Edelson Shmedelson

Don't put all your Andrews in one basket.

[andrewedelson]

My entry for the 2011 APA Get Caught Listening Contest promoting Audiobooks.

[andrewedelson]

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

I used to LOVE Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies, but these are better. This recipe is courtesy of G. Rich. Although, for the sake of full disclosure, I used a different recipe for the cookies since I was lacking in some of the ingredients. They were still delish.

Cookie Ingredients (makes 3 dozen cookies or 18 pies)

1 1/4 cups butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed, dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 large egg

1 tablespoon molasses

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats

Cookie Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.

Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and molasses, beating well.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Add oats; stir well. Add to butter mixture; stir until well blended. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375° for 9-10 minutes. Cool on pan 2 to 3 minutes. Remove cookies from pan; cool on wire racks.

Cream Filling Ingredients (makes 1.5 cups)

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Filling Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, scraping bowl. Beat on high until light and fluffy.

Lastly, spread about a tablespoon of cream filling on flat side of one cookie, press 2nd cookie on top.

[andrewedelson]

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

Natalie Portman has been really popular lately - she's made like 19 movies in the past year (approximation only). Let's go back to 2006, right after she had finished playing Padmé in the Star Wars prequels. Natalie got to host SNL that year, and, with the help of Andy Samberg, she provided us with this little gem. Enjoy.

[andrewedelson]

When is the Bin Laden Movie Coming Out?

As we all know, Osama Bin Laden was officially confirmed EKIA (Enemy Killed In Action) earlier this week - but do you know how ?

The New York Times released an AWESOME detailed article on the strategy and tactics used by the CIA, NSA, and Navy Seals in their reconnaissance and eventual top secret raid of the Bin Laden complex. Read NOW.

Once you read the article, you'll understand the meaning of this post's title. Hollywood should be all over this!

Also, I find it so cool that this is a picture of our leaders watching a live feed of the mission:

[andrewedelson]

Walking to Defeat ALS

Hello All

For those of you who don't know, last year, I decided to participate in the Walk to Defeat ALS. With many of my friends' and family's help, I raised over $1500 and I hope to do that again this year. The walk is on May 14th in NYC, so if you'd like to donate, please do so by then!

If you'd like to donate, simply go to my personal page here and click "Donate to Andrew!" on the right side of the page.

For more information about ALS, read below...

Lou Gehrig's Disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The life expectancy of an ALS patient averages 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis.

Every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries.

This crippling disease can strike anyone. Presently there is no known cause of the disease though support is bringing researchers closer to an answer. In the mean time it costs an average of $200,000 a year to provide the care ALS patients need.

Thanks in advance!

[andrewedelson]

Mobile Etiquette - Or Lack Thereof

This is a great commentary From the New York Times on the degeneration of social etiquette caused by mobile devices over the past decade. Click the link above to read the full article. Thanks to R. Seda for sharing.

"One of the more seductive data points in real-time media is what people think of you. The metrics of followers and retweets beget a kind of always-on day trading in the unstable currency of the self."

"Mobile devices do indeed make us more mobile, but that tether is also a leash, letting everyone know that they can get you at any second..."

It's so true. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone is texting at the dinner table, whether in public or private. And the unfortunate irony and hypocrisy of the matter is - I do it too.

[andrewedelson]

Meatball Subs on Meatball Monday

Sam and I officially ushered in the Inaugural Meatball Monday with some delicious meatball subs last night. Ironically, the NEW episode of How I Met Your Mother was titled, "Exploding Meatball Sub." Coincidence? Absolutely - a pretty weird one, too. Anyway, here's how we made the subs:

Ingredients

1.5 lbs ground beef

1 large egg, beaten

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 medium onion chopped fine (or a couple tsp onion powder)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup parsley

1/4 cup fresh Parmesan

2 tsp olive or vegetable oil

Mozzarella cheese

Store-bought tomato sauce

Hoagie buns

Salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the ground beef in a medium bowl and create a well in the center of the meat. Pour in the egg, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, red pepper, brown sugar, Worcestershire, parsley, and Parmesan. Mix together with your hands, but don't over mix. Form into balls about 2-3 inches in diameter (makes about 20) and set aside.

Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Wait a couple minutes for the pan to get hot, then transfer the meatballs to the pan to sear on all sides. They should only need 30 seconds to a minute per side. Transfer meatballs to parchment-lined baking sheet, and place in the oven for 8-12 minutes (break one of the meatballs apart to make sure it's done).

