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February 27, 2006

Asian Cakes: Dispatches from afar

The whole time that cakehead has been blogging away, a large team of dirt dogs have been working around the clock to dig a hole to China - well really there were several different tunnels - one to Beijing, another to Hong Kong, one to Hanoi and a final one to Ho Chi Minh. The motivation? To have a quick and easy route to sample some of the best food in the world. (Additional tunnels to Thailand and Laos were schedule at a later date.)

Unfortunately, due to a labor strike, the digging has been halted. So instead of providing our readers with a direct route to one of our preferred lands to dine, we'll instead be running the written dispatches by our dependable contributor, Amy, who will report on the dining experiences in Hong Kong and throughout Vietnam and Cambodia.

Until she arrives at her destination on March 1 check out these other food blog reports from the region:

Hong Kong
Cha Xiu Bao A food blog site run by Josh who describes himself as like chaxiubao, a staple in the Hong Kong dim sum tray. At first glance, he looks untempting and plain; not something alluring at all. There're even some not so fine wrinkles developing around his eyes. But once you get to know more about this guy, you'll find out he's hot, juicy and frisky inside... just like a well-prepared chaxiubao.

Saigon
Noodlepie Blog about scoff and swill in Saigon. From gutter grub to gourmet tables

Laos
Wrapped In Dough's dispatches from last year's travels through Laos

Singapore
Chubby Hubby - Musings on Food, Wine and Marriage from Singapore

Other sites to get you in the mood:
Chopstick Cinema- Celeste Heiter's Daily Adventures in Asian Food & Film. She picks an Asian film, and cooks its cuisine.
- Don't miss this month's installment - based on one of our favorite films, In the Mood for Love

Pho King Pho King is and always will be about nothing but that most wonderful and complete of all foods, the ambrosia of beef, broth, noodles, chili and lime known as pho.
- Although the site surveys the delicious pho found in the States, what better site to visit to warm up the taste buds and trigger salivation.

Posted by Cakehead at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)

Chocolate Math

YOUR AGE BY CHOCOLATE MATH is one of those numerology-reminiscent games where you add, multiply, divide and subtract and the end results seems like magic, although there is no indication of what your future will hold. We played as soon as we received it in our email box and the game almost worked. When it works properly, the game results indicate the age of the player and number of days a week he/she craves chocolate. We love the game because the end result said we were one year younger than we actually are. Play and shave a year off your life.

**Warning: Don't expect to have your chocolate craving satiated by playing this game. But your brain might get a little stronger.

DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST! It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read... Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out! This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have chocolate...(more than once but less than 10)
2 Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)
3. Add 5
4. Multiply it by 50 -- I'll wait while you get the calculator
5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1755...
If you haven't, add 1754.
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.
You should have a three digit number

The first digit of this was your original number (i.e., how many times you want to have chocolate each week).

The next two numbers are YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!)

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2005) IT WILL EVER WORK.

Posted by Cakehead at 02:12 AM | Comments (0)

February 25, 2006

Catch Cakes

One our favorite activities to cure our post-elections blues is to read Kevin's Catch. But now we're going to have to find a cure for our post-Catch blues because after today, Catch is no more.

We could think of no better way to mourn our loss than to bake this teardrop shaped stack of pancakes. We shed a tear into the batter which we will now reveal is the true secret ingredient to pancake frying.

We owe a tremendous debt to Catch and for that reason we at Cakehead will be quietly fasting until Kevin's next project is determined. If not for Catch, Cakehead's only traffic would come only from the self-conscious clickings of Cakehead checking her stats.

Posted by Cakehead at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)

February 24, 2006

Strawberry Shortcake on the late night L train

Late tonight as the L train was jerking along in the tunnel between 1st Avenue in Manhattan and Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn we spotted a person amidst the crowded train who represents both a childhood hero and the dish we were craving as we inched along underground.

But before she was spotted we learned that she had lived near the L-train's path for over 30 years and until recently the train was guaranteed to always have only seven passengers. She said this loudly, as though to indict all other passengers on the crowded car. It wasn't until 20 minutes into a ride that should have taken five minutes that we finally spotted the body, er, costume attached to the voice. This is when we gained a renewed respect for this long-time resident. This elderly woman’s Strawberry Shortcake costume took tonight’s L-train fashion cake, overriding all the train-riding hipsters and fashionista aboard.

