Riddle Me This, Jishman

My friend, PJ Pacifico just released his second album two weeks ago. This is an interview he did on Nantucket yesterday. Check it out.

Update: I should have posted this originally last night with the video. Click here for my review of PJ’s album.

This is awesome…

Dear Mr. Goodell,

I wanted to write to you and thank you for one of the DUMBEST IDEA EVER FLOATED for the NFL:

Commissioner Roger Goodell notified teams Thursday that the draft will be spread over three days in 2010, running Thursday, April 22, through Saturday, April 24.

In addition, the first round will start in prime time at 7:30 p.m. ET.

“We continue to look for ways to make the draft more accessible to more fans,” Goodell said in a statement. “Moving the first round to prime time on Thursday night will make the first round of the draft available to fans on what is typically the most-watched night of television.”

ESPN and the NFL Network will televise the entire show.

The second and third rounds will start at 6:30 p.m. ET on April 23.

Rounds 4 through 7 will be on April 24, starting at 10 a.m. ET.

(more…)

This was brought to us by our California Bureau Chief, Ahhhhnold McHates-You.

For the first time since the Washington Nationals opened there new stadium, I got a chance to go to two games in the past two days. The stadium is very nice, with clean, modern lines, but does not have any distinctive characteristics like the warehouse in Baltimore, the bay in San Francisco, or the river in Pittsburgh. Overall, I enjoyed myself, here are a few (I think) interesting observations:

1. When the stadium opened, they talked about how there would be a view of the Capitol Dome. I walked all around the stadium last night to check it out, and I can now report that you can barely see the dome because a new building is being built in the line of sight between the upper deck behind home plate and the dome. I was disappointed.

2. When the economy starts to recover and the neighborhood around the stadium starts to come together, it is going to be a really cool and dynamic place. You can imagine how restaurants, shops, etc… could line Half Street between the Metro and the stadium and would be a great place for dinner before the game or drinks after. Also, the stadium sits across the street from the river. If someone had the money to buy land that is now occupied by a cement company, you could build incredible river front mixed use space, literally next to the stadium.

3. There is not a bad seat in the house. My tickets were in section 205, down the third base line. These were excellent. The best deal, however, is the $10 standing room only tickets. I wandered around the stadium for much of last nights game and watched a half inning in a couple of different spots. All had good sight lines of the field and a scoreboard (not necessarily the main outfield board).

4. Food and beer aren’t cheap, but I didn’t think they were outrageous either. Domestic beer is $7.50 (okay that is a lot of a Miller Lite, I stand corrected), cheese fries were $6 (generous portion, almost restaurant appetizer size). Perhaps the best looking deal (and I was to full to try them) were the chili nachos from Hard Times Cafe (I love their nachos). Huge serving of nachos, chili, onions, cheese, etc… for $8.50 (regular “ballpark” nachos were $10). Next time, I’m skipping dinner and eating those instead.

…1.5 million households still were not ready for the DTV switch!?! No, I have no sympathy. No, I do not care that the government program went bankrupt or whatever happened. No, I do not care that the economy went into the tank. This has been on the books since 2002, it was delayed in 2005, and it was delayed again in January. You people are all idiots and to quote everyone’s favorite TV character, “NO TV FOR YOU!”

And so, as it goes, it is time for another Steak Bet. Right now, because no one won the US Open on either of our sides, I am still down in steaks to Waterboy two steaks.

Now, as opposed to the North American or Asian courses, British, “links style” courses provide players with different challenges - especially US players who don’t often see them or the kind of wind the isles can produce. Adding to Waterboy’s difficulties, Phil Mickleson, his team’s poster boy, is in Arizona with his wife and mother-in-law and their courageous fight with breast cancer and thus not playing this weekend. So, the rules have slightly changed:

1.) Waterboy gets one extra player and to pick first (so he gets first and last picks) to make up for Phil Mickleson.
2.) I still take Tiger Woods with my first pick.
3.) These are score based, so whomever wins, wins regardless of how long it takes them.
4.) If none of our combined eleven players are still in the tournament at the end of round 2, we reselect ONE player each.
5.) If any of your players are found to not be in the tournament, for whatever reason, BEFORE they tee off on their first hole, we can reselect a player (one for one) to replace him.
6.) If a player tees off, then withdraws, no reselection is allowed.
7.) This bet is for one steak.

Now, onto the picks:

Jishman’s Picks (aka clearly the winners):
1.) Tiger Woods
2.) Rory McIllroy
3.) Lee Westwood
4.) KJ Choi
5.) Steve Stricker

Waterboy’s Picks (aka the losers):
1.) Paul Casey
2.) Kenny Perry
3.) Geoff Ogilvy
4.) Lucas Glover
5.) Henrik Stenson
6.) David Duval

It’s a show about everyone’s favorite game….FANTASY FOOTBALL!

Oh yeah, baby! I’ll take TJ WHO’S YOUR MAMA! (Championship!)

So, as many of our loyal readers know, Mrs. Jishman and I made gyros a few weeks ago. Couldn’t have gone better….except for the faux-gurt that is. Looking back on it, while I know that it’s the only way I’m going to get it close to “authentic”, it still lacked a certain dairy quality to it - probably because it wasn’t dairy at all.

Thanks to our intrepid food reporter on the Capital beat, Jakey McHappy brings us a HISTORY OF THE GYRO (pronounced “yee-ro” for your foreigners). Many thanks, Jakey!

I’ve been a bit remiss in posting my CSA shares because I’ve been studying for an exam at the end of the month (Josh calls it my “little quiz”). Our week 2 and 3 shares were basically identical to the first week, with more strawberries and kale in the 3rd week.

