More Changes, The New Wilco, Recipes?

Well, some more changes around the Friends Recommends parts. Our good friend and beloved blogger TJ Huff has resigned his duty as our Thursday blogger. I hold this against him in no way because I have often thought of resigning my blogging duties as well. I guess I pretty much resigned my blogging duties (at least a good portion of them) when I enlisted the help of TJ, thechristophermyers, and Mike Ward (help which I am very grateful for). Anyway, I am certain that TJ will still be around in the comments section, happy to be relieved of his blogging responsibilities. Although, I am very interested in a blog about Radiolab, so maybe he can give us a guest blog on that when the time is right. For now watch out for our good friend Ricky B to take over Thursday blogging. He has admitted to having no idea what he is going to do with it but I'm sure it will be entertaining to most people (especially Erichop).

I had hoped to have another Jenny recommends for today, but when I went to Netflix to watch one of her movies (I've never seen Clue!) none of them were view instantly. More of those are coming soon...I promise. She has invited all of us to go Letterboxing with her sometime. I'm sure she would regret this as soon as it happened.


I'm positive nearly everyone who reads this has at least heard that a new Wilco album titled "Wilco (The Album)" is coming out at the end of June. I'm sure most of you know that it is streaming in it's entirety HERE and I'm sure at least some of you have listened to it. I heard the first half two days ago, and this afternoon when I sat down to do computer things I found that I heard the whole album all the way through. I'm listening to it again right now and I really love it. I want to have it in CD form so I can listen to it while I drive. I am already anticipating this being a wonderful thing. I don't have too many thoughts about the album yet, this being only the second time I've really heard it all. I can tell you that I think the songwriting is solid, Jeff Tweedy sounds GREAT, and as always the guitar work of Nels Cline doesn't disappoint. I still haven't checked out Sky Blue Sky and although it has received very mixed reviews from friends I still intend to buy it. I really love A Ghost Is Born and Summerteeth, but for totally different reasons. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is one of my favorite albums ever, so I guess I compare all Wilco albums to it. Wilco (The Album), at least so far seems to lean back towards Summerteeth in it's feel-good rockiness, and away from the experimentation/drony/soundiness of A Ghost Is Born (which I also love). And although I can't give a total impression just yet, I can say that as soon as this album is released on June 30 I am going to buy it. It is certain to at least be an album that I really like, and will listen to obsessively for a week or two. It will at least be that for me, with a strong chance for more. Good job, guys. I recommend you listen to the first song (Wilco (The Song)) and see how it hits you...it gives a pretty good impression of what else is coming, but by no means tells the full story. Those of you who have listened, what do you think so far?

Lastly, there have been rumblings around here of people interested in posting some of their favorite recipes. This will have to be more than just posting a recipe, but I am willing to give another week in the blogsphere to this idea somewhere down the line if people actually want to do this. I don't know how to turn on an oven, so I am out for this one. But if everyone is dying for the recipe to Ricky's mashed beer potatoes coupled with some hilarious anecdote then I will not try to stand in the way.

The Gittings Recipes

While I realize that this might not be the most exciting post for some, it was (in it's entirety) part of the original Mike Gittings post. This isn't me sidestepping any blog responsibility. I just realized that I would eventually post Mike's recipe recommendations, and decided to do it right off the bat. Lot's of great stuff from his list to draw additional attention to, so this should be a productive recommend week. Anyway, here we go with the recipes (Ricky this is for you. And also, if I ever get a Ricky list I expect mashed beer potatoes to be on it):

Indian Potato Salad:

4 Cups cubed potatoes
3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1.5 tsp salt (I cut this to 1 tsp for taste reasons, not health)
1.5 tsp Curry Powder
Pinch of cayenne
2 or 3 scallions, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the potatoes until tender but not falling apart, about 5 min. after the water returns to a boil. While the potatoes cook, warm the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sizzle the cumin seeds for a few seconds, and then stir in the salt, curry powder and cayenne. Remove from the heat. Drain the cooked potatoes and place them in a bowl. Pour the hot seasoned oil over the potatoes and add the scallions, bell pepper, and cilantro. Stir.

Curry Chicken Salad:

4 Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
4 green onions, chopped
1 mango, peeled, cored and diced
1/3 cup black beans
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp curry powder
¾ cup mayonnaise

Basically, mix everything in a large bowl and serve in pita sandwiches.

Masaman Curry Beef or Chicken (Thai):

1 lb boneless beef, such as tri-tip or flank steak, or 1 lb boneless chicken thighs
3 cups unsweetened coconut milk
¼ cup masaman curry paste
2.5 cups chicken or beef broth
3 med potatoes, peeled and cut in big bite sized chunks
1 large onion, cut in large chunks
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts
2 Tbsp lime juice or tamarind liquid

Slice beef into strips and set aside. In a medium saucepan or heavy skillet, bring 1 cup of the coconut milk to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant and beginning to thicken. Add the curry paste and cook 2 to 3 minutes, pressing and stirring to dissolve it into the coconut milk. Add the meat and cook 2 minutes more tossing to coat it with the sauce. Add the remaining 2 cups coconut milk, the broth, potatoes, onion, fish sauce, palm sugar and salt and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the peanuts and lime juice and transfer to a serving bowl.

Curry Tuna (Indian):

1.5 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1 small onion, peeled and cut into very fine half rings
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp curry powder
1 can tuna, preferably packed in oil
½ to 1 fresh hot green chili, diced
½-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into very fine slices, then strips
2 to 3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is quite hot, put in the onion and garlic. Stir and fry until the onion turns brown at the edges. Put in the curry powder and stir once or twice. Put in the tuna. Stir and break up any lumps. Turn the heat to low. Add the green chili, ginger and cilantro. Stir to mix, check for salt, adding if needed. Add a generous amount of black pepper. Mix well and remove from heat, serve hot, room temp or cold with rice or on pita bread.

(Holy Jeez, this guy cooks a lot)

Panang Beef in Red Curry Peanut Sauce:

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
½ cup water
½ lb boneless beef, such as flank steak or tri-tip, sliced into strips
2 Tbsp panang curry paste
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
3 Tbsp ground or finely chopped peanuts or peanut butter
3 wild lime leaves, cut in fine threads (optional)
Handful of basil leaves

In a medium saucepan, stir together ½ cup of the coconut milk and the water and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat. Sprinkle in the sliced beef, stirring to keep the pieces from sticking together, and simmer 5 minutes until meat is tender. With a slotted spoon, scoop the meat out into a bowl and set aside, leaving the coconut milk in pan to return to a gentle boil. Stir in the curry paste and cook, pressing and stirring to dissolve the paste, 3 to 4 minutes, until the sauce is fragrant and smooth. Return the beef and any juices to the pan, add the remaining ½ cup coconut milk and bring back to a gentle boil. Add the fish sauce, palm sugar, peanuts and lime leaves, if using. Stir well and simmer 3 to 4 minutes more, until the sauce is smooth. Stir in the basil leaves and remove from heat. Serve over rice.