Turn the broiler on high. Place a few meatballs on each hoagie, pour on some tomato sauce, and sprinkle the Mozzarella on top - liberally. Place the sandwiches open-faced on the top rack of the oven for 2-5 minutes (until cheese is melted). Enjoy!

[andrewedelson]

Chicken and Artichoke with Spinach Pesto

You just GOTTA love the combination of spinach and artichoke - it never fails. Other than the spinach pesto, this one is pretty self-explanatory, so I'll just give you the pesto recipe:

Ingredients

2 cups baby spinach leaves

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (even though this is the definition of pesto, I'm not a pine nut fan, so I left these out and it was still delicious)

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil (start with 1/3, then add more if you want)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan

Combine spinach, pine nuts, lemon zest, and garlic in a food processor. Lightly pulse. Gradually add olive oil, blending until creamy. Add salt and pulse some more. Transfer to a bowl, and mix in the fresh Parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste.

[andrewedelson]

Welcome to the Cloud.

Amazon made a smart move Tuesday. They released their new Amazon Cloud Player - an online music application that allows users to access and play their music from any computer or Android phone.

The Cloud Player is just a small aspect of the Amazon Cloud Drive, which can store up to 1000 GB of files per user for a yearly fee.

For those of you who don't know what cloud computing is, WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE. No, but seriously, it's the future of computing. A short time from now, in a galaxy far, far away, all individuals' computer software, data, and files will be housed on network servers that can be accessed via the internet on any computer and/or mobile device.

For a quick, scaled-down analogy, think of webmail - your thousands upon thousands of e-mails that are stored online (versus your computer) and can be accessed by logging into a website with a username and password. Now, extrapolate that idea to the online storage and access of EVERYTHING you currently do on your computer, not just e-mail. BOOM - that's your "cloud".

Now, why was Amazon so smart in releasing this cloud music platform Tuesday? Three words: First Mover Advantage. There have been rumors for a while that Apple and Google are releasing their own online music drives, and let's be honest, Apple and Google will do a much better job at creating a music web application than Amazon. By releasing their (probably) less-impressive web application first, Amazon hopes to gain and retain first-time users, and, since most people don't like change, it just might work - to some extent.

I've signed up and used the Cloud Player, and here are the pros and cons:

Pros

5 GB free storage

Music streams very quickly with short download time

Great sound quality

Cons

VERY long upload time (I hope Apple and Google do a better job)

No Blackberry or Apple application, just Android

Application design could be sleeker

All-in-all, it's a pretty cool application, but I am eager to see what Apple produces. Unlike Google and Amazon, Apple has the music application AND web application experience to come up with something great. I'm picturing simply on online version of iTunes - which I imagine would be an ideal and easy transition for most people.

[andrewedelson]

Truffle-Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

Last year, Sam and I had a delicious meal at The Standard Grill. I don't know what reminded me of this meal, but I recall one of my favorite side dishes while there was the duck fat smashed potatoes - naturally, the best dishes are the least healthy. So I decided to take a stab at it with my own variation, using truffle oil and fresh parmesan.

Ingredients

1 potato, peeled (though I'm sure it's good with the skin on too)

5 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp white truffle oil

1 garlic clove, minced

dash of lemon juice

1 tbsp parsley

1/2 tbsp thyme

fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Start by boiling the potato until tender (just like you're making mashed potatoes) for about 25 minutes - make SURE they're tender enough, otherwise you won't get the right consistency. Drain the potato in a colander, and let dry for 5 minutes.

While the potato is drying, whisk together 2 tbsp olive oil, truffle oil, lemon juice, parsley, thyme, grated Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Lightly smash the potatoes by pressing down firmly with the palm of your hand. The potato should break apart into a few smashed pieces. You want about an inch to an inch and a half thickness (the thinner the pieces, the more they retain the flavors of our dressing).

In a large, non-stick skillet, heat the other 3 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat, and cook the garlic until fragrant. Remove the garlic and discard. Add the potatoes and cook without stirring for 5-8 minutes per side, until each side is golden-brown, or even a little crispy. Use a spatula to flip, and drizzle more oil as needed.

Once the potatoes are done frying, spoon the dressing over the potatoes, toss gently, and sprinkle some more freshly grated parm on top. Enjoy!

Thanks, Giada, for your help.

Also, if you want to make more than just one smashed potato, don't just double or triple the recipe. You will end up with way too much oil (especially of the truffle variety).

[andrewedelson]

Seared Tilapia with Steamed Asparagus

Made this delicious dish the other night - not to toot my own horn (because it was super easy and not my recipe), but this was the best tilapia dish I've ever had.

