Riddle Me This, Jishman

1.) Peyton Manning - I love Payton Manning. He is one of the classiest individual players who knows his place in the pecking order. He wants to win. The Colts aren’t going to. They are going to rebuild. He deserves to sign with a team of his choosing. Where *should* he go? As a football fan, I would love to see him in Miami. He would put on a clinic every game and would be the signing Steven Ross has seemingly wanted with every big check he signs. No one will put butts in the seats like Manning could. Now, imagine if he gets Reggie Wayne to sign with him? Not the Reggie Wayne when he was catching 110+ balls every year, but the possession receiver who could be a mentor to younger receivers and “coach them up”. It could be a match made in heaven with Thomas and Bush at Running Back, Marshall, Wayne, Hartline, Bess at WR, and Fasano at TE. Not a bad roster. As a Jets fan, I want him as far away from wherever the Jets will see him as possible.

2.) The Knicks - they’re not as bad as this recent 3 game slide shows nor were they ever as good as that 6 game win streak was. The team needs time to gel after the return of Anthony, Chandler, Harrelson, as well as bringing Novak, JR Smith and Davis of the bench. Jut relax, like in hockey, virtually everybody makes the playoffs, so it’s not exactly an issue if they go .500 - they’ll make it in.

3.) Baseball season is starting yet it feels like all I’m reading about today is Payton Manning, NFL Free Agency and College Basketball. I know baseball season officially starts at the end of the month, and people will lose their minds, but it seems like it is such a 3rd or even 4th thought in people’s minds right now.

4.) Yes, I made a hockey reference. Go figure.

5.) Cablevision - seriously, I want the NFL Network already! I will pay you for it! Give it to me!

6.) Randy Moss will play this season if he is willing to take an incentive laden contract. Not news, I know, but I could so easily see him playing somewhere this season. Possible locations: Seattle, Houston, Tampa Bay, Washington - I know none of these have really been more than rumors, but all need a #1 or 2 WR and have pieces in place that would make it attractive (yes, that includes Washington).

I love TV. No great shock. I grew up in the era where cable began its rise. It was the era where HBO grew. I was born a few short years before ESPN started and became the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.” There weren’t hundreds of channels, there were three layers on a brown box with a dial that switched amidst 13 channels per row. Thirty nine channels and that was it. There was no HD. VCRs were all the rage and I still remember watching tapes of Back to the Future and The Last Dragon that had the channel logo and theme music before the movies began.

This is a different generation though. Today, users have access to content in handfuls of places. You can watch your programming for free through websites of the stations. You can rent your programming through Apple, Amazon, and Hulu. Apple, Roku and Google provides channels for people to get them through set top boxes. And of course, there is still the tried and true method of paying a service to provide it through the airwaves, coaxial or fiber optic cables - be it DirectTV, a cable or telephone company.

As I started reading this article about Apple’s continued foray into the streamable TV market, I got to thinking - is there a more dysfunctional market than television?

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Yesterday, former NFL QB Kurt Warner (Rams, Giants, Cardinals) was quoted in the media as saying that Eli Manning is not “already a Hall of Famer” following his second Super Bowl win. Whether or not Eli deserves to be in the Hall of Fame is of course an open question. He has only been in the league 8 years, but he does have 2 Super Bowl rings.

The question of whether or not Eli deserves potential Hall of Fame consideration based on his first 8 years in the league really depends on what the criteria is for a Hall of Fame QB. To attempt to answer this question in a very amateur way (since the talking heads debate this non-stop with no agreement), I collected data from Pro-Football-Reference.com for Hall of Fame QBs and 11 other QBs who have either won Super Bowls, are considered to be future Hall of Famers, or have some relationship to Eli.

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Each year following the end of the college football season, journalists love to write about how the BCS is broken and how a playoff system could “fix” all that ails the only “major” college sport that does not have a tournament to decide its champion. I have no doubt that the college football system is flawed, and I personally would love to see a playoff with 4, 8, or even 16 teams. I think that while this is possible when the next round of TV contracts comes up, it is unlikely because the college presidents and the BCS conference commissioners are not that interested in making it happen.

In light of yet another article, with another proposal in the USA Today, today, I thought a quick rundown of two of the most popular proposals and their advantages and disadvantages would be useful.

