67 Movies Men Will Always Watch

As most of you know, dear readers, Friday is Pizza / Movie night at the Launchpad.  Here's a list I found on BuzzFeed.  My comments in italics.

1. Die Hard – “Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs…” I just had this conversation with the lunch bunch the other day - does this qualify as a Christmas movie?  Is it ok to watch it any other time it's on - as I will.
2. Rudy – “No one, and I mean no one, comes into our house and pushes us around.” A movie I haven't actually seen all the way through.
3. Tombstone – “I’m your huckleberry” Also, not fully seen. 
4. Slap Shot – “Oh this young man has had a very trying rookie season, with the litigation, the notoriety, his subsequent deportation to Canada and that country’s refusal to accept him, well, I guess that’s more than most 21-year-olds can handle… Ogie Ogilthorpe!” One of my mother's favorite movies and one I own on DVD.
5. Terminator – “Come with me if you want to live.” Ah-nald at his early best.
6. Gladiator – “Win the crowd and win your freedom.” This movie never interested me
7. First Blood – “Strictly speaking, he slipped up. You’re lucky to be breathing.” For the Stallone genre - I'll stick with Rocky.
8. Major League – “JUST a bit outside.” "That ball wouldn't have been out of most parks . . . Yeah, name one . . . Yellowstone."  It may be a few more years before LBA can watch this movie.
9. Blazing Saddles – “That’s HEDLEY!” This movie is always best watched on "real TV" - edited for television takes too much away.
10. Happy Gilmore – “You’re gonna die, clown!” I've seen this only a few times and in bits and pieces.
11. Animal House – “Was is over when the Germans bombed Pearl Habor?” Mrs. BA reminds people she saw this movie at a young age . . . with her mother.
12. Commando – “You’re a funny guy Sully, I like you. That’s why I’m going to kill you last.” More Ah-nold.
13. Field of Dreams – “This is my corn. You people are guests in my corn.” Always
14. Road House – “I’ll get all the sleep I need when I’m dead.” At the bottom of my list of Swayze movies.
15. Better Off Dead – “Two dollars!” Considering I will watch Demi Moore read from the phone book, this is watched often.
16. Step Brothers – “Your voice is like a combination of Fergie and Jesus.” Not the strongest of the Will Ferrell movies
17. Predator – “I ain’t got time to bleed.” Nah
18. Revenge of the Nerds – “What the fuck’s a frush?” Early and Awesome Anthony Edwards!
19. Big Trouble in Little China – “A six demon bag. Sensational. What’s in it, Egg?” One member of the lunch bunch mentioned this movie specifically as one he will always stop and watch.
20. Fight Club – “His name was Robert Paulson.” Never seen it.
21. Enter the Dragon – “My style? You can call it the art of fighting without fighting.” Ditto.
22. Bull Durham - “This son of a bitch is throwing a two-hit shutout. He’s shaking me off. You believe that shit? Charlie, here comes the deuce. And when you speak of me, speak well.” It's a baseball movie that moves into a romantic movie - but always worth watching.  And LBA has many years before this one is shown to him.
23. King Pin – “If he strikes, he’s the 1979 Odor-Eaters Champion.” You have to love (and watch) any and all bowling movies.
24. Stripes – “Any of you guys call me Francis, and I’ll kill you.” Again, one I own but will watch when it's on - but on "real TV"
25. Billy Madison – “Knibb High football rules!” No.
26. Back to School – “Bring us a pitcher of beer every seven minutes until someone passes out and then bring one every ten minutes.” What other movie features a Kurt Vonnegut cameo? Classic!
27. Midnight Run – “Is this moron number one? Put moron number two on the phone.” One of my and Mrs. BA's favorites.  It's currently on the DVR list
28. Full Metal Jacket - “If I’m gonna get my balls blow off for a word, my word is ‘poontang’.” saw it in the theater and only bits and pieces since then.
29. High Plains Drifter – “You’re going to look pretty silly with that knife sticking out of your ass.” Classic Eastwood, but never really on my radar.
30. Rollerball (1975) – “The game was created to demonstrate the futility of the individual effort.” Another "sports" movie - but not one I'm focused on.
31. This is Spinal Tap - “It’s like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.” The whole Christopher Guest genre is owned by me and we will watch any and all of them when they're on.
32. True Romance – “I don’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out. All I got is fuckin’ Floyd.” Never seen it.
33. Kalifornia – “Early don’t eat breakfast. He thinks it’s a conspiracy put together by the cereal people.” Ditto
34. Dodgeball – “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” Like many others on the list, I'll watch, but I want it unedited.
35. Snatch – “In the quiet words of the Virgin Mary…come again?” No
36. Tommy Boy – “Oh, that’s gonna leave a mark!” No
37. Dogma – “No wonder he saw Jesus. Homey’s rockin’ the ganj.” No
38. Fletch – “You using the whole fist, Doc?” I'll have a steak sandwich, and a steak sandwich."
39. Pulp Fiction – “You’re going to give her an injection of adrenaline directly to her heart. But she’s got, uh, breastplate…” Another one I have never seen all the way through.
40. Caddy Shack – “I’d keep playing. I don’t think the heavy stuff’s gonna come down for awhile.” "You'll get nothing and like it!"  Always watchable.
41. Old School – “We’re going streaking!” seen it once and that was enough
42. Rocky III – “My prediction? Pain!” 
43. Rocky IV – “He is not human, he is a piece of iron.” My earlier comments about Stallone do not necessarily transfer to the sequels.
44. Godfather I – “Luca Brasi held a gun to his head, and my father assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract.”
45. Godfather II – “I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart.” I can finally say that I have seen the Godfather all the way through now.
46. Youngblood – “You can learn to punch in the barn, but you gotta learn to survive on the ice.” More hockey movies and always worth a look.
47. Clerks – “I’m not even supposed to be here today!” Another I haven't seen fully.
48. Star Wars – “You’ve never heard of the Millennium Falcon? It’s the ship that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs.”
49. The Empire Strikes Back – “The force is with you, young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet.” 
50. Return of the Jedi – “Your thoughts betray you, Father. I feel the good in you, the conflict.” Favorites of the entire Brave Astronaut clan and the only recognized movies in the canon.
51. The Matrix – “There is no spoon.” I've seen it - it's not a "stop and watch" movie for me.
52. Zoolander – “Mugatu is so hot right now he could take a crap, wrap it in tinfoil, put a couple of fish hooks on it and sell it to Queen Elizabeth as earrings.” Bits and pieces but not the whole thing.
53. Mad Max – “The chain in those handcuffs is high-tensile steel. It’d take you ten minutes to hack through it with this. Now, if you’re lucky, you could hack through your ankle in five minutes. Go.” Seen it once, it doesn't come on with any regularity.
54. Scarface – “Every day above ground is a good day.” Awesome Pacino. 
55. Goodfellas – “…but I’m funny how, I mean funny like I’m a clown, I amuse you? Awesome Pesci 
56. Raiders of the Lost Ark – “You want to talk to God? Let’s go see him together, I’ve got nothing better to do.” Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?
57. The Big Lebowski – “That rug really tied the room together.”
58. Coming to America - “Give a hand to my band, Sexual Chocolate.” The "surprise" at the end is lost once you've seen it all the way through. But John Amos is great in this, too
59. Office Space - “The thing is, Bob, it’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I just don’t care.” For a cubicle dweller, I should think more of this movie, but I don't.
60. Monty Python and The Holy Grail - “What… is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?” "African or European? . . . I don't kn- ahhhhhh!"
61. Shawshank Redemption - “If I hear so much as a mouse fart in here the rest of the night I swear by God and sonny Jesus you will all visit the infirmary.” Also mentioned by the lunch bunch - I will always watch this one, too.
62. Pineapple Express - “You just got killed by a Daewoo Lanos, motherfucker!” Haven't seen this.
63. Vacation - “We watch his program… We buy his toys, we go to his movies… he owes us. Doesn’t he owe us, huh? He owes the Griswolds, right? Fucking-A right he owes us!” "Park's closed folks - moose out front should have told you."
64. The Princess Bride - “Inconceivable!” Another one that is popular with LBA and SoBA
65. Wayne’s World - “Did you ever find Bugs Bunny attractive when he put on a dress and played a girl bunny?” I've seen it once, that was good.
66. Trading Places - “Nenge? Nenge Mboko? It is me, Lionel Joseph!” "Feeling Good Billy Ray!"
67. The Blues Brothers - “It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark… and we’re wearing sunglasses.” It's such irreverent good fun!

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

I've posted about banana bread before, as well as several other varieties of cakes using bananas.  This one combines bananas with chocolate.  What could be bad about this?  From Smitten Kitchen.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 3 medium-to-large very ripe bananas 
• 1/2 cup (115 grams) butter, melted 
• 3/4 cup (145 grams) brown sugar (I use dark here; either light or dark work)
• 1 large egg 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional; I skip it) 
• 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder 
• 1 cup (about 6 ounces or 170 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chunks or chips 

Preparation
Heat your oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or spray it with a nonstick baking spray.

Mash bananas in the bottom of a large bowl. (You’ll have a little over 1 cup mashed banana total.) Whisk in melted butter, then brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Place baking soda, salt, cinnamon (if using), flour and cocoa powder in a sifter or fine-mesh strainer and sift over wet ingredients. (My cocoa is almost always lumpy, so this is essential for me.) Stir dry and wet ingredients with a spoon until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks or chips.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 55 to 65 minutes, until a tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out batter-free. (A melted chocolate chip smear is expected, however.) Cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert it out onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The banana bread will keep for up to 4 days at room temperature. I keep mine wrapped in foil. It goes without saying that it has never actually lasted that long.

Popcorn at the Movies

As my faithful readers know, Fridays are Pizza / Movie nights at the Launchpad.  Nine times out of ten, after gorging on pizza, both LBA and SoBA follow up with a request for popcorn.  They are, evidently, according to Smithsonian Magazine - doing what has become natural.  From kottke.