Ingredients

Asparagus, trimmed

1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (or lemon juice, but zest is better)

Crushed Red Pepper (use liberally - it needs a good kick)

2 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound total), halved

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons margarine (or butter if you'd like)

Fresh Parmesan

For the asparagus, simply put a steamer basket in a large pot over 1-inch of boiling salted water. Add the asparagus, cover, and cook for about 7 minutes (until crisp-tender). Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle a dash of Parmesan and lemon juice before serving.

For the tilapia, start by melting the margarine in a microwave-safe bowl. Brush both sides of each filet with the melted margarine. Meanwhile, start sautéing your shallots and garlic in a frying pan on medium-high heat with the tablespoon of olive oil. Season the tilapia with salt, pepper, red pepper, and lemon zest, then add the filets to the hot pan when the shallots/garlic become fragrant. Cook, turning once, for 5 to 7 minutes, and BE CAREFUL when you turn, because the fish is very fragile. If you want, you can drizzle with a little olive oil before serving.

[andrewedelson]

Rebecca Black on Leno - Yikes.

If you haven't heard of Rebecca Black yet, congratulations - that means you don't have her high-pitched, nasally, whiny voice stuck in your head. This teen pop sensation viral-video-star launched herself into YouTube fame with her obnoxious song, "Friday" earlier this month, when Daniel Tosh ridiculed the music video on his show, Tosh.0.

This past Tuesday night, Jay Leno invited her onto The Tonight Show for an interview, and asked her to sing her song. While she agreed to sing the song, she definitely did not sing (or if she did it was drowned out by the backing track). Watch and listen below as the track starts playing before Black even starts mouthing the words - start at 1:45 to skip the interview.

             Priceless.

Side note, doesn't this song sound kind of similar to Justin Bieber's "Baby"? Rebecca just needs to throw in an "ooooohhhhhhhhhh" after each "Friday, Friday, Friday."

[andrewedelson]

Firefox 4.0 Market Share Surges

Mozilla's newest browser, Firefox 4.0, was released yesterday, and it has already gained almost 2% market share. That's more than twice the market share of Microsoft's IE9, which was released a week ago. Two percent may not sound like a lot, but that's pretty impressive for a day's work!

Overall, according to StatCounter, IE still leads the global market with 45%, followed by Firefox at 30% and Google's Chrome at 17%.

According to Mozilla, the newest version is 6 times faster than the previous version. I'm using it now, and to be honest, I don't notice much of a difference in speed. However, I do like the new layout of the browser and some of the new features.

[andrewedelson]

Facebook - Successful CIA Project?

Found this hilarious.

[andrewedelson]

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

My sister and girlfriend both sent me this link from Joy The Baker - and for good reason. Sam and I made it this weekend, and not surprisingly, it tastes just as good as it looks. I would copy and paste the recipe, but it's probably easier to just send you to the website:

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/03/cinnamon-sugar-pull-apart-bread/

Word of advice: Don't use too much flour (I think Joy's recipe calls for too much - you don't need to add in those extra two tablespoons before you roll out the dough).

[andrewedelson]

St. 'Who is Patrick, and Why Do I Honor Him?' Day

A great commentary from a truly patriotic Irishman. I like to think we honor Patrick Ewing.

WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE

[andrewedelson]

March Madness 2011

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Spring is finally here, and you know what that means - March Madness, baby - a month of strange pinstripe-suit/bright-colored-tie combos from Digger Phelps, obnoxious picks from Doug Gottlieb (such as Oakland over Texas), and Dick Vitale screaming about "BABIES!" "DIAPER DANDIES" and "CAPITAL 'A' - AMAZING" plays.

Without further ado, here are my picks:

Elite 8

Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke, UCONN, Kansas, Purdue, Utah St., Florida

Final Four

Syracuse, Duke, Kansas, Florida

Finals

Kansas over Duke

I worry about Kansas though. I think they have the most talented team in the nation, but they are relatively untested outside of the Big 12. I'm nervous to see how they fare against the Big East or ACC.

Pitt got lucky with a very easy road to the final four, but I also think they are easily the worst 1-seed.

I do NOT like the 2-seeds this year:

- SDSU is untested

- Florida is in the worst power conference aside from the Pac-10

- UNC had a very up-and-down year

- ND is too reliant on shooting (and always underperforms in the tourney)

So, why did I pick Florida? Simple - good coaching / tournament experience from Donovan, relatively easy bracket, and practical home-court advantage.

One more thing - I have to say to O'Bama, "Come on, man!" He picked all 1-seeds, then picked the #1 team in the country to beat the #2 team in the country in the finals. Real original, Prez.