Food n Beer n stuff

"hand-tossed"

2011-01-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

Avoid hand-tossed dough. If you can physically spin your pizza dough above your head then the gluten formation is most likely more complex than you would want to "chew".

exams aw aw

2010-01-13T21:19:00.001-08:00

exams.

yes it's that stuff...all over again.

now sing along!

the carpals are connected to the metacarpals..the metacarpals are connected to the.....

Christmas less than a week away oh my!

2009-12-19T04:12:00.000-08:00

WOW.

It's almost here and I am almost ready.

I am not however ready for the end of the year.

Bringing back fireplace cookery

2009-12-08T23:59:00.000-08:00

I'm bringing it back.

That's right.

Cookin in the fireplace.

Growing up at my house during the wintertime always presented more adventure in foodland. Not only did we use our piles and piles of cut timber to burn cozy and smokey fires providing cozy heat in the family room, but we also "maximized" it by yes...cooking in the fireplace.

Most people might tell you that burning wood smoke can add unnatural levels of toxicity to cooked food. They'd tell you that you'd have to burn the wood until it becomes solely embers and then to cook atop the red glowing coals.

Well, we didn't follow that rule at my house.

You see, the unburnt portions of logs would actually act as excellent "ledges" on which we could rest the end of a bbq basket. Yeah those flat baskets with a handle that you can buy at the sporting goods store, a lot of people use them for vegetables and fish etc....we just used it for everything.

I still don't really understand how odd it is for someone to whip out a frozen steak and toss it onto a grate on the fireplace. We did everything, from chicken wings to pork chops, I even did a bit of flatbread that turned out awesome.

Tonight I'm whipping up a batch of bagels in the regular oven and then finish them in the fireplace hoping to get some serious wood smoke and char.

I'd call it a lost art....then again I don't think it was an art to begin with.

Foods that begin with "B" = Good

2009-10-25T10:28:00.001-07:00

As I was chomping down on a Noah's pumpkin bagel with pumpkin-cream cheese schmear I thought to myself...hmm..most foods that begin with the letter "B" tend to be pretty alright.

In no particular order, here are some delicious examples of good B's....

Bagels - Fresh from Noah's
Broccoli - Roasted please!
Burger - Duh.
Branzino - Med-fish good-fish
Burrito - Hold the gas.
Banana - They work.
Brandade - Face it, mashed potatoes mixed with anything is good.
Beans - More fiber=more ____
Brazil Nuts - ok I'm stretching it a bit
Bread - goes with.....
Brie - and also...
Burrata - which is kinda like...
Butter
Borscht - mmm..cabbagey
Brunello di Montelcino (wine counts right?)
Bourdeaux (cab sauv/claret)
Burgundy (pinot noir)
BEER
BRUNCH - ok so it's not a food per say but it encompasses many types of food such as...
Beef
Bratwurst
Buffalo
Bucatini
Beer
Broth (soup would not be the same without it)
Baba Ghanouj
Bulgur
Broccolini (different than no. 2)
Bechamel
Baccala/Bacalao
Baklava
Balsamic Vinegar
Berries
BBQ (ok it's a classification)
Barley -used to make...
Beer...again
Barolo
Basil
Basmati Rice
Bearnaise
Beets (always remember when you eat them...don't freak out)
Beignets
Bellini
Braised anything
Bechemel
BROWNIES
Bittersweet
Biscotti
BEER
BLUE cheese
Blini
Bourbon
Bok Choy
Butterscotch

That's about all I feel like listing now.

My Owner Needs A Job

2009-10-15T21:11:00.001-07:00

If you all didn't know, Jody is my owner.

He needs a job right now.

Not a real real job, just a part-time one, or one that is flexible enough to let him continue with classes at the school.

Please help! Save the Wombats!

Jacques Pepin, does he understand what fast means?

2009-05-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

Fast food my way....

So I'm sitting here scouring the job market on the computer and just happen to have Jacques Pepin on the create channel.

He describes his "new" show as being Fast food his way.

It truly makes me wonder how long his non-fast food takes to cook. Granted he does finish a complete meal in 30 minutes....while utilizing every single pan and dish and technique ever known to man. And of course, I believe the actual cooking time takes 30 minutes...but the clean-up will most likely take at least another 30..(sorry Rachel Ray, but you can't even cook and clean in 30 minutes alone!).

