Saturday, June 22, 2013

be good to your shellf



Imagine shedding your clothes and being scooped up naked then eaten by some giant. That’s what happens when we catch and eat crab as “softshells.”


They’ve outgrown their exoskeleton so they molt, leaving a delicate and papery enclosure. We eat them “papery enclosure” and all. Crunch!

So primordial. 

Today with stir fried mushrooms, shallots and peppers on the side!  Start with crimini’s.

culinarycromagnon.com
Ask your fishguy to clean your crabs, by the way. He’ll cut off their spiny faces and tails and pull out their lungs, then fold them back into shape, ready to cook. Ready to start your veggies?


Here we go! 

Season-salt the crabs and then dredge them in corn starch. 


Flour is too Italian. Corn starch is lighter and brings an Asian tempura note.


In a sauté pan melt two tablespoons of butter in two tablespoons of olive oil. We’ll need that much fat to crisp the corn-starchy exteriors.


When it is super-hot and almost smoking, throw them in.
Black pepper!



We’re making sandwiches today, so hollow out your rolls.


When they get crunchy and orangey-red--about five or six minutes--flip them over.


Add another mushroom to your mix!

These are shiitake’s.


Now comes the fun part. 

After they cook hard for another two or three minutes, douse them good with balsamic vinegar. And watch out!


They’ll sizzle and spurt and the acrid smoke will sting your eyes while you shake that sauté pan.


But YUM...the balsamic reduces and coats the crab all over, making a kind of buttery salad dressing with the hot oil and melted butter.


OMG.

From here be quick; plate the roll and sizzling crab and add some mesclun salad.


Scoop saute´d vegetables on the side and you'd better do it soon; softshell’s are going quickly and are finished when Summer is over. 

Get yours!


It’s okay to be a little shellfish now and then. :-D

Friday, June 21, 2013

stay cool, IKEA



IKEA is awesome, they offer a great kit of inexpensive parts presented with international signage. 


When I moved into the ClockTower, 402 needed an expanded kitchen so I hung these shelves on my wall.




And this handsome 3-drawer holds a ton,
 so I built the counters around it.



But there was something in the IKEA signage that troubled me.

 And I couldn’t figure it out.


Then I remembered.
For years I designed lighting for the Museum of Jewish Heritage.


Have a thoughtful and sensitive weekend.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

searchus interruptus




Well looky here, our old pals at “Don’t be evil” Google have been caught with their hands in the viagra cookie jar again.

You may remember they forked over half a billion back in August 2011 when the Justice Department took issue with them helping sell drugs through unlawful Canadian pharmacies.


And it wasn’t just linking in search.

 Google was featuring ads for pharma online, 
and profiting bigtime from it.

paperchipmunk.com

“But THEY are selling the stuff, not US” they cried under oath, as if the pimp on the corner sending guys to the house isn’t part of the whole operation.


So they rolled their eyes "Fine..FINE" and handed over 2 and one half DAYS revenue-- yep that’s all, they did $50 billion last year-- then went back to business as usual. 

If you earned $50,000 a year that’s like a $500 fine.
 Their wrist didn’t get slapped, they had their hand shaken.

conatycreations.com

Trouble is, Google went right back to business in the same way and this week Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood charged that the search engine facilitates online trafficking in counterfeit goods and unlawful drugs. Again.


As the French might croon “Et voilá”.

fineartamerica.com 

This is their second offense, so what’s the deal? 

Is it censorship to de-rank links to lawlessness? 
Should anyone have a carve-out to amass cash by supporting illegal behavior?

felixonline.co.uk

Should Google?

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

monsters of arch



Loew’s five flagship “Wonder Theatres” were built in an era when too much decoration was still not enough.


This one, the United Palace at 175th Street and Broadway opened in 1930 and is the only one in Manhattan.


It was designed by Scottish architect Thomas Lamb, born in 1871. He was 15 years old when our ClockTower was completed.


Lamb went on to design the Zeigfield Theatre, Boston’s Opera House and the original Madison Square Garden.



Seating 3,300, the United Palace was launched as a movie theatre then saved from demolition in 1969 when it was turned into a church.


The church still owns it but now leases it as a performance venue.


Today it’s a rock palace like the Beacon Theatre,
 also on Broadway 100 blocks to the south. 



I saw the Monsters of Folk at the United Palace
 on November 6, 2009.


M. Ward, Conner Oberst, Jim James, and Mike Mogis. 


If you like raging guitar solos as I like raging architecture, Mogis just sears it about 58 seconds in!


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

vestigial vernacular



travelblog.org

just $54.99



and you, too, can dress like a million!







I want one. I'd rock that jacket. :-)

jj