I'm thinking Po' Boys

If there is one thing I’m a sucker for, it’s trying food and/or restaurants that have been featured in magazines (preferably “foodie” magazines, not US Weekly, etc.)

This past Saturday I flew down to NOLA to catch the tail end of our Fantasy Baseball League’s Live Draft/Man-Weekend. Aside from hanging out with a bunch of close dude friends (and staying at Stewart’s sweet house), the highlight of the weekend was trying a Roast Beef po’ boy at Parasol’s Restaurant & Bar. Sound familiar?? This month’s issue of Gourmet magazine did a feature on “the Best Roast Beef Sandwich on Earth” . . . Parasol’s was the first place they wrote about.*

First, I’ve got to thank Stew and everyone else again for going back to Parasol’s Saturday night for dinner (everyone went on Friday whilst I was at home, anticipating another Saturday morning at the office). Per Stew suggestion, I went halvsies on the Roast Beef and fried Oyster Po’ boys with Whaley which was a delicious idea. Truth be told, the fried Oyster Po’ Boy was a better sandwich. I guess I pictured more of a “deli” style roast beef sandwich (like what Arby’s in Heaven will be like) as opposed to the pot-roast variety Parasol’s served up. Don’t get me wrong, it was a tasty sandwich, and I’d recommend it just for the experience, but I’ll be ordering another fried Oyster (or Shrimp!) Po’ Boy next time I’m there . . .

* A few months ago, we were reading up on Garden & Gun’s “100 Southern Foods You Absolutely, Positively Must Try Before You Die” . . .  Parasol’s Roast Beef Po' boy was on their list as well!

How to Read a Book

I have a problem starting books and not finishing them. I know this isn’t anything unique about myself and probably happens to a good bit of the American population, but in the last year or so I’ve started (then stopped, about half-way through):

• The Intelligent Investor (excellent analysis/commentary, but very dense and technical)
  
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (I read the first three straight, and I guess burned out)
  
• Blood Meridian (Southern literature done hard to read)
  
• The Tipping Point (I will say I started this during Busy Season 2k9, and I’m actually close to finishing)
  

One author I really like and who I’ve actually finished two of his books (the Blind Side and Liar’s Poker) is Michael Lewis. This afternoon, I read an article he wrote last December (2008) on the End of the Wall Street Boom (a follow up of sorts to 1990’s Liar’s Poker). If you have a spare 20 minutes or so (I’m actually waiting on client information at the moment) and want some interesting perspective on the “sub-prime mortgage meltdown” and how that affected our global financial markets, I’d highly recommend it.*

Speaking of Michael Lewis (and Malcolm Gladwell), the LOML went to a local book store yesterday and picked me up Moneyball and Blink. Sadly, this bookseller just announced they are closing their doors, but lucky for you and me that means EVERYTHING IS 50% OFF!!

* If you didn’t see Jon Stewart interview Jim Kramer last week on the Daily Show, I’d also highly recommend you check it out!! Seriously, it is AWESOME!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

aka we're past the Corporate deadline, so let's drink beer at work this afternoon!

I'm also going to Workplay tonight with Jay to catch a screening of Skiptracers. Oh, April 15th is so close, I can almost taste it!

Scarier than an equity account that won't roll :O

Wow, you go and take your Blog private and then don’t even post anything exciting and/or interesting for a week (notice how presumptuous I am, to assume you think I am exciting and/or interesting).

Let’s just say it’s been a LONG week (I think this is our fourth straight 60 hour week) and the Corporate deadline is Monday. What have I been up to besides clearing review notes and tracking down missing information from clients??

Listening to a lot of rap on Pandora.com (Kanye, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, etc.)

Listening to Mastodon and AM! cover ZZ Top and the Replacements from Warner Brothers’ 50^th Anniversary compilation

Wishing I had time to watch Zack Arias critique photographers’ online portfolios/websites

Wishing I was up in NYC to participate in the Great Annual Foodie Photo Scavenger Hunt (I think this would be a sweet idea for the Magic City as well)

Counting down the days til April 16^th

if this Blog's a Rockin' . . .

