OK this is just disgusting but I do love my Pepsi.  From YouTube: “Disgusted? Most people don’t realize how easy it is to gain weight from drinking sugary sodas, juice drinks, sport drinks and sweetened tea and coffee drinks. Just one 20-ounce bottle of soda can pack 250 calories and more than 16 teaspoons of sugar. Is the lemon-flavored iced tea any better? Not by much with 210 calories and 14½ teaspoons of sugar. Sugar-sweetened beverages add hundreds of calories to your diet each day. Don’t drink yourself fat. Try water. It’s good.”

Moobella, a company based out of Faunton, MA has created an innovative machine which makes freshly churned ice cream in 40 seconds.

Here is more about the company:

• Dairy base mix which can be stored at room temperature, eliminating any freezer storage
• Machines make 96 flavor variations
• Charge $400/month to lease the machines
• Ice cream is sold at $2.85 per scoop
• In 2010 they plan to add 100 machines in the northeast
• 2011 they plan to have 1000 machines in U.S. And international locations
• They estimate a 60 percent gross margin profit

Source: http://www.forbes.com/

Gary I know you love your Amici’s but Zachary’s is definitely the best pizza I’ve ever had.  I’m usually a New York pizza kinda guy but Jill I have to tell you a Chicago pizza can’t be beat!

So much of Thanksgiving these days is associated with eating, but the most important part of Thanksgiving is taking a moment to simply say thanks.  2008 was definitely my hardest year and lots of people helped me get through it which was amazing.  Like every year I’ll do a blog post to recap the year so I won’t say too much but 2009 has been fantastic.  It has had some stressful times like any but it has to be one of my favorite years so far.

In 2009 I’m thankful for my fantastic little man.  I’m thankful for the patience he has taught me and is still teaching me.  I’m thankful for my parents who I’ll be seeing again in less than a month.  I’m thankful for my sister, my brother in law, and my awesome nephew.  I’m thankful for my girlfriend of almost a year who is crazy enough to love a single dad and all of the difficulties that comes along with it.  I’m thankful for my friends, my co-workers, family, extended family, and my reading audience!  I was going to send an email to everyone but figured anyone who really knows me knows to check my blog so happy Thanksgiving to all and thanks!

OK so now that we have that “lovey dovey” stuff out of the way lets talk turkey!  My man Alton Brown was at Google this week to answer some Thanksgiving questions.  If you want to watch the full hour long video you can do so here in HD.  I liked the turkey frying section of the video (embedded above) because I’ve always wanted to try a fried turkey.  Maybe in a year or two I’ll try it and you know I’ll blog about it.  I went to my local Safeway and bought a frozen turkey and I have no idea why.  I’m a holiday guy and even though I may have that turkey in my freezer for two more years I’ll be ready and it was only 80 cents a pound!  Any way, here are my notes from Alton Brown’s Thanksgiving talk in case you don’t have time to watch the full video:

• Don’t baste the turkey!  People think it makes the skin crispy but if you put milk on your corn flakes does it make your cereal crispy?  Of course not and neither does basting your turkey.
• If you brine your turkey it will help keep the moisture in (no basting needed) and gives the turkey extra flavor.
• Frozen are generally better unless the turkey is really fresh meaning you didn’t buy it from a grocery store which is rare.  Here in California I think my Safeway frozen turkey will work just fine.
• White meat is from the fast twitch muscles and the dark meat is from slow twitch muscles.  I’m a white meat kind a guy myself.
• Alton is getting his pilots license and may do a Feasting on Air series next year.  I loved his Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves series.  I definitely preferred the Feasting on Waves series and if you get a chance check out this one filmed at St. Kitts.  I’ve actually been to St. Kitts where I got to ride a mountain bike all over that island which was fun.  Probably wouldn’t have been too safe if I wasn’t with a large crowd and a guide but still fun.  Actually anywhere in the Caribbean or a very warm climate with lots of crystal clear sea water to me is my idea of paradise!

I made some Halloween/”Harvest” Cookies yesterday.  I got a cookie pan with spider, spiderweb, tombstone, skull, and ghost shapes which ended up being dumb because I took my time getting the cookies into cute little shapes to cover them with orange icing and sprinkles!   I’ll bring some into work tomorrow if anyone wants to risk my cooking.  Don’t worry, Tyler didn’t help with these cookies as I made them while he was napping.  When he woke up he did help decorate a few for himself.  Oh well big bummer on the shapes but they taste great so here is the recipe:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (0ptional)
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preaheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray pan cavities with vegetable pan spray.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended.  Beat in egg and extracts, mix well.  Combine flour and salt; add to butter mixture.  Beat until well blended.

Press dough into cavities, filling 2/3 full.  Bake 9-10 minutes or until light brown around edges.  Cool in pan 5 minutes.  Turn pan over; lightly tap pan to remove cookies.  Cool completely on cooling grid.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.