Ben Weber: All Things to All People

Watch Deli Proof Collective’s AXE ad! DUDE DON’T DO...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:25:20 -0400

Watch Deli Proof Collective’s AXE ad!

DUDE DON’T DO DOSSIER VOL. 3: FITNESS FRO

Watch Deli Proof Collective’s AXE ad! DUDE DON’T...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:24:17 -0400

Watch Deli Proof Collective’s AXE ad!

DUDE DON’T ‘DO DOSSIER VOL. 2: MR. HAIRSPRAY

Watch Deli Proof Collective’s AXE ad! DUDE DON’T...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:23:00 -0400

Watch Deli Proof Collective’s AXE ad!

DUDE DON’T ‘DO DOSSIER VOL. 1: LAZY CAVEMAN

Video

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:52:14 -0400

Video

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:50:05 -0400

Video

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:49:22 -0400

Let’s do this, folks! Comedy Night at BAMcafé PROMO...

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:51:00 -0400

Let’s do this, folks!

Comedy Night at BAMcafé

PROMO #1

Cast: Ben Weber, Meg Griffiths, Nick Packard
Directed by Katy Jarzebowski
Special Thanks!: Alex Farlow, David & Sally Weber, Daniel Goldman, Jay Twitchell, Sophie Shepherd
Music: “Moon Pie” by Poncho Sanchez

Job Sense!: Raph's Response

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:17:00 -0400

Raph says:

Greetings, Ben Weber and Loyal Constituents,

Like a desert oasis, Ben has offered me an opportunity to talk about my job. I teach remedial reading in a high school, which means my days are rich with infuriating, adorable, hormonal teenaged people, whose stories I would be delighted to share with you. Here’s a sample:

Amanuel
One time Amanuel was late to class, and crawled into the room on his hands and knees so as not to disrupt anyone. On cultural diversity day, he was the only student who dressed up in a cultural relevant costume, a full-body Ethiopian linen shirt and pants. He looked kind of sheepish, but he kept it up the entire day. One time Amanuel asked me if right whales are called that because they have strong moral fiber.

Jhovany
I was in a meeting with a student’s parent and another teacher, and Jhovany walked into the room to tell me that he’d seen me walking downtown the day before.

Ryan
Ryan and I are buddies, and by buddies I mean we ride the bus together in the morning and he likes to throw stuff at my head. One time I got new shoes and told him I don’t like it when new sneakers haven’t been broken in yet, and he proceeded to stomp on my foot, hard. Ryan was in a really crappy bike accident, which involved slamming into a parked car, and he enjoys grossing me out by describing the way he can feel a stray bone floating around in his face somewhere in the vicinity of his nose. I call him Lego Man, because he’s falling apart like he’s made of Legos. He enjoys the nickname, possibly a bit too much— the other day he called me Lego Lady, so it may be time to retire that one.

Stay tuned for more of Raph’s Response coming soon!

This is a response to this week’s assignment.

What’s the deal with this?

Pirouettes As a kid, I loved pirouette cookies by Pepperidge...

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:00:00 -0400

Pirouettes

As a kid, I loved pirouette cookies by Pepperidge Farm. Light and delicate, the tube shape also makes them fun to eat. Over the holidays, a neighbor made some cat’s tongues, for which I am still awaiting the recipe, and the cookies reminded me of flattened pirouettes—shaped like a cat’s tongue, of course. Once I get the recipe from her, I will be sure to share it here. While waiting for the recipe, I got to thinking about making pirouettes, especially since they go really well with gelato (see photo from my last post about gianduja gelato). When I noticed that this recipe calls for just egg whites and the gianduja gelato needed the yolks, I knew I had to make them together.

Poop by Snowy

Text by Brian

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/

What’s the deal with this?

Oatmeal Cookies Last week my son and I had our violin/viola...

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:00:00 -0400

Oatmeal Cookies

Last week my son and I had our violin/viola recitals and our teacher asked me to bring some cookies. I decided to make some oatmeal cookies since it has been a while since I made them. I like this recipe because the cookies are a little chewy, and I remember most oatmeal cookies I had as a kid being kind of dry and hard.

Oatmeal cookies always seem like they are supposed to be better for your health, but I don’t think I completely buy into that theory. It’s pretty much the same amount of butter and sugar as most any other cookie. Maybe the added raisins or optional craisins (dried cranberries) are supposed to convert the skeptics.

Poop by Neva

Text by Brian

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/

What’s the deal with this?

Wheaties Cookies These cookies are both chewy and crunchy thanks...

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:00:00 -0400

Wheaties Cookies

These cookies are both chewy and crunchy thanks to the oats and coconut inside and the crispy Wheaties flakes outside. The high amount of sugar also contributes to a softer cookie. You could probably lower the sugar to 3/4 cup each and replace with more flour and/or oatmeal if you wanted a less chewy cookie. I remember my mother baking these with a maraschino cherry half placed in the center. They don’t travel as well with the cherry, however.

Poop by Dumbo

Text by Brian

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/

What’s the deal with this?

Snickerdoodles A simple cookie with a silly name, Snickerdoodles...

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:00:00 -0400

Snickerdoodles

A simple cookie with a silly name, Snickerdoodles are an easy cookie to make and go great with tea. These cookies are actually pretty common, but not everyone knows them by name. They are pretty bullet-proof as far as cookie recipes go and the low number of ingredients means you can almost always make these without a trip to the store. Cream of tartar may not be in your pantry and is essential to help activate the baking soda given the simple nature of this recipe. You have to really try hard to mess these up. The visual cues to their done-ness are pretty evident. If only molasses softies or other dark-dough cookies were so easy to tell done-ness by sight.

