The Pumpkining II: 2 Sweet 2 Savory

Around this time last year my friend Suzanne and I competed in the first annual orange gourd-based cooking throwdown between us, The Pumpkining: Beyond Pumpkindome. She ran away with the top prize then - no surprise - and a good time was had by all.

Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins!

However, with six desserts that we just had to eat, things got a bit too sweet that afternoon. (I almost lost a foot.) So we resolved that this year's edition would introduce some savory goodness into the mix.

And that's just what we did. Once again, she prepared most of her entries on the day prior. I planned on doing the same so things wouldn't be quite so hectic, but the day of the competition was unexpectedly (to me) moved up 24 hours. Things were quite hectic. Like Weezer predicted, though, everything was alright in the end.

Here were my submissions*:

I got tickets for Rush's fall tour, eh.

Pumpkin poutine (recipes for the pumpkin fries and the pumpkin nutmeg gravy) - Please note: due to the time crunch I wasn't able to go to the specialty cheese shop for curds, so I had to use Monteray Jack. My deepest apologies, Canucks.

Beat that, White Castle.

Pumpkin sliders topped with pumpkin BBQ sauce and pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies (recipes for the burgers, sauce, and cookies; I added Muenster cheese to the sliders.)

And now Suzanne's entries:

Soup is good food.

Chipotle chicken and pumpkin soup (recipe)

Stack 'em high.

Pumpkin pie toffee (recipe)

I unwittingly ate cream cheese.

Pumpkin cream puffs (recipe)

By, uh, tradition the judge for the context is determined by who is occupying the house next door to Suzanne. This year she had new neighbors, with the esteemed critic being chocolate and black lab owner extraordinaire Kenica. Due to the spread out nature of the cooking, the contest unfortunately didn't provide blind submissions. Suzanne provided Kenica with her offerings first and then a few hours of palate cleansing later I served up mine.

And just how did she rank the dishes? I'm glad you asked!

A whole mess o' pumpkin.

Per her post on Instagram:

Very thankful to have been selected to be the judge for the neighbors annual #pumpkinrecipe #cookoff! It was hard to pick a winner because they all were so delicious and to be honest the top 3 all should be#numberone But I had to vote... 1. Pumpkin slider with pumpkin BBQ sauce (perfect hint of cinnamon and tang, it was so yummy it needs to be on a menu)
2. Pumpkin cream puff with marshmallow (this is dangerously good w a bit of honey and overall could be sold at the top bakeries #obsessed )
3. Pumpkin fries (the texture was just like sweet potato fries but was made with the actual pumpkin cuttings...amazed to say the least)
4. Pumpkin chicken bean soup (had an extra kick which I loved and I want the recipe)
5. Snicker doodle pumpkin cookies (not my fave but ended up eating 2, so I guess they were pretty good) lol
6. Pumpkin toffee bar (was a little sticky but I like this idea)
Overall, this was so fun and I'm very impressed with their kitchen skills and wish you all could've taken part in this tasting to get you into the pumpkin spirit!

Victory is mine! Success was evenly divided, though, with me taking the odd places (natch) and Suzanne with the even ones. I totally agree with Kenica. Everything turned out great this year. It was the first time that I've cooked with actual pumpkin and let me tell you that it was a bit of a chore. It took forever to prep them. The video embedded in the French fries recipe shows the woman using a potato peeler to remove the skin. HA! My attempts broke two peelers and bruised my knuckles. I recommend using a knife. Also: one of the four pumpkins I bought must be constructed out of stone and has made a career switch from food to front porch decoration.

Anyway, aside from a couple of setbacks, it was another fun culinary throwdown. But with success comes dread. I have to up my game somehow to defend my crown next year. How the heck am I going to do that? Blurgh. That's a year away, though. Now my priority is to decide on a Halloween costume. I'm thinking sexy autumnal food competition winner.

*Regrets? I got a few. Mostly that I didn't take better, more mouthwatering food porn pictures. I didn't bring my camera and was constantly busy cooking. Sorry.

runemployed 06: Church Hill

In which I try to turn a negative situation into a positive one and explore Richmond in the process.

Today was a beautiful day for a jog. Bright yet the air had a crispness to it. Still green, but with none of the drawbacks of summer. Of which there are many. (Yes, I'm a hater.) Why not spend it in the part of town that I've frequented the most, aside from the times I was schooled and resided in the West End? That's right, it was time to go to Church Hill.

Liberty, Death, or Draw!

