Saturday

Go get a failure pile in a sadness bowl. Loser.

The funniest guy on the planet talks about KFC's Famous Bowls.

Crosstown Station is officially open

KC's newest music venue is now open. Brody Buster kicked it off last night. Check out their website here. You should go down and check it out.

Wednesday

Yummy Au Gratin Potatoes

I made some potatoes today to accompany the standing rib roast my mother is making for dinner tonight. It's a very simple yet delicious recipe. Here is how I did it.

10 or so red potatoes (enough to fill your large casserole dish 3/4 of the way)
44 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I bought a 32 oz. bad and a 12 0z. bag)
40 oz. sour cream (I bought a 24 oz. container and a 16 oz. container)
salt
black pepper

Thinly slice enough potatoes to fill your baking dish. (I like to slice them into about 1/8 inch rounds) Salt and pepper sliced potatoes liberally.

Add cheese and sour cream to potatoes. Add more salt and pepper. Mix well.
Sometimes at this point I will fill the dish 1/4 the way with milk for creamier taters.
(reserve 12 oz. of cheese to put over the top near the end of cooking)

Bake at 400 for 1 1/2 hours or until potatoes are very tender.

I like to cook them until the cheese burns a little around the edges. The burnt cheese and potatoes is the best part.

Sunday

The Parlor

This is an internet classic. You have to watch it until the end. See it here.

I made the family red sauce last night

It turned out very good. This recipe is the reason I cannot order red sauce at a restaurant. It is much better than what you will find dining out. Here is how I did it.

4lbs. pork neck bones
2 106 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 16 oz. can of tomato paste
1 giant onion
*8 cloves garlic (or more)
*1/3 cup oregano (crushed between palms to release it's oils)
*1/3 cup basil (crushed between palms to release it's oils)
*crushed red pepper to taste (I use 10 or more shakes)
*olive oil
*salt
*black pepper
*pinch of sugar
*splash of Balsalmic vinegar

Heavily salt and black pepper the neck bones. Then, in a large stockpot, brown them in a good amount of olive oil. I like to brown them very well. ( you will have to do this in batches to avoid over-crowding the pot, resulting in braising them, rather than browning them) When finished browning, remove bones from pot and reserve.

Add the garlic and onion to the pot, then add red pepper, salt and black pepper to them. (add more oil if needed) Saute at med-low heat 2 minutes.

Add oregano and basil (crushed between palms to release their oils) to the onions and garlic.

Saute for 2 minutes or until onion softens.

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste , salt and black pepper. Add splash of vinegar and pinch of sugar. Stir to combine and to help dissolve the tomato paste.

Add the neck bones back into the pot.

Cover and simmer on low for 1 1/2 hours. (don't burn the sauce on the bottom of the pot)

Taste the sauce and reseason. It will always need more of something at this point. Let your taste tell you what it needs. (mine needed another small splash of vinegar and more salt and pepper)

Cover and simmer for 2 more hours or until the bones become tender and start to fall apart.

Remove bones from sauce and RESERVE! The bones are highly prized in my family. For a snack, take a fork and pick the tender meat from the bones. It's the best.

The sauce is now ready for some al dente pasta of your choice. (I use thin spaghetti)

* I really didn't measure any of these ingredients, I'm kinda guessing what I added. Use this as a guideline and let your taste tell you what to add, if anything.

Wine Cellar Sorbets

"These wine sorbets are definitely a nice twist for the ice cream connoisseur. The wines used in each sorbet are hand selected by the company's sorbet sommelier. What a great job: tasting wine and sorbets. "

$62 - $78 - $146 for a 4, 6, or 12-pack

A Sorbet Sommelier? Funny. Wait...what? That's like $15-$12 a pint. Dang! I would like to try one though. Send me pint of the Pinot Nior please.

Saturday

It's cold outside


While you battled the snow....... here is how I got home tonight.

Friday

Introducing Patches.

You have to check this horse out. Coolest horse ever!

Thursday

The Evil Eye

Very cute baby. Check it out.

I loves me some minivans

Check out this bad mofo from Nissan.

