Posts Roundup at Dennys Blogs - 25 Oct 2010

Check out news, political opinion, political humor and funny cartoons, recipes, poetry, funny posts, photography, science, spiritual thoughts and great quotes.





From Denny: Check out the funny political season along with the crazy Halloween taunts mixed in and life is ever, oh, so entertaining! Plenty this week to amuse, educate and entertain you - as I'm catching up the past three weeks of posts. Note to self: Never take time off - OK, not! :)

I've included some of the more popular posts at the humor blog as well since people come blasting in at Dennys Funny Quotes every Monday through Wednesday looking for funny relief for their work week. Thanks for visiting all the blogs and your great support all year!


The Social Poets:

American and World Economy Cartoons - 24 Oct 2010 - Check out the national mind and opinions of our economy through the eyes of cartoonists.

American Political Season - 23 Oct 2010 - This sure is a mean - and more competitive than usual - political season.

Friday Lite: Funny Elvira Spoofs I Am Not A Witch Ad - Where Halloween humor meets political humor in America.

CNN Interviews Outted American Spy Valerie Plame About Traitors - Check out this explosive interview about the truth of the outting of one of America's successful spies tracking down rogue nukes in the world.

Roundup of Late Nite Jokes and Videos - 18 Oct 2010 - Check out this week's late night jokes, latest cartoons, funniest video clips from Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart.

American Economy and Crazy World Politics - 16 Oct 2010 - To our politicians: the nation's cartoonists are watching you... Check out their latest opinions about the state of the economy, the current election season and world politics

Popular President Clinton On The Economy, Mid-Term Election, Wedding - America's most popular ex-President talks about how to get the economy jumpstarted and the serious erosion of the middle class if the election is turned over to the Republicans.

Chilean Miners Video: All 33 Miners As They Emerged From Mine and More - Listen to rescued miner Mario talk about getting out more Love in the world.

1 Billion Worldwide Watch 33 Chilean Miners Rescued From Abyss - Check out the jubilant celebrations as the miners are rescued today.

Monday Lite: Roundup of Late Night Jokes and Videos - 11 Oct 2010

American Economy and Crazy Politics - 9 Oct 2010 - Check out this week's latest political humor from the nation's cartoonists. The Tea Party wins hands down on the most talked about this election season.

Poem From God - Libations Friday 8 Oct 2010 - Even God has a sense of humor about how to handle repeated rejection. Take a look.

Rapping Politically Slamming Poetry Inspired By Rally to Restore American Sanity - The politics of insanity in this election season inspires this poet who is well worth the listen as he reflects the frustration of American voters.

Prez Obama Slaps Down Big Banks For Shady Home Foreclosure Bill - Obama catches last minute sleaze Republicans and Big Banks tacked on into new bill to cheat homeowners of their consumer protection rights while in foreclosure.

Obama Investigates: Big Banks Screw Up Home Foreclosures - Learn how the Big Banks just screwed themselves out of all their profits.

Posts Roundup at Dennys Blogs - 5 Oct 2010 - Check out news, political opinion, political humor and funny cartoons, recipes, poetry, funny posts, photography, spiritual thoughts and great quotes.






Beautiful Illustrated Quotations:

Inspiring Quotes About Dealing With Rejection - Some great advice from famous people about handling rejection.

11 Inspiring Quotes and Poem About Dealing With Rejection - Check out this mind food when you need to pick yourself back up from rejection.

A Delightful Way Of Seeing Our Lives

How Do You Fit Into The Universe?

How Well Do You Handle Adversity?

President Theodore Roosevelt Quote About Courage

Do You Promote Others As Well As Yourself?

Meditative Moon Photos - The moon continues to fascinate humanity - and creative photographers.

7 Thoughtful Quotes About The Future - Enjoy these reflections upon how we think about our future.

A Healing Spiritual Poem: Waking The Day - Spiritual symbolism is all around us in our daily life, ready to help heal and balance.

Ancient Healing Oil: Sandalwood - Modern technology life can be stressful and counter productive to spiritual growth. Try this essential oil to bring balance into your life.








Dennys Funny Quotes:

Funny Work Cartoons - 25 Oct 2010 - When your life does not seem to be quite all together - get a grin to make your day good again.

Funny Video: Scientists Study Drugged Spiders - Check out the crazy antics of these drugged spiders.

42 Monday Morning Funny Coffee Quotes, Coffee Cartoon

Funny Photos: Voraciously Hungry Birds - Check out some startling photos of birds as they catch some unusual finds for their dinner tables - complete with irreverent commentary.

Funny Video: Colbert Fuses Halloween Holiday With March To Keep Fear Alive

Funny Video: Jon Stewart Reveals Rally to Restore Sanity Location

Funny Situational Hunh?! Are You Kidding?! Cartoons - 16 Oct 2010 - Check out the latest funny finds from America's cartoonists this week.