Church Hill is a lovely part of Richmond where you'll find old houses owned by people who aren't too keen on new baseball stadiums, some great places to eat and drink, and O.G. patriot Patrick Henry's favorite place of worship. Sections of Church Hill are quite upscale. Others... uh, not so much. Last week I used this space to gush over my friends and this neighborhood has the largest concentration of them, hence my spending copious amounts of time here. Heck, I was even part of a formidable pub trivia team for a while. (The Publicans 4 life, son.)

Fat and awkward file photo, 2009

So, I love this area and figured it was about time that I jogged through it. Over the weekend I went to Chimborazo Park for the first time, to catch a showing of O Brother, Where Art Thou? As I am bona fide, that was a good enough starting place as any for me today.

The inspiration for Weekend Update with Dennis Miller.

Chimborazo is a National Battlefield Park, which during the Civil War was the site of the largest military hospital in the world, consisting of 150 buildings and 100 tents. Long gone are the 76,000 patients, but I assume their specters still roam the park, forever trapped on this mortal plane. Or not. The only other entities I saw as I ran through there were a few guys sitting in parked cars. I should've stopped to pick up one rock of crack while I had the chance.

Not a cloud in the sky. Except for that one. And that one. And that one...

The jog through there itself wasn't bad. Some of the streets are closed to traffic, but the ones that aren't have wide sidewalks that run along them. The loop around the entire park is pretty short, so I continued on to another park a few blocks away.

Taller than the Union Soldiers Monument, so technically the South has risen again.

I made my way to Libby Hill Park next. Here you'll find a spectacular 180 degree view of Richmond. It's said that the city got its name because William Byrd thought the view from this point closely resembled a village west of London called Richmond upon Thames.

I just don't see it. Byrd was crazy.

As its name implies, Church Hill has got some hills, broseph. I kept away from the major inclines, but still hit some that made me put in some effort. And this is where I found them. Part of the perimeter loop around the park is pretty steep. It mixed things up nicely, though, and kept my run interesting.

You're gonna hear me roar.

This is by far my fastest run since I started logging them with Strava, if not of all time. (Previously I used Runtastic and I think you have to pay extra for that kind of information. Eff that noise.) It could've been the day's weather or possibly the elevation, but I think I pushed it harder than usual because I was running against the wind for the first part of my trip. Whatever it was, I set personal records for my fastest mile and kilometer. Remind me to check the DMV site to see if HOTSHIT is an available license plate.

It's not every day you find motivational sidewalks.

Being up here gives me a strong itch to get out of the suburbs. Every day my soul dies a little more down there. I need to be around my friends and non-chain dining and interesting sights, sounds, and smells. Which brings me to today's selection from my running playlist: The Killers' "Read My Mind," off of their 2006 sophomore effort Sam's Town. More than any other band currently working, these guys really have a way with a soaring chorus and this is my second favorite number of theirs, right after "All These Things That I Have Done." I think my desire to leave is reflected nicely by the song's narrator.



I never really gave up on
Breakin' out of this two-star town
I got the green light
I got a little fight
I'm gonna turn this thing around

Three cheers for carbs!

Having banked some calories and with it being lunchtime, I decided to stick around Church Hill for a bite to eat. My first choice was Proper Pie Co., which I've been wanting to try for a long time now. Savory pies made by a Kiwi? Count me in. Well, it was poor planning on my part because they're closed on Mondays. So I hit up aspiring den of iniquity Capt. Buzzy's Beanery for an iced coffee, a bacon, egg, and cheese on wheat bread, and a chocolate and peanut butter scone. I left full and satisfied. Not bad for a second choice.

I know all about bloody runs.

It was a great early autumn morning to get out and while I only covered 2.6 miles, I hope to traverse a lot more of Church Hill in the future. Maybe as a resident? We'll see. I could probably find a burnt out townhouse in the sketchier part of the neighborhood that I could squat in. Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!

The Pumpkining: Beyond Pumpkindome '14

A new (hopefully annual) culinary throwdown was started yesterday: The Pumpkining. My friend Suzanne suggested that the two of us each put together three pumpkin-based desserts and decide once and for all who is Master of Pumpkins. The gauntlet was thrown down. I picked it up.

The GS3 *really* needs a dedicated camera button.

So after a brisk run down Monument Ave. to bank some calories for later on in the day we got to work. Well, I did. She prepared most of her dishes beforehand, which was just as well. No one was getting in the other's way.

First up: My entries.

