2010 Trifle

It’s always a big hit. So I thought I’d share the recipe.

It begins with some good music. I opted for Elvis Christmas Songs. Does it get any better than Blue Christmas? Rhetorical question.

Find a large glass bowl and add in (2) packets of fresh raspberries and sprinkle with some sugar. Even douse them with some sherry if you want. Let them sit for a few hours for the juices to invigorate. (I made this version sans alcohol).

Fresh raspberries

Then cut up some Angel Food Cake or Sponge Cake and spread jam on both sides – opt for a raspberry or strawberry jam. And then add the cake on top of the raspberries, covering them. Add in a little more sherry if you need it. You probably do, it is the Holiday season.

Angel Food Cake and Peaches

Throw some sliced peaches on top of the cake, for a little fruit surprise. Don’t mind my son’s little hand in the above photo. I was teaching him the tradition. Take a swig of the sherry and pour some more in for your homies.

Get some chocolate covered macaroons, break them up, and place them over everything. Keep pouring in the liquor if you want. You want the little guys to soak up any fluids you might add.

Chocolate covered Macaroons

Next step, make the custard. I am terrible at making the real stuff, because it always, always goes wrong. So I use a Bird’s Custard Mix and it’s delicious. It’s also what my Grandad used back in the day, poured over some Rhubarb Pie. Yum. Just ignore the hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Bird's custard

You want the custard to reach the bottom and seep into the macaroons, so don’t be afraid to poke around with a fork. Stop adding booze, you’re on the verge of creating a new happy hour drink. Let everything sit in the fridge, overnight if you can.

When you’re ready to serve to your lovely family and friends, make the whipped cream and shave some chocolate on top. Serve. It’s Triflin’!

Fresh whipped cream

Sit back, watch as your guests ask for the recipe and your autograph. Send thank you notes to Harrod’s in London. You did well.

However. Portland on the left coast has Indy beat. They have a place called Voodoo Doughnut.

Voodoo Doughnut

It lives up to it’s reputation.

Honestly, I felt a little overwhelmed when I walked in – it was a combination of the decor, the visuals of all these donuts and the actual names. I was confronted with doughnuts titled Bacon Maple Bar, Triple Chocolate Penetration, Diablos Rex, Gay Bar, No Name and Cock and Balls to name a few. There are plenty more and I suggest you browse their menu.

I'll take one of everything

Like I said, the selection was pretty overwhelming.

You’ll be surprised to learn that I only bought one. But it was duesy. I asked what peanut butter options they had, and I must have entered a trance-like state as the woman behind the counter uttered some of the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard in my life -

The Old Dirty Bastard – Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreo’s and peanut butter.

Old Dirty Bastard Donut

I paid my $1.75, asked if I could take some photos and walked back onto the streets of Portland, passing by Chinatown, which all seem to make sense. And I inhaled the bastard. It was the greatest donut I had ever eaten.

From this point on in life, I’ll be looking for a better doughnut, but I’m not optimistic.

I felt like I had met my match. It reminded of the Johnny Cash lyric from A Boy Named Sue -

I tell ya, I’ve fought tougher men
But I really can’t remember when…

It just reminds me of that donut.

For someone that liked to change names often, I think Russell Tyrone Jones, aka, ODB, Osiris, Big Baby Jesus and so on, would be pretty proud.

Old Dirty Bastard is a legend.

It was a good time. A confined space (essential with him). Lots of coffee. And music. What a way to start the morning. And we both needed the sounds of hip hop – starting with A Tribe Called Quest, moving onto Method Man, Jay Z, INI, Notorious B.I.G, De La Soul and People Under the Stairs. I recited lyrics to him. We both danced. We both stirred the soup.

Quite possibly, the opposite of soup

Then I thought, how come there isn’t a hip hop inspired cooking show on The Food Network? It seems like a good idea to me. You have a host/chef, a DJ, special guests, lots of food and a hungry audience. It would be called Hip Hop Chop.