Funny Situational Hunh?! Cartoons - 9 Oct 2010 - Check out some hilarious thoughts about how to approach life from this week of cartoonists.

Funny Video: Jon Stewart Scorches Big Banks 4 Accidental Foreclosures

Funny Video: Jon Stewart Comments On CNN Firing Bigot Rick Sanchez

Funny Video: Jon Stewart Reveals Rednecks Living in Delaware

Funny Video: Colbert Looks At Tea Party Coloring Books For Kids

Murphys 15 Laws About Sex - Yet another funny list joke making the rounds.

Funny Video: Surfing Group Known as The Radical Rodents - Laugh at these funny talented rodents surfing the waves in Australia.

Funny Legal News Story: The Case of a Contraceptives Miss-taken Use - Laugh at this funny use for a contraceptive that exemplifies the kind of humorous cases found in our court systems every day sure to amuse us!

Funny Video: Colberts Sound Advice on How to Get a Job - Bad economy? No problem. Comic Stephen Colbert to the employment rescue to help you land that all important life-changing job.

25 Ridiculously Funny Celebrity Duck Face Photos - Laugh at celebrities posing for the camera, mocking sexy.







Visual Insights:

Funny Life Cartoons - 21 Oct 2010 - Get a grin today while tripping through the cracked minds of some talented cartoonists while they explore our lives and give us their opinions.

Art and Music Videos: Chinese Painting Demo and The Misty Rain of Jiangnan in China - This music video is great for meditation.

Music Video: From Enya - The First of Autumn - Enya pairs some beautiful autumnal photos with music.

Music Video: Classic Happy Song from Belle Stars - Iko Iko - This catchy song will have you dancing in no time, looking silly to the neighborhood - and you won't care 'cause you will feel so good.







The Soul Calendar:


Funny Tech Cartoons - 22 Oct 2010 - Get a grin as cartoonists entertain us with their take on the technology of the day and the influence upon society.

Are These Fossils The Earliest Traces Of Complex Life? - Check out what was happening on the Earth over two billion years ago as scientists discover new fossils to shed new light on how Life evolved here.

How Northern Lights Are Created By Sun Flares - Check out 3 video clips of the solar flares and magnetic filament in action as they create the Northern Lights on Earth.

Giant Asteroid Threatens Earth In 170 Years - Crank up the planet asteroid defense system because Earth is expecting an asteroid impact soon - by astronomical time.

Popular Funny X-ray Pin-Ups Calendar: Stripped to the Bone - Definitely this is a fit for the strange but true category and amusing too.

Why Black Holes Burst With Light When Galaxies Merge - Scientists got good news about the odd behavior of supermassive black holes from NASA's cosmic gossip, the Swift satellite.

Big Oil Nixs Competing Aviation BioFuel: NASAs Project OMEGA - Big Oil finds ways to eliminate the competition from taking over any segment of the fuel market in the world.

Mapping Our Complex Brains: Human Connectome Project - Fascinating new project mapping the complex circuitry of our brains.

Brain: Relationship of Thinning of Brain's Cortex Linked to Depression

Bad News for Teachers: Research Says Doodling Boosts Concentration








Dennys Food and Recipes:

Drink: Chocolate Martini - A chocolate martini, with the glass rim coated with fresh pear and shaved chocolate, for that perfect sip.

Candy: Almond Brittle - The best combination ever invented: almonds and chocolate. Enjoy this chef recipe of a few ingredients.

Chocolate: Chocolate Risotto - Enjoy a rice pudding style dessert made with chocolate.

Chocolate: Beef Stew With Chocolate - This Chef David Rocco is on a roll with awesome savory recipes using dark chocolate as a star ingredient.

Chocolate: Penne Pasta with Chocolate and Anchovies - Another creative food thought from Chef David Rocco.

Appetizer with Chocolate: Sauteed Shrimp Drizzled with Chocolate - Check out this unusual dish employing chocolate as a spice.

Pair With Pork: French Onion Casserole - Cooked slowly onions can turn wonderfully sweet. Try this easy casserole for your holiday or weekend dinner.

Healthy Recipe: Fiesta Southwestern Cheesecake, Oven Baked French Toast - Check out a creative beautiful dish that is a lower calorie version of our favorite Mexican flavors.

Halloween: Caramel Apples From Culinary Institute of America - Check out how easy and less expensive it is to make your own caramel apples for the spooky season.

Cake Tuesday: Bobby Flays Awesome German Chocolate Cake - A special cake for celebrations and the holidays! Recipe and video.


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets - news, politics
The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
Visual Insights - photos, art, music
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy
Best Spiritual Posts - my own best as well as links to other spiritual posts from all viewpoints
Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry
The Healing Waters - health news
Dennys People Watching - people in the news
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes - humor

Drink: Chocolate Martini

A chocolate martini, with the glass rim coated with fresh pear and shaved chocolate, for that perfect sip.

