Me: I'm hungry. I AM SO HUNGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY!!! And my wine isn't working.
(Not kidding. I did say that. Obviously it was working enough for me to not realize it wasn't working. Luckily I was headache free the next day)
M: Well, what do you want?
Me: I don't care. I AM HUNGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY! Oh my freaking goodness if I don't eat I AM GOING TO DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!
Some time later. I walk into the kitchen.
Me: Why is it so hot in here? What are you doing?
M: You said you were hungry.
Me: But not that! I don't like that stuff. This sucks! And my wine isn't working (pouring more wine into the glass)
More time passes. I go back into the kitchen.
M: Here. It's done.
Me: Ugh. It's not crunchy enough. (grabbed a sleeve of saltines and pulverize them) That should do it.
M: ...
Three bites later
Me: I don't want this.
M: ....
M: Leave it on the table, I'll eat it in the morning.
Moral of the story - Should have just had take out. I am way too picky when I drink. And M has a tremendous about of patience.
It is a rarity to spend time with M during the week in the daylight. We just have those lives – I work the day shift, he works the evenings. So I see him before I go to bed, and he gets cranky when I fail at being quiet in the mornings.
This is grown up living, folks.
M ordered the Sawtooth that was tapped with nitrous or something along those lines. The pour had about two inches of foam, which gives the unsuspecting drinker the beerstache. I went with the Paulaner Hefeweisen, since the other light beer the server suggested was Molson Canadian. Yeah… no to that.
I wasn’t planning on getting this, but I did. Eh… I’d drink it if it’s around, but other than that, no. M thought it tasted like High Life. I don’t know if there’s a big following of it, but me reminds me of Western Pennsylvania and their love of Rolling Rock and Iron City Beer.
Enjoying my mini holiday so far. My morning was spent by the pool with a constant drink in hand. This one is called a Rainforest. No clue what's in it, but it was strong as hell. As it should be for 12 bucks.
Drinks with friends. I don't know why, but I insisted on a beer and Jameson. Which the other two decided to have as well. Don't like it on its own - I like it better when mixed with Bailey's and dropped into a pint of Guinness.
I forget where this was at, but it was in Brooklyn. Park Slope, pre-snowpocalypse. They sold fried pickles, that were kinda salty. I don't know why my friend insisted on them... since they should only be offered at a bbq joint. This was not that kind of place at all. And he should have known better, being that he is from TN and they do make delicious bbq.
Saturday afternoon I found myself driving down to South Jersey for an engagement party. The bride-to-be I've known since we were toddlers, and I rarely pass up a chance to visit.
The cake was fantastic. Definitely buttercream icing, and the cake I'm guessing was a chocolate chiffon. I asked where they got the cake from, but I forget which bakery. Somewhere in Voorhees, NJ.
As great as the cake was, the barbeque surpassed it. Pork and chicken skewers and Korean style ribs. To guarantee that you got to try some, you had to stand by the grill. Which I did. Several times. I really should have asked how they marinated the meat- not one tough piece.
No clue what kind of beer was served. It was in a keg, and bearable. I stuck mainly to the sangria, both red and white. It was good, but perhaps a little weak. I kept drinking it and didn't feel a thing. Or maybe I finally got my tolerance back.
I passed up on the flip cup and beer pong, because really... it's not cool to do that stuff in front of family.
Headed into the city to help celebrate a classmate's birthday. She threw the party at The Yard, which has changed names and is now The Lott. If you got in before 11 there was no cover, and as much as I wanted to get there before I had to pay, it was out of my hands. The girl outside said twenty, the guy inside let me in for ten. If it wasn't for my classmate, I would have walked right out. Paying to get into a bar is ridiculous.
Because I got there late, I also missed the open bar. At this point I'm pretty pissed, which may have been apparent to the rest of the group because they pushed me over to the bar. While standing outside I noticed some of the bar specials for the week. On Fridays, Monster Vodka was six bucks from 11pm on. Sounded like a good deal so I asked for one.
"What color?"
What? Color? "What colors do you have?"
The bartender is annoyed at this point. "Red and Blue."
I'm sorry, but don't assume I know what you're talking about. "Blue."
She walks to the other side of the bar, and comes back with this large plastic container full of my monster drink. More like all ice and very little drink. She goes about connecting straws to make one long enough to hit the bottom.