It’s a simple recipe. Take a talented, skilled chef/host – who also understands the history of hip hop. Add in a DJ. This needs to be someone that can match the right song or beat to the right recipe. Then, bring in a special guest – someone from the hip hop community. This VIP picks his/her favorite recipes for the chef to create. The show’s flavor becomes original interpretations of dishes, incredible beats and sincere banter. And everyone eats.

So that’s my pitch Food Network – I don’t have to be the chef/host – executive producer would suffice. Step outside of your traditional programming and bring us foodies and hip hop enthusiasts what we’ve all been craving.

Hip Hop Chop.

Balance – it’s been a struggle over the past year – new baby, new job, new adventures, new projects, new challenges. Sometimes I think I barely made it. And sometimes I think I could handle more (that’s the balance issue for you).

I used to cook regularly. I’d dream of becoming a chef. I’d spend a big part of my Sunday’s creating recipes I’d never tasted. Those days are mostly gone.

Although I did whip this up this afternoon

I would love to attend culinary school. If I ever retire (or win the lottery) – I want to become a chef. Perhaps own a small restaurant. Or travel around the world learning about new cultures and recipes.

I consider cooking a creative outlet. It’s up there with writing and photography for me. There’s the process, decision making and final creation. It’s shared, offered and provides. And people love food.

I haven’t cooked a meal in months. I made my son a scrambled egg recently. I sauteed some spinach a couple of weeks ago. Today I made carrot cake. It’s been a tough year for cooking! How can I find the time with a hectic job and a baby son?

It’s okay though. Cooking’s not going anywhere – unless we all start eating space meals.

Unknowingly, I redirected my creativity into other areas because of such big changes in life.

I try to be creative in my approach to fatherhood. I use my rare free time to write more than I ever have. I take photos whenever I can. I’m more thoughtful about the personal projects I undertake. I’m leading a healthier lifestyle to best cope with stress and lack of time. I’m more selective in what I watch or read. I’m starting a clothing line. I actually feel like I’m hitting my stride and I’m lucky to have a wife that does nothing but encourage me.

Looking through the lens - enjoying photography

So cooking might be on the back burner, but I’ve learned that through the challenges – both personal and professional, I’ve not slowed down. I’m still creating and I’m definitely growing.

I think that one of the characteristics of creativity. It’s not something that can be suppressed. It always finds a way to emerge, even if you may not know it at the time.

I’m not cooking much anymore, but I’m creating more than ever – with less time, more responsibilities, and one year older.

Here’s to finding balance…

Pretty Singaporean Sandwiches

As I often do – I use these posts to highlight images from my Flickr account. So that’s what I’m doing to day. It’s a fluff post, with me showing off some of my fave food pics. Hopefully with some witty banter thrown in.

Trifle

Trifle is one of the greatest desserts in the world. It’s also British and I have perfected the art of making it. So in yo face. I make it annually.

Prawn Cocktail Crisps

Crisps (or chips) are tasty. England also makes the greatest crisps in the world – including my favorite flavor, Prawn Cocktail. Delicious with a Pimms cup.

Spanish food

Everyone always says how great Spanish food is. I don’t understand that statement. It’s pork hyperbole. Plain and simple.

Dino Egg

I love eggs. I love dinos. I love this image. I’ve written about this pic, here. That’s all.

Those are some of my food rants. Do you have something to say?

I also created a Flickr group called I love to eat! Check out the slideshow.

A cannoli from Rome

So of course I took this sugar appreciation to the next level. I created a Flickr group.

It’s simply called Cannoli, and you can access it, here. I started this group almost three years ago during a long layover at La Guardia airport. I adore Flickr and I was thinking of creating a group that would be fairly unique. Surprisingly, cannoli was available. I formed it and searched through Flickr looking for cannoli images, but not finding many. I invited as many as I could to the new group.

