Origins- Kermit

Origins- Kermit, originally uploaded by Grickle.

A tribute to Kermit by Graham Annable for "A Jim Henson Tribute Exhibition" at Gallery Nucleus; Alhambra, CA.

Ribbit

I love breakfast! 

It is the most important meal of the day for a reason.  

This morning I randomly ran across a recipe from Dan Silverman, chef at The Standard Grill, that was   a savory french toast take on the 'Toad in a Hole.'  Sounded delicious in my book.  

I've never been to The Standard Grill but after reading the recipe I don't see how one could go wrong with a cheesy french toast. And I must say, very tasty.  

I made a few changes as I was cooking, however for the most part I didn't stray too far from the original recipe.  I was having a slight issue with the bread tearing after soaking in the egg bath however I did use a different type of bread than the recipe suggests.  But honestly it wasn't too much tearing and when you insert the egg in the center it seals everything up when it starts cooking.  This would work with any type of bread you like.  

Thanks Chef! 

Toad in the Hole
Recipe by Dan Silverman, executive chef of The Standard Grill

4 slices of Pullman loaf bread, sliced about an 1-inch thick
7 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Tabasco, to taste

How to make it:
1. Cut a hole, about 2 inches in diameter, in the center of each slice of bread
2. Whisk together the milk, 3 eggs, ¾ cup of Parmesan, 2 Tbsp of parsley, salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Soak the bread slices in the mixture until well absorbed, about 5 to 10 minutes.
3. As the bread soaks, heat the butter and olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat  When the pan is hot, carefully remove the bread from the mixture, allowing some of the mixture to drain, and then place the bread slices into the pan. Crack an egg into each slice’s hole and fry until the egg whites begin to cook through, about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Using a spatula, carefully turn each slice and finish cooking the egg to your liking (2 to 3 minutes for over easy; 3 to 5 minutes of over hard) and the bread has crisped.
5. Serve sprinkled with the remaining Parmesan, parsley, a little sea salt, and a lot of freshly ground pepper. Serves 2.

Is there a shark in that water???

Yep, now want to go to fiji


Fiji Vignette 3/3 from Taj Burrow on Vimeo.

Top Pot

The best doughnut ever.  

Top Pot in Seattle, Wa.  

My personal favorite? The raspberry ring of course. 

There is no other giant, fluffier fried deliciousness in all the world.  

I make a point to visit every time I'm in Seattle.  Brings me back to the good ol' days when I worked two blocks away.   That is one thing I miss about Seattle, the delicious food! In New York we have some damn good food, don't get me wrong, but Seattle is on another level in my opinion.  And the thing about Seattle people is that they like to be perfectionists and be pretentious about everything.  I believe this is why they bang out some amazing cuisine.  

On my last trip to Seattle  I visited Spur Gastropub in Belltown.  The reviews this establishment receives on Yelp vary.  This has to do mostly with the Seattlite's tendency to pick apart every god damn thing.   

Now I will pick it apart: The food was fucking awesome.  Enough said.  The plating was beautiful and the flavors were out of this world.  I was feeling like a fatty so I had three courses.  First being the pear salad with a danish blue cheese that was very creamy and subtle.  I'm picky when it comes to blue cheese, it isn't my favorite of the cheeses, but this one complemented the pear perfectly and was not a bit  overpowering.  My entree was the grass fed beef burger which was very uniquely seasoned and is now on my list of favorite burgers.  At this point I was very impressed with the food  but the desert blew my mind.  It was not only beautiful but it was so good I almost cried.  I wish I remembered exactly what was in it, but alas I do not, but in a nut shell it was a lavender, chipotle creme brulee.  It was so amazing I can not express with words how good it was.  

The downfall of Spur was the service, while not horrible, was not the best.  The server could have been a bit more attentive.  I also wasn't impressed with the cocktail list and the cocktail I did have wasn't anything to write home about.   But even those two things don't sway my opinion that Spur isn't a great place because the food overshadowed those slight down falls.  

Seattle, I'll see you again soon.  And I will eat as much as I possibly can.  

The glory that is the oven!

Ever since my oven was fixed all I've wanted to do is bake. I can't begin to comprehend how someone can live in a home with a perfectly good oven and never turn it on.  Blasphemy!  

I've heard of people using their oven as storage space for gods sake.  

Not me.  No sir.  I can't get enough! 

Seeing as I'm in a bad mood....

Let me go on a little rant.  I'm am sick of our society and the lack of morals that people have.  It's sickening!  Great example of the day is Kim Kardashian and her husband of, what, a few weeks?, getting a divorce. I mean really? What happened to marriage being sacred? I would have liked to give that personality less bimbo the benefit of the doubt about her self worth however, I just can't with her. And it makes me sick that the young women of today are watching that dumb ass reality show looking up to such a vapid, whore.  Honestly I hate to say that about her, I would have liked to think of her as a good person but it just ain't so. 


IT'S A FUCKING SHAME AND IT MAKES ME SICK.

FUCK EVERYONE AND THIS DAMN WORLD.

Whew I feel a little better...

Elle Driver

Elle Driver, originally uploaded by Red Fox..

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!