Dog Trick: Nighty Night

My dog will wrap himself in a blanket on command. It is pretty cute when he does it right. Here is a video of him doing it, but Brandie and I aren’t the best when it comes to using the blackberry to create videos. I am going to try to get some more videos of Mr Digs doing tricks once i have a bit more time. Does anyone have any suggestions about what they might like to see?

This trick is actually a composite of three simpler tricks: lay down, roll over, hold it. Finally, we taught him to roll over with things in his mouth. Shaping is a very powerful tool to get your dog to do ridiculous things.

July 31, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Clicker Training  4 Comments

Shun Kaji Fusion Slicing Knife on Sale

The Shun Kaji Fusion Slicing Knife is on sale right now at Williams-Sonoma for $80 dollars off the regular price. Here is an exerpt from the description of the knife:

“We worked with Shun to create state-of-the-art knives incorporating the most desirable attributes of the company’s premier cutlery collections – and the impressive result is Shun Kaji Fusion. You’ll find this versatile knife especially useful for cutting meats, vegetables, cheeses or fruits, as well as slicing through sandwiches. The ingenuity of master cutlery designer Ken Onion is revealed in its contoured Pakkawood handle and bolster that position your hand in the grip professionals use for maximum control and reduced fatigue. As with our Kaji collection, the forged blade combines the benefits of three metals to form a single super sharp edge. Thin sheets of a nickel alloy and stainless steel are folded to create true Damascus steel clad over the high-tech powdered-steel core. 8″ blade. Made in Japan. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive.”

I have been curious about these knifes for a while as Alton Brown has been promoting his knives which are very similar.

The Shun Ken Onion knives are also excellent.

July 22, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: knives  No Comments

Cold Brew Iced Tea Recipe

The last thing i want to do when it is a scorching hot summer day is turn on the stove to boil water for iced tea. Brewing a great batch of iced tea couldn’t be simpler than the recipe featured on The Splendid Table a couple of weeks ago. The recipe is very simple and requires no boiling of water so it is great for lazy summer days. The recipe follows a  simple ratio of tea to water of 1 tablespoon of tea per quart of water. If you use Tazo Tea, simply add the tea bags (5 of them) directly to a pitcher of water and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. The tea takes about 8-12 hours to brew. I didn’t want the strings floating around in my tea, so i just cut them off before i put the tea bags in the pitcher.  If you would prefer to use loose tea, then add the loose tea leaves into the pitcher. Strain them out the next day using a small strainer. The tea leaves expand so they are easy to filter out, but there will still be some very fine tea leaves in the tea. The residual tea leaves don’t affect the flavor or color too much. The tea will last three to five days in refrigerator, but you will probably drink it long before then.

According to Bill Waddington on The Splendid Table, any kind of tea will do but i have made two different versions so far. First, i made a delicate green tea using Tazo Zen Tea. It has a very delicate green tea flavor with a pronounced buzz of the mint giving it an interesting flavor. Second, i made a more tradtional black iced tea recipe using Tazo Earl Grey Tea. The black tea had a very smooth tea flavor. It lacked the astringant and biting tannin flavor which some people don’t like.

July 6, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Cooking Techniques  No Comments

Inner Beauty Hot Sauce

Chris Schlesinger has a famous picture hanging over his desk with a recipe of his Inner Beauty Hot Sauce. Unfortunately, the recipe calls for five pounds of peppers which produces restaurant quantities of hot sauce. I found a scaled down version of his famous hot sauce on seriouseats.com. I couldn’t find the ingredients as listed, so here is my version.

This hot sauce is hot. Really hot. To reduce the amount of heat, carefully remove the ribs and seeds of the peppers. Wear a pair of food service gloves or use forks to remove the insides of the peppers because the heat from the peppers will stick on your hands for hours.

Ingredients

  • 2 oz habanero peppers
  • 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1/2 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 1/2 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 tablespoon molasses
  • 3 tablespoons Mighty Mango Naked Juice
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon each cumin, chili powder, curry, all spice

Procedure

Remove stems from peppers and combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Chill overnight to let flavors marry.

June 22, 2009   Posted in: Cooking Techniques  No Comments

Curry Chicken Salad Recipe

This is a quick and innovative variation of traditional chicken salad. The golden raisins add some sweetness to balance out the peppery flavors of the celery and the nuts. To save more time, use a precooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Generally i serve it as a sandwich on some good whole wheat bread, but serving it on a croissant would be very good as well.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cup mayonnaise (maybe more or less)
  • 1/2 cup mango chutney
  • 1  chicken
  • 3 tablespoons curry powder
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 3/4 cups finely chopped celery

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken in a roasting pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken for 30 minutes and then reduce heat to 375. Continue cooking the chicken for an additional 45 minutes to an hour until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove chicken from oven and allow it to cool. De-bone the chicken and cut the meat into rustic chunks.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight to let flavors marry. Serve on sandwiches made with some nice soft bread.


June 12, 2009   Posted in: Cooking Techniques  No Comments