The Warren Report Grille

Burgers at The Rail

2012-01-28T19:51:00.001-05:00

Wendi and I went to Fairlawn to take advantage of some of our Entertainment Book coupons and to walk around the Summit Mall. As we were walking inside the mall, I decided to check into Foursquare. When I did, I noticed The Rail was at the mall.

So, we decided once we walked for about 30 minutes, we would go in and try a burger from The Rail, which is one of Mike Mariola's enterprises (City Square Steakhouse and South Market Bistro in Wooster are two others). The burger joint has an intimate feel inside. It is like the Cheers of burger bars, where it seems like everybody knows your name. (At least General Manager David Drumm did.)

Wendi opted for the Crouching Burger (Hidden Bacon), and I had a Rail burger with pepperjack cheese and Ohio thick-cut bacon. The Crouching Burger features a patty, smoked pork, a crispy wonton, Ohio thick-cut bacon and Rail sauce. When we received the burgers, it was nice surprise to see the patties were hand-formed. So, instead of being thin and flat, they were plump. It was also nice to see something Mariola started with the South Market Bistro continues at The Rail: An emphasis on local foods. The beef comes from cows raised in Ohio, the milk and ice cream come from Smith's Dairy in Orrville and the adult beverages, of which I do not imbibe, is local, too.

We also decided to supplement our burgers with the loaded potato chips. The tempura chips are covered with cheese, bacon, sour cream and green onions. (We skipped the onions.) These were very good and crispy, and there was enough for us to share. The chips are an appetizer, and we decided to have them before the burgers. Maybe next time, we'll have them together.

When the burgers arrived, they were very tasty. The first thing noticeable is the charred flavor, which I enjoy. The menu lists the bacon as thick-cut, and it surely lives up to the description. It was very crispy, flavorful and thick.

My burger with pepperjack cheese and bacon was very good. Wendi's burger, while tasty, was a little dry. It was ordered medium rare and came out closer to medium. (We ended up sharing the burgers; we each had half of both hamburgers).

The Crouching Burger (Hidden Bacon) is a good concept, but the crispy wonton and smoked pork flavors did not really come through. Unless I saw the wonton, I would not have known I was eating it. The smoked pork flavor was mostly muted, but on those occasions when it shined, it really shined.

Overall, it was a nice experience. I love the decor and feel of the place; the food is good; and the staff is friendly.

IKEA Swedish meatballs

2012-01-14T16:10:00.001-05:00

On a whim, my brother-in-law Shaun thought it would be a good idea to go to IKEA in Pittsburgh. Wendi and I had spent the night with Shaun and Randi, Wendi's sister, because of weather conditions.

So, on Saturday morning, we headed for Pittsburgh because Shaun thought it would be nice.

Even though roads were not the best on Friday night, they were clear all the way to IKEA.

Because Marc Kovac has talked about IKEA's Swedish meatballs, I knew I had to try them. They were pretty good and only $3.99. The mashed potatoes were even better. The sauce was very tasty. The Lingonberries, well, not so good. I had never had them before.

Overall, the dish was a good meal and a great deal.

Thin and crispy

2011-12-27T20:25:00.001-05:00

Growing up in the Boston area in an Italian family, I had my fair share of pizza. I love the style of pizza featured there, as wonderfully articulated by Pizzeria Regina and Maggio's. The crust is doughy, but crisp and charred. The sauce has the taste of an uncooked sauce.

When my family moved to Little Rock, Ark., in the 1970s, my sister worked at a Pizza Inn. It was there I discovered a thin, cracker-like crust, similar to what you can get at Pizza Hut.

While I enjoy the crust, it is not very filling, so I rarely order it. I recently saw an episode of Cook's Country that showed how to make St. Louis-style pizza, which boasts the cracker-like crust.

This was my second attempt. The dough was a little too heavy for my looking, but it is a start.

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The Daily Grind

2011-09-05T20:23:00.001-04:00

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Anyone who has read this blog knows of my affinity for Certified Angus Beef. I worked in a restaurant that used USDA Prime beef, and CAB is better by far. The other night, I was at Buehler's checking out what CAB products were on sale.

I had read somewhere about short ribs being used a beef blend for homemade burgers. So, as I was seeing what good deals were available, I noticed a great price for short ribs. Once I saw the price, I knew it was going to make a homemade grind for burgers.

My wife, Wendi, loves burgers, and I wanted to make her some good hamburgers. We are big fans of Five Guys Burgers & Fries. For years, we had wanted to check out Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Conn., where the hamburger sandwich is said to have orginiated. Check out the link and read about the history of the place. We had the chance to enjoy lunch there when we visited New England in late July 2011. What impressed me with the burger from Louis' Lunch was when I bit into the juicy burger, it tasted like I was biting into a steak sandwich.

I have no idea what cuts are used in the grind at Louis' Lunch, but the website said five cuts of beef are used. I would love to know the varieties and the proportions. While the proprietary blend is a mystery to me, I actually got close (without trying) when I made my grind.

I picked up the short ribs, and I was looking for another cut or two to accompany it. I looked at chuck and sirloin. However, I opted on something else: I purchased about an equal amount of Certified Angus Beef beef stir-fry mix. I figured the beef was already sliced and it likely included a variety of cuts instead of just a single one.

I prefer to grind my hamburger blend in a food processor instead of a meat grinder, which is why I gave my grinder away about a year or two ago. I cut up the short ribs and mixed it with the stir-fry beef. I processed the beef in two batches, placing a half of the mixture in each time. I pulsed the beef for about 10 one-second blasts.

Because it was late, I cooked the burgers in a hot, cast-iron skillet. I probably cooked the burgers too much, but when I bit into one, it tasted like I was biting into a steak burger.

With the success I had, I will be keeping an eye out for when short ribs are on sale. I might even try the boneless short ribs, though they do not look exactly like the ones attached to the bones.

What burgers do you like, and do you make your own blend?

Italian tradition lived out in Lodi

2011-04-24T20:39:00.001-04:00

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A guest blog by Wendi Warren

I have been blessed to be married to a wonderful Italian man for the past 16 years. During that time I have learned many things from him regarding his Italian heritage. One that is lived out every holiday, is the assurance that I will be making some Italian dish to go along with the rest of the holiday feast. See, growing up in an Italian family, Bobby would have all the “traditional” fixings as any family in the great United States of America would enjoy, but then they would also have gravy (spaghetti sauce), ravioli, eggplant parmesan and the like. So we have continued this tradition in our home since we have been married.

I have tried many different recipes. Sometimes easy and sometimes more complicated. One of our favorites is stuffed manicotti. We have used the America’s Test Kitchen recipe and it turns out great every time. (Incidentally, I don’t think I have ever had a recipe turn out badly that I have followed from America’s Test Kitchen. Which I guess is their point—they make a dish dozens of times to find the best way to do it so that cooks at home don’t have to find it by trial and error.)

Anyhow, this year for Easter I wanted to try my hand at chicken parmigiana. So I turned to our trusty America’s Test Kitchen cookbook and found their recipe. It was a little involved, but totally worth it. I bet it would have been even better if I had remembered to mix the parmesan cheese with the bread crumbs. (I had them measured out, but forgot to add them. I had to sprinkle the parmesan on top of the already breaded chicken, but it worked out O.K. anyhow.)

Bobby was pleased as was the rest of the family and I felt good that it was so well received. Another holiday, another Italian dish, another chance to share Bobby’s heritage with family in Lodi; what more can a girl ask for? I know, enjoying another Italian tradition—“the sweetness of doing nothing.” I think I’ll go and put that into practice right now!

Flat iron steak: Flat out tender

2011-04-21T18:55:00.001-04:00

During one of my lunches with Bryan Schaaf, who handles publication relations and communications duties for Wooster-based Certified Angus Beef, I told him how I recently bought some CAB flat iron steaks, and they were better than I thought.

I had no idea from what part of the cow flat iron steaks come, but in my cooking days, I never broiled a flat iron steak. At Valle's Steak House, I broiled filet mignons, New York strips, top sirloins and ribeyes. I basically believed this was about the only cuts you wanted to broil or grill.

So, I was surprised when Bryan told me the flat iron steak, in terms of tenderness, trailed only the filet mignon. It further intrigued me the steak came from the chuck region. So, when Buehler's, a Wooster-based grocery chain, had flat iron steaks on sale, I picked up a couple of them.

I decided I would marinade the steaks. I did not measure anything, but for the marinade, I used: Soy sauce, dark rice wine, sugar, granulated garlic, salt, pepper, celery salt, Old Bay Seasoning and parsley. After allowing the steaks to marinade for about eight hours (while I was at work), I grilled them, sliced them and served it with macaroni and cheese and steamed broccoli.

Do you cook flat iron steak? Why not share your recipe in the comments below.

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Unorthodox coffee brewing

2011-04-17T23:48:00.001-04:00

Ice coffee to the residents of Revere, Mass., is like iced tea to Southerners, just a staple of life.

