From Aerosmith’s Joe Perry Comes “Rockin’ Roni”
Posted on 8 February 2008 under Convenience Foods, Food Blogs | 9 Comments
For a couple years now I’ve developed recipes for use with hot sauces from Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, which you can find on this page. Sometime before Christmas 2007 Joe’s web site went into hiatus as new products were finalized. Sometime in the past few days a new home page for Joe Perry’s Rock Your World went live … you can find it here. Under Featured Products you’ll see photos of three variations of boxed mac ‘n cheese, branded as Rockin’ Roni.
Coincidentally, Serious Eats is running a piece today on mac ‘n cheese, including discussions on boxed mac ‘n cheeses. With Joe’s hot sauces being as unique as they are, and since Joe and his family actually develop these products themselves, I’m rather anxious to get my hands on some Rockin’ Roni to try it out!
More Difficult Than It Appears, + A Little Venting
Posted on 24 January 2008 under Food Blogs, Notes | 2 Comments
JEP has left an interesting comment on my last post. One particular phrase in that comment has been brewing in my brain:
… we, as readers, think your blog posts are well-thought out before printed …
How I wish that were true.
I seldom go shopping for the express purpose of photographing and describing a particular dish for this blog. I might find something suitable, such as the Pierino frozen pastas. I might accidentally buy the wrong item, such as a pickled bologna vs. a ring bologna, and describe what happened. But unless I’m having an urge for something in particular, shopping is just … shopping.
For example, the flat-iron steak from a post from a few days ago. I’d bought one the previous week (they’re from Kroger) not having a clue what I was going to do with it. For that matter, I don’t believe I’d even seen a flat-iron steak until then. I “winged it”, plopping the finished food in front of my wife and Mr. Ottenstein.
The response was what made me go get another one for the post and photos. I figured if it’s that easy, and that good, I’d share the info.
What happens is these little spurts of thought. I used to post every day, sometimes twice a day. As my skills develop, as I try new things, as I find new things, my posts are, regretably, moving further apart.
I’m actively trying not to duplicate anything. This evening, staring at a griddle full of Eggs in a Frame, I thought it was a cool image and reached for the camera.
Nope. Can’t do it. I’ve done Eggs in a Frame to death. I put the camera back.
For you, dear reader, I struggle. Yes JEP, sometimes it’s a fierce struggle. And sometimes, it gets to the point where Mary starts offering suggestions. I don’t mind … sometimes a second set of eyes helps.
This week has been rather nasty for trying to figure out what to post. The next few days will be better. I’ll hit Bolles Harbor Café sometime tomorrow, we go to the Muskrat Dinner at the Erie VFW tomorrow evening, I’d misplaced the spicy Asian snacks from Jaden at Steamy Kitchen but found them late today, there’s a gift basket on the counter with a full Italian meal in it …
But after that? I have no idea.
Oh, till February 4th. Which reminds me …
I’d been thinking about one electronics chain this afternoon. I hadn’t been to one of their stores in almost 4 years. They’re supposed to be “experts”, but over time I’d found them to be … well … otherwise.I went looking for a camcorder microphone this afternoon. I’ll be needing one February 4th for a cooking event that I won’t describe till afterward … anyway, Best Buy wasn’t helpful for a decent camcorder microphone, and neither were the larger department and discount stores.So I headed to this other place.
Blech.
Me: “I’m looking for a suitable microphone for a camcorder.”
SalesNerd: “What kind of connector does it have?”
Ok, that’s stoopid question #1. Unless you’re dealing with pro camcorders or better Sony cameras, it’s a stereo mini plug, the same thing that’s on the end of your iPod headphone cable.
Me: “It’s a stereo mini plug.”
SalesNerd: “Is that 1/8 inch or 1/4 inch?”
Stoopid question #2. By definition, a stereo mini plug is 1/8 inch.
Me: “Ummm … 1/8 inch.”
SalesNerd: “Right this way.” [takes me to the back of the store, grabs something off the wall, and hands it to me] “Does that look right?”
Holy flurking schlidt.
In my hand was one of those narrow black plastic mics for older cassette recorders, with the bulbous fake ”chrome” mesh at the top. 10 bucks. Complete with a mono, not stereo, plug. And if memory serves, those particular plugs are about a half-a-millimeter larger than 1/8 inch.
I handed it back.
Me: “Forget it. Haven’t been in one of these stores in four years. Now I remember why. Go … go back and play with your cell phones.”
I left. There was not a word from the guy, nary a peep, as I walked through the store to the door. He was just … oblivious. Had not even the sense enough to learn the basics of what he was supposed to be selling. Probably wasn’t aware of how embarrassed he should have felt.
I think this time I’ll try for six years before my next visit. Maybe by then I might even need a cell phone.
This evening I ordered a suitable and inexpensive ($60) camcorder mic from B&H Photo/Video. Too bad I have to go all the way to NYC for something so simple.
Spicy Duck … What?? Nope, Can’t Do It Yet.
Posted on 17 January 2008 under Food Blogs, Gifts, Snacking | 5 Comments
I was going to title this post, “Beware of Asians Bearing Gifts”. Then I remembered … I kinda asked for these gifts.
