Food Confession #001: Frosting and Sprinkles

My rainbow-colored nightmare

Frosting and sprinkles on desserts are pretty gross. I'll make an exception for cream cheese frosting, but that's about it.

Requium for a Rice Ball

There are rare examples in food where the joy derived from texture can outweigh the joy derived from flavor. And some special magic happens when both texture and flavor are in perfect harmony. Today I submit to you the humble onigiri, or Japanese rice ball:

God, I salivate just looking at that picture.

Birthday Goodies...from 2013

Came across this incomplete entry from last April of some birthday goodies I received from my loved ones:

Neil Gaiman's Sandman collection from my awesome in-laws

Super poseable Mega Man figure and "Avengers versus Thanos" trade paperback from my lovely sister

A little food reading

I came across a number of great food-related articles that I just had to share:

Asian Food Fest #10: Taiwan (Travelling Foods): Besides some GREAT food photography, the post really goes into the cultural history of Taiwan, and how different groups affected what we now consider Taiwanese cuisine.

Eating Soup Dumplings in Shanghai? Xiao Long Bao Are Only Half the Story (serious eats): You may be an avid fan of XLB, but did you know about the pan-seared version?!?

Inside Sun Noodle, the Secret Weapon of America's Best Ramen Shops (Eater): Noodle lovers (especially ramen fans) must check this one out. I had to have ramen for dinner after reading this.

Little Batman and Robin

I like toys and collectibles, especially of the geeky variety, and the Funko POP! mini figures have been on my radar for awhile. They have really taken off in the last few years, covering all sorts of television shows and franchises including Marvel and DC super heroes, Disney characters, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just to name a few, and the list keeps growing!

I finally pulled the trigger on picking up Batman and Robin (Tim Drake version, for those in the know) after noticing a serious lack of Bat-representation on my shelves. I also share these with my 1 year old son, who's taken a liking to the Robin figure. Now the trick is not to go overboard and pick up a dozen of these by the end of the year...which my wife will not like.

Documentary on the History of "Final Fantasy"

Check out this detailed 30 minute documentary on the creation of Final Fantasy and how it changed the course of game developer Squaresoft. Also prepare to be overcome with a wave of nostalgia if you ever enjoyed playing a JRPG:

Music: "Kingslayer" by Adam WarRock

Sure, I'm behind a whole season on HBO's Game of Thrones, but with the Season 4 on everyone's mind, I had to post this tasty audio snack by nerdcore rapper Adam WarRock. If you find yourself wanting more, be sure to check out WarRock's website for more FREE nerdy rap tunes:

Music: Tycho - Awake

For some great ambient rock that blends nicely into the background at work, I've really been enjoying the album "Awake" by Tycho. Because, really, I can't rock out to Hall and Oates' greatest hits EVERY day.

I'm hooked on "Pop Culture Happy Hour"

I got the recent podcast recommendation for NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour and I am hooked. I'm doing what I usually do with a new podcast I've deemed "subscription worthy" and catching up on the last few months of content on my daily commute. It's a great feeling to come across a group of folks who's recommendations I can trust because there's a nice mix of shared interests (television shows, musicians, etc.) but also different interests so that I can discover movies or albums I might otherwise be blind to. It also helps there's a good amount of humor and geekiness on the show as well.

Jacob vs. Cupcake

A very happy first birthday to my little boy Jacob

Stephen Colbert and Daft Punk

Why yes, that IS Bryan Cranston...as if we need more reasons to love that guy.

I was catching up on some articles this weekend after getting back from a two week vacation in Hawaii (more on that later), and this was easily the best thing I've seen in awhile:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Video Archive

Talk about turning lemons into lemonade :P

For more info on the circumstances leading up to this amazing Colbert creation, read here.

New Thor movie trailer

The new Thor: The Dark World trailer looks fantastic:

Anniversary Pie & Dinner at T.W. Food

So what you have here is a low-quality picture of the remnants of our "anniversary apple pie" T picked up in celebration our four years of marriage. We both love pie and she similarly picked up a "birthday pie" back in April for me as well (Sorry cake, I'm just not that into you). What can I say, I have an amazing wife!

Luckily, we were able to have a belated anniversary dinner less than a week later, where we left Jacob with a babysitter for the first time ever. It turned out great, and I'm happy to safe we have an option when we want to go out on a date in the future!