I grew up in the coastal town, and I remember in the 1970s my mother buying coffee syrup to add to milk. It wasn't a fresh-brewed iced coffee, but it was close enough more me as a kid.

About two decades ago, my sister got me hooked on Dunkin Donuts ice coffee. I have been a big fan of ice coffee, but I was living in Florida, and now Ohio, which was not a haven for ice coffee beverages.

When McDonald's came out with an ice coffee, the vanilla one, I was hooked. I would drink one to two large ice coffees a day. As big a fan as I am of Dunkin Donuts' ice coffee, especially the toasted almond variety, to me, McDonald's vanilla ice coffee is the best. It is sweet and creamy, the way I like it, with just enough coffee flavor poking through.

I am not a coffee connoisseur. I do not like a dark, bold coffee. I like it milky and sweet, and that is what McDonald's delivers.

However, at nearly $2 a pop, ice coffee was quickly eating into my discretionary cash. I had to do something.

So, I purchased a Mr. Coffee espresso machine. Keep in mind I do not drink hot coffee, and I do not drink coffee all day long. So, I was looking for something to deliver coffee in small doses. I spent about $25-$30 for the coffeemaker and got just that. I could not make a good cup of iced coffee with it. Coffee was way too strong and bitter. I scrapped it.

Next, I picked up some type of drip coffeemaker from a Goodwill. It was OK, but I eventually got rid of it. I tried using instant coffee to make my ice coffee drinks, and it was passable, but not great.

I don't know how I came up with the idea, perhaps it was my memory of a coffee episode on Good Eats, but I decided to come up with another method for making ice coffee, which is what I now do nearly every day.

My mother-in-law bought me an electric kettle as a gift. I got to thinking, I could put a coffee filter in a funnel, pour the hot water over it and make one cup of coffee at a time. This is what I do nearly every morning.

Here is the process: I heat the water in the electric kettle. I get out my reusable plastic coffee cup and set on it a wide-mouth funnel for stability and height and a regular funnel. Into the regular funnel I place a coffee filter. Into the coffee filter I place 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons of Eight O'Clock Coffee (I switched from Folger's). When the water comes to a boil, I pour enough water over the ground coffee beans to make eight ounces of coffee. I then add 3 1/2 ounces of vanilla caramel coffee creamer and 1 tablespoon of sugar. If I have time, I leave this in the fridge to cool down while I get ready for work. Else, when I am ready to drink it, I fill my reusable ice coffee cup with ice and pour over the coffee mixture. Sip and enjoy.

If you try this, be careful when pouring the water. It is easy to get scalded by the boiling water. Some friends say this is way too much work. Perhaps it is, but I only make one cup of coffee a day. Sometimes I might make two on a Saturday. You might be thinking why wouldn't I go out and purchase a single-cup coffeemaker like a Keurig. It comes down to cost. I cannot justify spending $90-$120 on a coffeemaker that will get used once a day and only by me.

It ain't pretty, but it works for me ... for now.

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Johnny's Garlic Spread - The multi-purpose seasoning

2011-04-16T08:48:00.001-04:00

The last time Wendi and I were in Boston, my sister sent us home with a jar of Johnny's Garlic Spread & Seasoning. My sister told us she and her husband used it for everything.

Even before we flew back home to Ohio, we made some garlic bread using Johnny's. I have to tell you, the first introduction to Johnny's was not the best, however, that was then, this is now.

The way we made the garlic bread was to melt the butter and add the recommended amount of Johnny's Garlic Spread & Seasoning. It was just too much for my liking. My sister suggested spreading the butter on the bread, then sprinkling some of Johnny's on it. Much better idea because you can control the amount.

I have never actually looked at the ingredients in Johnny's; it must be garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and perhaps some parmesan cheese. It has a very strong garlic, but it can be controlled by how much you sprinkle on or in.

Despite that initial negative reaction to the product, I find myself becoming a big fan of it because it is so versatile.

Readers of this blog know when I make pizza, I prefer an uncooked sauce. The last time I made pizza, rather than sprinkling salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, parsley, basil and sugar on the crushed tomatoes, I just sprinkled some Johnny's.

When I make garlic bread, I butter the bread, sprinkle the Johnny's and bake.

I had a jar of tomato sauce I wanted to use. I added Johnny's to the sauce, heated it up and had instant spaghetti sauce.

We had some mini-French bread loaves we had to use or lose. I cut one up into cubes, sprinkled on some butter, sprinkled some Johnny's and added some extra grated parmesan cheese (the plastic jar type) and made some good croutons. Because I eat so much garlic bread with Johnny's, I wanted to make sure the croutons were not just toasted garlic bread cubes, which is why I added the extra cheese to alter the taste slightly. They turned out very good.

BBQ wings in a snap

2011-04-08T20:25:00.001-04:00

I enjoy Buffalo wings, but it seems as if they are getting just a bit too expensive for me to order them while out at a restaurant. In Cincinnati, Wendi and I would enjoy them on 25-cent wing night at an area restaurant that focused on the famed chicken wings.

Because Wendi does not like Buffalo-style wings, she always orders BBQ wings, so that is why I decided to make some. I have the ability to deep fry the wings, but it can be a risky proposition in a home. A fire could happen in the blink of an eye. Also, frying chicken wings is further complicated because of the high moisture content, which can cause a lot of splatter.

When Wendi and I have made wings in the past, we baked them in the oven at 400-450 degrees for an hour. Our attempts at baking the wings never really produced a crisp wing. So, when I decided to make this batch of BBQ wings, I intended to grill them. I covered the wings with a generous amount of salt and pepper and set them aside in a stainless steel bowl covered on a counter for about two hours. (I am not sure about the health ramifications of this and what this means in terms of food safety, so you will be better off with the wings covered and placed in the refrigerator.)

When it came time to cook the wings, instead of grilling, I placed them on a very small, but durable, sheet pan from Pampered Chef and cooked them at 450 degrees for 45 minutes in a toaster oven. After 45 minutes, I switched the cooking option from back to broil, and I broiled the wings for another 15 minutes. This helped to produce a nice, crisp final product.

For the BBQ sauce, just used some Sweet Baby Ray's original barbecue sauce. As for the side dish, I made none, so we ended up with some Snyder's of Berlin honey barbecue potato chips.

-- Bobby

Jalapeno dogs reengineered

2011-04-07T08:24:00.001-04:00

Back in the days when I would occasionally get lunch from a gas station, that would be when Bryan Schaaf was still working at The Daily Record in Wooster, Ohio, I liked the jalapeno hot dogs at Speedway. I think at the time they cost about $2. I enjoyed them.

One day, when my wife and I were picking up some things at East Union Bulk Food Store, I noticed a selection of Woeber's mustards and sandwich spreads. I saw there was a jalapeno mustard, so I thought I would give it a try.

I tried it on hot dogs, of all things, and wouldn't you know, they tasted just like the jalapeno dogs I was buying for about two bucks apiece. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

-- Bobby

The time when the round came out on top

2011-04-04T23:14:00.001-04:00

I was shopping at Buehler's Towne Market the other day and saw some good looking steaks. At first glance, I thought I was picking up a couple of packages of Certified Angus Beef top sirloin steaks. I really enjoy top sirloin. I think when you consider the taste, tenderness and price, it is a cut that is a very good value. However, when I got home, I discovered I picked up a couple of package of good looking top round steaks. Not knowing what to do, I sent a tweet to the good folks at Certified Angus Beef. You can see the exchange in the above photograph.

I checked out the recipe, but it contained bourbon. I don't drink, so I did not have it on hand, and I generally do not like alcohol in my food. I have occasionally bought some white wine for cooking, but I don't even like carrying it in the store, let alone purchasing it.

However, I did like the idea of a marinade, so I tweaked their recipe. I turned the marinade into a sauce, using cornstarch and water as a thickener. We had some white rice leftover, so we placed slices of pan-seared round steak on a bed of rice, and served it with a side of steamed vegetables and drizzled the thickened sauce over the vegetables and poured it over the meat.

Wendi is going to have the leftovers for lunch, but we put the sliced steak, vegetables and sauce over some leftover spaghetti noodles, making a faux lo mein.

-- Bobby

Sunday sundae surprise

2011-04-04T22:46:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday, April 3, apparently was the anniversary of the creation of the ice cream sundae in Ithaca, N.Y. (Or was it? Seems like there is a split over the sundae, see here). To mark the occasion, my wife brought me a turtle sundae to The Daily Record office on Sunday afternoon. I was working, and it was a nice treat to see my sweet wife and to enjoy the frozen concoction. Whether the sundae was created in New York in 1882 or Wisconsin in 1881, I am not sure. But I do know this, I like sundaes.

