like big butts and I cannot lie...you otha brothas can't deny..."

Singalong anyone?

"I want 'em real thick and juicy

So find that juicy double"

[suzilightning]

okay, so I know I'm going to sound like a dummy, but what exactly is a 'blog' and what does tagged mean?

blog = weB LOG an ongoing account on whatever the blogger chooses to write

tagged - in one of the first of the foodblogs after a week or so the next victim - eh blogger - was tagged as in "tag you're it" by pm

better to ask than to assume

[KatieLoeb]

Al/Mike, I am looking forward to your pizza. And if you're not on medication for your back, then I'm hoping there will be beer with that pizza.  Or at least a sassy red...

Or a sassy redhead...If you're lucky maybe she's a masseuse

Actually Mike, I feel your pain. Literally. I spent the better part of early December either paralyzed and prone or upright and zoned on pain meds. Bad back thing totally sucks.

[suzilightning]

Let's not focus too much on the next blogger right now.  We have a few days to do that.  We're only 3 days into yours and we've heard minimal amounts about Al Michael's eats.  Other than a whole lotta butt.

"I like big butts and I cannot lie...you otha brothas can't deny..."

Singalong anyone?

" That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist

And a rouund thing in your face

You get sprung"

[Al_Dente]

Let's not focus too much on the next blogger right now. We have a few days to do that. We're only 3 days into yours and we've heard minimal amounts about Al Michael's eats. Other than a whole lotta butt.

Okay, enough about my butt.

I'm going to try to sit here, if my back allows it, and write up part I of Al Dente's Gastronomic History.

Meanwhile, having just gotten "back", from the chiro (the crack house), I found a non food use for a food item. Using a belt, I have a bag of frozen peas strapped to my lower back. It's quite a look!

Any (non x-rated) uses for food other than eating?

[Marlene]

Frozen peas also work well on swelling or inflamed areas. I think peas get picked because there's some flexibility in the package that lends itself to "wrapping" the inflicted area. I have spent many nights with a bag of frozen peas on my shoulder. They also work well for laying on a sunburn, black eyes come to mind as well!

[jsolomon]

A cloth bag filled with dried corn works well as a heating pad, or cooling pad. It microwaves and freezes well.

[FistFullaRoux]

Fellow sciatica troubled person here. I nearly punched the last chiro I went to. I got no help from it whatsoever. Glad you have found something that works, though.

Frozen peas, corn, diced vegetables, or anything else that is small and uniform in shape work well as cold packs. I'd stay away from breaded items, though. Unless it's an emergency. I've also put dried beans in a ziplock into the freezer and created the same sort of thing, but it heats up quicker.

If you need heat, put raw rice in a sock. Tie the end, then microwave for 1-2 minutes. Instant heating pad. A lifesaver after sinus surgery. It fits contours really well, and can be held on with an ace bandage or the other sock with the toes cut out.

Other G-rated food uses?

• A cut onion will clear the sinuses.
  
• Mayo will remove engine grease from tools or hands.
  
• Canned goods, if they are the same height, can be used as a stable standing
  platform for kids (at the sink, for example). Just cover it with cardboard. Cases of canned drinks work as well.
  
• Any canned drink in a pillowcase can be used to fend off an attacker. (Two points for anyone who can name the movie this was used in)
  
• Use a potato to remove broken bulbs from the socket.
  

dern typos.

Edited January 21, 2004 by FistFullaRoux (log)

[hillvalley]

Cold cucumber peels and tea soaked clothes are great for sun burn.

[JennyUptown]

Let's not focus too much on the next blogger right now.  We have a few days to do that.  We're only 3 days into yours and we've heard minimal amounts about Al Michael's eats.  Other than a whole lotta butt.

"I like big butts and I cannot lie...you otha brothas can't deny..."

Singalong anyone?

"I want 'em real thick and juicy

So find that juicy double"

Mixalot....er, Al_Dente's in trouble. Beggin' for a piece of that...

pork butt?

[Al_Dente]

A Brief History of Al

Part I-- The Early Days

I was born in 1966 near the Catskill mountains in NY. The first few years were fairly dull culinarily speaking. In fact, I don't remember a single meal. As the years went by, I do remember taking an interest in cooking-- at least in the sense I found it interesting to watch. I think I liked the "magic potion" aspect of it (and still do). A little of this, a little of that, eye of newt, and voila, spaghetti and meatballs. The home cooking I had was unadventurous and repetitive. My father was very budget minded, so I think we had more or less the same thing every week (i.e. liver and onions on Tuesdays, fish on Friday). We had a lot of family in the area including my Sicilian Uncle Frank who was the only real deal Italian in the family-- so I got a little exposure to what I still think is one of the best cuisines on earth. We ate often with our extended family, but I don't recall anything standing out.

