Just wanted to share some of my Christmas swag:
Games:
- Gears of War 3
- PlayStation Move Shooting Attachment
- Rock Band Guitar
- Uncharted 3
DVDs:
- Futurama Volume 6 Bluray
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
- Simpsons Season 14 DVD Read More
Category Archives: Food & Drink
So I Married a Sushi Chef
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, cooking, dinner, edamame, food & drink, harris teeter, homemade, rolls, sashimi, sushi, tuna
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, cooking, dinner, edamame, food & drink, harris teeter, homemade, rolls, sashimi, sushi, tuna
I had my reasons for marrying Shell. She’s intelligent, beautiful, funny…and one heck of a cook! She was baking and cooking since we started going out over seven years ago and I knew that marrying her would lead to even more delicious meals. Little did I known that I would soon be getting fresh-rolled sushi at home! She had been wanting to make her own sushi for awhile now, so for her birthday last month I bought her the beginner’s basics; a sushi book, rice paddle, bamboo mat and sushi-grade knife. Tonight we went out to Harris Teeter and picked up sashimi-grade tuna, nori rolls, sushi rice, avacado and cream cheese and she made her first batch of handmade sushi rolls. And what a success it was!
Shell made three different rolls tonight. The first was tuna with avacado and cream cheese:
Last Bite of NY BBQ at Dinosaur BBQ
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as BBQ, bbq fried rice, big bad bob, chinese, corn bread, dinner, dinosaur bbq, Food & Drink, grill, macaroni-n-cheese, ny, pork, restaurants, ribs, sausage, smoker, south
Tagged as BBQ, bbq fried rice, big bad bob, chinese, corn bread, dinner, dinosaur bbq, Food & Drink, grill, macaroni-n-cheese, ny, pork, restaurants, ribs, sausage, smoker, south
When people think of New York food, they think of things like pizza and hot dogs. Point is, I doubt any really associates the Empire State with BBQ. That doesn’t stop a few restaurants that want to try their hand at it, and one of the best NY BBQ I have ever had came from Dinosaur BBQ. Shell came home from work tonight bearing the gift of Dinosaur, and I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth in.
I went for one of their great combination platters, after my sister highly recommend I try their sausage. So my dinner consisted of:
- Four Pork Ribs
- One Sausage Link
- Macaroni & Cheese
- BBQ Fried Rice
- Corn Bread
Bison: The Other Red Meat
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as beef, big bad bob, bigbadbob, bison, buffalo, chez mike, dinner, grill, meat, ribeye, steak
Tagged as beef, big bad bob, bigbadbob, bison, buffalo, chez mike, dinner, grill, meat, ribeye, steak
Shell and I received a $20 coupon from the local culinary restaurant Chez Mike for our anniversary, and we headed there for dinner tonight. I noticed that the menu offered a bison ribeye steak and I was immediately sold. Ribeye is my favorite cut of meat, and the fact that it was a new animal meat to try enticed me even more. I’m quite the carnivore, so whenever there’s a chance for a juicy cut of meat I go for it. Now I’ve had bison in the past, but only ground up for a burger. I was curious to see what the full-on buffalo taste was, and the fact that it was paired with yukon gold mashed potatoes just sealed the deal.
Bison is extremely similar to beef, in my opinion. I was expecting it to be “gamey” (which I don’t mind at all) and it wasn’t at all. Bison is a much leaner meat than beef, so it appeared tough when I cut it, but it was tender when chewed (I always order my steaks medium rare, so I’m sure it would have been much tougher if it had been cooked to well.) If you had blindfolded me and put a beef steak and a bison steak in front of me, it would have been very hard to tell the difference. I’ve had ribeye at a lot of different restaurants, and this one was hands down the best one I ever ate!
I only wish I could afford to buy bison and grill it at home…
The Best Damn Tuna Fish Sandwich EVER!
