Check out his Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog shorts. Aaaaawesome! (Neil Patrick Harris, Nate Fillion, and Felicia Day are the actors)

2 and a half men set (click for larger versions):

with Laverne and Shirley, the California year(s):

Same set or same set designer? Also, from what tangled recesses of her amazingawesomerandom mind did ghostfinger pull this one from?

(seriously, though, this will at least get you, and you know who you are, past the “dude, where’s my car?” stage of lame-o ness)

Give what you can, share where you may. Hopeline.

Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs, dirty words and the demise of humanity, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday. He was 71.

Carlin was amazing. His routines were those of a 2%er who managed to actually connect with the rest of the world. From religion to sex to politics to culture to plain reason, he was a veritable cornucopia of wit and humor.

In sum, I have this to say: shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits.

Some favorite quotes.

Religion convinced the world that there’s an invisible man in the sky who watches everything you do. And there’s 10 things he doesn’t want you to do or else you’ll go to a burning place with a lake of fire until the end of eternity. But he loves you! …And he needs money! He’s all powerful, but he can’t handle money!

I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don’t have as many people who believe it.

Well, if crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight? They never mention that part to us, do they?

Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.

Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.

Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don’t have time for all that.

Update: he got better as he got older. To a point. Just don’t read the later books.

Also, this is the cryingest season ever. These people cry more than fuckin Ricky on Project Runway. And they only kept that Kentucky woman (Tracy) in for the conflict/drama. Maybe she has BPD with the level of enmity going on there. Then again, she does seem like a pretty huge assmunch and not a team player in the slightest so it’s probably deserved.

The show has fundamental problems - it’s entirely focused on the “design” part and not at all focused on the “TV” part; there is no reason for any winner to have a show at the end, and the competition is not geared toward the “thematic show with personality” part which is kind of, you know, crucial for a personality-based show - but the competition is fun (for a comparison on how to do it correctly, see the Next Food Network Star where there’s a huge emphasis on the contestant’s theme and TV style, not just their cooking, although they’re about 3 parts TV-focused, 2 part foody so maybe they’ve gone too far). If you want to see a floundering train wreck of a show, watch either of the last two seasons winners resulting series, which are boring, unfocused shows.

Also, the viewers’ choice person (Stephanie) looks like someone I know +35 lbs.

Anyhoo, the music during the reveals in the Design Star thingee this year is poke-your-eyes-out awful.

At least they stopped all the ridiculous Woooooooo!!!1!1!11-ing they were doing the first two shows. That was embarassing.

This dish took forever to make, but… it’s tasty and worth it. On the other hand, due to the number of steps, my laziness, and general distraction, no pics. Sucks to be you. If you want to see a picture, it will end up looking something like this:

Ingredients:
2 large onions
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1″ fresh root ginger, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded (mostly)
60ml sliced almonds
3 tbsp water
3-4 tbsp butter (or ghee if you can get it)
3-5 tbsp oil of choice
2 tbsp sultanas or golden raisins
2 lb. beef stew meat
175ml plain yogurt (one regular container)
1.5 cups rice (I used Thai/Jasmine, given the history of the dish, Basmati … except my grocery store sucks)
5 cups chicken stock
2 hard boiled eggs

Spices:
coriander (fresh would be better, but my grocery store sucks and didn’t have any, so… ground)
cumin
turmeric
cinnamon
salt
pepper

You can probably tell from that list, this is not a simple dish.

Directions:
1. The base:
Chop one onion
Add the onion garlic, ginger, jalapeno, and 1 tsp-ish of coriander, half of the almonds, and the water to a food processor/mixer.
Process into smooth paste.

2. The sparkle
Thinly slice the other onion into rings.
Heat 1 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp oil in a big pot (if this pot is oven safe, use that)
Cook the onion rings for 15 minutes until golden brown. Set onions aside.
Cook remaining half of almonds in the pot until brown (just a few secs). Set them aside with onions.
Cook sultanas/golden raisins until they swell (just a few secs). Set them aside with the onions and almonds.

