Eat at Joe's!

New World Man

I seem to have recovered most everything of interest.  Good.  :)  👍 🤘

My First Recipe

... aaand my first post of the year.  I've also never shared a video before: its about the first thing I ever learned to cook, and something my girlfriend taught me how to do 53 years ago.  I'll never forget it.  It's particularly easy, and you probably have the stuff around to make it with, in case you're stranded at home during the current spate of bad weather:

 

Hope you enjoyed that, and enjoy your weekend.  Don't stay out too late tonight.  ;)

Maybe KFC *And* English Are Cool In Ghana?

I guess one reason KFC sucks in the US is because they're paying so much attention to the business overseas:

"KFC's Big Game of Chicken" at Bloomberg/Businessweek

But my almost prurient interest here:  What the hell do these t-shirts say?

It's clearly "I'M A STUDENT OF" and then maybe "L...NOMICS"?  What the heck do you put on an employee shirt in English in Ghana anyway?  Wikipedia tells me it's the official language of Ghana, so I guess that explains it, but I still want to know what these shirts say.  :)

My Next Big Career Change Angle

CNN: "Blog your way to a better career"

Wow, this is how to get out of ditch-digging?  I guess I better start blogging more. ;) But n. b. : "Trying to earn money from your blog is a lost cause."

I Wonder If The Hamburglar Will Steal Your Wedding Ring

I'm sorry I'm also late with this incredibly important announcement:  Apparently, McDonald's in Hong Kong does weddings.  I'm not married, so what do I know — maybe a McWedding would be better than an Elvis-themed wedding in Las Vegas.  It does look cheaper then the average wedding ceremony.  And with the money you save, you could go to McDonald's in Sweden and play Pong for food.  

Our Precious Bodily Fluids Are Safe

Thank $Deity:

"Maple Syrup Reactors Safe, Canadian Prime Minister Reassures"

Good News, Bad News

I have a job.  I could say that I'm digging ditches in northwest Raleigh — in fact, let's say that, shall we?  So there's money coming in, which is good.  OTOH, I started a post about, er, fat over 5 weeks ago, and even though I found my copy of On Food and Cooking only 2 weeks afterward, I still haven't gotten back to the post, or anything else blog related.   No fun, is it?  No fun for my Gentle Readers, either, perhaps?  

So, I apologize for my poor organizational and time management skills.  With skills like that, how the hell was I ever any good at anything in a kitchen?  Actually, my cooking skills do seem to be going the way of the handbasket, with everything of mine being rote, utilitarian, or just plain lame.  I'm not cooking enough, or well, or creatively.  Any special meals are prepared by someone else or paid for or both, most of the time.  Not that I mind either, of course, but use it or lose it... and of course I'm glad to be working during the Great Recession, or at least it's (hopefully) rather long tail....

I should at least do a link dump sometime soon.  Then you folks can read delicious nuggets like how fish can make you happy in a bad way, &c.  Let's hope we all get our hobbies and enjoyments back, not just memories of them.  I hope you all have enough to eat, and I hope it's good.  Perhaps you can have a drink, too.  Go have a glass of sherry, a G&T, or a beer, and enjoy the rain.  Perhaps I'll do that myself.

State of The Blog, Or De-Kvetching — An Addendum

Despite my occasional flatulent complaint, I still enjoy writing this damn thing.  I hope you, my Gentle Readers, still enjoy reading it on occasion.  As always, thank you for your support.  This is not intended to be a diary; occasionally it may turn into one, but after almost seven years and around 741 posts, it's the ones like these that keep me going.  Again, thanks for your readership.  Enjoy your holiday season, and cook a little if you can.  It's good for you.  :)

Better Late Than Never

How is it I've made it to the advanced age of 72 without nuking a marshmallow?

"... because they like to pretend they like what the working class does."

No, this isn't Halloween.  But prepare to be horrified.  

From our New England correspondent, code-named Agent "J":  While I fully admit David Hasselhoff is not [NSFW!] a food, about half of Cracked's list of "7 Things From America That Are Insanely Popular Overseas" are indeed food-related. 

FWIW, I can't believe I finally worked the horror of the Recursive David Hasselhoff Graphic into an EAJ! post.    :)

Top 10 Favorite Things About Thanksgiving

• #10:  Getting together with family and friends; if dinner is late, no one seems to care, especially if they're loaded up on "holiday cheer"
• #9:  Sweet potatoes — can’t get enough
• #8:  Don’t have to cook for weeks afterward
• #7:  Get a 4-day weekend (oops, I have a permanant weekend because I'm unemployed)
• #6:  Eating extra leftover homemade croutons one at a time, buttering each one by hand
• #5:  Potatoes — can’t get enough
• #4:  Farce à la tapénade à la Julia Child (p. 238, From Julia Child's Kitchen: ISBN 0-394-48071-6 — unfortunately out of print)
• #3:  Meat, meat, meat!
• #2:  Gravy — can't get enough

And the number one favorite thing about Thanksgiving:

• #1: TURKEY SAMMICHES on white bread with mayo!

Rachael Ray Has Her Own Brand Of Dog Food

I am not making this up.

Mystery Photo

Our Midwest correspondent, code-named "Suzz," sent us this picture of a super-secret hot dog place somewhere in the interior of the country:

[Click to, um, embiggen.  :)  ]

Unfortunately, she left off the address, but our on-crack research team thinks they've found it.  Looks like it used to be a Taco Bell — my heart bleeds.  ;)

Sometimes I Can't Help Myself

As part of our continuing recent campaign to bring you a minimum of real posts:

see more Epic Fails

"Truth" In "Advertising"

Since I understand I've hooked some of you on Achewood, I thought I'd drag in another web.comic:

[If you need further assistance: xkcd and Achewood articles at Wikipedia.]

Wow, I really would love a quarter's worth of Spam squirted thru a little metal tube

http://gastromatic.net/

[Via Wine Authorities, after they clearly had too much to drink.  Dude.]

More Filler

I recently saw some pictures of other folks' cookbook collections.  So...why the hell not. (Click to try to read spines in teenie-weenie eyestrain-o-vision.)

Christmas Presents!

Someone knows the way to Joe's heart:

Filler

Given this blog's accelerating decrepitude, I thought I'd make some sort of crappy attempt at a post by assembling a few random thoughts.  Thus:

1. Have any of you ever made snow cream? Maybe it's something only made in a narrow climactic band, where you don't have so much snow that you're sick of it, but where you get snow enough to think of making it when it does snow. If you don't know what I mean, you get a pass here.  If you do know, what do you put in it?  How do you mix the stuff up?  I know it's in the 60s here today in Beautiful Durham, N.C., but winter is only 11 days away....


2. Have any of you ever used a chinois (also called a china cap) as a coffee filter?  Some people distinguish between coarse and fine chinoises; I mean the ones made of wire mesh that you can push a puree through. Or am I the only geek out there who has ever thought of doing this? Surely some of you have a chinois....  Please? Am I alone?  I feel so cold and lonely out here....  I need some coffee....


3. The new Harris Teeter at Willowdaile looks like it's almost ready, except there's no food in it. :)  Maybe it'll be open by Xmas.  The previous HT there is still rolling along, with signs up asking for new employees for the new store.  I like shopping at the Willowdaile store, except there's stuff they just don't carry.  I guess they have more room at the store at TAFKASS (and had more at their defunct Northgate location).  Oh that's right... you all shop at Sam's... No one buys real groceries anymore....  :)