Artichoke Pizza

I'm having a lot of fun with artichokes these days. The ones I use are canned, as I have yet to find fresh ones, but it's still something different than the ingredients I have used regularly in the past. The artichoke has that slightly sour and fresh taste, a bit like asparagus, but a bit more unique. It goes extremely well with peppered steaks or chicken, and in wok with soy sauce.

The artichoke pizza is an idea I'm loaning from the pizza restaurant in New York, aptly named Artichoke Pizza. What struck me then was the absence of tomato sauce, which I had always assumed was essential for any pizza. Instead, they used a cream-based sauce with artichokes. I loved it, and I had intentions of recreating this masterpiece.

I usually make a great pizza, and I ended up trumping Artichoke Pizza's artichoke pizza. The dough played a big part in this, but also the addition of meatballs. Because, you know, meatballs.

Either way, read on for a recipe on how to make an artichoke pizza.

Two Hot Dog Sauces

Crif Dogs was inspiring.

Ever since I ate at Crif Dogs in New York, I've been thinking of doing some hot dog sauces. When ever I have eaten hot dogs in the past, I have usually added ketchup and mustard. That's fine and all, really, if you want your entire meal to taste like ketchup and mustard. But the relatively powerful taste of the pre-fabricated sauces tend to hide the taste of the dog itself, and the entire meal ends up tasting vinegar.

So why not make your own sauce?

At Crif Dogs, I had a fantastic dog with something that resembled salsa sauce and a sour cream sauce. That's where I began.

First up was a tomato based sauce. I added garlic, basil, onion and tomatoes, everything very finely chopped. I also included salt and cayenne pepper, a tiny drop of vinegar before I ran it a round or two with the handheld blender.

Next up was the sour cream sauce. A couple of table spoons sour cream. Again with garlic, salt and a serious amount of black pepper. This one also had thyme.

And that was it. Definitely my new favorite way of eating hot dogs! Use them one at the time, or simultaneously. Enjoy your dogs!

How to make a Meatball Pizza

It's hard to argue against the awesomeness of a meatball pizza, and I will assume most readers will know how to make their own variant of the king among pies. I will try to keep this short and simple with no nonsense. No anecdotes about vacations, no pictures of cats or dogs, no rants about brand managers who just fail to see the reason why people are reluctant to order the subscriptions.

So click in for nothing else but meatball pizza.

Snack for Dog on Warm Days

Any small container will do. You can use an ice cube tray if you want the dog to have an easier way to the snack. 

Layer of meat, water, in the freezer for 30 minutes - repeat. 

"What, I have to work for my snack now??"

This is like they feed polar bears in zoos. 

"Can I have some more?"

The evil of foods is a master of deception

And it should come as no surprise. It's called the "eggplant" after all. Disguised as the best thing in the world, all the while being the worst thing you can imagine.

Here's a picture of the evil vegetable while still infants. Why people don't just let them rot, I can't understand. But then again, people are weird and on a general basis have extremely poor taste.

In more cheerful news, the summer is gradually making its presence known, and I encourage you all too light up that meat, and enjoy an eggplant-free barbecue season!

Outdoor Wieners

Title may be silly, but the winter has been long, and why not celebrate it? The first barbecue of the season may have been extremely simple as you probably can see, but it was non the less relieving.
So yes, to celebrate that the snow was gone, me and the girlfriend went out in the woods and cooked wieners.

Dinner in New York

When the trip is over, all you really have left are the memories. But while you're there, you actually need fuel. We are nothing but animals, and the food is essential. So why not make the best out of the situation? We wanted to avoid the random encounters, where you just stumble hungry into the first place you see. Mostly to avoid places that got by exclusively through hungry tourists randomly dropping in. But also because we wanted to experience New York by way of eating.

We wanted New York in the form of food.

We did some research in advance. We watched a few travel guides, browsed the net, and asked locals where the good places to eat in New York was. The result was a google map cluttered with potential restaurants, and an extremely simple way of making sure there always was a relevant alternative nearby when the hunger growled like an angry wolf.

Read on!

Breakfast, lunch and brunch in New York

It should come as no surprise that there are many places to get good food in New York. But it's also no secret that many tourists tend to seek the familiar and safe option. In some cases, I even suspect it's tempting to eat cheap when on holidays. I can understand this, not everyone prioritizes food when they're on trips. And sure enough, you won't have to look long or far for the $1 burger meal in NYC. But it's really nothing to write home about. Literally.

We did it a bit differently. Read on for the first of three articles with details on where to eat in New York City. This first one is about breakfast, lunch and brunch. Enjoy!