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, breakfast, chocolate milk, dinner, Food & Drink, fried onions, juice, lunch, mexican, milk, sandwich, tuna, tuna fish
Tagged as beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, breakfast, chocolate milk, dinner, Food & Drink, fried onions, juice, lunch, mexican, milk, sandwich, tuna, tuna fish
Once or twice a week, I will head to the kitchen around lunch time with a craving for a tuna fish sandwich. I’m very picky with tuna, and I will never order it from a deli or other sandwich shop (and I NEVER ate the tuna fish in school because the cafeteria tuna looked like a pile of ash!) If I happen to be at my parents house, I have no problem eating it when my dad makes it. However, it’s just not the same as my home-made tuna, because I do things to it that my dad would never think of eating. So today I’m going to share with you what I put in my tuna. It’s not a full-blown recipe because I do everything by sight and don’t measure the ingredients out, so feel free to do it to your personal taste. I use:
- One can tuna
- Light mayonnaise
- Honey mustard
- Lemon juice
- Lime juice
- Kosher salt (it is essential to use kosher…using regular table salt doesn’t do the sandwich justice)
- Ground black pepper (I crush the peppercorns in a grinder, not regular “table pepper”)
- Two slices Arnold’s Bakery Light Bread (its a much smaller piece of bread which cuts down on bready carbs)
- 1 Slice of cheddar cheese
- French’s french fried onions Read More
2nd Annual Mac-n-Cheese Bowl a Tasty Success
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as albany, BBQ, beef, big bad bob, bigbadbob, birch beer, birch hill, chez mike, chowder, dinosaur bbq, food & drink, italian, mac-n-cheese bowl, macaroni-n-cheese, pork, wine
Tagged as albany, BBQ, beef, big bad bob, bigbadbob, birch beer, birch hill, chez mike, chowder, dinosaur bbq, food & drink, italian, mac-n-cheese bowl, macaroni-n-cheese, pork, wine
Today was the second annual Mac-n-Cheese Bowl in Albany. Quite a few (thirty to be exact) restaurants were present, and offered their version of the classic macaroni-n-cheese dish to be judged by the public. For a one-price ticket, you were given access to unlimited tastings of these delectable cheesy dishes. The event ended up being sold out, but luckily Shell and I had purchased tickets a few weeks back, so we were good to go.
There were many different kinds of M&C to try. My favorites had some kind of meat in them, whether it was beef check, pulled pork, buffalo chicken, or, my personal favorite, a birch-beer braised beef. There were also a few seafood ones which reminded me more of a pasta dish than M&C, so those I didn’t personally like as much. While they were tasty, they just weren’t M&C. There were also some really cheesy (in a good way) ones, and one in particular that was my second favorite was extremely cheesy. It contained a heck of a lot of provolone, and was filled with a few different types of Italian meats, like capocolla and prosciutto. Read More
Cooking/Food Category Now Food & Drink
Filed under Food & Drink, Site Updates
Tagged as beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, blog, cooking, f.n.beer, Food & Drink, food & drink, restaurant, wine
Tagged as beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, blog, cooking, f.n.beer, Food & Drink, food & drink, restaurant, wine
Since this site first started up, I had a blog category titled “cooking/food”, which is where I lumped my adventures in the kitchen along with restaurants we ate at and different things we drank. Today as I was writing up my previous blog on my brother-in-law’s F.N.Beer, I realized that I didn’t like lumping beer and wine talk into a category called “cooking/food.” So I went ahead and changed it, and it will now be called the more stylish “Food & Drink.” This category fits about everything to do with consuming anything, so it works for me.
My Brother-in-Law’s F.N.Beer Blog
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, blog, brewery, brother-in-law, f.n.beer, fnbeer, sasquatch
Tagged as beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, blog, brewery, brother-in-law, f.n.beer, fnbeer, sasquatch
My brother-in-law has been brewing beer for quite some time, and yesterday he unveiled his new blog, F.N.Beer. This will chronicle his adventures of experimenting while perfecting his craft and pursuing his dream of opening his own professional brewery. I can personally attest to the tastiness of his spirits, and I wish him all the best in his quest.
I also told him he should make a Sasquatch Ale, as I think it would sell like hotcakes.
My Top Ten Posts of 2010
Filed under Books, Food & Drink, Geocaching, Movies, Sacred 2, Site Updates, TV Shows, Video Games
Tagged as aliens vs predator, big bad bob, bigbadbob, blog, captain morgan, combat arts, Gathering Storm, geocache, Geocaching, google analytics, high elf, jason lee, king of kong, lime bite, my name is earl, PlayStation 3, posts, PS3, Resistance, Sacred 2, shadow warrior
Tagged as aliens vs predator, big bad bob, bigbadbob, blog, captain morgan, combat arts, Gathering Storm, geocache, Geocaching, google analytics, high elf, jason lee, king of kong, lime bite, my name is earl, PlayStation 3, posts, PS3, Resistance, Sacred 2, shadow warrior
Last January, I checked out my top ten most viewed blog posts ranging from when the site started in April 2009 until January 2010. Today I was using Google Analytics to see how my site traffic has been the past week, and I decided to see how it was for all of 2010. While some of my posts continue to be popular, it seems that some new ones from the past year have swooped in and usurped some of my posts from 2009. So without further ado, here are my Top Ten Blogs of 2010 (in order of visits received):
Homemade Beer
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, brew, brother-in-law, dunkelweizen, homemade, sam adams, wine, winter ale
Tagged as beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, brew, brother-in-law, dunkelweizen, homemade, sam adams, wine, winter ale
Now don’t get excited, I don’t make my own beer…but my bro-in-law does! When I last saw him, he gave me two hefty bottles of his homemade brew, one which was a Dunkelweizen and the other was a Winter Ale. I had finished with the Dunkel a few weeks ago, and last night I opened up the Winter Ale for the first taste.
