Monday, September 19, 2016

Pepper Pain

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to get domestic and make some homemade salsa. I had done it before with various types of peppers - jalapeno, serrano, poblano - but nothing too crazy. I decided to buy two habaneros yesterday to add a little extra kick to the salsa because, you know, YOLO, as the kids say.

Bad idea.

I didn't even get the pepper into the salsa before trouble reared its ugly head. I had the windows open in the kitchen and my allergies had been kicking in a little bit, so while dicing the pepper, I had to wipe my nose.

Oops.

The pain slowly crept into my nose, and then flooded its way into my sinus cavity. The numbness began to overtake my face - it was a weird feeling to describe - but after a while, I was able to look up a method to alleviate the pain.

Google suggested I use corn starch. I obviously didn't have any, so I just covered my face in flour. Seemed like the logical thing to do. I looked like an idiot, but it kind of worked? Or maybe, it had a placebo effect, and I thought it was working, and calmed down.

My face was numb/tingling for about an hour. I wouldn't recommend it. Kids, don't mess with peppers.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Wheelbarrow food

I was at Lambeau Field on Saturday for what proved to be quite an experience. Sure, the Badgers somehow beat LSU in front of 80,000 people, but the main event is what happened in the parking lots prior to (and after) the event.

I had some gumbo, which was delightful, but I was introduced to something called boudin and ate in the best possible way: out of a wheelbarrow. Some guy was hauling around a big batch of it in a (relatively clean) plastic wheelbarrow, and who am I to question his methods?

I didn't get a picture (one of the great regrets of my life) but I did find this website that explained what it was.

Presentation: Wrapped in butcher paper and placed in a brown paper bag at the register. (Or in my case, eaten out of a wheelbarrow)
Casing: Moist, yet breakable.
Rice/Meat Ratio: Excellent.  More meat than rice.  Good meat without much grease.
Texture: The rice was well cooked and not broken into bits.  It retained its form.  Meat appeared in small pieces providing a good feel and some body. Bits of green onion throughout add to the color of the product.
Spices: A subtle mild spiciness.  The heat from the red pepper grew after each bite but was never “hot.”

This is an artful way to describe boudin, but it is 100% accurate.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Deaf by Spice?

I like spicy food, but I'm not an idiot.

Monday, August 15, 2016

Suicide Squad

I went and saw "Suicide Squad" on Saturday afternoon, because I'm into superhero movies and there had been a good deal of hype surrounding the movie. Let's just say, looking back on it, it was...disappointing.

The visual effects were good, the characters were cool, but the plot was...lacking.

SPOILER ALERT here, but if you've seen it, this video is fantastic.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Hot Chicken

I love getting unique food whenever I'm in new places, and I knew one of the places I wanted to stop on my trip to Alabama was in Nashville for hot chicken. Now, we found a little hole-in-the-wall place (that had great reviews on Yelp) so my brother and I decided to stop.

They had four levels of spice on the menu - mild, medium, spicy, and extra hot. I wanted to be adventurous, but I also wanted to be able to feel my face so I went with medium. It was an excellent choice. Flavorful, but with a good kick.

My 22-year old brother on the other hand, went with "spicy" and when the waitress laughs when the white kid from the North orders, you know it might be have a little kick. About 40 napkins, a gallon of tears and an extra stop at McDonalds for vanilla ice cream, I think the burn finally subsided.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably choose the same thing. My brother, probably not so much.


Thursday, July 14, 2016

SHARKNADO 4

That's right. The movie you've all been waiting for.

(I actually haven't seen any of them. Shhhh.)

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

National French Fry Day



These made-up holidays are mostly stupid...unless they're delicious. I can get on board with National French Fry Day. Here are my favorite preparations of the classic dish.

5. Baked, homemade, with melted parmesan
-Actually made these last night. Salty and delicious.
Not quite that fancy, but you get the gist.
4. Fast food fries dipped in sweet and sour sauce
-Don't knock it until you've tried it
3.On top of a Primanti Bros. sandwich
-A Pittsburgh classic
via PrimantiBros.com
2. Drenched in nacho cheese and bacon
-Clearly the healthiest method, especially when eaten out of a helmet at a ballgame
Gotta get all that cheese outta there

1. Sweet Potato Fries with Maple Syrup.
-First had them at Howie's, and they're life-changing.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Spam Alert

Tired of getting your inbox bombarded with spam? These are the worst offenders, according to Unroll.me

If your new years resolution of "going to the gym" isn't working out, how about settling for clearing up your inbox?

Groupon – 388 emails sent on avg per user
LivingSocial – 363 emails sent on avg per user
Facebook – 310 emails sent on avg per user
Meetup – 199 emails sent on avg per user
J. Crew – 175 emails sent on avg per user
Twitter – 173 emails sent on avg per user
Victoria’s Secret – 160 emails sent on avg per user
Linkedin – 157 emails sent on avg per user
Gilt – 155 emails sent on avg per user
Kohls – 154 emails sent on avg per user

Monday, February 8, 2016

Super Bowl

The game came and went, but the commercials will live forever.

Quickly: I thought the Panthers' loss can be blamed on their O-line and their wideouts. Cant' block, can't catch, can't win. The Broncos had like one legit touchdown drive. The Denver defense played well, but Carolina maybe made them look better than they were.

Now, onto the important stuff.

National Anthem: Second-best ever, only to Whitney Houston. You go, Gaga. But what was that suit?


Commercials: Solid, but not spectacular. PuppyMonkeyBaby was effective, but creepy. I'm not sure I'll look at Doritos the same way again. Too many prescription drug advertisements. The NFL Super Bowl babies spot was my favorite.


Halftime:



Coldplay is meh. Beyonce might be the queen, but Bruno Mars reminds me more and more of Michael Jackson. What a showman.