Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 212
April 1, 2012
I will not be denied muffulettas
Last night, I held my belated birthday party. As has been my tradition for a few years now, I planned to serve muffulettas, the delicious New Orleans sandwich, as the centerpiece of the meal.
Events conspired to stop me, but I would not be denied.
The first challenge is that only one New Orleans business, Central Grocery, still sells them mail order. All the other suppliers have stopped selling them. Normally, that's no problem: I know by phone Frankie in shipping, and I order from him successfully each year. This year, though, he had tickets for the Final Four, so muffulettas would not be available until April 3--too late for my party.
I tried calling the main store and offering a bribe if anyone there would pack and ship the muffulettas, but that didn't work. When I said, "But I have a party full of people Saturday night," the man with whom I spoke responded, "Not with muffulettas you don't."
Droll, and accurate.
After exhausting all the options we could find, only one path forward remained: making the muffulettas. Fortunately, Nola Cajun sells the special bread you need and also the Central Grocery olive tapanade that is a key ingredient in the sandwich. Recipes and videos of the construction of the fabled sandwich are readily available. Add meat and cheese--twenty pounds of it--from a local deli, and we were set.
All that remained was nearly two hours of assembly work for two of us. Here are the twelve sandwiches in mid-construction, with the first layer of cheese on the top and the olive oil already on the bottom.
As always, click on the photo to see a larger image.
After many more layers of meat and cheese, the muffulettas were ready to be pressed, taped in paper, pressed some more, and, less than twenty-four hours later, served.
If it sounds like a ton of work for a sandwich, it is. The result, however, is well worth the cost. These things were delicious!
I have to admit, though, that I still hope that the next time I want them, I can just order them.
Events conspired to stop me, but I would not be denied.
The first challenge is that only one New Orleans business, Central Grocery, still sells them mail order. All the other suppliers have stopped selling them. Normally, that's no problem: I know by phone Frankie in shipping, and I order from him successfully each year. This year, though, he had tickets for the Final Four, so muffulettas would not be available until April 3--too late for my party.
I tried calling the main store and offering a bribe if anyone there would pack and ship the muffulettas, but that didn't work. When I said, "But I have a party full of people Saturday night," the man with whom I spoke responded, "Not with muffulettas you don't."
Droll, and accurate.
After exhausting all the options we could find, only one path forward remained: making the muffulettas. Fortunately, Nola Cajun sells the special bread you need and also the Central Grocery olive tapanade that is a key ingredient in the sandwich. Recipes and videos of the construction of the fabled sandwich are readily available. Add meat and cheese--twenty pounds of it--from a local deli, and we were set.
All that remained was nearly two hours of assembly work for two of us. Here are the twelve sandwiches in mid-construction, with the first layer of cheese on the top and the olive oil already on the bottom.
As always, click on the photo to see a larger image.After many more layers of meat and cheese, the muffulettas were ready to be pressed, taped in paper, pressed some more, and, less than twenty-four hours later, served.
If it sounds like a ton of work for a sandwich, it is. The result, however, is well worth the cost. These things were delicious!
I have to admit, though, that I still hope that the next time I want them, I can just order them.
March 31, 2012
The Hunger Games
I haven't read these books, but with all the hype I had to check out the movie. I also wanted to see where on the spectrum of teen-oriented blockbusters it fell. Was it at the terrible end, down there with the Twilight movies? Or, was it at the high end, hanging out with the Harry Potters?
I'm happy to report that I'm glad I went to The Hunger Games. I enjoyed it, and I can see its appeal for the YA audience. The main story--plucky teens fighting to the death--has a sort of unpleasant but undeniable built-in appeal, and the actors and script delivered reasonably well on the device. The corrupt society that stages these games was clearly corrupt, with the director and writer missing no opportunity to show you that most of these folks in the Capitol are decadent and bad. I learned, for example, that in the future all rich people will have really long fake eyelashes. Good to know.
Aside from those overly broad brush strokes, the film did a fine job of making you care about the youthful leads and of keeping you moving fast enough that you were willing to suspend your disbelief about the basic concept.
I definitely recommend seeing it.
As for its place on the YA blockbuster continuum, it's in the upper third but not the top. It towers over the dreadful Twilight movies, but it falls well short of the Potter flicks. The key reason is probably that, as my wise daughter observed, almost everyone wants to live in Harry Potter's world, even to be Harry or one of the other kids at Hogwarts, while almost no one wants to be Katniss Everdeen. We want to root for her, and we do, but few of us want to be sent into a fight to the death with a bunch of other kids. (Kyle, you may be a notable exception. Get over it.)
So, see the film, expect to have a good time, but if you're not already a huge Hunger Games fan, don't expect to come away completely in love with it.