I really wish that when I came home that all my ingredients were laid out and perfectly prepped for the daily meal....and not only that but having three different prep areas with three completely separate cutting boards and knives would be nice too.

No disrespect Jacques...I know you're the guy who has truly revolutionized the way people think about food (ode to Howard Johnson days), but Baked Clams Madison, Black Olive tapenade encrusted cod, peeled and tournedoed roasted broccoli, and hazelnut-chocolate creme mousse....in 30 minutes. I'd like to see him turn that out in a kitchen 1/5th the size (which I truly believe he could do with one arm tied behind his back and half-drunk on a bottle of Cotes Du Nuites while batting off his once-perky but now overly-annoying and cliche side-kick daughter).

Back to searching.

10AM Dim Sum break

2009-04-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

Love is eating dim sum and wonton noodle soup at 10 in the morning.

False Advertising

2009-04-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

Drove around today in the rental car....all things considered, the weather was awesome, I woke up early...AND it was my day off...who knew!?

Jody was driving and was incredibly un-impressed with his new GPS. Turn where? back there? aw bloody hell.

We went to Mukilteo where we saw....expensive houses....and cheap crack houses. We saw the ferry terminal...and a really run-down looking brew-pub called Diamond Knot. Mind you the website for Diamond Knot makes it look somewhat more glamorous than a suped up Denny's...but c'mon...this place was like a beat-down shack waiting to implode. I was expecting to see $5 streetwalkers rolling up their pantyhose and drug dealers lookin to sell their smack. And even they wouldn't go there.

Ended up exploring Mill Creek/Bothell. Ripper.

McMenamin's is famous in Oregon, and especially to Oregon afficianados...in fact one could say that it literally could replace that other McRestaurant in popularity with pasty faced teenagers and crack whores from Mukilteo...(besides the Diamond Knot).

Their properties in Portland are outstanding, the bars...amazing, and the beer perfectly satisfying...however this McMenamin's in Mill Creek must have been the brew-pub that time forgot.

Built into what appears to be the leftover Hollywood video spot in a stripmall, one could only wince as you sit in your wood booth looking out into the desolate strip-mall parking lot. The view, merely a Safeway, a busy gas station, and of course the various cars driving in and out un-ceremoniously visiting the local Department of Licensing office just next door.

An insipid and un-inspired bowl of macaroni and cheese...taking 10 minutes to bring out to my table, consisting of boiled macaroni and a liquid cheese "soup"...then sprinkled with about a teaspoon of panko bread crumbs. Oh how demeaning....to pay $9 for instant or was it frozen mac and cheese.

Where was the love? Where was the careful attention to pure food that Oregonians are famous for....it definitely was not swimming in my soupy bowl of macaroni. Nor did this level of detail come out of the pepper shaker...which by the way definitely did not taste like pepper or anything much at all....probably the same pepper from when it was a Blockbuster video store...yeah I know.

I tried the beer sampler, knowing that one of my most favorite beers of all time is the Terminator Stout. The Ruby (a horrendous raspberry ale) was disgusting, absolutely undrinkable and now I know why it's one of their best sellers...the Bud/Miller/Coors crowd would have a heyday with this one. Just like when we use to mix beer and orange juice for breakfast at the University.

Their pale ale was drinkable, their IPA was pretty much the same, the seasonal was a bland irish red ale that needed more malt but was the clearest of the 6. Their Porter...much better than I remember. In fact it was better than the Stout.

Consistency seems to be a problem for a lot of businesses these days. I just didn't expect it to show up in a bowl of mac and cheese.

uncle walter?

2008-12-22T19:46:00.000-08:00

Isn't it just mashed potatoes?

Wombat-friendly Hotel?

2008-12-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

"somebody's been sleeping in my bed!"

Hmm...nothing is free anymore....

Giant Squirrel..last spotted Redmond, WA

2008-12-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

The Squirrel lives....

Huge Squirrel

2008-11-24T22:36:00.001-08:00

It lives.

It's huge.

At least 20 inches...I've seen it.

Pictures to come soon.

Why Via Tribunali Sucks....

2008-11-24T22:22:00.001-08:00

Via Tribunali

The place does not blow me away.

Why?

Not only is this a restaurant dedicated to the darkness of the non-lit atmosphere of an incredibly overpriced and overhyped locale....but..

