Monday, October 20, 2014

What I’ve learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0064

3151.  When a hard-boiled egg is difficult to peel, it means it’s very fresh;
3152.  A cloudy egg white means the egg is very fresh; a clear egg white indicates aging;
3153.  Apparently, I’ve been wearing the wrong sized t-shirts all (of) this time;
3154.  Apparently, I should wearing size “small” t-shirts;
3155.  It’s amazing how much better your clothes look when you wear the right size;
3156.  You (really) can’t run/jog when your calves are sore/hurting;
3157.  The Fillmore in Silver Spring is (like) the modern day version of the 9:30 Club. . . . It’s what I’d imagine it’d look like if it were built today;
3158.  Robert Zakaryan (the lead guitarist for “Adelitas Way”) looks like he’s having (a lot of) fun playing the guitar;
3159.  Your leg can fall asleep while you’re standing up. . . . Who knew?
3160.  Taylor Momsen (the actress and lead singer for “The Pretty Reckless”) has a set of pipes on her.  She can (really) sing;
3161.  Color can give an indication of the wood used to mature whisky;
3162.  Darker shades are not necessarily an indication of age.  Generally, they’re a giveaway that the whiskey was aged in a sherry cask.  The tannins that darken the clear liquor also dry it out, creating a richer, fruitier taste;
3163.  Lighter whiskeys, on the other hand, tend to show more vanilla and creamy characteristics associated with Bourbon cask maturation.  If you can see through your whiskey, expect oak lactone flavors, which are actually sweeter smells that – if you could separate them out – would resemble toffee;
3164.  To taste whisky: Take a small sip then roll it around your mouth like a mouthwash.  Then swallow the whisky and let your palate get used to the alcohol.  Repeat the process, but on the second go-round, open your lips slightly and draw in some air.  The intake buoys the flavor up the esophagus to the epithelium.  You’re now getting the entire effect of the drink.  Try to locate the areas of your palate most sensitized and the four primary tastes.  Once you’ve got a handle on all of that, you’ve basically drawn a taste map.  You’ll (now) know how you got to enjoyment and you’ll know how to get back (there);
3165.  To thaw thin cuts of meat, simply place them on a cast-iron or steel pan at room temperature – they will thaw in about an hour.  Or simply place chicken breasts, steaks or chops in a zipper-lock bag and submerge in 140-degree water.  The chicken is defrosted in 8 minutes; the others in just 12;
3166.  (I can say) I (now) own leather pants (specifically lederhosen);
3167.  Six ways to make the most of not so stellar wine selections: 1.  Chill it down.  As temperatures drop, flavors become muted.  Most of us drink our worthy white wine too cold, but just above freezing is the perfect temperature for lesser bottles; 2.  Adulterate it.  That is, make it a spritzer.  Or sangria.  Or the Basque specialty kalimotxo (i.e., red wine and Coke); 3.  If it’s red, drink it with mushrooms.  For reasons that wine-world pseudoscience hasn’t yet ventured to explain, umami-rich mushrooms tend to make ho-hum reds taste better.  If your wine’s specific problem is a sandpapery mouthfeel, add red meat: Fat and protein both neutralize rough tannins; 4.  If it’s sweet, drink it with something spicy.  Sadly, assertive cuisines like Thai and Indian tend to obliterate the delicious nuances of great wines.  Happily, they’ll also obliterate the unpleasant nuances of bad wines.  If your palate is busy dealing with garam masala or another intense spice combination, it’s not going to notice that your low-rent Riesling is lacking a bit in acidity; 5.  If it’s oaky, drink it while you’re grilling.  Does your cheap Chardonnay smell like a burning 2-by-4?  It may have been subjected to a process whereby big teabags full of charred wood chips were dunked in it prior to bottling.  No matter.  Smoky foods work well with smoky wines, and a charcoal-grilled burger is the best kind of distraction for your palate; and 6.  Drop a penny into it.  This won’t work on any old not-so-great wine, but if you have a bottle that smells like struck matches or rotten eggs, adding a penny to your glass might actually help.  Certain sulfur-related compounds can cause these smells and copper makes them dissipate.  Clean a coin, drop it in, swirl, remove and enjoy.  When it works, the difference is amazing;
3168.  To extend the life of an open bottle of wine, you need to a) expose it to less oxygen, b) slow down time or c) both;
3169.  Slowing down time is the simplest method.  All you do is put the cork back in the bottle and put the bottle in the fridge.  Chemical reactions happen more slowly at lower temperatures and oxidation is no exception.  This is true for reds as well as whites.
