blake_logan

I got four heads of collards.

This one is still my favorite since it always makes me smile

I haven't had a burger at Wendy's since they did the "Daves Hot & Juicy" promotion a few years ago. The "juicy" was more an unpleasant greasy and the meat was kind of dry. In northern Italy there are a number of traditional dishes made of horse meat and served in the nicer restaurants. I love Nandos -- and remember, you get what you pay for....no chance of ingesting any "meat glue" from their bone-in chicken. People have been using binders and fillers to stretch out meat and turn small bits into reasonable servings for centuries. Think meatballs, croquettes, sausages, terrines, etc. Eggs, corn starch, flour, bread, etc. all serve as binders to glue together small bits of meat into something that looks more like a serving of something. People have been using enzymes on their food as a tenderizer for centuries as well (papaya and pineapple juice in a "natural" recipe, Adolph's meat tenderizer for the modern home cook), so that's not new either. Advances in food science introduce new products every day and this is just the latest set of additives. I find it hard to believe that someone would go into a nicer restaurant and not notice if they were served trimmings glued together with transglutaminase or Fibrimex instead of a steak. Either the flavor or the texture (or both) would make it pretty obvious that you were eating fused meat. If it's palatable then people will buy the product. If it isn't then they won't. Arby's has been selling fused meat as roast beef for decades. It's obviously not real meat, but people eat it anyway. Now, if you really want to ponder food chemistry....how come when you buy a loaf of bread in the UK it starts to mold in about a week while a loaf of bread in the US takes nearly a month to start getting the green fuzz?

Or we could all use the unambiguous method: 13-November-2013

Well, after the first movie came out, there were numerous unofficial Hunger Games tours. Some were just bus rides to the various filming locations...others were more "hands on" and could conceivably be the foundation for a theme park, for example: http://hungergamesunofficialfantours.com/ "Saturday you’ll be dropped on location in DuPont State Recreational Forest to see all the filming location sites used in The Hunger Games™ movie. Your guide will be on hand to assist you – and to teach you survival skills along the way. You’ll then reconvene at Earthshine Discovery Center for lunch. The afternoon will be filled with survival classes that you’ll need to participate in the Game Simulation: archery, sling shot, fire building, special effects camouflage, shelter building and more. In the evening you’ll be treated to a Gala Banquet. Sunday – you’ll convene for your Game Simulation. See if you and your team have what it takes to win. Use your new found skills – along with clues you’ve deciphered over the weekend – to survive – and even win the Game on Sunday. " I was underwhelmed by the movie and I've never read the books, but since it was filmed in the area, the local TV news provided a lot of coverage of the various activities surrounding the movie. I expect it will heat up again with the new movie.

Not to mention that I hear the police may want to see a permit if you have a tripod...they assume you're doing a commercial shoot if you have fancy equipment like that.

Gonna shake your boogie....

My UK pig-out includes British bacon, farmhouse cheddar cheese, custard cream biscuits, McVitie's Cheddars & Nando's Peri Peri Chicken. Sadly, it's been several years since I've had the opportunity to indulge from that list .

That would amount to heresy around here, but if you post your recipe, I'll consider some "in the closet" barbecuing to try it out

At the risk of being too literal with the title of the thread... Slowly roasted pork shoulder, cooked until it's fall off the bone tender (preferably outside over hardwood coals, but it is possible to do an acceptable job indoors) sprinkled with a sauce of hot peppers, vinegar and a touch of sugar and ketchup..... Accompanied by potatoes cooked with cheese and onions (gratin, loaded baked, loaded mashed, etc. preparation method is not as important as the combination of ingredients)...... and leafy greens (mustard, turnip or collards). Traditionally served with hushpuppies..... Finish up with the chocolate stout cake from the recipe I posted previously... or still warm Banana Pudding made from the recipe on the Nilla brand vanilla wafer box. or both if you're really going to pig-out

Canon and Nikon are pretty close in image quality & availablity of accessories & lenses, but the ergonomics are very different. What works for one person might seem "bass-akwards" to someone else. Go to a store and try out the Canon & Nikon models that are in your price range. Hold them in your hand, adjust settings, work the zoom, play with the viewfinder. At a dedicated camera store you may be able to rent one for a day or two. After you decide which "feels" right to you, do the research on the details of specific models. Me? I'm happy with my Canon 5D-mk2 and lots of L glass Sold the Nikon film camera

Speak for yourself! That incident happened 60 miles from my home at the time. We were doing "duck & cover" drills at school...like that was going to help.

