Weird secret ingredient for a perfect home frappucino...

 Xanthan gum.

Seriously. I've been rescuing leftover coffee lately by making a nice blended iced coffee, hoping to emulate the results you get from a Starbucks'. I had some good luck with a half-cup of coffee, a half-cup of milk, ice cubes, and a tablespoon of sugar, given the old Vitamix treatment. And indeed. It was delicious. 

But I'd read this tip on the Internet about xanthan gum, which acts as thickening agent, emulsifier, and stabilizer. In an iced coffee, it was suggested, you add a bit to keep the ingredients from separating. 

Only after reading this tip did I notice a failing of my recipe: Halfway through the drink, the yummy froth and the liquid tended to separate, and since the liquid is heavier than the yummy froth, you're just not getting the full yummy of the thing. So, I ordered some xanthan gum. 

A quarter teaspoon of the stuff improved this consistency issue remarkably. All yummy froth. Down to the bottom of the tumbler. 

It's What's For Dinner

I often have an internal debate on if cooking sous vide is worth the effort. I mean, you season the meat, then you gotta vacuum seal it, which uses a lot of plastic, then you gotta dunk it in water and ensure that it's weighed down, and then you gotta throw it in a hot pan for a minute so it doesn't look quite so ugly.

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Meanwhile, how about that Marvelous Mrs. Maisel?

I have to say, I am not a fan of exposition. It's lazy. In television, please don't tell me, NCIS. It's a visual medium. Show me.

But in the case of S5 Ep6, I mean, exposition was the point, and it was used smartly to bulldoze the story forward. It was couched within a story, within the event of our girl getting the honor of a lifetime, a Friar's Club roast (this really needed a Jeff Ross cameo but okay) but I think this episode was the most talky-talk episode in the whole thing.

Yet, it was done so well, couched within a context, exposition without a wet towel smacking you in the temples, that you really didn't notice you were being talkie-talked to. So good, and man, they moved mountains with gigantic excavators when it came to advancing this story in one simple episode.

I hope Susie gets to answer and/or make that call. Peace in our time, and tits up.

Momofuku Tingly Chili Wavy Ramen Noodles with salmon and brokklies

Things One Wonders at 1 a.m.

What is that weird white thing in my egg?

Via Yahoo! Sports:

That string is called a chalaza—pronounced kuh-LAY-zuh. According to the American Egg Board, eggs actually have two chalazae inside their shell. The chalazae are "twisted, cordlike strands of egg white" that anchor the yolk from the top and bottom of the shell membrane, keeping the yolk from getting busted before you crack the egg. In a fresh egg, the chalazae will be especially visible—so don't feel like you need to remove them.

In Other News
• Was Lauren Boebert's Shooters Grill Replaced by a Mexican Restaurant? (Spoiler: True) (Snopes)
• As far as Zappa live collections are concerned, 'Erie' headed to top (Goldmine)
• Porky's should be in the National Film Registry. Hear me out...

Sometimes A Fella Just Wants a Nice Steak Dinner

Speaking of Cake...

In Other News
• Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, who recently reiterated his opposition to a mask mandate, has just announced he has tested positive for COVID-19.
• They have *water parks* open in Tejas. WATER PARKS. Gee, I wonder why their infection rate is soaring.

Hart's Eve

I have never anticipated a trip to the grocery store as eagerly as I am today.

There has been a certain disconnected sense I've had since I moved downtown, and that's not why you move downtown. You move downtown specifically to be connected. You want to walk downstairs, leave your building, and then there it is, everything in the world you could possibly need. That is the downtown experience I've always imagined. It is what my Uncle Jay and I used to call "The Dream."

But that hasn't been the case. We have coffee shops, bars, nice restaurants, a (sketchy) booze store, pizza, a beautiful gym, and a fine cinema. But we have lacked perhaps the most basic amenity a neighborhood can offer: A grocery.

Until tomorrow.



For me on my work schedule, grocery buying has involved either a midnight run after work or I have to go get my car. I know it sounds like not that much, but I do estimate it's like 15 minutes from my front door to my car. There's no running up the street for that thing you forgot. There are no spontaneous runs to the grocery to grab something for supper.

But tomorrow, friends, is the grand opening of Hart's Local Grocers in the East End. People I talk to frequently are probably tired of hearing about it. But I'll tell you what, this is going to improve the living standard in my neck of the woods by thousands of percents.

Ya'll know where I'll be tomorrow.

I might make a few trips.

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Overheard: "Football is so dangerous. I would never let my kids play football."

:: eyeroll ::

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• 20 Wine Words Most Drinkers Don't Know (Food and Wine)
• The Muppets got mashed up with the Beastie Boys and the whole world sings along (AV Club)
• Sarah Palin Picks Imaginary Fight With Elizabeth Warren, Loses (Mother Jones)