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;