I think I'm taking TMF'H private (for the immediate future) here shortly. 

Don't be scared. I'm sure it will be up and open to the Public again soon . . .

Braised Oxtail

I guess you know you’re a food blogger when you post your Greatest Hits AND near misses!! This past Sunday, we tried Braised Oxtail, and, well, ok, I’ll just let you read about it . . .

I’ve never cooked Oxtail before, let alone this recipe, from the Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook. So what do the Mrs. and I do?? Obviously, we invite our (first) foodie friends Liz & Grant (with Daveman) over to come try this Gastronomical Adventure with us. I think Frank Costanza best summarizes this idea when he said,

“. . . I was arrogant, I was brash. I thought if I used just the right spices, cooked it long enough . . .”

Although Oxtail sounds like an exotic ingredient, you can probably find it in your neighborhood grocery. This is what 4 lbs of Oxtail look like before cooking.

The first step called for searing all sides of the OT in a little vegetable oil. After searing the Oxtail and setting aside, I cooked about 2 cups (each) of Diced Carrots and Onions and scraped up all the tasty oxen bits with Red Wine/Water and assorted spices (Thyme, Allspice).

The LOML and I are not Wine aficionados. The recipe called for a Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, or other “Robust” red wine. Staring at the wine selection at Publix, I chose the Giant 47 Pound Rooster. Both for its affordability (on Sale at $5.99) and its creative label (this is how I typically choose my wine in grocery stores). I still can’t tell you if it was robust, but it was Red, Cheap and didn’t come out of a Box.

Since our Le Creuset is a little guy (maybe 2 quarts), we finished the Oxtail in our Slow Cooker. Is there really a difference between Braising and Slow Cooking? According to Wikipedia, slow cooking (e.g., crockpots) is a form of braising, so this recipe should have worked, right?

Before

The Lee Bros. said after about 3 hours the Oxtail meat should be very tender and falling off the bone. I checked in after three hours (when our guests arrived), and nope, still pretty tough. After four and a half hours, I made the executive decision and said it was dinner time. This is what my Braised/Slow-Cooked Oxtail looked like after 4.5 hours.

After

Theoretically, I should have been able to easily pull the meat off the bone and chop into bite size pieces before throwing back in the braising liquid (after skimming off some of the fat/oil first). This is how much meat I was able to pull off. Or rather, what meat I was not able to pull off.

Needless to say, Pheebes is very happy as these went in the freezer and she’ll be enjoying Gourmet, Slow-Cooked Oxtail bones for months to come.

After throwing the Oxtail meat back in the Slow Cooker, I added lemon juice and freshly grated ginger and cooked for a few more minutes. We served the Oxtail over Polenta with Sautéed Spinach and although it didn’t meet my expectations, I wouldn’t call it a complete loss.

Would I try cooking Oxtail again?? Maybe.

Will I subject my wife/friends to this experimental recipe again?? Probably Not.

Tell Me It's Snowing

The LOML and I (and probably most of the state) woke up to an Alabama Blizzard Sunday morning!! I think it’s been 9 years since Birmingham saw “measurable snow”!!

Supermarket Sweep

This post is dedicated to Gray and any other blog-stalking mothers out there . . .

Is there anything scarier than walking into Publix and seeing a life-size Cut-out of Michael Chiarello staring you down and ready to attack???

That is what the LOML and I ran into last Sunday while making our weekly trip to the grocery store. But this wasn’t any normal trip mind you . . . this was our first trip since my wife began THE GROCERY GAME!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

If you aren’t familiar with the Grocery Game (I was not, until this past week, and I’m trusting none of the dudes in the audience are either), it’s basically a HUGE DATABASE you (pay to) join and it lists what grocery deals are going on that week and whether or not you should take advantage!!