From Flickr user lismi171

There a reason I’m writing about Flickr. I started my new job at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week and I’ve been thinking a lot about digital content and online outlets – such as Flickr, and I’ve already started devising some unique approaches for involving Flickr in our online strategies – specifically how we can engage fans in innovative ways. Stay tuned for updates on IMS and the online arena (especially Flickr sets and groups). But back to the cannoli (wiki definition, here).

Since the group launched, the number of cannoli images has increased dramatically. I spent part of tonight viewing some of the images, selecting my favorites and inviting them to join this group. It’s already growing. I like Flickr for this reason. It’s members are committed, community-driven and willing to participate. Not to mention the talented photographers.

The cannoli is a simple yet complicated dessert. It’s delicate and robust. It’s crunchy yet soft. It’s like life.

So enjoy my dorky Flickr group, upload some images and in the words of Peter Clemenza:

“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”

My mother-in-law and I are hosting a small football party today. This is Indianapolis. It loves football and I love cooking and food, so a perfect activity for Sunday.

I’ m not really doing any of the cooking – Nancy is, and she’s an amazing chef and very kind to run with this idea today. Especially since she’s doing all of the work as I type.

So here’s what’s on the menu today. My friend George Greco always said, “It’s not tipping I believe in, it’s over tipping.” We’ve employed a similar approach to the menu. Overthetop.

Texas Sausage Balls – “Texan woman moves to New Jersey to hit the big time.”

• 1lb Jimmy Dean Sausage HOT
• 1.5 cups of Bisquick
• 2 cups of finely shredded mild cheddar
• Make ‘em into balls, about the size of a walnut
• Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, deep in the heart of Texas. Don’t mess with it.

Nancy’s Sweet & Tangy Potato Salad – “The key is miracle whip!”

• 6-7 Russet Potatoes – peel and par-boil, chunk it
• 5-6 chopped celery stalks
• 5-6 chopped carrots
• 1 medium onion – slice and dice people
• 12oz of miracle whip
• 3 tablespoons of sweet relish
• 4 hard boiled eggs (3 in it, 1 for garnish)
• 4lbs of paprika (or a couple of dashes)
• Mix it all together with love.

Nancy’s Nacho Layers of Love – “Some like it hot.”

• 2 bags of large tortilla chips (none of that lime crap)
• Chopped and sauteed onion
• Can ‘o green chiles
• Yellow or Red bell pepper, chopped and sauteed with onion and chiles
• 6 Jalepenos (throw ‘em in the sauteed mess)
• Some chipoltes – throw ‘em in
• Can of drained black beans
• Add chile powder, salt & pepper cumin.
• Layer all of this crap on chips. Add cheese. Add More chips. Repeat.  It’s a layered nacho experience. Unforgettable.

Corporate Toll House Derby Pie – “It tastes good, despite it’s corporate origins – and because of that, no photo.”

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 3/4 cup softened butta
• One 6oz package of Nestle semi-sweet morsels (it HAS TO BE Nestle or you will get sued)
• 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell.
• Mix it all together, blah blah blah. Add to pie crust. Zap it at 325 for about an hour. Cool before cutting. Or else.

Big Bubba’s Brisket Bunz – “A modified Paula Deen recipe”

Since I provided a link to the recipe, I’m not going to list everything. I will say this. The dry rub is one of the most under-appreciated parts of cooking meat. I’m not kidding. So we’re going with a char crust rub – including salt ‘n peppa, sugar, chiles, mustard and so on. Plus some top secret sh*t I’m not divulging that may or may not involve coca cola.

Instead of serving this formally, we’re going with brisket sandwiches to mix and play with potato salad and chips and beer and so on. It’s for sitting on the couch holding a beer and shouting at the TV. The toppings offer guests the opportunity for creative consumption – going with a cole slaw or horse radish perhaps?

We cooked 3.25 lbs of brisket – emphasizing the natural meat flavor…and you guessed it, da rub!

So there you have it.  Sorry you didn’t get the evite. It was delicious! And thank you Nancy!