Noah's Lunch

It's all about the V-8 juice! Wow, it's amazing how the veggie juice looks ALIVE and ready to consume. OK, i heart the apples too.

– Thairin Smothers

Noah's Lunch

The aroma of the lunch Noah brought to the office today was fantastically intoxicating. Roasted chicken with garlic fries and a gorgeous green garden salad. My mouth watered as I looked at his plate from all angles. I'm sorry, bitches, but this beats Baja!

– Thairin Smothers

Noah's Lunch

Every day WOW's new IT guy Noah has me standing to look over at his desk to see what he's brought for lunch. The aromas and colors are dominating! On his first day he had a homemade chicken pot pie (that his gf made for him). I'm sorry, but look at this. GORGEOUS!

– Thairin Smothers

Name It

The produce manager at Whole Foods let Thairin Smothers have as many of these as he wanted, so he took some. But he has no idea what they are; though they look like sweet potatoes, they aren't. Clues: A) They're handled by the produce manager, so they're probably produce, and B) the manager let Thairin take as many as he wanted, so they're obviously inexpensive, unlike, say, asparagus. Can you help? And do you have a recipe?

Everything's Better on a Stick

It's lunchtime in the WOW suites, and Randy and Fenton have stocked the kitchen with boxes and boxes of microwavable chocolate-chip Pancakes & Sausage on a Stick. Yeah, we wish. (t/y Thairin, who says he put on some pounds just looking at the box)

And Thairin Lies the Answer

Ever wonder what you can do with philo dough?
It is an interesting dough to work with, like working with rolling papers or the pages of a bible.

Here is something I made up this weekend.

Sweet Almond Butter Cups

6 tbsp sweet butter + 2 tbsp for dough
1 cup pulverized almonds
2/3 cups light cream
1 cup sugar (or 1/2 cut sugar, 1/2 cup Splenda)
12 philo dough cups (in freezer section at grocery store)
8 whole almonds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Reserve 2 tbsp.
Add pulverized almonds, cream, and sugar.
Reduce heat, simmer 10-12 minutes, scraping bottom of the pan each time you stir.
While simmering almond goo, brush philo dough cups with melted butter.
Pour almond mixture into cups and bake for 10 minutes.
Let cool for 1 hour (say grace) and enjoy – they go quick!

– Thairin Smothers

And Thairin Lies the Answer

Here's a recipe for any gathering. My Aunt Genila passed this on to my mother. I always loved sweet breads growing up (hiccup!).

Beer Bread with Dill Dip

3 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 can room-temperature beer (I used a bottle of ale)

Mix and pour into 2-lb greased coffee can. Bake at 425 for an hour
or until lightly brown and knife comes out clean. When cool, spoon out the insides
to make a cavity for the dill dip. Use the bread for dipping.

Dill Dip

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayo – not Miracle Whip
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
2 teaspoons onions
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoons dill weed or 4 teaspoons fresh dill
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons Tabasco sauce

– Thairin Smothers

And Thairin Lies the Answer

Our friend Veronica Becker brought this dish over last night to accompany a mole dinner (I'll do this another time). This was very creative and impressive – so we named it Veronica's Deconstructed Guacamole. It's a good and very simple way to insure that your guacamole is a hit at your Super Bowl party.

Veronica's Deconstructed Guacamole

3 large avocados
6 heirloom tomatoes (2 red, 2 yellow, 2 orange)
2 limes
3 tbsp olive oil
chili pepper flakes
cilantro
kosher sea salt
fresh cracked pepper
garlic / onion (optional)

Slice avocados into wedges, wash in lime juice.
Slice tomatoes, drizzle with a couple of tablespoons olive oil.
Arrange on plate in any color / order arrangement you desire.
Sprinkle lightly with salt / pepper/ chili pepper flakes / cilantro.
Garlic and onion slices are optional

Two other appetizer munchies I might make for a Super Bowl party (did I just say that?) are Sweetie Meatballs ;-) or a family favorite, Beer Bread w/ dill dip.

– Thairin Smothers

And Thairin Lies the Answer

In a departure from his all-too-brief-so-far weekly recipe column, Thairin Smothers, who drove to Sundance in an RV, whines a bit about the Sundance experience and delivers, with Chris McKim an In / Out list that reads more like their personal journal than anything else.

What is Sundance? Sundance is being on a 200+-person waiting list for a sold-out film outside in the freezing cold clutching a number that you hope gets called jumping up and down wishing the sun was out to keep you warm until you get in. Or is that krumping?

IN / OUT                                                         
Harry Reems / Robert Redford                                      
RVs / condo crashing                                                      
Bringing a flask / Watered-down Utah drinks (fucking Utah!)                             
Brian Grazer / Harvey Weinstein                                        
Cadillac Escalades / free shuttle                                 
Bubble vests / bubble coats                                          
Jamie Bell / Parker Posey                                       
Goo Goo Bars / swag                                         
Pulling Paris Hilton’s hair / kissing Paris Hilton's ass                        
Queer Lounge / Queer brunch                                        
Pretending it’s a film festival / pretending it's Mardi Gras                 
Krumping / skiing                                              
Getting arrested / getting distribution

And Thairin Lies the Answer

Bored on Monday nights ?
Try a complicated recipe made easy.
Afraid of the other white meat?
Just get a meat thermometer and enjoy this chic pomegranates dish!

Kurobuta Spiced Pork Chops

3 teaspoons fresh cracked pepper
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons course salt
1 teaspoon fresh sage
4 chops
5 tablespoons olive oil

Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Wet chops with 1 tablespoon oil, rub with
dry ingredients. Put in fridge until you are finished making the RELISH (next step)

Pomegranate Braised Bacon, Pomegranate, and Pine Nut Relish

2 tablespoons ground yellow curry
1 half pound bacon slab (or use the sliced, cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (or boil down 3 cups unsweetened pomegranate juice and add 1/2 cup sugar for a juice reduction. (Oh, and Splenda didn't work on the first try)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds

Toast the pine nuts – no oil, just a hot pan for approx 4 minutes. Set aside. I forgot to do this the first time and you can taste the difference.

(This next step might scare you. When I did it the first time I was like, "Am I boiling bacon?" I cringed at first and then when I prepared it in front of three guests the following week, it was a conversation stopper – SERIOUSLY. But in the end it all made delicious sense.)

Bring medium saucepan of water to boil. Add BACON for approx 30 seconds. Drain. Combined bacon and broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until almost all of the liquid is absorbed, approx 30 mins.
Add pomegranate molasses or "juice reduction," then toasted pine nuts, pomegranates seeds, and curry. Bring to simmer. Cook approx 3 minutes.

OK, almost done, but this does go by real quick. Heat 4 tablespoons oil in ovenproof skillet (I used a cast iron skillet). Add chops until brown, approx 3 minutes a side. Put in oven. Cook until thermometer reads 145, about 10 minutes.

When ready, let chops sit for 10 minutes. Trust me, the meat will be juicy if you just let it sit. Transfer to a plate, add relish, some horseradish garlic mashed potatoes, green salad with pomegranate seeds, and your favorite 2-buck chuck!

– Thairin Smothers