The Struggle for Blog Identity or: Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

I am doomed to never be a famous book-deal-era blogger, primarily because I am not funny, but at least partially because I don't stick to one topic. Maybe "1000 Things to Drink, Eat, or Plug Into Your Wall" will some day be a huge best seller, but for now, I'll settle for the three readers I have.

Usually, my cooking (when not just for nutritional necessity) revolves around a need to relax—that's when I make bread—but occasionally I will have a very specific craving. This weekend I could not stop thinking about macaroni and cheese. I am not a good blogger, nor do I ever actually measure my ingredients, so what follows may be the most useless recipe ever, as I can't in good conscience stand behind these numbers.

1 16oz Box of tubular pasta... penne I think
3/4 lb shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 lb shredded Jarlsberg (Swiss) cheese
1/2 white onion, diced
1/4 lb double-smoked bacon, diced
2 tbs fresh chopped garlic
3 tbs all purpose flour
3 cups milk
maybe 1/2 cup of leftover white wine (optional)
Panko
Black pepper, freshly ground
Salt, to taste

This usually works well for me if I put the pasta water on to boil at roughly the same time that I start the roux and start preheating the oven (350°). Start the bacon, onions, black pepper and garlic on low-medium heat until the fat gets cooking out and the onions are turning clear. This bacon I used is pretty meaty, so high heat will over cook it before enough fat comes out. At this point, add the flour, browning it and getting it mixed in nicely. Add the wine, which should turn things into a nice paste. Once that gets heated up, add the milk a bit at a time, stirring to make a thin gravy. Usually the water is boiling at this point, so you can start the pasta. Add half or a little more of the cheeses to the sauce and go ahead and turn off the heat. Taste it at this point to see if you think you should put salt in it. That bacon isn't as salty as normal bacon, so I needed a little.

Put your semi-cooked pasta (you want it to keep cooking in the pan with the cheese) in a pan that will hold it, pour on the cheese sauce, and stir in the rest of the cheese, so you get some nice cheesy pockets. Top with panko, and bake it for like 40 minutes. Take it out of the oven, turn the oven off, and run downstairs to the bodega to get some drinks. By the time you get back it will have set up a bit and will be very delicious.

No pictures, and this will feed 5 people, realistically, because everyone will want a second helping. Also, it's kind of a dry, un-creamy style, which is how I like it. If you are skilled, you could probably adjust the sauce to macaroni ratio in order to get it creamier.

Summer is here. Let's shop!

Summertime has arrived, meaning vacation time for most in my world. Technology in the arts, on the other hand, picks up the pace while everyone else is relaxing. No on sale dates to support. Constantly changing content needs take a back seat. The more demanding elements tend to quiet down. This means project time, so while everyone else is taking it easy and taking well deserved holiday, I have to stay focused and start producing rather than just supporting.

How do I cope with this? IMPULSE SHOPPING!

Here's some of my favorites lately (many of which have my money now)

McSweeney's Summer Garage Sale - They do good things and employ good people and publish good works. I never feel bad spending money with them.

Woot! - A new deal every day. The essence of impulse shopping.

Newegg - If you are a nerd like me, you know Newegg. I like it because I can browse for new toys, and can be pretty comfortable that the price is reasonable (nothing hinders an impulse purchase like price hunting)

Also, in addition to shopping, Summer is nice (and New York is nice) for day trips to the beach. Independence Day was spent on Long Beach, which was lovely. I got laughed at for using SPF 70 sun block (who knew?) but I think I was the only member of the group that didn't take a post-beach trip to Walgreens for aloe. Also, I didn't take any pictures because I was afraid of my camera being full of sand. Maybe I'll ease up on that paranoia this summer and take (and subsequently post) some photos.

Oh, to have readers

One of the things I've been thinking about a lot recently (in regard to my job) is mobile browsing. While internet services (Google, Yelp, Ask, etc) have been quick to embrace mobile technology in terms of web experience, it seems like the arts community has purely been taking pot-shots at it. A few places have done a decent job, but mostly, if anything, it seems to be just pared down design of their normal internet sites.

What I want to explore more, but am a bit lost in terms of a starting point, is how people are really using their mobile devices. It clearly isn't primary browsing (yet) so a month-long calendar of events is likely unneccessary, and possibly annoying.

What is going on now, where is it happening, and how can I get a ticket? That is what should be answered, I think.

There's a lot of pressure to "go mobile" but I'm not convinced anyone really knows what that means.

Forward thinking

It has been some time since I posted here, and likely that is because of a lack of particularly interesting things. That is not to say that things have been boring... quite to the contrary. However, real-life excitement doesn't always make for internet excitement.

Last night, however, I attended a discussion led by Seb Chan of the Powerhouse Museum of Science + Design in Syndey. One of the things, since starting my current job, that I have been most eager to learn about and discuss, is the role of social media in a professional arts web presence (the topic of Seb's presentation). "Web presence" is the key there, since gone are the days of a web page, or web site, or web application. Each of those things is really singular in purpose, but if you think about your company/organization's PRESENCE online, you can start accomplishing some really spectacular things.

You can watch the presentation by Seb on-demand here and I highly recommend that you do. Also, check out the Powerhouse

Pink Gin (Saturday Afternoon Cocktail #1)

The cocktail I have just made myself is one I have read about in a number of books, but never actually tried, because I had convinced myself that I dislike Gin (and I just happened to have a promotional bottle of Miller's London Dry Gin.) Not only is this not the case, apparently, but the Pink Gin turned out to be refreshing and delicious with enough kick to warm me up.

Pink Gin

1 ½ oz Miller's London Dry Gin
1 liberal dash Peychaud's Bitters

Combine ingredients with ice. Stir; strain; drink.

Afternoon Cocktails

One thing I definitely enjoy, is a tasty cocktail in the afternoon. Not enough to make me anything but warm, but just enough to make the day a little sunnier. I, like everyone else on the internet, am somewhat obsessed with old, forgotten cocktails, from classy to fuck-you-up fast.

I will try to continue this tradition of posting a cocktail recipe as I have made it, which is not necessarily the "right" way.

I will keep these as separate posts, as well, tagged appropriately.

I Just Couldn't Resist Any Longer

One of the things that I thought might change (but thankfully didn't) was that Monday night is almost exclusively a TV night. Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, Heroes, Gossip Girl, House, and Weeds are probably all in my top 10 of tv shows right now, so Monday nights my DVR works overtime.

Here's the final scene from Chuck last week, and I still can't get over how well put together that show is.