Their pizza is pretty O.K.

But wait you say....Via Tribunali should have D.O.C. pizza...the stuff that the italians actually approve of!

In fact, they approve of this pizza so much that they need to go around and give them their "stamp" of approval! That's right folks, Via Tribunali does not bring something original to the Seattle table... (the original in Seattle was Tutta Bella by the way)....so you would think that they would make a special twist on their version to set it apart...

Well, if $5-8 more per pie, absolutely impossible weekend parking, and 80% darker interior lighting meant better....then well it MUST be better.

Who am I to argue with the tragically "hip" folk who live upon that hill....capitol hill....with a capital "O" for over-hyped and overly-gentrified.

Fine...YOU can drive around in circles trying to find parking....YOU can squint like a blind rat trying to read the menu in their dimness.....YOU can pay $18 for the same pizza you can get down the street at the original D.O.C. pizza joint for less....

One could say that the darker the interior the restaurant...the more things they DON'T want you to see..

And they really shouldn't be selling Spaten Pils......they need Georgetown beer....or at the very least Fat Tire.

Via Tribunali...a product of ego-inflated journalistic hype.

Think about it, try it once and then YOU decide.

Portland...pizza...beer

2008-10-20T00:46:00.000-07:00

Apizza Scholls.

Maybe you've seen it on the travel channel...Anthony Bourdain so eloquently chewing and spewing out obscenities about hippies and the such.

No Travel Channel television show...or guidebook could ever prepare you for the outrageously humbling experience that my girlfriend S. and I would literally label as pizza NIRVANA.

That's right my friends, you've heard it here first....and yes I DID consider the absolute unctuous deliciousness of the previously championed pizza joint...the so-called Tutta Bella....well you know what peeps? Everything ain't beautiful in Seattle...anymore.

You would think I'd get past the hype...beyond the tie-dyed clad, birkenstock wearing, mambo-sock laden hippy folk of the metropolitan oregon....oh no...did I ever get by them.

From lackadaisical servers...to overly-long waits for pizza, never had we ever experienced such a turnaround..such a difference in mentality as we did when we reached Portland, Oregon.

You could not possibly attend enough Lilith-fares, Bumbershoots, nor Vegan-pride rallies to prepare you for the onslaught and ominous invasion of the hippy nation that we call Portland.

So strap on your tevas, pull-down your Goodwill shorts and neon pink and green socks, spit in your hand a few times and really wipe it into your greasy hair....and don't forget to fart on yourself a few times for good measure.

We're going to Portland Baby.

Apizza Scholls

What is a great pizza really?

How many have you had in your life...honestly, how many times could you possibly say that you've had the utmost perfect pizza in your entire life???

Maybe once or twice? and I would be damned if you had even said that.

Great pizza is different to everyone.......on the other hand...amazing pizza is a thing of beauty...and Apizza Scholls in Portland, Oregon...has definitely found something good.

My once-met aquaintance Anthony Bourdain thought that it was "really high-end New York Pizza..." and I as a non-native New Yorker would have to disagree.

You see....New York Pizza was meant to be eaten by the slice....dripping hot with oil and orange colored grease, coming with the obligatory $4 coke...as you trip down the street with a flimsy grease laden white paper plate and overstocked white paper napkins...evidently left there since the last customers...back in WW1.

Imagine a flakily-crispy crust...ultra thin on the bottom with just enough pull and chew to keep your arms and mouth busy. They limit their toppings to three for good reason...it would utterly disturb the balance between good crust and cheese.

But really though....upon further inspection one can find that the crust and dough layer is reminiscent of incredibly lean and airy baguettes....that's right...the elastic chewiness of the french bread interior...yet a flakily crisp exterior (most likely brought on by the addition of a swipe of olive oil or two).

I really could cheat and use a pizza pan with holes drilled into the bottom...to create that delicious charred and almost black spotting on the underside of the pizza....not only does it make it crispy and interesting...but it makes it look quite sexy as well.

Best pizza in the world ever? yes I think so.

In the Name of....

2008-10-20T00:44:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know....

This is not really Walter Jr. the stuffed wombat, but of course you could probably figure that out since he doesn't know how to type.

This is really Jody...and Jody's new food & beer/brewing blog.

Enjoy.