3. The meat
Add 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of oil to the pot.
Cook meat until heated evenly. Set aside.

4. Alchemy
Clean out the pot (or use a new one). Add some oil and heat it up.
Pour the base paste in and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes until it starts to brown.
Add spices and stir in. You should probably put heat on low for this bit or you could burn the paste.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Add the yogurt in bits, blending between additions.
When paste and yogurt are fully mixed, add the meat in and stir it to coat the meat with the paste.
Cover tightly and simmer on gentle heat for 40-50 minutes until the meat is tender.

5. Sidebar, AKA where Ghostfinger checks out
Put rice in large bowl. Cover with water. Let sit for 15-20 minutes.
… wait
… preheat the oven to 325F
Heat the chicken broth on the stove.
Add the rice
Bring water to a boil, then turn down. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes.
Drain and set aside.

6. Now it all comes together
Place the rice on the meat, totally covering the meat as a top layer. Using your spoon, make a hole in the middle.
Sprinkle the onions, almonds, and golden raisins around the top.
Break 2tbsp of butter into little bits and place strategically on top. Strategically can also be randomly. Random is a strategy.
Cover the Biryani with two layers of aluminum foil.
Place a lid on pot.
Stick pot in oven for 30-40 minutes.
… make 1-4 hard boiled eggs (1 per serving you are planning on doling out)

7. Finish
Serve on warmed plate with the egg as garnish. Optionally, include naan, some form of bread… or you could use homemade tortillas. Or nothing. Plenty of starch in that rice. Some cucumbers, tomatoes, maybe carrots as garnish sides would work well also.
Eat! (It’s been about 2 hours by now if you’ve been doing it all from scratch, maybe longer. You must be hungry.)

I was initially unsure about the raisins, so I kept them off to yet another side. In the end, I decided to add them and… they work really, really well. Kinda make the dish, actually. The random explosion of sweetness was a great balance and did not overwhelm at all.

Cost: under $20, mostly depending on meat
Serves: 4-6
Review: 4/5. I almost want to give this a 5. It was yummy, and I’d been snacking during the whole ordeal too, so it’s not just hunger speaking.

Thought I’d share some vids as they start entering the zeitgeist

… I love the warmth and acceptance of all the freaky YouTube miniceleb memes.

Weezer isn’t my favorite band, but the video? Good stuff. You’ve got afroninja, the leave Britney alone! kid, Miss Teen South Carolina, the shirt guy… and hugs all around.

I mashed the potatoes myself. If you use a packet, adjust accordingly.

Ingredients:
2 lb extra lean ground beef
1 cup peas
4 carrots
1 medium onion, chopped
worchestershire sauce
salt
pepper
3 lbs potatoes
2 tbsp butter
1 egg
1 cup milk
spices for the potatoes

Directions:
Potatoes: your standard mashed potatoes by hand recipe. Peel and cut. Put in salted water for at least 30 minutes until soft enough to fork through. Put in mixing bowl, add 1 egg, spices, butter, milk, and blend.

Spice and brown the meat (with salt, pepper, and worchestershire to taste), drain and set aside. Cook the carrots and onions until soft. Cook veggies with with meat if you want. Put veggies and meat in bowl. Add peas. Mix.

In baking dish: add one layer of potatoes. Add meat mixture. Cover with potatoes. Sprinkle top with paprika, fork for texture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Broil at end until top is brown.

Cost: $10-12
Serves: 4-6
Review: 3/5. It’s not the most flavorful dish. I kept wanting a different texture than potatoes, but that was just me.

Pre-baking:

Ingredients:
2 lb beef (I use stew meat; it’s already cut) (lamb will work too)
3 medium potatoes, cubed
1 small can thai red curry paste (better with masaman paste, but the grocery stores here suck)
1 can (14oz) coconut milk
1 large onion, cut into wedges
1 cup peanuts, roasted
2 sticks cinnamon
4 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp cayenne
at least 2 tsp salt (to taste)
at least 1 tsp pepper (to taste)
1 tsp white pepper
1.5 tbsp sugar
.5 tsp ground cloves
2 tbsp fish sauce
1.5 tsp la yu (chili oil)
some “Thai curry spice” I had in the pantry. No idea what’s in it.