Corinthian Hall to close Jan. 7 for renovations and won’t reopen until at least 2010

Did you even know that Kansas City had a museum? Well we do.... sort of. This place is a joke and it has been for decades. The last time I visited the museum was last winter... it was horrible. As an historic house it is pretty damn cool. But as a museum bearing the city's name it is embarrassing.

I've always contended that Union Station is the obvious place to house the Kansas City Museum. I'm all for restoring this wonderful house but let's get the museum out of there.

The museum's website is even hosted on Union Station's site. WTF? It just seems obvious the museum should be moved into the building. KC seems to screw up everything.

"The city-owned structure, called Corinthian Hall, and the carriage house behind it will get new windows and doors and be cleared of lead paint and asbestos. Then next year officials hope to install a new climate-control system in the 1910 buildings so they can professionally exhibit objects in the museum collection."

"The Awesome Ruben"

After reading about "The Awesome Ruben" I went over to the The New York Bakery and Delicatessen at 7016 Troost to try it yesterday. Wow.... that is one hell of a sandwich. It's served on three slices of rye bread stacked up like a Big Mac. I should have taken a picture of it. At nearly 6 inches tall it is almost impossible to consume the entire thing. Go get one, it is "Awesome".

Gary Forsee to be named new University of Missouri President

That's right, the UM system has a new leader. I had a feeling this was going to happen.

"Barring unforeseen surprises, the 22nd president of the University of Missouri (UM) is expected to be formally selected and introduced on Thursday, Dec. 20, in Columbia, Missouri, according to a UM media advisory released today."

Friday

Get off your recliner this weekend

Here is what is going on this weekend. Here is where you should be Friday night! I would be at the Roo's game Friday but I have to bartend a party in Mission Hills.... poor me. Literally. I will be at the game Wednesday... come join me will you? I'll be the guy with the beer in his hand.

Roos to Kemper?

This guy makes a good case for moving the Roos to Kemper. I think the Roos should go to the Sprint Center.

18th and Vine just took another kick in the nuts

It's a sad day for the Vine. They have just lost one of their biggest/only tenants. The Peachtree Restaurant is moving to the Power and Light District. (Thanks Dean)

What is the Jazz District Redevelopment Corp. doing? The answer is very little, if nothing.

Here are the area businesses they list on their website. Wow...3?
-American Jazz Museum
-Negro League Baseball Museum
-Historic Gem Theater

They haven't attracted any tenants since the Peachtree moved down there 5 years ago.

Thursday

People in Hong Kong are crazy!

A guy in Hong Kong paid 1.7 million dollars to have the number 12 on his license plates. Here is a list other plate numbers and the amount paid for them at auction.

They also pay way too much for gas!

Wednesday

Slick new KC rag

Have a look at this new magazine. It is all about downtown KC.

Tuesday

Boozing Through a Breakup

Here you go guys and gals. Read and learn.

Your guide to using hooch to slay that heartache.
This is a fact: A broken heart hurts worse than a broken leg. The pain of lost love is that itch, that horror that no drug can touch. Except one.

Sweet, ever-loving booze, and plenty of it.

On the same note... read the article below. "Backing Up Your Buddy".


You wanna what?

Questionable cocktails, and why you drank them. Oh, yes you did.

The 7 Wonders of ultramodern Dubai

Hey. Let's all go to Dubai! Man this place is blowing up. I would love to go sometime.

The tallest building in the world is going up.

Check out his underwater hotel:

Hydropolis, the world's first underwater luxury resort, brings new meaning to the "ocean-view room." Situated 66 feet below the surface of the Persian Gulf, Hydropolis will feature 220 guest suites. Reinforced by concrete and steel, its Plexiglas walls and bubble-shaped dome ceilings offer sights of fish and other sea creatures. It's scheduled to open in 2009.

Green Team!

Let's do something for the environment. Join the Green Team!

Mike Tyson's Greatest Quotes

This guy is the biggest idiot ever to walk the planet. Click on the top movie for a series of unforgettable quotes.

More quotes here and here.

“Lennox Lewis, I'm coming for you man. My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart. I want to eat his children. Praise be to Allah!”