Nutty for Nutella.

Pumpkin Nutella muffins. (Recipe, only mine were gluten-full.)

Carbtastic.

Pumpkin bread pudding. (Recipe)

Easy like Sunday morning.

No bake pumpkin oatmeal cookies. (Recipe)

And now Suzanne's offerings:

I'm this many years old!

Banana pumpkin mousse tart. (Recipe)

iScream.

Pumpkin cinnamon roll ice cream. (Recipe)

(Note: I woefully neglected to take a solo picture of her third dish, a pumpkin gingerbread trifle. My bad.)

Pumpkin gingerbread trifle (Recipe, but Suzanne "replaced heavy whipping cream for the Cool Whip because gross.")

All together now.

With them all now fully prepared, two tasting plates were given to the judges:  food blogger Paola and her husband. She even classed up the presentation by a factor of ten and put it on Instagram.

It looks like it belongs in the pages of a magazine, if such things still existed.

A little while later the verdicts were in and slipped under Suzanne's front door. (Did I mention that the judges are her next door neighbors? Hmmmm... biased?)

The rundown.

Kneel before Suzanne! Her pumpkin desserts pleased the judges' palates more so than mine did and I can't quite argue with their findings. I would've given top honors to the trifle. But at least my muffins made a good showing. They were pretty damn good.

She and I were pretty much in agreement with our own personal notes. The trifle would make an excellent Thanksgiving dessert, as autumn transitions into the Christmas season.  The banana overpowered the pumpkin in the tart. Ain't nothin' wrong with the ice cream. The muffins were great as is.  The cookies were way too sweet. The bread pudding was just the opposite and could stand to be topped with caramel, ice cream, whipped cream, or some wicked combination of the three.

Also of note was that there was way too much sweetness going on the judge everything at once, so modifications will be made for next year's contest. I think we're looking at an appetizer/entree/dessert format.

So the First Annual The Pumpkining came to a close. Laughs were had, tears were shed, diabetes was narrowly avoided. With that stress now out of the way, I can fully commit myself to enjoying all the fruits of autumn. (Fun Fact:  a pumpkin is classified as a fruit.)

Best of 2010: podcasts

I don't see as many movies these days. I still listen to a lot of music, but not as much as in my trendsetting days. It seems there is one entertainment medium that has been increasingly dominating my free time (and work time, for that matter): podcasts.

While still in its relative infancy, podcastdom has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years. There is a show for pretty much any interest. While there are many podcasters still stuck in amateur hour, there are a slew that have carved out niches and set the standard.

My daily/weekly/monthly/sporadic favorites are still chugging along - Doug Loves Movies, Filmspotting, The Adam Carolla Show, and Comedy Death-Ray, to name just a handful - these are the best podcasts that debuted in 2010:


The Pod F. Tompkast: It's nighttime on the internet and once a month (and sometimes here and there in between) stand up comedian extraordinaire Paul F. Tompkins puts out this hilarious hour long show. Each episode contains some of his riffing, an excerpt from his monthly stage show, a phone conversation with fellow comedian Jen Kirkman, and an ongoing story featuring his hilarious impressions of Ice-T, John C. Reilly, Dame Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Lithgow, the Cake Boss, and others. It really is the highlight of my podcast month.

The Sporkful: Two guys and occasionally a guest go into the minutiae of the preparation and consumption of everyday foods. This is not your high-falootin' foodie father's podcast.

This Week with Larry Miller: Larry Miller has long been one of my favorite comedians and his 30-45 minutes of stream of conscious rambling each week amount to a good helping of audio comfort food. I like to listen to this on the commute home from work.

Culturetopia: This used to be a weekly compilation of stories from NPR - well, it still is that - but it's been retooled to add a second weekly episode featuring a pop culture round table. I find panelist Glen Weldon nigh-intolerable, but can overcome my dislike of him because I enjoy listening to the other people on the show so much.

The Nerdist: '90s MTV darling Chris Hardwick and a couple of his pals descend into the depths of geekery with a special nerdy guest. They've also recently added a non-guest (or "hostful") chat each week, too.

Who Charted?: Howard Kremer (aka Dragon Boy Suede), Kulap, and a comedian guest dissect the weekly music, movie, and other charts. Simultaneously, it confirms my bewilderment regarding what the kids listen to and watch these days. Get off my lawn! (This wins my award for Best Podcast Name.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I've been charged with deep frying the bird this year (no pressure!), so if you'll excuse me, I've got to prep my turkey. Get your mind out of the gutter. It's a family holiday.

