Teddy Bear Shortbread Cookies

A couple years ago, I bought a set of Wilton's stackable teddy bear cookie cutters, but in all that time since the purchase, I've never actually used them.  So after I received a request from my sister for cookies, I decided I was finally ready to try the teddy bear cutters.

This set of cookie cutters comes in a pack of three: a head, a face and a nose.

I prepared one full batch of a basic vanilla shortbread recipe, typically enough for about 30 two and a half to three inch cookies.  Using the stackable cutters, I was only able to make eight full bears.  These cookies are huge.

I chose a basic glace icing following Toba Garrett's recipe from Creative Cookies.  It's basically powdered sugar with equal parts milk and corn syrup.  To achieve a nice icing edge on the cookies, I use the outline and flood method.  With a semi-stiff icing, I outline around the edge of the cookie.  Then using a thinned down icing, I "flood" the interior to create a smooth, flat surface of color.

I prefer the taste and texture of glace icing over royal icing.  It's doesn't dry as hard and has a creamier consistency.  However, working with glace icing requires a lot of patience, as it takes forever (as in hours and hours) to fully dry.

I let my cookies dry almost a full 24 hours before finally assembling (I "glued" the pieces together with a little stiff icing) and packaging them.

Cookie Stats:
Cookie:  Vanilla shortbread cookies, rolled 1/4" thick, cut with stackable teddy bear cookie cutters
Decoration:  Outline and flood method with glace icing in several colors

The bottom line: these cookies are a real crowd pleaser.  I brought in a couple for people at work, and they absolutely gushed over how cute they were.  The fact is, as far as decorated cookies go, these stacked teddy bear cookies are rather simple to make, but yield great results.

Daily Monku:  Warning: this monku is a total nerd fest... readers (if they're any out there) beware...  I hate that Microsoft Access distinguishes between a null cell, an empty cell and zero length string.  What's the point?  I guess I can understand null vs. zero length string.  But how is an empty cell not null.  Or if the cell has been accessed, but not filled with a value, why is that not the same as having a zero length string in that cell.  I just don't get it.  It makes organizing data within the database much more annoying than it need be.

Modular Origami

Given my Japanese heritage and my penchant for crafts, it's no surprise that I'm something of an origami nerd.  Recently, I've gotten into modular origami (i.e. origami for adults).  The concept is simple: fold many identical units and then assemble them into an interesting geometric shape.

For most of my modular creations, I follow the design patterns of Meenakshi Mukerji on Origamee.net and in her book Marvelous Modular Origami.  Her designs are fairly straightforward, and the results are always impressive.

I must say that up until this point, I've pretty much been an origami purist.  If it didn't start with a single square piece of paper, then it just wasn't really origami.  But I have to say, I quite like the geometric polyhedral shapes created with modular origami.

The nice thing about modular origami is that the units are often very simple to make.  No crazy reverse folds or ambiguous crease lines.  Folding the individual units makes for a nice, relaxing post-work day activity.  The assembly of the overall unit, however, can be quite tedious and time consuming (and quite the opposite of relaxing to tell the truth).  But persevere, and the end result is always satisfying.

Since I've outgrown cups and cranes, modular origami is a great way to "grow-up" my interest in paper folding.  After all, we can't all be Kamiya Satoshi (in case it's not clear that's one sheet of paper, 10 hours and something like 1300 folds).

Daily Monku:  What is up with the article of clothing (if you can really call it that) called the "romper" (even the name is ridiculous, so ridiculous that I insist on enclosing it in quotes cause it can't seriously be called that)?  I honestly don't think it looks flattering on anyone.  It makes you look bloated around the middle with a short waist and emphasized thighs.  And what baffles me more is that a lot of women seem to think the "romper" is an acceptable replacement for a dress, meaning any event/occasion you might think a dress is appropriate, they now substitute it with the "romper".  Seriously...  Twenty years from now they're going to make fun of us for wearing these things and thinking they were fashionable (the same way we look at side ponytails with neon scrunchies and jewel toned t-shirt rings).

