All Things Chill

You guys are probably busy with all the new Macworld LOVE, but AOL just released a Shoutcast iPhone app (App Store Link)! WOOHOO! This means that you can take your favorite Internet radio stations away from the computer! PREPARE FOR A TON OF EXCLAMATION MARKS! LOL.

If you didn’t know, I’m a resident DJ on the Dogglounge.com - THE BEST DEEP HOUSE INTERNET RADIO STATION ON THE INTERNET! And also, by resident, I meant that I USED to spin there weekly, but I like to THINK that I could jack the stream at this very minute ’cause the current guys still like me. LOL. So, now I can take my Internet radio on the goooOoOoooOOOoo! Deets follow:

• Access to over 25,000 SHOUTcast radio stations on your iPhone™ (EDGE, 3G or WiFi) or iPod® touch (WiFi)
• Search the vast SHOUTcast directory right on your iPhone or iPod touch
• Organize a list of your favorite SHOUTcast stations
• Innovative accelerometer control – Just shake to get a random station. You’ll never know what you might hear!
• Built on the award-winning AOL Radio for iPhone platform

To get you started, check out SOMA.FM, the Dogglounge (of course) and MonkeyRadio! If you have an iPhone, you now have a TON of listening options. WHEEE!!!

Get listening on your iPhone!

~Spec

San Francisco was fun! I ate a lot of great food with friends and Liana’s family - most events went without a photograph… but the things that I did capture will bring a flood of good memories for years to come.

We went to the California Academy of Science with Jade and Steve (that’s them on the sustainable-roof), where we ran around and checked out the aquarium (WOW COOL) and the planetarium presentation (WOW AWESOME). Apparently, it’s a real pain to get in the museum itself - I’d recommend getting there about 45 minutes before the thing opens to get a good crack at the fun stuff. If I’d go again, I’d do the planetarium, rainforest, penguin feeding and then De Young across the street… but that’s for another post. Hee hee.

We stopped by the old restaurant where I worked, where we said hello to my buddy Ryan. We were completely caught off guard with some of the dishes he brought out OFF MENU (mwmwahaha CONNECTIONZ) and the bomb diggy desserts. LIME-COCONUT SORBET FOR THE FREAKING WIN! Thanks for the laughs homeslice, it was a delicious meal. Hopefully we can be in the same industry next time I come visit. *crosses fingers* GBD = GOLDEN BROWN AND DELICIOUS. WHAT.

I broke off from Liana’s family to geekout meetup with Jacqui, Clint and a few other Ars writers (HI CHRIS AND DAVID!) to have some beer and relax before their long week at Macworld. INTERNET FAMOUS Colin “I LIKES THE SPAM” Barrett also came to join us, as well as ONE OF MY BESTEST FRIENDS ALICE (top picture above lololol). We all fondled our iPhones and even had a HALLO from Will Shipley. FYI, the Marriot serves local Anchor Steam, but does NOT have garlic fries. BOO.

I’ve said it a million times already, but I had fun in SF. The nostalgia I had walking around downtown made me feel I lived there a lot longer than I actually did. SORRY IF I DIDN’T SEE YOU - there weren’t enough hours in the day. I’m cutting and splicing tons of video footage I took out there, so lookout for that as well. WHHHEEEEEEEE.

SF WHAT WHAT.

~Spec

Late Night of Mahjong

Gettin’ Our Learn On in SF

WHEEEEE. I’ll be in San Francisco from Friday - Sunday, and there are a few things that I’d like to do before I leave - definitely not in any particular order.

1. Visit my homies at Slanted Door and check out the new commissary - a central food production “homebase” normally located as a nexus between all restaurants
2. Have a Top Dawg with hot mustard, ‘kraut & fries and eat it outside
4. Eat a Milano Express burger from Flippers with a vanilla coke
5. Drink special + a plate of fried chicken at Farmer Brown’s
6. Say hello to my old co-workers
7. Take the BART somewhere (easy one!)
8. Take MUNI to Sunset district and eat a salad and drink a pint at Pluto’s with Liana
9. Eat a FREAKIN’ decent burrito (either from Taqueria Cancun or Papalote)
10. Drink 3 bottles of Pepto. LOL.