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I do love me a good banana nut bread…especially when it comes with chocolate chips. In fact, one of my favorite snacks is a slice of banana nut bread with a little bit of cream cheese on top. Weird? Probably, but definitely tasty. As someone who, for years, was embarrassed by his inability to even make the simplest cookies, banana nut bread was an old standard. Somehow, even when I would burn Duncan Hines cakes, I could make this. So, for those of us who can bake, you’ll find it trivial. For those of us who can’t, trust that you can make this with little to no fear.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted margarine, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup ripe bananas
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Stand Mixer (or hand mixer)
Sifter
Loaf Pan

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a metal loaf pan. Sift first 4 ingredients to combine. Mix chocolate chips and walnuts in small bowl; add 2 tablespoons flour mixture and toss to coat. Beat margarine in large bowl (I tried to get it as fluffy as I could). Gradually add sugar (1/2 cup at a time), beating until well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in bananas (chunked or mashed) and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture. Add batter to the loaf pan Run knife through top of the batter. Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour (plus or minus 5 minutes). Turn out onto rack and cool. Note: if bottom is soft, it will still taste good, but won’t really act like bread.

It should be no surprise to anyone that I like beer and football. In the spirit of the big game on Sunday (Go Giants!), I wanted to take a moment to talk about choosing beer for a Super Bowl party. But first, let me take a slight detour to mention that Senator Chuck Shumer (NY) and Senator Jeanne Shaheen have placed a beer bet on the Super Bowl. According to press accounts, if the Patriots win, Senator Schumer will buy Smuttynose beer for every Senator and if the Giants win, Senator Shaheen will buy a “round of New York craft beers” for each Senator.

The idea behind this bet is of course not new. Politicians have been betting each other all types of items. For the 2011 Super Bowl between Pittsburgh and Green Bay all types of bets were made between Pennsylvania and Wisconsin government officials. According to USA Today:

In hon­or of Super Bowl XLV, we give you the bets made by politicos cheering for the Pittsburgh Steel­ers and Green Bay Packers.

Food is almost always on the line when it comes to these big game wa­gers, and the bet placed by freshman Re­publican sen­ators Pat Toomey and Ron John­son will make a doctor wince.

If the Steel­ers win, John­son will send Wisconsin’s finest cheese, bratwurst and beer.

If the Packers win, Toomey will fork over those fa­mous sandwiches from the Primanti Bros. in Pittsburgh that come topped with french fries and cole slaw. We might also suggest Smiley Cook­ies from Eat’n Park for dessert.

Newly GOP gover­nors Scott Walker (Wisconsin) and Tom Corbett (Pennsylvania) are also getting into the act, also wa­gering food for local bragging rights.

The gover­nors are getting some help from Coca-Cola, which is sweet­ening the deal with a $25,000 check to a Boys & Girls Club in the winner’s home state. But the politicians have to wear the oth­er’s team jer­sey to the check presentation cer­emo­ny.

So with a beer bet between Senators Schumer and Shaheen, which craft beer should Senator Shaheen buy for the Senate if the Giants win (since Senator Schumer is already locked into Smuttynose). There are several ways she could go. Since the Giants are located near New York City, she could go with Brooklyn Brewery or to Long Island for Blue Point (I love the Toasted Lager!). Alternatively, she could look upstate for some outstanding beers from Southern Tier, Butternut’s Beer and Ale, or a classic Saranac. In fact, the New York State Brewers Association has a great list of craft brewers to choose from.

What will you be drinking this Super Bowl?

Just when you thought “Riddle Me This, Jishman” had faded into the sunset, I have come back to start a great debate that started four years ago! (click here to read about it)

Of course, we know how that game turned out… with the better team hoisting the Super Bowl trophy!

The Super Bowl is two days away. The New York Giants play the New England Patriots.

I am predicting a New York Giants victory by a score of 27-21.

What is your prediction for the game?

I love Bruschetta. It’s easy to make. It’s light and very tasty. Sometimes, though, I find tomato bruschetta too acidic and it makes my tongue hurt. A few months ago, however, JishSis and I went to Eataly in New York City and had a dish very similar. Fall foods are my favorite food stuffs (as the three loyal readers of my blog know). Apples, pears, beans, and pumpkins are great - speaking of which, Seasonal Meal is coming up soon! - but I really love squash. In the summer, it’s Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash, but in fall, it’s all about Butternut and Acorn Squash. Spaghetti squash is good and fun too, but I’ll definitely roast me some acorn or butternut ones.

