edsblog » Assuredly random

This is not helping….

edward.odell — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:49:16 +0000

Found in what I assume was a Youth Group meeting room while visiting a church recently:

Do I really need to add anything here?

Just now…

edward.odell — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:11:53 +0000

reemerging from a week with a nasty, nasty cold that SHOULD have been cut off at the pass by the flu shot I got two weeks ago (THANKS, Western medicine!). As a consequence spent Christmas Day (and several after) in bed, which, all things considered, was not the worst place to be, but still, wah.

We gave out some pretty nice gifts this year (and everyone’s pipe organ got tuned), but what’s interesting is a sampling of the ones we received:

Bourbon
Vodka
Gatchaman G-1
LED illuminated rocks glass (awesome!)
Monogrammed leather dopp kit
(REDACTED)

I have, at this point, watched enough daytime programming and movies to get me through next year.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Don’t fix it.

edward.odell — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:24:54 +0000

Catch me on Yelp.

edward.odell — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:28:03 +0000

Current internet addiction: Yelp.

It’s a Tarp!

edward.odell — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:23:46 +0000

Admiral Ackbar, the great military leader from Mon Calamari (where there is NO fra diavolo sauce) wants us all to know:

Furthermore:

What would Reagan do?

edward.odell — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:47:12 +0000

superpoop.com

Facebook Exodus

edward.odell — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 09:41:15 +0000

“The disillusionment with Facebook has come in waves. An early faction lost faith in 2008, when Facebook’s beloved Scrabble application, Scrabulous, was pulled amid copyright issues. It was suddenly clear that Facebook was not just a social club but also an expanding force on the Web, beholden to corporate interests. A later group, Harmsen’s crowd, grew frustrated last winter when Facebook seemed to claim perpetual ownership of users’ contributions to the site. (Facebook later adjusted its membership contract, but it continues to integrate advertising, intellectual property and social life.) A third wave of dissenters appears to be bored with it, obscurely sore or just somehow creeped out.” –Virginia Heffernan, NYT

Link

Tart Tatin Win

edward.odell — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:32:02 +0000

This, tonight’s dessert: Granny Smith Tart Tatin.

Been playing around with the recipe (including a Bosc Pear variation) with varying degrees of success. I have used my own pate brisée for the crust as well as store bought puff pastry and find, sadly, that I prefer the latter.

There seems to be a fine line between getting good carmelization and not overcooking the fruit to the point it turns into applesauce.

The French don’t make it easy.

Pilot Pen 2009: Reidel Wine Tasting Event

edward.odell — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:26:43 +0000

Susan and I decided to forego the usual fried-food-and-beer aspect (though, for the record, it is just as fun) of the Pilot Pen Tournament and attend the Reidel Wine Tasting sponsored by Lux, Bond and Green. We wondered more than once if we would run into Patrick or Karen there, and sure enough:

Later we watched Mauresmo duke it out with Kuznetsova in 3 sets 6-7, 6-2, 6-4:

Madeleines

edward.odell — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:58:22 +0000

I have been reading my good friend Jonathan’s new blog entries with interest, in particular those discussing what he has been cooking at home. Inspired, I thought I would talk a bit about my minor obsession with Madeleines.

References to Proust and the first Transporter movie aside, (could two cultural references be any further apart?) it began humbly enough when I brought home a lovely balsa wood box full of Madeleines from Balducci’s in Riverside. Each impossibly proportioned, individually wrapped and of course quite delicious. I would routinely buy them, but they rarely stayed around the house for long. After a while they were no longer available at Balducci’s, and I eventually stopped my occasional trips to Riverside as I discovered there were better places to source some of my favorite treats like Limonata and manchego.

About fourteen months ago I found myself at home on a weekday with Caleb who was home sick from daycare. On a whim some weeks prior I had bought a single madeleine pan and it seemed like a logical time to break it in. This was the beginning.

Madeleines have since become a minor ritual around here, something to which Susan, Josh and Caleb can happily attest. I’ve experimented with a few recipes, but found that I prefer this one from 101 Cookbooks as it is relatively simple, the most authentic, somewhat technically challenging, and best of all requires no leavening agent. I omit the powdered sugar and find that temperature and timing are key. In my convection oven 8 to 9 minutes lead to the perfect state of doneness, especially if you like your madeleines as I do, more “sticky” to the touch and less like a dry butter cake, which is what you get if they are overdone. Either way the results are still edible and noone complains. Josh has been known to scarf an entire plateful for breakfast with nary a trace of guilt.

Part of the appeal for me is the simplicity. I have done enough complex pastries to feel comfortable in carrying off various tarts and tatin, but for me, a well made madeleine is an unpretentious pleasure that requires no adornment. All you have to to is pick it up and in two or three bites it is gone.