Micahpalooza '10: served on a bed of French fries and melted cheese

Over the weekend Micahpalooza continued with a quick road trip to Pittsburgh. It didn't start out too well, since a combination of being in the back seat, the sun beating down on me, and reading and a typing a flurry of text messages* made me sick and we had to pull over three times so I could vomit. Ugh. On the plus side, one of the stops was in New Stanton and, while I was upchucking, I was soothed by the sounds of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" directly followed by R.E.M.'s "Talk About the Passion". For that it won Pennsylvania Turnpike Travel Plaza of the Year.

The main purpose of my visit was to celebrate Shamrock & KPMD's** spawn's first birthday. It was truly the best Curious George themed party I've ever been to.

Dinner one night was sammiches at the original Primanti Bros. where I had a very heart smart one that consisted of pastrami, cheese, onion, tomato, a fried egg, and French fries. I opted out of the cole slaw because, well, I don't like cole slaw. If that exposed me as tourist, so be it. The fact that I have a beard and not just a mustache did that before I even sat down in the place.



The culinary highlight, though were the Savory Waffles (Bacon! Egg! Cheese!) at The Waffle Shop. They say to try it with hot sauce, but I used syrup. Delicious. I want a waffle maker now. As for the restaurant itself, I especially liked the talk show set up in the back of the place and look forward to checking out some of the interviews they have archived on their site.

The trip back was much, much less eventful. And I was perfectly cool with that.

*I CANNOT read in while riding in a car.
**Remember them? Is anyone reading this anymore?

See ya, Ukrop's

So, legendary regional grocery chain Ukrop's is being bought by Giant's parent company. Four thoughts:

1) I'm sure I have an old Giant card from my tenure in NoVA tucked away somewhere, so I've already got that covered.

2) It will be nice to finally buy beer and wine (on Sundays!) at a former Ukrop's building.

3) I guess this was the last year of my tradition of frying up a batch of Ukrop's-bought oysters for Thanksgiving. Future oysters will be from Ukrop's in name only.

4) Who says boycotts don't work? CW, you won.

Finally! A cheese made specifically for me.

Choose your quip and discuss why:

A) I bet it tastes great on Wonder Bread with some mayo.
B) It's holding all of the other cheeses down.
C) Ever notice how some cheeses dial phones like this...

Death by pumpkin spice

As soon as I heard that Dunkin Donuts is offering a pumpkin spice latte, doughnut, and muffin (thanks for the tip, Mindy!), I knew I had to try them. So last weekend I braved a rainstorm and made the trek out to DD to order their Autumn Triple Threat.

First, the pumpkin spice latte. It wasn't bad, but I prefer Starbucks' version of this treat. There was something a little off to the taste, but I can't quite nail it. Maybe it's because the ever-present overpriced coffee slinger actually hand blends the ingredients while the latte that I was served at Dunkin Donuts came apparently pre-mixed and shot out through an automatic dispenser. Still, you can't beat their price: $1 for a small. It's not bad if you need a quick fix, but in this case, as with shoes, you get what you pay for.

Next, the pumpkin spice donut Their name suggests Dunkin Donuts is primarily concerned with the doughy treat and it shows here. Cake-like, but not too dry, with a hint of a glaze on the outside, it was tasty and on par with every other pumpkin spice doughnut that I've eaten.

Lastly, the pumpkin spice muffin. This offering turned out to be the unlikely winner of the autumnal triple crown. Topped with a creamy icing, it was so moist that you practically needed a spoon to eat it. Absolutely delicious. Who knew that a doughnut joint would excel at producing muffins?

These three indulgences also served as a going away present of sorts, since on Monday I temporarily ditched carbohydrates for the next month or two. But I vow that someday we will meet again. Oh, yes, we will.

Samhain wrap-up

Candy, Ghost Busters, zombies, a cheetah, Thomas the Tank Engine, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", pizza, pumpkin beer, a kitty, the World Series, Night of the Living Dead, brownies, Paranormal Activity, and some comfort episodes of "30 Rock".

What Jack-O-Lanterns eat for breakfast*

This weekend I made a large batch of pumpkin pancakes (thanks, Trader Joe!) and I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to the regular kind. I'd better stock up likes it's Y2K all over again.

*The cannibalistic ones, at least.

Tastes great on a cracker!

Well, Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter is now available. And it's awesome.

Whither Seltzer's Sweet Lebanon Beef Bologna?