Why Do We Eat Popcorn at the Movies?
The movie theater's most popular concession wasn't always associated with the movies - in fact, it used to be explicitly banned
By Natasha Geiling
smithsonian.com
October 3, 2013

Movie theater popcorn is a concession stand staple whose scent has spawned marketing ploys and copycat recipes, but movie theaters haven’t always been saturated with the tempting smell of salt and butter. The history of popcorn is vast, and it intersects with movies in the relatively recent past–a symbiosis of taste and place created to save the fledgling movie theater industry from near collapse during the Great Depression . . .

After popcorn made its way to the eastern part of North America, it spread rapidly. Eaters found the act of popping corn wildly entertaining, and by 1848, popcorn, the snack food, was prevalent enough to be included in the Dictionary of Americanisms. Popcorn had literally exploded onto the scene and was available everywhere–especially at entertainment sites like circuses and fairs. In fact, there was really only one entertainment site where the snack was absent: the theaters.

One reason for popcorn’s increasing popularity was its mobility: in 1885, the first steam-powered popcorn maker hit the streets, invented by Charles Cretor. The mobile nature of the machine made it the perfect production machine for serving patrons attending outdoor sporting events, or circuses and fairs. Not only was popcorn mobile, but it could be mass-produced without a kitchen, an advantage that another crunchy snack–the potato chip–lacked (the earliest potato chips were made in small batches in kitchens, not ideal for mass snack appeal). Another reason for its dominance over other snacks was its appealing aroma when popped, something that street vendors used to their advantage when selling popcorn. Still, movie theaters wouldn’t allow the popular street snack into their auditoriums.

“Movie theaters wanted nothing to do with popcorn,” says Andrew Smith, author of Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn, “because they were trying to duplicate what was done in real theaters. They had beautiful carpets and rugs and didn’t want popcorn being ground into it.” Movie theaters were trying to appeal to a highbrow clientele, and didn’t want to deal with the distracting trash of concessions–or the distracting noise that snacking during a film would create.

When films added sound in 1927, the movie theater industry opened itself up to a much wider clientele, since literacy was no longer required to attend films (the titles used early silent films restricted their audience). By 1930, attendance to movie theaters had reached 90 million per week. Such a huge patronage created larger possibilities for profits–especially since the sound pictures now muffled snacks–but movie theater owners were still hesitant to bring snacks inside of their theaters.

The Great Depression presented an excellent opportunity for both movies and popcorn. Looking for a cheap diversion, audiences flocked to the movies. And at 5 to 10 cents a bag, popcorn was a luxury that most people were able to afford. Popcorn kernels themselves were a cheap investment for purveyors, and a $10 bag could last for years. If those inside the theaters couldn’t see the financial lure of popcorn, enterprising street vendors didn’t miss a beat: they bought their own popping machines and sold popcorn outside the theaters to moviegoers before they entered the theater. As Smith explains, early movie theaters literally had signs hung outside their coatrooms, requesting that patrons check their popcorn with their coats. Popcorn, it seems, was the original clandestine movie snack. . . .

Popcorn wasn’t widely eaten in homes, mostly due to how difficult it was to make: consumers needed a popper, oil, butter, salt and other ingredients to replicate their favorite movie theater snack at home. To ease this burden, one commercial product, EZ Pop, marketed itself as an all inclusive popcorn maker–simply move the container over a heat source, and the popcorn pops, completely flavored. After EZ Pop came Jiffy Pop, a famous at-home popcorn product that used the same “all-in-one” philosophy. By making popcorn an easy-to-make snack, commercial popcorn products were able to gain a foothold in the home. In the 1970s, microwave ovens become increasingly common in homes, creating another boom for popcorn: now, families can enjoy popcorn in minutes simply by pressing a button.

As popcorn re-entered the home, traditional associations of popcorn and movies, or popcorn and entertainment, persisted. Nordmende, a German electronics company, even used popcorn to advertise its microwave, purporting it to be a “sponsor of the midweek movie.”. . .

Popcorn is just as economically important to the modern movie theater as it was to movie theaters of old. Patrons often complain about the high prices of movie concessions, but there’s an economic basis for this: popcorn, cheap to make and easy to mark-up, is the primary profit maker for movie theaters. Movie theaters make an estimated 85 percent profit off of concession sales, and those sales constitute 46 percent of movie theater’s overall profits. . . ."

Meatball Sliders

Both LBA and SoBA are big fans of the Meatball Sub (unfortunately some times if comes from Subway - but I'm working on that).  They also love their Nana's meatballs - who will hopefully be back on her feet soon, making meatballs for all - she recently had her knee replaced but is definitely on the mend.

Here's a recipe that I spotted a while back on making Meatball Sliders at home - I could easily do this.  From Flavor Mosaic.

Meatball Biscuit Sliders
Prep time 15 mins
Cook time 25 mins
Total time 40 mins

Ingredients

• 1 package Pillsbury refrigerated Grands biscuits 
• 1 pound lean ground beef 
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage 
• 1 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional or adjust to taste) 
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (I like lots of pepper) 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs 
• 1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce 
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Prepare biscuits according to package directions. Set aside. 
3. Place the ground beef and Italian sausage into a mixing bowl, and season with onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add 2 eggs, Parmesan cheese, and seasoned bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended. Then form into 1-1/2 inch meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet. 
4. Bake in the preheated oven at 400 degrees until no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. 
5. Place one meatball on top of the bottom half of one biscuit. Spoon about one or two teaspoons of marinara sauce on top of each meatball. Sprinkle with a little shredded mozzarella cheese. Return the meatballs with the bottom half of the biscuits to the oven for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Top with the other half of the biscuit and serve.

Who You Gonna Call?

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Ghostbusters, counted by BuzzFeed (and the Brave Astronaut, and LBA, and SoBA, and maybe even Mrs. BA) as the greatest movie ever.  "From Bill Murray’s flawless strut to the cameo by Random ConEd Guy, it’s the best movie in the history of everything."

1.  It’s the ultimate buddy movie. Ghostbusters works, not because of its paranormal laser light show, but because of the personal interactions behind them. And most of those exchanges take the form of a giant Slor friendship.

It’s not as if Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) just invented some neon vacuum cleaners for the hell of it. They lost their jobs, so they went into business together. They didn’t have the capital to pull it off, so Ray generously agreed to a third mortgage. When business boomed, they called upon Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), who became an integral part of the team. When Pete’s client and crush, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) turned into a literal dog, they risked their lives to save her, the city and the world in one fell swoop.

The Ghostbusters actually like each other. I mean, check out Ray’s face after Peter rewards Egon with a candy bar. Even when they’re arguing, they sound like (Marx) brothers, rather than the Four Stooges.

2. Ecto-1 is the most gorgeous scrapheap imaginable. You can have your DeLorean. Give me the Ectomobile any day.

3. Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman is perfection. Saying that Bill Freakin’ Murray is good in a movie doesn’t really mean anything; that’s often a given, even if the movie itself isn’t a winner. But his Peter Venkman is everything we like about Murray: fearless, hilarious, impulsive, incorrigible, irreverent and charming as hell.

Murray’s Ghostbusters performance isn’t just amusing; it’s a comedy tutorial. That’s how you deliver a joke. That’s how you eye-roll. That’s how you deadpan. That’s how you support other characters in a scene. That’s how you commit to a moment, a premise and an entire movie.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association agreed to an extent, rewarding Murray with a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.

Sure, there are other ways to do comedy, but there’s a reason subsequent actors and comedians consider Murray a major inspiration. If you don’t enjoy him in Ghostbusters, I’m not convinced joy is an experience for you.

4. If normal movie quotability were the size of a Twinkie, this one would be a Twinkie 35 feet long, weighing approximately 600 pounds. Before Mean Girls, Anchorman  or Wayne’s World, Ghostbusters was the go-to for one-liner gold, and it might have the best staying power of the bunch.

One of the reasons the script is so tight: every line pushes the plot forward, makes the audience laugh, or achieves both agendas. There are no wasted words, and most of those words are hilarious.
Say them with me now:

• “I collect spores, molds and fungus.”
• “He slimed me.”
• “Nice shootin’, Tex!”
• “We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!”
• “There is no Dana, only Zuul.”
• “Yes, it’s true; this man has no dick.”
• “Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!”
• “When someone asks you if you’re a god, you say, ‘Yes!’”

And that’s just the tip of the giant Twinkie. Rule of thumb: Is it a line from Ghostbusters? It’s probably quotable.

5. Ivan Reitman gets everything right, man. Ivan Reitman’s directorial crowning achievement is beautifully shot, New York Public Library scaffolding notwithstanding. Characters, relationships and conflict ring true. Every scene serves a purpose, and nothing feels like filler. Reitman culled career-making performances from a cast teeming with talent.

For a movie about some guys who conveniently invent ways to contain ghosts on the first try, Ghostbusters has a natural progression that feels earned. Referring to this on the DVD commentary track as the “domino theory of reality,” Reitman adds, “As long as you took the [audience] step by step through a series of credible choices, you could start to believe this sort of stuff could happen.”

He also found the perfect balance of funny and scary, especially for a film that wound up with a PG rating. Any movie can have a high jokes-per-minute ratio, but Ghostbusters delivers on quantity and quality; you won’t find a movie that’s funnier from start to finish, regardless of MPAA rating.

6. It set the modern comedy standard for box office success. With a budget of about $31 million, Ghostbusters scared up almost $239 million at the domestic box office, making it the highest-grossing movie comedy of all time. It held that title for seven years, until Home Alone surpassed it in 1991.

However, when adjusted for inflation, Ghostbusters made the modern equivalent of more than $563 million. That not only beats Home Alone, but also reclaims the title as the top domestic, live-action comedy — and, other than Shrek 2, the top domestic movie comedy, period.

7. This is why it was nominated for Best Musical Or Comedy at the Golden Globes. Or maybe it was for the comedy part. Either way, Romancing the Stone had no business winning that year.