Oops.
Back on January 7th the lovely Jaden of SteamyKitchen.com posted a blog entry she titled, “Friendship in the Form of Duck Necks“. She wrote:
In addition the duck neck and duck feet, I got dried squid, lots of seaweed snacks, duck tongues and duck gizzards. Anyone want to try? I’ll send you a snackity snack if you agree to try it!!!
I had the audacity to write a comment which read:
Me, I’ll try anything once! Sometimes twice. Often, manytimes. Who’da’ thunk it?
See, that was my mistake. I believe I meant what I wrote at the time I wrote it. Dear Jaden gets upwards of 400,000 page views each month on her blog, along with teaching classes in Asian cooking, cooking on the morning show on the local ABC affiliate station in Sarasota, and appearing in this month’s Sarasota Magazine. She gets over 100 comments on each blog entry she posts. What would be the odds of her shipping me some of …
Her email was almost instantaneous, as though my pinging her blog programmatically triggered a response:
email me your address! I’m sending you some.
On Monday Terry, our postmaster, told me I had a package. Smiling and rather sarcastically, I asked, “Is it Spicy Duck Necks?” Terry looked at the package and asked, “From Jaden?” Of course, I happily opened the back right there, dumped the mylar packages on the post office’s counter, and dramatically read the labels of the packagas for anyone within earshot. Some faces turned positively green.
I photographed the packages for the above photo, complete with Jaden’s lovely business card.
That’s as far as I got.
My stomach has prevented my hands from opening the things. The hands just keep putting them back in the package Jaden had sent them in.
I invited 13abc’s Zack Ottenstein for dinner Monday evening. I even went so far as to make every possible attempt to get him to try these snacks with me.
I’m not sure if he was laughing at me. If he was laughing with me, I know I wasn’t joining in.
So, here they sit. Still unopened.
Spicy Chicken Claws.
Spicy Duck Necks.
Spicy Duck Tongues.
Spicy Duck Giblets.
17-year-old John was in China this past summer. Just now I said, “John, you were in China this past summer. You ate a lot of stuff you’d never ate before. Why don’t you and I try these Spicy Duck Necks?”
His reply?
“Ummm … see, I ate that stuff because I made it a point never to ask what the name of it was. Ignorance is strength.”
Damn kid’s too smart for me …
So, they wait. Adam will be here this weekend. Maybe he’ll try them with me.
Why wait for someone else?
See, then I don’t have to eat all of it if I don’t actually like it.
Sigh.
Beware of Asians bearing gifts. At least, that’s what I’m doing for now.
Yeah, I’m a wuss. Deal with it.
Doode. They Can’t Be Serious.
Posted on 11 January 2008 under BlogsMonroe, Food Blogs | 2 Comments
“Think of this as a support group on nitrous oxide.”
Nope, there’s no way they can be serious. Not with that much nitrous.
Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun.
There’s a new blog on BlogsMonroe.com. The question is, does this new blog make its authors look fat? Really, that’s the question.
The blog is called, “Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat?”
I guess I’m going to have to keep an eye on Greta and Kiki. Some of my readers might head off to the dark side.
As long as they leave me their pork fat and butter …
In their first post, the gals quite succinctly describe what they’ll be doing:
As far as diets go we plan to utilize Atkins, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, The Zone, Clean Eating, anxiety, and expose ourselves to people who we hear have the stomach flu. We invite you to share no matter what plan you like or all of them, that’s what we’re doing too. Some days we’re doing nothing and we quit and we eat a tub of frosting in the car.
Yup, they’re real people. That’s obvious.
Of course, the stomach flu can be a great way to lose weight, too.
I wish them well, I really truly do. Y’all know my blog here has nothing to do with weight loss, and I feel that part of people’s lives definitely needs to be represented here on BlogsMonroe.com. A lot of folks need to see what works and what doesn’t.
It appears as though “Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat?” is going to do just that in a very approachable manner.
Ok, let’s see here.
Greta: “Also, I with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns hate cooking.”
Kiki: Cooking skills unknown.
Velly interestink, gdasshoppah …
A Steamy Take on Food Falsification
Posted on 8 January 2008 under Food Blogs | 5 Comments
Over at SteamyKitchen.com my pal Jaden takes on the subject of food falsification with her recipe for Furikake French Fries. Before getting into the recipe, she discusses the books I mentioned a couple days ago:
One book, Deceptively Delicious is by funnyman Seinfeld’s wife, who’s waging a personal war against things like Twinkies, Cheetos, instant ramen and processed cheese. All mighty foods that helped me get through boyfriend breakups, late night cramming sessions in college and entire the third trimester of pregnancy … Her recipes included such atrocities like, Carrot and Spinach Brownies, Cauliflower Banana Bread, Broccoli Gingerbread … Like, totally. Gag me with an asparagus spear … Do you even know how many Flaxseed Chicken Nuggets my kids can slingshot across the room in 12.3 seconds with one hand tied behind their backs?
You can read the entire hilarious post by clicking here. Quite honestly, I laughed so hard I up-chucked some coffee, ruining a $60 keyboard. Yup, I blame her … 
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