I'm happy to report that I'm glad I went to The Hunger Games. I enjoyed it, and I can see its appeal for the YA audience. The main story--plucky teens fighting to the death--has a sort of unpleasant but undeniable built-in appeal, and the actors and script delivered reasonably well on the device. The corrupt society that stages these games was clearly corrupt, with the director and writer missing no opportunity to show you that most of these folks in the Capitol are decadent and bad. I learned, for example, that in the future all rich people will have really long fake eyelashes. Good to know.
Aside from those overly broad brush strokes, the film did a fine job of making you care about the youthful leads and of keeping you moving fast enough that you were willing to suspend your disbelief about the basic concept.
I definitely recommend seeing it.
As for its place on the YA blockbuster continuum, it's in the upper third but not the top. It towers over the dreadful Twilight movies, but it falls well short of the Potter flicks. The key reason is probably that, as my wise daughter observed, almost everyone wants to live in Harry Potter's world, even to be Harry or one of the other kids at Hogwarts, while almost no one wants to be Katniss Everdeen. We want to root for her, and we do, but few of us want to be sent into a fight to the death with a bunch of other kids. (Kyle, you may be a notable exception. Get over it.)
So, see the film, expect to have a good time, but if you're not already a huge Hunger Games fan, don't expect to come away completely in love with it.
March 30, 2012
How much do I want to see this movie?
An entirely unreasonable amount.
The title, the star--Danny Trejo--and co-stars Charles S. Dutton and Ron Perlman make it a must-see. Then there's the epic beard.
Seriously, how could I resist it?
March 29, 2012
A bunch of moods in Beatles-speak
Running through my head, here in sound and video from the Beatles.
Ah, the glorious life of the mid-list writer.
No taking the easy way out for me, though.
How it works for Jon in my books.
Enough.
Back to work.
Ah, the glorious life of the mid-list writer.
No taking the easy way out for me, though.
How it works for Jon in my books.
Enough.
Back to work.
March 28, 2012
Facebook hates my name
A lot of people have been bugging me to get on Facebook, and for a long time I've ignored them. In a moment of weakness the other night, however, I decided to sign up. I went to the Facebook home page, clicked the option to join, filled in its form, and with resentment at having to give my birthday, I pressed the final button.
Facebook rejected me. It claimed my last name
At this point, I could have cheated. Others in my family have. We're familiar with this problem. You just change the last name to
I, however, refuse to do that. If I'm going to be on a site that insists in accurate personal data, I refuse to compromise on my name. Surely a site with hundreds of millions of users must have thousands of last names with spaces in them; keeping my real last name must be possible.
Sure enough, after reading various help pages, I found a potential answer: I could upload to them a picture or scan of my government-approved ID (driver's license or passport), and then once they verified my name, they would contact me. Never mind the data available on my Web site, or my blog, or the books in stores, or the information retrievable via Google, or my Wikipedia entry; no, none of that is good enough for Facebook. I have to give them my freaking driver's license.
At that point, I gave up. To appease those who want me on Facebook, I may one day soon capitulate to this stupid demand, but not right now. Right now, I want to tell the Facebook programmers to learn to take multi-word last names.
Really, I want to say other things to them, but I'm trying to be nice.
Facebook rejected me. It claimed my last name
Van Namewas not legal.
At this point, I could have cheated. Others in my family have. We're familiar with this problem. You just change the last name to
VanNameand then you're good to go.
I, however, refuse to do that. If I'm going to be on a site that insists in accurate personal data, I refuse to compromise on my name. Surely a site with hundreds of millions of users must have thousands of last names with spaces in them; keeping my real last name must be possible.
Sure enough, after reading various help pages, I found a potential answer: I could upload to them a picture or scan of my government-approved ID (driver's license or passport), and then once they verified my name, they would contact me. Never mind the data available on my Web site, or my blog, or the books in stores, or the information retrievable via Google, or my Wikipedia entry; no, none of that is good enough for Facebook. I have to give them my freaking driver's license.
At that point, I gave up. To appease those who want me on Facebook, I may one day soon capitulate to this stupid demand, but not right now. Right now, I want to tell the Facebook programmers to learn to take multi-word last names.
Really, I want to say other things to them, but I'm trying to be nice.
March 27, 2012
Jon & Lobo audiobooks are here!
I mentioned in an earlier post that the fine folks at audible.com would be bringing the Jon & Lobo books to audio. Well, they have. You can get all of the first four books here.
I have not heard them, nor did I have any hand in their making, but I am quite excited to give them a listen.
The same person, Tom Stechschulte, narrates all of them. I do not know his work, but he has narrated many audiobooks, including James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia, Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island, Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men and The Road, and Rick Riordan's Big Red Tequila. I'm honored to have my books in that company.
If you check out any of these, please let me know what you think. I'll do the same.
I have not heard them, nor did I have any hand in their making, but I am quite excited to give them a listen.
The same person, Tom Stechschulte, narrates all of them. I do not know his work, but he has narrated many audiobooks, including James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia, Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island, Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men and The Road, and Rick Riordan's Big Red Tequila. I'm honored to have my books in that company.
If you check out any of these, please let me know what you think. I'll do the same.
