29.1.10

Pretzel Roll


Good recipe from Epicurious. These rolls are pretty easy to make and they go well with pulled pork or ham and cheese sandwiches.

ingredients

2 3/4 cups bread flour
1 envelope quick-rising yeast

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (about) hot water (125°F to 130°F)

Cornmeal
8 cups water
1/4 cup baking soda
2 tablespoons sugar

1 egg white, beaten to blend (glaze)
Coarse salt
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preparation

Combine bread flour, 1 envelope yeast, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar and celery seeds in food processor and blend. With machine running, gradually pour hot water through feed tube, adding enough water to form smooth elastic dough. Process 1 minute to knead. Grease medium bowl. Add dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then towel; let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 35 minutes.

Flour baking sheet. Punch dough down and knead on lightly floured surface until smooth. Divide into 8 pieces. Form each dough piece into ball. Place dough balls on prepared sheet, flattening each slightly. Using serrated knife, cut X in top center of each dough ball. Cover with towel and let dough balls rise until almost doubled in volume, about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease another baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Bring 8 cups water to boil in large saucepan. Add baking soda and 2 tablespoons sugar (water will foam up). Add 4 rolls and cook 30 seconds per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer rolls to prepared sheet, arranging X side up. Repeat with remaining rolls.

Brush rolls with egg white glaze. Sprinkle rolls generously with coarse salt. Bake rolls until brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes. Serve rolls warm or room temperature. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm in 375°F oven 10 minutes.)

sketchbook


Nice sketch page from Coroflot by Nicholas Womeldorff. The composition and the variety of fluid line weights is great even if the forms are perhaps a bit too SPY like. Nice restraint on the well focused but still interesting color palette.

27.1.10

Follow-up


A few weeks ago I posted about an upcoming visit to Emeril's Delmonico. I went to the one in Vegas NOT the original in New Orleans. It was a fun time visiting with my friend Ian but the food was mediocre and the service was disappointing. The place is way too big, boring and bland. It has none of the character or originality of Emeril's other restaurants. Even the now closed one in Atlanta was better. If you are in Vegas I would try his stadium restaurant or the Fish House.

Who is George Peppard???


I think that Jon must have been messing with me but he claims to not know who George Peppard is. Can this be? Perhaps this image from one of the best TV shows EVER will refresh your memory. He was Banacek, come on man.

A Team


Finally, is it me or is this what we have all been waiting for? A new A Team movie! This might even turn the economy around. Perhaps a new six million dollar man will be next, adjusted for inflation of course. Sorry but Liam Neeson is no George Peppard.

Kindle? Nook?


It's the ipad. Dumb name for a cool product.

25.1.10

It looks a bug


This is old news but i just saw it. It is the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay is a waterside building located on six hectares of waterfront land alongside Marina Bay near the mouth of the Singapore River, purpose-built to be the centre for performing arts for the island nation of Singapore. Taking its name from the nearby Esplanade, it contains a 1,600 seat concert hall and a 2,000 seat theatre for the performing arts.

23.1.10

better framing


I just finished "The Last Fish Tale" by Mark Kurlansky. I think it is my favorite Kurlansky book. Perhaps because Luke warned me that it was not as good as "Cod" or "Salt" and lowered my expectations. The ending does become a little detached from the overall timeline but I think that weaving of individual peoples stories with the overall stories of towns and cities is fantastic. His rapid fire delivery of facts paints a perfectly clear picture for me. It makes me want to bring canvases and painting supplies to Gloucester.

19.1.10

Preserve Mailer


Evo sends out marketing mailers every month or so. Last months featured the preserve Tableware line which is now available at Target. It is really hard to gauge the success of this ongoing campaign; now almost 13 years old. We usually get a couple of phone calls from clients and friends. Occassionally we even get a request for quote. However this mailer set a new bar, I heard from Patrick and it seems that even he had nothing but nice things to say about the design.

Old Man Logan


I have not read this yet but the artwork looks good and Sean is recommending it so I ordered a copy from Amazon today and will give it a try. I think Marvel is doing an impressive job of continually evolving their properties without letting them get goofy.

15.1.10

Puma Uke


I know that this droplet ripple detail has been done before and that it probably no longer symbolizes the ideal blend of organic and geometric forms as is once did but, I think that it is still working nicely in this case. These must be a prototype because they are a little billowy. I bet they look great on.

Dodo ride-on

13.1.10

Dexter


It is a strange show, about a serial killer whose policeman step-father learns at an early age that his emotionless son has an intense need to kill things and decides to teach him how to identify and kill people who deserve it in order to satisfy those needs. The father who appears in a series of flashbacks also teaches Dexter how to fake emotions in order to blend in with everyone else. Sounds crazy but it is very good in part because the cast around Dexter is also interesting, fun and well-acted.

Eurobike show


Interesting armorwear from the Eurobike show. The color choice is interesting. I wonder how easy it is to wash.

toolbox


This image was posted in one of the discussions on Core. Pretty cool looking. I bet it is heavy. It kind of reminds me of the portable desk that Darwin used.

9.1.10

from CES #6


Semi-Transparent OLED laptop. It is cool but, why do we need this?

from CES #5


itamtam winner of the ilounge award.

from CES #4


Underwater video camera.

from CES #3


Vista Pix.

From CES #2


This is the new Harmony One Universal Remote Control with high resolution LCD touch screen, and USB port for downloading of remote control codes stored on an online database.

From CES #1


Logitech gaming mouse.

4.1.10

Artifort


The little Tulip Chair, available at Hive Modern. I think that this would look better in the entry way and the colors work on the form very well. Perhaps once the year starts to gain a little momentum?

Aaron Pizzuti


Very cool concept model by Aaron Pizzuti.

3.1.10

Avatar


Someone was asking me today if the special effects in Avatar were any good. As I mentioned earlier they were great for the most part. This is a good example.

CES


While at CES I am hoping to see the Apple laptop. Will it be there?

1.1.10

Emerils Delmonico


They say that there is no equal in Las Vegas to Emeril's Delmonico. I think it is in the Venetian. I am looking forward to trying it.

New Year and a New car


I got a good deal on the G37 in graphite. It is similar to the Altima but it has all wheel drive. I am picking it up tomorrow.

CES


The Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas is in early January and although I usually skip it I am looking forward to going this year. I have a few meetings to look forward to and other than that I expect to see thinner flat screens, more phones that look like iphones and lots of digital cameras. Maybe I will even see something new from Polaroid.