Saturday, August 30, 2008

Chocolate Covered Bacon?

Yep, you heard me right, Chocolate covered bacon!
I think Eww!
But my hunt to find it and try it....
Below is the article from yahoo.ca


Here are three little words that might give the staunchest snacker pause: Chocolate-covered bacon.

It sounds so wrong. But it tastes just right, says Joseph Marini III, a fourth-generation candy maker who is selling the bacon bonbons at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk seaside amusement park.

"It's not just for breakfast anymore," he says with a grin.

And this isn't just a wacky West Coast thing.

This year, Famous Dave's at the Minnesota State Fair is rolling out Pig Lickers - dark chocolate-covered bacon pieces sprinkled with sea salt.

"It's just like the most bizarre combination," says fair spokeswoman Brienna Schuette. "I actually really liked it. It was a good combination of sweet and salty."

The urge to create new flavour profiles is a natural for a field driven by creativity, says Karen Page, co-author with Andrew Dornenburg of the forthcoming "The Flavour Bible," a sort of field guide to flavour pairings.

Chefs have two basic agents of change: using a different cooking method or mixing up flavours. So a classic such as tomatoes and basil might get turned into tomato sorbet with a basil sauce. Or you might find unorthodox couplings, such as salads of watermelon and feta or cotton candy with foie gras.

"There's a whole trend toward chefs pushing the boundaries," says Page. "Chefs are trying to be more playful and incorporate new kinds of whimsy."

It's hard to tell exactly where the dream of candy-coated breakfast meats started, but for Marini, the inspiration was a trip with some ski buddies a while back.

"One guy came up with, 'Who doesn't love bacon? Who doesn't love chocolate? Let's marry them together."'

So Marini gave it a shot and after some trial and error - crispness is key, he says, noting that chewy bacon plus chocolate is undelicious - he came up with a product.

"It was kind of a joke to begin with," he says. "We brought it down to the boardwalk and put it in a case just to see if people would react, and they reacted."

Take boardwalk visitor Nathan Lopez, who on a recent foggy morning had a quizzical look on his face as he began eating a sample at Marini's at the Beach. But he finished with a smile.

"Interesting combination" was the verdict. "I didn't think it would be very good, but once I tried it, it was good."

Of course, chocolate-coated bacon is just the latest incarnation of the wackier-the-better fair food philosophy.

Fair food has been shaking up the snack scene for some time, says Ron Whiting, of Whiting's Foods, whose family has been selling food at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk for decades.

"Years ago, I think food tended to be more traditional and less fun," he says. Then came the corn dog and the era of quick and on-a-stick. "We all talk about the next corn dog," he says.

Fry, fry again is a persistent theme. Current popular snacks include deep-fried Twinkies and Oreos.

Page, who admits to eating "more than my fair share of fried dough," notes that gourmet chefs have taken to putting food - just about any food - on a stick, coming up with some posh Popsicles. Meanwhile, there's the foie gras-cotton candy matchup, not a stretch flavour-wise since foie gras usually is paired with something sweet, but certainly visually arresting.

"It's the melding of both these worlds, the high end and the low end," said Page.

Never underestimate the appeal of battered-is-better.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

ISSUE 13 ~ City Of Heroes!!

Mission Architect:
First the City of Heroes Character Creator set a new standard for player creation and customization. Now, Issue 13 takes another giant step, allowing players to design their own missions and story arcs to share with the entire City of Heroes community. Using an intuitive interface similar to the game’s detailed Character Creator, players can create missions from the ground up. Players will determine details ranging from environments, mission objectives, and enemies, to written fiction and character dialogue; giving their stories nearly infinite depth and personalization.

Among other rewards, authors and architects who create the most extraordinary content will garner acclaim and reputation. Community feedback will be paramount and some missions will elevate in status unlocking new rewards and benefits for their creators.

Day Jobs (Offline Character Progression)
Scholar? Caregiver? City Official? Now when players log out of City of Heroes / Villains they’re just getting started! A character’s day job is determined by the actual in-game location from which he or she logs out. If players log out from a University their day job is considered to be a Scholar. If they log out from City Hall they're a City Official. The benefits are thematically appropriate to the location. For example, a City Official earns extra Influence, a Scholar is granted Salvage, a Caregiver is granted Health Regeneration Buffs, etc.

Once characters have accumulated the required amount of time for each Day Job, they are rewarded with the appropriate Day Job Badge and Title, increasing their “earnings” for that job. Multiple Badges can be combined to unlock Accolades and the ability to accumulate additional new rewards. Almost every location within Paragon City and the Rogue Isles has an associated Day Job, resulting in a wide selection of jobs and rewards!

New Powersets
Shields – Heft a Shield for Heroic of Villainous Ends! This new powerset brings a classic power to City of Heroes: Shields! Now, you can arm Tankers, Scrappers, Brutes and Stalkers with a powerful shield to protect themselves and their allies.
Pain Domination – Villains can now bend the power of pain to serve their own ends! Those playing a Corruptor or Mastermind have access to this new powerset. The antithesis of the Hero healing powerset “Empathy,” Pain Domination brings parity between Heroes and Villains with a distinctively evil flair.
New Cimerora Missions
New Hero and Villain story arcs expand upon the history and lore, and delve into the players and politics of Cimerora.

The Merit Rewards System
A new game system that allows players to earn tokens by completing Trials, Task Forces, Strike Forces, Raids, etc. The most challenging and time consuming tasks grant the most reward tokens, which can be redeemed throughout Hero and Villain zones for recipes, enhancements, salvage, costume pieces, badges, inspirations and other game items.

Other features
New Invention Origin Sets, new Costume Sets, a Patron Power Respec, Zone Refinements, and more!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Updates & Things (short ver)

Well Let's see, It's been over a month and ALOT has happend...

First off, Work screwed me over, the last day I was to do manager was suppose to be my last... they ended up have me do it on the Sunday after I wasn't suppose to, but I am making sure they pay me for it, cause when I checked my pay stub.. they didn't and they are gonna!

/end rant

Lets see, Vacation was a blast I had so much fun going to see my grandma & the rest of the family. Good times. To bad it was so short

Um.. when I got back I pulled a no call no show at work, I just didn't wanna deal with there shit anymore...

Now I am just kick back with some R&R while I work on my cookbook, taking a break, okay well not totally a break, gotta get some more remodeling and cleaning done. Neut is comin to visit in Sept! I am soooooo excited!