From Denny: To tie this week's worth of awesome chocolate recipes from Chef David Rocco he presents us with a chocolate martini to wow your guests at your next gathering. It's also simple and quick to make. Drink recipes this easy come in handy when you want to spend time talking to your guests instead of getting tied up in the kitchen. This one is also so simple you could get your guests to make them while you plate up the appetizers.

What was so cool about this drink is the simplicity of few ingredients well placed. What do I mean? Chef Rocco cut a fresh pear in half crosswise and then rubbed the rim of the glass onto the cut side of the pear so the rim was wet and well coated with pear. Then he turned the pear coated martini glass upside down and dipped it into the shaved chocolate. Pears and chocolate are an awesome combination. Pears give a mellow pairing to chocolate that is pleasing in a drink.


Gianluca's Cioccolatini: Chocolate Martini

From: Chef David Rocco

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time :5 min

Level: Easy

Serves: 1 serving

Ingredients:

1 pear, halved
Bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Ice
2 fluid ounces/59 ml vodka
1 1/2 fluid ounces/44 ml chocolate liqueur (he used an Italian one but whatever your favorite)

Directions:

Rub the rim of a martini glass with a pear half, wetting the rim. Then dip the rim of the martini glass in the finely chopped chocolate. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, vodka, and chocolate liqueur. Shake vigorously. Strain the liquid into the prepared martini glass. Serve immediately.



*** Check out more great chocolate recipes from Chef David Rocco:

Candy: Almond Brittle - The best combination ever invented: almonds and chocolate. Enjoy this chef recipe of a few ingredients.

Chocolate: Chocolate Risotto - Enjoy a rice pudding style dessert made with chocolate.

Chocolate: Beef Stew With Chocolate - This Chef David Rocco is on a roll with awesome savory recipes using dark chocolate as a star ingredient.

Chocolate: Penne Pasta with Chocolate and Anchovies - Another creative food thought from Chef David Rocco.

Appetizer with Chocolate: Sauteed Shrimp Drizzled with Chocolate - Check out this unusual dish employing chocolate as a spice.




*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets - news, politics
The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
Visual Insights - photos, art, music
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy
Best Spiritual Posts
Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry
The Healing Waters - health news
Dennys People Watching - people in the news
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes - humor

Candy: Almond Brittle

The best combination ever invented: almonds and chocolate. Enjoy this chef recipe of a few ingredients.

From Denny:  Learning to work with cooking sugar as it gets hot akes a little effort yet is well worth it for the end result - almond brittle nirvana! :) This is for regular almond brittle.  I figure anything almond deserves a drizzle of chocolate after it cools to kick it up a notch - but you may enjoy it just like it is.


Croccante: Almond Brittle

From: Chef David Rocco

Prep Time: 5 min

Inactive Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Level: Difficult

Serves: 4 servings


Ingredients

3 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
5 cups almonds
Butter, for greasing cookie sheet


Directions:

In a saucepan, add the sugar and cook on high heat. Continue to stir until the sugar begins to sweat and liquify. Add a bit of water to help, if necessary. Continue to cook until the sugar turns into a deep rich brown color.

Add the almonds and mix well. Cook for a few minutes, making sure the almonds are fully coated. Remove the almonds from the heat and quickly pour and spread the hot almond-sugar mixture onto a buttered cookie sheet to the desired thickness.

Let cool for 30 minutes before breaking it into smaller pieces.



*** For more savory and sweet chocolate recipes from Chef David Rocco:


Chocolate: Chocolate Risotto - Enjoy a rice pudding style dessert made with chocolate.

Chocolate: Beef Stew With Chocolate - This Chef David Rocco is on a roll with awesome savory recipes using dark chocolate as a star ingredient.

Chocolate: Penne Pasta with Chocolate and Anchovies - Another creative food thought from Chef David Rocco.

Appetizer with Chocolate: Sauteed Shrimp Drizzled with Chocolate - Check out this unusual dish employing chocolate as a spice.

Drink: Chocolate Martini - A chocolate martini, with the glass rim coated with fresh pear and shaved chocolate, for that perfect sip.

Here's a wonderful Italian cookie recipe from another chef:

Chocolate-Hazelnut Smooches: Baci D'Alassio




*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets - news, politics
The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
Visual Insights - photos, art, music
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy
Best Spiritual Posts
Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry
The Healing Waters - health news
Dennys People Watching - people in the news
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes - humor

Chocolate: Chocolate Risotto

Enjoy a rice pudding style dessert made with chocolate.

