Don't Call It A Comeback!!!

It's crazy how time flies...check here for important information and news as we approach the NYS tests and senior activities.

THE MCRIB IS BACK!!!!!!!!

For the first time in 16 years, McDonald's put the McRib back on the menu. I read an article where someone likened happening upon the McRib to "finding a unicorn drinking at the fountain of youth." I describe it as an elusive culinary gem. Hurry, it'll only be around for 4-6 weeks.

Yo later today I am going IN. Even though it will probably look more like the one shown below rather than the above McRib glamour shot, I'm in there son.

HEEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!!!!!!!!

I am posting this in case things go horribly awry with my mental health and sanity.
I've been creating the 2010-2011 class/teacher schedule for the last 10 days straight.
This image only begins to illustrate how it's been going.
What an awesome vacation.

My New Toy

The contents pictured above became a jerk seasoning for some chicken: ginger, allspice, nutmeg, brown sugar, olive oil, onions, green onions, soy sauce, scotch bonnet peppers, lime juice, cinnamon and thyme leaves. This thing works like a charm. It even makes bread dough. Next week I am making foccacia. Yum.

SpIcY cHiCkEn WiNgS

I'm still going through LOST withdrawal so it's been a while since I've posted but here goes:

These chicken wings are so easy to make and very flavorful. You should try them. Just wash, paper towel dry and season up some wingettes with the usual herbs and spices like sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, garlic powder, paprika and cayenne pepper. The longer they marinate in this rub, the better. Then fry the wings in vegetable oil like you normally would and drain on paper towels. After that, dip them in a combination of hot sauce, butter, ketchup, vinegar and honey. You have to dip them while they're still hot so make the sauce before frying. There would have been more in the picture but I ate them. Yum yum.

The World Is Ending

This sinkhole in Guatemala is evidence that the world is ending.

Wow. The perspective of this last shot is particularly ominous. It's like a portal to hell. Wow.

Asian Barbecued Ribs

My nephew and I are about to tear these bad boys up!

The recipe was not that difficult. All it took was some sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, Chinese five spice, pineapple juice, ketchup, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, minced garlic and fresh smashed ginger. Oh yeah, and the ribs, of course, trimmed of excess fat. The ribs came out sweet, spicy and sticky. I opted not to garnish with sesame seeds.

Now if it would just stop snowing...

I WANT MY FOOD NETWORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My first post of 2010 is a frustrating and sad one. I am losing my mind without the Food Network. It's been over a week now. At first it was like a cruel joke that has gone too far but I think I'm going through withdrawal at this point. Enough already! Meanwhile, I'm missing shows like:

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Paula's Home Cooking
Barefoot Contessa
Everyday Italian
Throwdown with Bobby Flay
Cooking For Real
30 Minute Meals
Unwrapped
Dinner Impossible
Iron Chef America
Ace of Cakes
Food Network Challenge
Chopped!

These shows have become an integral part of my day after work and weekend downtime because I truly enjoy cooking but more importantly, eating. I am going to have to watch vicariously through my fellow foodie and chef Ms. Kinast. I WANT MY FOOD NETWORK!!!!

In any case, I'm trying my sister's recipe for barbecued ribs tomorrow...hopefully they rival Ms. Lentini's.

Fried Chicken

The Popeye's on Flatlands Avenue and East 83rd Street is now open. God help us all.
I'm anticipating Ms. Verdier's debut in a vegetable suit a la Josephine Baker in front of the establishment warning prospective patrons of clogged arteries.

Empanadas

This appetizer is a bit labor intensive and time consuming but it's worth the effort.

First, chop up some onions, garlic and olives:




Then start thawing your empanada skins:


After that, saute the onions and garlic in some olive oil:


Then season some ground beef with these spices and add to the onion and garlic saute:



Brown the ground beef well and break up any large pieces:


Add some sofrito and lastly, the chopped olives:



Roll out each empanada skin slightly...don't overdo it or they'll tear:


Fill the center of the skin with a good amount of the cooked meat mixture:


Seal the edges with a little water and then press around the empanada with a fork:


Repeat 9 times:


Now the unhealthy part...fry the empanadas in vegetable oil:

If you don't roll the skins, the empanadas will have a smoother, more uniform look.
If you do, they will have a bubbly appearance and come out a little crunchier.
By the way, the skins will brown pretty quickly. Drain the empanadas on paper towels.

Eat the empanadas!

Make sure you give one to Ms. Montalvo.

You Gotta Be Kidding Me!

Random Thoughts

1. I hope the Yankees lose.
2. I'm exhausted.
3. I didn't vote and I'm fine with that.
4. Thank you to all the SHSAT kids who came in on their day off.
5. I've accumulated 106 sick days in 12 years and I need to take a few.
6. I love bacon.
7. I can't afford the BMW X5.
8. Music has healing power.
9. Can't wait for the last season of LOST.
10. See #2

My trip to Anguilla, BWI

My much needed holiday on the island of Anguilla (British West Indies) was awesome. I hadn't been to Anguilla since 2001 (the week before 9/11) and I've wanted to go back ever since. Anguilla is not the easiest island to get to but it's worth the journey. You have to either fly to Puerto Rico and take one of those toy airplanes to Anguilla or do what most people do which is take a 20 minute ferry from nearby Sint Maarten/Saint Martin. The ferry ride is a harrowing experience.

This was the view from the hotel room balcony:


The beach on which the hotel was situated (Mead's Bay) is said to be the most naturally beautiful of Anguilla's 33 beaches. The sand was soft and white and the water was warm and turquoise. This pic almost looks like a postcard:



Shout out to my frat brother for doing a great job driving on the left side of the road around the island because that's something I wasn't trying to attempt.

All in all, the vacation was great and I got a chance to relax before next week's return for another school year. Hurricane Bill messed with the water a couple of days but fortunately did not hit the island by a long shot.

Embracing Technology

So I'm in my old neighborhood about to get my barber shop on typing this post on my new iPhone. This is pretty cool and very convenient. Let's see...what's going on with me? Summer school has been taking most of my time. I've been leaving Around 9 pm lately. I have to run in to the building later for something I forgot but really need to take care of before Monday. Yeah so I've been playing around with the new phone. Thanks Mr. Mareus's cousin for helping us to sync the iPhone with Outlook. What a convenience!

Last week my oldest nephew graduated from Tottenville HS in Staten Island. We are all very proud of him. A good friend from my college years is in town so we will be meeting this weekend. I also have to cook something for our brunch on Monday. The red velvet cake was gone in 2 periods last week. I'm glad everyone enjoyed it. I haven't figured out how to upload an image on this post from the iPhone so I can't include the pic of the cakes coming out of the oven.

Congratulations again to the Class of 2009! Peace...gotta go.

LOST Season 5: Episode 7: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

We've been bamboozled! Hoodwinked! We were lead to believe that Locke killed himself and all the while Ben killed him. Very clever those LOST writers are. This didn't happen until after 10 pm...the show went to about 10:06. What other show is so good that they can bogart time from the next show that's coming on?

Episode 7 was very informative. I'm leaning more towards Charles Widmore being a "good guy" after this episode. That is, until the true nature of the original Hostiles is revealed or we get a little more information on how he became as powerful as he is.

Matthew Abaddon was killed by Ben also. If he was a bad enough guy for Ben to kill him, was it just to finish getting rid of all of Whidmore's constituents or is Widmore just as equally immoral and "bad" as Ben [who is most probably likely maybe definitely bad] and they're just two bad guys trying to outdo each other at the expense of the Losties?

I guess I was wrong in assuming that Ceasar, the new guy, is of Middle Eastern descent. He had a Spanish accent and Ceasar is to Latinos as Day-Shawn is to African Americans. Lana, the woman who was escorting Sayid, seemed kinda Spanish too. It's unclear whether their leadership roles are accidental or if they're key characters for the remainder of the season. Next week, Kate and Sawyer will reunite. Can't wait for that...or will they get glimpses of each other at the very end of the episode as the screen fades to black?

Question: Why didn't Locke survive Ben strangling him just like Michael couldn't die when he returned to New York?

I love this show, but the locations in Santa Monica, California and New York City in this episode were unmistakenly Hawaii. You could see mountains in the background during the car crash scene. They were tropical moutains, not North American ones. And there's no white colonial style edifice on 67th Street and 8th Avenue! [By the way, Walt looks about 21 years old now.] They did a much better job making Hawaii look like the Middle East when Sayid went to bury Nadia. I'm just saying...but LOST is STILL the best show ever!!

LOST Season 5: Episode 6: 316

Episode 6 was incredible as expected. We learned how the Dharma Initiative found the island in the first place. Desmond decided not to return to the island. 5 out of six returned on a flight to Guam with Aaron being the only one left behind. Who knows where he is. Even Locke's corpse is on the flight. Mrs. Hawking's advice was correct in that they had to best recreate the original conditions that brought them to the island in the first place. Ben was assualted in some way and sustained injuries. Jin greets Jack, Kate and Hurley when they arrive back and is shocked / happy / surprised to see them. We don't know where Sun, Sayid, Ben and the 2 new characters wound up.

I'm sure there are some interesting plot twists and developments related to the 2 new characters. One is escorting Sayid as a prisoner much like Kate was being escorted in the very first episode. The other is another Arabic/Middle Eastern dude who was a passenger on flight 316 to Guam. Next week's episode answers the question of Locke's death/suicide. LOST is the best show ever!

LOST Season 5: Episode 5: This Place is Death

Last night's episode of LOST was very well done. The flashes were happening right and left. We found out a little more about Danielle Rousseau and what happened to her team of scientists. Turns out she shot them, which is different from the "sickness" that she said they got when she recorded the sixteen year old message. Ben continued to try and rally up the Oceanic 6. They all wound up at a church to meet Mrs. Hawking (pictured here). Desmond showed up too? Does he have to return to the island as well?

I enjoyed the scene in which Jin struggles to communicate with the French...very well written and executed.

Turns out Mrs. Hawking is Daniel Faraday's mother. Charlotte is the first casualty of the season. We did learn that she was indeed born on the island. This was hinted at in season 4 when she said she spent a lot of time "trying to get back." Locke found his way to the wheel where Jack's father was waiting for him. Locke turned the wheel and will probably wind up in LA next week.

This was an excellent episode. Mrs. Hawking turned out to be much more important than we probably figured when we first met her in London and she told Desmond not to buy the engagement ring for Penny. I particularly enjoyed last night's episode in High Definition. The colors seemed to pop a little more than usual. All in all, excellent episode. Can't wait until next week when we're off from school. Mrs. Hawking is going to explain how to get back to the island. Best show ever!

LOST Season 5: Episode 4: The Little Prince

Tonight's episode was awesome. The time travel twists just keep on coming. The sky flashes and their effects were prevalent once again this week. Next weeks's episode looks amazing as well. JIN IS ALIVE!!! The next question is Is Michael alive too?

I knew Ben was behind the men showing up at Kate's house to get blood samples from Aaron and her the moment they arrived at the door. But that doesn't explain who's trying to tranquilize Sayid. If it's Ben, why is he going to such lengths?

Danielle's crew arriving on the island was also kinda predictable, but that doesn't take away from the creativity factor of the writing thus far this season. How brilliant to have Jin, of all people, meet up with the French crew 16 years ago!!! And will we see what actually happened to the French crew that left Danielle all alone (well, kinda) on the island? If time keeps jumping around the way it has been, this is unlikely. Either that or we'll see bits and pieces here and there out of chronological order and have to configure it ourselves. Could this season rival season 3? We'll see...

ShOuT oUt!!!

...to parents, guardians and caregivers, straight up. My 4 year old (almost 5) nephew spent the night last night and it was daunting keeping up with him. Really, it was quite a task. And he was a little sick on top of that. You all deserve a commendation for looking after the little people, making sure they're OK, feeding them, making sure the temperature is right when they wash their hands, waiting until they're alseep to go to sleep yourself, etc.

...to Ms. McNeese who is home recuperating from an unfortunate mishap. I spoke to her yesterday and I'm pleased to report that she's in really great spirits.

...to Ms. Hall, Ms. Piton, Ms. Zephir and the cast of this year's production of High School Musical.

...to Ms. Hristodoulou for bringing me spanakopita.

...to Ms. Cambry for bringing me coffee and a turkey/bacon/cheddar flatbread sandwich.

...to Officer Hernaiz for bringing me tacos and baked ziti. (on 2 seperate occasions)

...to Ms. Crawford for bringing me rice and beans.

...to Kesner of 285 for being a great afterschool employee.

...to Ms. Murphy for bringing me curry chicken and rice.

...to Ms. Abdullah for putting together the African American history month exhibition.

...to Mr. Fralin for his visionary instructional leadership.

...to Mr. Mareus for his varied assistance in operational and organizational matters.

...to the readers of this blog!

The Arts

AILEY
I'm very disappointed with the new Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre 2008-2009 performance schedule at City Center. I usually go a few times each season but this year, it's looking like 1 time will suffice. Each year, I look forward to the classic Revelations but also newer pieces like Grace by Ronald K. Brown and Caught (usually danced brilliantly by Clifton Brown) by David Parsons. Neither of these two are being performed this time around. And no Cry [the incredible tour de force female solo created by Alvin Ailey as a tribute to Black women originally danced by Judith Jamison]?!!! What were they thinking? In any case, it would be great to send some students to see a Wednesday matinee but that would be extremely pricey.

RENT
I hope you got to see RENT before it left Broadway. I saw it twice with several years in between and it was equally awesome each time. The music and lyrics are poignant and timeless and the soundtrack is always in heavy rotation on my iPod. By the way, the movie was horrible and can't compare with the live show.

IN THE HEIGHTS
I hope to see this runaway Broadway hit before the year is out. They just won about a million Tony's. The buzz is out of control on this one.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Budget permitting, that's the musical we're going to put on here at I.S. 68 in June, 2009. This will make 4 in a row. Hopefully we will be the recipients of some much needed audio equipment for the auditorium in the near future. New curtains would be great, too. I'm still trying to figure out why they were butchered the way they were.

LUPE FIASCO
I've lost a lot of love for hip hop in the past few years. I've spent that time rediscovering who I think is the greatest rapper alive, NaS. Almost everyone else right now just doesn't score high against the bar that was set in the 80's and early 90's. There are about 800 rappers these days who are all spouting lots of the same nonsense. They've cheapened the genre significantly. Kids today wouldn't know excellent hip hop unless their parents exposed them to it. However, Lupe Fiasco is a breath of fresh air, a welcomed exception. I'm a little late getting into his current album, but better late than never. Although I hear definite Jay-Z influences (and I'm no one's Jay-Z fan, like say, um, Mr. Williams), Lupe's wordplay and general flow are impressive, weaving social consciousness and culturally relevant issues with just the right amount of street significance.

I WANT TO WORK FOR DIDDY
I don't care for Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. I won't get into all the reasons why right now but I will talk about the show currently on VH-1. My best friend and I have had heated discussions as to what's been going on with the show, which ends (thank goodness) next week. On Monday's show, the interns had to prepare a showcase for the artist Janelle Monae. I found it completely contrived and over the top. There were tasks being thrown at them left and right at top (unrealistic) speed. Now I have never worked at a music label or for a mogul, but I'm sure it's not quite that urgent and hectic. I have, however, put on my share of shows. The episode was ridiculous...all done for the sensationalism of TV. I found it silly. How are you supposed to put on a major production in 2 days with 1,000 guests? Long story short, I'm sure the showcase was 99% planned and in the bag before the intern contestants were given these hurculean tasks to "make it happen."

MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA
I saw it last night. My next post will be a full review.