4 Reasons Why tkts Sucks

It's summer time, which means the tourists are out in full force around midtown Manhattan.  Most are seeking one of three things:  a shot of the New Year's Eve ball (which is permanently housed year round above the LED screens in Times Square), a chance to view themselves in the ridiculous camera photo thingie set up by Forever 21 (God I hate that thing), or Broadway show tickets from tkts, the Theatre Development Fund's "discount", same-day theatre ticket kiosk.

from Wikipedia

I don't like tkts.  I think it's kind of a rip off and not really worth it.  Every time I see the lines wrapping around the tkts island at 47th and 7th, I normally think something along the lines of "Haha, suckers..."  But then I thought about it, and in a rare moment of generosity, I thought I'd share my reasons for disliking tkts so that others who come across this page in the future will know how and why to avoid it.  I've also included a description of my discount ticket, tkts alternative.  You won't find this stuff in your Frommer's guide.


4 Reasons Why tkts Sucks

1.  The Line  During the summer and on weekends, the line for tkts can be ridiculously long.  Most tourist guides will probably suggest getting in line as early as possible for best ticket availability.  But honestly, who goes on vacation to wait in lines?  The time spent in line for tkts is time lost from something else you could be doing/seeing, like the Empire State Building or the Met.

And while it's true that those first in line will have first crack at the tickets available for that day, it's not necessarily true that they'll get the best tickets for that day.  More than once I've waited hours at tkts, only to see people from behind me in line show up with tickets five rows in front of me at the show later that day.

Something else to keep in mind is the fact that theatres may decide to "release" tickets to tkts later in the day.  That means when you finally reach the window at 3:05 after having waited in line for the past two hours, the show you want to see may not be available, but a couple hours from now when the line is short it may be there.

2.  The Lack of Choice  The tickets at tkts are those that theatres believe are not likely to sell at full price over the course of the day.  Thus, by definition, they are almost always the worst tickets in the highest price brackets (side or rear orchestra/mezz).  When you reach the ticket window at tkts, you will provide the teller with a show.  He/she will then give you a price and (if you agree to it) print you the tickets.  Unless you push and prod, there will be no real discussion about the location of the seats.  This experience contrasts with that of a typical box office (in person or even online), in which you can select among the available seats, which tickets you wish to purchase.

For some, the lack of choice in seat location is not a big deal.  After all, you are getting these tickets last minute at a discounted price.  But like I mentioned above, it's not like tkts sells the tickets from best location to worst location.  You can't just assume you are receiving the best available seats simply because those are the ones you receive.  After waiting in line as long as you have, why wouldn't you want the best seats available?

3.  The People  In my experience, the employees at tkts are not very personable with behavior that borders on rude.  Part of this is understandable.  They deal with countless people day after day asking them the same questions day after day.  But they seem especially unwilling to help.  They will only provide you minimal information about the show, and little else unless explicitly asked.  Often, even when asked, they don't seem to have very knowledgeable answers.

I first visited New York City with my family as a child many years ago.  We waited in line at tkts.  As my father finally approached the window, he asked the teller which shows would be especially good for childen.  The teller responded with "Les Miserables."  So my younger sister and I got our first official dose of Broadway in a performance of Les Miz, packed with prostitutes, death and poverty (I believe my sister fell asleep she was so riveted by the travails of Jean Valjean).  In retrospect, I'm glad I can say I saw a performance of the original Broadway production of Les Miserables.  But as a show that was suitable for children?  I'm not quite sure what that employee was thinking.

4.  Discounts with Fees  The standard for tkts discounts has been 50%.  However, over the past year or two, I've noticed the discounts decreasing to 40% or even 30% for some shows.  Keep in mind, these reduced discounts are still often being applied to the highest full price ticket bracket (which for most shows is well over $100 now).  Compile this with a standard fee per ticket of something like $7, and the tkts ticket price no longer seems like such a great steal.


The Alternative

A popular alternative to the tkts line is of course the rush and lottery route.  I'll save a discussion of the pros and cons of lottery and rush for another post.  If you wish to avoid tkts, and you don't want to leave your Broadway experience up to chance, I recommend discount codes.