Why Bruschetta though? Why not just roast and eat it? Well, you could, I suppose, but there’s just something about “finger food”. Plus there’s cheese, so who wouldn’t enjoy that? So, here it is.

Ingredients
1 Acorn Squash
8 oz Ricotta Cheese
1 pkg Sage leaves
Canola Oil
2 TBS Butter
1 Loaf Italian Bread, French Baguette, or Roasted Garlic loaf
1 Head Garlic
1 Lemon
kosher salt
1 microwave safe container
1 oven safe container
2 mixing bowls
1 baking sheet

Instructions
1.) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Slice the top off the head of the garlic, drizzle some oil over the top, wrap it in a sheet of aluminum foil and place it in the oven for 40-60 minutes.
2.) Mix Ricotta with the juice and zest of lemon until it makes a smooth paste.
3.) Place about an inch or two of oil in a sauce pan and heat on medium to “fry” temperature. (I take a drop or two of water and place it in the pan to see if it “pops” to check.)
4.) Place one leaf at a time in the oil and cook for a minute or so or until the leaves turn dark green. Place on a sheet of paper towel to dry.
5.) Cut the Acorn Squash in half around the equator and place in a microwave safe container. Scoop out the seeds from the inside and place a pat of butter (1 TBS) and some salt over the top of the squash. Place in Microwave for 8 minutes (if it needs more time to get softer, place for 2 more minutes).
6.) Once garlic is done, reduce heat on oven to 375 degrees.
7.) Place Acorn in oven safe container, and cook (covered) for 30-35 minutes.
8.) Once finished, scoop out flesh and place in a mixing bowl with roasted garlic cloves (I recommend 4-6 garlic cloves) and salt until smooth enough to spread.
9.) Toast slices of bread on a baking sheet until lightly toasted.
10.) Spread ricotta on the bread, squash mixture on the ricotta, place a sage leaf atop the batch with a small amount of salt for flavor, and enjoy!

Let me know how you enjoy it.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Most of you know that as a consultant, I tend to travel a lot, and so unfortunately, I don’t have as much time to post as I used to (you know, back when I had a job I didn’t work 100 hours a week at). I like what I do for work, to be sure, but even more than that, I love cooking. I especially love cooking seasonal vegetables - fall vegetables being my favorite, as loyal readers of the blog know - but once in a while, I like summer foods. Fruit - blueberries, cherries, and plums, especially - tend to be three of my favorite during the summer, but when I get the chance, I love radishes. I love watermelon radishes because of how rarely I get them, but the thought of white radishes (with the red outside skin) makes my mouth water. I love them.

Growing up, we leaned towards using them in your normal green salad, and I would definitely do that now when I have no time. Tonight though, I had the time…and so I made something slightly different. It was definitely a salad - because we had leftovers from Friday night - but not your usual green one. Tonight, I decided to make a more contained salad. I made rounds of radish and cucumber (love my mandolin), while adding diced apple, avocado and a tarragon vinaigrette as dressing.

Result:
The salad was good. I probably overdressed it a little (thank you, Mrs. Jishman) but I thought the flavor was incredible. I love the mix of the sweet from the apple, acidity from the rice wine and apple cider vinegars and the herb flavor from the tarragon. I kept thinking of ways I could have improved it, but at the end, I just really enjoyed it. Hopefully you will too if you ever make it.

Ingredients
Dressing:
3 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
1 TBS honey
1 pinch sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
4 sprigs tarragon
2 TBS dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad
6 radishes, thinly sliced on mandoline
1 red apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
2/3 cucumber, peeled, thinly sliced on mandolin (same setting as radish)
1 avocado, chunked

Directions
Chop tarragon finely and chunk avocado and apple. Slice radishes and cucumber. Whisk together vinegars, oil, mustard, tarragon, honey, sugar, salt and pepper. Toss radishes, red apple, avocado, and cucumber together with dressing right before serving.

Last week, I was 6 for 6 in predicting the top guys in the competition. I was 5 for 6 predicting the women; America was wrong to select Karen! Ashton as a thirteenth was a bad choice as well.