8. It’s legit scary. Of course you’re not so scared in 2014, especially now that you’ve seen the movie about 3,000 times. And, even on a first viewing, while Venkman was terrified about his first encounter with Slimer, your screams might have been of the laughter variety.

But admit it: The first time you saw the shimmering librarian turn into a skeletal poltergeist, you jumped out of your seat.

When Dana opened her fridge to reveal a dog that was not cute, the noise you made upon seeing it wasn’t “aww,” unless it was followed by an expletive.

And, later, when claws tore through Dana’s chair to drag her into her haunted kitchen, you freaked the eff out, because you are a goddamned human being.

9. It’s romantic. Ghostbusters might not be Casablanca, but there’s real chemistry between Dana and Peter in one of the world’s most romantic cities.

As is the case with more traditional rom-coms, early encounters don’t go so well, as Pete’s attempts to swoop in for the quick kill prompt an unimpressed Dana to liken him to a “game show host.” When they reunite at Lincoln Center, he offers actual research with a more organic charm; her stance softens accordingly.

When Dana-as-Zuul attempts to seduce Peter, he’s tempted. And while he fires off joke after joke as “Ol’ Zuuly” straddles and kisses him, his concern eventually overrules his libido. When he implores a levitating Dana to “Please come down,” there’s a sadness to it, and for the first time, the audience might believe Pete sees Dana as more than a conquest.

Also, he still fights for her when she’s a demonic dog. Beat that, Bogey.

10. It’s also a love letter to New York City. Yes, part of the movie was filmed in Los Angeles, but the on-screen sensibility is quintessentially NYC.

In the decade before Ghostbusters, movies often depicted The Big Apple through hyperbole. If it wasn’t a pit of violence (Death Wish, Taxi Driver, The Warriors, Escape from New York, and sadly more), it was a millionaire’s playground (Arthur).

For a movie full of animated ghosts, Ghostbusters is closer to the real New York, home to colorful characters who walk the streets, cheer our heroes and perhaps ignore a terror-dog attack while eating a fancy dinner. (It’s not that we don’t care; it’s just that we’re in the middle of something, naw’fense.) New Yorkers also can relate to the mouth of Peter, the heart of Ray, the brain of Egon, the brutal honesty of Winston, and the spine of Dana. As Reitman says on the DVD commentary track, the movie “really captures the spirit and feel of the city.”

To put it another way, nobody steps on a church in our town.

11. Ray Stantz’s enthusiasm for the Ghostbusters is matched only by the man who plays him. Though many deserve credit for their contributions to the greatest movie of all time, perhaps none is worthier than Dan Aykroyd.

It goes beyond playing the goofy yet lovable optimist Ray Stantz. Although there’d been other movies and TV shows that explored the concept of ghost-hunters, Aykroyd invented the ones we know best and love the most. His 40-page treatment piqued the interest of Ramis and Reitman, who both joined him in Martha’s Vineyard in May 1983 to transform it into the movie it became.

Each added something crucial to the project, but it’s Aykroyd who remains the heart of the Ghostbusters, on and off the screen. Even moviegoers who don’t want to see another Ghostbusters sequel have to admire his limitless passion for the project. After all, it’s his baby.

12. Best. Villains. Ever. Long before superhero movies tried to shoehorn every villain into a storyline, Ghostbusters proved antagonism could come from anywhere, whether the source be a pretentious Columbia dean, a snooty hotel manager, a boozy green party animal, a nasal-spray aficionado, an interdimensional deity taking the form of a Serbian supermodel, or a church-stomping marshmallow man.

But perhaps the most ruthless, indefatigable villain is Dickless himself, EPA rep Walter Peck, inhabited with a nefarious glee by William Atherton. Forget for a moment that Peck is completely justified in his initial concern over the environmental effects of the city’s new nuclear enterprise. He’s slanderous, tactless and every bit as intimidating as Peter Venkman. As Ghostbusters associate producer Joe Medjuk notes on the DVD commentary track, Pete “could walk all over so many people if they weren’t tough.”

Haters gonna hate, but, as Pete would say, “the kids love us.”

13. Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters music video is full of neon, cameos and mirth. Remember when everyone’s homes were accented in neon? It was the ’80s, after all. Hell, even RPJ’s mic is all aglow, looking like a Pictionary ice cream cone.

The video also includes retroactively fascinating cameos by, among others, Chevy Chase (who had to have felt left out); John Candy (who turned down Rick Moranis’ part); Jeffrey Tambor (long before The Larry Sanders Show and Arrested Development); Sen. Al Franken (who may or may not be doing a Mick Jagger impression); Carly Simon (sure!); and, at the 34-second mark, three children who, in the movie’s climactic scene, convince Peter Venkman to follow his heart. Just kidding! We have no idea who they are.

14. Elmer Bernstein’s main title theme is even better than Ray Parker Jr.’s song. As great as the Ray Parker Jr. song is, it’s like the “Monster Mash” in that you’re kind of a weirdo if you’re playing it on a date that isn’t Oct. 31. If you want the sound of Ghostbusters on a day when no one is in costume, the best and most familiar song from Elmer Bernstein’s score should do the trick. It exudes the film’s whimsy and sophistication. Plus, y’know, the notes sound good and stuff. Do yourself a favor: Buy this track, slap it on your mp3 player of choice and play it while strolling around New York City. If this doesn’t make you feel like you’re in the movie, well, you’re more realistic than I am, but I’m not going to apologize.

15. The flowers are still standing!

16. Among comedy icons, Harold Ramis was a god. Harold Ramis never seemed to mind playing the straight man. As long as a bit was getting laughs, he was happy. But damn it if I didn’t laugh every time Egon Spengler opened his mouth in Ghostbusters.

Co-writing and co-starring in the film would have been career highlights unto themselves. While Ramis had more than a respectable career in front of the lens, his behind-the-scenes comedy credits might be the most impressive of his generation. As a writer and/or director, Ramis made major contributions to Animal House, Stripes, Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Groundhog Day and Analyze This, among others.

When he died in February, the mourning wasn’t limited to his work. Testimonials from friends, family, celebrities and fans recalled a man who was even more affable and gracious than he was talented.

The loss still stings. But celebrating Ramis’ phenomenal work is one way to keep his memory and legacy alive.

17. Slimer becomes so much cooler when you realize he’s a tribute to John Belushi. Before John Belushi died in 1982, Aykroyd envisioned his fellow Blues Brother in the role of Peter Venkman. As a tribute, Aykroyd developed a character inspired by his close friend.

“Danny Aykroyd used to always refer to Slimer as the ghost of John Belushi,” Reitman says on the DVD commentary track. “He’s just a party guy looking to have a good time.” Yes, this character was destructive and a nuisance at times, but audiences loved him.

The Class 5 Full-Roaming Vapor wouldn’t receive the moniker of “Slimer” until a cartoon spinoff — to be addressed later in this article — made him an ally, eventually awarding him top billing. For that stretch in the cultural zeitgeist, it was all Ecto Cooler everything.

18. Some of the special effects are actually pretty great. The intentional comedy in Ghostbusters transcends 30 years, but, if we’re being honest, some of the computer-generated visuals earn laughs for the wrong reasons. The proton packs’ streams might as well be crayon on celluloid. When fragments of Dana’s rooftop plummet more than 20 stories, they bounce like balloons, because gravity is an optional thing. Let’s just say Industrial Light & Magic greatly benefited from the digital revolution.

Thankfully, Ghostbusters has a more than a few saving graces in the special-effects department; most of them just happen to be analog. Puppetry, especially the examples showcased in the behind-the-scenes video above, is a vast improvement over early-’80s CGI. In addition, simple magic tricks are perfectly executed to levitate Dana, haphazardly redistribute the library’s card catalog, and make books float between shelves.

Also, when that rooftop explodes, even if that doesn’t look real, it looks incredible.

19. Dana Barrett is the Gatekeeper of badassery. Sigourney Weaver’s Dana Barrett is an independent spirit, an accomplished cellist, and the perfect foil for Peter, as she’s the only one capable of keeping him in line — no small feat.

Despite asking for the Ghostbusters’ help, there’s nothing meek about Dana. She seems perfectly content with her life other than the whole haunted fridge thing. We might be hoping for Pete to win her over, but mostly we’re rooting for her to be OK, regardless of romantic outcome. Thanks to Weaver and the script, she’s believable, likable, smart and three-dimensional.

She also happens to rock the hell out of a red dress. Zuul’s summer collection was so fashion-forward in 1984.

On the DVD commentary track, Reitman’s myriad raves about Weaver’s performance include the way she helped elevate Murray’s acting in the process.

20. It's eminently rewatchable. Oh, you said you had afternoon errands or intentions to go to bed at a reasonable hour? You made a mistake flipping through the channels, because you just heard Dean Yeager inform Ray and Pete that the Board of Regents terminated their grant. It appears that you, like our heroes, must abandon whatever plans had been in play.

21. Nerds rule! Any movie can have the fittest alphas saving the world from certain destruction, but give me the Ghostbusters over the cast of The Expendables any day of the week, i.e. Ghostbusters before bros, buster.

There aren’t enough steroids in the world that would save Jersey Shore fist-pumpers without the help of the guys they probably beat up in middle school.

Back off, man — they’re scientists.

22. Ernie Hudson makes the most of his 2 minutes’ worth of lines. I never would have guessed that if you spliced together all of Winston Zeddemore’s lines in the first Ghostbusters movie, they’d amount to just under 2 minutes. (He obviously has more screen time than that, but in terms of the script, that’s it.)

Considering the star power of Murray, Aykroyd and Ramis at the time, I shouldn’t be too surprised. But why does it still shock me? Because Ernie Hudson delivers the hell out of every last one of his lines, giving them resonance.

As long as there’s a steady paycheck in it for Winston, he’ll believe anything you say (even if it’s not worth the $11,500 per year). He’s, of course, seen shit that’ll make you turn white.

But in a movie full of highlights, the Judgment Day conversation Winston has with Ray is one of the film’s finest moments. Almost none of the scene is played for laughs, and if Hudson were any less of an actor, it would fall flat. Instead, it’s mesmerizing, thanks to Hudson’s heavy lifting.

