combustication

Yes, pupcakes. Right before I moved down Fifth Avenue in the Slope to the double-digit streets, I noticed that they were building a fancy looking bakery on the corner of Fifth and St. Mark’s was a little bit disgusted to find out that it was a doggie bakery. They don’t bake dogs. Just treats for dogs (cats? I dunno). I think this article in the Time’s got it right when it states: “This is what it’s come to on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, a once-mean street now practically paved with foie gras.”

Come out to play tonight as Serious Business Records “trots” out its roster of rock with special guests Americans UK at Southpaw. It’s gonna be a hot night of music and I will be performing in both Man in Gray (check out the new music video!) and DraculaZombieUSA…get ready to dance!

Thursday, February 23rd
- AT -
SOUTHPAW
125 5th Avenue / Brooklyn NY

StereoactiveNYC Presents:

Man In Gray

Americans UK

Unsacred Hearts

DraculaZombieUSA

Also, Man In Gray has a new music video you can watch HERE.

The fondue party was a raging success. Everyone drank a bottle of wine. In fact, it might have been a bottle and a quarter since there was a magnum involved. All of that wine and cheese could have been disastrous, but it wasn’t. The evening was a delight and I am happy to say that the fondue set that is only supposed to be for chocolate is excellent for cheesing. There were no pictures taken of the spread of vegetables, homemade bread (portuguese sweetbread and garlic herb baguettes were made by own two hands earlier in the day) and cheese (brie dipped in melted cheese is a little death), but I can assure you that guests left happy. Heather, my dear, you totally missed out.

Is there a reason why there is a fondue set shortage in NYC and the lovely borough of Brooklyn? If someone has the tip, please let me know. Apparently, all of the fondue sets have been snapped up in places high and low (Sur La Table and TJ Maxx, I’m lookin at you). Bizarre, no? I have a great fondue set, but the base is rather unwieldly and was looking at some hot little sets on the Internet only to discover that there are no reasonably priced ones around! I will not pay $145 for something that went out of fashion 20 years ago. No!

Frank Bruni now has a blog. You’ve got to be kidding me.

I really couldn’t help posting this - it’s too funny and appropriate for Valentine’s Day. I am the Heart of Darkness.

take the WHAT BAD BOOK ARE YOU test.


and go to mewing.net. not as good as reading a good book, but way better than a bad one.

Phil mentioned that this soup looked and reminded him of a matzo ball soup and I didn’t disagree. Green plantains are used to make hearty balls that are filling and delicious (comment on that one if you like). The cayenne pepper adds a nice kick to the balls (it’s one of those mornings), while the cilantro cools it down a bit and adds a differing texture. I recommend using homemade stock, but any organic veggie stock (or chicken stock, if you prefer) is good if you add the saffron. The recipe is one from the Times a few weeks ago that was plantain crazy. Bittman calls it a “mofongo,” but it’s pretty far from a traditional mofongo - according to a coworker who knows these sort of things. Unfortunately, the article is inaccessible unless you’re a Times Select member, but I posted my version (and a different title) of the recipe below. If you’ve got some cooked rice on hand, throw it in to make it an even more substantial meal or just have some good bread to sop up the broth.

Plantain Soup a.k.a. Caribbean Matzo Ball Soup

Ingredients:
Salt
4 green plantains, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pinch saffron, optional
4 cups well-flavored stock (I used Moosewood’s Mock Chicken Stock that I had made over the weekend)
Oil for deep frying
4 slices of fake bacon
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
cayenne pepper (optional)
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish.

To Do:
Mix handful of salt into a bowl of cold water and soak plantain chunks for 15 minutes. Combine saffron and stock in saucepan over low heat, keep warm. Bring at least 1 inch of oil to about 350 degrees in a deep skillet.

Cook the veggie bacon in the oil until crisp; remove and lay out on paper towels to cut back on the oil. Take the plantain chunks out of water, drain well and pat down with a paper towel. Deep fry the pieces until tender and brown.

Once a batch is done, put them in a food processor with the veggie bacon, garlic, salt-n-pepper and some cayenne pepper for a kick and blend. Keep adding the plantains to the mixture when you’re done frying them – you want a nice and smooth consistency. Shape the mixture into small balls and place in bowls. Ladle some of the stock and garnish with cilantro. Eat immediately (makes 4 servings).

*Adapted from NYT’s

Verizon won’t be able to give us DSL at home till the end of the month, so I decided to take matters in my own hands and put a picture of the dish I made last night on a floppy disc to bring to work and upload here, but I forgot it at home. Yep. In case your wondering it was a recipe from the Times last week and I’ll post it all up tomorrow.

In the meantime, I’ve been asked to make a shout-out for two very talented individuals who are looking to start up a band. Phil has a killer voice and makes great faces when playing the guitar and Jeff is a kind looking man that can wail on the drums like some kind of monster and they are looking for a lead guitarist and bassist. If you are a guitarist or bassist looking to rock, please contact Phil at lamepunkslogan dot com.

Take a gander at their ad on Craigslist to check out influences.

Sorry for the lack of pictures to the people who keep asking for them. We still don’t have DSL in the house, so putting up pics is just not an option right now. Hopefully, delicious concoctions and views of the apartment will be seen next week.

In the meantime, I highly advise you to quickly pre-order Mission of Burma’s vinyl singles club. Just did it and I can’t wait to get my first piece of MoB goodness to slap onto an actual record player. C’mon, who needs an ipod now?