Discount codes, are codes accepted by the box office, which provide discounts on Broadway tickets.  This may seem like an obvious alternative, but I think it's one of the best.  Often these codes are pulling from the pool of tickets that will ultimately be released to tkts (high price bracket rear/side orchestra and mezz), but they can be purchased in advance through Ticketmaster or Telecharge.  You can even bring the codes to the box office to use in person ("in advance" doesn't have to be weeks or months, it could be just a few days).

In the end, by using an appropriate discount code, you can avoid waiting in lines, select your own seats, and still pay about the same as you would with tkts.  To me, the advantages are clear.

Some things you should keep in mind when using discount codes...
They may only apply to weekday performances.  If you're on a family vacation to NYC, however, it's likely you'll be spending at least one weekday here for your trip.
If you order your tickets online, you will have additional fees per ticket, often larger than those at tkts.  However, if you use the discount code in person at the box office, these fees can be bypassed.

Here are some of the websites I use to find discount codes:
Playbill (you will have to join the free members club for discounts)
Season of Savings
Broadway Box
NY Tix

Daily Monku:  I wait IN lines, not ON them.  I wish others (particularly those over here on the East coast) would learn to do the same.

Rainbow Sugar Cookies Redux

A couple of weeks ago, I made rainbow sugar cookies for National Sugar Cookie Day.  The results were okay, but not great.  So I've attempted them again.  A few changes this time around, but same general concept.  Plus pictures to show the coloring and "log" making process.

Cookie Stats:

Cookie:  Basic rolled sugar cookie colored in pink, yellow and blue (and uncolored "white")

Decoration:  White, pink, yellow and blue sanding sugar around the edge

This time I tried to avoid over-mixing by individually combining portions of dough.  I started by preparing the full recipe of butter, sugar and eggs, then splitting it into four equal parts.  Each portion was combined with 1/4 the total amount of flour called for in the recipe.

This way, color can be incorporated as the dough is prepared instead of after the flour has been added.

I decided to go for smaller diameter cookies this time, so I rolled my dough "logs" to about 1/2" diameter.

The individual colored "logs" are combined into a single "log".

Then the "log" is twisted to create the spiral pattern.

The log needs to be refrigerated for a couple of hours before it can be sliced.  

To achieve the striped colored sugar rim, lay out rows of sanding sugar on a plate, and then roll the cookie slices perpendicularly across the sugar.

The resulting cookies are about 1" in diameter.  I like the smaller size of these cookies compared to my previous batch.  They're cute and bite sized and perfect as a small treat (that won't make you feel like you're over-indulging) (wow that sounds like I'm advertising one of those healthy-but-decadent snack treats).

Daily Monku:  When it's extremely hot outside, subway stations with their stagnant hot air are absolutely insufferable.  I wish there were an easy solution to fix this problem.  I would initially say incorporating more street grates could provide ventilation, but then you're just opening yourself up for a slew of questionable liquids raining down from above (spit, dog pee, spilled drinks... you get the idea).  So it's either profuse sweating or a pee shower from a homeless man...

Chocolate Sable Cookies

I'm a big fan of Oreo cookies.  So much so, that I've made it a personal quest to learn how to recreate the taste and texture of Oreos at home (I'm sadly fearful that the iconic "taste" of an Oreo may be due to some unnatural flavoring on Nabisco's part).  I did a bit of research and discovered that renowned chef Thomas Keller (owner of The French Laundry and Per Se) also likes them.  He has his own version called the TKO (presumably Thomas Keller Oreo, right?) at the Bouchon Bakery.  I love TKOs (I seem to be the only one though.  There's always tons of these left long after many of the other treats are gone).  They're made with a bitter chocolate crumbly sable cookie ("burnt chocolate" is how TKO-haters have described it to me) and a soft white chocolate ganache filling.

With the TKO in mind, I set out to practice making my homemade Oreos.  I found this recipe for a chocolate sable cookie online ("sable" means "sand" in French, a clear nod to their crumbly texture).