23. Rick Moranis’ comedy chops? Yes, have some. When it comes to Rick Moranis as Louis Tully and The Keymaster, the answer is, “Yes, have some.”

A natural scene-stealer who always fully commits to his roles, Moranis wrote most, if not all, of his complicated, tax-oriented monologue for the party at Louis’ apartment. Locking oneself out of an apartment shouldn’t be that funny, let alone twice, yet we laugh both times at the way Moranis pulls off the most basic physical comedy. And while we see an entirely new side of Louis through The Keymaster, both versions love to tell long, detailed stories.

24. A behind-the-scenes photo reveals a more approachable Mr. Stay Puft. Doesn’t look so tough now, does he?

In fairness to characters in the movie, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man probably looked like an adorable Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade float until he proved to pose threats to both Midtown architecture and the continued existence of humanity.

25. Janine Melnitz is our spirit animal when it comes to work. When nothing’s going on, we’re given busywork, because they’re paying us for this stuff. But when things actually get busy, good luck asking for a break. In her breakout role, Annie Potts reminds us we’ve quit better jobs than this.

But, deep down, we still care about the success of the company and our coworkers — at least one of them.

26. Let’s face it: Random Con Ed Guy and Hero Cop Who Calls Peck a “Pencil Neck” make the whole movie. As a 5-year-old, I’d never had feelings one way or the other about a power company, but when Random ConEd Guy was wary about shutting down the Ghostbusters’ power grid, I felt like turning on all the lights and electrical appliances as a show of support. When he said, “Oh, shit,” he spoke for us all.

And then there’s Hero Cop, who won’t be bossed around by anyone. Yes, he’s got a job to do, and sure, his delivery is a bit stilted (Reitman suspected the actor might have been a cop in real life), but he’ll be damned if he takes orders from some “pencil neck.”

27. Hold up, is that … Ron Jeremy? Most people know Ghostbusters has its share of celebrity cameos (Larry King, Joe Franklin and Casey Kasem, among others). And everyone cheers when a pre-Family Matters Reginald VelJohnson frees the Ghostbusters from jail. But if you blink, you might miss it when adult-film star Ron Jeremy expresses his concern over paranormal activity and/or the availability of a fluffer.

Clearly, he’s wearing jeans, but the length and placement of that police barrier beg a few questions.

28. Deleted scenes were best left deleted. That’s a compliment. I know movie fans get excited over deleted scenes, but there’s usually a reason they wind up on the cutting room floor (or, these days, in a computer’s recycling bin). After all, if they’re that good, they’d be in the movie. Thankfully, with Ghostbusters, Reitman and his editors knew what they were doing.

29. It spawned a solid cartoon spinoff, “The Real Ghostbusters.” OK, let’s address the gorilla in the room: There was that other cartoon called Ghostbusters, and it was an abomination. That version’s ghost wranglers included a wacky gorilla named Tracy, and, well, we’re all better off pretending it never happened.

And while the guys in The Real Ghostbusters looked and sounded nothing like their movie counterparts, the characters were a close enough approximation to allow for fun storytelling among the Saturday-morning and after-school set.

30. The Venkman strut is the only strut that matters. Don’t pretend you don’t do this when you’re at Lincoln Center/walking anywhere.

D-Day + 70Y

On this day seventy years ago, the greatest military invasion took place - as Allied Forces landed in Normandy, France to begin the liberation of Europe from Germany in World War II.  The day before, on June 5, General Dwight D. Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for Operation Overlord, putting 6,000 ships and more than 176,000 troops into the English Channel for the crossing to designated landing areas on the French coast.  More than 12,000 aircraft were used to ferry parachute troops into France and provide air cover.  As the sun rose over the beaches the land invasions began and by the end of the day - 18,000 parachutists were on the ground and more than 155,000 soldiers had taken Normandy's beaches.

Part of my job responsibilities is to respond to reference requests for military service records.  Unfortunately, the requests for World War II records is dwindling, at least from the "I served in World War II" perspective.  We do get a lot of "my father / grandfather / uncle," etc., served "but he didn't like to talk about it" requests.  One really only has to take a look at the opening of this movie to understand why.

Congratulations (and a huge Thank You) to all of those brave men who fought on this day and those who gave the "last full measure" seventy years ago.

Elephant Ears

These are one of those pastry / cookies / treats that I will never turn down.  When they are done right - they are awesome. From Chocolate and Zucchini.

Palmiers (Elephant Ears)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

The yield depends on the amount of scraps used. 

Ingredients

• scraps of puff pastry
• unrefined blond cane sugar 

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. 
• Stack the scraps of puff pastry on top of one another, arranging them to form as neat a block as you can. Pat the top and sides to even them out. 
• Sprinkle sugar on a clean work surface, and place the block of pastry on top.
• Sprinkle with more sugar and roll out the pastry as thinly as you're comfortable working with. Add a little more sugar as needed underneath and on top of the pastry if it starts to stick to the counter or rolling pin. 
• Roll the pastry in from both sides until they meet in the center. 
• Use a sharp knife to cut slices, about 1 cm (1/3 inch) thick, and place them sideways on the prepared baking sheet, giving them a little room to expand. 
• Insert in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until golden. Let cool on a rack before serving.

Notes: No exact quantities are given because the recipe is meant to be adapted to the amount of scraps you have to use up. The amount of sugar is also eyeballed; use the minimum amount needed to roll out the dough.

Onion Straws

I thought I had posted this already - but it might just be because I dream about them a lot.  Stitch Bitch turned me on to them a while back (I prefer my onion rings thin and crispy, rather than thick and chewy).  I've not looked back.  They appear as a side a lot, with sausage sandwiches, burgers, etc.  It means there is usually buttermilk in the house, now.  But I still don't have a deep fryer, yet.

Onion Strings
from the Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 whole Large Onion 
• 2 cups Buttermilk 
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour 
• 1 Tablespoon (scant) Salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon (to 1/2 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper 
• 1 quart (to 2 Quarts) Canola Oil 
• Black Pepper To Taste

Preparation Instructions
Slice onion very thin. Place in a baking dish and cover with buttermilk and soak for at least an hour.

Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

Heat oil to 375 degrees. Grab a handful of onions, throw into the flour mixture, tap to shake off excess, and PLUNGE into hot oil. Fry for a few minutes and remove as soon as golden brown.

Repeat until onions are gone.

Eat before your family sees them.

Repeat with another onion, because they’ll be really mad they didn’t get any.

Dr. Pepper Ribs

It's Memorial Day today and that means the pool's OPEN!  On Saturday, our little town will celebrate itself with all sorts of games and fireworks in the evening.  It is the best fireworks show I've seen and you basically get to sit right underneath them.

For the past few years, we have taken a break from the daytime activities, come home and had dinner "on the collective" with our good friends and neighbors.  This year, we will be without our good friend Riley and we continue to miss him every day.  Riley would often grill ribs for the collective, low and slow for a long time.

Here's a recipe from the Pioneer Woman that might be worth trying.  The recipe calls for baking the ribs, but I bet they would be good on the grill, maybe with some of her onion straws.

Spicy Dr Pepper Ribs
Prep Time: 8 Hours
Cook Time: 3 Hours
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup Brown Sugar 
• 1 can Dr. Pepper 
• 1 can (5 Ounces) Chipotle Peppers Packed In Adobo 
• 1/3 cup Brown Mustard 
• 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar 
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced 
• 2 packages Pork Baby Back Ribs 

Preparation Instructions
Prepare the marinade by gently boiling the first 6 ingredients in a medium saucepan until reduced and thick, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Divide into two containers and refrigerate one container for later.

Place ribs on a large baking sheet lined with heavy foil. Brush half the marinade all over the ribs on both sides. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 8 hours to marinate.

When you're ready to cook the ribs, preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Place the pan, still covered in foil, into the oven for 2 hours. Remove the foil and increase the temperature to 300. Using the other half of the sauce, brush another generous layer all over the ribs. Return the pan to the oven and continue cooking for another 30 to 40 minutes, brushing on another layer of sauce as it cooks.

Remove the ribs when they're fork tender (keep cooking until they are). Slice and serve!

Buttermilk Beignets

SoBA has been after me to make crepes again.  I might be able to placate him with these. From Epicurious


Buttermilk Beignets
Epicurious | January 2010
by David Guas and Raquel Pelzel
Yield: Makes about 4 dozen beignets

Ingredients 

• 3/4 cup whole milk 
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 
• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast 
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar 
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour plus extra for flouring work surface 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• Peanut oil for frying 
• Confectioners' sugar for serving, as much as you think you'll need—then double that! 

Preparation 
Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until small bubbles form at the surface. Remove from the heat, add the buttermilk, and then pour into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk in the yeast and the sugar and set aside for 5 minutes. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed, using a dough hook, until the dry ingredients are moistened, 3 to 4 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue mixing until the dough forms a loose ball and is still quite wet and tacky, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set the dough aside in a draft-free spot for 1 hour.

Pour enough peanut oil into a large pot to fill it to a depth of 3 inches and bring to a temperature of 375°F over medium heat (this will take about 20 minutes). Line a plate with paper towels and set aside.

Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough out on it. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour, gently press to flatten, fold it in half, and gently tuck the ends under to create a rough-shaped round. Dust again and roll the dough out into a ½-inch- to ¹/³ -inch-thick circle. Let the dough rest for 1 minute before using a chef's knife, a bench knife, or a pizza wheel to cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares (you should get about 48).

Gently stretch a beignet lengthwise and carefully drop it into the oil. Add a few beignets (don't overcrowd them, otherwise the oil will cool down and the beignets will soak up oil and be greasy) and fry until puffed and golden brown, turning them often with a slotted spoon, for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the prepared plate to drain while you cook the rest. Serve while still warm, buried under a mound of confectioners' sugar, with hot coffee on the side.