March 26, 2012
I wish it were this simple
It's not, really, not for most of us. Sometimes, though, I think it should be.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
March 25, 2012
Papa Mojo's Roadhouse
How did I not know about this place? It's not like Papa Mojo's Roadhouse is new; it's clearly been around for a while. It's also not like I pay no attention to restaurants; I'm usually on top of the Triangle food scene. For whatever reason, though, I've missed this little strip-mall-based establishment--until today.
After watching the excellent first season of Treme, I've been hankering for New Orleans and its food. Mel Melton, the founder of Papa Mojo's, provides a little of both with live music much of the time, including this afternoon, and an assortment of tasty food.
The beignets, for example, were perfect, hot and sugar-covered and absolutely delicious. The andouille sausage I sampled had just the right amount of bite.
The Web site for Papa Mojo's boasts this quote from Melton:
After watching the excellent first season of Treme, I've been hankering for New Orleans and its food. Mel Melton, the founder of Papa Mojo's, provides a little of both with live music much of the time, including this afternoon, and an assortment of tasty food.
The beignets, for example, were perfect, hot and sugar-covered and absolutely delicious. The andouille sausage I sampled had just the right amount of bite.
The Web site for Papa Mojo's boasts this quote from Melton:
"When people leave one of our shows or my restaurant, I want them to feel like they've been down in the swamp at a big party and they've had a great time. That's what it's all about."I need to return for both lunch and dinner, and you can bet I will, but based on just this quick brunch visit, Melton nailed it. Papa Mojo's deserves your attention.
March 24, 2012
An still has a long way to go
An, an Asian fusion restaurant in Cary, was the first big restaurant project of Jim and Ann Goodnight. Though first, it has stood for some time now in the shadow of its younger, much more polished brother, Herons at The Umstead Hotel. After eating a few times at An and finding the meals always good but not in any particular way outstanding or memorable, I crossed the place off my list.
Then, though, I heard that in mid February An had gained a new Executive Chef, Steven Devereaux Greene, who had moved over from Heron's. I've eaten tasting menus Greene had directed, and they were inventive and tasty, so I resolved to give An another shot.
Sadly, nothing much has changed.
I tried their tasting menu, to give the kitchen the chance to put its best foot forward. They skipped the amuse, which is unusual but acceptable. The first three courses, all seafood, were tasty, though relatively simple. The palate cleanser was both not very good and came on a metal spoon that had frost on it from sitting in the refrigerator. Surely they could have scooped a quenelle on the spot instead of delivering frozen spoons. The main course, some delicate duck slices, was quite good, though again somewhat simple.
Up to this point, the meal would have been just good enough to bring me back, but with one serious problem I'll discuss in a minute.
The dessert was simply terrible. Miso is not a good thing to put on sesame cake, as I learned the hard way. It alone was enough to make me not want to return.
The big issue was pacing. Time from sitting down to finishing paying the check, for five courses, with a five-minute wait on the check after I requested it: one hour and nine minutes. They were practically slinging out the courses. A gentler pace would be much, much better.
I'm going to choose to believe that Greene has not had time to put his stamp on An, and in a few months, I'll try it again. Right now, though, it's just another completely acceptable Asian fusion place. That's a good thing, but it's not, I believe, what An aspires to be.
Then, though, I heard that in mid February An had gained a new Executive Chef, Steven Devereaux Greene, who had moved over from Heron's. I've eaten tasting menus Greene had directed, and they were inventive and tasty, so I resolved to give An another shot.
Sadly, nothing much has changed.
I tried their tasting menu, to give the kitchen the chance to put its best foot forward. They skipped the amuse, which is unusual but acceptable. The first three courses, all seafood, were tasty, though relatively simple. The palate cleanser was both not very good and came on a metal spoon that had frost on it from sitting in the refrigerator. Surely they could have scooped a quenelle on the spot instead of delivering frozen spoons. The main course, some delicate duck slices, was quite good, though again somewhat simple.
Up to this point, the meal would have been just good enough to bring me back, but with one serious problem I'll discuss in a minute.
The dessert was simply terrible. Miso is not a good thing to put on sesame cake, as I learned the hard way. It alone was enough to make me not want to return.
The big issue was pacing. Time from sitting down to finishing paying the check, for five courses, with a five-minute wait on the check after I requested it: one hour and nine minutes. They were practically slinging out the courses. A gentler pace would be much, much better.
I'm going to choose to believe that Greene has not had time to put his stamp on An, and in a few months, I'll try it again. Right now, though, it's just another completely acceptable Asian fusion place. That's a good thing, but it's not, I believe, what An aspires to be.
March 23, 2012
Lobo on...spotting your enemies
At one point in No Going Back, someone shoots Jon. As Jon is telling Lobo about this incident, Jon expresses some concern about the person who shot him. Lobo thinks this is a dumb choice on Jon's part and offers the following advice:
Try to remember the simple things: If they shoot you, they're not on your side.Words to live by.