And this was no 99 cent shop costume made of a plastic pinafore. It was obvious that our "Strawberry" had constructed the outfit on her own. Her bright red curly locks poked out from behind the pink fleece kerchief she had fashioned. And she was wrapped from neck to waist in a pink and red polk-a-dot scarf. Her pink tights sagged slightly in her white Keds and in her hand she clutch a bag with a trinket-sized buddy, Apple Dumpling, dangling from the strap. We sniffed the air, hoping to catch a whiff of that delicious artificial strawberry scent but only smelled the McDonalds meal that a different passenger had packed for the marathon train ride.

Posted by Cakehead at 05:08 AM | Comments (1)

February 21, 2006

Red State Beer Butt Dining

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em...at least at the dinner table. Everybody knows that the red states have the best barbeque. So when our George Bush-supporting uncles invited us down to Jeb Bush's great state of Florida to apprentice and learn from their smoking virtuosity, we couldn't resist.

What we learned:
1. If you jam a half-drunk Milwaukee's Best tall boy up a chicken's ass, inject butter into it with a hypodermic needle and allow the bird to slowly roast in a low-temperature smoke of hickory, all nice and easy, you will discover the following:
a. the results of the beer-butt experiment are incredible.
b. there are little pink lines in the bird meat where the butter was injected, caused by the hickory smoke traveling up these tiny passages.
c. the satisfied tastebuds overpower and briefly cancel all other senses and actually manage to numb the pain of an election lost.
d. We temporarily forgave our loved-ones for their willingness to be apologists for Bush regime

The next day, we were still under the influence of the beer-butt chicken. Our stomachs were full and our minds were cloudy. So when it was time for our lesson in smoking ribs we watched lazily as our uncle worked his miracles. Maybe we weren't really trying to learn. Or maybe it was his plan all along: Drug the liberal with the beer-butt chicken and then distract by feeding her the most buttery, tender ribs slathered with Pat's Ho-Made Barbeque sauce. Sadly, we did not return to our blue state with the secret recipe. But we'll let them keep their recipe in their southern redness. They've won the barbeque battle. They've won the Bush battle. But, they live in the land, afterall, where few have forgotten who won the War - the Civil War that is. At least between battles and wars we can take time out to share in the barbeque.

Posted by Cakehead at 02:37 AM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2006

Brooklyn Cotton

After your chilly winter walk from Manhattan across the Williamsburg Bridge you might be fortunate enough to stumble upon the Cotton Candy man. We found him on Havermeyer near Grand Street recently. He was selling the pink AND the blue flavor. We grabbed a cup of hot chocolate and let the chocolate heat speed up the cotton candy melt. Really there's nothing like it.

Posted by Cakehead at 03:02 AM | Comments (2)

February 17, 2006

Eat Patriotic ...and no we're not serving eagle meat

Now civilians can buy and eat the food of heroes. Since 1996 soldiers were the only ones who could experience pure eating bliss in the form of the HooAH bar. The magic was created by the Department of Defense Combat Feeding Directorate "to increase energy and improve performance of warfighters during intense military operations." The research to create the bar was done through a Research and Development Agreement with M&M Mars, the same folks who brought us Combos, Skittles, Twix and Whiskas, Sheeba and Pedigree dog food.

Yeah, the developers are the folks who make your cat's dinner. Now don't you feel like you've been missing out? Well, you don't have to enlist to get the bars. Reputable corporations like Wal-Mart and 7/11 have generously made this bar of magic available to you for a mere $20.99 for 15 bars.

What better way to support the troops than to honor them by eating. HooAH even has created a web page to honor the fighters the Hooah way. Yeah, we're sure all military personnel aspire to receive the HooAH honor.

Read some of the nice notes that were sent along with HooAH bar donations to the troops:

"Dear AnySoldier who is the beneficiary of these bad to the bone Hooah Bars, hopefully you can chow these down and maybe share them with your comrades while you have your cross-hairs on some high value targets. Whatever your duties may be I hope you enjoy! Keep up the good work and always know your surroundings.HOOAH!"

"I sent Beef Jerkey too! HELP IS ON THE WAY!!!!!!!"

Um, we think that the soldiers need a little more than a bunch of hooAH bars and beef jerky.

