Since we’ve canceled cable though I’ve been listening to a lot more music in the kitchen.  There’s something about music and cooking that go really well together I think.  Sometimes I listen to a few customized playlists that I have, but lately I’ve been jamming out to a few specific albums.

So in true High Fidelity style, here are my top five cooking albums.  To make the list the album has to be an all-around good album (I don’t want to be skipping around a lot).  It should be up-tempo but also chill, if that makes sense.

Here are my top five of the moment:

5) Cold War Kids – Robbers & Cowards – Kind of an Indie Pop band that I started listening to a few years ago.  I think they’re coming out with an new ablum soon, but this is one of my favorites for the kitchen.

4) CCR – Best of CCR - There’s not a bad song on this album.  There’s not even an okay song on this album.

3) Eric Clapton’s – Unplugged - Classic songs with a cool acoustic vibe.  Just amazing stuff on this record clean through from the first song to the last.

2) David Bowie – Best of Bowie – Sure… he was kind of a weird dude.  But I can cook up a storm to Suffragette City.

1) The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street Remastered - It doesn’t get better than this for me right now.  I’ve listened to this album probably 20 times in the last week.  I listen to it in the kitchen, while I’m walking to work, really any chance I get.

Ok.  Back to food.  It’s hot out, so pick something cold.

A few links!

Is Drinking Alcohol Healthy or Dangerous – Please say healthy.  Please say healthy.  Please say healthy.  (@ Summer Tomato)

10 Second Sangria – Sangria is one of my favorite summer drinks.  If I can make a version that’s tasty in 10 seconds, that’s even better! (@ The Bitten Word)

Flammkutchen with Red Onions – Ok.  So I’ve never even heard of this dish, but it seems a bit like a pizza pie.  The difference is that this is not quite as fussy as pizza.  The dough can be thrown together relatively quickly and it bakes up into something really delicious! (@ Delicious Days)

The Bocce Ball - I’m always up for a good cocktail especially in the summer.  This one looks refreshing and perfect.  You could sip this anytime really.  Say… while you’re reading the post about whether or not alcohol is healthy! (@ Savory Reviews)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Favorite cooking album?  Leave a comment!

Betsy is taking the exam in Colorado so she’ll be flying out west over the weekend.  I’m not going to say that I know she (or anyone else) will pass because I read this post about how annoying it is to hear that.

So I’ll just say good luck to everyone taking the test.

Since Betsy will be away for a few days I figure it’s a good time to pull out some old school bachelor meals.

And a few links!

Here We Are, With Babka -  Babka is one of those awesome old world dishes that, no matter how you make it, takes a long time.  So it’s best to do it for (or with) people you care about.  That said, it’s almost always completely worth the work.  (@ Food Loves Writing)  PS.  Shanna is a recent full-time writer.  And a good one.  Check out her portfolio.  Hire her if you can!

Spicy Sesame-Roasted Sweet Potatoes - I’m always excited to see new varieties of sweet potatoes and new varieties of fries.  This happens to fulfill both of those things.  Apparently they are especially tasty if you happen to be with child! (@ Greedy Gourmet)

Weed Whacker Pasta Salad – This looks so simple and very delicious, but the best thing about this post is it shows blogger power!  Two of my favorite bloggers teamed up on this one.  Apparently they had some sort of awesome Nashville-LA blogger sleepover!  Super-hot.  (@ Sippity Sup and @ Spinach Tiger)

Bing Cherry Sorbetto – Ok.  Well, this looks great for summer for starters.  But also I had the pleasure to doing a radio interview during the week with Susan and Lael Hazan who’s the host of a WSLR radio show called Focus on Fabulous Food.  We talked about blogging and 55 Knives and it was a lot of fun.  (@ Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Even though the full design probably won’t be done for another month or so, I wanted to go ahead and release the most requested feature now since it’s working.  This feature is the ability to print just the recipe for any given post.

Sometimes I get a bit wordy in my descriptions and I totally get that it’s nice to have the option to get the quick or long version for a dish, so now that’s possible.  You should start noticing a printer icon up by the Title for posts and if you click that it’ll pop up options to print either the full post or just the recipe for that post.

This will be more prominent I think in the redesign, but this is where it lives now.

