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United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

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Monday, June 02, 2003

Roasted tomatoes take a while, but they are not labor intensive. The flavor concentrates like tomato paste and sweetens from caramelization. The latest Cooks' Illustrated refines the technique of the tomato tart, but rules out roasted tomatoes because of the time required. The puff pastry crust is prebaked and insulated from sogginess with an egg wash and coating of parmesan. The tomatoes are then topped with mozzarella, maybe some prosciutto, for the final bake. The article also recommends thawing puff pastry in the refigerator overnight to prevent cracking when you unfold it. 1:58:42 AM    comment []

Duck-spotting techniques: "Lucky Duckies" From Frank Herbert, an op-ed from today's NYT, The Reverse Robin Hood: f you wanted a quintessential example of what the Bush administration and its legislative cronies are about, it was right there on the front page of The Times last Thursday: "Tax Law Omits $400 Child Credit for Millions." The fat cats will get their tax cuts. But in the new American plutocracy, there won't even be crumbs left over for the working folks at the bottom of the pyramid to scramble after. Hmmmm...isn't making that kind of observation "class warfare?" Shame on you, Frank. 1:43:28 AM    comment []

Now available at select specialty food stores. Liz, uh, spotted this at Fowler's in Durham. It's microwaveable! 1:03:52 AM    comment []

Another symptom of fascism... preemptive strikes on opposition observations that the government is fascist. No logical arguments need be made when, typical of the recent intellectual output of these apologists, a good ad hominem is adequate to rile up the proletariat. According to James Traub at the NYT magazine, people who make analogies between 1930s fascism and the current American political climate are whiners.  The audacity of this is breath taking! From the moment Bill Clinton won the 1992 election to the day he left office, the collective whine from the right-wing was deafening and unrelenting, yet now, when a few timid Democratic voices are finally finding the courage to protest the heavy-handed tactics of the current “regime” (this is inserted for irony, there was a great commotion on the right in the mid-90s as Peggy Noonan and other hacks agonized about the proper moment to begin calling Clinton’s Presidency a “regime”) they instantly become whiners! Like writers of a bad sequel, overconfidence from success has caused the formerly respectable right-wing intelligentsia to degenerate into self-parody. For a few good laughs at their expense, take a brief cruise over to Weimar Whiners at that hotbed of liberal intolerance, the New York Times Sunday magazine. As you reflect on right-wing respect for President Clinton, keep in mind that any criticism of Bush is “unpatriotic.” Now people are fed up with partisan potshots. Is our children learning yet? Chuck Berry, BTW, is certainly not a duck even though he likes to walk like one during guitar solos. Still, some truth remains in the old canard that members of the family Anatidae may be quickly identified by their characteristic walk and quack. Use your intuition when evaluating duckly entities. 12:48:12 AM    comment []