The Winter Ale is a strong, tasty beer with plenty of flavor. It also has that “bite” that I’ve come to enjoy in beer, particularly in Sam Adams brews. The Winter Ale is a bit stronger than the Dunkelweizen, so I did prefer the Dunkel, which had some interesting flavors present. I was originally planning on saving them for our New Years Eve party, but in the end I decided to serve Sam Adams and keep the homemade beer all to myself.
The homemade beers my bro makes are a real treat, as there is a lot more to them than a commercial beer I can get in a store. I look forward to trying out more of his special brews. While making beer is not something I would personally like to get into, I would definitely be interested in making my own wine once we get a house. My dad used to make his own wine when we were down on Long Island, and it’s definitely something I want to try my hand at.
Winter Grillin’
Nothing says “screw you, Winter!” like grilling outside in 20degree weather. Sure, there’s an impending snow storm on the way, but my pork chops say “we don’t care about no stinkin’ blizzard”, and I have to agree. I’m in the midst of grilling up some pork chops with some home-made BBQ sauce, and I have a sweet potato and brown sugar-layered concoction going in the oven. This delicious warm comfort food will definitely take the chill off of cooking outside.
Dinosaur BBQ Topples Brooks
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as albany, BBQ, big bad bob, bigbadbob, brisket, brooks, dinosaur, Food & Drink, pork, restaurant, root beer, saranac, sauce, troy
Tagged as albany, BBQ, big bad bob, bigbadbob, brisket, brooks, dinosaur, Food & Drink, pork, restaurant, root beer, saranac, sauce, troy
Ever since spending two years at SUNY Oneonta, I have sworn by Brooks BBQ. It was a decent BBQ with a ridiculously sweet sauce, and I loved it. However, this has proven to be a temporary fling, as a new BBQ love has entered my life…Dinosaur BBQ. They opened a restaurant in Troy about a month or two ago, and Shell and I met for lunch there to give it a whirl. I can honestly say that my heart has been stolen by this saucy seductress that is Dinosaur BBQ.
Since it was lunch, I didn’t go all-out and snag the ribs, which I would have loved to do. Instead, I settled for the BBS sandwich, which is brisket, bacon, and swiss heaped onto a nice sandwich roll. Shell went for the pulled pork sandwich…Memphis style, which meant it was topped with coleslaw. Both sandwiches were ridiculously tasty. The sauce for Dinosaur is far superior to Brooks in terms of taste. While Brooks is overly sweet, Dinosaur has a slight spicy tang to it, which makes for a much more sophisticated BBQ sauce. Read More
Getting Cheap Eats Where You Live
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as 677 prime, albany, big bad bob, bigbadbob, chez mike, coupon, Food & Drink, gift card, groupon, restaurants, seize the deal
Tagged as 677 prime, albany, big bad bob, bigbadbob, chez mike, coupon, Food & Drink, gift card, groupon, restaurants, seize the deal
Shell and I love to go out to eat at awesome restaurants. One of the greatest things about our current location is that there are literally tons of tastetacular privately owned restaurants (ie- not chain restaurants) for us to try, and if we needed to, we could go to a different one each time and never go to the same place twice. However, we have been going out less and less due since it is a pricey pastime, and it is far cheaper to stay in and cook.
That is until one day I happened to hear about a website called Seize the Deal. Basically you sign up, and you will receive daily e-mails informing you what the deal of the day is. It’s usually to a restaurant, but occasionally it’s something else like a golf course or other amusement location. The deal is usually a 50% discount on a gift card, so you will spend $25 and get a $50 gift card out of it. The gift card is actually a coupon printed right off your computer, and you just hand it to the server when you sit down at your table. This helps us go out to different restaurants, especially ones we wouldn’t normally go to due to the price. A great example is 677 Prime, which is a crazy fancy steakhouse up here in Albany. We would never go there on our own, but with the gift card deal we received from them, it basically gives us a free entree, so now it’s more in our price range. Read More
Busy Labor Day Weekend
Filed under Board & Card Games, Food & Drink, Geocaching, Movies, My Personal Life, Pets, Sports
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, booze, brooklyn, dallas bbq, drinking, geocache, Geocaching, killer bunnies, mason dixon, mexican food, nes, octoberfest, pizza, quest for the magic carrot, sam adams
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, booze, brooklyn, dallas bbq, drinking, geocache, Geocaching, killer bunnies, mason dixon, mexican food, nes, octoberfest, pizza, quest for the magic carrot, sam adams
We had a pretty sweet three-day excursion this weekend to see my sister and brother-in-law at their place in Brooklyn. It was an awesome time and we all had a blast. It’s always nice to get together with them, simply because it is so hard to do so.