Now I know I won’t be able to do all of those things (if ANY) in 3 days AND hang out with Liana and her wonderful family… but there’s some wishful thinking in there too. Everything is happening so fast, so if I don’t see you… I’ll be back soon. Hopefully. Hee hee. Hit me up on twitter if you’re so inclined!

YAY SAN FRANCISCO!

~Spec

Two (TWO!) of my food photographs were used on San Pellegrino’s website (it’s Flash-based, so iPhone users beware) for their article Polenta: from peasant to gourmet food. The first dish, cod with tomato sauce had a crispy polenta cake, while the other dish was a braised lamb shank with a creamy polenta application. I’m so happy they were used for something other than my humble blog. Hee hee.

Thanks Besanopoli for choosing my pics!

~Spec

Taken at Uwajimaya. I’m not very superstitious, but I always make sure I have a full bag of rice to ring in the new year. My family has done it all my life and I believe its purpose has to do with being bountiful or something. I’m just glad I have some backup for when the mood suits me (SPAAAAAAM!). Hee hee.

YAY RICE!

~Spec

LIANA GOT ME THE KODAK Zi6! Above is a random Christmas-Eve video with Domo-Kun and our Charlie Brown Christmas tree - complete with a handmade felt star, popcorn string and 81 adorable mini-ornaments. Watch in HD if your computer can handle it. LOL. WHEEEEEE.

Welcome to HD!

~Spec

Sushi Maki. WHAT WHAT.

~Spec

Ribeye steak with hot horseradish cream, asparagus and a baked potato with Irish butter. I keep wanting to say that it’s a continental - a style of cooking that includes the better-known dishes of various western European countries - version of prime rib, but I mean… what’s the point (lol). It’s a baked potato with really great butter, asparagus that’s been boiled and finished off with Kosher salt and a good cut of beef with some spicy horsey sauce (YOU ARBY’S PEOPLE KNOW WHAT I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT). Simple and clean flavors and kinda appropriate for the holidays. DO IT. DO IT.

YAY STEAK.

~Spec

Liana made pillows for her secret santa via her blog: A Pocket Full of Posies. CUUUUTE.

xoxo,

~Herschell

It’s been snowing here NONSTOP for the past 4 days, which means that my cravings dictate something hearty to warm me up on this first day of winter (yup, today)! CHILI. YAY. Now, there is some debate on which ingredients go into a traditional chili - chuck roast (stew meat) vs. ground beef, beans vs. no beans… and honestly… choose what you like. If you haven’t guessed, I’ve been braising / slow cooking a LOT of meat lately, so I chose the chewy texture from ground beef. I also chose kidney beans, since they’re not too firm and yet hold their texture - they also add more of a deep red color through out the bowl. So without further adieu…

First, crack open one 32 oz. can of whole tomatoes and drain liquid into a pan. Reduce that liquid by half (so your chili won’t get too watery). Dice the tomatoes into chunks and set aside.

Add one pound of good quality lean ground beef and two teaspoons of chili powder, 1/2 tbsp. of cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano to a pre-heated heavy bottomed pot until cooked through (if you’re using ground beef +8% fat, drain off excess oil at this time). Add 1 onion, a green bell pepper and a jalepeno (all chopped) until veggies are soft. Add reduced tomato liquid, tomatoes, drained and rinsed kidney beans and about 1 cup of water to the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes, covered, over very low heat so all the flavors combine.