From Denny: How many times have you made risotto only to wonder how good it would be with chocolate? Here's your chance as Chef Rocco shows us how easy it truly is to do. Lately, this chef has been exploring how to use chocolate in savory dishes too, employing chocolate as a spice. Be sure to check out the links at the bottom of this post to enjoy more of this chef's creativity.


Risotto Al Cioccolator: Chocolate Risotto

From: Chef David Rocco

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Level: Intermediate

Serves: 4 servings


Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup arborio rice
4 cups of milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup bittersweet chocolate, finely grated
Walnuts for sprinkling, quartered


Directions:

Similar to a regular risotto process, melt the unsalted butter in a hot pan and add the rice. Stir for about a minute or until the rice is translucent. Pour a cup of milk into the pan and stir until the milk reduces. Add the sugar and stir continuously. As the milk evaporates, add another 1/2 a cup of milk to the rice and continue stirring. Repeat this process until the rice is at the 'al dente' stage.

Add the chocolate to the rice, and stir until the chocolate has melted and the milk has reduced to a creamy consistency.

Serve the dessert immediately in cups and finish with a sprinkle of walnuts on top.



*** Check out more of Chef David Rocco's sweet and savory recipes for chocolate:


Chocolate: Beef Stew With Chocolate - This Chef David Rocco is on a roll with awesome savory recipes using dark chocolate as a star ingredient.

Chocolate: Penne Pasta with Chocolate and Anchovies - Another creative food thought from Chef David Rocco.

Appetizer with Chocolate: Sauteed Shrimp Drizzled with Chocolate - Check out this unusual dish employing chocolate as a spice.

Candy: Almond Brittle - The best combination ever invented: almonds and chocolate. Enjoy this chef recipe of a few ingredients.

Drink: Chocolate Martini - A chocolate martini, with the glass rim coated with fresh pear and shaved chocolate, for that perfect sip.



*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets - news, politics
The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
Visual Insights - photos, art, music
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy
Best Spiritual Posts
Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry
The Healing Waters - health news
Dennys People Watching - people in the news
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes - humor

Chocolate: Beef Stew With Chocolate

This Chef David Rocco is on a roll with awesome savory recipes using dark chocolate as a star ingredient.

From Denny: This has shaped up to be Chocolate Week at this blog! :) I've been hunting some great - and easy - savory dishes to make with dark chocolate. This week I stumbled upon Chef Rocco with the same sense of adventure employing chocolate as a spice.

Too often, especially we Americans, think inside the Godiva chocolate box when it comes to using chocolate in our cooking. I've often wondered what we could do with chocolate - minus the usual suspects paired with it: milk, cream and sugar.

Besides, the health community is always telling us to eat more dark chocolate because of the health benefits. But who really wants to be found day after day nibbling on a huge hard bar of messy cooking chocolate? Now, is that terribly original? Savory recipes using chocolate are the best answer to give us variety and explode our imagination!


Spezzatino di Manzo al Cioccolato: Beef Stew with Chocolate

From:  Chef David Rocco

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 45 min

Level: Easy

Serves: 4 servings


Ingredients:

5 tablespoons/74 ml extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces/114 g smoked pancetta, cubed
Flour, for dredging
2 pounds/900 g stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 fresh sage leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
Salt
1 cup/240 ml sherry
4 cups/941 ml vegetable broth
2 cups/457 g chopped finest quality plain dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cocoa)


Directions:

In a saucepan, heat up the olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook until the fat has been rendered down.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl or dish. Dredge the beef in the flour, shake off any excess flour, and add the beef to the hot pan. Sear the beef, stirring well so that all sides are browned. Add the sage, thyme (without the stem), and salt, to taste, to the saucepan. Deglaze the pan with the sherry and stir to pick up any brown bits. Once the sherry has reduced, add a couple ladles of vegetable broth and let reduce. Continue stirring and add the chopped chocolate. Once the chocolate has completely melted, add a few more ladles of vegetable broth.

Allow to cook for 1 hour on medium heat, adding more vegetable broth, if necessary.


*** For more savory and sweet recipes from Chef David Rocco:

Chocolate: Chocolate Risotto - Enjoy a rice pudding style dessert made with chocolate.

Chocolate: Penne Pasta with Chocolate and Anchovies - Another creative food thought from Chef David Rocco.

Appetizer with Chocolate: Sauteed Shrimp Drizzled with Chocolate - Check out this unusual dish employing chocolate as a spice.

Candy: Almond Brittle - The best combination ever invented: almonds and chocolate. Enjoy this chef recipe of a few ingredients.

Drink: Chocolate Martini - A chocolate martini, with the glass rim coated with fresh pear and shaved chocolate, for that perfect sip.


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets - news, politics
The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
Visual Insights - photos, art, music
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy
Best Spiritual Posts
Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry
The Healing Waters - health news
Dennys People Watching - people in the news
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes - humor