We arrived there Saturday afternoon after coming into Grand Central and doing some subway hopping to get to her apartment on Greenpoint Ave in Brooklyn. My bro-in-law had ground up some home-made sausage and Cara cooked up some fresh ciabatta bread, so we had some nice sandwiches waiting for us when we arrived. I also got to finally meet their cat Amber (or as they prefer to call her, Puss Puss). She is a very cute, affectionate cat who tends to drool on you if she lays on you for even a brief amount of time. After lunch we hung out for a bit, and then headed out for a walk and some brief geocaching. We found one on a”nature walk” through an industrial section of Brooklyn, which ended up being a pretty scenic area despite all the garbage barges floating nearby. It was Cara and Nick’s first find so they were pretty happy! We then headed down to Newton Barge Terminal Playground for the next geocache. After much confused searching, we found the area where it should have been, but a local bum was literally asleep right on top of the area, so we had to forget about successfully finding it. Read More
Wednesday Night=Fondue Night
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, chocolate, Fondue, Food & Drink, garage sale, grapes, marshmallow, mint, pretzel, strawberry
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, chocolate, Fondue, Food & Drink, garage sale, grapes, marshmallow, mint, pretzel, strawberry
While cleaning up Shell’s dad’s house a few weeks back (getting ready for the garage sale), we unearthed her mom’s fondue set. This thing looks like it’s from the 70s or something, but it works, so we didn’t complain. We got around to trying it out tonight.
We did a simple chocolate and added in some mint syrup, which we didn’t really taste. I guess we’ll add more next time! For dippers, we had strawberries, mini marshmallows, pretzels, and grapes. Yup…grapes! They were pretty dang tasty, believe it or not!
The pretzels proved to be either too big or too small to fit on the forks that came with the set, but I quickly realized that sandwiching the pretzel between two marshmallows did the trick just fine!
We definitely look forward to doing this again sometime. Anyone have any suggestions for other delicious delectables to dip into chocolate fondue?
First Grilled Dinner: Pork Chops with Apple Chutney
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, cooking, dinner, electric grill, grill, pork
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, cooking, dinner, electric grill, grill, pork
Now that we got our new grill in, I was able to make my first grilled dinner since I left Oneonta. I threw some pork chops on with my Dad’s grilling marinade, which is basically oil, vinegar, and seasonings/spices. It smelled so good as it cooked, and I couldn’t wait to take a bite…I really missed cooking meat on the grill!
While that was going, I was inside making an apple chutney. I basically took apple, cranberry, raisin, and walnuts, diced them up, and popped them in a saucepan along with some red wine vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, allspice, and a splash of lemon juice. It smelled very vinegary as it cooked, and I was concerned that it was too much, but when it was finished it tasted fantastic…especially atop the pork chop!
Our New BBQ Grill
Filed under Food & Drink, Randomness
Tagged as amazon, apartment, BBQ, big bad bob, bigbadbob, electric grill, grill
Tagged as amazon, apartment, BBQ, big bad bob, bigbadbob, electric grill, grill
I found out a few weeks ago that our apartment complex would allow us to own a grill if it was an electric one. Upon finding this out, we put one on our wedding registry, but didn’t receive it. So yesterday, after failing to find one in the stores, I ordered it off Amazon. I placed the order at 2:48pm, it was shipped by 6:34pm, and I received it today at 2:15pm. So I basically ordered a grill from Amazon, got free shipping, and had it delivered within under 24 hours of ordering it. Now that’s service!
So I spent under two hours assembling the grill. I’m not the most handy person in the world, and reading those instructions is sometimes a pain in the butt for me, but I stumbled through it, and I now have a beautiful grill to call my own. One of the things I have hated most about living in an apartment is that we weren’t allowed to have a grill, but this electric one, while not perfect, will go a long way in making me happier. I’m gonna break it in tonight with some grilled pork chops, and I’m going to make a apple chutney to go on top. Should be interesting indeed!