As I start the new season; I am 11 of 12 in my predictions.

Tonight was our first look at the finalists. I will tell you who will be in the bottom three and which singer will be packing their bags tomorrow night.

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Last night I predicted which six guys would make the top 12. Tonight I will focus on how well the girls did.

Much like last night, it was a tale of two contests. Those who could sing well and those who got a shot to make it to the top 12 and didn’t earn that coveted spot.

This week I am listing the names of the six guys who should make up half of the top 12 contestants.

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So American Idol is back! That means I am back for another season of predicting the winners and the losers each week.

The top 12 guys performed tonight and the twist this week is that six of them will be eliminated on Thursday! Instead of three weeks to make it to the top twelve, performers got one song.

And this week, there was not a question in my mind as to who the top six should be. Yes, the bottom six proved they should go home quickly.

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So, as many of you may have heard, Aaron Sorkin is working towards doing yet another of his “behind the scenes, walk-and-talk, show-within-the-show” type of shows. I love them. I can’t wait. This time, it’s about a cable-news talk show. “More As the Story Develops” is the tentative title and looks to be on HBO.

The intent is to explore a less cynical view of the news media, he explained. “It’ll be aspirational. It’ll be wish fulfillment. But they’re going to lose as much as they’re going to win. In other words, it’s not going to be a fantasy. They’re going to be trying to do well in a context where it’s very difficult to do well when there are commercial concerns and political concerns and corporate concerns.”

Sorkin will be re-teaming with Hollywood über-producer Scott Rudin, who headed up The Social Network (as well as True Grit), and has consulted with several real-life cable news shows and their on-air personalities across the channel spectrum, including Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews.

I might need to get HBO just to see this show. (semi kidding) I will admit, I am definitely looking forward to this type of show again. I wanted Studio 60 to be so much better than it was. Hopefully this will live up to half the hype this show will inevitably get.

Yup, that’s right. The due date for the newest member of the family is February 10th. We’ll let you know about the status but below we’ve got a picture of the progress.

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So, one of the dishes I really miss from when I lived in Israel was Shakshuka. The way I had it, it was kind of like rustic, spicy tomato sauce. Plus, when you add a sunny side up (lightly cooked) egg, added this amazing richness to the “sauce” and made the whole dish come together. Taste wise, it should be slightly sweet, tart and definitely rich.

This morning though, we decided to “deconstruct” it a bit. We had a pregnant guest (and a 2+ year old), so instead of adding the sunny side up eggs in the recipe, we made a slightly Italian-style frittata (a kind of omelet). Frittatas are great because they’re easy, light, and can serve up to about 6-8 people from a 12″ pan with 5-7 eggs. Adding Monterey Jack cheese, shallots, salt, black pepper, yellow pepper spears on top, it looked good, browned nicely, and was just very, very easy. Cook on stove top for 5 minutes on medium heat, then bake at 300 for 20 minutes.

The Shakshuka similarly was simple to make. Brown, cook everything together, and just let it thicken. Couldn’t have been easier. We added some oregano and instead of fresh, added dried parsley. Now, as a note, I am not an herb snob. I like fresh, and when I have it, I add it. But, if not, I will add dry and be perfectly fine with it. I have had both, and I think the dried herbs added more than the fresh ones would have. We also used Paprika (and a teaspoon of red chile flake) instead of Harissa. Trust me, we thought about using Harissa and more so about making our own chili paste (Cayenne) for a moment, but with a 2+ year old and guests, we decided against it.

Service options: I poured the sauce over my eggs, over slices of Italian bread, over both, and alone. Really it’s entirely up to you.

Enjoy! Here’s the modified recipe we used.

Ingredients
* A couple sprays of Pam (non-stick spray)
* 1/2 yellow onions, finely chopped
* 1 rounded tablespoon tomato paste
* 2 tablespoons paprika
* 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
* 2 medium jarred roasted bell peppers, small dice
* 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes with juices
* 1 tablespoons kosher salt
* 1/4 cup dried parsley leaves
* 1 tablespoon dried oregano
* 1 long Italian bread loaf

Directions

Heat a frying pan over medium heat (4 out of 10). Add onion and cook until just softened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, Paprika, and garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add peppers and stir to coat. Add tomatoes with juices and salt and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened. We cooked it for about 40 minutes or so.