Well, who wouldn't?

Um, 17!

Nilly vs. Tesla smackdown!

I covered the leftovers in foil and put the dish back in the turned off oven so it could cool down enough to put in the fridge and so the cat wouldn't get it. And then I forgot to transfer it to the fridge! OH NO! I just rescued it. Do you think the food is safe to eat? My house is pretty cool.

I vote "safe to eat". Megan Walker has a whole rant on how silly Americans are about refrigeration (compared to the French) and I have a couple of chef friends who, while following all the rules professionally, snort derisively at the notion that food will regularly go bad without that being noticable.

I've also heard that "letting it cool enough to put in the fridge" is a hold-over from the ice box days (when the heat would melt your block of ice) and that its not necessary anymore. (though I can't remember where I heard it so take it with a grain of salt)

Thanks for the birthday wishes. Some friends are taking me out for Thai tonight followed by Borat.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYPO BOY!!!!!

I vote "safe to eat". Megan Walker has a whole rant on how silly Americans are about refrigeration (compared to the French) and I have a couple of chef friends who, while following all the rules professionally, snort derisively at the notion that food will regularly go bad without that being noticable.

The thing is, people get used to certain bacteria through exposure. My great aunt would leave a (covered) cooked turkey (or whatever) on her pantry counter for a few days, and eat it, and not get sick. But her gut was used to those bacteria.

I think of all foods, ham is the one I'd take the biggest chance with, because it's so processed to begin with, but a ham steak is relatively affordable, and easy to cook (actually, you just heat it up) again, so it doesn't seem worth the risk (to me, YMMV).

I can't believe it is still so foggy outside. The thing is, there was no fog out where I live. It's bright and sunshiney not 5 miles away. Sigh.

On silly refrigeration rules. The brand of raisins I buy starting putting a notice "refrigerate after opening". Dude: I'm not going to refrigerate raisins. They were invented as a means of preserving grapes, and if you refrigerate them they go all hard and dry . This also applies to other dried fruit with the same warning.

The worst Christmas specials and TV movies ever

Of course, 'Santa Claus Conquers the Martians' and 'The Star Wars Holiday Special' are in there....

Shales called 1995's Kathie Lee: Home for Christmas, "a sickeningly saccharine vanity production that should really have been titled O Come, Let Us Adore Me." Her 1998 outing, Kathie Lee Gifford: Christmas Every Day, led him to ask: "What's the difference between the 24-hour flu and a Kathie Lee Gifford Christmas special? Twenty-three hours."

Oh, and B-day happies for Typo Boy!

I'm happy to announce that I have both Babes in Toyland and Christmas in Pac-Land on original VHS. And they're both awesome!

C-I-N-C-I-N-N-A-T-I Cincinnati!