The very charming and always entertaining Stevie Jackson of Belle and Sebastian performed a solo show at Mercury Lounge last night along with Richard Buckner and the 1900′s. Photo taken by WFMU DJ Michael Shelley in the well heated basement of the venue. From left to right: Matador food blogger Patrick Amory, myself, SJ.

Or as Van Morrison might’ve sung had he had the chance, “it’s a marvelous night for a Moondance (Diner to haul ass to Wyoming on the back of a truck”).

I realize Patrick’s culinary skills are intimidating, but this is ridiculous.

WFMU’s Brian Turner has the sad news here.

This is the tastiest meal I’ve made since I started food blogging, even though it sounds the least exciting. The rice pilau dish from Bhopal is a Madhur Jaffrey recipe. It’s basmati rice with carrots and peas, and is astonishingly complicated to make despite that simple description. However it’s also incredibly fun, stretching over 2 hours of cooking including a lot of vigorous stir-frying. The flavors are subtle and aromatic, the result of a lot of whole spices fried in ghee, including black cardamom, cloves, black cumin seed, cinnamon stick and whole mace.

It was so more-ish that I didn’t use most of the intense pickles in the pictures (as much as I love Indian pickles). The main accompaniment was an apple yogurt relish. This uses toasted black cumin seeds, which delivers one of the more intoxicating smells known to mankind, plus grated granny smith apple, ginger, cayenne and salt in a high-quality yogurt. High-quality yogurt should look something like the picture below.

Paying homage to Ronald Thomas Clonte, Matador Direct’s Dave Martin writes,

As you all know, we were rather ambitious with the New Pornographers’ Buy Early Get Now endeavor, but now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The first disc of b-sides etc. is complete and today the live disc “Live From the Future” is being posted on the BEGN site and folks are being notified about it.  That only leaves the last disc of photos and videos to be completed and we are anxiouslyi awaiting the final cut of the new “Myriad Harbour” video.  We expect to have that in house and ready to go out to everyone by the end of January.  As I said we realized that the scope of this thing was a bit too grand, however we were pretty confident that once it was all done we would have a really fantastic companion to the “Challengers” album.

Hey, take that LA Times.  Like Mark McGwire, we’re not here to talk about the past. Unless you wanna talk about the past year the band and various label persons slaved to assemble a fun, sprawling package that represents a fantastic deal.

Get Fuzzy, so in touch with the cultural zeitgeist (link courtesy Edward Edwards). Conversely, there’s a recent strip where “Garfield” urinates all over a Truman’s Water tee, but we’re having trouble finding it online.

It sounds like botanical latin but actually it’s a Mexican recipe for steak baked with poblano chiles, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, garlic and red potatoes. It was supposed to be made with Anaheim chiles but I couldn’t find them. I had it with a bottle of Galician red and frozen peas. The recipe was from the doyenne of Mexican cooking who improbably enough is named Diana Kennedy. Thanks to Nils for the Mexican tipz.

About 50 (fucking) times a year I’ll do an interview with some self-styled music biz journalist who figures “the changing state of the industry” (Radiohead download, RIAA, BestBuy, Cat Power diamond commercial, iTunes, 360 deals, LiveNation, Kil Slug reunion, blah blah blah) means there’s a great opportunity for Matador to snap up all the awesome talent that’s falling through the cracks in major label-land. Said mind blowing proposition usually comes 5 minutes before or after I’m asked “how has the internet changed how you do business?” (Answer : “it provides endless opportunities to be asked that question via electronic mail”)

If you’re thinking of posing such a question in a future interview, please, by all means, call someone at Anti, Yep Roc, Merge, or Audible Hiss Fatal Errection instead.   But knowing that you folks have a very important job to do in writing-about-the-music-business, I’ll throw you the following bone :

We’re not signing this guy, either.

Pork chops with vinegar peppers is a classic Tri-State Area Italian-American dish (maybe they have it in the rest of America – I don’t know). The key is to use the hot little cherry peppers they make in New Jersey (referenced in an earlier food post), and, according to a recipe found on Google, to cook the chops in a half-cup of the pickling liquid from the cherry pepper jar. And I think it’s right.