The times where food did stand out were when my parents would have a dinner party for friends at home, or the few times we'd go out for dinner. This was the early to mid seventies, so of course, I remember fondue. If I recall correctly, my mom did a pretty good job with it-- one pot with the sharp nutty swiss cheese, and another with hot oil. They would even do a little wine tasting. I also remember an Italian restaurant we went to on special occasions with my grandparents on my dad's side. I would often get the linguini with white clam sauce. This is the first "grownup" dish I remember really liking-- after all, it had wine in the sauce. So sophisticated...

We then moved to England for about a year. I hate to subscribe to stereotypes, but I recall gagging a lot on my food. Lotsa grey boiled vegetables, horrible meats, greasy breakfasts, and this one god-awful juice my mom kept buying over there. I think it was made with currants? Ugh. (Disclaimer: before all the UK eGulleters get on my case, I'm happy to say I've since been back a couple of times and had some fabulous food). I also remember staying at a fancy hotel in London for a couple of weeks when we first arrived and eating every meal in their dining room. Invariably we had the same stuffy French waiter who clearly had disdain for taking food orders from children-- "I suppose miseur would like the CATS-UP with his potatoes?" (Another disclaimer: I've since also been to France and found that this waiter was by no means typical, some are much worse).

Not much to say other than the above about my childhood. Even if my mother had the money at her disposal and the inclination, it wasn't as though she could have walked into a local grocery store and picked up some exotic spices, fresh seafood, or, I imagine, even a good bottle of EVOO. But I was always encouraged to try new things, many beyond what a kid my age from that era, area, and background would have tried and even occasionally liked-- bleu cheese and oysters come to mind. And the feeling that good cooking was a kind of alchemy stuck with me, and eventually got me to try turning a little lead into gold myself.

Edited January 22, 2004 by Al_Dente (log)

[hannnah]

this one god-awful juice my mom kept buying over there. I think it was made with currants?

Gotta be Ribena. And yes, it's vile.

My sympathies on your back trouble - I've got a herniated disk that's in various stages of "ow." If you don't have one, those dorm-room pillow things with arms are good for propping up on - when it's not comfortable to lean straight back they work sideways too.

[Al_Dente]

Gotta be Ribena. And yes, it's vile.

Ribena, that's it! Indescribably horrific. I'm gagging thinking about it. We really need a smiley available to indicate serious yuckage.

[mnebergall]

On the bad back, issue, you probably have a ruptured disc in your lower back. If you are interested in a leg stretching exercise that will allow you to get out of bed and acutally walk around within an hour or so, PM me and I will describe. I have first hand experience.

[hannnah]

We really need a smiley available to indicate serious yuckage.

Yeah - wonder if they could move the little green dude in the post icons () into the "clickable smilies" column?

[herbacidal]

this one god-awful juice my mom kept buying over there. I think it was made with currants?

Gotta be Ribena. And yes, it's vile.

Hey, watch it!

I loved Ribena.

I think I probably still like it, except I haven't had it in a decade or more.

Good stuff. Right up there with headcheese and mountain oysters, except I haven't tried those yet.

[JPW]

i have some friends who live in the silver spring/gaithersburg area and they also say it is a culinary wasteland. they go to dc if they want a nice meal. i wonder if it is a function of being such a large government office area as opposed to a suburban community?

Suzi,

The bigger problem for Silver Spring is that until just a couple of years ago it was a complete wasteland, not just a culinary one. It's downtown was incredibly economically moribund. Housing prices around downtown, while high for normal places, was absurdly low by DC standards for an area with such quality amenities (parks, hospitals). Downtown has a couple of decent ethnic restaurants.

The moving in of the Discovery Communications HQ has sparked a huge reinvention. The American Film Institute renovated and opened an old theater and a brand new hotel/office/megaplex is moving in. Unfortunately when they opened a sort of outdoor food court, it was all chains -- Red Lobster, Panera, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Austin Grill (which I kind of like), and Potbelly's Sandwiches.

With new businesses downtown, more people want to move into the area. I got my house assessment from the government the other day and nearly plotzed. Hopefully, we'll be able to attract some good restaurants with the newer higher income people moving in.