the Twinkie

Deconstructed.

India has a fiery new weapon

The chili grenade:

After conducting tests, the military has decided to use the thumb-sized "bhut jolokia," or "ghost chili," to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize suspects, defense officials said Tuesday.

The bhut jolokia was accepted by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world's spiciest chili. It is grown and eaten in India's northeast for its taste, as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat.

It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chili's spiciness. Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.

"The chili grenade has been found fit for use after trials in Indian defense laboratories, a fact confirmed by scientists at the Defense Research and Development Organization," Col. R. Kalia, a defense spokesman in the northeastern state of Assam, told The Associated Press.

"This is definitely going to be an effective nontoxic weapon because its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hide-outs," R. B. Srivastava, the director of the Life Sciences Department at the New Delhi headquarters of the DRDO said.

Could your chili be classified as a lethal weapon?

Geek Cakes

Would you like one of these for your birthday? I think #2 is rather "sweet."

When visiting Chicago, there are two things you must eat

A beef-and-cheddar croissant from Portillo's...




... and a slice of deep-dish pizza from the best pizza joint in Chi-town.

bacon + chocolate

I'm seriously considering ordering some of these. Seriously. They are two great tastes separately, but together they seem a little scary.

Make your own croutons - don't use storebought, even if they are T. Marzetti's

Just one course from a whole dinner's worth of advice from Mark Bittman, one of the best food writers around. He'll also tell you what to ditch.

Do you read his blog? You should, you know.

Are you preparing the bird?

My mother-in-law is making our bird ready. It's a 21-pounder.

Two sure signs that October is here

Every store and produce stand keeps lots of these in stock:

Royal Donut, where smiley-face iced cookies can usually be found, starts making these:

fried bananas foster cheesecake

That's the signature food of the Indiana State Fair this year, and it's free of trans fat. Three fried cubes of cheesecake, accompanied by ice cream and caramel sauce. The bargain price of $4. You're always expected to pay outrageous prices for fair food. I wonder how that tradition got started...



I digress. Back to the cheesecake. I liked the creaminess of the vanilla-flavored cheesecake, coupled with the layer of bananas foster. The creamy ice cream and fried cheesecake went very well together. Whipped cream would have made the dessert even more enjoyable. That, and if it was $2 instead of $4.

You can make your own dessert with this recipe.

Let all the Hoosiers of Indianapolis mourn

Crawford's Bakery will soon close the doors of their downtown location. At least they will give us the recipe for their chicken salad, but we have to wait until Labor Day and then we can go here.

salad dressing + sewage = deliciousness?

I read this story, and I got to thinkin'. What type of salad dressing would actually improve the taste of sewage? I've ruled out Thousand Island and I don't think Ranch would do it, but I can't help thinking that a nice raspberry vinagrette would be just the thing.

Of course, I have no plans to test this theory. If you ever try it, please drop me a line and let me know what you thought.

Friday Night Dinner

One of The Wife's former coworkers came to town on business for the weekend. We used the opportunity to dine at one of Naptown's best oldest and most distinguished restaurants, St. Elmo Steak House. St. Elmo, along with several other restaurants, is participating in Devour Downtown by offering a three-course dinner for $30.

The Wife and I chose the same dishes for our meal. We started off with the appetizer that St. Elmo is most famous for, the shrimp cocktail. It's every bit as fiery as everyone says it is and certainly not for the squeamish.

Our main course was the filet mignon, accompanied by redskin mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables. The filet, cooked medium, was delicious. The potatoes were mainly creamy with a few meaty lumps. The vegetables on my plate were mostly green beans, with a couple carrots and mini cherry tomatoes for good measure. Our waiter assured us there was no salmonella anywhere on our plates.


Our dessert was chocolate pots de creme, which is similar to a rich pudding. It was topped by fresh blueberries and a sprig of mint. A rich, sweet end to a delicious meal.

let's go Outback/Chili's/Lonestar/Friday's tonight

The NYT has an article on something that must be anathema to the celebrated chefs of NYC: the chain restaurant. We are quite accustomed to them here in Indianapolis, and they've sounded the death knell for many locally-owned restaurants. I must admit, though, I completely enjoy the buffalo chicken sandwich at Max & Erma's.