Well, gee-wilickers TMF’H, why don’t you just look in the Sunday paper and see what’s on Sale yourself???

My thoughts exactly, except when you put in your Zip Code, it has catalogued every Coupon/Sale from the last 6 weeks or so and compares it to the Regular Price, the current Sale price, and any available coupon price to get YOU the best deal possible. So if there was a coupon in January’s paper for X product, and this week, that product is Buy One Get One Free at Publix, the GG will list it out, and advise you whether or not you should stock up.

For instance, the GG told us we could find a $5 off coupon inside Publix, that we would NEVER have seen if we didn’t know where to look (ironically, Michael Chiarello was holding it). And since the coupon was only good for certain items that were already on sale that week, the GG said we should stock up (Cans of Black Beans, Green Beans and Corn ended up costing $.42 and I think they usually retail for around a buck).

The one downside (if you ask the accountant) is you should probably start saving all your coupons for 4-6 weeks before actually joining (if you really want to get the most out of your membership). Other than that, I think the membership fee will basically pay for itself!

In addition to the Grocery Game at Publix, we also started with the CVS ECBs or the “Buy a Bunch of Stuff you Wouldn’t Normally Buy to Get Credit for your Next Purchase” game. I think this is pretty popular with the Mommy Blogging set and this past week we bought $20 worth of stuff we normally wouldn’t buy, like EXTREME 6 HOUR ENERGY SHOT!!!

BUT we also got about $20 back in ECBs which we can use to buy more stuff next time. I think the key is to always find items that get you the same amount (or more) of ECBs and then you never really have to spend any more money after the initial purchase. The ECBs do expire, so we’ll see how well we keep up with everything . . .

Wow, I need to take a couple shots of Jim Beam after typing up that femi-post! Where’s my copy of Vulgar Display of Power when I need it??

International House of Blog

Ok, I have to brag on my wife for a minute. Last night I came home from another exciting 12 hour day at the office and this is what the LOML had waiting for me!!

She was pretty proud of herself and even took pictures to document her tasty meal! (I’m usually the one geeking out over what we cook and want to post the photos on-line for the ones of individuals reading this blog)

The Potato/Carrot Pancakes are from this month’s issue of Real Simple (her subscription, not mine). I spent a couple minutes looking for the recipe on-line but couldn’t find it anywhere? I think you basically shred some carrots and potatoes, mix em up, and fry them in the skillet. They were really good!

PS - Did you know today (2/24/09) is National Pancake Day?? From 7 am to 10 pm you can get a free stack of pancakes at your local IHOP.

Nights Like These

Can you believe Lucero was in town Friday night and I didn’t even tell y’all about it?????

Head over to BHAM.FM for some post-show thoughts and a few photos . . .

PS –If you were wondering who was going to announce they’re coming to Birmingham next, it’s MASTODON

Birmingham Rock City (remix)

Ok, so remember when I said yesterday Birmingham had completely lost its mind with all the concert announcements this week??? And remember how last week I was talking about the Thermals and how sweet they were?? And then I kinda referenced the two together??

Yeah . . . today the Thermals announced they’re coming back to Birmingham!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Who will we find out is coming to Birmingham tomorrow???????

PS – the Hood Internet also dropped a Thermals/Katy Perry mash-up this week. K.P. sounds like a less man-ish Pink to me. I may or may not have listened to this song on repeat today . . .

Birmingham Rock City

Man, has this been one SWEET week in Live Music News!!! First, I guess I should clarify my post from last week.

I like Music Blogs. I like reading original thought/content and hearing about new music that's coming out. I don't like reading "breaking news" about Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams getting engaged over . . . and over . . . and over . . . There's nothing fresh or insightful . . . and it will get picked up by FoxNews or CNN a few hours later anyway.