Directions:
It’s been so long now, I can’t remember, precisely.

Brown beef. Drain and add to cooker.
Add everything else except bay leaves and cinnamon sticks.

Cook 4-5 hours on high. Add cinnamon sticks and bay leaves for 30 minutes on low at the end.

Serve over rice.

Cost: $15-ish
Serves: 4-6

Review: 3/5 - it wasn’t spicy enough and needed thicker paste and more peanuts. Will try again, with less sweet spices and more salty/spicy

This is a warning of things to come:

Ingredients:
2 lb beef stew meat
1 can green chilies
4 serrano chilies, chopped
4 jalapeno chilies, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1-2 tbsp cayenne
1 large onion, chopped
1 15 oz can pinto beans
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes
pepper
paprika
salt

Directions:
Brown the meat. Drain the fat.

Put the onions and beans in slow cooker. Meat on top. Everything else on top of that. You might want to put the spices somewhere in the middle, but you’re going to stir it anyway, so no biggee.

Cook!

Serve with sour cream, cheese, the jalapeno cheese bread, and lottttts of milk.

This may look innocent, but trust me… it’s a vicious little bastard.

I like hot stuff. I really do. This chili is beyond heat. We’re into serious gastro danger territory here. I like it better after it had marinated in the fridge for a week, actually. This chili is not for the faint of heart and/or weak of the anii.

Review: 3/5

This came about from the real estalker where I noticed that Brazil is eating his shorts on real estate deals (lost a mil on a sale last year, going to lose as much on today’s listing) … and it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Group: Always Room for More
Password: leskanic

http://games.espn.go.com/bbc/group?groupID=4220

Check it out, though, it’s … remarkable.

Ingredients:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
Dash of cayenne pepper
4 fresh jalapenos, chopped
4 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup canned corn kernels (optional)
8 ounces sour cream
.75 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten
4 tbsp melted butter

Directions:
1. Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil and set aside. Heat oven to 400°. Put the baking pan in the oven.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, soda, salt, sugar, chipotle or cayenne pepper, chopped jalapeno peppers, cheese, and corn kernels.

3. Mix the sour cream, milk, egg, and melted butter. Stir the mixture into the dry ingredients. Pull the pan out of the oven and pour the mixture in it.

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until set and lightly browned around the edges. Cool in the pan on a rack.

Cost: $4, maybe
Servings: 6+

Review: 4/5. It’s tasty. Needs more cheese and next time I’m doing without the kernels; their flavor is too sweet and I don’t like the texture mixture. I used white corn meal (since that’s what I purchased), but next time I’m definitely using yellow. This is a great compliment to any kind of chili, even my firehouse chili.

I cooked this along with the sesame noodles as I was suffering from the dearth of asian cuisine available in my area. So here’s a little stir-fry that’ll calm some of those cravings.

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breast, cut into cubes
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cooking sherry
.5 tsp ginger root (peeled & grated) (I took about a 1.5″ knob and grated it)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp sugar
4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, diced
1 green pepper, cut into bits
1.25 cups whole cashews
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp water
2-3 cups rice, steamed

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 325F. Place the cashews on a baking tray on a single layer. Place in the oven for ~7 minutes, stirring as necessary as the tops brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

2. Place chicken in a bowl. Add green pepper, cornstarch, sherry, and ginger.

3. In another bowl, combine soy sauce, hoisin, sugar, and water. Mix until the sugar is dissolved and set aside.

4. Pour oil in stir fry or wok, add the oil and cook at high heat. When the oil is just beginning to smoke, add the garlic and stir. They will brown quickly.

5. Add chicken mixture to stir fry. Stir constantly until chicken is almost done, around 1-2 minutes.

6. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the soy sauce mixture. Stir until the sauce is well blended into the chicken. Add cashews and sesame seed oil and mix the dish well. Serve immediately over a bed of rice.

