Daily Favorites: Mashed Potatoes

My favorite way to cook potatoes is my Twice Baked Potato Casserole (recipe in my cookbook.) It's got milk, cream cheese, butter and cheese in it. It's like more dairy than potatoes. A holiday winner every time. But clearly not a daily favorite. 

Last year, I made a healthy version of the twice-baked potato with a jalapeño popper flavor profile. The jalapeño turned bitter and the cream cheese got lost, but the rest of the technique is a winner. 

Since then I've made the dish again with a classic flavor profile, sometimes without the extra step in the oven. So when I was making it tonight, I figured I might as well post it. 

Tonight I peeled two potatoes, cut into chunks and boiled for 14 minutes. Then I mashed with about 60g of light sour cream and a drizzle of unsweetened almond milk. Seasoned with a combination of salt, pepper, ranch, onion powder and montreal chicken seasoning (which I call garlic+). 

I topped with a little cheese and sour cream but that was mainly for the photo. 

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I did notice a few chunks/lumps of undercooked potato so I should probably just cook it for a few minutes more. It mashed easily but apparently wasn't 100% cooked through. Still tasty and hard to beat a tasty food that has more grams than calories. (100g of potato is 77 cals). 

Also, very filling. One potato is enough for me. We're talking roughly 350 cals, depending on size of the potato for a very filling dish. A little chicken on the side and that's a healthy dinner. 

It probably is a little better to go the extra step and do this recipe but put it in the oven, but still good if you don't. 

Work Trip to NYC

Work sent me to New York for one day. I tried to make the most of it. 

First stop was knocking something off a food bucket list of mine. I had always seen pictures of these giant corned beef or pastrami sandwiches from Carnegie Deli or Katz's Deli and wanted one. Last year, in preparation for a family NYC trip, I saw a video that recommended Sarge's Deli to avoid the touristy lines at Katz's. (Carnegie Deli opened in 1937 but closed in 2016 because the owner was tired of the grueling hours.) Sarge's was a great tip as I was able to walk in at 11 and get a table without waiting in line. 

I got the combination corned beef and pastrami on rye. It was everything I wanted it to be. Though it is too much meat and not enough Russian dressing. If I lived in New York, this would be a great thing to get to go and spread it out across several sandwiches. 

From there I went over to Edge, a newish observation deck that overhangs the building on the 100th floor.

This is the Vessel, next door to Edge.

Before the trip, I brainstormed a list of things to see, do and eat. One thing I wanted to do but knew I wouldn't have time was walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I planned a full itinerary that included a trip to MoMA. Unfortunately, the work portion of the work trip took longer than anticipated and I wasn't able to go to the museum. I also didn't have time to go to Bar Piselino for Italian hot chocolate or Levain Bakery for big cookies. (In hindsight, since it turned out to be 7 hours between eating opportunities, I'm glad I picked the giant sandwich for lunch.)

In preparation for this trip, I watched this video on NYC pizza and had my heart captured by the opening frame:

So I went to Village Square Pizza to try it for myself. Here's a slice of pepperoni with hot honey:

Predictably, this was excellent. Especially when paired with a Lagunitas IPA. Also, you can tell I was full from Sarge's sandwich because I only ordered one slice. (Though this wasn't as good as the incredible Square Pie Guys pizza I had with Niraj in October. When I said that was one of the best of my life, I meant it with no exaggeration.)

With less than an hour before I had to get to Comedy Cellar, I stopped in to Blind Pig and got a quality beer. 

When I found out I was going to New York, the thing I was most excited about was visiting Comedy Cellar for the first time. 

I went looking to reserve tickets and found one line-up featuring Dave Attell. I went to book it and it was sold out already. I found a different lineup with Todd Barry. Also sold out. The best show that I could get tickets for had Colin Quinn as the recognizable name. Not a huge fan, but I was going for the overall experience, not a specific comic. 

Also, the location that I booked was the Village Underground location, around the corner from the MacDougal Street location. It's still the Comedy Cellar, it just doesn't have the cool sign. In my head, seeing the lit up sign was a key attraction, so I made sure to get a picture of it anyways. 

We walk in and they give us good seats. It's $14 with a two-item minimum. 

Mike Yard was the host and had the first set. Funny stuff and a good way to get started.

Gregg Rogell was out first after that and he was okay. The second comic was a guy from Texas and he was funnier but I didn't catch his name and he wasn't on the lineup. Then Colin Quinn came and was the worst of the bunch. He was trying out some jokes about Ukraine and just didn't seem like he had the right energy. 

Each of those comics did about 10 minutes each. I had heard there's the possibility of a famous comic dropping by, but I also was expecting someone on the B-list. Before the show they showed pictures of Amy Shumer and Pete Davidson, so I was thinking someone along that level of famousness. I thought Mulaney would be a big get but seemed unlikely. Also, I knew the lineup had 6 comics on it, so I figured we'd see 2 more sets and then maybe a surprise guest. 

So I was not ready at all for what happened next. 

Mike Yard takes the mic and says, "When you choose Comedy Cellar, you're making a good choice. Please welcome to the stage, Chris Rock."

There's like 5 seconds where we're all wondering, did he just say what I think he said. Is that a joke?

And sure enough, Chris Rock walks up on stage, less than 20 feet in front of me. 

We weren't allowed to take photos, but he did the whole set in a winter jacket, kind of like this:

He was incredible. Not only was he absolutely hilarious, but he did an entire hour. 

Because none of us bought tickets to a Chris Rock show, it didn't feel like paying to see someone famous in concert. It felt like bumping into a celebrity and getting to hang out with them for an hour. 

Absolutely surreal. Something I'll never forget.

How NFL Legacies Are Written

I've made this point before, but it's worth making again. 

