john d markers' weblog

Halloween Party

2008-11-01T12:55:00.001-04:00

P1000131
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

We had our Halloween party last weekend (almost a week early, but it just worked better). It was awesome. See photos.

Giving Up On MSN Instant Messaging Due to Spam

2008-09-13T17:15:00.004-04:00

After a couple weeks of an absurd volume of spam messages (almost all exactly the same), I've decided to stop signing on to MSN messenger in Adium. I think I only have one friend who still uses it anyway, and I can get in touch with her on Facebook anyway. I've also seen quite a bit of spam to my Yahoo! IM account (though not as much as MSN), but that's the service ThoughtWorkers mostly use, so I can't really give it up. I've still never gotten a single spam message on my GTalk or AIM accounts.

Keyspan Park

2008-09-06T01:25:00.001-04:00

Keyspan Park
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

as the smoke clears and the umpires consult on whether they can start
the game up again.

Keyspan Park

2008-09-06T01:19:00.001-04:00

Keyspan Park
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

bathed in smoke while the fireworks go off.

What Would Andrew Jackson's Ghost Say?

2008-08-31T18:20:00.001-04:00

What Would Andrew Jackson's Ghost Say?
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

Best Local News Segue Ever?

2008-08-17T18:32:00.002-04:00

From WNBC News.

[A story about Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi getting married wraps up.]

Weather person: "And let's hope they're not honeymooning in the Florida Keys, as Tropical Storm Fay continues ..."

The Marriott Platinum Gift, Renaissance Style

2008-08-01T00:17:00.001-04:00

The Marriott Platinum Gift, Renaissance Style
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

Lake Guntersville, Alabama

2008-07-14T09:16:00.001-04:00

Lake Guntersville, Alabama
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

Relaxing at Sunset

2008-07-01T20:22:00.001-04:00

Relaxing at Sunset
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

There was also white wine and, surprisingly, some falafel.

Summer Sky Through Fire Escape

2008-07-01T20:20:00.001-04:00

Summer Sky Through Fire Escape
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

Cold War Kids @ Prospect Park

2008-06-27T21:39:00.001-04:00

Cold War Kids @ Prospect Park
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

Celebrate Brooklyn

San Francisco Pictures

2008-06-27T01:27:00.001-04:00

Since I'm a fool and forgot my camera, we brought Shana's along on our day trip to Sonoma county. It was awesome, though we didn't take many pictures. Here are those we did take.

No Country for Old Moustache

2008-06-24T07:39:00.001-04:00

No Country for Old Moustache
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

This week only!

Big Redwoods

2008-06-15T14:44:00.001-04:00

Big Redwoods
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

at Samuel P Taylor State Park in Marin County

Channing With Kites

2008-06-15T14:25:00.001-04:00

Channing With Kites
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

This was when I was in South Florida for Xmas. Six months ago now.
Jeez.

Fast-Moving Fog @ Twin Peaks

2008-06-13T19:01:00.001-04:00

Fast-Moving Fog @ Twin Peaks
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

Mission Pool

2008-06-13T15:03:00.001-04:00

Mission Pool
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

Angel at the Exploratorium

2008-06-12T20:22:00.001-04:00

Angel at the Exploratorium
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

SF Sunset #1

2008-06-09T23:43:00.001-04:00

SF Sunset #1
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

Croissant French Toast: Best Breakfast Ever?

2008-05-18T10:37:00.003-04:00

I'm still recovering from what may be the finest thing I've ever cooked. My only regret is that I didn't have the self-control to stop and take a picture before digging in. It was dead easy, so you should try it. Here are the specifics.

All the ingredients (except the butter in the pan) were from the Prospect Park Green Market. That wasn't intentional, but it's the only food shopping I've done the last two weeks, so I guess it isn't surprising.

The croissant was from the Bread Alone booth. I bought two yesterday, one for immediate consumption, and was actually a little disappointed in the softness of the crust. (I like to hear a delicate crunch when I bite through the crust, and this one was mute.) That softness probably helped when it came to slicing for the French toast though. (The French toast croissant also had 24 hours to sit in the bag—I figured staleness would help—so I don't know how much soft crust when fresh matters. Other than the uncrisp crust, the Bread Alone croissants were delicious.