Make Your Own Stuffed Crust Pizza

2011-04-01T20:30:00.001-04:00

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This morning, I wanted to cook breakfast for my wife. I figured I would cook up a few strips of bacon in the microwave. We have one of those dishes that does a good job of cooking bacon in the microwave oven.

So, I removed the package of Chuck Wagon bacon and was ready to pull apart some of the slices. When I opened the package, there was not one discernable slice of bacon. When Wendi asked what I was complaining about, I said, "This looks like someone asked a baby to put some bacon in a package." I tried to delicately separate just a few slices so I could make Wendi's breakfast.

No, sir. Chuck Wagon was having none of it.

Well, if that was the way Chuck wanted to play, it was fine with me. I removed a slicing knife from the block and proceeded to cut the congealed mass of seasoned and cured pork into little pieces. I was going to make bacon bits.

I cooked up the bacon bits and made Wendi an egg, cheese and bacon bits sandwich for breakfast. But, as I looked at those bacon bits I had a plan for them: Pizza. My favorite pizza is a cheese pizza; my next favorite is pepperoni and bacon. My wife had plenty of string cheese in the fridge, so I decided I would make a stuffed crust pizza.

I didn't feel like messing up our KitchenAid stand mixer, so I decided I would make the dough in a stainless steel bowl (I think it must have been like 1 1/2 quarts).

Dough:

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1-1 1/2 cups warm water

1 Tbsp instant yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp Kosher salt

1 Tbps olive oil

I put everything in the bowl except the water, and then I added 1 cup of water. It needed a little more, so I added some. I actually stirred everything with a wooden spoon until the dough formed, and I next kneaded it for a couple of minutes. I did not work the dough a lot. I formed it into a ball and placed it back into the bowl and covered it with a tea towel. After about an hour I punched it down and reformed it into a ball. Covered and waited until I was ready to cook dinner.

Sauce:

For this particular pizza, I used an uncooked sauce on my half and Mid's Pizza Sauce on Wendi's.

The stuffed crust:

When I was ready to make the pizza, which was probably 1 1/2 hours after I made the dough, I floured the counter and placed the dough on the counter. Using my hands, I started to form the crust, making sure it was round and the air was pushed out of the dough. I used a rolling pin to stretch it out, but it kept wanting to shrink back in. So, I started stretching the dough in my hands. I am not the best at this, so I only do it if it is completely necessary.

Once the dough was big enough to overlap the perforated pizza pan I was using, I placed it on the pan, but not before applying some nonstick spray. I took out four pieces of string cheese, cut them each in half and placed them around the outer edge of the crust. Then, I did my best to fold the dough over the cheese sticks, tuck it under and seal it.

The pizza:

I placed the sauce on the crust, covered it with cheese by alternating slices of mozzarella and provolone (I prefer to use sliced cheese). I covered my half with bacon and pepperoni and Wendi's with bacon, pepperoni and mushrooms. I placed it in on the bottom rack of a 450-degree oven that had been heating up for around 45 minutes. (I want my oven hot when I make pizza. If I am using a pan, I cook at 450 degrees. If I am cooking on a stone or a pizza screen, then I up it to 550 degrees and have the oven preheating for an hour.)

It took about 10-15 minutes for the pizza to cook, and it was better than anything you will get from one of those chain restaurants.

Good Eats? Not this time

2011-03-31T09:24:00.001-04:00

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2011

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Use Your Noodle IV: Lasagna

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (1)

Filed under: Meat, Pork, Pasta, Noodles, Vegetables,
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via foodnetwork.com

I am a big fan of Alton Brown and his Food Network show, "Good Eats" I was eagerly awaiting his latest episode: "Use Your Noodle IV: Lasagna."

Alton has a way of making good food great, so, with my Italian heritage and a love of lasagna, I really wanted to see this episode. Unfortunately, I now regret it.

I will never prepare the recipe Alton, or his team, created. It is not lasagna. It is a dish that features lasagna noodles. So, my problem is with his terminology. His recipe might be a good one, but to me it is just another pasta dish one could have made with the pasta shape or style of one's choosing.

If any of you try this recipe, I would love to hear your thoughts. I would also like to know what you think of this dish if you get around to reading the recipe on the Food Network site.

Salsa for the ages, or at least for today

2011-03-26T10:28:00.001-04:00

I once worked as a line cook at Casa Gallardo's, a former national restaurant chain that is now a regional one serving Mexican food. I loved their salsa, which they called Red Hot. Before I worked at the restaurant, I was a diner there. It was while eating at Casa Gallardo's in Daytona Beach, Fla., that I tasted for the first time fresh salsa.

I loved Casa Gallardo's Red Hot, and I discovered I liked fresh salsa. While I do not know the recipe for their version of salsa (because I worked on the line and not in food preparation), I know it included fresh diced tomatoes and onions and cilantro. The cilantro really made the salsa stand out for me. Up until I ate Casa Gallardo's Red Hot, I thought salsa came from a jar. I was not really fond of it.

I tried my hand at making fresh salsa. Rather than dicing the tomatoes, I usually put everything in a blender and pulsed it to break down the tomatoes, not quite diced, but not quite pureed either.

When I moved to Wooster, Ohio, I began eating at a local Mexican restaurant, El Campesino's. I enjoy their food, and their salsa. El Campesino's salsa differs from Casa Gallardo's. It is more of a crushed/pureed salsa, where Casa Gallardo's is diced and chunky.

So, each time I would visit El Campesino's, I would try to determine how they made their salsa. It dawned on me they might be using canned tomatoes instead of fresh, though I have no idea. So, one day I purchased some canned diced tomatoes (I usually pick up petite diced tomatoes) and used them instead of fresh tomatoes. The result was a pretty good salsa. That was a few years ago, and I have never looked back.

As for my salsa recipe, I don't really have a recipe for fresh salsa, or, in my instance, I should call it an uncooked salsa. I am more like a jazz cook, improvising and revisiting and tweaking earlier motifs. My mother, like typical Italians, throws a little bit of this, a dash of that and just kind of puts in whatever she thinks is appropriate. So, to my OCD readers, my apologies.

While I don't have a standard recipe, my salsa basically includes a 28 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes, a half bunch of cilantro, about a tablespoon of minced garlic (I used the stuff in jars from the grocery store, I do not use fresh), a teaspoon or so of kosher salt, half teaspoon of cracked black pepper and about a tablespoon of lime juice (you can use fresh if you want, I don't). It goes in the blender and I blend until mostly smooth.

Where the variations come in: Sometimes I will throw in a chipotle or two in adobo sauce; half to full teaspoon of ground cumin, sometimes chicken bullion instead of salt, sometimes sliced jalapenos from a jar (if I have them) or some dehydrated jalapenos I have had since I first moved to Ohio, and sometimes crushed red pepper flakes.

In the salsa pictured above, I used a small jar of diced tomatoes and green chiles instead of my standard petite diced tomatoes.

What kind of salsa did you prepare? Do you have any Casa Gallardo recipes, especially their beef and pork mix for burritos and chimichangas? Would love for you to share.

-- Bobby

Battle of the Burgers

2011-03-25T23:16:00.001-04:00

Bryan Schaaf, a marketing manager with Wooster, Ohio-based Certified Angus Beef, loves Holten's quarter-pound CAB chuck beef patties. He kept asking me if I had tried them.

The answer, up until a week ago, had been no.

The answer is now yes.

Wendi and I cooked the burgers on our gas grill, and they were good. However, I did not think they were as great as Bryan said.

Wendi and I enjoy burgers, and we prefer to use fresh ground Certified Angus Beef that we purchase at Buehler's Milltown Market. When Natural Prime is on sale, we splurge, else we go with an 80 percent lean grind.

We primarily follow America's Test Kitchen's method of making burgers, however, not fully. When there is a product like Certified Angus Beef Natural Prime, there really is no need to grind your own, as ATK recommends. But, we do try to handle the ground beef as little as possible -- gathering enough beef for a patty and shaping it very quickly.

The burgers are seasoned with kosher salt and black pepper, a coarse grind. Then, apply the heat. We either use a cast iron skillet or a gas grill. Either way is fine, though grill is slightly better.

The Holten product was fine, but it just was not as good as making the burgers from freshly ground beef. Also, I am concerned about cooking frozen burgers. I always think I have to cook them more than they probably need to be. So for Wendi, who likes rare to medium rare burgers, her chance of getting anything other than a medium well-well done burger is slim to none.

Sonnenberg Station revisited

2011-03-24T08:43:00.001-04:00

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My wife, Wendi, and I went to P. Graham Dunn's annual Spring Celebration at Central Christian High School in Kidron, Ohio, on Tuesday. Wendi wanted to go hear Alistair Begg preach and listen to Sonnenberg Station, a talented group of men who sing of God's love and redemption in a variety of languages. I do not have any photos, video or audio to post from this year's celebration, however, last year I captured some audio of Sonnenberg Station with my Sony HandyCam. That is the audio you hear. It is Tim Shue's rendition of Neil Young's Heart of Gold. Enjoy.