Make ahead:
The beignet dough can be made up to 8 hours in advance of frying. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. After cutting the dough, place the beignets on the paper and place another greased sheet of parchment paper, sprayed-side down, on top. Wrap the entire baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The beignets can be fried straight from the refrigerator.

Source Information Reprinted with permission from DamGoodSweet: Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style by David Guas and Raquel Pelzel, © November 2009 Taunton Press

Westward Ho!

Two hundred and ten years ago today - at the request of President Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out from St. Louis to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean.  Less than six months earlier the United States finalized the Louisiana Purchase.  After setting out, Lewis and Clark were joined by Sacagawea and in November 1805, they arrived at the Pacific - the first European explorers to reach the Pacific by an overland route from the east.

Salted Dark Chocolate Rolo Cookies

Let's just say that the research for Mrs. BA's March Madness Bakeoff has already started, shall we?

Salted Dark Chocolate Rolo-filled Cookies
from Ring Finger Tan Line via BuzzFeed

Ingredients

• 2 c flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch 
• 1 c dark cocoa powder 
• ½ tsp baking soda 
• ½ tsp baking powder 
• ½ tsp salt 
• 4 oz dark chocolate with almonds and sea salt (regular dark chocolate will also work! This is just what I had on hand) 
• 2 oz milk chocolate 
• 1 tsp instant espresso powder 
• 2 sticks butter + 2 tbsp butter or shortening for melting chocolate 
• 2 ½ c granulated sugar 
• 4 large eggs 
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 
• Sea salt for sprinkling 
• 1 bag Gharidelli 60% chips 
• 48 rolos 
• Fleur de sel for sprinkling 

Directions
Sift dry ingredients together twice and whisk until completely combined. In a double boiler, melt chocolate with instant espresso powder and 2 tbsp butter (or shortening). Cream remaining butter and sugar with paddle attachment in stand mixer. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Add in chocolate mixture and continue mixing. Add in dry mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Using a tbsp sized scoop, fill half the scoop with dough, then place rolo face down in the center, then cover the rest so you have a heaping tbsp full. Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 325 for 10 min per batch. Top with fleur de sel while still warm. Allow to cool for 10 min before serving.

Chicken with Shallots

I don't normally eat chicken thighs - I prefer white meat.  But this might be a hit at the launchpad.  But probably not.  It certainly sounds tasty though.  Recipe from the New York Times Magazine, March 23, 2014.

Rishia Zimmern’s Chicken With Shallots
Adapted from Andrew and Rishia Zimmern, by way of Martha Stewart
by SAM SIFTON

Here is a recipe that came to The Times via the Twitter account of Andrew Zimmern, who eats bugs on television as the host of “Bizarre Foods” on the Travel Channel but lives a sedate life back home in Minnesota when he’s not working, which is not often. His wife, Rishia Zimmern, adapted it from Martha Stewart, and he put it on the social network: “Brown 8 thighs, 3 C shallots. Add wine, tarragon, Dijon, sim 30 min covered. Remove lid, reduce. Add 2C cut cherry toms.” We’ve been messing around with that ever since, and thrill to its flavor. It’s a simple, excellent one-pot recipe for a midweek feast. Lay in bread to accompany it, and sop up the sauce. 

TOTAL TIME 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs 
• 2 tablespoons flour 
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt 
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 12 to 15 whole medium shallots, peeled 
• 2 cups white wine 
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 
• 2 sprigs tarragon 
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half.

Preparation

1. Rinse chicken thighs in water, and pat them very dry with paper towels. Sprinkle over them the flour, salt and pepper.
2. Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet set over medium-high heat. When the butter foams, cook the chicken, in batches if necessary, until well browned and crisp on all sides. Set aside. 
3. Add the whole shallots to the pot and sauté them in the butter and chicken fat until they begin to soften and caramelize, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Add the wine to deglaze the pot, stir with a large spoon, then add the mustard and tarragon, then the chicken thighs. Cover the pot, turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. 
4. Remove the lid, and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken, 15 to 20 minutes. 
5. Add the cherry tomatoes to the pot, stir lightly to combine and serve immediately. 

YIELD 4 to 6 servings.

Happy Anniversary to Mrs. BA!

Twelve years ago today, on a bright Spring day, much like today, was one of the best days in my life.  In front of my family and many friends, I married the woman who I was meant to be with, and we started down the road of life together. Mrs. BA remains my best friend, the love of my life, the mother of my children, and the woman that I look forward to spending the rest of my life with.

Today we marked the day by celebrating "First Communion Sunday" and the First Communion of one of our "collective" members.  It was a bittersweet day as it also marked the three-month anniversary of the passing of our good friend and collective co-founder, Riley.  He was however, with us throughout the day.

On FB the other day, some friends noted they would celebrate their 10-year anniversary in 2017, when Mr. and Mrs. BA will celebrate their 15th anniversary.  It has been decided that we will have either several parties over the course of the year, or one big bash for those celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2017.  Who wants in?

So what does one get his beloved for their 12th Wedding Anniversary?  If you're wondering, the gifts are silk/linen (traditional) and pearls (modern).  Mrs. BA got both, a "silk-like" pashmina, and a pearl necklace and earrings.

The picture above was taken on our honeymoon - at the top of the Cape May Lighthouse.  I love you, Mrs. BA.

The Building of the Empire State

On this day in 1931, the Empire State Building was dedicated.  In Washington, President Herbert Hoover ceremonially pressed a button that lit the building in New York.  The Empire State Building was a marvel of architecture - it was completed in under a year, under budget, and ahead of schedule.  At certain points the building grew four and a half stories per week.  At its completion it was the tallest building, at 102 stories and 1,250 feet high.

The Empire State Building figures very prominently in the life of the Brave Astronaut.  I have been to the top many times, most recently during our Christmas visit to New York.  Mrs. BA and I went to the top when we were still dating and have also brought LBA and SoBA to the top as well.

When I lived in Poughkeepsie, my neighbor used to be fond of saying the line noted above about the building being finished early and under budget - anytime he saw a construction project run amok.

For your enjoyment, please have a look at these photos from the construction of the world's tallest building, until the completion of the World Trade Center in the 1970s.  Sadly, the Empire State Building regained the status of the tallest building in New York after the September 11 attacks, but it has been eclipsed again with the completion of the new Freedom Tower.  The building is currently the fourth tallest in the United States and the 23rd tallest in the world.  Bonus points for listing those in front of it.

Gyros!

I will often treat myself by going out to lunch - though the options near my office are somewhat limited.  A popular destination (especially if I am getting my haircut next door) is the Marathon Deli, which makes some of the best Gyros I've ever had.  I don't know if I could replicate them at home, but here's a recipe if you'd like to give it a whirl.  From the Washington Post.

Gyros
Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post
Dinner in Minutes Mar 5, 2014

This is a sandwich to keep in mind when dinner is time-delayed for your various diners. The meat can stay warm in loaf form, wrapped in foil; cut it to order just before serving. Serve with crisp strips of fresh red, orange and yellow peppers. 

Servings: 3-4
Tested size: 3-4 servings

Ingredients 

• 1/4 cup pine nuts 
• 3 cloves garlic 
• 1 lemon 
• 1 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1/2 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 6 ounces ground lamb 
• 6 ounces lean ground beef (85-15) 
• Sweet or spicy paprika 
• 3 or 4 whole-wheat pitas or whole-wheat naan 
• 1/2 seedless (English) cucumber 
• 1/2 small red onion 
• Leaves from 3 stems mint 
• 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt, preferably Greek-style 
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Directions 
Position an oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the broiler element or flame; preheat the broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, then spray the center with cooking oil spray.

Toast the pine nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium-low heat for 2 or 3 minutes, until fragrant and lightly golden. Shake the pan as needed to avoid scorching. Transfer the nuts to a cutting board to cool, then coarsely chop them.

Mince the garlic; transfer to a mixing bowl. Cut the lemon in half; squeeze 2 teaspoons of juice from one half over the bowl. Add the onion powder, the teaspoon of granulated garlic or garlic powder, the dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, stirring to combine.

Add the chopped, toasted pine nuts and the ground lamb and beef; use your clean hands to blend the mixture, then divide and shape it into two loaves that are 6 inches long by 3 inches wide. Place them on the oiled baking sheet. Broil for a total of 12 to 14 minutes, turning them over halfway through. Transfer to a cutting board. Sprinkle the tops lightly with paprika.

Stack the pitas or naan and wrap them in foil; once the oven is turned off, place them inside to warm.

Meanwhile, line a medium bowl with a few layers of paper towels. Cut the 1/2 cucumber in half lengthwise. Use the large holes of a box grater to shred the cucumber flesh into the paper towels, guiding the cucumber with your hand pressed against the peel. Discard the peel.

Cut the onion into very thin half-moons and add to the cucumber; reserve a small portion of the onion for garnishing each gyro, if desired. Cover with another layer of paper towels and press lightly. Drain for 5 minutes.

Chop the mint.

Discard the paper towels, letting the cucumber-onion mixture fall back into the bowl; add the yogurt, mint, the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, the remaining 1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder and the pepper. Squeeze another 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of juice from the remaining lemon half. Stir to form a sauce.

To serve, cut each meat loaf into very thin slices. Place a pita or naan on each plate, then top with equal portions of the meat and sauce. Garnish with reserved onion, if using. Serve right away.

Adapted from "Cooking Light: Lighten Up, America!" by Allison Fishman Task (Oxmoor House, 2013). Tested by Bonnie S. Benwick.

Take a Left on that Road, you know the one with the number

The Brave Astronaut is wrapping up a trip through the Empire State this week, having attended the Spring 2014 MARAC Meeting in Rochester, New York.  There was a lot of driving on roads with both names and numbers.

Growing up, one referred to the Long Island Expressway as that - not 495 (its Interstate Number).  The New York State Thruway (which we spent a fair amount of time on this week) was not I-87 or I-90 - it was just the Thruway.  Living in Maryland it is always the Beltway, I-95 is I-95 (though it gets confusing sometimes because the Beltway is also I-95 at points and there's I-95 in both Maryland and Virginia.