Here’s the problem.  Now I have to go through my entire archives and actually write short recipes for each post.  You’ll start seeing the option right away on new posts and I’m working back through the archives in a logical fashion.  That said, if you’re dying to print a recipe in the archives, shoot me an email and I’ll write that one right away for your printing pleasure!

I hope you all like the new feature.  I programmed it all myself so I’m pretty proud of my new WordPress Ninja skillz.

And a few links…

Grilling It With Bobby – One of my favorite food bloggers got the awesome experience of going on Grilling it with Bobby Flay.  What’d they make?  We’ll you’ll have to tune in August 1st to find out! (@ No Recipes)

Scallion Pancakes – I’ve actually tried these before but mine did NOT come out this awesome.  I think I was missing the rolling technique.  Love the photos in this post. (@ Love and Olive Oil)

Spicy Quinoa, Cucumber, Tomato Salad – I’m not sure that you can get healthier or more summer than this recipe.  Betsy and I have been eating a lot of quinoa lately so this recipe kind of spoke to me. (@ NY Times)

OMG Pancetta – This  was a new blog for me, but I immediately subscribed based on this post alone.  I can’t wait until I have a set-up where I can make some charcuterie! (@ Evie Eats Everything)

Have a great weekend everyone!  If you need me I’ll be re-writing short versions of every recipe on Macheesmo.  That should take no time at all…..

FIFA really needs to get its act together, in my opinion, if they want to keep an interested audience.  I can’t even imagine how it must feel to train your whole life for something and wait 4 years for one game only to have a goal stripped away from you (or one unrightfully given) because a ref made an error.

Referees are people too of course and they will make mistakes.  That’s why they need to implement some sort of challenge system like in American Football.  It’s the only solution that makes sense to me.

Anywho… I’ll be watching the final no matter what and I think I’m rooting for the orange.  I like their uniforms and their spunk!  So go Netherlands!

For the Poll this week, I want to cook something from the Capital Cooking Cookbook.  This book was written by my fellow DC Food Blogger, Lauren DeSantis, host of the Capital Cooking Show.  The book features versions of local DC restaurant fare!

And a few links…

What to Eat in the Heat – A slide show featuring food and drink you should focus on to get through the sweltering heat of summer.  There’s a few shockers on the list! (@ HuffPost)

Strawberry Goat Cheese Ice Cream - Some of my favorite flavors in ice cream form!  I had no idea you could make ice cream out of goat cheese.  As an aside, The Frozen Fix is participating in this week’s Foodie Fights Battle: Frozen Desserts.  Should be a chill party.  (@ The Frozen Fix)

Red Hot Dogs - I always see these bright red hot dogs and I can’t say that I’ve ever tried one.  For some reason they scream summer time though and I was interested in the idea of getting some that I could make at home! (@ Erin Cooks)

Fig and Balsamic Beef Kabobs - Is it possible to make kabobs not on a grill?  I don’t really know but my grill-less self might have to figure it out soon.  There’s just too many awesome kabob recipes floating around these days.  (@ My Baking Addiction)

Have a good weekend everybody!  I’ll be watching the World Cup Finals.  Go Orange!

Photo by Autophen.

On your birthday this year, I will definitely be:

1) Grilling
2) Drinking beers
3) Blogging (Dork alert!)
4) Tailgating for a baseball game
5) Watching soccer (maybe not so American)

Things I will definitely not be doing:

1) Going anywhere near a place of tourism in DC.
2) Taking the Metro anywhere.  For any reason.
3) Going to a baseball game. (Not in the mood to brave heat and crowds this year.)

The Write-in Poll

In honor of having, you know, independence, I’m not posting a poll this week.  Instead I’m giving you all free reign.  Write a comment with a dish you’d like me to try out and I’ll pick one at random from the comments to make!

Should be fun!  Go easy on me!

And some good links for the 4th of July Weekend!

Taco Dip – If you’re going to a BBQ this weekend and need something quick and simple to bring, this taco dip looks really good.  Impress your friends and lovers with your dip-making abilities. (@ Brown Eyed Baker)

Red, White, and Blue Sandwiches – Cheesecake?  Check.  Ice cream? Check.  Sandwich?  Check.  These would be very good for a weekend of sweltering heat.  Jenna also discovered the problem I recently discovered as well:  There really is no such thing as blue food. (@ Modern Domestic)

101 Fast Recipes for Grilling – If you’re at all at a loss as to what to cook this weekend on the grill, look here.  Meat lover, fish lover, vegetarian… Bittman covers all the bases.  There are so many good ideas in this article that it could easily keep a griller busy for the rest of summer. (@ NY Times)  (PS. Pretty sure it’s a fake grill in the photo.  I’ve never seen coals like that!)