Cookie Stats:

Cookie:  double chocolate sable cookie, cut with a scalloped round cutter

Decoration:   drizzle of white candy melts (I despise these things, and yet I use them all the time)

This recipe does not yield as deep a chocolate-y flavor as the TKO.  They're also much sweeter than TKOs. To many, this probably makes them more appealing.  But I enjoy the bitterness, so I'm still on the lookout for a good chocolate cookie recipe that equals the Oreo.

Daily Monku:  The last Harry Potter movie opens tomorrow.  So, in lieu of a written monku, see the video below for every time they ask a question for which the answer is "We have no idea!"

Zarkana Review

Last week, I traveled a few blocks off the Broadway path (6th Ave.) to Radio City Music Hall to take in the latest Cirque du Soleil creation: Zarkana.  This was my third live Cirque production (the other two being O in Las Vegas and Ovo on Roosevelt Island), and probably my least favorite.

From Broadway.com

I enjoyed the individual acts for the most part.  The talent (or should I say brute strength and work ethic) of the performers was clearly evident.   The art direction was inspired.  The use of video screens in place of traditional flat backdrops made for a technically advanced show, unlike any other I've seen (Woman in White tried and failed with this).

Most Cirque shows presume to have a story, though it's usually fairly incomprehensible, not to mention inconsequential in light of the acrobatic feats being performed.  Zarkana's plot line, or what I could gather of it, seems to center around the separation and reuniting of a ring master-like man dressed in a red coat and top hat and his sought after love interest, some animal-morphing siren-like woman.  This is all I could ascertain, and the songs were in English not French (there were also very minimal amounts of Cirque-jibberish).

As I mentioned before, the actual circus acts were enjoyable, though fairly standard for Cirque-fare: tutu-clad juggler, trapeze artists, tumblers...  Surprisingly, the stand out acts for me were those showcasing the effects of practice and hard work, not thrill-seeking danger.  I greatly appreciated the color-guard quartet whose precision tossing of butterfly flags put my coordination skills to shame.  I also very much liked the sand artist (who made intricate images out of sand on a projected back-lit board) and the classic gymnast-guy (who performed carefully balanced handstands all while wearing an eighties cut-off sweatshirt imitation).

The least successful acts included the traditional high-wire act and the Russian bar balance beam.  The high-wire featured four burly men in unitards, more than one of whom was sporting what can only be called a gestating beer-gut (though two of them partially made up for it with the rotating wheel of death act [think Pirates of the Caribbean 2]), performing the usual back and forth across the rope routine.  The Russian bar would have been especially thrilling if I hadn't already seen a similar act performed on America's Got Talent (don't judge me, it's summer and there's only crap television on).  I admit I'm not really qualified to judge the difficulty of the acrobatics themselves, but I can say the AGT group performed over a bed of flaming nails and the Cirque team did not.

Overall Zarkana is an entertaining show, but not one of the best Cirque productions.  Part of my opinion may be due to a developing jadedness (I've now seen several productions), however I think it's most likely due to the show's bizarre goth-circus/mad scientist theme.  Backdrops featuring wandering eyeballs and Cirque clowns trapped in spider webs was just weird.  Though nothing quite matched the moment when a giant fish bowl-like prop was wheeled across stage, upon which was projected a multi-limbed, large headed baby singing "welcome to my funeral."  I felt like Seth Rogen in Knocked Up, only I was definitely not tripping on any illicit substances.

I would recommend Zarkana only to those who are big Cirque fans and feel a need to see the show out of a desire for completeness.  I would not recommend it for those looking for their first Cirque experience.  I would save that for one of the many other productions either in Vegas or traveling around the country.

Daily Monku:  Why is it that there are two British judges (Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne) on America's Got Talent (the name of the show itself deserves a grammar bitch daily monku)?  You mean to tell me Brits are a better judge of American talent than Americans?

Mid-Summer Movie Bottom Lines

I like movies.  And while box office numbers this year imply a decrease in movie theater attendance, I find I'm still a regular movie-goer.  So here's a compilation of my summer movie bottom lines (why just bottom lines and not full reviews?  Well for one, I'm lazy.  And secondly, it's not like anyone is reading this anyway, right?)

