Cath Guest Post: how to eat a hard boiled egg

1. Peel it and cut it in half.
2. Put a little cheese on each half; something
sharp or strong is nice but almost anything will
work.
3. Microwave for 21, no wait, 22 seconds.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and MAYBE some
herb like basil (but just salt and pepper is good).
5. Eat.

Jubliee Jumbles

Mom has all her go-to recipes Scotch taped to the inside of her cupboard, the cupboard that also held the Bayer Children's Aspirin, the Wrigley's Spearmint Gum, and the sprinkles. Besides the recipe for Magic Cookie Bars was her original Jubliee Jumble recipe, clipped from a Gold Medal Flour package who-knows-how-many years ago.

Thanks, Dad, for scanning the original for me:

Mom doesn't mix in the walnuts, and instead adds 1 tsp vanilla. Let me tell you how many ways these cookies are good:

• As cookie dough.
  
• Warm from the oven.
• Cooled, unfrosted.
• Frosted with basic powdered sugar icing.
  
• Frosted, with sprinkles.
• Frosted, with a big walnut on top.
• Frosted, dipped in coconut.
• Frosted with burnt butter icing.

And finally, just the way I enjoyed them today: sent through the mail, each cookie individually tucked into plastic wrap for maximum freshness. Exquisite! Thanks, Mom! You made my entire week!

Pazzo's Pizza on Eastlake

Meh.

The pizza was fine. Not the worst I've had, but nothing special. Their crust tends toward the thin side, but is hardly neapolitan. Not even close. We had the "Miguel" (awesomest name ever) which was pepperoni with some veggies and fresh basil. That was pretty good. And the "Pollo" which was a pretty basic BBQ chicken pizza. Michael says the Guinness on tap was mediocre, but the Maritime something (he thinks it was a pils) was pretty crisp and delicious.

The highlight was the generous pours of wine (I had Montelpulciano) and the very respectable caprese, which they serve with kalamata olives (odd, but...ok) and what appeared to be a mixture of mayo and balsamic vinegar which was inexplicably delicious.

I wouldn't go back for the pizza.

FAIL - Chapel

Chapel holds a special place in my heart because I remember AJ once telling me that she first knew we were going to be friends the time I ordered a lavender martini and fries at Chapel. Well, she was right. However, several years later my complaints are threefold: 1) They stopped serving french fries. 2) I'm so OVER pretentious service. 3) It smells like bathroom cleaner.

Dear Chapel, you stink. I will begrudge you a visit whenever I crave a $4 lavender martini. Love, Jean


send!

FAIL - Barça

I have loved Barça. It has been a great place to go for drinks whenever we are on the hill, because they typically have excellent beer on tap, wine and cocktails. Something for everyone. And I love its dark vampires-in-Spain ambiance. However, the last few times I have been there, it has smelled like bathroom cleaner. Yyyyyuck. I'll have to find somewhere else to go pre- and post-Neumos.

Dear Barça, You stink. Love, Jean

send!

PBJ

Sometimes it's all a girl wants.

FAIL - Six Arms, McMenamins in general

Dear McMenamins,

Why does your craft brew suck? Why do you even bother serving wine? Why is your pub fare subpar, and overpriced? All you are good for is mixed drinks and late night tots, gosh!

Love, Jean

send!

Lowell Guest Post: Pretzels in Love

Ever since we went to Rothenburg, Bavaria Jean has been asking me to make soft pretzels. We spent several days there biking the verdant countryside, exploring the medieval city walls and eating everything in sight. The local soft pretzels were particularly memorable. So months later I was in the mood to bake something and Jean suggested that I attempt soft pretzels.
Well, I am a big fan of Alton Brown and a few days earlier I caught the tail end of his pretzel making episode. I got to work armed with his recipe from the Food Network website. I followed the recipe faithfully except I like to finish kneading breads by hand and the recipe uses a stand mixer for this.
The process went very smoothly and Jean came to assist me with the all important glazing and topping. We coated half with salt and the other half with cinnamon and sugar.
They turned out soft and delicious. We ate them warm right out of the over. Jean even made a white frosting for dipping which was quite tasty. This may sound odd, but we were both surprised by the pretzel-ly flavor. They tasted like pretzels. I think I expected a plain bread flavor but got exactly the flavor I wanted and it wasn't very difficult.