Christmas 2012 Impressions

Rest assured, this will not be the last time I write about the Christmas of 2012. I have a big, and somewhat expected article coming up. Loyal readers will understand what I'm talking about. But I'd like to share a few images from Christmas eve. In our country, the main day for celebrating Christmas is the 24th. And I'm not sure I like it. It's almost like we try to cram everything Christmas into one day. Big dinner with the family, gift giving, vacation. That last part is definitely taking a bit hit in our Christmas celebration, and probably many others' too.

Anyway, we ended up eating well. Reindeer, this Christmas, like last. It's a tradition within our family, and it's fantastic. Reindeer is lean, and tasteful. It has that wild taste, but it doesn't force itself on you, like elk or deer easily can do. Reindeer is not a common meal for Christmas in Norway, certainly not in comparison to the other traditional Christmas meals. Sauce, potatoes, various vegetables, sausages, wine, liquor, the works. Dessert was lemon fromage.

Presents were opened, and my nephew - a fellow brick buddy - got tons of Lego. The poor guy almost got nothing but Lego. I too got lots of Lego, some of it I have shown in the blog already (it was Rorschach, from the Watchmen, by the way). Some is yet to be featured.
I couldn't help him finish the NinjaGo (sic?) boat. But it looked awesome on the box -_-.

Question is if this is the last Christmas he'll wish for Ninjago for Christmas. I believe Lego's new theme, the anthropomorphic action theme Chima, will be the next big thing for the kids. It certainly doesn't look too original (Battle Beasts anyone?), and the play feature, with push-driven battling vehicles, isn't impressing anyone.
But it's Lego. Never bet against the bricks.

How to make nachos...

Renovating an apartment is taking it's toll. I failed to publish anything - even a simple picture - last Friday and this Monday, and I apologize to loyal readers of Toys and Bacon blog.

But things are shaping up, and a friend told me I should get used to having lots of spare time as soon as the apartment is done.

As an update, I can tell you that the kitchen is gradually taking shape. It is a temporary solution, as I aim to redo the entire kitchen. But for now, it will do. A few final touches, like painting the horrific original floor in a more neutral color, and we're talking business. But that's not to say I'm not making food. I have assembled quite possibly the greatest piece of furniture in the world (yes, better than the late, great Benjamin), which I will show in better detail on Friday, and I've gotten used to not having induction plates. So I'm making food again. Simple stuff for now, more complex stuff will follow in the near future.

Today: One way to make nachos. Read on!

What's for supper?

Renovating a house becomes a lot easier when supper looks like this...

What is Best in Life?

You've seen the movie, or at the very least the scene. Conan the Barbarian sits with fellow warriors and questions the meaning of life. The chief asks his men what the best in life is.

This is relevant. After all, the tag line of this blog is "the good things in life". Do I think that cool toys and great food are the best things in life? Well, if I claimed toys to be the best thing in life, I would be very materialistic. But at the same time there is a certain truth to it. Opening a cool action figure, building Lego, looking at massive collections, reading up on the history of toys, talking about toys with others. All this makes me happy, as any hobby would to an enthusiast.


Food, on the other hand, is necessary for a life, and good food makes a good life.
For instance a decent, spontaneous barbecue. Chicken, sausage bits, meatballs, mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, all drenched in a mix of barbecue sauce and hot chili sauce. Grilled out in the open.

Good food means a good life. I would argue that this is universal. At least it goes hand in hand. A good life will give opportunities to obtain, cook and eat good food, and good food will for most people improve life quality.

Conan, though, is not most people. The other, lesser warriors try to give a valid answer to what is best in life, and ramble on about riding horses and watching the ocean. The chief denies them, and lets Conan give the correct one. To crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of the women. That is best in life.

Now, obviously I don't condone the act of killing your enemies, but then again, Conan never says a word about killing. I get where Conan is coming from, and I absolutely agree that there is an intense satisfaction in defeating your opponents. There are many ways in doing so. It could be in sports, simply defeating the opposing team or athlete. It could be proving those who never believed you wrong. It could be defeating your own doubts in yourself. Am I reading too much into a quote from an old movie? Maybe, but people are reading a lot more into lesser mediums than Conan the Barbarian (1982). Finally, to witness crying women is not my thing, but I can't fault Conan for taking pleasure in such things.

I still maintain my initial perspective though. The best things in life are cool toys and great food... among other things.

Summer burger

Most people are aware how easy it is to make a burger, and  I like the fact that you can put basically anything into the burger. Both between the bread, and inside the actual burger mixture. Summer is the season for barbecue and burgers. Here's one way to do it...

Tips for dinner: Pork Tenderloin with Salad

This was something a friend made this weekend, and it was worth sharing. Pork tenderloin is a lot cheaper than beef, but is in my opinion one of the tastier parts of the pig. Along with bacon, obviously.