Thor
Thor was all around okay.  Acting okay, action okay.  It just didn't quite live up to the films of its co-Avenger, Iron Man.
Kudos:  Kat Dennings and her few snarky (but highly entertaining) lines.
Monkus:  The top secret government officials were the main "bad guy" on Earth, and yet they just sort of backed off once the giant robot monster arrived.  Also, what a waste of talent with Jeremy Renner's one scene (I know it's in preparation for the upcoming Avengers movie, but still a waste).

The Hangover Part II
The same exact story as the first one, but less funny and much more ridiculous (in a bad way).
Kudos:  I guess I should be glad there are more Asians in this one (I'm all for larger Asian representation in American films)...
Monkus:  Wait Alan (Zach Galifianakis) did it again?  It's his fault again?  Seriously, couldn't someone else have fucked up? (oh sorry, I guess I should have said Spoiler Alert!)

Something Borrowed
I haven't read the book, so I don't know if this statement applies to just the movie, but the characters were fairly unlikable, and the plot was weak beyond its general premise (I honestly don't remember many specific scenes).
Kudos:  Saving grace John Krasinski.  And I appreciated the Shake Shack cameos.
Monkus:  Why does Kate Hudson continue to play these horrible characters?  Oh wait, I meant why does Kate Hudson continue to get work given her horrible performances as these characters?

Bridesmaids
Comedy gold.  This was a great movie, and not just for women as some would have initially believed.
Kudos: I love that I wasn't sitting in the theater constantly going, "These women are too attractive to be having these 'Plain Jane' ugly-girl issues" (see Something Borrowed above).
Monkus:  The only thing I can think of:  why would someone honestly mix, bake, and then decorate a single cupcake?

X-Men: First Class
For a super hero movie, this was pretty good (better than Thor and Green Lantern).  I enjoyed it even though I don't really follow the X-Men.
Kudos:  Getting talented actors to fill the roles.
Monkus:  The girl with butterfly wings who spits fire just didn't cut it for me.  I mean couldn't they find more X-ceptional (like my stupid pun?) mutants to be part of the crew?  I mean this both in the fictional sense that Dr. X and would-be Magneto couldn't recruit better mutants, and in the writing sense that the writers couldn't find a better character out of the X-Men canon.

Super 8
For the most part this was a good movie, especially considering the large number of child actors.  A nice mixture of sci-fi and emotional drama.
Kudos:  As many official reviews noted, it generates a warm feeling of nostalgia.  Plus, the score was nice.
Monkus:  A Steven Spielberg movie about an alien that just wants to go home... That sounds oddly familiar... All that's missing are the flying bikes.

Midnight in Paris
Whimsical and funny, I very much enjoyed this film, best described as Woody Allen's love letter to Paris.
Kudos:  Getting a few well-known actors to play small roles as the famous creative minds of the 1920s.  It's like an I-Spy game.
Monkus:  That opening montage was like ten minutes too long (and that accordion song in the background just became annoying after awhile).  I get what you're trying to do Mr. Allen.  You're showing us Paris over the course of the day.  It's called an "opening image", not an "opening mini-movie".

Green Lantern
Another summer super-hero movie.  This one just couldn't fully grab my attention.  I don't have a good reason why.  It was just missing something.
Kudos:  Ryan Reynolds  = eye candy (I can't believe I just wrote "eye candy")
Monkus:  All the aliens were pretty lame.  Especially the fly green lantern.  Are you trying to tell me there's some sector of the universe where flies are the most sentient beings?

Horrible Bosses
An all-star cast with some hilarious moments, but something just fell short.  I guess I never fully sympathized with the characters beyond the fact that they had sucky bosses.
Kudos:  John Francis Daley for graduating from Freaks and Geeks wimp to successful screenwriter.
Monkus:  The resolution to the Jennifer Aniston horny dentist boss story line was just weak in my opinion.

That's it for now.  More bottom lines likely at the end of the summer.

Daily Monku:  If I buy origami paper, is it unreasonable to expect the paper to actually be square?  Isn't technology developed enough to cut a square piece of paper with equal length edges?