Last week was the 4th week, here are some pictures:
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As you can see we got some more vegetables, the broccoli and zuchini were both very good and the fresh garlic tastes slightly different than cured garlic. It also smells less harsh, but still very garlicy. We also got some kohlrabi, which we sauteed with onions and some of the garlic. It was okay, but probably better raw. We bought some at the grocery store this week to try in other ways.

We also got some greens called “Vitamin Green”. Yes, that is the name. We haven’t cooked it yet, but we’ll probably sautee it very soon since we need to use it. It is like baby bok choy apparently. Unfortunately, it gotten eaten by a pest, so it’s full of holes but the farmers assure us it’s fine to eat.

We just picked up today’s share, and there is a LOT of garlic.
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Our whole house smells like garlic today. We are going to cure it ourselves (basically hang it to dry for about 3 weeks). We have pulled off a couple cloves to eat fresh too. I think we are going to roast some of the fresh heads and eat them on a baguette.

As you can see from the picture there is also a ton of broccoli and squash this week. I love squash, but it is not Bram’s favorite, so I need to come up with some creative ways to cook it. I am looking forward to trying the zephyr squash (the yellow and green ones) because it’s something we haven’t had before. I might make some zuchini bread or something like that to use it up. Luckily, we all like broccoli so eating that will be pretty easy.

“Greetings and good morning, all of my loyal readers. This is JT the Brick, head of tech support, here at Bad/JISH Productions bringing you another ‘Tech Crap I want’ report.

“As many people know, I am quite the devotee, but nothing gets me more excited than to see Apple truly and genuinely innovating. Innovation is at the heart and the core of who they are, which is why, when they said netbooks make no sense, I - like all Lemmings - repeated dutifully ‘Netbooks make no sense’.

“When Apple said it did have some ideas for the space, immediately, I sat at the end of my bed praying like all good Christian boys at Steve Jobs’ alter for an Apple tablet. Now, I wait no longer:

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/07/apple-tablet/

This is what I want. No kidding This looks awesome. I don’t know a mac fan who wouldn’t want a ginormous touch screen tablet.

“If I had a complaint, and it would be a small one, it would be the estimated $800 price tag. For a mere 200 dollars or so more, I could get a whole computer! Why $800? Well, I think I understand it. It’s in between the $1000 computer price and the $400 iPod touch price. It sort of makes sense…sort of.

“Well, this has been a short review by JT the Brick, Tech Support Guru and head of Bad/JISH Productions bringing you another ‘Tech Crap I want’ report.”

I love hamburgers. My favorite food, hands down, is not steak, it’s not chicken (though I could eat chicken 365 days a year) and it’s certainly not duck or foie gras. It’s hamburger. Give me a hamburger with slices of onions, pickles, and tomatoes plus tons of BBQ sauce (can’t have enough) and I’d be good for a night.

Additionally, tuna is probably my favorite fish. I think it has something to do with its texture. Its firmness is more like beef than any other type of fish - and it certainly is anything but flaky. Whenever I go to restaurants, if they have tuna tartare or tuna burgers (or sesame encrusted tuna steaks) on the menu, I tend to lean that way.

Yesterday, Mrs. Jishman and I went to a farmer’s market and there was a fish guy. She got flounder (not being a tuna gal), and of course, I went the tuna route - I usually do. I knew exactly what I was going to make - Tuna Burgers! Love them. I went looking for a recipe online, but didn’t quite find something that matched my interests. So…off I went…a recipe creatin’!

I knew I wanted to use the challah (egg bread) rolls we had, but instead of using BBQ sauce, I wanted a more tart flavor. I started by making a twist on a mustard-mayo aioli I had made before.

Here’s what I made:

Tuna Burger
1/2 lb Tuna Steak (cut into small, almost ground beef consistency)
1-2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1-2 tablespoons grain mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Pinch of pepper

Mustard-Mayo Aioli
3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Grain Mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey
10 capers (for salt)
2 pickle strips (flavor: Bread & Butter), minced (or brunnoise, if you prefer)

Instructions for burgers:
Mince tuna. Add all ingredients together in a bowl. Mix and make into two patties. Then immediately put into the fridge and allow to chill for at least 10-15 minutes (cold makes them come together). When you are ready to cook, heat pan to medium-high heat and sear burgers for 2-3 minutes depending on how done you would like them (4 minutes and you might as well use right out of the can tuna instead of fresh).

Instructions for Aioli:
Mix everything together after mincing the capers and pickles and stir until well combined.

I spread the aioli on both sides of the bun, and let me tell you, all in all, it came together really well. I thought it might have had a bit too much of the aioli, but I loved it. Huge fan.

Would make it again in a heartbeat.

I’m sorry, there’s just something wrong with the former N Sync-er as Green Lantern Hal Lantern, the Man without Fear. Personally, I’d go with Bradley Cooper first, then Ryan Reynolds. Justin Timberlake wouldn’t even make the list. Hell, I’d go with Clive Owen or Eric Bana first.

Update: Ryan Reynolds has been tapped to play Hal Jordan. I will write more on this another time.

I saw this post on the Wall Street Journal’s Middle Seat Terminal blog and thought it was sad (and hilarious). Basically, a band member for Sons of Maxwell had his guitar broken by United Airlines and they would not reimburse him for it. After his claim was denied, he wrote a song about his experience. Read the whole story, listen to the song, and watch the video here:

United Denies Claim For Broken Guitar, Passengers Sings for Revenge

Yup, that’s right, folks. Our friends at Sargento have rolled out a marketing strategy that will make us all eat more persnickety cheese: National Panini Month! Oh yeah, baby! There’s our winner. If you don’t think this is a winner, then you just aren’t persnickety enough. National. Panini. Month.

This is almost as good as the Pork Industry coming up with a National Bacon Month. Next, we need a national fake food month, brought to you buy the Tofu Association.

Stupid Marketing!