Back to the anniversary dinner: I made a reservation at T.W. Food (377 Walden St., Cambridge, MA), a restaurant I've been wanting to check out for awhile. Although restaurant outings have been non-exisitent since the baby came along, the Mrs. and I really enjoy tasting menus, especially for our inaugural visit to a restaurant, where we really get a better idea of the chef's culinary POV. Here's the menu:

Here are the highlights:

• First off, the tasting menu had a great variety of unique flavors, each course left us eagerly awaiting the next
• Some very creative offerings here. T was really impressed with the borscht and how well the salmon roe and bacon served as bursts of flavor in the soup. This is coming from a person who doesn't like cold soups.
• I thoroughly enjoyed the creme brûlée foie gras which came with some delicious toasted brioche. You had to crack the top of the creme brûlée, just like the dessert version!
• The surf & turf had the best scallop T has every tasted. We were both a bit puzzled by how the sauerkraut fit in...but we finished every last bit on the plate.
• Early grey is probably my favorite tea (shout out to all the Next Generation fans out there) and in parfait form, it was a light, refreshing way to finish our meal!

I've also heard good things about the brunch at T.W. Food, and can't wait for our next chance to visit!

Chairman...approves!

Food and Media

I've got to share a few food in media finds I've stumbled upon in the past month:



On the Table w/ Eric Ripert: A series found on YouTube, I really enjoy the banter Ripert has with his guests and as an established chef and food celebrity, he'll have some big name friends show up like Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali. The show is typically 22 minutes or so, so keep in mind that its not your normal bite-sized YouTube video.

The Alton Browncast:You guys, I am so happy that this podcast exists. As a big fan of his former show Good Eats, I've really missed Alton Brown's unique and geeky take on all things culinary. Here's a description of the podcast from his webpage:

"TV Host and Foodist Alton Brown reviews recent food news, chats with celebrities about their culinary passions, takes calls from listeners, and basically does whatever he flippin’ wants for 45 minutes."

Seriously though, I eagerly await the new episode each week, check it out if you're the least bit interested.

(Summer) Tuesday's Tunes: Daft Punk

There are certain bands I only listen to in certain seasons. For the summer, nothing beats an upbeat pop song, or a high energy tune to rock out to, especially when combined with an afternoon drive.

It took a week or two to grow on me, but I've been playing Daft Punk's Random Access Memories almost daily during the work week. Since I basically just let the album play from start to finish, I figured I'd share the playlist via Spotify:



Just a great upbeat album for the summer. What's on your summer playlist?

Getting back into video games

Since marriage, I've played way more board games than video games. Since the baby was born, I've played a whole lot of...nothing. With the little guy not needing a feeding every hour, T and I have had more time to watch TV and relax a bit in the evenings, and while we do try and get out of the house on weekends, we rarely plan anything during the actual week.

So it should be no surprise I was bitten by the video game bug after hearing some great recommendations on The Indoor Kids podcast (a recent find) and realized this was something I could definitely fit in on quieter evenings. so the research commenced, I downloaded some new games on my iPad, I located, dusted off, and charged my Nintendo DS, and was ready to dive back into my long dormant hobby.

Here's what stuck:

I installed and enjoying League of Legends, a popular computer game in a genre I had heard a lot about, but had no first hand knowledge of. Although it has a steep learning curve, with the help of some experienced friends, and even some friends to play with, I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. If you play or decide to try it out, feel free to add me as a friend at "IamBluesteel".

Also, I'll be sure to share what other games that really stick out, and it'll probably be a mixed bag of casual games, like Candy Crush, which I have a love/hate relationship with, and more substantial games like the aforementioned League of Legends.

Tuesday's Tunes: Closer, by Tegan and Sara

Closer
By: Tegan & Sara

This song is so catchy, been playing this one daily for the past few weeks.

Mega Man 2 Lullabies

Guess what my son will be listening to when its time for bed tonight?!?

MEGA MAN 2 LULLABIES!

These sweet piano renditions from select Mega Man 2 songs are a free download, so fans should definitely grab the free tunes!

Speechless

Ok, finding the time to blog as a new Dad has been quite the challenge, and it was a pretty lofty goal when I thought I could set out to make regular posts since there's a biiiiiit of a learning curve in this whole taking-care-of-a-little-life business, but I will try when I can.

I'm happy to share that we have been able to make it back to church for two weeks now with Jacob in tow. Unfortunately, I've only been able to participate in said-services for only a small fraction of the time, but hey, its progress, and I'll take what I can get. In general, we are learning what we need to bring and what we need to do when bringing the little guy out, namely, bring more diapers than we think we need, and multiple changes of clothes for the baby.

Along with that, I am relearning how to interact with other adults. Now at work its pretty easy since you have a framework already set up, whether its talking about TPS reports or engaging in light chit chat (by which I mean talking about The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Community, etc.), but when faced with questions a bit more opened ended like "How have you been?" or "How is being a new parent?" this has been my response...

...but hey, its not that I don't appreciate human interaction, I'm just not the most thrilling conversationalist at this point and time, so thank you in advance for your understanding.

A Song For Mama

A belated Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! Here's an old school tune "A Song For Mama" by Boyz 2 Men in honor of you: