Wednesday, February 8, 2012

WEEK 5: SUPERBOWL


My roommate is a die-hard Giants fan so when they made it into the Super Bowl, I knew it would be a long day. For him, the game is not simply won by the actions of the players, coaches and referees. It is heavily influenced by a variety of factors pertaining to how he watches the game including what he is wearing, what and when he drinks and even where he's located. So for this week, we take a look at the ways the above factors played into the outcome of Super Bowl XLVI.

Monday, January 30, 2012

WEEK 4: SALAD DRESSING


Like many people, I tend to be a visual learner. I need to see "big picture", especially if the thing I'm trying to learn about is fairly complex. Recipes, therefore, are often difficult for me to remember because of the way they are traditionally structured. They're written at only at the micro level, which is fine as long as you don't have anything in a frying pan. At that moment, you need to see what the next step is at a glance and it is in this moment that the traditional structuring of recipes fails! Talk to just about any chef out there and they'll tell you that details aren't nearly as important as understanding the process behind a dish.

So, this is an attempt to step back and start to look at cooking from a distance and therefore features very little writing. For my first stab at this, I've chosen a recipe that I've made dozens of times but can never seem to remember. Taken from the French Laundry Cookbook (any foodie's wet dream), this salad dressing is a classic example of an emulsion and I have to say, its incredible!

As I said, this format is a prototype and needs testing. So, give it a go, and let me what you think. I need help developing this and can't do it alone. What do you think?

Sunday, January 22, 2012

WEEK 3: GRANDMOTHER


Shortly before Thanksgiving last year, my grandmother drove herself to the hospital with extensive chest pain. As it turned out, the pain she was feeling was a massive heart attack that would ultimately be too severe for her to survive. With no history of heart problems, it should go without saying that everyone who knew her was stunned.

At her service, my cousin David Sands delivered an incredibly poignant eulogy that was spot-on. I asked him to send me a copy of what he said and so it is those words that that paint this portrait.

You will be missed Nana, this is for you!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

WEEK 2: BOWLING IN AMERICA

Per a request from my roommate with a Feltron-styling!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

WEEK 1: FLAVOR MAP

For week one I decided to tackle the spice container problem in the kitchen with a cartographic solution.

Using a map of my neighborhood as a starting point I used thin pieces of lattice to serve as the organizational arrangement of the shelves.


Yes, they're slanted.

No, the containers don't fall over.
Where is my house? Across from the Tarragon, duh!