Monday

S. Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants of 2007

50 of the worlds best restaurants. Only 8 are American. Thomas Keller takes #4 and #9 for The French Laundry and Per Se. What a badass. Also Chicago got #30 and #36 for Charlie Trotters and Alinea (highest new entry) Check out the list here.

Friday

Amazing robot

This is a cool little robot. Why don't you get me one for Christmas?

Thursday

Jay's files bankruptcy

These chips are the best!

"
Jay's Potato Chips?
A snack-food junkie named Al Capone developed a taste for the chips while betting on the ponies in New York, and asked his supplier to start making them for his speakeasies."

"Word is the Jays Foods potato chip plant on Chicago's South Side is set to close Dec. 5. The brand may survive, under the prospective ownership of Pennsylvania-based Snyder's of Hanover, but I wonder if the chips will remain the same taste wise and symbolically. There was something about eating a Chicago-made potato chip in Chicago that always sat right with me.

What do you think? Should I stick with Jays or switch my allegience to C.J. Vitner Co., maker of Vitner's brand chips? Vitner bills itself as "home of the Chicago style snack," but the plant is in Freeport, about 100 miles northwest of Chicago. At least the company is still headquartered in the city, at 4202 W. 45th St., and family owned."

More on it here.

Wednesday

Is the Entree Heading for Extinction?

This guy thinks the end is near. I think he is right. Read the article here.

"O.K., so maybe it’s not quite time to write the entree’s obituary. But in many major dining cities like New York, San Francisco and Chicago, the main course is under attack.

Although the entree’s ills were first diagnosed in the late 1990s, when the rise of small plates kicked off the tapafication of American menus, the attacks have become more serious lately."

YES! I'm a Bud Light. What beer are you?

You Are Bud Light

You're not fussy when it comes to beer. If someone hands it to you, you'll drink it.
In fact, you don't understand beer snobbery at all. It all tastes the same once you're drunk!
You're an enthusiastic drinker, and you can often be found at your neighborhood bar.
You're pretty good at holding your liquor too - you've had lots of experience.

Top 100 drinking songs

The list is here.

I like #s
68.
Give Me A Red Hot Mama and An Ice Cold Beer - Smiley Maxdon
69. The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter - Laura Cantrell
77. I'm at Home Getting Hammered(While She's Out Getting Nailed) - Banjo and Sullivan

Check out these little ditties. I guess this guy just died. I wonder how?
Hank Thompson: A Six Pack To Go (mp3)
Hank Thompson: On Tap, In The Can, Or In The Bottle (mp3)
Hank Thompson: Hangover Tavern (mp3)
Hank Thompson: Smoky The Bar (mp3)

Pat Metheny in KC?

That's right folks. Pat Metheny will be in town....well, almost in town. His brother Mike writes about it here. (thanks Plastic Sax) Metheny Music Foundation

Favorite Chef of the moment: Todd English

This guy is a culinary bad-ass. I had dinner at one of his restaurants a few years ago in Boston. Kingfish Hall was the name of the place.

The last JAM of '07

That's right kids, the last Jazz Ambassador Magazine (JAM) of the year is out. Don't miss Dean's annual roast and toast. You can find it in Hampton's Hot Licks.

"Roast: KC Jazz Community. We are the ones who are going to the jazz events. However, we are doing a very poor job of growing the community, the audiences, and the support. It's easy to say that we don't know how to do it any better. That's a cop out! I challenge all of you get with it, get creative and do you part in ‘08 to expand the jazz audience. Help educate those who are on the music genre fence."

Tuesday

Open source food

Cool recipe website. Lots of authentic Asian stuff here

Monday

It's time for a booze test

Man..... that test seemed easy. Was it easy for you too?

World’s Most Famous Men/Women in a Single Artwork

Here is a cool painting of a bunch of famous people. How many can you name? I got all but one. Can you find Bin Laden?

Here is a discussion page where people try to identify them.

Comedian of the moment: Patton Oswalt

Here is a clip of Patton talking about his love of steak and hatred of hippies. Funny stuff.