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by ML

A Philling Breakfast

How often is it that you actually come up with an “original” recipe?

Not often. I assumed when I made this cheesesteak breakfast casserole thing, that it had been done hundreds of times before. A quick google search proved me wrong and left me oh so disappointed in the city I call home. I wanted to cry and yell “PHILLY, WHY HAVEN’T YOU THOUGHT OF THIS?!” considering someone even made a scrapple cake (pictured above). I then realized that if most Philadelphians want a cheesesteak at 7am, they probably just make a cheesesteak instead of trying to breakfast-tize it with eggs.

I threw this together one Sunday after we had leftover cheesesteak ingredients. That’s really all there is to say. Make it.

Cheesesteak Breakfast Casserole

by ML

My Beef with Bourdain

February 14, 2011. The day my mother and I wasted $100 to hear Anthony Bourdain speak in Philadelphia.

I think I expected too much. Is an engaging, intelligent, interesting talk too much to ask for, especially from the man who lives by the “I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks” motto?

Yes.

Tony was mundane. The audience was supposed to think it was an extemporaneous speech, but I could tell the punchlines were carefully calculated. Most of Tony’s stories came straight from his texts or shows. Really Tony? You’re going to tell the story about getting molested by Sandra Lee? I read the fucking book, Tony. I didn’t come here to hear you retell the stories. I have the audiobook. I’ve heard it already. Unfortunately it became clear that Tony was catering to his nearly mentally challenged audience. The people that came to see “that tall guy from TV” speak, who wanted to hear a joke or two about vegetarians being dumb.

Everyone sitting there reminded me of a high school class, where nobody read the assignment but everyone pretended they knew what the teacher was talking about. When Tony did stray from his book stories, his lack of explanation sent the audience into confusion. Discussing Adam Richman and Alan Richman was a mistake, Tony. Most of the audience was confused when he first praised Adam and then called Alan a douche. “But I thought he liked that guy from Travel Channel, why would he call him Douche of the Year?”

in Celebs / Rants & Raves / Restaurants 3 comments

by ML

Who Wants Some Man Meat?

The Situation

When I started dating my boyfriend back in July, he mentioned he and his friends have this New Year’s Eve tradition of getting together and cooking “exotic” meats. I ignored this story at first because I assumed he 1) wouldn’t be around in December and 2) wouldn’t invite me. Somehow, it turns out he is still around and invited me. This can’t be my life?

At about 2pm on New Year’s Eve, the man gchatted me and told me he was in charge of cooking the meats, so we’d have to come up with recipes in a few hours’ time with limited ingredients since ALL STORES WERE CLOSED BY THE TIME THEY DECIDED TO THINK ABOUT RECIPES. Well, not really, but I was in my robe and had just painted my nails and wasn’t planning on leaving the house until the stores were closed. I sent out an SOS on Twitter and madly googled for some reliable sources.

The meats:
Ground ostrich, 1lb
Caribou steaks, 2lbs
Alligator filets, 2lbs

8 Tips for Cooking Game Meat

1) Cook game like a similarly textured meat.
This is a little obvious, isn’t it? Try to cook the meat like another similar meat you already know how to cook. The results might not be perfect the first time, but it will probably be damn good.

2) Drink more.
This cuts back on the nervousness and lets the creative meat juices flow.

3) Taste often.
If you’re drinking before dinner, you should probably eat something. Why not taste the meat you’re cooking? This lets you know if it tastes like shit and whether or not you have to proceed with step #4.

in Fowl / Red Meat 1 comments

by ML

ES Must Do: Munich Oktoberfest

Remember when I swooned over the 24 oz beer I got at a concert?

Forget it.

Far, far away from Scranton, Pennsylvania is a place called Munich, Germany (München, in German). They hold Oktoberfest during the last two weeks of September. But you know this already.

I was in attendance at the Spaten (ochsenbraterei) tent. No, we didn’t tent hop, but that story is for another day. Now, they only serve one type of beer in each tent (that brewery’s beer, obviously), along with alcohol free beer, and the lemonade-beer mix (shandy) for people who are too drunk to drink more beer. Or, at least that’s why I had to have one. The beer was absolutely delicious. It TASTED like beer (not the American water we call beer) and went down very, very easily. It was also brewed stronger for Oktoberfest, so it was about 6% abv. Not terribly strong, but enough to knock you on your ass after a few liters.

A beer stein (pictured above) holds one liter of beer. For those of us not in metric mode, that’s nearly 34 ounces for 8,75 Euro, or about $12 plus tip. 7 million liters of beer were served (who knows if they were all consumed).What’s better than that? Food.

in Drinks / Food Travel 8 comments

by ML

Top 10 Food and Drink Words You’ve Never Heard

Because I’m a closet book nerd, I spend a lot of time reading books about books and books about words. No, don’t laugh. And yes, they exist. Much to my surprise, there are a plethora of food words other than “delicious” to describe this food concept we all love so much. Here are my top 10 new favorites:

10. Bedinner

He better bedinner me after making me sleep with his cat.

9. Semese

We probably don’t use this word because Americans would never leave something half eaten. Seconds, please.

8. Surfeited

This happens to me daily. We all know what it feels like.

7. Deipnosophist

Is this the word that will replace “foodie”? Maybe.

6. Moreish

There’s no surprise that this word also resembles Mother.

Next: Top 5 Food and Drink Words You’ve Never Heard

in Featured / Lists 6 comments

by ML

Bigger IS Better

You know what I really hate? Going to an event/concert/baseball game and paying $9 for a beer. And only buying one $9 beer at a time, because they don’t stay cold in those stupid plastic cups. Therefore, if I want more than one beer (which I always do), I have to leave my seat/dancing spot and wait in line for another one.

This weekend in Scranton, PA we made a discovery.

in Drinks 5 comments

by ML

How To: Becoming an Alcoholic in Myrtle Beach

I know it isn’t as exciting as India or Japan, but if you want to take up casual alcoholism in the United States, move south. To celebrate summer’s start, here are my best recommendations for getting drunk in public without breaking the bank. Gone are the days of $10 martinis and handcrafted cocktails. This is Myrtle Beach — If the drinks are more than $6, you’re probably paying too much.

Liberty Tap Room
7651 North Kings Hwy
Thoughts: Eat here and stay for trivia at 8pm on Thursdays. Appetizer, dinner, all-night-drinks for four — $105. Even better? We came in 2nd in trivia and had $25 taken off our bill as a prize. The bar is off the parking lot of the local Food Lion, so you can play with the carts when you leave. Trust me, it’s better than an amusement park.

The Streets
Anywhere and everywhere
Thoughts: Although I witnessed two men being arrested for public drunkenness, there are no apparent open container laws being enforced. Everyone walked around with beers and sometimes vodka in plastic cups.

River City Cafe
208 73rd Avenue North
Thoughts: Burgers, wings, beer and complimentary peanuts on every table. The only beer on tap is Natty Light (win), and is one of the most expensive at $4 for a huge glass. Free souvenir cups with purchase of soft drinks, but your server will be easily convinced to give them to you for your beers. These came in handy for street drinking (see above).

in Drinks / Food Travel 1 comments

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