Stars and Stripes Peach Pie – Good tips on make a tasty peach pie including a homemade crust of course.  It’s hard to get more American than peach pie people! (@ Spinach Tiger)

Have a great weekend everyone and leave a comment if you have a dish you want me to try out!

Photo by rjs1322.

The comeback in their second game and the last minute win on Wednesday were both just fantastic.  I think they have some serious momentum going into the final rounds.  I can’t wait to watch the games!

In honor some soccer, I want to make something round this weekend.  Like a soccer ball…

And a few links!

Calzone Cupcakes – This is one of the more inventive recipes I’ve seen in a while.  A calzone baked in cupcake form?!  They don’t actually look that hard and these would be a hit for a party. (@ Cupcake Project)

Misleading Food Labels – A fascinating discussion on labels and how you can basically never trust what you read on packaging… unfortunately.  Always check the nutritional info and the ingredients list.  Most of what you see on the front of packaging is just plain marketing. (@ Ruhlman)

Making Ice Cream without an Ice Cream Maker – This nifty little post contains two different methods you can use to make ice cream without the machinery!  This is perfect if you only plan to make a batch every once in awhile.  No need to shell out the cash for the hardware!  (@ Brown Eyed Baker)

Skirt Steak Tacos with Cebollitas – Cebollitas means tiny onions or baby onions.  In this case, scallions.  They marinate the steak and the scallions for a bit and then grill them.  I bet these have some awesome flavor.  People are making some great tacos these days.  (@ Love and Olive Oil)

Have a good weekend everybody and Go USA!

Photo by Seriouslysilly.

So next Thursday we reserved the upstairs area of one of our favorite bars, Solly’s Tavern, on U Street!  It’s a cool, laid back bar.  My kind of place for a happy hour!

Besides myself, a few other authors from the 55 Knives project are planning on swinging by as well.  It’s going to be a low-key affair, but we’ll probably have some light snacks and give away a few copies of 55 Knives.  So if you happen to live in the DC, VA, MD area and are looking for a solid Thursday Happy Hour, swing on by and say hi!

We created a public facebook event so if you’re plan on coming, just RSVP on the event page so we have a rough idea on how many people to expect.

RSVP HERE!

I’m in the mood for something spicy this week…

And a few links as always.

Father’s Day Grilling Gifts – 10 awesome gifts for your old man and his grill.  Oh and all of them are under $50.  I’m hoping my cat, Tipsy, gets me something for Father’s Day, but she’ll probably forget like she did last year. (@ Nibble Me This)

How To Make Sausage – A really nice video on the sausage making process pretty much from start to finish.  They make a sausage-load of sausage in this video… (@ Ruhlman)

Magic Bacon Pasta – Ok.  So this pasta doesn’t actually have bacon in it.  It has something even better.  It has guanciale.  Which, if you didn’t know, is basically bacon made with pig jowls instead of pig belly.  It’s kind of hard to come by, but probably worth the trouble of hunting down. (@ Sippity Sup)

Chorizo Tacos – This is my kind of taco.  Pickled veggies and some cilantro with a spicy chorizo filling.  This might sound strange, but I’m learning that some of my favorite tacos actually don’t have cheese on them.  (@ Arugula Files)

Have a good weekend everybody!  Swing by Solly’s next Thursday if you happen to be in the area!

]]> http://www.macheesmo.com/2010/06/around-the-internet-kitchen-launch-party/feed/ 4 http://www.macheesmo.com/2010/06/around-the-internet-kitchen-the-swelter/ http://www.macheesmo.com/2010/06/around-the-internet-kitchen-the-swelter/#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:00:48 +0000 Nick http://www.macheesmo.com/?p=14432 It not even full-on summer yet and I’m already completely miserable in DC.  I’m just not built for this kind of heat!  Granted, we did have one of the hottest May’s on record last month, but still, it’s just too hot.  I’m so much more comfortable in a cool climate.