I was in a rut. For months every lunch I made included a sandwich made with Butterball deep fried turkey breast and I was getting burned out. Then, on a lark, I decided to try Seltzer's Sweet Lebanon Beef Bologna and, as my brother would save, it changed my life. If cold cuts are served on Mt. Olympus, surely Seltzer's Sweet Lebanon Beef Bologna can be found in Zeus's fridge. That's how good this lunch meat is. This ain't the stuff you put in some kid's brown bag sammich. It is a meat to be appreciated; to be loved.

But now it's gone. I've checked several grocery stores and can't find it anywhere. It's driving me crazy. I've tried switching over to the beef bologna made by Hebrew National and, while good, it's not Seltnzer's. It's true what the say: a taste of kick-ass beef bologna is worse than none at all.

Further, now I can't find the aforementioned deep fried turkey anymore, either. The lunch meat part of my life has gone all topsy-turvy. Sammiches are boring. *Sigh*

Note: If you're curious as to why I took a picture of this beef bologna long before it disappeared from the shelves, way back when I had planned on making an entirely different post singing its praises, but never got around to it.

Is your mouth watering?

Real mature, Micah. But for $.89 at Kroger, it's a small price to pay for comedy.

A round of links for my friends

• Honest to goodness dirty librarians! I knew my fetish wasn't just a myth.


• Slate had an interesting series of stories about movies last week.


• Ballhawkin' ain't easy.


• Good (if a bit fawning) piece about Palin's resignation. It's at least a nice counter to all the vitriol out there.


• John Stossel on healthcare. I'm glad he worked in a "Give me a break."


• Baconapalooza!


• Zooey Deschanel: manic pixie dream girl extraordinaire


• Happy 500th Birthday, John Calvin.


• An appreciation of Casey Kasem and "American Top 40"


• If we follow Japan's lead and keep our offices at 82 degrees to save energy, then I'm withdrawing from the workforce.


• Only 96 months until the Earth's beyond fixing. We had better return to poverty!

Photo credit: supremely awesome picture by Roadsidepictures on Flickr

A round of links for my friends

Some interesting articles that I've read over the past week:

• Sometimes those fake Onion op-eds are too crushingly real


• A trip down junk food memory lane


• That's gotta hurt: competitive eating injuries


• 10 years later, Moby breaks down Play


• The Fourth of July is a fraud!


• This piece about Golden Books really takes me back. The exhibit's coming to the Children's Museum of Richmond...in 2011. The Saggy Baggy Elephant FTW!


• Thomas Jefferson: Founding Father, patriot, music lover


• I'm with Radley Balko on this one: if you're taking money from The Man, you aren't punk
.

• "But I didn't order a pizza": who writes porn screenplays?

These guys make the 1985 Chicago Bears look like the Wu-Tang Clan

Niles Leonard drops science. Jesse Franklin is a supa MC. Cecil Boseman gives you a nickel bag of funk. Ronnie Ashland busts mad rhymes. But it's Charlie Carson that truly rocks the bells.

Ain't no half-steppin' with these guys because they're just here to win the Super Broker Shuffle!

Credit due: wh1skeylover for bringing this to my attention. It's been floating around for a while, but I couldn't think of anything else to post today.

Anyone up for lunch in Chandler, AZ?

Watch CBS Videos Online

I let out a Homer Simpsonesque drool when I watched this piece about the Heart Attack Grill (for several reasons).

Of course, with a restaurant of this nature, not everyone can take a joke. Surprisingly, it wasn't the health nazis that tried to put their foot down.

PETA makes preparing your Thanksgiving meal tasty fun!

Play the game here.

I don't think this game had the intended effect PETA was looking for, as I had fun playing it.

EDIT: Much like PETA itself, this flash game is super annoying. It would load automatically with the blog, playing loud screams and music. So I just linked to it.

This week in food porn

For those looking for a new food porn fix, a friend recently referred me to the most hardcore site on the net: Smitten Kitchen. Lock the kitchen door and enjoy.

It's been quite a long time since I baked anything, but this weekend I dusted off the ol' KitchenAid and made a batch of that site's pumpkin swirl brownies. Pumpkin AND chocolate in the same recipe? Yes! I admit that it wasn't quite the taste revelation that I had anticipated, but they still turned out to be pretty tasty. I'm going to make another batch for my work's Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday*.

*In addition to being known as that iPod guy, I anticipate being referred to as that guy who cooks by my co-workers.