Poop by Lola

Text by Brian

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/

Peanut Butter Criss-Cross These cookies are soft and not too...

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:00:00 -0400

Peanut Butter Criss-Cross

These cookies are soft and not too dry, but a glass of milk still goes really well with peanut butter cookies. I recently made these and brought them to my work. They were a hit, and people frequently described them as “not too sweet”.

Be sure to use natural peanut butter that is not hydrogenated or else they can be really dry. It only takes a few minutes to incorporate the oil in natural peanut butter and it is better for you. Enjoy.

Poop by Kodi

Text by Brian

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/

Job Sense!: Jen's Response

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:42:16 -0400

At work, we work. Hard. And a lot. Like, tons.

You may think that professionals such as we are would be diligently writing very serious emails to one another, attending to very serious business.

You’d be wrong.

A sampling from the last 6 months of emails from co-workers, and the reason why I’m madly head-over-heals for these people:

4/1/2009, email from co-worker
To: me
Subject: funny

“I’m creeped out by all the staring, guys. Let’s get brownies instead.”

3/25/2009, email from co-worker down the hall
To: me
Subject: do you have any chocolate?

2/20/09, email from co-worker
To: immediate colleagues
Subject: Quote of the day

“I been really gassy lately….mouth-gas, I guess”

1/21/2009, email from co-worker
To: me, various colleagues
Subject: FYI

I totally just ordered two Snuggies. Thought you should know.

Glenn, you can bring the marshmallows.

12/15/2009, email from co-worker down the hall
To: me
Subject: tartlet

Oh my god.

11/8/2008, email from co-worker
To: immediate colleagues
Subject: sadtrombone.com

Please play if you make a mistake today  http://www.sadtrombone.com/

Maple Pecan Caramel I have mentioned this recipe in the hopes...

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:00:00 -0400

Maple Pecan Caramel

I have mentioned this recipe in the hopes that someone out there has had any luck with it. I’ve made this recipe twice, each time the flavor of the hot caramel was simply amazing. I couldn’t wait to dip it in my favorite dark chocolate to make a neat, self contained caramel-pecan turtle with maple highlights. Unfortunately, by the next day the caramel had completely crystallized and tasted horrible. I’ve scoured the web looking for alternative versions of this recipe with little luck.

This recipe doesn’t use corn syrup like other caramels, and it turns out corn syrup is much more resistant to crystallization than regular sugars. Perhaps substituting dark corn syrup for some of the brown sugar would help? I was extra careful to wash the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water the second time I made this, but sadly, the outcome was the same.

Poop by Neva

Text by Brian

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/

Apricot Bread My grandmother has been making this delicious...

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:00:00 -0400

Apricot Bread

My grandmother has been making this delicious recipe for Christmas afternoon gatherings for as long as I remember. Already a huge fan of apricots, this is by far my favorite thing she would serve. This year she was unable to make them, and so I offered to make them since it would also be a great recipe for this blog. They were so good that I made the recipe twice in one week over the holidays—and again last week since I needed to retake some photos since I over chopped the apricots on the second batch.

Poop by Snowy

Text by Brian

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/

Gianduja Gelato Gianduja (jon-doo-ya) is a chocolate product...

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:00:00 -0400

Gianduja Gelato

Gianduja (jon-doo-ya) is a chocolate product that contains finely ground hazlenuts and almonds. I’ve been using it for several years to make gianduja truffles. This gianduja gelato has a silky smooth texture and great chocolate and hazelnut overtones, highlighted by a little bit of Frangelico liqueur.

You can sometimes find gianduja at specialty stores, but I usually buy mine online from e-tailers like Chocosphere or World Wide Chocolate.

Poop by Lola

Text by Brian

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/

Chocolate Cappucino Ice Cream This chocolate cappucino ice cream...

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:00:00 -0400

Chocolate Cappucino Ice Cream

This chocolate cappucino ice cream tastes much more rich than any ice cream with only half & half (no heavy cream). The custard base, chocolate and liqueur go a long way to make this ice cream taste extremely rich.

The ice cream base is thicker than most ice cream bases, it almost feels like you are making a pudding. Use good cocoa and dark chocolate; this ice cream is not intended to be like the average chocolate ice cream you grew up with. I served this ice cream with some chopped Coffee English Toffee for a dessert that was not soon forgotten.

Poop by Dumbo

Text by Brian

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/

Classic Cream Caramel Caramels are about as indulgent as soft...

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:00:00 -0400

Classic Cream Caramel

Caramels are about as indulgent as soft candy can get. What other candy has as much milk fat and sugar compressed into such a tiny cube or ball? Caramels are very easy to make, especially if you aren’t going to dip them in chocolate. I will typically make two to three batches at a time.

Poop by Maggie

Text by Brian

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/

English Toffee This is, without a doubt, the most popular candy...

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:00:00 -0400

English Toffee

This is, without a doubt, the most popular candy that I make. Similar to the almond toffee sold in pink tins (except years fresher), this toffee compresses the flavor of butter and almonds into a compact package. I’m a big fan of dark chocolate, so I naturally enrobe these in 70% - 72% dark chocolate before coating with chopped almonds. This is a big recipe, but there are economies of scale and I still make three batches during the holidays. If you are just curious, reduce quantities in half if you must—but you will wish you made more.

Poop by Neva

Text by Brian

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/