Blogging One-Handed, and Other Things

So, I became a father last Friday. A beautiful little girl named Aislyn.

First up, my newest reason to never buy Barbies for my daughter.

Next, if you're having trouble understanding the bailout, here's a simple visual.

Finally, the world got a little less cool last week with the passing of Paul Newman. Please remember him not only for his incredible breadth of work, but also for the fact that his brand, Newman's Own, has generated over $250,000,000 in proceeds for charities worldwide.

And now, a little bit of The Sting:

Pampero Anniversario

I have a large home bar. Like, "Honey, you have more bottles on the bar at home than this bar does," large bar. I'm always on the lookout for a new rum, though. And I've known about Pampero Anniversario for years. It's the one that comes in the silly leather pouch. The one that I've avoided for years, well, because of that silly leather pouch.


Don't let that fool you, though. I finally broke down, and so should you. From Venezuela, Pampero Anniversario is a blend of rums (average age: 6 years), dark brown, with great orange and vanilla notes wrapped arounda brown sugar and cocoa structure. This is a great rum if you're learning to sip. That said, I've decided that it's also the perfect complement to a little pimento dram and a splash of lime. (basically, take this recipe and squeeze a wedge of lime over it.)

Don't go looking for their website, though. The only thing I could find was from their American importer, Diageo, and, well...it's better left unvisited.

A Weekend Sandwich

This one has been in the back of my (and my wife's mind) since Saveur published a recipe for Central Grocery's Muffuletta at the beginning of this year. As I have it on good authority that Central Grocery doesn't in fact publish their recipe, let's call this one, "a rendition."

All in all, it's a really good sandwich. I don't know how it compares to the original, but I'd make it again in a heartbeat. Different loaf of bread next time, though. Clear Flour's Rustic Italian was just a little too rustic. And maybe slightly less flavorful olives. But other than that, I'm glad there's still half left in the fridge.

P.S. That's an actual photo of our sandwich.

Update: okay, if you use a really rustic bread and/or use really good olives in the relish, the sandwich absolutely freakin' soars on the second day. I mean, it's literally twice as good the next night...

Three Incredibly Disconnected Finds

1) This is for my friend Larry. Please note the warning label.

2) I want a dog. I live in an apartment. Therefore, a dog really isn't happening. One day, though, I will have a dog. I can only hope it's half as cool as this one.

3) And finally...having been at the receiving end of this more than once, here's to the death of the multi-course tasting menu.

The Slippery Slope of Banning Stuff, and My First Mini-Rant

"We know you're stupid, and we'd like you to stay that way, so rather than educating you all about the dangers involved, we'll just ban it." So saith the Boston Dept. of Health.

In unrelated news, if you use email for business (or even for personal, for that matter), I have only one thing to say: if someone sends you an email that requires a reply, fucking reply! Googling, "business email etiquette," gets your 310,000 results, mostly glossing over the fact that nobody actually responds to emails in a timely fashion anymore, if at all.

It is not my fault that people send you chain letters, stupid forwards, files you don't need, abuse the cc: button ruthlessly, ignore common rules of grammar and punctuation, TYPE ALL THEIR EMAILS WITH THE CAPS LOCK BUTTON DOWN, hit "Reply to All," no matter what, and generally behave like morons. Distance yourself from these people immediately. It's contagious.

Oh, and I guess I have one other thing to say: "Never put anything in writing you would feel uncomfortable having read to a jury--slowly, in detail and while projected on a Powerpoint slide." (finally found the origin of that quote, by the way)

Monday Addendum

Forgot to mention: given this weekend's events on Wall Street (link and link), I'm digging a big hole and burying my money in tin cans from now on. I will be leasing cans if anyone is interested.

And further proof that the MPAA (and the old, white men who run it) have no sense of humor. Don't get me wrong, at the rate Kevin Smith has been going, this poster will be the funniest part of the movie, but come on...did it really need to be banned?

That's probably all for today.

There is Still a Heartbeat Left at SNL

I won't actually stay up to watch SNL anymore. Hell, I wouldn't watch the whole thing in re-runs. But, due to the magic of the Internet, we can just show you the funny part. Not their absolute best ever, but Tina Fey is almost absolutely dead-on and Amy Poehler is still really funny:

If You Drink...

Years ago, I sold a lot of Australian wine. As opposed to now. Now I sell a lot of Austrian wine.

However, the end result is the same: at least every once in a while, a hangover.

What to do? What to do?

Berocca.

Bayer's #1 embarrassment.

Enough reading. Go order some. For the uninitiated, the fact that Bayer won't sell it in the US is just one more sign of the decline and fall of the American Empire.