-- Bobby

Sofrito Green Beans a la Momocho Mod Mex

2011-03-23T21:09:00.001-04:00

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When our friend Ron Maxwell had a birthday last year, his wife, Jan, decided to surprise him by having a bunch of us from church share in a dinner with him at his favorite restaurant, Momocho Mod Mex, which is in the Cleveland area.

The restaurant is known for its exotic guacamole offerings, which include one with smoked trout another with blue crab. I do not eat guacamole, so I cannot offer a comment on it, but those in the party who do loved it. I had the Machaca, a beef brisket rubbed with ancho and espresso coffee, and Wendi had the Bistec, a hangar steak with honey-chipotle mojo. We did enjoy our meals.

However, as we were wrapping up our meal, Jan had me taste the Sofrito Green Beans. I am not much of a green bean eater. I do eat them, but they are not my favorite. However, Momocho's green beans were the best I ever had. They were incredible.

Well, Wendi has been wanting us to incorporate more vegetables into our meals, so I told her we had to try to make green beans like Momocho does. We did, and the result was pretty good. Not nearly as good as Momocho, but very good, nonetheless.

As you will see in the recipe below, there are a lot of flavors that come popping out. The photos show the different stages of making the sofrito, a pesto-like conconction that provides a lot of flavor to green beans, black beans, grilled chicken and rice. The first is getting all of the ingredients into the food processor. The second show what the sofrito looks like once it has been pureed. The third is one of the beans, corn and sofrito in the pan (the recipe says to take the green beans off of the heat before adding the sofrito). The final one is the Sofrito Green Beans plated. They were good.

Now, here is the recipe:

Sofrito Green Beans (recipe)

This Latin style sauce is similar in consistency to a pesto or recado. It can be used to flavor black beans, braised pork, grilled chicken, seafood or vegetables. The recipe comes from the executive chef of Cleveland's Momocho restaurant.
Sofrito with Green Beans
Sofrito
Makes 2 cups
3 bunches cilantro
1 bunch scallions
1 Tsp. fresh oregano
10 cloves garlic
2 shallots
1 medium to large poblano green chile
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup water
1 Tsp. kosher salt
1 Tsp. ground cumin
1 Tsp. ground black pepper
Wash and clean all fresh herbs. Trim tops of scallions. Peel skin from garlic and shallots. Remove stem and seeds from chile. Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Sofrito can be frozen or refrigerated up to seven days in an airtight container.
Green Beans
2 cups green beans
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 shallot, sliced thin
1 cup roasted corn kernels
Salt
Blanch fresh beans in heavily salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove and shock beans in ice water. Drain and cool. Heat oil in pan. Add beans, shallots and corn and saute on high until beans blister. Remove from heat, add 1 to 2 Tbsp. Sofrito, toss and serve.

via http://www.circvsmaximvs.com/showthread.php?t=54198#

-- Bobby

Nightstand 45 coming to Wooster

2011-03-23T08:12:00.001-04:00

via youtube.com

Bryan Schaaf (in the Montreal Expos cap) and Vaughn Pokrzywa, who performed as Nightstand 45 in 2010, are bringing their brand of acoustic rock to Muddy Waters Cafe & Grille from 9 p.m.-midnight on Saturday, April 16, 2010. And ... I will be performing some mindreading during the breaks. Owners Dennis and Paula Tafoya will be collecting a small cover charge but it will include some free food. Hope to see you there. For more, check this link: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=204078602936723&ref=ts

-- Bobby

Enjoy some music while you're waiting

2011-03-22T21:19:00.001-04:00

Little_Like_Zep.mp3 Listen on Posterous

I have decided to migrate my blog to posterous.com, which has some interesting features, making it easy to inform Facebook friends, Twitter followers and others to see the latest post.

However, today I noticed blog entries from my Blogspot home, which I had duplicated on Posterous, are not displaying properly. Has anyone else encountered this problem? If so, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Until then, enjoy some music while you're waiting for the blog to display properly. Sorry for the inconvenience.

-- Bobby

Make Cake in a Mug - Wired How-To Wiki

2011-03-21T08:35:00.001-04:00

Make Cake in a Mug

From Wired How-To Wiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Make this cake in 5 minutes!

You could be eating this right now...

En francais: Faire du gâteau dans une grande tasse
You’re working at home and your mind starts to wander to snack possibilities. There are probably some prepackaged, good-until-the-next-millennium baked items in your cabinet, but you’re in the mood for something warm from the oven. Something chocolate. However, your compulsion to work is just strong enough to keep you from leaving the computer long enough to make something from scratch. Guess it’ll have to be another stale Twinkie after all.
But wait! With Cake in a Mug, you can have a hot, delicious, fresh-baked chocolate cake in minutes! And all it takes is a microwave, some hot chocolate mix, and a couple of ingredients you’ve probably got in your kitchen.
Ready to make your own Cake in a Mug? Everything you need to know is below.
And remember, this article is a wiki, so if you come up with any modifications feel free to log in and add them.
(A note to parents: This is a great recipe for kids to make on their own, too! Once they know how, get them to make you one when they're making some for themselves and you won't even have to leave your desk.)

via howto.wired.com

This looked interesting. You will need to jump to the website -- http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Make_Cake_in_a_Mug -- for the recipe and videos. (h/t @andynyman)

Newcastle, new blog

2011-03-20T23:25:00.001-04:00

If Bryan can have a Newcastle, then I can have a new blog

At The Daily Record, where I work as a journalist, Thursdays are affectionately known as Hop Hing Thursdays, thanks to Aunt E., aka Elizabeth Fleming. She takes orders for Hop Hing's Chinese dishes, calls them in, picks them up, delivers them to us and then we enjoy.
So, this past Thursday was like many others: L31 - General Tzu's chicken, luncheon special style. I place my order with Aunt E., pay my money and go on about my business.
Well, I get a text from Bryan Schaaf, right about the time Aunt E. is heading out to Hop Hing. Schaafy, who defected from The Daily Record for a marketing manager's position with Wooster-based Certified Angus Beef, was heading downtown to Muddy Waters and wanted to know if I was interested in having lunch.
I immediately said yes. I am a Certified Angus Beef snob. About the only time I am not eating Certified Angus Beef products is when I am at a restaurant that does not serve CAB. I like talking to the folks at CAB and learning more about different cuts of beef and how to cook them.
Bryan and I had a nice visit. Talked about CAB, his job, my job, CAB, his family, my family, CAB, Newcastle United, music, magic, mindreading, cooking, CAB and then we said our goodbyes.
As I was driving to an assignment, Bryan shoots me a text and says I should write a food blog.
Great idea. Here it is.

via bobbywarren.blogspot.com

This is the last of the posts that needed to be moved over.

Pizza my way

2011-03-12T12:21:00.000-05:00

Growing up in an Italian family in an Italian neighborhood in Revere, Mass., I have been exposed to a lot of good Italian food and pizza. I love pizza, but not just any pizza. It's the style that is often referred to as New York-style pizza, though I might argue it's Boston's style, too.

The four-ingredient dough

It involves a dough that is made one day and allowed to slowly rise and ferment in order to have it ready for use the next day. The dough I now use is the one from the book, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. It is made from four ingredients: Flour, yeast, salt and water. My wife, Wendi, borrowed the book from the Wayne County Public Library, and we fell in love with it. At first, we just made bread with it. However, the first time Wendi made pizza with it, I absolutely loved it.
The texture, the crisp, chewy crust and the flavor brought me back home to Revere (we now live in Wooster, Ohio). The pizza was incredible; one of the best I had in a long time. Wendi, on the other hand, did not like it as much. She grew up with a different style of pizza. Guess that's her loss.

The 'uncooked' sauce

When making a pizza for me, I prefer an uncooked sauce. To me, it provides a more engaging, robust flavor than tomatoes that have been mellowed by a long simmer. I used crushed tomatoes from a can. I have tried diced and petite diced, but I prefer the crushed tomatoes. Seems like the only way I find crushed tomatoes anymore is in puree, not my first choice, but not bad. To make my "sauce," I spread the crushed tomatoes over the hand-stretched dough (which I put on a wooden pizza peel that has on it a liberal dose of corn meal). I sprinkle on the tomatoes: Salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, basil, parsley (all dried herbs) and sugar. Don't ask me for measurements, just sprinkle the ingredients on, but not too much. The sauce will cook in the oven.

Sliced mozzarella and provolone

I am a big fan of cheese pizza. I don't need any toppings (though pepperoni and bacon is a great combination, but don't put the bacon on raw ... leaves too much grease, don't ask me how I know, but I do. Trust me). I stay away from fresh mozzarella and mozzarella balls because they have more moisture than I want for my pizza. I do not use shredded cheese, either. I do not buy already shredded cheese (way too dry), and I do not shred it myself. I like using sliced cheese, a combination of mozzarella and provolone. I buy mine at East Union Bulk Food Store outside of Wooster, and I pay around $2.99 per pound for each.