"That's twenty."
Are you serious?! Mags couldn't believe it either. I guess us B&T gals aren't cool to party in the city since we gawk at the price of a drink that is more mixer and ice than alcohol. I paid for my drink and went back to the group. They played a lot of 90's music, which is fine since it was a nice walk down memory lane. The DJ even managed to throw some Duck Tales and Saved by the Bell in.
M was stuck working on Christmas, so his family decided to hold off on celebrating until we were able to get out there for New Years. The theme for the night was beer and electronics. The electronics came mostly from M, and the beer was pretty much a family thing (all three siblings got some each other). This Golden Cap Saison was from Bro. Not bad, and the winged monkeys add that special touch you just don't see nowadays. I doubt we'll find New Holland brews here in New York.
EDIT: Since it was asked, a Saison is a Belgian style pale ale. Alcohol content hovers around 5-8%, and color ranges from gold to orange, but it can also some that run brown or really pale (wiki). I could be reading this all wrong, but it looks like the best known of the Saisons is the Saison Dupont, which comes from Brasserie Dupont. And according to this website, not only is it a brewery... it's also a working farm! Niiiiice.
Spinach dip! Since both his Bro and Sis were making something for dinner, I figured we should pitch in as well. Being that it was New Years Day, we weren't too sure if the store in town would be open (holidays, small town... who knows?), but we lucked out and grabbed the things we needed. And speaking of luck (I guess), SIL kicked us out of the kitchen and made our contribution to the dinner. I felt bad that she ended up making the dip, but I understand her feelings about other people cooking in her kitchen.
I didn't take pictures of the rest of dinner, but M's dad made a chicken noodle dish, SIL baked layered cheese ravioli for M, Bro roasted potatoes, and both Bro and Sis made roasts. Unfortunately, Sis's roast was a little too overcooked... and I'll leave it at that.
After dinner presents were given out, and even though I wasn't expecting anything (M and I agreed on no presents) I think I got the most out of the group. I got a Wii Fit! And a tripod for my camera. And a hard drive for my Wii. And a ukulele. I'm such a lucky gal. There was a lot of rock and roll going on, but I don't think I'm allowed to show everyone just how rock and roll it was. All I can say is, M is hilarious when he drinks. Me? I'm just pukey.
EDIT:M said it was okay to put up the video! It's a bit on the dark side, so there's stuff you don't see... but audio is wonderful. And maybe a bit too loud.
Ah, CJ's. No trip is complete without a stop there for breakfast. For the four days we were in Michigan, (we were gone for six, but two were driving days) we ate there twice. It would have been three times, had we not taken our time on NYE (they closed at 2:00... wtf). But if it wasn't for that time, I wouldn't have overheard a server tell her customers the rundown on New York City. I don't know who her sources are, but she needs to get new ones.
M's cheese omelet and my double order of hash browns and biscuits & gravy. And lots of coffee.
I don't think I'm a mallrat, but I always seem to end up at the mall. We met up with two of M's friends and went to a restaurant called Garfield's in Port Huron. The big seller there is the fact that happy hour is "all day, every day." 22 oz. domestics were 3.50 and large margaritas were 3.00.The only food item on their happy hour menu was chips and salsa, which was horrible. The chips were super greasy, and the salsa... I can't even describe it other than yeeeech. But we were drinking, so I did my best to eat through it.
The next day we met up with MB and once again went to Badawest. It had been on my mind the whole trip, especially the stuffed grape leaves.
These were amazing. I wanted to try the version with meat, but M talked me out of it. The picture is after we ate half of it and I remembered I should take a picture. I should have taken a picture of the inside... I keep finding recipes online, but I want the one that's closest to it. Was it rice? Bulgur? Ack! Perhaps I should ask MB to find out for me... or better yet, get the recipe.
It was a fun night, and maybe a little too much fun for M. I ended up driving back, which royally sucked since it was snowing and I had no clue where I was going. But we made it back in one piece and slept most of our last day in Michigan sleeping.
All in all, a good time once again. I don't know when we'll be back there, but hopefully soon.
One of my friends from college came home for the holiday. I haven't seen him in years, so I made the trek into the city and drank a few in his honor. Little did we know that the bar he chose to meet up in was the worst place to pick- the bar, Stout is right down the road for MSG and it just so happened that Jimmy Buffett had a show that evening. A majority of the bar was made up of people going to the show. I had to wait in line to get in. On a Tuesday night. In midtown Manhattan.
