The Beckyan Deli
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Is there a Top Geeky Chef?
On tonight’s Top Chef finale (no spoilers here, don’t worry), Richard bragged that he was using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream, and that “only a dozen top chefs in the country” do that sort of thing. Top chefs, pffft. Even I’ve made liquid nitrogen ice cream on multiple occasions. In fact, other than procuring…
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That was MY template!
So I was distressed today to see a blog posting on the McCain campaign PowerPoint on a “Path to Victory” (warning: NSFW). Apart from the ridiculous strategizing going on at the McCain camp (I’m not too worried after seeing their plan) I was surprised that the McCain people don’t actually use PowerPoint…they use Keynote! And…
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Spicy Corn
As the summer grilling season begins (but in Santa Barbara it never ends!) corn on the cob starts to appear at the market. And there’s nothing we love more than Indian-style spicy grilled corn. I learned this recipe and technique from my neighbors on Tappan St. in Ann Arbor, some time in the last millennium.…
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A beautiful edit
I am a total sucker for good editing and good transitions, even in commercials. The first great example of this — and still my favorite — that I can recall is the Nike “Move” ad from 2002. There are two recent ads that have also caught my eye: This Stanley Cup ad is neat, if…
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Dean gets it, and gets votes
I read that the Democratic National Convention is giving full press credentials to hundreds of bloggers, including one locally-focused blog from every state. This is yet another example of how Howard Dean gets it, the 21st century, and I still can’t believe that the Democratic Party actually, for once, did the smart thing when electing…
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I believe the poles are shifting . . .
We saw R.E.M. on Thursday night, and it was awesome — they put on a great show, as always. But we can’t believe that on this tour, in 2008, they’re not playing “I Believe”. I mean, Obama’s campaign slogan, “Change we can believe in”, is practically a lyric from the song! Michael Stipe is (to…
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Waving the white flag
This basketball postseason has seen a wave of home teams surrendering home-court advantage by waving the white flag. The “white-out” tradition of having all the fans wear white apparently started back in time immemorial by the Winnipeg Jets (I hate Winnipeg). And I guess it works in hockey…the Penguins have had three white-outs this post-season,…
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Tandoori or don’t we?
Tonight Becky and I made Mark Bittman’s Twice Cooked Mock Tandoori Chicken. We’ve previously tried Madhur Jaffrey’s Tandoori Chicken from An Invitation to Indian Cooking (a classic from 1973 with the world’s longest subtitle). What’s new and interesting about Bittman’s version is the cooking method: baking the chicken in the sauce first, and then grilling…
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Solving the world’s problems with satire!
I never thought I’d be excited about an Adam Sandler movie, but I have been looking forward to You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. And now, after reading this article about the conception and evolution of the movie, I’m totally sold. Perhaps we’re reading too much into it, but we were both charmed by this:…
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Presenting Mr. and Mr. Sulu
Among the many gay couples that can now legally marry in California are George Takei and his long-term partner! Congrats to everyone! I’ve never seen an episode of Star Trek, so my only exposure to Takei has been from one of my favorite Daily Show clips ever: Now I know why he sounds so startled…
Got any book recommendations?