Why cook pizza on a pan?

That's about it, except for the heat. The New York- and Boston-style pizzas are generally cooked in brick ovens at an extremely high heat (think perhaps 800-900 degrees, however, I heard of a pizzeria in New York that uses coal and gets up to 2,000 degrees). The high heat allows for the pizza to cook quickly, and it gives the dough a nice char, which adds flavor. I cannot achieve such temperatures at home. My oven maxes out at 550 degrees. But, I do preheat the oven for about an hour before I am ready to make the pizza; it gets the oven nice and toasty, and it brings the pizza stones in the oven up to temperature. When cooking pizza for me (as opposed to for Wendi and me or family and friends), it goes on the stone. Sometimes I start it on a pizza screen and then move it to a stone, but I do not like cooking it on a pan.

I should have let the dough rest.

So, I recently used some of Wendi's dough to make a pizza. Everything went well, except for one thing. I did not have the patience to allow the dough time to come to room temperature and raise a little bit. Wendi makes the dough ahead of time and keeps it in the fridge. We pull off what we need for a loaf or a pizza and put the rest back in the refrigerator. So, as you can see from the adjoining picture, I got nice char, the cheese melted nicely, but there was just too much lift in the dough. Because the crust rose a lot in the oven, the crushed tomatoes pooled to the middle, creating a relatively dry outer ring on the pizza and a tasty, saucy middle. The middle had incredible flavor, but the outer edge was just too dry.

The good news is Wendi has made another batch of dough, so I will go at it again.

2011-03-05T12:25:00.001-05:00

This post serves two purposes: Test mobile blogging and let lovers of cheesesteak subs I will be posting a twist on the sandwich.

So, why a food blog?

2011-03-04T17:23:00.003-05:00

Other than Bryan Schaaf suggested it, right?

My mother is Italian, and my father was a chef. The two are great cooks.

Whenever I have been out to eat at Italian restaurants and my friends raved about the food, I would say something like this, "It's OK. I grew up eating this stuff." The question du jour became, "Is it better than my mother's?"

My mother, Carmen Mercuri, is incredible at cooking Italian food, her specialty. My father, Bob Warren, was great at all sorts of American cuisine. I learned a lot about cooking and proper food prep and storage from him.

I ended up working for my father at Valle's Steak House in Daytona Beach and later at Girves' Brown Derby (after the company purchased Valle's building). Other restaurants included Lovece's Pizza Palace, the restaurant at Pelican Bay Country Club and Casa Gallardo's Mexican Restaurant. I had the opportunity to learn about cooking ethnic foods, American cuisine, seafood (even though I do not eat it), broiling steaks, deep frying foods, butchering, baking and more. I discovered I love to cook.

A former manager, Jere Main, told me that if I knew how to cook, then I would always have a job. Glad to say I have not had to cook in a restaurant for quite some time; it is hard work -- hot, sweaty, greasy, long time standing on your feet. I wouldn't mind cooking in a test kitchen or something, but I don't think I am up to restaurant work anymore.

So, let's have some fun. I'll share some recipes (but I warn you, I cook like my mother ... don't really measure stuff, pinch of this, some of that, check the consistency, if too thick, add milk, etc.

Tonight, I made some Certified Angus Beef rib-eye steaks. (Ordered them from Buehler's online). Now, they label them rib-eye steaks, however, I always thought if the cap was still on, it was a Delmonico; cap off, rib-eye. Sprinkled seasoned salt and cracked black pepper, and I cooked them in a moderately hot cast-iron skillet. Cooked them between rare and medium rare. They were incredible.

For a side dish, I threw together an al fredo dish using radiatore pasta; I like the way the curled pasta captures and holds the sauce. For the al fredo sauce, I heated a tablespoon of butter in a pan, and when it melted added about a teaspoon of minced garlic (I don't use fresh). Next, I tossed in about one-and-a-half tablespoons of flour to make a roux, and added one-and-a-half cups of half-and-half. As the sauce thickened, I seasoned it with about a teaspoon, maybe a little more, of salt and sprinkled in some cracked black pepper. I melted in about two teaspoons of butter and tossed in about 2 ounces of shredded parmesan cheese and about 2 ounces of grated parmesan cheese (yeah, the stuff that comes in a plastic container).

That was it. I should have taken some photos, but forgot. I'm new at this food stuff. I'll get in gear. The al fredo was OK; wished I would have had more shredded parmesan. Also, I generally add granulated garlic, too, but I did not this time. All in all, not bad. Steaks were great.

If Bryan can have a Newcastle, then I can have a new blog

2011-03-04T11:48:00.003-05:00

At The Daily Record, where I work as a journalist, Thursdays are affectionately known as Hop Hing Thursdays, thanks to Aunt E., aka Elizabeth Fleming. She takes orders for Hop Hing's Chinese dishes, calls them in, picks them up, delivers them to us and then we enjoy.

So, this past Thursday was like many others: L31 - General Tzu's chicken, luncheon special style. I place my order with Aunt E., pay my money and go on about my business.

Well, I get a text from Bryan Schaaf, right about the time Aunt E. is heading out to Hop Hing. Schaafy, who defected from The Daily Record for a marketing manager's position with Wooster-based Certified Angus Beef, was heading downtown to Muddy Waters and wanted to know if I was interested in having lunch.

I immediately said yes. I am a Certified Angus Beef snob. About the only time I am not eating Certified Angus Beef products is when I am at a restaurant that does not serve CAB. I like talking to the folks at CAB and learning more about different cuts of beef and how to cook them.

Bryan and I had a nice visit. Talked about CAB, his job, my job, CAB, his family, my family, CAB, Newcastle United, music, magic, mindreading, cooking, CAB and then we said our goodbyes.

As I was driving to an assignment, Bryan shoots me a text and says I should write a food blog.

Great idea. Here it is.

Happy Valentine's Day, Wendi

2010-02-12T19:46:00.003-05:00

This blog has gone dark for many months. I found myself being too critical of our president, and I just did not want to get stuck in that rut.

So, let's take a little turn. My wife, Wendi, and I went out for dinner on Abraham Lincoln's Birthday, and it also served as our Valentine's Day date. We went to The Mill Restaurant in Wooster, Ohio, and Wendi was pleasantly surprised when four men, decked out in white shirts, red vests and red bow ties, came to our table to serenade her.

The quartet, Cordially Yours out of Mansfield, Ohio, presented her with a rose, some chocolate Kisses and a card then sang two songs. The first was "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," and the second was "How Deep is the Ocean."

Wendi really appreciated the gift, and she said it made her feel special. Good. She is special to me. We shall be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary on March 4, 2010, and she means the world to me. God has really blessed me with a beautiful, incredible, creative and talented wife. I am not sure why He saw fit to bless me so much, but I am not complaining.

Dream Theater's actual set list from Orlando

2009-07-28T07:09:00.005-04:00

Below is the actual set list from Dream Theater's show at Hard Rock Live in Orlando on July 25, 2009. It was the second date for Progressive Nation 2009. Scale the Summit opened the show, and they were followed by Big Elf. Zappa Plays Zappa was the third act, followed by Dream Theater. The Dream Theater photo was taken by Shawn L. and uploaded to my twitpic account.

Dream Theater-Orlando Show

My Dream Theater Set List

2009-07-24T11:12:00.003-04:00

I will be in Florida, and while there I will be checking out Dream Theater. The band typically changes up its set list every night. Here is what I would like to hear:

My Dream Theater set list

At the end of the day, the American people ...

2009-07-08T17:45:00.003-04:00

At the end of the day, the American people seem to be falling out of love with President Barack Obama when you look at RasmussenReports.com Presidential Approval Index. Obama's numbers are slipping in Virginia and Ohio. What once appeared to be an invincible Democratic lock might be showing signs of weakness. Still too early to tell, but the trending is interesting.

Along similar lines, Bryan Schaaf and I wrote a story about U.S. Rep. John Boccieri's vote on cap and tax; he was not sold on it before the vote but ended up supporting it (see the story here and high-quality video here). Most of those motivated to comment on the story opposed the vote.

Boccieri remains popular among many I talk to because he spends a lot of time in Wayne County and is accessible.

CNSNEWS.com talks with Boccieri and others

2009-07-05T21:35:00.003-04:00

CNSNEWS.com caught up with U.S. Rep. John Boccieri (D-OH) and others recently to ask about how they would vote on the cap and trade legislation, which depending upon whom you believe, will solve global warming (oh, I mean, climate change, consultants have said quit using the phrase "global warming" because of all the negative connotations, wonder why) and create millions of green jobs, or it will cost Americans thousands of dollars a year in higher energy costs and cripple American business.

Boccieri recently sat down with some of the staff from The Daily Record to talk about why he voted for the legislation. The story and video from that interview (which included managing editor Lance White, reporter Bryan Schaaf and me) will appear in an upcoming edition of the newspaper.

