Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Hmm...Blog.

I have avoided a blog because I think it requires a commitment. Daily, really. You have to talk about something. Do I have something to talk about day after day?

I'm gonna run this under the radar for a bit. I'm just talking to myself. If I can keep it up I may mention it.

How is this different from Facebook?

What focus do I bring? What 'take'?

I have not decided why I blog. I would love to blog about sandwiches. No, really. Like 10 blogs about really good sandwiches. Then a few about something baked or broiled. Then just disappear. But no.

I'm gonna see if I can do this before I even mention it exists.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Right on Time

Big snowstorm on the Eastern Seaboard. Not much action from that storm up here, but we had some pre-existing snow.

NY Times article says, "Winter arrives early..." How so? Shouldn't it be snowing around now? We're only about a week out from New Years. Less than a week from Christmas. Isn't this usually when it snows?

Friday, December 18, 2009

The Secret Life of Olive Oil

It used to be people would ask me, "Chimp, how much butter do you use for a grilled cheese sandwich?"
My reply was always, "As much as you need and maybe a little more."
Ah, the olden days.
Now, my answer is, "None."
I'll give you a little time to recover.
Ready? OK. Here goes. Just a little olive oil in the bottom of the frying pan. Enough to cover the bottom, but just. You don't need it sloshing around. Heat it--not too hot--then drop that sandwich in there. Drizzle a little olive oil on the top slice, then start pressing. Flip it and press some more.
Cheese melted? Light golden brown bread? You're done. Well, almost. Here, I'm not opposed to cutting. I go for the diagonal cut, usually. Cut it in pan with the spatula, unless you're using a fool plastic spatula and a non stick pan.

The Wild Pastrami of the Serengeti

I like my bread toasted. So usually, I toast it, then make the sandwich.

But tonight I thought, "What if I made the sandwich...sorta...first?"

Let's do something real basic: rye bread, spicy brown mustard, pastrami.

You will need: a toaster oven

Pull the grate out of the toaster oven. Drop 2 slices of rye on the grate. Cover both slices of rye with spicy brown mustard. Throw a few slices of pastrami on the mustarded rye. Push that grate back in, flip the door up and toast.

Now, if you're like me, you have your toaster oven set pretty low on the 'brown' setting. Better to work up to a 'full toast' rather than have your oven go past by default.

So I'm gonna be bold and tell you to hit it with a second toast. (If you're less cautious, ignore this step).

OK.

The hard part. You have two 'open' pastrami sandwiches now. Just about perfect. Except that there is nothing nearing perfection with an open sandwich. So get the two halves close together and flip them together quickly. It's not something that can be taught. Well, OK, it can be taught in Physics class. Something about inertia...mmm...see acceleration and...in motion. Google it. Anyway.

Ah. Now. Perfection.

Unless you're one of those people who need to slice it. (Sigh) Go ahead.

Now eat. Enjoy. It's your right.