the ladybug and the lion

A Bolognese Bolognese.

Italian chefs campaign for a better Spaghetti Bolognese.

I guess since I'm here, I should learn how to make it right...

Gmail.

How does it know me so well?  The current ad reads "buy mexican food".  Few things have sounded so tempting.

Another Reason I Miss California.

(Via Ezra Klein and Good)

From Sex To Food.

Interesting piece in the WP on the transfer of attitudes from sex to food.

Free Food At Denny's.

How can I resist when the words free and food are involved?

Fried Eggplant With Molasses.

I had this in Spain, and thought it was a random combination.  But it was really good, so I tried to recreate it.  It's thin pieces of eggplant that are fried in a light batter of egg and flour with molasses drizzled over them: Quite delicious. 

Baking For Blake.

I was recently invited to become a guest blogger on BlakeMakes, and my first post went up today.  Look for me on every second Wednesday of the month, and I promise not all recipes will include a cup of shortening.

A Beerish Brew.

I started brewing beer recently.  The first batch, a Belgian pale ale, tasted decent, which was much better than I had expected.  The only problem was that neither I, nor my brewing partner, realized that we were missing a piece for our airlock until halfway through the process for our second batch, and hence our beer attempted to ferment in a not quite airtight container.  Live and learn.

Siphoning

For The Love Of Beer.

“I think you're a real beer drinker,” says my boyfriend, sounding almost proud.

“What's a real beer drinker?” I ask.

“Well, not like my mom, who won't touch anything darker than Corona.”

I had just ingested a bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale and declared my regret that we didn't have more.  This was fairly serious problem in my mind, as I'd recently developed a strong affinity for beer: it's my current post-workday beverage of choice.  I had already gone though most of the brands stocked at my local Trader Joe's and recently hunted down the nearest specialty wine and cheese store, which also happens to have a fairly large selection of beer.  Then came the more exotic brews, such as Sam Adam's Triple Bock: not my after work beer of choice, but I'll consider it the next time I'm trying to find a drink to accompany my cheese platter.

This wasn't supposed to happen, especially with beer.  I've tried being a wine drinker for years, but it just never clicked.  There is the occasional bottle of wine that I fully enjoy, but I never miss it when it isn't around: it never complimented a meal in the way I thought it should.  If I was being totally honest, I would have to admit that my desire to appreciate wine was at least partially a desire to be part of high culture as opposed to for the love of the drink.  And then I started drinking beer.

Beer, at least in my mind, is not “high culture”.  Beer is manly, grotesque, meant for drinking games (specifically beer pong) and late nights in grimy bars.  At worst, it's cheap, revolting to taste.  At best, it's tolerable, but certainly isn't meant to compliment superbly prepared meals of seared ahi and blue cheese crusted steak.  I associate it's smell with a hug from my father on a hot summer's day, or drunk (male) friends from college.  Beer is not feminine. 

Or so I thought until I tried some “real” beer: the carbonation, the dark flavor.  I was hooked.