But yeah, this has been an exciting week for Music Lovers here in Birmingham. In only the first three days of this week, WILCO, TV ON THE RADIO, and the AVETT BROTHERS have all announced dates in BIRMINGHAM!!! Hellz yeah!!!!

Please tell me tomorrow T-Pain (with Lonely Island??) is coming back to Workplay!!! (fingers crossed)

(Bronson) Arborio Rice

I mentioned last month that I received a gift subscription to Gourmet magazine for my birthday. It's a pretty sweet magazine and this past Sunday, the LOML and I tried out another recipe from the January issue, Pea & Bacon Risotto.

I thought I'd class up this recipe by substituting Pancetta for the Bacon. Doesn't saying "Pancetta" just make you feel classier?

"Ohhhhhh, I had Pancetta-wrapped ____ at the Country Club. It was so luxurious and foodie-riffic. Much healthier than the Bacon Explosion."

Sunday was my first time to cook Risotto and I was impressed with the results (although you literally have to baby sit the rice for 20-25 minutes, adding a little more liquid every couple of minute, stirring, repeat). The finished product was a rich, semi-quick meal, and one we'll definitely try again.

Here's a list of the Top 10 Risotto Recipes from Wikipedia's entry on the subject (although this list seems a bit arbitrary to me)

I think we'll try Butternut Squash in our next Risotto, or maybe I'll try and replicate the Seafood Risotto served at GianMarco's?? Mmmmmm, GianMarco's . . .

SURPRISE!!!

Guess who's back in ELBA, AL and REALLY EXCITED!!!!!

Now, I'm sure you're thinking to yourself, WOW, there is probably A LOT going on in Elba!!! The options for Dining Out and Nightlife must be endless, right???

WRONG!

The first thing we did last week, was create a Meal Grid. That's right, when 3 or more accountants gather together, there Excel will be also. We finalized Week 2 of the grid this morning, so if you want to follow along with us this week, refer to the grid below:

Excel: Making Life more Efficient since 1985

Remind me to tell you about our experience at Rawl's last week. I'm pretty sure, its the only time I've ever been served Tiramisu warm (freshly thawed out the microwave, per our waitress) . . .

And there you have it folks, Reason # 404 why it's good to be a CPA!

Happy Valentine's Day, Dear!!

Well, the beard and I had a good run:

But I thought it was time for a change. In keeping with the traditions of every guy who has ever grown a beard, I took a few pictures in various stages of clean shaved-ness.* I don’t think girls will ever understand why guys have to do this; it’s just something coded in our DNA:

The Lemmy!!!! Ace of Spades!!!!!

The CPA (pocket protector not included)

Happy Valentine’s Day, my love!!!

* There may be a youtube video somewhere, if you know where to look . . .

Deep Thoughts

I realized something last week . . . a lot of music blogs (p4k, stereogum, etc.) pretty much all break the same "breaking news" . . .

For instance, today in Google Reader, I read three (I guess this makes four) different articles about the Thermals new single "Now We Can See" (last week it was Eddie Vedder singing U2 at an Arizona Best Western). Does anyone else think that's annoying?

And I really like the Thermals (well, I like their catchy melodies, not so much their post-apocalyptic lyrics)



But thats why I like Food and Photography blogs better . . . you may have similar topics (ingredients, subject matter, lighting tips), but you're not going to read the same thing twice . . .

Back in Elba

Well, I'm back in Elba, AL for the week and enjoying all the familiar sites and sounds of this booming, southern metropolis (we just got back from the Creekside Grille aka Ronnie Gilley's restaurant) . . .

BUT, you know what has made the trip totally worth it . . . Sikes & Kohn's February Sale (an EXTRA 20% off their already low prices!!)

I got some Cole Haans that ended up being 56% less than the MSRP:

AND, I got me a "western-style" shirt ($13) that I already know will only be approved by the Mrs. for concerts and/or Bachelor Party/Man-weekends . . .