The batter was my standard French toast thing: two eggs, an eyeballed volume of milk that amounted to maybe a quarter of the total volume, and a generous pinch of salt.

The milk was skim from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy, my absolute number one favorite thing about green markets in NYC. The richness of their skim milk has to be tasted to be believed. I only recently realized that at two dollars a quart (after getting back the dollar bottle deposit), it's no more expensive than the organic milk at Key Foods, so I've started buying two quarts every weekend. Their milk is pasteurized but not homogenized, so give it a shake before pouring. I think maybe it also doesn't stay fresh as long as supermarket milk once the bottle's been opened, so I try not to let a quart last more than a few days once it's opened.

Sadly I don't remember the name of the egg farm, and there's no name on the carton (at last the half-dozen half of the carton I got). I think they're the only egg booth at Prospect Park. The last two times I've been, they were out of large eggs by the time I got there (mid-morning), but since I'm not baking, I don't mind using medium or small eggs.

What had me most nervous was whether I could slice the croissant without destroying it. It turned out to be easy though. As I mentioned, the crust was soft, so I didn't have big delicious flakes breaking off—just little ones. The shape was also more football than moon, so there weren't any crazy curves or angles to deal with. Ideally I wanted to get three slices out of it, and it looked like the right thickness for that, though the first slice—from the top of the croissant—would be very thin. I held it upright by the bottom over a cutting board and sliced with a steak knife—we don't have a bread knife—doing lots of back-and-forth sawing and very little pushing down. That first slice was really easy, since I had so much croissant to keep a hold of. The second was a little tougher, but also went very smoothly. I'd lost only a small volume of crust crumbs, so I was delighted.

Next I battered and cooked. I never let the bread sit in the batter for an extended period: I find the French toast too heavy if the egg's soaked all the way through. (Contributing to this, I assume, is the fact that I'm usually using dense sandwich bread rather than thick slices of something with more air in it.) Obviously the croissant doesn't absorb much batter on the crust sides. This is fine, because the croissant itself has such rich flavor and delicate texture that you really don't want to saturate the whole thing. Really. So don't soak the exposed side for extra long trying to wick egg all the way up to the inside of the crust. Really. In fact, the less egg-ey crust sides of the croissant were so delicious that I think next time I'll just do two slices so there's crust everywhere and lots of interior space for non-egg-soaked toasted croissant deliciousness.

Finally, time for toppings and eating! I had butter and maple syrup on hand, but I dismissed the butter since croissants are already so buttery, and the maple syrup because I had more fun ways to add sweetness. Specifically, I had this amazing Lynnhaven goat's milk cheese with orange, honey, and toasted walnuts and, from Phillips Farms, a jar of strawberry-rhubarb preserves. To drink I had a tall glass of Ronnybrook skim milk.

The whole thing was exceptional. The orange in the goat cheese is very strong—not to mention the cheese itself is so rich—so I stuck with pretty small bits of that. The preserves were delicious and less powerful, so I used a little more of that. All the flavors went together wonderfully, but I kept them all separate on the plate and mixed them a little differently with each bite.

Now that it's been over an hour since I finished, I'm just about ready to start moving again.

Croissant French Toast is far from an original idea. I first encountered it at a restaurant (near my old apartment) in Inman Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts called the S&S. A quick Googling shows lots of recipes out there. So try it, and tell me about it.

My Randomly Generated Album Cover

2008-05-15T23:10:00.003-04:00

Dumbo sent me this meme, along with his generated album cover. Here's mine.

Incidentally, that was the VERY FIRST attribution photo on Flickr's Creative Commons page (including the sideways-ness), and I have to say I love it. I'd say the rule should be that everyone has to use the first photo listed, but that's only because mine is so kickass. (Ok, it's actually yamakazz's.)

Cherry Blossoms, &c. in Prospect Park

2008-04-12T16:53:00.001-04:00

Cherry Blossoms, &c. in Prospect Park
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

A Fuel More Efficient rebanded

2008-03-09T03:10:00.003-04:00

A Fuel More Efficient rebanded
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

Music at Loren's

2008-03-09T03:10:00.001-04:00

Music at Loren's
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

Goat Cheese, Tomato, Pepper, and Onion Pizza

2008-03-02T19:44:00.001-05:00

Goat Cheese, Tomato, Pepper, and Onion Pizza
Originally uploaded by duelin markers

-john.