If you do this at home, it’s almost always gonna be better than what you get at a restaurant, where they always cook pork chops to dryness to avoid health scare type problems. Pork chops are difficult, at least modern, lean varieties: they go from undercooked and raw to overcooked and dry in about 30 seconds, and you have to identify that precise moment to take them out. That said, if you follow the recipe linked above, you’ll definitely end up with raw chops unless you have unusually thin ones (like a half-inch). Mine were an inch and required 4-5 minutes a side and then 4-5 minutes with the pepper pickling liquid and the top on. I grabbed them at more or less the right time, and they were delicious. Served with white rice (for the sauce) and brussel sprouts.

Full respect to Chris Lombardi, who gave me the idea to cook this tonight.

Video link ripped off from Radosh.net. Hey, some of us have been laughing at Herc for years.

To herald the release of ‘Old Growth’, Dead Meadow will be playing some of their larger overseas shows on the continent to date — if the Scala gig isn’t their biggest London headlining event, somebody please correct me.

27/02/08 : Paradiso – Amsterdam (NL)
28/02/08 : VK – Brussel (B)
29/02/08 : Vera – Groningen (NL)
02/03/08 : Scala – London (UK)
03/03/08 : King Tuts – Glasgow (UK)
04/03/08 : The Cluny – Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK)
05/03/08 : Night & Day – Manchester (UK)
06/03/08 : Fibbers – York (UK)
07/03/08 : Clwb Ifor Bach – Cardiff (UK)
08/03/08 : Leeds (UK)
09/03/08 : Cafe De La Danse – Paris (F)
18/03/08 : Bronson – Ravenna (I)
19/03/08 : Init – Roma (I)

additional dates will be announced soon.

Prior to hitting the studio in March, Jennifer O’Connor has the following shows confirmed.  She’d love to see you there and so would we – and we’ve got closed circuit cameras installed in most of the venues, so that old trick of “I was standing in the back” isn’t going to work this time.

Jan 12 – Big Orbit’s Soundlab, Buffalo NY (with Jax DeLuca)
Jan 18 – Black Cat, Washington DC
Jan 19 – World Cafe Downstairs, Philadelphia, PA
Feb 2 – Paradise, Boston MA
Feb 7 – The Independent, San Francisco CA
Feb 8 – Troubador, Los Angeles CA
Feb 9 – The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA
Feb 10 – Belly Up’s Tavern, San Diego CA

1/18-2/10 are supporting Rhett Miller.  In addition, Ms. O’Connor will be playing the Love Hangover show at Pete’s Candy Shop on February 15 with Amy Bezunartea

I saw Lidia Bastianich prepare this on TV and have made it a few times since. I love how she calls this a “5-minute” recipe. Sure, there may be only 5 minutes of actual cooking, but cleaning, peeling and deveining a pound of shrimp, chopping a half-cup of garlic, a bunch of scallions and a third-cup of parsley take some time. Still it’s pretty straightforward and really delicious. I used wild Florida shrimp from Grand Central Market for this one. For the pepperoncini I used hot cherry peppers from New Jersey, the kind they have at Pat’s King of Steaks. I don’t think it’s health city… half-cup of olive oil, 4 tablespoons of butter, but probably better for me than the hamburger. bleachy feeling GOOD tonight! bleachy feeling REAL GOOD!

OK, despite finishing a distant last place in both parties’ totals from yesterday’s Iowa caucus, Times New Viking aren’t about to take this disappointment lying down.

a) the LP and CD versions of ‘Rip It Off’ (January 22) are available for preorder now. Order direct from Matador and you’ll get a free poster. Not one of Farah Fawcett, but a very attractive poster just the same.

b) “DROP-OUT” (MP3)

c) upcoming live activity :

Fri – Jan-25 Columbus OH Wexner Center For The Arts (with The Ponys and Endless Boogie)
Sat – Jan 26 – Cleveland OH Beachland Ballroom / Tavern
Fri-Feb-15 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre
Sat-Feb-16 Chicago, IL Metro
Sun-Feb-17 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
Mon-Feb-18 Buffalo, NY Tralf Music Hall
Wed-Feb-20 Toronto, ONT Mod Club
Thu-Feb-21 Montreal, QUE Cabaret
Fri-Feb-22 Ithaca, NY Cornell University
Sat-Feb-23 Boston, MA Paradise
Mon-Feb-25 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

2/15-2/25 dates are supporting Super Furry Animals

(pic courtesy KEXP)

Fri 01/25/08 Portland OR Doug Fir Lounge
Sat 01/26/08 Seattle WA Neumos
Wed 01/30/08 Bellingham WA Western Washing University – Underground Coffeehouse
Thu 01/31/08 Vancouver BC Media Club

…with more shows to come in April.