3170.  Exposing an open bottle to less oxygen is more complicated, but there’s a whole world of gadgets out there that purport to do this task.  There are two main approaches: pumps, like the Vacu Vin, which ostensibly suck air out of the bottle, leaving a partial vacuum; and cans of tasteless, odorless, nonreactive gas, like Private Preserve, that you spray into the bottle displacing the oxygen that’s there;
3171.  Putting the half-finished bottle of wine in the fridge is best.  Gassing it is second best.  The pump is the worst, and in some cases actively detrimental, as the vacuuming process seemed to suck out the aroma of the wine too (several models of pumps were tested with the same negative results each time).  But the most effective method was a combination of gassing the wine and putting it in the fridge;
3172.  Older wines oxidize (very) rapidly;
3173.  Mathias Kiwanuka( of the New York Giants)’s grandfather, Benedicto Kiwanuka, was (elected) Uganda’s first prime minister (in 1961);
3174.  Vince Lombardi coached the (Washington) Redskins;
3175.  Joe Paterno and Vince Lombardi were good friends;
3176.  You’d think the terminal your gate is (located) at would be printed on your boarding pass . . . nope, not when your (connecting) flight is through Logan (International) Airport;
3177.  It’s kind of hard to make your connecting flight when your boarding pass doesn’t say which terminal your gate is at;
3178.  Logan (International) Airport is the strangest airport I’ve ever been in.  It’s the only airport that I’ve had to exit so I can take a bus to get to another terminal only to have to go through security again to get to my (connecting) flight;
3179.  Don Shula coached the (Baltimore) Colts;
3180.  It’s kind of hard to make your connecting flight when your boarding pass and the departure boards don’t say which gate your flight is at;
3181.  If you’re flying (on) Iberia from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (in Spain) and your boarding pass doesn’t say what gate your flight is at, go to one of Iberia’s customer service stations and check the departure boards (located) there;
3182.  John Elway’s dad, Jack, coached at San Jose State;
3183.  Bavarian food is very “heavy.”  It includes a lot of meat (especially pork) and dumpling (either potato or bread) dishes;
3184.  Germans tip between 5-10%;
3185.  They don’t have vanity plates in Germany;
3186.  In German(y), an “eagle” (spelled “igel”) isn’t a bird.  It’s a hedgehog;
3187.  In Bavaria(, which includes Munich), stores close by 8 o’clock and don’t open on Sundays except for restaurants, bars and gas stations and bakeries on Sunday morning(s);
3188.  Leberkäse (i.e., Bavarian meatloaf) tastes (a lot) like a hot dog;
3189.  I find it interesting (that) for a society that’s such a stickler for following (the) rules, there are certain laws (that) Germans will even break . . . like speeding;
3190.  Oktoberfest (in Munich) is one big tent city and a carnival mixed together;
3191.  The dirndl must’ve been one of the world’s first push-up bras;
3192.  Most houses in Germany are made using cinder blocks;
3193.  In Germany, don’t turn off the switch with the red light.  It’s the switch to the water heater;
3194.  In Germany, there are no right turns on red unless there’s a specific sign (present) indicating it’s allowed;
3195.  At first, it seems like dirndls and lederhosen are all the same, but if you look closely, you’ll notice they vary quite a bit in (the) details, (the) materials and (the) quality;
3196.  Some kinds of sauerkraut taste like coleslaw;
3197.  The “Kaiserschmarrn mit Apfelmus” (i.e., a cut pancake with almonds, raisins and mashed apples) at Zum Augustiner (Augustiner-Restaurant.com) (in Munich) is really tasty;
3198.  What do you get when some (random) drunk guy (dressed) in lederhosen tries to stand (up) on your table?  The answer is: Four broken masses (i.e., mug glasses), a bleeding (random) drunk guy (dressed) in lederhosen and a cut (index) finger;
3199.  Bavarians (do) love (their) pretzels;
3200.  German vanilla sauce is delicious;