KFC Double Down Sandwich
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, calories, double down, fast food, greasy, Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC, Kitchen Fresh Chicken
Tagged as big bad bob, bigbadbob, calories, double down, fast food, greasy, Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC, Kitchen Fresh Chicken
Now I have previously praised KFC for it’s grilled chicken but this I cannot condone. I saw a commercial for it last night, and I just couldn’t get over it. KFC has put out a sandwich called the Double Down. The key to understanding the Double Down sandwich is that, instead of bread, the sandwich is supported by two fried chicken breasts. Between these two greasy strips lies a pool of cheese with some bacon strips to boot. This sandwich has got to contain more than 2000 calories in itself! For a company that was trying to be healthier and convert KFC into meaning “Kitchen Fresh Chicken”, this is a huge step back in by book.
The Sam Adams Brewery Tour
Filed under Food & Drink
Tagged as barley, beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, boston, boston lager, brewery, cherry wheat, gift shop, hops, noble pils, pax, pax east, sam adams, sams, tasting
Tagged as barley, beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, boston, boston lager, brewery, cherry wheat, gift shop, hops, noble pils, pax, pax east, sam adams, sams, tasting
I do love my Sam Adams Boston Lager, so when we were getting ready to head up to Boston for PAX East, I thought it only fitting that we find some time to take in the Sam’s Brewery. So on Friday, after checking into the hotel, we hopped on the subway and made our way to the Sam’s Brewery for a tour and a tasting.
We walked into the building, and made it just in time to catch the tour going in. The tour was technically free, but they suggested a $2 donation which went to local charities. However, they were not aggressive about it, and in fact we almost missed the keg which was set aside to receive the donations. So even though I did it, if you were a real cheapskate you could go to the Sam’s Brewery and keep all your money to yourself and no one would know or care. I was amazed to find that the tour actually took place on the production floor, amongst the vats of beer. The first part of the tour takes place off to the side, where the tour guide explains about the ingredients in Sam Adams beer, and passes around samples of hops and barley for you to smell. After that, we go back onto the production floor, and the guide explains the process of making different varieties of Sams. On that particular day, they were brewing Cherry Wheat, so you could see the guys in the back covered in cherry stains as they went about their work. It was really cool to be standing around watching the process go down in front of you.
We Italians Need a Holiday Too!!!
Filed under Food & Drink, Randomness
Tagged as beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, cabbage, Chicken cacciatore, columbus day, cooking, corned beef, easter, Food & Drink, holiday, irish, italian, italian-american, lasagna, st. patricks day, wine
Tagged as beer, big bad bob, bigbadbob, cabbage, Chicken cacciatore, columbus day, cooking, corned beef, easter, Food & Drink, holiday, irish, italian, italian-american, lasagna, st. patricks day, wine
Sure, I like St. Patrick’s Day for the annual corned beef meal, but that’s about it. You won’t catch me wearing green, I won’t down a Guiness, and, long story short, I won’t go around pretending to be Irish, like so many people do. All too many people make believe that they are Irish for a day (and the weekend before, and the weekend after) during St. Patrick’s Day, and run around going bar-hopping and acting like fools. Now if you’re of Irish decent, I have no beef with ya…it’s your holiday and you do what you like. But there are more non-Irish people celebrating it here in the States than those who are Irish, and for that I say boo.
So on that note, I want to make my voice heard for all us Italians out there, that we want a holiday too. I mean, just picture how awesome a holiday would be if the Irish stuff was replaced by Italian stuff. For example, everyone would down awesome, delicious wine rather than beer. And let’s face it, wine is tastier than beer, goes better with a dinner, and gets you feeling good faster than a bottle of beer would. Secondly, the food. Screw the corned beef, cabbage, potato, and Irish soda bread. Sure, it’s a decent meal, but what about a GREAT meal?! Picture it: lasagna, baked ziti, meat pie, chicken cacciatore, veal piccata, sausage and peppers, pasta, meatballs, fresh warm Italian bread with some extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings to dip it in…mmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it!!! And what about dessert?! To be perfectly honest, I don’t even know what an Irish dessert is, but look at Italian desserts: cookies, cannoli, spumoni, tiramisu…simply fabulous!
So while I don’t mean to bash Irish cuisine and culture, I’m just saying that Italians need an ethnic holiday in the U.S. too. To be quite honest, both the food and drink are better, and I think people would have a great time getting drunk on wine and eating warm, hearty food. Easter is kind of a good example, so maybe that counts? Or maybe Columbus Day? Don’t start hating on me and telling me about all the bad things Columbus did…I’m a historian, so I know. However, it is an important holiday to Italian-Americans, and maybe more of us should start embracing it as such, rather than for the man himself.