Posted by Cakehead at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2006

Ridiculing Cooking Practices of the Past

It's one of our favorite pastimes. To study old cookbooks to see how tortured diners of the past really were. Actually, we're truly mesmerized by any recipe created during the WWII era and wish that a day would return when kitchen experimenter would bring back the Jell-O suspension dishes without a hint of irony. Until that day arrives, those who share a similar interest in recipes of the past can check out the food section of Cate's Garage- a collection of old recipe pictures with her commentary on how backwards the Greatest Generation really was.

Cate on the image above:

Maybe some of these women were lonely enough [during WWII] to fashion their own, um, men. I truly do hesitate to make fun of WWII-era food. I'm sure it was tough trying to make ends meet! But may we be frank for a moment? Can you imagine trying to serve this to someone--anyone--with a straight face. Boggles the mind, doesn't it? The only thing that makes me think it might have been meant seriously is the fact that there's no garnish of 14 cherry tomatoes in the centre.Pick up bonus points if you can name the five different fonts used in this one advertisement.

Posted by Cakehead at 02:17 PM | Comments (0)

February 14, 2006

Get a plate! The biggest Valentine's Day Faux Pas

edible bra

From lickable body topping to edible underwear – Valentines is the day when people give up proper eating etiquette and instead dine off the human body. At least that’s what Fredericks of Hollywood would like you to believe.

Frankly, we start to feel slightly nauseated at the thought of sampling a so-sweet-it’s-sour strawberry gel from a tube. But if you really must partake in the practice, why not make a delicious homemade apricot tapioca or butterscotch pudding with homemade whipped cream? We’ve studied the ingredients in those manufactured body edibles and believe it or not, there’s no real strawberries in the strawberry spread, no cocoa in the chocolate drippings and not trace of grape in the grape body jam.

Our rule of thumb is, if you wouldn’t eat the stuff from a bowl, why would you eat it off the flesh?

Posted by Cakehead at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2006

Yellowcake Uranium Award

[Thanks Kevin at Catch for the tip!]

We couldn’t resist giving this week’s Cake of the Week Award to the man who has demystified the mess that the yellowcake has caused – the alleged Iraqi purchases of “yellowcake” uranium that is.

Using pictures to tell the story, Professor Juan Cole, has created a fun-filled, easy-to-follow flow chart that explains: why we’re in Iraq, who leaked what to whom and presents the information in a way that the tiny-brained folks who still think G. W. Bush is this nations savior might begin to see the light.

Posted by Cakehead at 08:31 PM | Comments (1)

Activities for a snowed-bound weekend

In anticipation of the snow storm that's scheduled to hit in the middle of your weekend, we've compiled a list of activities to keep you active and warm. (Okay, so the panty party might be a bit nippy, but other than that, what better way to heat your insides than with free alcohol and pig?)

Friday, February 10

Event: Ladies Night Pig Roast Luau
Time: 9-10:30 PM
Location: Porky's, 55 West 21st ( 5th and 6th Avenues), Manhattan

Open bar and free admission for women until 10:30. Guys are shit out of luck as usual, at least until the girls get drunk. If you love bachelorette parties and frogs in sombreros, come here for a good time. Or you could just come here to die. If I had to go, I'd take out my emergency switchblade and stab myself in the face. Better than staying at this party, seriously.

[via MyOpenBar.com]

Saturday, February 11

Event: Cachaca Tasting
Time: 5-7 PM
Location: UVA Wine, 218 Bedford Avenue, (@ North 5th, in the Mini-mall) Williamsburg
Cost: Free

Free Cachaca. Cachaca Dave will be pouring heavily at this Brazilian liquor tasting. Get drunk in the late afternoon and do some impulse shopping in the mini-mall. Then maybe you'd like to stumble over to Beacon's Closet and tell them that $0 is not an acceptable trade for my $900 Narciso Rodriguez pants.