I was telling my heat woes to Betsy last weekend and she reminded me that we almost moved to New Orleans instead of Colorado.  In hindsight, I’m not sure I would’ve made it!  I love to be outdoors but I would’ve became a complete recluse in the Southern heat.

Colorado, however, I can completely do.  I’m looking forward to some moderate summers there!

I’ve been hearing that I should cook something with Rhubarb this time of year but I’ll let you all pick what I cook.

And a few links!

When Parents Stand in the Way of Good School Food – An absolutely fascinating article and very intense comment discussion on getting better food in schools.  Turns out sometimes the parents are the hardest group to win over – shockingly.  (@ Spoon Fed)

Don’t Eat This. Don’t Eat That – I’m always impressed with Darya’s ability to cut through the fat (ha!) and really get to the issue.  I’ve definitely had this similar feeling when I’ve seen these segments on the today show and stuff but could never figure out how to articulate it.  This is very well written, plus has tons of helpful information on healthy eating in a time crunch.  (@ Summer Tomato)

Pea and Herb Stuffed Flatbread – I’m a huge fan of making flatbread at home.   Since there’s no yeast in these they take only a few minutes to pull together and can add a huge amount of flavor to a dinner.  I never thought about taking it to the next step and using the flatbread as a carrier for a delicious filling!  Looks amazing. (@ Healthy-Delicious)

Dark Chocolate Dipped Macarons – I’ve never actually made macarons and looking at this post, I’m not sure why.  They don’t appear to be that difficult and man do they look good.  I don’t even have a sweet tooth, but I want a few of these! (@ Sprouted Kitchen)

Have a good weekend everybody!

Photo by afagen.

I don’t really eat that many sweets honestly, but a free donut is pretty hard to pass up!

Or you could, of course, make your own donuts to celebrate!

As you’re eating your donut, think about what should I cook this weekend?

And a few links…

French Tomato Tart – Is tomato season here yet?  Maybe.  I guess  that somewhat depends on where “here” is, but it looks like it has definitely arrived in France.  This looks unbelievably good.  (@ David Lebovitz)

Cranberry Caraway Brown Butter Scones – This is one of those recipe titles that gets better with every word.  Cranberries are good.  Caraway is excellent.  Brown butter is sinful.  Scones are delicious.  Soooo…. why not stick them all together?! (@ Modern Domestic)

Cuban Sandwich Mac and Cheese Lasagna – What the hell just happened?  That’s what I said after I read this post.  Apparently turning a Cuban sandwich into Mac and Cheese wasn’t cool enough for my rival blogger.  He had to then go and make a lasagna out of it.  Way to set the bar really high dude.  Thanks. (@ TFIMB)

Grilled Chili and Soy Marinated Prawns – I like all the foods in this post, but I especially like seeing prawns with the head on.  I head-on prawns makes some people squimish, but I just love them like that.  (@ Greedy Gourmet)

Have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy Donut Day!

I don’t have a lot of specific plans but I’m definitely grilling at least once.  It’s Memorial Day after all.  I also plan to go on at least one long jog, if not two.  Plus there will obviously be lots of time with Betsy and Tipsy. I owe them both some good quality time!

But also, the long weekend means I’ll have plenty of time to get some cooking done!

I kept this poll kind of mysterious.  Should be fun.

A few links!

Battle Burger! We have a rocking battle happening at Foodie Fights this weekend.  Battle burger is going to be perfect for the weekend.  I have no idea what the six competitors are going to do, but I’d encourage you to check it out, bookmark it and check it out again on Tuesday when the delicious burgers are posted! (@ Foodie Fights)

Beyond the Burger – To keep on the burger theme, Mr. Bittman had an awesome article yesterday on the burger.  He gives some great advice that I definitely agree with… the most important of which is to steer away from cheap grocery store ground meat.  It’s really not worth the packaging it comes in. (@ The Minimalist)

Five Memorial Weekend Meals – A great quick roundup of some very inventive recipes that would be perfect for this weekend if you’re at a loss as to what to make and what to try something a bit adventurous. (@ No Recipes)

Making Gorgonzola – A very cool photo walk-through of a dairy making Gorgonzola.  Looks awesome and also happens to be one of my favorite cheeses! (@ Recipe Girl)

Have a great long weekend everyone!

Photo by Stuck in Customs.