Most of the other major arteries in the DC area Wisconsin Avenue, Connecticut Avenue, Georgia Avenue, etc., also have numerical designations for them in the state of Maryland.  Route 50 in Maryland is also named the "John Hanson Highway" and MD Route 410 is known by other names than just "East-West Highway."  Then there's always US Route 1, with it's many monikers.

Some time ago, the website, Greater Greater Washington, posted an article on this "phenomena."  A little consistency would be nice.  If I have to travel a road, I would like for it to stay with me for the time that I'm going to be on it.  That would lead me to think about sticking with a number, because the names can change several times, sometimes within minutes.

Thoughts?  How is it for you?  What are you used to?

Off to Another Conference!

The Brave Astronaut Clan is on the road for another professional meeting.  LBA and and SoBA are along for the ride - but they're really here for the baseball portions of the trip (Cooperstown, a Rochester Red Wings game on Saturday, and maybe a stop at the Little League Museum on the way home).

The Spring 2014 MARAC Meeting is being held in Rochester, NY this week.  There is a full slate of activities, sessions, and events for my friends and colleagues to do for the next few days.  BuzzFeed posted a while back on the "Awful Stages of Attending a Conference."  Hopefully our meetings aren't like this.

1. You have to wake up at a stupidly early hour because the event starts at 8.30 ON THE DOT.  Even though half the delegates arrive late and no conference in the history of human evolution has ever started or ended on time.  (For years, we have been toying with our schedule to try and get some events moved to different parts of the day from first thing in the morning - but someone is always going to get screwed.) 
2. Conferences usually take place in the basement of musty old hotels, where there’s no phone reception. (This is becoming less of a problem as hotels join the 21st Century and provide free wi-fi - so you can keep playing that game of Words With Friends or Candy Crush.) 
3. You’re supposed to be networking and exchanging business cards, but it’s too early and you find it endlessly awkward peering at people’s name badges to see who they are. (As the President of the organization, I meet a lot of the conferees and I'm ashamed to admit that I have stolen more than a few glances at name badges when people come up to me.) You're supposed to be networking and exchanging business cards, but it's too early and you find it endlessly awkward peering at people's name badges to see who they are.
4. And when you do see someone you know, you can’t remember their name so avoid making eye contact. (I know someone in the profession that when engaged in a conversation with him - he would constantly be looking past you for someone else to talk to.) 
5. There may be an exhibition area where sponsors can tell you all about their wonderful products. They may have hired a DJ. (In my memory, there's never been a DJ - but we get some good swag from our exhibitors - and there's often candy - something that LBA and SoBA will root out very quickly this week.) 
6. Then the conference itself starts. There are some great speakers… and some not so great ones. (As a profession, we are not the most dynamic speakers - but we do OK.)  
7. If you're a journalist covering a conference, you're often reduced to searching for laptop battery power. (We don't get a lot of journalists covering our meetings.) 
8. Lunchtime! Now you have to try to eat and chat while holding a plate and cutlery and and a drink. Good luck. Bonus observation: What’s with those metal food heaters you get at conferences? Where do they come from? (We have pretty good luncheons - I used to avoid them unless the topic really grabbed me - but now as President, I'm there.) 
9. You are praying there are cakes. Please let there be cakes. You are praying there are cakes. (We have pretty good breaks - and at this conference there is reported to be ice cream!) 
10. After lunch is when you have to ward off that sleepy feeling. (Yeah, I try not to go to sessions in the afternoon - I don't want my snoring to disturb the presenters.)
11. It wouldn’t be so bad if conferences weren’t so expensive. It will cost you $6,000 to attend the TED event in Rio this year. (Well MARAC is still pretty affordable - and most of the time - our employers will help with the costs.)
12. And when it’s all over? There’s a free bar. Which you make full use of. (MARAC's Hospitality Suite "After-Parties" are legendary in the organization.) 

Spiced Peach, Graham Cracker and Oat Crisp

LBA and SoBA get snacks for after school each day (though not this week as they are off for Easter Break).  Most of the time it's Cheez-its and Cheerios and raisins, but sometimes I will mix it up and give them Triscuits and graham crackers.  So there's usually graham crackers in the house.  There may be some frozen peaches in the house, but I know I need more oats.  From the Washington Post.

Spiced Peach, Graham Cracker and Oat Crisp
Sarah L. Voisin / The Washington Post
Nourish Mar 5, 2014

Warm fruit desserts are one of my favorite ways to end a meal or dress up a weekend breakfast. I'm always tinkering with different combinations of fruits, spices and toppings to mix things up. Here, a classic peach crisp is spiced like a gingerbread cookie. 

To really indulge, serve with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream.

Servings: 8
Tested size: 8 servings

Ingredients 
For the fruit 

• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 
• 2 pounds frozen peaches, cut into 3/4-inch chunks 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

For the topping 

• 1/4 cup quick-cooking or regular rolled oats (not instant) 
• 1/2 cup finely crushed graham cracker crumbs 
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 
• 3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter

Directions 
For the fruit: Whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Add the peach chunks and vanilla extract; toss to evenly distribute. Let the mixture rest for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the topping: Combine the oats, graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a separate bowl. Add the butter and use your fingers to thoroughly work it into the dry ingredients to create a crumbly mixture.

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Use cooking oil spray to grease a 9-by-13-inch shallow baking dish or one of equal volume (2 1/2 quarts).

Pour the fruit mixture into the baking dish, distributing the peaches evenly. Scatter the crumb topping over the fruit, covering the surface as much as possible. Bake (on the lower oven rack) for 45 to 50 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling up the sides of the dish and the fruit at the center is tender when pierced with a fork or skewer.

Wait 10 minutes before serving.

See The USA!

The Brave Astronaut Clan is on Spring Break this week.  Time to see the USA - or at least a little corner of it.  The Huffington Post put out this list of the ONE thing that you need to see in each state.