We as sports fans collectively, judge players (and especially quarterbacks) with these sweeping attitudes, as if they're legacies are carved in stone. The reality is that these legacies are built by moments as fragile as a tower built out of lego pieces. 

If the Bengals defense gets one more stop, if they triple team Kupp on that final drive, then Joe Burrow is a Champion and probably a Super Bowl MVP. 

I went back and watched the highlights from Rodgers' only Super Bowl. Up 3 late, the Packers had 1st and goal. They ended up settling for a field goal to make it a 6-point lead with over two minutes to go. Think about how many times we've seen Brady or Mahomes or Rodgers come down and get a TD. Heck, we saw it two years prior with Big Ben in Super Bowl 43 vs the Cardinals. If Big Ben does it in Super Bowl 45 vs the Packers, Rodgers is 0-1 in the Super Bowl. 

Let's look at Super Bowl 43 while we're here. Larry Fitzgerald was incredible that postseason. If the Cardinals get one more stop, if Santonio Holmes can't get both toes down in the corner, then Fitz gets a ring in his 5th season. Kurt Warner joins the ranks of Manning and Elway in the 2-ring club. 

The point I'm making is that we're used to judging players and their legacies by thinking about what more they could have done. For example, it's easy to look at the end of SB 56 and say if Burrow had gone down the field for a TD at the end then he would have gotten a ring. He didn't so he doesn't have one. All of that is true, but it's a very narrow way to look at things. Your legacies are also written by things outside of your control. 

The Browns and Lions are the only two teams from the start of the Super Bowl era who have never been to the Super Bowl.

The other two teams that haven't been to a Super Bowl are the Jaguars (est. 1995) and Texans (est. 2002.)

And yet, two key players from the Rams Super Bowl 56 win were on the Lions and Browns a year ago. 

2021-22 NFL Wrap Up

Trivia Time: How many active NFL QBs have won a Super Bowl? What's the record for most rings by an active QB? And what teams have a QB with a ring?

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You want to think about it?

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Six. 

One. 

Rams. Chiefs. Bears. Jets. Seahawks. Packers. 

Not what you expected?

The Bears and Jets are a little surprising. They've got Foles and Flacco, respectively, on their rosters who did win a ring as a starter but are now backups. So if we remove them from consideration, here are the starting QBs in 2022 that have rings:

Mahomes. Stafford. Rodgers. Wilson. 

One each. 

And the active QBs with the most Super Bowl appearances? Mahomes and Wilson, two each. 

Tom Brady and Big Ben retiring really did end an era. 

Now we've got an AFC with Burrow, Allen, Lamar, Herbert and Mahomes poised to contend after an era dominated by Brady, Manning and Big Ben. 

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Remember when I said one ring changes everything. Unfortunately for Bengals fans, they're on the other side of that ledger. Now it's entirely fair to wonder if Burrow will go the way of Marino. The Bengals overachieved this year. Next year they'll have the Super Bowl loss hangover effect plus a stacked AFC to deal with. If I could bet on Bengals not winning the Super Bowl in the next five years, I would take that bet today. 

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McVay is 36, youngest coach to win a SB. If he wanted to, he could could for 30 years and own the records for most wins, etc. 

Stafford gets a ring in first year away from the Lions. Detroit got quite a haul of picks in the trade so it seems like it worked out for everyone. 

Aaron Donald has an insane resume with a ring too.

Beckham forced his way out of Cleveland and gets a ring.

Desean Jackson forced his way out of LA this year. He has a history of fumbling at the goal-line so this is on brand. 

And Cooper Kupp...he was only drafted in 2017. His resume is just getting started. It seems crazy to put him in the same tier as all-time elite receivers like Calvin Johnson, but if keeps putting up seasons like this, that's where he'll end up.

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If the Rams were going to win the Super Bowl this year, I'm glad the Chiefs didn't lose back to back Super Bowls. 

Reliable Joy

So when you're in a funk, how do you get out of it?

It's tempting to shift all that Chiefs mental energy into the Avs (#1 team in the league) or Bulls (#1 team in the East) or Illini basketball (tied for 1st in the Big Ten)...but the thing about sports is that you can't control the outcomes. On a given night it's roughly a coin flip and given these teams history, I wouldn't bet on any of them bringing home any trophies in 2022. 

Compare watching a sports game to listening to music by one of your favorite artists...with the music, you're virtually guaranteed a good time and a positive mood. With the sports, you might go to one parade in your life and you might break a TV. 

Playing chess and video games are sometimes fun, but also can on occasion be frustrating. So a bit of caution there.

Here's a list of things that can reliably bring me joy:

Listening to music I like

Cooking delicious food

Eating barbecue

Reading Big Magic

Listening to podcasts

Visiting escape rooms

Playing family board games

Playing basketball

Play disc golf

Walking the dogs

Make videos

Making progress on a creative project

Making progress on bucket list life items

Writing on HC or Medium

Planning and taking vacations

Sound healing on headphones / Meditate

Playing foosball, darts, shuffleboard, etc.

Platinum Trophies

This is a follow-up to this post where I wrote about collecting Playstation trophies. 

Here are my current stats:

Since that post in early 2020, I've collected 3 new Platinum trophies, bringing me up to 9. 

I preferred the ui of psnprofiles.com but it doesn't seem to be updating stats right now. So here's the link I'm using to view these.

There are other games that I've beaten recently like Astroneer where I got most but not all trophies (because it required knowing other ps4 users with the game) or NHL 94 where I got all the trophies but it's too small to warrant a platinum. 

Sure it doesn't matter to anyone else, but it's nice to look back and remember that I got every trophy for all these games.

The last post was partially true, partially wishful thinking. I've been in a deep funk ever since that loss.