Burnt Masala Wings

This is a spin on a Bon Appetite recipe. Instead of the tamarind glaze of the original recipe, at the end I powdered the piping hot wings with a mix of the burnt masala and some amchur (dry mango) powder, the latter providing the tang of the tamarind without the liquid. Definitely a top ten wing recipe!

For the burnt masala (which I make in mass and use in place of garam masala in quite a few recipes) just dry roast this 10 to 15 minutes at 425:

• 8 black cardamom pods
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 3 chiles de árbol
• 2 cinnamon sticks (2" long)
• 1 Tbsp. black peppercorns
• 1½ tsp. whole cloves

Original Bon Appetit recipe: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/burnt-masala-chicken-wings

Japanese Potato Salad

This is the best potato salad.

Maybe it's the Kewpie, maybe it's the mushed semi hard boiled egg, maybe it's the crunchy cucumbers, maybe the ham, maybe the spin I did with corn and peas. Or maybe Kenji's technique of vinegaring and salting the potatoes while they're still hot was key. Whatever, this was a delight!

Before and After

Thanks for the exceptionally cool Solar System tat, Rafael @ Two Cranes Tattoo in SF Chinatown!

(This is my first tattoo and now I totally have the tattoo bug!)

Getting inked in Chinatown!

A different kind of carbonara

This method for carbonara appeared in a W2 Kitchen video on the history of Carbonara and I think it's my favorite!

Fry up the guanciale (or ham in my case, as that's all I had) in butter, toss the cooked pasta in the remaining fat, then in a bowl mix the pasta with an egg yolk. Top it all with cheese (parm in my case because I don't like the sheepiness of pecorino) and mix it all together.

It's pretty dry but I like that about it. Might not be for everyone but give it a try!

Top Gun BBQ

Top Gun's lesser known bar scene (I think the one where they sing to the hot blonde lady is more known) was apparently filmed at this Kansas City BBQ spot in San Diego.

Field Fireworks

It's Star Wars fire works day at Petco. That means fireworks .... launched literally from the fields!

I'm not complaining or anything, but the amount of smoke buildup in the stadium made me wonder how they got the fire chief to approve this thing!

Same sport, same state, but for some reason San Diegoans are allowed to buy beer until 30 minutes after the Padres game ends, not until the 7th inning like every Bay Area ballpark.

Tacos El Franc

I don't now who Franc is but these are the best tacos, in Tijuana (where I first had them last year) and in Gaslamp too.

Date Night

Just me, myself and one of the finest trouts I've ever had, at Rustic Root in Gaslamp.