Sunday, December 21, 2008

A man has GOT to know his limitations...



As you all know, I don't carry a lot of "home town pride" with me. There are only a handful of place I've been that I hold in high esteem, and Perrysburg isn't one of 'em.

Toledo and Cincinnati don't do a lot for me either, but then again, neither of those places are Ann Arbor or San Diego.

But putting all of that aside, one of the cruel ironies of my life is my insane affection for Calphalon cookware. From the moment my mom handed over a good portion of her collection to me, I knew I was hooked. Hooked, on a company and product which not only originated in Toledo but was based in Perrysburg.

My kitchen is almost entirely made up of Calphalon cookware and knives, with only a few exceptions. I use them mercilessly, subjecting them to the most unholy and brutal tasks, yet they hold up like true champs.

So one night a while back, while AMC was running their Dirty Harry marathon, I came up with another ridiculous idea which ultimately only I find amusing.





If this makes little or no sense at all, try this. Also, if you're reading this through Facebook and the video doesn't show up, go Here...

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Enjoy yer afferdable Svedish crap!



This past weekend, I finally met my cousin's daughter Charlotte.

My cousin, Rebecca, and her husband Stephen came to Cincinasty for an Ikea-run, and to show off the most adorable baby I know. (And... probably the only one, now that I think of it.)

We first met up at Uno for lunch. Uno used to have an amazing spot on Ludlow Avenue before it closed up, but now it's a stones throw away from Ikea so I'm torn. Anyways, after devouring one of their amazing flatbread pizzas there was some quality face time with the Cuz, the Huz, and the Baby.








"Boy, those Sweds sure know how to put in almost everything you need."
Fry (Futurama)

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Hap Hap Hap Happy Thankgiving!



Thanksgiving has come and gone, signaling the beginning of the Holiday/Catering/Gift Giving Gauntlet.

Thanksgiving was nice. We stayed with my mom, spent time with my brother, and now I'm addicted to the Wii.

Aside from that, what else is there? Oh yeah, the food...

My mom and gramma always do a pretty good spread. They work all day preparing some of the best traditional foods possible, and my family gets to reap the benefits. And not just that day either. Kerrie and I brought back a nice haul of turkey, sausage, sugar cookies, pumpkin roll and more...

And the turkey, I might add, was really good. It was especially good the second time around in a turkey potpie. Potpies, in my opinion, have gotten a bad rap over the past few decades. It's no wonder most people think they're disgusting. Those frozen pieces of shit with the questionable veggies and meat? That's not food people... That's communism.

And that makes me sad. A good potpie is so simple to make, and is a perfect use of leftovers. My potpie: Let me show you it....

To start, you have two basic piece of prep to do before baking one of these babys off. And this is very easy too.

Start by making a pie dough. I make a VERY simple 3-2-1 dough. 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, 1 part ice water. Once made, chill slightly until ready for rolling.

Next, the filling. The filling is nothing more than a roux cut with stock. Begin by heating 3 cups of chicken stock. Once hot, set aside. Next, in a sauce pan, start a roux by heating 4 T. butter and whisking in 1/4 C of flour. Once the roux has come together, whisk in the stock little by little until full incorporated. Add 1/4 t. Pepper and your ready to go.

Finally, it's all about your assembly. I added some chopped up turkey and veggies to the sauce over medium low heat until thoroughly heated. From there I cut my dough into 4 balls and rolled each out. (2 for the bottoms and 2 for the tops.)
For the last steps, you carefully pour the turkey mix into the pie crusts, top with the remaining dough, crimp, and make a few slits for the steam to escape.

Bake at 400F for 30 to 35 minutes.









And there you have it. Now, watch what has to be one of the best SNL skits in the past 20 years. If you don't laugh at this, you probably have no soul.