My midwestern-ness may show a bit, but this is how I serve chili at home:

1. Throw tortilla chips into a bowl
2. Ladel chili into the bowl
3. Garnish with green onions, avocado and cilantro
4. Top off with juice from a lime

When you’re served the bowl, crunch up the chips from the bottom of the bowl and eat as you please - the longer you wait, the more soggy they become - which actually still imparts another layer of texture blah blah blah. lol. It’s good, ok? I also bought a 40oz. of Miller High Life, since it’s the champagne of beers paired so well with the Sunday-required tomato-based bloody mary. And since Liana would be mad if I didn’t say so, leftover chili can be mixed with cream cheese for a funky dip for parties or bad-for-you™ snacks!

I heart chili!

~Spec

It’s been years since I made a lasagna. For one thing, I didn’t even know enough people in San Francisco to make a batch for everyone, much less freezer space for conveniently foil-wrapped packages. I’ve followed a ton of different recipes from books, boxes, magazines and countless adults… and I really figured it out around 2002. I haven’t looked back since. Hee hee.

I’m not going to claim that my recipe is super authentic, but it definitely does NOT contain American or cheddar cheese… OR HOT DOGS (HI MOM LOL). I don’t want to hate on my culture or anything (Filipino if you didn’t kno) AND I’M TOTALLY OPEN TO NEW APPLICATIONS FOR FOOD. BUT man… HOT DOGS GO ON BUNS. Non-negotiable DONOTCOLLECT$200 nope nada nien kind of issue. I’m BARELY ok with hotdogs in my rice… and even then… I wince.

*ahem*

MEANWHILE…

Hardware:
wide spatula
1 bowl each for tomato sauce and ricotta mixture
9” x 13” baking dish / pan

Software:
butter / oil to coat pan
1 box of no-boil lasagna noodles (homemade? you get a gold star!)
1 lb. mild Italian sausage
4 cups of tomato sauce (recipe here)
15 oz. of ricotta cheese (standard size)
1/2 cup Asiago cheese
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1 - 10 oz. box frozen spinach (fresh? about 2 cups firmly packed, blanched)
3 balls of mozzarella, sliced 1/2 inches thick - garnish
Basil leaves

Coat baking dish with butter / oil / non-stick spray and preheat oven to 375. Crumble bulk sausage (not in casing) in a pre-heated pan and cook through. Stir in tomato sauce until combined. Set aside.

Thaw spinach and squeeze out most of the liquid. Clean and slice mushrooms thickly - they tend to shrink during cooking. Saute with butter and right when the ’shrooms become nice and golden, add garlic to heat through. Set aside to cool (at least 10 minutes). When cooled, mix mushrooms, spinach and garlic mixture with the egg and both cheeses together. Time for assembly.

Add sauce to bottom of the pan (prevents sticking). Drop in 4 sheets of the pasta (they will overlap a tiny bit, totally ok). Spoon in 1/3 of ricotta mixture and spread as evenly as you can. Spoon in 1/4 of the sauce. Repeat for a total of three times and top off with remainder of the pasta sheets. Top off with last 1/4 of the sauce and lay the mozzarella on top. Cover with foil and throw in the oven for about an hour.

Before you serve it (right after or 3 hours later), throw it under a low broiler to get everything a nice beautiful golden brown. Slice with a sharp knife and remove with a thick spatula to maintain it’s shape - I mean, you’ve worked so hard to make it, right? Make it sing on your plate!

The best part about this recipe is that there’s not a lot of moisture in it, which can make some pasta casseroles watery and bland. If you’re using a jar’d tomato sauce, you might want to cook it in a saucepan and reduce it by 1/3… just so you have less water to make it runny. Mezzetta and San Marzano make a beautifully sauce that you can use right out of the bottle. Spend the extra $3 and splurge on good tomato sauce!

SERVE WITH A SIMPLE SIDE SALAD, TOASTED BREAD AND A SMILE.

Kaies? Kaies.

~Spec

P.S. Wrap each leftover piece in foil and place in a large ziptop freezer bag. They’ll keep for a while (at least 6 months) and be an easy reheat for when you don’t have time to cook a proper supper.