What about you? Do you celebrate or curse the chains?

be sure to check out the menu when you're considering universities

When I recall my Cedarville years, I don't think too kindly about the food eaten in the cafeteria. Most of it was palatable, but some of it - shepherds pie in particular - brings back horrible memories. The steaks were a little tought, but mostly okay. I won't even mention a particular meatloaf incident - your stomach would churn. The Wife can tell you about the fields of salad she consumed during her four years.

It seems, however, that this kind of food - the cause of so much post-traumatic distress - is being left in the freezer. Dijon-crusted chicken, cheese quasadillas, and sauteed spinach are now being plated in university dining halls.

Colleges nationwide have been innovating. Stanford offers “spa waters,” mineral water with cucumber, watermelon, mint and other flavors. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst shares guest chefs with eight colleges. Yale has an organic cafe. Brown has a farmers’ market. At Wheaton College in Illinois, low-carbon meals use local and organic food; students can choose Thursday dinners illuminated only by the lights outside.

“The food is part of meeting the expectations of those enrolled and those who are going to choose you,” said Steve Thomas, director of admissions at Colby College in Waterville, Me. “We budget $15,000 a year just for meal tickets for prospective visiting families and students.”

Modern college students have a savvier palate than their parents:

Mr. Johnson said students expect to eat the way they do in a restaurant: “We discovered a way in the marketplace concept — kitchens brought out from behind the wall, cooking platforms with pizza ovens, broilers, fryers — so students can see you throw the dough, top it to order and put it in the wood-fired oven. And they don’t just want that product in name only, but they want it to be authentic, because they’ve eaten at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant and they want to smell that hickory wood burning.”

2008 James Beard Foundation Nominees

Two of my favorite blogs, A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago and Feed Me/Drink Me, are talking about the nominations. Indianapolis is within the same region as Chicago, so this explains why there are no Indy chefs representing or Steven Oakley would surely be among their number.

lite blogging

Yeah, I haven't blogged the past couple days. There is a good reason for that, though, which is related to this.

Speaking of lite, feast your eyes on the worst restaurant dishes, food that would totally blow your New Year's diet... that is, if you haven't blown it already. (Guilty!)

Brownie cameras

Besides the food, one of the great pleasures of dining at the Spaghetti Warehouse in Dayton (which I talked about here) is examining the antique signs and posters on the walls. There's a collection of old Ohio license plates in the restaurant waiting area.





I noticed one sign in particular, and knew I had to photograph it for the blog.




I never realized this company existed. How could I have missed it?

"a yummy New Year breakfast"

That's my eldest daughter's title for this post. Our first meal of 2008.



A two-egg omelette with bacon, chives, and cheese, accompanied by whole-wheat English muffins and a slice of processed American cheese. A perfect New Year's brunch.

this morning's breakfast

I stopped for a rare treat today: breakfast from Starbucks. A cranberry bliss bar and a grande soy no-whip peppermint mocha (the fave drink of my guitar-strumming nephew-in-law). Pure deliciousness.

"Men's Health" 12/07

I'm perusing through the December 2007 issue of Men's Health, the one with John Krasinski of The Office on the cover. No, I don't subscribe - it's a copy I found at work. I found some interesting bits of information in it.

• 63 men lost 100 pounds in 10 months by replacing one meal with a protein shake made of the following ingredients: 1 cup skim milk, 2 tbsp ground flaxseed, 1 tbsp reduced-fat peanut butter, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, and 1 scoop 100% whey powder. (p. 54) Presumably the other two meals didn't consist of Big Macs and deep-dish pizza slices.
• Those Italians seem to know something, because studies have shown garlic as a cancer fighter. (p. 50) Eat as many breadsticks at Olive Garden that you want!
• Starbucks' walnut bran muffin has 110 more calories than its black forest ham, egg, and cheddar breakfast sandwich. (p. 80)
• MH graded fast-food and sit-down restaurants using the following categories: total number of calories per entree, fruit and veggie side choices, and bread with 100% whole wheat. They also penalized for trans fats and multiple dessert options. The best? Chick-Fil-A and Bob Evans. The worst? Pizza Hut and Macaroni Grill. (p. 168)