Review: 3/5. This one was actually better as a left over (possibly because I was satiated from the sesame noodles, but more likely because the sauce marinaded the chicken well). I would definitely do it again, though I would add onion and some dried red peppers for texture and spice.

Cost: $10-12 (not counting sauces or oils)
Serves: 3 (2 if you like it a lot, 4 if you dole out the portions)

I actually used ginger that I grated myself straight from the root. For those that don’t know me, this is a big deal - I freakin hate ginger. After playing around some with fresh ginger, I think perhaps I just hate pickled ginger.

Enjoy! It’s faaaaaantastic

The good news is: they taste like pretzels. Fluffy and … pretzelish.

Bad news: I don’t have enough counterspace or cooking tins to make these the size they needed to be made, so they looked like shit. Hence, no picture. They could use a butter paste, which I did not have ready, and were average tasting at best.

Summary: they were OK, and I’ll take this as acceptable for a first try. Gimme a mulligan. At least they’re edible and what was expected… just close your eyes and tell yourself it’s a pretzel, OK?

Ingredients:
4 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp white sugar + 0.5 cup white sugar for flour mix
1.25 cups warm water
4 cups hot water
5 cups flour
1.5 tsp table salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil + more for oiling a bowl
0.5 cup baking soda
kosher salt (I used kosher sea salt. YMMV)

Directions:
Add dry yeast, 1 tsp white sugar and 1.25 cups warm water in a bowl. Stir until dissolved, then let stand for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl add the flour, 0.5 cup white sugar, and 1.5 tsp table salt.

Add the yeast mixture and the vegetable oil. Mix to form the dough (if the mix is too dry add some water).

Knead dough until smooth. Note: not as easy as it sounds and takes longer than you think. “Baker’s hands” indeed.

Use more oil to grease a bowl lightly–place the dough in the bowl and keep turning it until the dough has been oiled.

Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it rise at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450

Divide dough into 10-12 equal pieces. Note: these are not small pretzels. You could probably have 18+ if you’re rolling thinly enough.

Roll the dough and make a pretzel shape. Dip the finished pretzel in the soda water and place on greased cookie sheet.

Sprinkle the tops of each pretzel with the desired amount of kosher salt and/or any seasoning you may wish to have or use.

Bake at 450 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until brown.

Next time I do this, I’m going to incorporate some more flavorful dough or spices before putting it in the oven. It will have to wait until I have a real kitchen, though, because working with 2 bowls and almost no counterspace upped the degree of difficulty beyond what I was expecting. Oh, and I need to add more oil to the mixing boil. This was a sticky ass mess.

Review: 2/5. No better than average.

My first reaction upon tasting my concoction, verbatim: Holy fuck! This is awesome!

So, it’s got that going for it.

This and the (as yet unpublished) JCo pasta (name to be determined later) are far and away the best dishes I have yet created.

Ingredients:
8 oz egg noodles (skinny noodles of any kind will do)
4-5 green onions, chopped
1/2 - 1 cucumber, cut into long, thin spears or slices

sauce:
3 tbsp soy
1.5 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp la yu (chili oil)
2 tbsp sesame paste (AKA tahini)
1.5 tbsp rice vinegar
2 cloves of garlic diced
~1 tbsp ginger, grated
2 tbsp peanut butter (if using peanut butter)

Directions:
Boil water in a large pot. Put noodles in and cook for 5-6 minutes. Drain.

Place all sauce ingredients in small bowl. Whisk until homogeneous. Add noodles, onions, and cucumber. Mix until noodles, sauce, and other bits are well blended. Eat.

The dish can be eaten and enjoyed either hot or cold, so your choice on when to serve and mix (it’s easier mixing when the noodles are at least warm).

The taste is both delicate and powerful, well balanced, and explodes on the palate. The peanut butter side is thicker and more blunt of a taste, the sesame gives more room for all of the flavors but may not be immediate enough for some palates.

Cost: $4, tops, not counting the ingredients for the sauce
Serves: 4-ish. 1, if it’s me. And I’ll cut you if you come near. It’s that good.

Review: 5/5.