However, the video below is from CNSNEWS.com and was taken before the vote. Boccieri is first up.

Declaration of Independence Word Cloud

2009-07-04T07:28:00.004-04:00

Here is how our Declaration of Independence appears in a word cloud (thanks to Wordle and @maitri). To see the word cloud on Wordle.net, go here.

Are You Grounded?

2009-07-04T06:46:00.006-04:00

I am heading to Florida later in July to see family, friends, have fun and to preach. The sermon is titled "Are You Grounded," and it comes from 1 Chronicles 21. Above is how the sermon looks in a word cloud. (Word cloud courtesy of www.wordle.net)

Listen to new Dream Theater album

2009-06-23T00:25:00.002-04:00

Black Clouds & Silver Linings ...

Obama: He'll fill your car with nuts and corn

2009-06-22T09:37:00.000-04:00

Thanks to @conservogirl for sharing this one.

Obama: Where did his love go?

2009-06-21T20:42:00.003-04:00

Can you hear President Barack Obama singing these lyrics from Diana Ross and the Supremes, "Baby, baby, where did our love go? Oh, don't you want me, don't you want me no more?" Well, he should be given RasmussenReports.com shows Obama in negative territory in the Daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Obama's approval index is (-2) with 34 percent strongly disapproving of his performance compared to 32 percent strongly approving his efforts so far, leaving 34 percent somewhere in between. Statistically, Obama is not doing poorly. As previously noted here, the numbers are relatively balanced: one-third likes, one-third hates and one-third can go either way.

However, the negative approval rating is remarkable when compared to the favorable treatment the president has received from the media. Consider this from the Pew Research Center earlier this year:

Overall, roughly four out of ten stories, editorials and op ed columns about Obama have been clearly positive in tone, compared with 22% for Bush and 27% for Clinton in the same mix of seven national media outlets during the same first two months in office, according to a study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

The study found positive stories about Obama have outweighed negative by two-to-one (42% vs. 20%) while 38% of stories have been neutral or mixed.

There now seems to be some chinks in Obama's armor. Despite overall positive reporting from the media, people are able to get another perspective on Obama and his administration from places like Fox News and blogs like Hot Air, not to mention Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck on the radio.

As the shine wears off the new administration and as the honeymoon transitions into the marriage, Obama's numbers will continue to fall. It seems more people are fed up with the bailouts, don't like the fact that Obama and the courts circumvented standard rules for bankruptcy and are leery about the true cost of health care reform and the stimulus plan.

If this continues, look for Republican gains in the House and Senate come 2010.

Stepping out over the lhine

2009-06-20T07:39:00.003-04:00

Here is Over the Rhine performing Trouble. I have been listening to them since 1993, but I have never managed to see them live. I am still holding out hope. Until then, there is this video ... and all of their releases.

It's all about the title

2009-06-19T19:31:00.005-04:00

Barbara Boxer of California carries the title of senator and allegedly represents the residents of her state in Washington, D.C. But, with this latest video clip from Boxer, I am not so sure just who she represents.

During a congressional hearing, Boxer had an interchange with Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh in which he referred to her as "ma'am."

Boxer did not like being addressed in that manner.

"Do me a favor, could you call me senator instead of ma'am? It's just a thing, I've worked so hard to get that title, I’d appreciate it. Thank you," Boxer said.

I believe her reply speaks volumes about her. Jesus said in Matt. 12:34b, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

In my role as a journalist, I come into contact with a lot of elected officials. I have talked to U.S. senators, U.S. representatives, governors, secretaries of state, auditors of state, state representatives, state senators, county commissioners, members of council, township trustees, judges and school board members. In those interviews, there was always a sense of public service, not entitlement, prestige, power or title.

"I've worked so hard to get that title." She did not work so hard to be a public servant, to serve the constituents, to fight for their rights. No, she worked hard for that title.

Can you just imagine her on the campaign trail:

"Hi, I'm Barbara Boxer. I would appreciate your vote so I can have the title of senator."

"Hi, I'm Barbara Boxer. If you send me to Washington, D.C., I promise I will fight hard for my title. I won't let no military man call me ma'am. No, sir. Not me."

It seems to me, Boxer is in this for power, not for service. What a shame.

Oops

2009-06-18T18:36:00.004-04:00

Never in a million years did I think I would post anything from the Daily Kos, however, it appears what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Fox News reports about how GOP thinks it is unfair and unprecedented ABC gets to broadcast news and hour-long health care special from the White House. Seems like Fox News had its own unprecedented access to Bush 43 and Dick Cheney. Thanks to @jaketapper via Twitter.

Convoy in moving pictures

2009-06-18T11:05:00.003-04:00

Here are my videos from the Military Vehicle Preservation Association Transcontinental Convoy's stay in Wooster and Wayne County.

Vince's Slap Chop Rap

2009-06-12T23:29:00.000-04:00

Zebra: Then and Now

2009-06-09T19:33:00.003-04:00

The above video, wherein Dream Theater percussionist extraordinaire Mike Portnoy talks about a great band from the '80s, Zebra, is bittersweet for me. I jumped onto the Zebra bandwagon from the first time I heard "Who's Behind the Door," from the band's debut album, on WDIZ Rock 100 in Orlando.

That first album, which featured "Who's Behind the Door," "Take Your Fingers From My Hair" (which Dream Theater covers), "The La La Song," "Tell Me What You Want" and "As I Said Before," was an incredible effort. I was excited when I had the chance to see the band perform live in Orlando at Tom's Point After. It was a small club, and the band was great.

I eagerly awaited Zebra's sophomore offering, No Tellin' Lies, but it failed to measure up to the debut release. There was not really any memorable songs for me on No Tellin' Lies, but it was Zebra.

The third album, 3.V, was much improved, with several memorable songs, like "He's Makin' You the Fool," "Time," "Better Not Call" and "Your Mind's Open." Despite producing a solid record, the band from Louisiana that made it big in New York did not have the commercial success of its initial release.

Zebra's fourth release was a live album, and it was a good release, a veritable live greatest hits album with a Led Zeplin cover, "The Ocean."

I would continue looking in record shops, and later the Internet, to see if there were any more releases from Zebra. The band sort of faded into obscurity. I did not hear much about Randy Jackson (guitars, vocals), Felix Hanemann (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Guy Gelso (drums, percussion, vocals) after finding "Zebra Live" in the early 1990s.

So, I am excited my favorite band, Dream Theater, decided to cover "Take Your Fingers From My Hair." When I first listened to the cover, I had wished the guys would have done more with it. However, after listening to it a few times, it grew on me (though I still like Zebra's original version better).

What was bittersweet about the video was Portnoy's comments about Zebra being a forgotten band. The band might not have experienced the commercial success of its debut effort, but for true fans, Randy, Felix and Guy were never forgotten. Missed, but not forgotten.

Want to listen to Zebra, enjoy:

Zebra

Want to listen to Dream Theater's version of "Take Your Fingers From My Hair?"

Take Your Fingers From My Hair...

Obama: The 8th Wonder of the World

2009-06-09T08:12:00.002-04:00

Read the Bible this summer

2009-06-01T00:00:00.002-04:00

Here is a reading to plan to get you through the Bible in just 92 days. The plan starts June 1 and runs through Aug. 31. It is an incredible exercise, and I encourage you to try it, you will not be the same. You will come away with a greater understanding of God's love for us and how God can use tragic circumstances to bless us.

Read Bible Over the Summer

Publish at Scribd or explore others: How-to-Guides & Manu bible reading plan

Ron Paul asks ... What If?

2009-05-31T22:20:00.003-04:00

During the run-up to the 2008 Presidential Election, I took a few of those online tests to determine which candidate best matched my views. In every one, my approach and philosophy of government aligned more with Ron Paul than with any other candidate. I always appreciated his passion for the Constitution and his Libertarian bent, but because I disagreed with him about the War in Iraq, I never really considered voting for him. I felt the Bush administration pursued a policy needed to protect this country. While I never considered Bush a conservative, I appreciated how he acted in a way to protect this country. However, Ron Paul's speech has me rethinking my position.

Rittman High School graduation

2009-05-31T11:54:00.001-04:00

Here are some scenes from the 114th commencement at Rittman (Ohio) High School.

Cars torched in Wayne County fire

2009-05-30T23:24:00.002-04:00

Here is some video footage I shot on my cell phone (a Palm Centro) of cars that were torched during a fire behind the Wayne County Care Center outside of Wooster on Memorial Day 2009.

Sonia and the rule of law

2009-05-29T00:06:00.001-04:00

Obama; Wafer-thin margin

2009-05-26T23:19:00.004-04:00

Rasmussen Reports.com notes on its site that the Daily Presidential Tracking poll has President Barack Obama's approval rating at +1, the second time he has reached this low point. Obama was last at +1 on May 2, 2009. His highest rating was +30 on Jan. 22, 2009. He has only been in double-digit positive territory once since March 6.

