Favorites This Week

Below are a few things I found this week I like. Each picture was borrowed from, and has a link to the original post so hopefully I am not breaking online etiquette. Merely trying to bring attention to some cool ideas and a few new things.[click pics for link back to articles]

Cheese & Herb Waffle BLT! Need I say more? Click the link and get the recipe.

The Pioneer Woman really spoke to my stomach on this one...Pepperoni Pizza Burgers!

Sweet Potato Pancakes from The Gingered Whisk!

Home made peanut butter(or any nut)! Love the recipe and instructional over at Michael Ruhlman's and of course all excellent photography done by his wife: Donna Ruhlman!

Kitchen is Open! Lunch Menu - Go!

Awhile back I posted that I started a new job. It was a 'startup' of sorts. I am working for a private academy that has a commercial kitchen but had not been in the position to start a school lunch program. Now they are.

We spent weeks on plans, lunch menus, instructions, manuals, lining up vendors, tweaking the way we do things, 'courting' the health department...I did not want to start posting on this venture till I knew we were in the clear and things were about to kick off. That's why I have not posted much this week. But now...

The kitchen was approved today by the Health Department for its permit to operate! There are still a few things to work on but they are mostly minor.

Starting Monday we will kick off our school lunch program for the Academy...its going to be BUSY, and CRAZY! If you want to check out the school and the lunch menu go HERE! (Right hand corner, read: Lunch Menu)

Woo-Hoo!

Favorites This Week

Below are a few things I found this week I like. Each picture was borrowed from, and has a link to the original post so hopefully I am not breaking online etiquette. Merely trying to bring attention to some cool ideas and a few new things. [click pics for link back to articles]

Over at The Girl Who Ate Everything Walking Tacos has resurfaced!

A great Idea that is really an oldie...Recipe & great pictures included! - Its like Frito-Pie in a bag!

Pod Rooms - Small $100 hotel rooms in NYC! Great idea, fun concept, brilliant design!

Black Kuro Burger (by Burger King!) - Bamboo charcoal ash mixed in with bun and black squid ink ketchup...Mmmm, mouth watering, eh?

 This brought back fond memories of a little restaurant in the North End of Boston called Limoncello! At the end of every meal it was customary to finish with a small drink of Limoncello. I like the idea of making my own just because of these wonderful memories but alas a small bottle would probably last for 10 years around our house!

Bon Appetit & Gourmet (not worth the news stand price)

[I originally posted this in 2007 - not much has changed since then, actually maybe worse...]

I can truly say that I have been reading/looking at Bon Appetit and Gourmet for years now and I am about to get rid of their subscription just like I did Food & Wine.

First let me say that if you have a subscription that basically makes each magazine only a dollar apiece, then maybe that's OK.  The photography and/or maybe one article in the whole magazine would be worth a dollar to you...but please please don't pay that shelf price of 3.99 or higher.

I have been counting pages and looking at pictures and realized some very troubling things about these magazines that maybe you are not aware of...

1. If you count the pages of ads, ad pictures, and non-content it will pretty much be 50% to 60% of the magazine.
2. Now take all the pages that have actual content and figure out the real percentage of the page that is not real content...uh huh, now maybe 60% to 65% of the magazine is not true content, meaning its ads.
3. Take away all the credits and small print that doesn't teach you anything (you know all that necessary stuff for publishing) yep, now we're up to 70%.
4. And don't be fooled by some of that great photography or mini-articles because if you read some of the small print or pay attention to the sponsor you realize its more ad pictures and content.
5. Last but not least, take away the real pictures (because they use so many real BIG pictures that are beautiful but take up so much space) and see that you may have 20% actual text content left that is either article or recipe.

Don't get me wrong, that may be worth the dollar or two a magazine per month subscription price but I for one am tired of leafing thru all that ad paraphernalia just to get to what little meat there is...

Look thru your subscriptions and tell me if I am lying.  I think not. My suggestion? Saveur.

Mimi & Papas House!

Most Saturdays I bring both of my boys to Frizzles to meet Mimi & Papa (my parents). Sometimes my wife (Steph) comes or is sleeping in from working the night before. Mimi and Papa enjoy time playing with Tytus (now 2.5) and holding Ezra(and playing as much as a 2 month old does).

Frizzles is like a Dairy Queen, but not. They have frozen custard, not soft serve ice cream and the menu's have similar things by the way of chicken fingers and burgers.

On Saturday morning they open fairly early for not serving breakfast. I think store hours they open by 9 or 9:30am and we show up between 930 and 10am. We are usually the only people there the first hour or so and Tytus is rip roaring and running around the restaurant inside. We order a drink and get a fry, or custard to share with Tytus. Occasionally we give him 'pieces' (pennies or change) to put in the big plastic Children's Miracle Network container which has your change go round & round and thru 'mousetrap' or Ferris Wheel kind of contraptions before finally falling to the bottom. Quite entertaining for him. We hang out for awhile and 'catch up' then go our separate ways. A good time is had by all!

What has happened over time is Tytus has gotten so used to seeing Mimi & Papa at Frizzles (and have been there more times than their actual house) that Tytus now thinks Mimi & Papa LIVE at Frizzles! And if that's not funny enough...every time we drive by Frizzles he starts hollering 'Dat's Mimi & Papa's house, Mimi & Papa's house!!!" and will continue to do so till I agree with him!