Sheldon Cooper is gonna be so pissed he didn't think of this first

Looks like somebody's been playing with Photoshop

Roasted Vegetable Stew Prepare assorted vegetables (I usually use 2-3 cups each of zucchini, Japanese eggplants, sweet bell peppers & onions) -- wash, trim, peel & cut into more or less 3/4" chunks. Toss vegetables in a roasting pan with extra virgin olive oil (3/4 cup +/-) and cook in the oven until everything starts getting tender. (Amount of time depends on temperature....temperature is up to you...depends on what else you're cooking in the oven ... plan for at least an hour) Stir occasionally. Stir in diced tomatoes with juice (2-4 cans), teaspoon or so of minced garlic, preferred seasoning (salt & pepper for sure...basil, thyme & oregano makes it kind of Mediterranean, roasted cumin, Mexican chili powder & some hot sauce makes it kind of Tex-Mex). Return to oven and roast, stirring occasionally, until much of the liquid in the pan has evaporated. A little char on top is a good thing. Adjust seasonings. Serve hot, room temperature or chilled. Sweet Potato Hash (same cooking method as the vegetable stew, but very different taste profile -- good alternative to the sugary stuff with burned marshmellows that shows up at Thanksgiving & Christmas) 4 cups sweet potatoes cut in ~3/4" cubes 2 yellow onions cut in 8ths 2 red bell peppers, cut in ~3/4" pieces Toss vegetables in roasting pan with extra virgin olive oil. Put in oven and roast until sweet potatoes start to get tender. Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder, chipotle powder and a splash of dark Maple syrup. Return to oven until potatoes are tender.

After viewing the formal "presentation of the haggis" ceremony on London TV early one Sunday morning, while suffering through one of the worst hangovers of my life, I have no desire to ever taste haggis or even see it again for that matter. It's illegal for an individual to import into the US anything containing meat or meat by-products. Coming back from a trip to the UK, the Dept of Agriculture inspector checked the ingredients on my Nando's Peri-Peri Sauce bottle to make sure there was no meat stock or broth in it. Most other food items are OK as long as they're in the original packaging, so I don't think that it would be a problem to bring in vegetarian haggis.

This makes me really, really happy that everytime I've driven this stretch of road, it was a bright, sunshiny day. My least loved roads are: - M25 between M23 and M40 (southwest side of London) - I-85 from I-285 to I-285 (through the middle of Atlanta) - I-40 from Clyde, NC to Newport TN (through the Great Smoky Mountains. Two lanes in each direction separated by concrete barrier, little to no shoulder, heavily traveled, lots of transfer trucks and frequent rock-slides). Honorable mention is nearby Forest Service Road 148 through Pisgah Forest. It's a lot like the Colorado road previously posted, but it's gravel, barely one lane wide (although theoretically, it's a two lane road). Lots of switchbacks and blind curves as it climbs 3000 feet over about 10 miles. 30 minutes of stressful driving, but worth it for the view at the top of the mountain.

I think this one is going to become a classic:

Chicken breast and mushrooms and double cream? Sounds pretty posh to me. Here's what I ate most nights back when I worked at the university and my paycheck regularly ran out 3 weeks before the end of the month. Tomatoes & Rice with ??? 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, butter or margerine 1 medium onion, chopped 8 ounces meat (ground beef, hot dogs sliced up, chicken livers, whatever you can round up) optional 1 cup cooked beans (kidney, pinto, garbanzo, whatever you like) optional 1 cup uncooked white rice 2 cups canned tomatoes 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon Mexican chili powder & 1/2 teaspoon cumin (or any spices you like with tomatoes and rice) Drain juice from the tomatoes and add enough water to make 16 ounces liquid. Lightly brown onion in oil. Stir in meat (if you're using any) and brown. You might want to drain drippings from ground beef, sausage or any other meat with high fat content. Add spices and stir until lightly toasted Add remaining ingredients, including the tomato & water mixture; bring to boil; stir, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Ready to eat in 25 minutes. Makes 2 servings. Note: If you're not using any meat you should really try to add beans &/or top with some cheese. It also works to substitute slightly undercooked macaroni or other pasta for the rice and leave out the extra water, just use the juice from the tomatoes and reduce the cooking time.

I'm sticking with my hot Krispy Kremes

Ummmm....if it's not deep fried, wouldn't it be just an unusually shaped croissant with icing on it?

If you want to really impress your dinner guests, try this recipe that I found at smittenkitchen.com. Chocolate Stout Cake 1 cup stout (such as Guinness) [i used Highland Black Mocha Stout for more chocolate flavor] 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process) 2 cups all purpose flour 2 cups sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 2/3 cup sour cream 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips 6 tablespoons heavy cream 3/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules Cake prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well; make sure you get in all of the nooks and crannies. (Some people even go so far as to brush the inside of their bundt pans with melted butter–you cannot be too careful!). [use the baker's spray or flour pan after greasing] Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then turn cake out onto rack for drizzling ganache.* Ganache: For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. [or you can just warm it in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds or so] Drizzle over the top of cooled cake. I served the cake with: Cherry Lambic Sorbet [by Jeni Britton - found at foodandwine.com] 3 cups pitted sour cherries (18 ounces) 3/4 cup Sugar Syrup 1 cup cherry lambic beer In a blender, puree the cherries until smooth. Stir in the Sugar Syrup and the cherry lambic beer. Pour the sorbet base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Pack the sour-cherry lambic sorbet into a plastic container. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the sorbet and close the container with an airtight lid. Freeze until firm, 4 hours. The chocolate/cherry flavor combination was a winner.

Two words.... HOT KrispyKremes and the Android "Hot Light" app helps find them