[via MyOpenBar.com]

Event: Made With Love
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Brooklyn Collective Artisan Gallery, (198 Columbia Street between Sackett and Degraw, Carrol Gardens)
Cost: Free with RSVP
Open Bar: unknown, 7-8
[via FreeNYC.com]

Event: Rated-X: The Panty Party
Time: 11-Midnight
Location: Scenic, 25 Ave B, (2nd and 3rd Streets) Manhattan (212) 253-2595
Cost: $5 cover if you mention Shaw Promotion, otherwise it's $7

Joanna Angel and the girls from indie music/ink-heavy porn site burningangel.com will be parading around more than half-naked all night long. Performance by Joanna Angel at 1:30am, and of course the pornorific Hot Body Contest at 2:30am

[via MyOpenBar.com]

Sunday, February 12

Event: Strange Carnival
Time: 7:00pm - 11:00pm
Location: Yoyamart (15 Gansevoort Street at Hudson)
Cost: Free
Having the Toy Fair in town means crazy toy parties like this one. there will be guest artist appearances by Friends With You, Nathan Jurevicius & James Jarvis! "Come early for presents, prizes and maybe pineapple"
[via FreeNYC.com]

Posted by Cakehead at 05:41 PM | Comments (0)

February 09, 2006

It takes a Jell-O Village

Jell-O City Hall, San Francisco

Liz Hickok’s work in Jell-O can be seen at the Triptych Gallery in Berekely, California.

Click the image to see the Jell-O version of a San Francisco earthquake:

[via Laughing Squid]

Posted by Cakehead at 05:02 PM | Comments (0)

February 06, 2006

Chew, don't swallow

page from Imaginary World's gum wrapper book

The award for top flea market find goes to the folks at the Imaginary World. They stumbled upon two volumes of books filled with bubble gum wrappers – over 500 wrappers from as far back as 1974.

[via BoingBoing]

Posted by Cakehead at 07:22 PM | Comments (0)

February 02, 2006

Park Slope Restaurant Opening

We don't live in Park Slope, Brooklyn but that won't keep us away from Little Dishes, a new restaurant that's opening tonight where the Cornbread Cafe used to be.

Owned by husband and wife Colin Wright and Mira Friedlaender, Little Dishes offers the American eating community delicious mezze such as salt cod fritters, the most tender octopus salad we've eaten since Spain, cauliflower soup that tastes like Ambrosia from the Gods. You could easily make a meal of the little dishes or try one of the larger dishes. Dishes like pork chops, skate and our favorite: the fall-off-the bone lamb shank that seemed to melt in the mouth. They're opening tonight, so be sure to call early for a reservation.

Little Dishes
434 Seventh Avenue
Park Slope, Brooklyn
718-369-3144
(F train to 7th Avenue)
http://www.littledishes.org/

For all of you mourning the loss of the Cornbread Cafe's passing maybe this will change your mind. When the new owners moved in they found boxes and boxes of Jiffy's cornbread mix hidden in the basement. Guess the cornbread they were serving wasn't a secret family recipe afterall.

Posted by Cakehead at 01:24 PM | Comments (4)

Restaurant Week

Only two days left. Get in before it's too late. Restaurant week

Posted by Cakehead at 07:15 AM | Comments (0)

Candy Bar Wrapper Handbags

These handbags will end your guilt about generating candy bar wrapper waste

Did you ever think you could eat candy bars for a living? Well, someone at Ecoist must be. The company makes and sells handbags made of candy bar wrappers. We sure hope they’re not throwing away the delicious content of the wrapper just to use the papers.

Ecoist are made from recycled candy wrappers, food packages, and soda labels. They are 100% handmade, woven, and sewn to maintain durability for every day use. Money back guarantee.

Posted by Cakehead at 06:23 AM | Comments (1)

February 01, 2006

Friend of the Devil's Food Cake

Via Boing Boing

Some are calling him a vampire, others are calling him a Satanist. But the big story is, whatever his religious convictions, Jonathan "The Impaler' Sharkey is running for governor in Minnesota. From the good state that brought us pro wrestler Jesse “The Body” Ventura, we expect nothing less.

This week’s Cake of the Week Award comes in Devil’s Food flavor. And we present it not only to the gentleman running on the Satanist ticket, but to all the good citizens of Minnesota. May you eat Devil’s Food Cake to eternity.

Posted by Cakehead at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)

Cold Season & the Blood of Christ

Click the image to see Jimmy Kimmel's ad for Robitussin wine.

There's nothing better than a two-in-one. We love any two-in-one that incorporates alcohol. Now that cold season is here, what better way to fight that cough than with a delicious glass of Robitussin Wine.

[From Jimmy Kimmel via Devil Ducky]

Posted by Cakehead at 02:20 PM | Comments (0)