Rainbow Sugar Cookies

Since yesterday was National Sugar Cookie Day, I decided, naturally, to bake some sugar cookies.  Of course, I couldn't just make plain, simple sugar cookies.  I had to add a little something to them.  I originally found this decorating idea on a sampler recipe card from one of the big name baking brands (I can't quite remember which, maybe Betty Crocker?)

Cookie Stats:

Cookie:  Basic rolled almond sugar cookie, cut using the "log" method, colored white (no color), yellow, pink and blue

Decoration:  white, yellow, pink and blue sanding sugar around the edge

The "log" method makes these cookies extremely simple.  Simply roll the dough into a log, refrigerate, then slice.  The result is a round cookie of diameter equal to the diameter of the log.

The slight swirling of color is achieved by first rolling individual logs (maybe snakes is a better term, since they should be of small diameter) of each color and lining them up beside each other.  Then, while gripping all four colors, twist and roll until a single cylindrical log forms.  Now, each cookie slice will contain all four colors.

I always run into a small issue when making these cookies, since equal quantities of each color are needed.  Ideally, one should individually mix an equivalent amount of each color dough.  The coloring can be added early during the mixing process, which allows for even distribution of color and prevents over-mixing.  However, it's quite difficult to split a recipe into quarters, and it's even more unfeasible to make a whole batch of each color (resulting in quadruple the amount of dough).  So typically, I make one batch of dough, then split it into quarters and color three of  the parts.  The problem is, I'm now adding color to already prepared dough.  It's very difficult to incorporate the color without over mixing .  The result is that these cookies are usually made from over-worked dough.  Thankfully, sugar cookies are pretty lenient with mixing, so the texture and flavor does not suffer much.

The edge decoration comes from rolling each cookie dough slice in sanding sugar sprinkles.  To get the striped color effect, pour four lines of sugar next to each other (one in each color).  Then roll the cookie slice perpendicularly across the stripes to achieve nearly equal stripes of each color.

I prefer to use a rolled cookie recipe over a drop cookie recipe when making these cookies.  Rolled cookies keep their shape better when baking, which is really important when employing an edge decoration like this one.

UPDATE:  See Rainbow Sugar Cookies Redux for pictures

Daily Monku:  Humidity is a bitch.

Reunited, and It Sounds so Nice

This year's A Capitol Fourth, the 4th of July concert in Washington D.C., featured two of my favorite Broadway performers, singing together once again: Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Morrison. Morrison, of course is now a household name due to his success on the hit tv series, Glee (I myself have grown quite tired of his character, the pathetic Mr. Schuster, but that's a whole different story).  O'Hara is a multi-Tony-nominated actress (I can't believe she hasn't won yet) with a wonderfully angelic voice.

For the Independence Day concert, O'Hara and Morrison performed a wonderful rendition of "Tonight" from West Side Story.  I especially enjoyed hearing Morrison return to his Broadway vocal style.  I've missed it amongst his heinous rapping and poor pop performances on Glee.  However, I did not enjoy Morrison's pathetic pop solo number in the first half of the video below (before the days of Glee, I would listen to Morrison's vocals on The Light in the Piazza and Hairspray OBCRs and think, "Man, that guy should have a solo album.  I would totally listen to his music."   Sadly, I was wrong, very, very wrong).

I first experienced the wonderful duo of Matt and Kelli in The Light in the Piazza, and then later in South Pacific (both on Broadway at Lincoln Center).  They have great vocal chemistry together, as well as some great aesthetic chemistry (by which I mean they are both good-looking people [by which I mean Matthew Morrison is very attractive; I still swoon when I think of the shirtless scene in South Pacific]).

I still prefer the near perfection of  The Light in the Piazza over this duet, but it was nice to hear Kelli and Matt (particularly Kelli, I've been missing her on Broadway) singing together again this past 4th.