March
19-Minneapolis @ First Avenue
20-Milwaukee @ Pabst Theater
21-Chicago @ Vic Theatre
22-Indianapolis IN @ Vogue Theater
23-Newport KY @ Southgate House
25-Nashville @ Mercy Lounge
26-Atlanta @ Variety Playhouse
28-Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
29-Philadelphia @ Fillmore
31-New York @ Bowery

April
2-Brooklyn NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
3-Boston@ Paradise Rock Club
4-North Adams MA @ MASS MoCA

“Baltimore” (mp3, taken from the forthcoming CD/LP ‘Real Emotional Trash’)

(UPDATE – sorry. It turns out the Philly and DC dates aren’t yet confirmed. When and if they’re finalized, we’ll be posting something to that effect.  Apologies for the confusion).

On the other hand, it totally kills those spots for ‘In Rainbows’.

(live at Little Radio’s Christmas bash, pic taken from Countess Of Maybe‘s Flickr page)

We’ll interrupt recipe corner for a minute to announce the following Dead Meadow dates, all designed to call attention to the pending release of their ‘Old Growth’ opus. CD + ticket bundles are still available for the January 16 show in NYC, but they’re going fast.

Jan 16 2008 9:00P Bowery Ballroom New York, New York
Feb 5 2008 8:00P Echoplex Los Angeles
Feb 6 2008 8:00P The Casbah San Diego
Feb 7 2008 8:00P Solar Culture Gallery Tucson
Feb 10 2008 8:00P Emo’s Jr., Austin, Texas
Feb 12 2008 8:00P The Opolis Norman, Oklahoma
Feb 13 2008 8:00P The Mink Houston, Texas
Feb 15 2008 8:00P One Eyed Jacks New Orleans, Louisiana
Feb 16 2008 8:00P Jack Rabbits Jacksonville, Florida
Feb 17 2008 8:00P The Social Orlando, Florida
Feb 18 2008 8:00P The Earl Atlanta, Georgia
Feb 19 2008 8:00P Tasty World Athens, Georgia
Feb 21 2008 8:00P The Grey Eagle Asheville, North Carolina
Feb 22 2008 8:00P The Pilot Light Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 23 2008 8:00P The Soapbox Laundrolounge Wilmington, North Carolina
Feb 27 2008 8:00P Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

“What Needs Must Be” – from ‘Old Growth’ (mp3)

This hamburger is about to be eaten. It took me two minutes to do so. It’s based on a recipe by James Beard. The ground beef is mixed thoroughly with half a grated onion, about 2-3 tbs heavy cream, and freshly ground pepper. It’s then cooked in butter and oil over high heat in a cast iron pan for about 5 minutes a side, so that it’s totally seared on the outside and very rare in the inside. As you can see, it’s served on a buttered English muffin. No condiments are needed – just salt and maybe a slice of onion. It’s buttery, onion-y, fatty and heavy. I ate it with a side of boiled, buttered green beans. I think now I’ll have a Tahiti cookie for dessert.

Above is the third chili that I’ve made over the holidays. I’m following the über-purist teachings of John Thorne, who devotes a chapter to Texas Red in his book ‘Serious Pig.’ No beans, no tomatoes, no toppings. The basic ingredients are fat, fire and meat. To make the fire, I ground up various combinations of dried chilis. This edition uses about two-thirds anchos and pasillas, and about a third guajillos, pequins and a little bit of African birdseye. Breaking with the purism a bit, I also added three fresh scotch bonnets, an onion, garlic, salt, some cumin and some Mexican oregano. The meat is cubed chuck with a little bit of ground beef as a thickener, and the fat was cut off a piece of top sirloin and then rendered (I would have preferred suet, but it’s hard to find in my neighborhood.)

When this picture was taken, the chili had another 3 hours to go.