1. ALABAMA - Go to space camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Aspiring astronauts ages 9 to 99 come to Huntsville for a chance to sleep in bunks, spin in the Multi-Axis Trainer, and handle a crisis on simulated intergalactic missions - I've been to Huntsville.  I've seen the Rocket Center.  The rest of my time in Alabama is a story for another time.
2. ALASKA - Hang with polar bears in their real home at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The villages of Kaktovik and Barrow, located on Alaska's 19 million-acre wildlife refuge, are especially spectacular spots to stay the night, meet a guide, and watch polar bears live wild and freely. polar bears - I've not been to Alaska
3. ARIZONA - Spend a night on the floor of the Grand Canyon Yes, you could settle for a standard daytime walk around the rim. But that way, you wouldn't see Havasu Falls - I've been to Arizona, but not yet to the Grand Canyon.
4. ARKANSAS - Visit Anthony Chapel in Garvan Woodland Gardens Nestled within 210 acres of flowers, streams and waterfalls is a sky-high (okay, six stories high) chapel made of pine beams and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. You can practically hear Mother Nature singing - I haven't been to Arkansas.
5. CALIFORNIA - Drive State Route 1 through Big Sur Nothing is more California than a coastal road trip, and this one will take you past some of the most precious views on Earth. Stop at Nepenthe for sunset cocktails on cliffs over the water - I have not been to Northern California
6. COLORADO - Go sandboarding at Great Sand Dunes National Park If you thought Colorado's mountains were shreddable, wait till you speed down the tallest dunes in North America on a fiberglass board. Don't worry; you can usually still see snowcapped peaks in the background - I've been to Colorado, but only to Denver, and I'm not really a "boarding" guy.
7. CONNECTICUT - Order the white clam pizza at Frank Pepe Pizzeria "Pepe's" is one of the oldest pizza joints in the country. It was Frank Pepe himself who invented apizza -- now a New Haven delicacy -- by subtracting mozzarella, adding oregano, and thinning the crust of the average slice. Pepe's white clam apizza has been called the best pizza in America - I've been to Connecticut, I've been to New Haven, I may have even been here - but I'm not sure.
8. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Go paddle boating on the Tidal Basin There's something about seeing D.C.'s biggest monuments from the water. On a warm spring day, you can paddle past the Jefferson Memorial and catch sun between the cherry trees - check
9. DELAWARE - Walk the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk Finally, a U.S. boardwalk that hasn't lost its vintage vibe. At precisely one mile long, your stroll will last the perfect amount of time to finish a Kohr Brothers cone. Stop at Arena's Deli for a sandwich if you're still hungry - check
10. FLORIDA - Climb the Shark Valley tower Take a tram tour or brave the humidity and bike around this zone of Everglades National Park. Halfway through, there's an observation tower you can climb-- it lets you realize, from above, just how many zillions of alligators have been lurking in the swamps all along - been to Florida but not into the Everglades
11. GEORGIA - Eat at the Olde Pink House in Savannah This refined Southern restaurant has played many roles as a residence, a bank and an army headquarters - this is something James Habersham, the home's original owner, is apparently not happy about. Patrons have reportedly seen Mr. Habersham's ghost hanging around the bar... so take your spiked raspberry lemonade to go and walk along the Savannah River outside - I've been to Savannah, but maybe I can check this off the list when we are back this summer.
12. HAWAII - Climb the Stairway to Heaven Ok, we can't exactly promote this hike, since it's technically illegal. But the view is actually spectacular - not been to Hawaii. 
13. IDAHO - Drive Interstate 90 across the Panhandle This fast, furious, 75-mile zoom across Idaho's top portion will remind you why driving is an American pastime. Stop in scenic Coeur d'Alene for a cold PBR - I've haven't been to the Potato State.
14. ILLINOIS - Have a drink at the top of the Hancock Building Whether it's the sunset hour or late at night, the best way to see Chicago is from a table at The Signature Lounge on the 95th floor... with an esquire martini in hand - I've done most of the sights in Chicago but not this one. 
15. INDIANA - Try the tenderloin sandwich at Ivanhoes This family-run restaurant in Upland has 100 shakes and sundaes to choose from. For a total Midwest experience, complement yours with thin-pounded, deep-fried pork loin on a hamburger bun - I haven't been here but it sounds like I should.
16. IOWA - Visit the Butter Cow at the Iowa State Fair A dynasty of five master artists have sculpted the Butter Cow over the years... he's been a State Fair tradition since 1911. At 600 pounds, the Butter Cow could butter 19,200 slices of toast - I would like to see a butter cow. 
17. KANSAS - Sample the No. 6 Oatmeal Stout at Gella's Diner & Lb. Brewing Co. One day, Gerald Wyman's wife told him to please stop brewing beer in their kitchen. A few years later, Wyman had a charming-yet-modern storefront and a Gold World Beer Cup Award for his Oatmeal Stout - I haven't been to Kansas.
18. KENTUCKY - Drive and drink (but don't drink and drive!) along the Bourbon Trail This pre-planned route leads you past eight of Kentucky's distilleries, from Jim Beam to Maker's Mark. If you can't be trusted to operate a motor vehicle, hire a party bus - I don't do the brown liquor and I haven't been to Kentucky. 
19. LOUISIANA - Go to the French Quarter Festival New Orleans's classic neighborhood hits its prime during this free three-day music festival every spring. It's also the best way to fit every local delicacy into your stomach at once: restaurants sell little sample-size plates at the "world's largest jazz brunch" - I've been to New Orleans a few times, but never for the jazz festival.
20. MAINE - Watch the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain Most of the year, this is the first place the sun comes up in the whole United States. It's also the most famous hike in beautiful Acadia National Park - check, well not the sunrise, but I've been to the top of Cadillac.
21. MARYLAND - Crack a crab at Cantler's You can drive your boat directly up to this "riverside inn," where they sort crabs in a wash basin right before your eyes. Accompany with LOTS of Old Bay seasoning - I've been meaning to go, this summer it will happen.
22. MASSACHUSETTS - Dance at The Beachcomber on Cape Cod This rollicking, old-school dance bar is parked right on the beach in a former lifesaving station. After a few mudslide cocktails, the live reggae and rock will make you feel supercharged enough to sprint into the ocean - been to the Bay State, but not to the Cape. 
23. MICHIGAN - Visit the Shinola Store Shinola is aiming to "reinvigorate the storied American brand" - and reinvigorate Detroit in general - by manufacturing quality watches, bikes and leather goods right in the heart of the city. At their hipster-licious storefront, you can shop for timepieces and watch the bicycle assembly line - I've not been to Michigan.
24. MINNESOTA - Canoe the Boundary Waters There are over a thousand individual lakes in this slice of Superior National Forest. Many of them are only reachable if you paddle past majestic pine groves and hulking rock formations - I've not been to Minnesota.
25. MISSISSIPPI - Listen to blues at The Lyric in Oxford When you need - if you need - a break from the beer bars and battle cries of the Ole Miss students in Oxford, hide out in this movie-theater-turned-concert-hall. It first served as a stable for William Faulkner's family - I can spell it, but I haven't been there.
26. MISSOURI - Explore the Ozark Caverns Out of thousands of caves in Missouri, the most famous feature is Angel Showers, where water constantly flows from the ceiling like a waterfall. During your tour, you might also encounter the rare blind salamander - Haven't been to the Show-Me State.
27. MONTANA - Drive Going-to-the-Sun Road You'll feel like you're in one of those nature-themed IMAX movies during this 50-mile drive through Glacier National Park - haven't been to Big Sky Country 
28. NEBRASKA - Throw horseshoes during Popcorn Days in North Loup At this festival, Nebraskans pay tribute to their state's most prosperous crop with three days of polka dancing, turtle racing, bull riding, and UNLIMITED FREE POPCORN! - one of the flyover states, that I haven't been to.
29. NEVADA - Order a late-night Awful Awful Burger at The Nugget Gamblers say they're coming to Reno for the refreshingly low-key vibe at Peppermill Casino. What they're actually after, however, is probably just The Nugget's world-famous Awful Awful Burger, served with a "mountain of fries" - Haven't been to Nevada. 
30. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Add your pumpkin to the wall at the Keene Pumpkin Festival Every year, people from far and wide lug pumpkins to Keene-- they're battling to either defend or win back the official world record for "most jack-o'-lanterns in one place." Last year, they successfully snagged the title back from Boston - I've been to New Hampshire but haven't done this. 
31. NEW JERSEY - Climb Barnegat Lighthouse on Long Beach Island There are 217 steps in this tower, which locals affectionately refer to as "Barney." It's clearly not the tacky Jersey shore you've seen on TV - I've climbed New Jersey lighthouses, but not this one. 
32. NEW MEXICO - Watch a Balloon Glow at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta At the biggest balloon rally in the world, hundreds of hot air balloons hit the big blue sky at once. When they light up for a Balloon Glow night ascent, you feel all magical and ticklish inside - I've been to New Mexico, but not amongst the balloons.
33. NEW YORK - Go wine (and pie) tasting on Long Island's North Fork You'd never guess that 30 picture-perfect wineries were so close to the city - or so insanely cheap to tour. A strawberry pie from Briermere Farms will further alter your life - check
34. NORTH CAROLINA - Tour the Biltmore Estate Exploring the largest private residence in the United States feels like being at the Palace of Versailles . . . except you're in America. And you can rent bikes to whiz freely around the gigantic property - This is on the list of things to do - but it hasn't happened yet. 
35. NORTH DAKOTA - Climb White Butte This massive hill outside the town of Amidon is the highest point in the whole state, at 3,507 feet above sea level. The hike (or "wilderness stroll," shall we say) to the top only takes about an hour, but climbers from all over the world come to conquer it because the trail is littered with dangerous rattlesnakes. Pack a celebratory picnic in case you survive - I've not been to either of the Dakotas. 
36. OHIO - Get a scoop of black raspberry chocolate chip at Graeter's Ice Cream This adorable store in Cincinnati has been selling its famous, ultra-thick ice cream (made in tiny two-gallon batches) for well over a hundred years . . . and it's sooo good - I will travel pretty far for ice cream - I could get there in about 8 hours, DAY TRIP!
37. OKLAHOMA - Go to the Norman Music Festival What started in 2008 as a tiny, one-day music fest has exploded into a three-day concert experience with multiple stages, art walks, and local food tastings... all for free. That's the Oklahoman way - Not been to the Sooner State 
38. OREGON - Get lost in Powell's City of Books This bookstore in Portland claims it's the largest one in the world . . . and considering 1.6 acres of bookshelves and nine color-coded rooms, we're inclined to believe them - it's a bookstore - but it's somewhere I haven't been.
39. PENNSYLVANIA - Go to a mud sale in Lancaster County Mud sales (named for the wet ground in springtime) are the live auctions and craft sales that happen every year in Amish Country. Pennsylvanians - both Amish and not - haggle with each other to score a handmade quilt or home-baked pie. Take a tour of the quaint Amish countryside afterward! - Been through most of PA, and the Amish country, but not to a Mud Sale. 
40. RHODE ISLAND - Take the Cliff Walk in Newport Ocean on one side, gigantic Gilded Age mansions on the other. Your only problem in life will be deciding which view to look at - check.
41. SOUTH CAROLINA - Taste the barbecue hash at Sweatman's BBQ They call this 100-mile barbecue because it's totally worth the long drive to Bub Sweatman's house-turned-buffet-room in the town of Holly Hill - Been to South Carolina, but not for this BBQ
42. SOUTH DAKOTA - Visit the Mitchell Corn Palace This multi-use facility isn't all that interesting on the inside. But the outside, it's truly a sight. The building is actually decorated with crop art and is redesigned each year with a new theme! - This over Mount Rushmore? Someday maybe. 
43. TENNESSEE - Spend a day in Dollywood It's the most awesomely kitschy and fabulously delicious experience in all of Tennessee. The park, in Pigeon Forge, is run in a partnership between the great Dolly Parton and Herschend Family Entertainment. Think food, waterslides and all things Dolly - Haven't been to Tennessee and don't feel the need to visit this particular amusement park. 
44. TEXAS - Tube the Guadalupe River Nothin' says Texas like drifting down the river on a toasty summer day with all your best friends and a massive floating cooler of Coors - been to Texas, but not to tube 
45. UTAH - Hike to Delicate Arch It's the most famous sandstone formation in Arches National Park and the same one you'll see on Utah's license plates. The Olympic torch even passed through the arch in 2002, making this hike both beautiful and historic - Haven't been to Utah.
46. VERMONT - Take a brewery tour For a small state, Vermont packs an alcoholic punch-- it has the most breweries per capita of any state. Visit as many breweries as possible, without having to travel very far! The Vermont Breweries Association offers a full list of options. Make sure to check out Magic Hat Brewery in South Burlington and take a free guided tour - been to Vermont, and to Ben and Jerry's factory but not for beer.
47. VIRGINIA - See a movie at The Byrd Theater in Carytown, Richmond's cutesy shopping district, and The Byrd is the big, glamorous old-time movie palace that's been showing films since 1928 - on Saturdays, you can still hear an organ performance before your movie. Tickets are $1.99, which means you have more than enough spare change for a french toast donut from Dixie Donuts - Been to Richmond and other places in Virginia, but not to the movies here. 
48. WASHINGTON - Hike the Ape Caves They're actually ultra-long lava tubes near Mount St. Helens, one of our country's "highest threat" volcanoes. Wander through the dark, cold tubes with a headlamp, and pop out in a sunny forest on the other side - Haven't been to Washington. 
49. WEST VIRGINIA - Eat a pepperoni roll from Country Club Bakery Never heard of a pepperoni roll? That's because they're basically only in West Virginia. The Country Club Bakery in Fairmont is where it all began, when Italian immigrant Giuseppe Argiro first stuffed freshly-seasoned pepperoni into a warm roll - Been to Charleston but not for pepperoni rolls.
50. WISCONSIN - Shop the Dane County Farmer's Market Everyone in Madison - from hippies to soccer moms - shops the Saturday smorgasbord that sets up around the Capitol building (they're open almost all year round!). Be sure to pick up some classic Wisconsin cheese curds - I've been to Wisconsin but not to Madison. 
51. WYOMING - Go to Cheyenne Frontier Days On your way to Cheyenne, pass through Wyoming's seven national parks to get a feel for the state's supreme scenery. Then, meet their supreme people at "The Daddy of 'em All," a 10-day rodeo-meets-small-town-bonanza with free pancake breakfasts and concerts from the likes of Brad Paisley - Haven't been to Wyoming.