Give the tenderloin a quick round in the frying pan, just to add a crust. This will contain the juices, and it's definitely worth doing, as pork will easily become too dry. Rub lemon, garlic, salt and pepper on the tenderloin, and put it inside the pre-heated oven at 125° C, and use a thermometer to time it. When the thermometer is between 70-76  °C, the tenderloin is done, depending on how pink you want the meat. Let it rest for a few minutes after you take it out.

Salad of cucumber, tomato, sweet pepper, feta cheese, olive oil, basil.
Enjoy.

What's Inside a Burger? (plus a T&B100 Teaser)

In the past, I've believed that the pizza was the best all-round dinner. You could put what ever you want on it, and you could customize the same pizza for different tastes. I still believe this to be true, but naturally there are many meals that have this form of customizations. Anything from tacos to pancakes are versatile in the way that you can alter the content to your preferences without changing the main theme of the meal.

But enough with the philosophy, what follows are two burgers with different content.

More Burgers

This was initially meant to be just a remake, with better pictures of the same burger I made last week. But when I was missing an ingredient, this turned slightly different.

Read on for more burgers!

Composing a burger

In any other situation, I would be embarrassed to show pictures of such low quality, but the importance of the topic is far too important for me to not write about it. This is just one of those cases where no one can be silent, not a single person will show ambivalence, it affects literally everyone!

How do you compose the perfect hamburger?

Read on for low quality pictures, high quality burgers and choices that will echo through eternity and decisions that will affect this world as well as other realities.

Two new ways of doing the steak (do you take the challenge?)

I write this for my sister mainly. I know she reads my blog, and I know she likes a good steak (who doesn't?). So here are two ways of doing the standard steak that may be slightly different than how we usually prepare it. One will have an impact on the taste, the other will affect the structure of the steak.

1. Marinade with citrus or other fruits. 
This one requires that you prepare the steak beforehand. Arrange the steak as you'd like it, cut it into the size you want to eat. Then simply make a marinade with citrus fruits or other sour tasting stuff, like Kiwi and grapes. I suggest not mixing too many different tastes, but one can't go wrong with the orange/lime combo.
Leave the steaks in the marinade for 3 hours. Make sure they are properly soaked, and make sure there are no carnivores lurking around.
This will in theory give the steak a slightly different taste, but realistically, it will still taste steak. Serve with a strong tasting sauce to contrast the faint taste of sour.

2. Submerge the steak in water 
Ok, this one is pushing the boundaries of what we think will work. But it also makes sense when you think about it. You don't want to have a well done steak. The taste disappears and it becomes difficult to chew. The good steak is rare, or at the very least medium rare. This doesn't mean it's raw inside, but it should be barely cooked, red, bloody, delicious.
The deal with this method is to encase the steak in something waterproof, like a vacuum packed plastic, then submerge it in water at 55° Celsius for a while. The time depends on the size of the steak, but since it's not boiling, you don't have to be that careful.
When you want, just fry the steak intensely on both sides for a few seconds, just to create a crust. The idea is that the entire steak will be rare/medium rare, and not just the center.

Enjoy!

On the question of burgers

I just felt like updating on a Sunday instead of a Monday. For you regular readers, don't be alarmed. There's nothing sinister going on. The sun will still rise, the Earth's axial tilt is still 23.44°, and Toys and Bacon will still continue to be updated Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Most people are aware how simple it is to make their own burgers, and how to make them infinitely better than anything you'll get from the fast food chains. It cannot even be considered the same category. Luckily you can also get good burgers many places, but at a considerably higher price.

Making them yourself is neither difficult nor expensive, and I'll do a proper "how-to" soon. Probably during the G.I. Joe month. Yup, I just announced a full month of G.I. Joe themed articles. I'll sneak in quite a bit of food talk though, among profiles, top 10 lists, comparisons of G.I. Joe figures and vehicles. Still haven't decided what month this will be though. Could be March, could be June.

But back to the burger.

Here's the recipe:
400-500g minced beef of high quality
1 egg
1 tablespoon wheat flour
1-2 teaspoons salt
Lots of pepper
1/4 finely chopped onion
Optional: Tiny bits of feta cheese.
Optional: Finely chopped chili

Mix together, shape them as large and flat as you can.
In the pan on medium temperature. Use margarine or oil.

Throw on a slice of cheese when you turn the burgers. Serve with bread, or not.  Tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, onions, etc, if you want to make that stereotypical burger. And to be honest, you want to. Make it a monumental burger by throwing bacon into the mix.

Enjoy!

6 Quick Tips and Tricks in the Kitchen

Worry not! I'm here to save the day once more. Well, at least in the same way I did when I recommended you to have sharpened knives in the kitchen. These are fairly obvious tips. But that doesn't make them bad.

Read on. You may learn something new.