The +1 rating on Tuesday was before his his announcement of Sonia Sotamayor as his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. The influence of her nomination should show up within the next few days. As for this dip, it likely has to do with former Vice President Dick Cheney challenging President Obama on his decision to release the memos regarding the enhanced interrogation techniques and the president's own Democratic Party opposing him on closing the prison in Guantanamo Bay.

I thought for sure Obama would have dipped below zero by now, but he has not. He has come close, but has always rebounded. I will be watching to see if Sotamayor will be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Thank you, veterans

2009-05-25T08:59:00.001-04:00

When to remember, when to forget

2009-05-24T17:24:00.002-04:00

Here is a sermon I preached this morning at Lighthouse Christian Church outside of Orrville, Ohio. Some of the "code" you see in the sermon are FAS-favorable attention step; CT-central thesis; CS-clarification step; G-goal; ILL-illustration; and TS-transition sentence. I use a modified sermon outline taught to me by R.J. Kidwell at Cincinnati Christian University.

Remember Sermon Outline

Publish at Scribd or explore others: sermon creator

Constitutional Crisis

2009-05-21T22:18:00.001-04:00

Obama: My good friend, what's his name

2009-05-21T22:02:00.002-04:00

President Obama has no idea who is secretary of defense is. He refers to Secretary Robert Gates as William Gates. This, despite the ubiquitous and obligatory TelePrompter.

Free TelePrompter with every purchase

2009-05-20T23:54:00.002-04:00

The Great, Powerful Ozbama

2009-05-20T21:02:00.001-04:00

Geithner: Too early to look at unwinding U.S. ownership

2009-05-20T19:03:00.003-04:00

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) questions Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner about what will happen when TARP money is paid back (it will not necessarily go toward debt reduction) and when will the U.S. government return control of companies like GM and AIG (hint: not any time soon).

Gershwin meets progressive rock, LTE style

2009-05-20T07:17:00.003-04:00

Liquid Tension Experiment, which includes three from Dream Theater -- Mike Portnoy, John Pertrucci and Jordan Rudess - and Tony Levin, gives its rendition of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and it is incredible. I have been a Gershwin fan since the early 1990s when I heard the London Symphony Orchestra perform some of his compositions in Daytona Beach, and it is a pleasure to hear how "Dream Theater" treats one of Gershwin's most enduring and popular works, Rhapsody in Blue.

My wife and I recently watched a fictionalized biography of Gershwin on American Movie Classics. During the performances of An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue, I could not help but thinking if Gershwin had lived in these times, he might have been part of the progressive rock music scene. I believe he might be composing the type of music Dream Theater does.

I was happy to hear Liquid Tension Experiment performed -- and recorded -- Rhapsody in Blue. Below, you can see trailers for the deluxe DVD set being released later this year.

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:cfd9977e-105a-4d72-a106-c8edd06ab2b0&showPlaylist=true&from=msnvideo" target="_new" title="LTE Live in NYC DVD Trailer">Video: LTE Live in NYC DVD Trailer</a>

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:37ff9511-0cd8-4fec-9544-8154d1985fe0&showPlaylist=true&from=msnvideo" target="_new" title="LTE Live in LA DVD Trailer">Video: LTE Live in LA DVD Trailer</a>

Obama: The giver that keeps on gifting

2009-05-19T05:50:00.003-04:00

I have not read of any gift given by President Obama to Irsaeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the above was inspired by a tweet from @mkhammer.

Was Geithner separated at birth?

2009-05-16T19:12:00.000-04:00

You tell me, should Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner have been tapped to play Mr. Spock in the new Star Trek movie?

Update:
Here are two of the three Spocks with Jimmy Fallon.

Dish Network wrecks my Preakness

2009-05-16T18:50:00.003-04:00

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Thanks to Dish Network's satellite problems, service for my local NBC station dropped right before the gates dropped for the Preakness.

So, for those of you who are like me and did not get to see the video live, thanks to NBC Sports we can see the amazing race.

Jimmy Fallon Slow Jams the News, again

2009-05-16T17:06:00.002-04:00

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

If it's not print, this is not a bad way to deliver the news.

Obama: Puttin'a a cap in their checks

2009-05-16T07:08:00.004-04:00

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama said he was capping executive pay at financial institutions receiving government assistance (aka TARP/bailout money). He set the cap at $500,000, which he said was a fraction of what executive pay was.

I find this odd coming from a man who received $745 million in handouts in his run for president. Check out the graph from OpenSecrets.org showing how much he raised compared to the other presidential candidates, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Initially, Obama said he would accept public funding, and McCain agreed. Only McCain remained true to his word. As a result, McCain received far fewer handouts than Obama ($368 million).

So, Obama did not want to put a cap on what he could raise from the American taxpayers when he ran for office, but now he wants a cap on executive pay. Seems just a little hypocritical, doesn't it?

Dream Theater: A Rite of Passage video

2009-05-16T01:40:00.000-04:00

Obama: Is he really looking forward?

2009-05-15T23:42:00.006-04:00

Major Garrett of Fox News asked press secretary Robert Gibbs if President Barack Obama believed Nancy Pelosi's accusations that the CIA lied to her and misled her regarding briefings about enhanced interrogation techniques. Gibbs replied that the president believes the best thing to do is to look forward.

Funny Mr. Obama wants to look forward now. Every time something goes wrong, the first thing he does is to look back at the Bush-Cheney administration and blame it for the country's woes. All Mr. Obama wants to do is remind us he inherited this, that and the other thing from the previous administration. Obama and his appointees have spoken so often about inheriting problems from Bush that I jokingly tweeted how I wondered if Obama had to pay estate taxes because of all he has inherited.

I have no idea if Pelosi is lying or not, but Obama needs to be a man, take a stand and quit skirting the issue.

CNBC: Unions vs. Taxpayers

2009-05-15T23:22:00.003-04:00

Do the United States need to be more like socialist Europe? Should government redistribute wealth? Should taxpayers foot the bill for everyone's health care to drive down the cost for automakers? Check out the video from CNBC.

Pelosi: Surfin' USA?

2009-05-15T23:06:00.001-04:00

Community Organizer Tip No. 1

2009-05-15T07:53:00.003-04:00

Tell me this is not the future of the Bible

2009-05-13T08:11:00.002-04:00

Chaos and Harmony

2009-05-12T11:00:00.000-04:00

Obama's health plan

2009-05-12T09:55:00.004-04:00

Wages and prices often play leap frog

2009-05-12T09:53:00.003-04:00

Another of the Harding College cartoons explaining why America is the finest country in which to live. This time, it explains why the retail cost of goods is so much higher than the material costs.

Geithner: Capitalism will be different

2009-05-12T08:58:00.002-04:00

In the top video from YouTube Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says capitalism will be different. Will it be different because the government will control it instead of the private sector. Will Geithner's brand of capitalism be socialism?

The video below is the full program.

Wanda Sykes at correspondents' dinner

2009-05-11T09:38:00.000-04:00

Cheney: U.S. not in the torture business (CBS)

2009-05-11T08:42:00.004-04:00

Update
I took the video down because it kept autoplaying. I could not figure out how to turn that function off, though I changed the values for autoplay. Nothing worked.

Consequently, here is the link for Dick Cheney talking on Face the Nation about how the U.S. is not in the torture business. See story and watch video here.

Happy Mother's Day from Paul Potts

2009-05-10T12:19:00.001-04:00

Obama going 'off the cuff' at correspondents dinner

2009-05-10T07:50:00.001-04:00

Riding the Sippo Valley Trail

2009-05-09T21:04:00.005-04:00

After it looked like there was no more threat of rain, Wendi and I decided to take a ride on the Sippo Valley Trail, which, depending on how you look at it, either starts or terminates in Dalton, Ohio.

Instead of turning back once we reached the Stark County line, we decided to ride on the crushed limestone for a while. The Wayne County portion of the trail is paved, while the Stark side is not.

The ride was not too bad, though there were some spots that were a little soft due to the earlier rains. As we enjoyed the beautiful country side, we spotted the cows in a pasture, along with a horse. So, we decided to snap a photo for posterity.

We ended up riding 6.4 miles, averaging 9 mph.

Obama's next big public works program

2009-05-09T19:14:00.001-04:00

Condi Rohrschach Test

2009-05-09T11:32:00.004-04:00

If you think former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is losing it under the grilling of a student at Stanford University, you are likely an Obama supporter.

If you think former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is putting a gullible student in his place by schooling him on the realities of the world, you are likely a W. supporter.

Hit me with your best shot

2009-05-09T09:39:00.004-04:00

The number of Republicans continue to slip slightly while the number of Democrats in this country remain flat, RasmussenReports.com revealed earlier this week.