OMFG. The alcohol could not be drunk fast enough.
All drinking aside, it was fun. Got to see my friend... saw some people I haven't seen since I graduated, and we made fun of all the JB fans. Since we were already in the area, a few of us decided to grab dinner in Korea Town. FYI, most places are pretty expensive. The restaurant we finally decided on wasn't too bad, but we all ordered the same thing - bibimbap. I think it ended up being 17 bucks per person, and that is with tax and tip.
It was actually one of the better ones I've had. It took a lot of the red pepper paste to really bring on the heat, but whatever.
So R's been on my back about posting here for a long time. Problem is, unlike R, I'm just not that into food. I mean, sure, I eat it almost daily, but when I do -- it's mostly just to stay alive.
But this is different. Of all the things I care about in this world, very few lie above the glory of booze. Delicious, fizzy booze. And it just so happens that this is apple-pickin' season -- so I decided to make a batch of home brew hard cider.
You really can't get any more basic than this when it comes to home brew, but for those of you who may not be in the know, I will give a very generalized equation of the science of home brew...
Sugar + Yeast = Ethanol + Carbon Dioxide
Sooo, during alcoholic fermentation, yeast ferment the sugars found in cider and in return produce alcohol and carbon dioxide as waste.
In order to make your own you need the following items:
5 gallons of Fresh apple cider (see below) ***
2 6.5 gallon buckets (one to be used as a primary fermenter with airlock and lid - the other as a bottling bucket w/ spigot)
bottle filler
Racking cane and tubing
capper
bottlebrush
santizer
1 packet yeast (I used Red Star - Cote Des Blanc, which is a wine yeast, but there are many other options available out there.. just ask your friendly brewer at your nearby home brew store.)
2 lbs brown sugar
3/4 cup pure cane sugar
~55 clean and sanitized 12 oz. bottles
*** Make sure to get Fresh apple cider. That is, cider with No preservatives (sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate) and preferably UV pasteurized. Heat pasteurization changes the chemical structure of the apple lectins, causing them to precipitate out. It also effects the taste. Cider that contains preservatives can be used with limited amounts of success when using a starter batch of yeast, but for the sake of simplicity, I'm not going to go into that here.***
Sanitize all equipment prior to brewing. Wild yeasts and bacteria can cause all sorts of unwanted flavors to pop up. It can seriously be the difference between 5 gallons of hard cider and 5 gallons of apple cider vinegar. So please, sanitize. I used a trick I learned from my mom, watching her can fruits and vegetables. After scrubbing the bottles with a chlorine solution (I used LD Carlson no-rinse cleanser, but 1 tbsp bleach in 1 gallon water will do just fine in a pinch), I boiled a small amount of water in a stock pot and placed the bottles upside down to steam for 5-10 minutes. This may be overkill, but again, it can be the difference between sweet sweet hard cider and a useless vat of moldy apple juice.
Add 1 gallon apple cider to 12qt pot and heat to near boiling, but do Not boil (remember what I said about the lectins?) Add 2 lbs of brown sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Add 4 gallons of cider to primary fermentation bucket (let's just call this, bucket #1). Pour in cider/sugar mixture and allow to come to room temperature. Add yeast, then seal with an airtight lid w/ airlock). Place in a cool, dark area and allow to ferment for 2 weeks.
After the fermentation completes (usually within 2 weeks), the airlock will no longer bubble. Now it's time to bottle your cider. Boil 1 cup water and dissolve 3/4 cup sugar. Allow to cool for a few minutes then add to the bottling bucket (bucket #2).
Elevate primary fermenter (#1), taking care not to disturb the sediment that's accumulated on the bottom. Open and insert racking cane and tubing. Siphon the cider into the bottling bucket (#2). This will mix the saturated sugar solution and the cider.
Elevate the bottling bucket (#2) and attach the bottle filler. Fill the bottles to the brim by pressing the bottle filler down on the bottom of the bottle. When you remove the filler, it will leave a sufficient amount of airspace. Use the bottle capper to fit the caps to the bottles. Store for 3+ weeks in a cool, dark place. Then.. enjoy.
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