I recommend the Performance Orange. It's so good, it was my kickback of choice from my Australian wine suppliers.

Wine

I went to Trader Joe's today, and it reminded me of something I posted on a wine website four years ago.  As the situation is still dire, without further ado:

"Christian Miller, a researcher with Napa consulting firm Motto, Kryla and Fisher (MKF), called 'Two Buck Chuck' a 'great experiment to see if cheaper wine would lead to more wine drinkers'. It didn't, he said, but it did lead people who had been spending up to $9 for a bottle of wine to shop for lower prices. Miller said that an MKF survey showed that no more than 4-5% of 'Two-Buck Chuck' drinkers were new to the market. The rest were trading down and drinking cheaper, saving dollars at the expense of their palates." 

~Larry Walker, in harpers the wine and spirit weekly, 12 February 2004

There are no short-term solutions in retail. There are no quick fixes.

Stop chasing someone else's 'quick fix'.

All too often, it comes at the expense of the few good things you have going for you, most notably your present customers.

Four years later: this now serves as a reminder to the wine industry in general, not just retailers.

Delightfully Random

In case anyone is trying to decide what to buy me for Christmas...damn, if it only came with a Steelers logo.  Forward thinking: it could alternate between my beer and you-know-who's bottle.  (thanks to Serious Eats for the original link)

I don't know if he like the Steelers as much as I do.  That said, Nick's blog is still worth checking out.  Everything I know about roofing, I learned from Nick.

Tales of the Cocktail is an outstanding week-long event for cocktail folk, held in New Orleans, every year.   One year, I too will go.  In the meantime, Tales of the Cocktail 2008, by the numbers:

• 70 liters of Cranberry Juice
  
• 28 liters of Tomato Juice
  
• 68 liters of Pineapple Juice
  
• 30 quarts of egg whites
  
• 15 dozen eggs
  
• 40 pounds of super fine sugar
  
• 26 pounds of Demerera Sugar
  
• 56 cases of Lemons/350 liters of lemon juice
  
• 61 cases of Limes/280 liters of lime juice
  
• 12 cases of Oranges
  
• 12 cases of Grapefruit
  
• 23 pounds of Cucumbers
  
• 50 pounds of Ginger Root
  
• 9 flats of Raspberries
  
• 5 flats of Blueberries
  
• 7 flats of Blackberries
  
• 9 pounds of Jalapeno Peppers or 2340 jalapeno slices
  
• 31 pounds of Fresh Mint or 8085 mint leaves
  
• 6 Pounds of Fresh Basil
  
• 3 Pounds of Fresh Sage
  
• 3 Pounds of Fresh Rosemary
  
• 5 Pounds of Fresh Cilantro
  
• 12 Pounds of Cherries
  
• 30 cans of Condensed Milk
  
• 12 quarts of heavy Cream
  

Next year; July 8-12, 2009.  Anyone wanna babysit?

Weekend Update, Addendum

I'm not sure I could pull this off, but after a slew of questionable cocktails over the years, is having your favorite one printed on the back of your business card all that bad?

Weekend Update

So, the Steelers won. Convincingly. It was everything I wanted out of a first game of the season. Especially since the rest of their schedule is a complete bitch.

Knowshon Moreno of the University of Georgia makes college football more interesting...

...a lot more interesting.

And, as embarrassing as it is to admit, I only got around to seeing The Dark Knight. That was two and a half of the most intense hours I've ever seen. I'm undecided as to whether or not Ledger deserves the Academy Award. That said, I never once saw anyone other than the Joker on the screen. I will say--however--that if Christopher Nolan doesn't get the Best Director award...well, actually, that would be par for the course.

Finally, Michael Ruhlman decided to redefine the concept of payback. I look forward--with glee--to Bourdain's response.

The Daily Show and the Airlines...

Oligarchy: a political system governed by a few people.

The folks at the Daily Show rolled out the welcome mat in the Twin Cities.

I offer this next piece to my good friend with extra-bad luck regarding the airlines.  I will be trying this one day!

And finally, this is why more and more people turn to the Daily Show for their news:

A Big Day

Google Chrome.  Shockingly cool.  Even for Google.  Those poor bastards at Microsoft.

And...

Specifically, it's tonight at 10PM on FX.

Make This

Just shut up and make this...trust me: David Myers's Croque Monsieur.

And if you live in Boston, go to Savenor's or Formaggio's for the cheese. Clear Flour for the bread. Buy some Niman Ranch ham at WholeFood's. You'll thank me.

Just shut up and make it.