Yet, despite the decline, in a generic congressional ballot, the Republicans beat the Democrats by the thinnest of margins, 40-39. The margin of error is +/- 1 percentage point. So, realistically, the actual numbers could be switched.

However, given the popularity of President Barack Obama, one would think the Democrats would enjoy a comfortable lead. They have virtually had a lock, with relatively few exceptions, on the generic congressional ballot for at least the last year-and-a-half, based on RasmussenReports.com polls.

Add to this a Republican Party that has been in disarray since the final year of President George W. Bush's second term, when he seemingly became disengaged. Somehow, Sen. John McCain, long considered a RINO (Republican in name only) managed to win the party's nomination, and he ended up running an abysmal campaign. The only bright spot of the campaign, based on the base's reaction, was the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, and McCain seemed to never fully embrace her. (Could it be because she garnered more attention and adoration than he among the party faithful?)

The Republicans have failed to put forth a compelling and consistent message, yet despite all of their foibles, the Democrats are not pulling away in the generic poll. There has been much discussion about starting a third party among disaffected conservatives, those who think Republicans are merely Democrats-lite.

Given all of this, and the fact that there are fewer Republicans, can it be the Democrats are in for a tough 2010 election cycle?

When you hear a politican's flashy rhetoric, duck and cover

2009-05-09T08:48:00.000-04:00

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it

2009-05-09T08:21:00.003-04:00

Thanks to @Bob_Schaffer for the link to this cartoon from Harding College Extension Department made in 1948 to educate us as to what makes this country great.

Obama: Is he wearing his critics down?

2009-05-09T07:16:00.002-04:00

Barack Obama's Presidential Approval Index stood at +9 Friday, the highest mark since March 21, according to RasmussenReports.com. Obama's PAI started at +28 on Jan. 21, 2009, rose to +30 two days later, then generally has been in steady decline with some fluctuations.

After enjoying such high favorable numbers in the early days of his presidency, Obama has only cracked a double-digit PAI on two occasions since March 7, 2009. He reached a low point on May 2, 2009, when the Presidential Approval Index slipped to +1.

I think any number in positive territory is OK. As I stated before, even if it were zero, then there would be as many people who strongly approved of the president as who strongly disapproved -- and the rest would be in the middle. Consequently, it is balanced.

What intrigues me is how did it go from +1 to +9? What caused the movement? Is it that the president wants to go after those who shirk their responsibilities by not paying taxes? Well, what about all of his appointees who had personal tax problems? Was it because of causing a scare in New York with Air Force One, spending $329,000 on the photo op and not owning up to the responsibility? (Do you believe he really did not know where his plane was?)

Could it be something else? Are Americans just growing weary of Obama and his leftward advances? Perhaps Obama has just worn them down into submission. At any rate, he is at +9. I figured he would have dipped into negative territory by now.

GOP ad on Guantanamo

2009-05-08T22:08:00.002-04:00

Air Force One: A new era dawns

2009-05-08T21:18:00.003-04:00

Note: I updated the "cartoon" to make Obama look more like a statue. -- BW

Wooster Area National Day of Prayer

2009-05-08T06:42:00.001-04:00

Dream Theater: Free mp3 download

2009-05-06T21:35:00.004-04:00

Road Runner Records is offering a free download, for a limited time, of "Rite of Passage," a song from the upcoming Dream Theater release "Black Clouds & Silver Linings."

The opening of the song reminds me of the intro from "In the Name of God" from the "Train of Thought" album. This song is harder, like the "Train of Thought" songs.

The first listen I did not like it so much. Now on my third listen, I really like it. The download is for a limited time; the company said 24 hours, and I am not sure when the clock started ticking.

Enjoy.

Here is the "Train of Thought" songs:

Train of Thought - Dream Theat...

newsboys: New face, new voice ... almost

2009-05-05T08:01:00.002-04:00

The newsboys have a new release out today, In the Hands of God. The release features longtime frontman Peter Furler, however, live shows will not. Michael Tait, formerly of dc Talk, joined the band to sing at concerts.

Peter will still be involved with the band, including songwriting and production, but Tait will be the live voice for the newsboys. The band will be at the Alive Festival. According to the Web site, Peter will be making his final Alive appearance with the newsboys on June 20.

Here is In the Hands of God:

In The Hands Of God - Newsboys

Tim 'The Taxman' Geithner to hunt down other tax cheats

2009-05-04T21:36:00.002-04:00

When Jean Baird was honored

2009-05-03T22:00:00.002-04:00

Before Jean Baird passed away, she was recognized by the Wayne County Chapter of the American Red Cross as a community hero. Here is a short video of her being recognized.

No media bias in D.C., right?

2009-05-03T21:57:00.001-04:00

This video shows how the White House press corps responds when G.W. Bush walks into the press room and when B.H. Obama walks in.

Obama: Leftward, ho!

2009-05-03T12:18:00.000-04:00

Biking on the Sippo Valley Trail

2009-05-02T21:18:00.002-04:00

Wendi and I rode about 12 miles today on the Sippo Valley Trail from Dalton, Ohio, to the Stark County line. The Dalton/Wayne County side is paved and very nice. The Stark County side is crushed limestone. We rode on the Stark Count portion once, though we have been on the Dalton trail a number of times.

It took us about 1:10 minutes to ride the 12 miles. The paved trail is only 3 miles long between Dalton and Stark County, so we went there and back twice. Afterward, we ate sandwiches on a picnic table at the Village Green Park in Dalton. Very enjoyable day.

The first time Wendi and I went out this year was for a 3-mile ride through Secrest Arboretum on the campus of Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster. It will be good to see how we handle the hills this time. It was very difficult for me the first time out. We rode one, big loop. I hope we can do three big loops for a 9-mile ride.

Even the stones cry out for Churchill

2009-05-02T15:45:00.007-04:00

Give Us The Tools (1941) - Win...

Do Your Worst (1941) - Winston...

Uh, uh, Gibbsy, we have a problem

2009-05-02T08:23:00.001-04:00

Obama's first 100 days in photos

2009-05-02T08:10:00.003-04:00

Check out President Barack Obama's first 100 days through photographs from the White House's collection posted on Flickr here. I really appreciate Pete Souza's photos.

Over the Rhine doin' just fine

2009-05-01T23:26:00.005-04:00

Over the Rhine posted some photos from a recent concert in Texas on the band's Facebook page.

I became familiar with the band when I moved to Cincinnati in 1993 to study at Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary (now know collectively as Cincinnati Christian University). I was hooked from the moment I first heard them. Eve and Patience still rank high in my book; I love those releases.

Over the Rhine was a favorite of many students. While I have never seen the group in concert, I did get a chance to see them live, so to speak. I was working at a theater in Kenwood, and Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler were among those who showed up for a special screening of Shadowlands, a movie about C.S. Lewis starring Anthony Hopkins.

Enjoy some of the band's music:

Films For Radio - Over The Rhi...

Money, It's gotta be the shoes

2009-05-01T22:57:00.002-04:00

Followed a link on The Drudge Report to a story about first lady Michelle Obama's tennis shoes costing $540. I am not sure why everyone is so caught up with her having nice, designer tennis shoes.

The Obamas are not poor. They are not living paycheck to paycheck. They can afford them. What is the big deal.

I don't want the government regulating how much people in the private sector earn (whether there is taxpayer money involved or not ... if you don't like the way the business is operating don't give it any money), and I certainly don't want pundits and the like to tell people how much they can spend on tennis shoes, jeans, dresses, hair cuts and the like.

If the Obamas want to remove $540 from their budget to purchase a pair of shoes, then let them. Never mind what the money could do (like sponsor a child for nearly a year-and-a-half through Compassion International), it does not matter.

This is supposedly still a free country where people can make decisions like what to wear, what to buy and what to enjoy. No matter how hypocritical it might appear given her husband's penchant to steal from the rich to give to the poor, it is still their right to spend their money how they see fit.

If the shoe fits, you must acquit. No, wait a minute. If the shoe fits, wear it.

They want private health insurance to fail

2009-05-01T17:29:00.004-04:00

Rush Limbaugh was taken to task (and taken out of context) when he said he wanted President Barack Obama to fail. The context of what he said was that if Obama pursues policies aligned with socialism, then he wants him to fail.

Listen to the crowd's reaction in the above video as U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) talks about how Obama's health care reform will not allow the private insurance industry to be competitive. Listening to the crowd, I get the sense they want the private insurance industry to fail. How many people are employed in the industry?

I guess if it is wrong to hope one man fails, then it must be a greater travesty to want a whole industry to fail and millions of people lose jobs, causing financial hardship to families and children.

You're kidding me? Who posted this pic?

2009-04-30T23:17:00.004-04:00

With all of the criticism President Obama is receiving about being a socialist, who in the White House would post this pic on www.WhiteHouse.gov? I am not going to say what it reminds me of, but isn't it obvious? This is a teachable moment for the Web administrator.