Daily Monku:  I'm not sure if I can monku about my own habit, but seriously I don't know what my problem is when it comes to elevator posture.  Basically, if there is available space, I WILL lean on the walls of the elevator.  Why can't I just stand up straight and not lean for the less than a minute ride?  I don't know.  I mean I don't lean against subway doors, and I stand on the subway for a much longer period of time.  Sometimes I don't understand my own laziness.

It Sucks To Be Me

Today, I woke up from the extended July 4th holiday weekend and desperately did not want to go to work.  Now I realize the Monday (or Tuesday in this case) morning blues is common for many, but for me, today's episode was merely the catalyst for my monthly(ish) pity party in which I complain about how much my life sucks (which basically amounts to feeling dissatisfied with how little I feel I've accomplished with my life so far, part of the reason this blog was born...).

Usually when this happens, I indulge in a little schadenfreude and comfort myself by listening to "It Sucks to be Me" from Avenue Q.

For the most part, it makes me feel better that my life is no worse than the lives of any of the people in this song.  Then I realize the "people" are actually fictional characters (well except for Gary Coleman, sort of), and several of them are in fact puppets, and then I don't feel so good about myself anymore...

So after a few more hours of self-indulgent pitying, I usually get over it when I realize that everything in life (except for death and paying taxes) is only for now.

Now I make the not so stealth segue to the topic of Avenue Q, the Tony award winning musical about people, monsters and puppets living in Manhattan and coming to terms with the fact that life isn't the sugar-coated fairy tale we were raised to believe as children.  It's hysterically funny, completely irreverent at times and also truthfully sincere.  I had the opportunity to see the show several times on Broadway and most recently the newly resurrected Off-Broadway version at the New World Stages, and it remains one of my all-time favorite musicals.

To finish up this post, I'd like to acknowledge Bobby Lopez, perhaps my favorite current Broadway lyricist/composer (yes, I have favorites).  As one of the co-writers of both Avenue Q and this year's wildly popular (and much more irreverent) Book of Mormon (which is also deserving of its own post...), Lopez has brought the raunchy, comedic Broadway musical to the fore (think Judd Apatow of Broadway musicals).  But what makes him so amazing to me are his other musical credits: Finding Nemo - The Musical (at Walt Disney World) and the soon to be released Winnie the Pooh movie.  Now that's versatility.

Daily Monku:  I went to a restaurant recently that had a interesting and diverse drink menu, including a sake cocktail.  However, they chose to spell sake as "saki", which truly irked me.  The mispronunciation of sake (sah-kay) as sah-kee is one of my biggest pet peeves (is there something greater than a pet peeve, 'cause I would probably classify it as a few steps beyond pet peeve level).  But to then spell it incorrectly is just unpardonable to me (I did a little research, and as far as I can tell, "saki" is not an accepted spelling [I mean Google redirects to "sake"]).  Don't perpetuate ignorance.  Look up your shit.

4th of July Macarons

I have a major obsession with French macarons.  So for the past several months, I've been slowly trying to perfect my macaron recipe.  I mainly use the recipes and instruction in Cecile Cannone's book Macarons: Authentic French Cookie Recipes from the Macaron Cafe.  Cannone provides detailed instructions with photos that yield great results.

I wanted to create a macaron in the theme of the upcoming 4th of July holiday.  This was somewhat difficult given the limitations of Independence Day themed baking.  This was the best I could come up with.

Cookie Stats:
Shell:  uncolored, plain macaron shell with red, white and blue star sprinkles
Filling: fresh raspberry jam

Initially, I planned to make one shell blue and leave the other uncolored (i.e. white), so that I would have a white shell, a blue shell and a red filling.  But I ultimately chickened out on the blue coloring.  Something about largely blue-colored foods just makes me uneasy.

Daily Monku:  Is it macaron or macaroon?  To me, macaroon is a coconut cookie, while macaron (like those I made above) is the soft shelled "sandwich" cookie (which incidentally could be coconut flavored).  I've found such indecision over the spelling/pronunciation of these cookies.  The worst case being the book Macarons by Berengere Abraham, in which the title uses the single "o" spelling, while every page within the book uses the "oo" spelling.  I mean at least be consistent within your own work, right?  I myself have taken to calling them macaroon-rons to cover both bases.