Happy Chinese New Years! This time we are welcoming in the year of the Dragon (for you 2012 conspiracy theorists out there, take that as you will) and with that comes a new gallery of photos. Last time for the year of the Tiger we showed what one of our staff member’s families prepare for the occasion and this year we return for more.
This year has a bigger focus on pastries but much of the menu stays the same. We hope all of you enjoy the photos. Happy Year of the Dragon!
How many rounds does this make? Eh, who cares? Image courtesy of Getty Images
Ho boy, we’re a bit late coming back from the end of 2011 aren’t we? Like much of the world, we simply partied too much while pondering the implications of 2012. So naturally, we emerge back into the regular world wondering what we should do to address our recent “alcohol contamination”.
Our first thought is to swear off alcohol for months (as if that has any real chance of happening). However, a BBC News article published on New Years Eve suggests otherwise: for the sake of your liver, cut back your drinking habit slowly rather than abstaining altogether.
Andrew Langford, chief executive of the British Liver Trust, said that people tend to believe the hype about rejuvenating their liver by detoxing in January.
“People think they’re virtuous with their health by embarking on a liver detox each January with the belief that they are cleansing their liver of excess following the festive break.
“A one-hit, one-month attempt to achieve long-term liver health is not the way to approach it.
“You’re better off making a resolution to take a few days off alcohol a week throughout the entire year than remaining abstinent for January only.”
We can see the merit in this thinking; it’s sort of like hitting the brakes in your car. You want to ease slowly on the brakes rather plant both feet straight down.
As we celebrate (re-celebrate?) using the leftover champagne, we also come across this:
What the-? Image courtesy of Impact Lab
That’s a 3D printer for food. Or at least, the concept of them. More on this next week about this approach to repair fruit with defects that normally don’t make it to our supermarkets.
We’re going to start off today’s article with the photo below:
Dare we say "Milk"?
The photo did not come with an explanation and we are left to our own imagination to make up the backstory: Was this some sort of contest devised by college students to appease the cookie god? A moment of humor in some military base (plane diagram in the background)? Some child’s clever trick behind the phrase “I will just have ONE cookie”?
Who knows? We’re definitely sure everyone out there has an idea. Post about your theories in the comment section if you like.
So now November 24 has come and past. Thanksgiving is over but your refrigerator is full of the remains. So the question is, now what?
" Serious Eats" definitely knows the important questions in life.
Everyone has their suggestions. For example, Fox News’s Kris Schoels has the article “What to Do With Thanksgiving Leftovers” featuring “Turkey Turnovers” and “Day After Cranberry Sauce Muffins”.
Photo courtesy of Fox news. Cranberry Sauce Muffins on top left, Turkey Turnovers on the bottom left, and Kris Schoels on the right. No, all three do not come with the recipe.
On the Food Network as part of their Essence of Emeril show, they offer a recipe for “Kentucky Hot Browns, Emeril-Style” and “Thanksgiving Leftovers Sherpherd’s Pie”.
The recipe pages don't have pictures, so instead we have a picture of Emeril Lagasse courtesy of the Food Network
Back on Serious Eats, they suggest 18 recipes found at this link. Two caught our eye: “Pumpkin Turkey Chili” and “Gourmet’s Turkey Jook” (Rice congee in other words).
Pro-Tip: Remove Turkey bones beforehand. Photo courtesy of Serious Eats
Of course, Martha Stewart has some ideas. In fact, there is an entire section dedicated to leftovers. There are over 35 entries in that list with names like “Turkey Banh Mi Sandwich” and the “Rachel Sandwich” (you’ll have to find out why it’s name that on your own).
The ingredient list does not mention how much of Rachel goes into serving. Photo courtesy of the Martha Stewart Show
We’ll going to give a few of these a try and see how things turn out. See you next time!
The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in NYC. Hi Santa!
For those of you just waking up from your self-induced food comas, welcome back! The staff here at Diners.org hope you all had a great holiday (for those of you outside the U.S. who don’t celebrate Thanksgiving we hope you had a great weekend as well). Let’s hope we can ease back into our regular lives in time to leave for the Christmas Holidays >_<
We also have this lovely picture of a staff member’s Thanksgiving table (the second turkey is kept warm inside the large white cooker, there are three vegetable dishes, stuffing, corn on the cob, and condiments). Thanks guys!
NOM NOM NOM NOM
Most of you are either caught in the traveling limbo that is the holidays, gearing up to storm retail stores for Black Friday Deals, or loading up in the name of Gluttony. But before the we join the masses for the holiday weekend, the Diners.org staff would like to share a pretty cool product:
BOOM!
Yep, that’s “Pig In A Blanket” maker. For those are you who don’t know, “Pig In A Blanket” is essentially a sausage fried inside a dough wrapping. Delicious? Yes.
It also looks like a regular Wafflemaker for those of you who want to hide it from others. Not sure why you would though.
You can purchase these cookers at Urban Outfitters for $30 or at Amazon from $20 and up.
Thanks to our audience for pointing this cool appliance at Incredible Things.
We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and we’ll see you all when we get back next week!
Hello all! As we are fast approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, we can expect the usual bombardment of holiday tips, sales, recipes, and shenanigans. While we prep ourselves for the inevitable, we’re just going to leave you with this clip from the Peanuts 1970′s Collection:
Enjoy your preparations for Thanksgiving!
I am going to need twenty pounds of butter for this
Whoa. This has been quite a journey and a pleasure for the Diners.org team. For five days (August 3 to August 7), we made our way up to Boston (Massachusetts), Salem (Massachusetts), and finally to Lobsterfest in Rockland, Maine. It was an extraordinary trip and we are thankful to all of the people we met on the trip for their hospitality and friendliness.