(not appropriate for grown-up Dinner Parties)

Blog Meets Grill

So Friday night we had some folks over to our house for FAJITAS!! I was pretty excited to fire up the grill and wanted to try out my own (errr, Tyler Florence's) marinade (the recipe is from Food 911). I like Tyler Florence, even though he did create a (very forgettable) menu of "signature dishes" just for Applebee's . . .

The star(s) of this marinade are the Chipotles in Adobo, which I had never used until maybe 6 months ago (Isn't Bobby Flay always going on and on about these?). Well, I finally tried them, and they definitely add the Smoky/Spicy kick you've come to love in your Tex-Mex dishes. We ended up tripling the recipe (since it was for about 8 lbs of meat) and used store bought O.J. as opposed to the fresh squeezed.

Mojo Marinade

1 C Orange Juice

1 C Lime Juice (about 6 limes)

1 C Olive Oil

6 Garlic cloves (roughly chopped)

6 Chipolte chiles, in Adobo sauce

Handful of fresh cilantro leaves

3 tsp Cumin

3 tsp Salt
(combine all ingredients in Blender)

The best part about grilling 8 lbs of FAJITA meat??

FAJITA nachos (with the leftovers) the rest of the weekend!!!

Boom!!

and a Sensible Dinner

About a year ago, the LOML and I got on a big Smoothie kick! We've spent many a Saturday morning (and mid-week evening) having these for breakfast and/or dinner. And after making these smoothies at home, it's pretty near impossible to go back to Smoothie King, Planet Smoothie, etc. (theirs are all made with ICE aka FILLER!). You can get a one or two pound bag of frozen strawberries for about $10 at Costco and your smoothies will taste a whole better . . .

After another long night at the office last Thursday (and the wife home sick that day), this is what we had for dinner. I don't really measure everything out since all of these ingredients are tasty and more or less of one doesn't take away from the finished product!

TMFH Smoothie
1/2 C OJ
1/2 C Milk
1/3 C Vanilla Yogurt
1/2 C frozen Strawberries
1/2 C frozen Blueberries
1 Tbs Peanut Butter
1 Tbs Flaxseed Meal

We usually keep a bag of Baby Spinach in our fridge and throw a generous handful in the blender (you can't taste or see it) for the added vitamins, etc. Unfortunately, we didn't have any on hand last week, but don't be scared! It's "deceptively delicious"!!

Red Hot + Blog

So it seems the Music Blog-o-sphere is all a flutter this week (and will continue to flutter the next two weeks) with news and track listings on the upcoming Dark was the Night compilation (no relation to Christian Bale’s bat-crazy rant earlier this week) soon to be released by the Red Hot organization. According to their website, Red Hot Organization (RHO) is an international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.

Does that sound like fun to anyone else??? Can I fight something through pop culture?? What if I throw a Chuck Klosterman book at a client who doesn’t have their information ready for an audit?? Can someone grant me 501(c)3 status for that??

Anyways, I remember RHO from their No Alternative compilation released in 1993 (you recognize this album cover from your BMG Music catalog don’t you??)

I bought it in high school, b/c I liked the hidden Nirvana track (initially coined “Verse Chorus Verse," later dubbed “Sappy”). Ironically, there is a really crappy CCR cover by Uncle Tupelo that I always skip over.

Why am I droning on and on about RHO and Dark was the Night??? Oh yeah . . . because every Indie Superstar you could name is on this Comp!!! Arcade Fire, the Decemberists, Conor Oberst, Yo La Tengo, Feist + Ben Gibbard, My Morning Jacket, blah blah blah (chk chk chk)

Seriously though, if the Mrs. is reading this and wants to know what I want for a (belated) Valentines gift (it drops 2/17/09), surf over to InSound.com and pre-order this!!

In other Music News, Bham.fm is combining forces with Sam George + r3vrb.com to become THE place for local music. “We’re” putting on a show this Saturday night at Speakeasy to celebrate. Bright Henry, The Photonicas and The Dirty Lungs for $5.