DIY Cadbury Creme Eggs

Mrs. BA has a weakness for Cadbury Creme Eggs.  Personally, I can't stand them.  And that's saying a lot.  With the introduction of Halloween Creme Eggs a few years ago, she can get her fix now twice a year.  But now if she wants, she can make her own any time of the year.

In addition to the recipe below, BuzzFeed posted a while back - "17 [other] Scrumptious Ways to Eat a Creme Egg."  Click on the link to see the recipes for the items listed below.

1. Creme Egg Donuts.
2. Creme Egg Brownies
3. Creme Egg Pudding
4. Homemade Creme Eggs
5. Dip Toasted Brioche In A Creme Egg
6. Deep Fried Creme Eggs
7. Creme Egg Cupcakes
8. Creme Eggs Benedict
9. Creme Egg Salad Sandwich
10. Creme Egg Toastie
11. Creme Egg Foo Young
12. Creme Egg and Bacon Rolls
13. Creme Egg Cocktail
14. Creme Egg Chocolate Hearts
15. Creme Egg Milkshake
16. Creme Egg Cookies
17. Creme Egg pie

Homemade Creme Eggs
(from Food 52 - see a video here)

Makes 15 to 20 eggs

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Lyle's golden syrup (or corn syrup) 
• 6 tablespoons butter 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 3 drops orange blossom water (optional) 
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds removed (optional) 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3 cups powdered sugar 
• 12 ounces dark chocolate (or bittersweet chips) 

1. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer that has been fitted with the paddle attachment (this can easily be done by hand or with a hand mixer). Add the golden syrup, salt, orange blossom water (if using), vanilla seeds, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium-low to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is mixed well. 
2. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Mix until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. 
3. Place one third of the mixture into a small bowl and add enough yellow food color to obtain desired color. 
4. Cover both bowls with plastic wrap and put into the freezer for at least 15 minutes. It is necessary that this mixture be very cold while you work with it. 
5. When the sugar mixture is thoroughly chilled, remove from the freezer. Working quickly take about a half teaspoon of the “yolk” mixture and roll it into a ball. Continue forming your yolks. 
6. Once the yolks are complete, place them on a plate or a sheet tray covered with parchment and then put that back into the freezer. 
7. Now, measure a tablespoon of your “whites”, and then roll that into a ball. Continue until all the white portion of the sugar mixture is gone. If the whites are too soft to work with, place back into the freezer for a few minutes. 
8. Remove the yolks from the freezer. Place a white in the palm of your hand and gently flatten a bit. Create an indent in the center to rest the yolk in. Place the yolk in the center of the white, then cover it up. Roll the white into an egg shape. If at any point the sugar mixture gets too soft, quickly put it back into the freezer. 
9. Continue this process until all your eggs are complete. Return to the freezer. While your eggs are chilling, temper your chocolate. Or melt the chocolate in a microwave at 30 second intervals stirring very well in between. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to the chocolate and stir well. This gives you a little more flexibility with the chocolate eliminating some of the need for precise tempering. You will not, however get as nice of a crack as you bite into the egg. 
10. Working with one egg at a time, remove the egg from the freezer and stick a toothpick in it. Dip the egg into the chocolate and carefully let the excess chocolate drip off. Place the toothpick into something – like a potato perhaps – while the chocolate sets.
11. Place the chocolate-covered egg into the fridge for 10 minutes while the chocolate sets. Carefully remove the toothpick from the egg and cover up the small hole with a little bit of tempered chocolate.

Where are the Kayaks?

Every time I announce that I am going to Costco (as I will do tomorrow to buy things for Mrs. BA's family to join us for dinner on Sunday) - SoBA yells, "you can't go by yourself, because you'll buy a kayak.  Kayaks are one of those things that Costco sells, next to the five loaves of bread and the battery piles to get you through the apocalypse.  I'm over the kayak - but SoBA hasn't seen the basketball hoop set they are currently selling. From BuzzFeed (my comments in italics)

20 Survival Tips To Get You Through Costco Alive

1. Get there early - parking spaces go faster than a cheesecake sample.
2. Never let your kid bring a toy inside with them - because if he/she loses it in there you are NEVER. EVER. GOING. TO. FIND. IT.
3. Don’t forget your membership card - not just anyone can join this club, you know. Well, that’s not true. Anyone can. But they still won’t let you in without it. 
4. Skip the flat bed - you’ll want to strap your kids into the shopping cart so they can’t run around.
5. Don’t even think about going in there without a shopping list - I once knew a family who went to Costco just to browse. I miss them.
6. Keep your head down and walk straight to the first item on your list - you do not want the kids to see the toy section. And your wallet doesn’t need you to see all the cool stuff in the electronics section, either. (I have always been an up and down every aisle kind of guy - but even I skip aisles at Costco.)
7. Seriously, don’t let yourself be tempted by big-ticket items.
8. Visit the sample folks every chance you get - “Why, yes, I would like to try a chicken, apple, and herb breakfast sausage.”
9. Just be sure to get out of the way once you’ve got your sample.
10. Samples are awesome for kids too - if your kids are picky eaters, you’ll love that they can try it before you buy it. (On those occasions when LBA and SoBA come with me - they're all about the samples)
11. It’s smart to focus on nonperishable items - when you buy in bulk, you’ll want to be able to take your time eating this stuff.
12. But think twice on perishables - I once got a deal on four pounds of shrimp. For the next week I woke up every night in a cold sweat worrying that it’d go bad before I finished it all.
13. You’ll want to think about your freezer space too - If your freezer isn’t big enough to stash a body, you probably should pass on that economy-sized box of waffles.
14. It’s easy to get distracted by the Costco-ness of it all. Stay focused - yes, those are 14-foot Christmas trees for sale in August. No, you don’t need one. What’s next on the shopping list?
15. Speaking of distractions… Don’t waste time searching for the ark of the covenant - It looks like the same place, I know, but it’s not. Seriously. Stay focused.
16. If you get lost, don’t panic.
17. Also, don’t look up - or you’ll be in for a serious case of vertigo.
18. Just keep heading in one direction until you see something you recognize - “There in the distance… Past the industrial sized jar of oatmeal… That’s the book section! I know where we are! I KNOW WHERE WE ARE!”
19. Once you have everything on your list, there’s one last challenge: checkout - if your kids complain, remind them they have no problem waiting 45 minutes in line at Six Flags.
20. Congratulations! You survived! - reward the family with a slice of Costco’s awesome pizza. And a hot dog. And a churro. Anyone know if they sell this stuff in bulk too?

Everything Bagels!

We are approaching the Passover season - the only time of the year when Bagel Boss, the best bagel shop on Long Island, IMHO, is closed - you can't exactly sell bagels when you're not supposed to eat bread products.  The Brave Astronaut clan stocked up when we were up at Christmas - but they never last.  We will buy more when we are up in the summer to celebrate my father's birthday.

In the meantime, maybe I will give this a go.  I often tell people the story about New York bagels are so distinctive because of the water.  There was evidently a New Yorker who moved to Texas and opened a bagel shop and had New York water trucked in so he could make the authentic bagels. Recipe from the Amateur Gourmet.

Everything Bagels from Scratch 
Summary: Adapted from Chow.com.

Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 cups tepid water (105 F) plus 1 tablespoon for the egg wash 
• 1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons) 
• 4 cups bread flour 
• 2 teaspoons malt powder 
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt (that’s salty! Cut it down to 1 tablespoon if you’re worried) 
• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar 
• 1 large egg white 
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds 
• 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds 
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds 
• 1 tablespoon dried onions 
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 

Instructions

1. Mix together the tepid water and yeast in a measuring cup with a fork; set aside. In the bowl of a Kitchen-Aid mixer with the dough hook attached, combine the flour, malt powder, salt and sugar. Add the yeast mixture, scraping out any dissolved bits. 
2. Mix on low speed, about 2 minutes. Then increase the speed to medium low and continue mixing until the dough is “stiff, smooth, and elastic” about 9 minutes more. (If the dough gets stuck on the hook, mash it back to the bottom of the bowl.) The dough should be stiff. 
3. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl, turning to coat it in the oil. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it rise for 20 minutes. 
4. Heat the oven to 425. Fill a large, wide pan (I used a Dutch Oven) with water, bringing to a boil over high heat. Set a wire rack over a pan to collect the boiled bagels. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper for baking the bagels. Mix together the egg white and the tablespoon of water for the eggwash. Combine the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried onions, onion powder and garlic powder in a separate bowl.
5. Turn the risen dough on to a dry surface. Divide into 12 equal pieces, about 3 ounces each (you can use a scale to measure, I didn’t). (While you work, keep the dough you’re not handling covered with a damp towel to prevent drying). Roll each piece into a 9-inch rope, lightly moisten the ends with water, overlap the ends by 1 inch and press to join so you’ve created a bagel. The hole at the center should be quarter-sized. Cover the shaped bagels with a damp towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. 
6. Then, boil the bagels 3 or 4 at a time, letting them bob around for 30 seconds on each side until they look shriveled. Then remove to the rack and finish the rest of the bagels. 
7. Place the bagels on the parchment-lined cookie sheet, brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle with the everything bagel spices. Pop into the oven and bake for 25 minutes until they’re a “deep caramel color” and have formed a crust on the bottom and top. 
8. The hardest part: let them cool for 30 minutes before eating. Good luck. 

Preparation time: 2 hour(s)
Cooking time: 30 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12