First off, the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston, Massachusetts. It is near the outskirts of Boston, but is accessible by subway. No need to be modest about your reasons for going: there was a city worker shouting out directions to the brewery right at the turnstiles. In hindsight, we should have tipped him.
You know what to do.
Hidden among the residential houses is an oldstyle building surrounded by wooden barrels that we are confident believe to be beer. After paying the tour fee, guests are allowed to sample new brands of Samuel Adams beer and then vote on them.
Samuel Adams takes their awards seriously.
Yes, vote. The brand with the most votes will be produced for consumption in the following year.
(To the regret of the Diners.org team, we forgot which brands we sampled. Or how many. MOVING ON.)
Box ol' booze
Inside we are introduced to the methods behind the magic:
65 barrels worth of Samuel Adams
The filtration process.
Then we get to see the barrels where the beer sits:
Truth in the name.
Please keep your Donkey Kong jokes to yourself.
Finally, we get to the fun part. The sampling room:
Classroom chalkboards wish they had this much attention.
Unlike the outside patio before, this wasn’t a ballot for future lines of beer. This was fresh batches of draft beer fresh from the manufacturing line.
The drinking glasses handed out are pretty nice too.
All Thursday mornings should start like this.
Afterward sampling three different brands of Samuel Adams, the tour is over. The Diners.org team stayed in Boston for the rest of the day where we dined at a few excellent restaurants. One of them is “Legal Seafood” which was so amazing, we forgot to take pictures.
We were serious when we told you they are called "Legal Seafood". No, we were not served by lawyers.
Situated on the Long Wharf on Boston’s waterfront, the Diners.org team enjoyed excellent tea and seafood delivered by a very friendly staff. Check them out at this link. But all of this would pale to the 20,880 lbs of lobster being cooked up in Rockland, Maine (keep that number handy as you continue reading).
During the drive north, we did a small pitstop in Salem, Massachusetts. On one hand, members of the team want to check out the Salem Witch Trial museums. On the other hand, we found a drink call the “Helltini”.
Drinking this might hurt.
The Helltini is a drink offered by the Rockafellas restaurant on their menu. They also offer a variety of other specialty drinks relevant to the town, but we were only going try our luck once that day.
This is an omen.
Since we have at least one member of the team who is not a driver or backup driver, Diners.org took on this challenge. Waiver signed and pumped up with adrenaline, our “fearless” team member grabbed the martini glass and…
…chugged it.
One emergency glass of cold water later and our Diners.org team member is awarded his t-shirt. Mints shortly followed as the team realized we will have to drive with him burping in the car all the way up to Rockland, Maine.
Ah, Rockland's Lobsterfest. How full of... seafood you are.
There are no words to adequately describe the experience of eating at Lobstefest. So we’re going to let photos and captions do most of the talking.
Just in case you didn't know where you are...
The tents where the magic happens!..... Eating folks, I mean eating.
View of the harbor from the eating tent. Puts a smile on your face knowing there is a fleet of ships out there harvesting seafood for you to chow on.
All you can eat Blueberry pancakes for breakfast!
The awesomeness starts with steamed lobster, corn on the cob, bread, melted butter...
... smoked shrimp, smoked scallops, smoked mussels...
... and of course more lobster.
Somewhere along the way to over 20,000 pounds of lobster being cooked.
Rockland's Lobsterfest parade. Go Rockland go!
As if eating tons of seafood wasn't enough...
... there are carnival games...
... and more games and food.
Live band for the festival!
Ah, that was good. For the curious, three lobsters with fixings only cost $18.40 at Lobsterfest. Naturally, the cost drops the less you eat lobster. Steaming starts at 11AM but from 7AM to 11AM there is all-you-can-eat-pancakes… for $6.
Amazing isn’t it? We hope you enjoy the photos and perhaps we will see you at Lobsterfest next year!
Diners.org also has video of the Helltini drinking. We will post that in another article once it is ready.
Now, please excuse me as I hit the gym to work all this extra weight off.
After a five-day journey through the New England states, the crew of Diners.org has returned from their visit to the famous Lobster Maine Festival! We ate, took photos, and over the next week we will share our experiences which range from Boston eateries to seafood munching in Maine.
So stay turned!
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, the Diners.org team has geared up and is now ready to travel to the MAINE LOBSTER FESTIVAL (August 3 – 7) in Rockland, Maine.
Official logo of the Maine Lobster Festival
What does this mean? It means a glorious weekend where Diners.org writers will try to see how much seafood they devour before someone claims it’s a violation of the Geneva Convention.
Image Courtesy of Maine Lobster Festival
Aside from the fine dining, activities at the LobsterFest include Blind Rowboat Racing, Lobster Crate Racing, Coast Guard Survival Demonstration, public tours of the USS Mahan (DDG-72), music, and live entertainment.
Image courtesy of Maine Lobster Festival
If you are going to be at Lobsterfest as well, feel free to meet with us and tell us what you think of Rockland’s crustacean extravaganza.
Image courtesy of Maine Lobster Festival
Look for Diners.org reports this week!
Hello everyone!
This weekend on July 4th, the United States of America celebrates its Independence Day! Like every year, Americans celebrate with delicious barbecue and awesome fireworks.
No, our Barbecue grill doesn't look like this but deep down we wish it did.
The Diners.org team hopes everyone is enjoying the Fourth of July festivities much like we are here in New York City. Tonight is the annual Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks display, which is always spectacular to watch while munching on delicious food just cooked on the grill.
See you all next week when we post our visit to Ninja New York!